THURSDAY OF THIS week marked 10 years since Joe Gamble last won a top-flight league title.
Gamble was a key member of the Cork City side that defeated Derry City 2-0 at Turner’s Cross on the last day of the season to be crowned League of Ireland Premier Division champions on 18 November, 2005.
Last night, 12,000 kilometres away in Brunei, Gamble tasted national championship success again when when his current club, DPMM FC, won Singapore’s S-League for the first time. Although Brunei isn’t part of Singapore, the 10-team league is also open to some foreign clubs, with Japan and Malaysia also represented.
Gamble, who also won a First Division medal with Limerick in 2012, played all 90 minutes in midfield as DPMM defeated Bhalestier Khalsa 4-0 in front of over 25,000 supporters at Brunei’s Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium.
“It was a very similar scenario to the one we were in with Cork City in 2005, in that we had to win the last game of the season to make sure that we won the league, so there was a resemblance to winning the league with City alright,” Gamble told The42 this afternoon.
DPMM are managed by former Blackburn Rovers boss Steve Kean. The squad consists mainly of Bruneian players, but Gamble is joined among the club’s foreign legion by the likes of former Northern Ireland international defender Brian McLean and Paulo Sergio, an ex-Sporting Lisbon striker who was capped by Portugal at U21 level.
“The league here is obviously not like one of the top leagues in Europe or anything, but it’s a decent standard. There’s a lot of players who have played at a good level,” Gamble said.
“I think this is my 16th year in professional football and it’s my third league title, so they don’t come around very often. Winning the league with Cork City would obviously be at the top of my achievements, along with winning international caps.
“Getting Limerick out of the First Division was another big one too. No matter where you’re playing, winning the league is what it’s all about.”
After leaving Cork City in 2010, Gamble spent 18 months in England with Hartlepool United. He returned to Ireland to play for Limerick before moving to DPMM late in 2013. Now 33, the Corkman was capped twice for the Republic of Ireland under Steve Staunton in friendly games against Ecuador and Bolivia in the US in 2007.
The path to the S-League isn’t a well-trodden one for footballers from this part of the world, but Gamble is glad that he, his wife Sylvia and their three children made the move into the unknown two years ago.
DPMM FC is owned by Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince of Brunei, so when it comes to their pursuit of success, they don’t cut corners.
“We’re looked after well,” Gamble explained. “You get six pairs of boots a year, plenty of kit, we’re flown to every away game and we stay in the best hotels. That side of things is always taken care of.
“When we first came out here I had no idea what to expect. We had just had our third child as well; he was only three-months-old. It was a massive step but it’s been an unbelievable experience.
“You get to experience a different way of life, not only in terms of football but in your life in general. The kids are going to the international school here and it’s been amazing for them as well.
“We live in a nice complex with a swimming pool, a gym, tennis courts and a playground, and it’s 30-degree sunshine nearly every day, although sometimes you do get sick of it. You wouldn’t mind a nice bit of rain every once in a while.”
Whoops!
We couldn't find this Tweet
Former Cork City team-mates George O’Callaghan and Roy O’Donovan have also lined out for DPMM in recent years, and Gamble wouldn’t hesitate to advise others to make a similar move.
“There’s more to the game than just Ireland and the UK,” he said. “There’s a load of eastern European players here too. They sussed it out before we did. I’d definitely recommend to other players to look abroad more to places like this.”
Gamble and his family will return to Cork on 6 December to spend Christmas at home on Leeside. The league title might be in the bag but DPMM’s season is far from over. They’ve got a cup semi-final to come on Tuesday night, with the final fixed for the following Friday. A historic double is at stake.
If contract negotiations go according to plan, Gamble would like to return in the new year. He’ll be 34 by the time next season’s campaign kicks off, however, so the former Reading midfielder isn’t looking beyond 2016.
Gamble: “Life is great here but home is home so you’ll always have it in your mind that you’ll head back eventually. I’d never think too far ahead anyway because things change so fast in football. I’d like to play for another year and I’ll see after that. I’m enjoying it for what it is at the moment, instead of wishing time away.”
And if a move back to Ireland does happen in the near future for the Togher native, don’t expect him to begin a fourth spell in the League of Ireland.
“There hasn’t been too much contact [from League of Ireland clubs],” he says, “and, to be honest, I don’t think I’d entertain it if there was. My time in the League of Ireland is up.
“If I finish here [in Brunei], I’ll probably retire anyway. I can’t see myself playing back home again. I enjoyed it immensely but, without being smart about it, I think I’ve done my time in the League of Ireland.”
As well as playing an important role for DPMM on the pitch, Gamble has been contributing behind the scenes as the team’s strength and conditioning coach. That has allowed him to work more closely with Steve Kean, a manager he’s full of praise for in spite of the difficult spell the Scot had during his time at Blackburn.
“He’s been fantastic for me,” said Gamble. “Out of all the managers I’ve played for, he’s the most open. Not a lot of managers let you in too much.
“I work fairly closely with him in terms of the warm-ups, recovery sessions, gym sessions; making sure that we’re not over-training because the heat here is ferocious and it can be very easy to do more than you should.
“But Steve has done a remarkable job in such a short space of time here. He’s been fantastic and he deserves a lot of credit.”
