John Fallon: A look ahead to the busiest month of the Irish football calendar
Shamrock Rovers in training ahead of their Conference League opener. Pic: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne.
Whereas the stretching of evenings indicates the peak of football action for most of Europe, Ireland’s blitz occurs when days shorten.
The summer LOI season in place for the last 23 years lends itself to the crescendo unfolding towards the end of the calendar year.
On top of the routine run-ins and finals, there’s the increasingly regular annual league phase involvement in the Conference League.
History has shown how influential FAI meetings are on shaping the structure of the game but there’s a new milestone date in the form of the Budget looming next Thursday.
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Uefa’s third competition was introduced four seasons ago to broaden the range of countries represented in the second phase, previously known as the groups and now the league. For the first time, Ireland has two representatives still standing, both kicking off their six-game series today. Shelbourne are maiden entrants to this stage but due to their archaic Tolka Park, must host their games at the same Tallaght Stadium venue where Shamrock Rovers will stage theirs. Tellingly, both clubs have banked €3.8m in prize-money from their run, essential to defray the rising wages costs of competing for honours and Europe.
A potential Munster derby in one and Dublin derby in another was avoided in the semi-final draw and it will take a couple of scalps for Cork City and Kerry to emerge as the finalists for the November 9 decider at Lansdowne Road. That will be a fixture four times in next year’s First Division, offering City a free shot at salvaging a semblance of respectability to a disastrous season when they host St Patrick’s Athletic on Friday. Colin Healy’s Kingdom Boys are ahead of schedule and on Sunday pit themselves against the team favourites to complete a first double since 1987.
Such is the hold Government have over the indebted organisation that one misstep, such as not notifying them on a term limit extension within State guidelines, causes friction. The FAI have their reasons for seeking the increase to facilitate nine-year terms but given Sport Ireland were miffed at being ignored and the membership are unlikely to provide the necessary 75% support, it looks dead. This would have also been the first opportunity for discussion since the board climbdown on summer football. Instead, they’ll have it to bicker through an online version later in the month.
Previous relevance to football within the annual delivery by the minister for finance in Dáil Éireann revolved around the betting tax but there’s a specific envelope of grants awaited next Tuesday.
The League of Ireland – not, for cosmetic purposes, the FAI – have pleaded for State investment as a stimulus for creating an industry to hothouse talent in the post-Brexit era. Averaging €8m per annum, the initial request is for €4.45m, gradually generating 201 full-time jobs and 139 part-time roles.
Minister Paschal Donohoe, as a regular LOI match-goer, realises its importance and can surely find a smidgeon of the overall package of €9.4bn to ring-fence for football.
Today see Heimir Hallgrímsson unveil his squad for the next World Cup qualifiers, Portugal in Lisbon on Saturday week followed by Armenia at home four days later, but he’s already facing an uphill battle following defeat to the latter. He’s not far wrong by declaring a miracle is required to resuscitate the bid to reach next year’s World Cup in North America. Jason Knight’s injury will necessitate a midfield change, an area Ireland must get a grip on to start controlling proceedings. Failure to take at least four points could bring a premature end to the Icelander’s reign.
Cobh Ramblers are the only team mathematically capable of curbing a immediate return to the Premier Division by Dundalk and that entails accruing seven extra points than the Lilywhites during the final three matches. That the Rams host Ciarán Kilduff’s side on the final night, two weeks earlier than the Premier, creates a winner-takes-all notion, yet wins over Athlone Town on Friday and away to Finn Harps on Friday week would settle it. As it stands, Cobh, Bray and UCD are guaranteed entry into the playoffs. The last place looks to be between Treaty United and Wexford.
Crunch matches for Irish players at club level are scarce nowadays but Big Ev is in the thick of Serie A action since joining AS Roma on loan. He may have lost his starting place at the weekend to Ukrainian Artem Dovbyk but his club remains third and the Irishman an integral component.
Last year’s Champions League finalists Inter lurk straight after the international window. Elsewhere, how Brentford’s Irish colony fare against champions Liverpool on October 25 promises to be intriguing.
Debate continues to rage on whether it was wise to extract the women’s decider from the men’s as a Lansdowne double-header but Athlone Town will feature in their fourth straight decider at Tallaght.
Shelbourne denied them the double in last year’s showpiece, a third meeting in a row, but there’s new rivals in the form of Bohemians. It’s five years since they added a women’s team and scooping their first silverware could constitute a novel shock.
Katie McCabe was encouraging a full house at Lansdowne Road for Ireland’s first leg against Belgium while she was home attending the NFL game last Sunday.
Victory over the two legs against the higher seeded opponent doesn’t seal qualification for the 2027 World Cup but smooths the path to Brazil for Ireland. Regardless of what unravels in next year’s regulation qualifiers, they’ll have lodged the parachute of a playoff. Easier said than done, especially with the second leg in Brussels.
Dundalk shutdown a sign of cuts to come?
Wednesday's cancellation of the FAI training course in Dundalk for 28 participants – just days before its commencement – could be a portent for deeper cutbacks on the way.
It’s rather ironic that at a time football is seeking Government funding to create employment in the club sphere, current jobs are being lost and at risk.
Roy Keane is the most famous graduate from the courses initially known as the FÁS scheme, a rare opportunity for youngsters to spend a season as a full-time footballer and receive payment.
Trouble loomed in July when a decision was taken to discontinue the two courses in Keane’s county of Cork, leaving four coaching staff at a loose end. An offer from the FAI of redeployment to a vacancy in Dublin was impractical.
Two additional staff have been discarded arising from this cull but also a plethora of players, mostly involved in LOI academies. Some deferred offers of colleges elsewhere to pursue their footballing ambitions.
All the more boggling is the fact the FAI provides only a minority level of funding for the courses.
Their ‘transformational plan’ is still being kept under wraps but with the voluntary redundancy aspect due to unravel in the next month it won’t be long before staff are laid off against their will. Worrying times.
Intermediate Cup entrants seem to be the cohort most affected by the FAI’s decision to barge on with aligning competitions with the FAI senior cups.
Based on the latest plans, the majority of leagues remaining in the traditional season will start the competition at the end of the campaign and resume in the following season.
That creates havoc for clubs. Turnover of players is the most obvious obstacle arising, with the prospect of two different teams lining out in the same competition.
Munster and Leinster are the two provinces most affected and they are in dialogue about tabling a resolution.
Meanwhile, the Dublin District Schoolboys/girls League estimate that 4,050 players out of 4.482 registered will have no access to an FAI national cup in their youth careers from this change.
Specifically, they quantify the fallout of 2,430 from FAI U17 national cup and 1,620 players never getting the ‘once in a lifetime’ chance to play in an FAI youths national Cup.
