Graham Cummins: Dilemmas and doubts can cloud mind on the final day of season
FLYING PHOENIX: Waterford's Phoenix Patterson is one of the few players with plenty to focus on during this final weekend of season. Pic: INPHO/Evan Treacy
After 35 games, the last round of fixtures in the League of Ireland Premier Division will take place and it’s hard to anticipate anything other than ‘flat’ matches on Sunday.
At a stretch, you could argue the final day does provide some excitement with Derry City and Dundalk battling for second place at the Brandywell but in truth the players couldn’t care less who finishes the best of the rest after Shamrock Rovers. I don’t know any player that hangs a silver medal up in their house with pride. I was unfortunate to receive five runners-up medals (two League, one FAI Cup, and two League Cup) and I couldn’t tell you where any of them are. I don’t even know if I took my silver medal I was entitled to with Shamrock Rovers when we finished second to Dundalk in 2019; the medals were on the dressing room floor and there wasn’t a race to get their hands on one.
With the exception of cup finalists Derry and Shelbourne, we should see a lot of unfamiliar names on team sheets this weekend. With nothing to play for, clubs should be giving younger players an opportunity to gain league experience. I’m sure regular starters will be happy to allow their younger colleagues the chance to feature.
It’s a strange time for the well-known players who are coming to the end of their contract. By now, they will have an idea where they want to be playing their football next season. For some, they could be hoping for a move across the water, some might be satisfied to stay put while for others it might be the case that they have already arranged a deal to join a rival club in the league next year.
Managers will have identified targets they want at their club for next season. They know that they can’t wait around until the end of the season if they want to secure their No.1 targets. The longer they wait, the more likely it is that they will face competition from another club. Everyone should know at this stage that ‘tapping-up’ does happen in football, and managers are speaking to players contracted to other clubs despite it being against the rules.
At Waterford, I can remember the last day of the season we faced UCD in Dublin in a meaningless fixture. I travelled up to that game with my Dad because we had arranged to meet a manager from another club earlier in Dublin. He showed me the training facilities of the club, the apartment I would be staying in and we had the usual discussions around ambition of the club, my role in helping achieve that goal, etc. I was not in the right frame of mind to play a game that night knowing that any sort of injury could jeopardise what was an attractive offer from another club.
A lot of players this weekend will be in a similar sort of mindset. If they have a move lined up, a trial arranged with a UK club or have not been offered a contract by their current employers, they aren’t going to put themselves at risk of picking up an injury contesting a 50/50 challenge in a game or sprinting to a ball late in the match in fear of creating a muscles injury. That's why clubs are better playing younger players because they know those players will give a hundred percent in a match as opposed to those that are more concerned about their own futures rather than the outcome of a game.
One fixture that does carry significance is the meeting of Galway United and Waterford at Markets Field in the First Division play-off final. Whichever team progresses will face UCD in the promotion/relegation clash and both Waterford and Galway would be good additions to the Premier Division. Both have ambitious owners who are prepared to back the club financially to achieve success, and both would be more than capable of competing in the top tier. They are contrasting sides when it comes to style of football. Waterford’s strength is in their attacking play whereas Galway like a more cautious approach. They aren’t going to take many risks when it comes to playing out from the back.
Waterford come into the contest in much better form but I feel that Galway’s game nous will give them the edge in this one. I don’t expect John Caulfield’s side to go out and put on a display but I still envisage them progressing. They will be compact against Waterford and nullify the threat of Phoenix Patterson who has been excellent this season, but needs to perform to a high standard tonight if he is to justify the hype.
It may even be a set piece winner - with Galway’s experience to just about get them over the line.
