John Fallon: LOI in danger of mirroring Celtic-Rangers dominance
TWO-HORSE RACE? Derry’s Michael Duffy and Lee Grace of Rovers. Pic: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne
TITLE races are cosmetic if a pair of trailblazers are turbocharged.
Albeit League of Ireland history is peppered with duopolies, the pace at which Shamrock Rovers and Derry City are applying the afterburners threatens to create a situation akin to dominance of the Scottish league enjoyed by Celtic and Rangers.
Success breeds success and the riches that Rovers accumulated by surpassing the Europa Conference League group stage threshold last year, estimated at €4m, places them in pole to complete the season kicking off on Friday with a fourth title on the spin.
Derry City don’t require Uefa’s prize-money to mount a challenge to usurp them.
Just like Rovers, with Dermot Desmond holding a 25% shareholding, the Candystripes are backed by a billionaire but their benefactor is more hands-on.
Long before an American company paid €2bn in 2021 to purchase his electronics company, local entrepreneur Philip O’Doherty was keeping Derry afloat. His patient approach to eyeing supremacy was echoed by Ruaidhrí Higgins, another club legend he entrusted with the manager’s job at 36, yet as is naturally the case the scent of silverware last November altered the outlook, publicly at least.
Blame it on the afterglow of a first FAI Cup in a decade but a euphoric O’Doherty broke from the previous aligned script to lay down the challenge to the Hoops.
“The cup is fabulous and we’re a cup city but we need to win the league,” O’Doherty told the amid the celebrations. “That’s the golden prize really.
“We’re coming for the league next year — that’s the plan. Shamrock Rovers are a fabulous team but we want to try and emulate them. It’s probably not healthy for the league that Shamrock Rovers have won it three times in a row and congratulations to them but we want to be up there winning the league regularly as well. We’ve never won it regularly.
“It’s a bit of a vocation for me. I have no intention of going anywhere. Look, you have to spend your money on something”.
When that desire is matched by resources, Rovers have a genuine task to retain their crown and become only the second team in history to secure four golds on the bounce.
A pattern of convergence supports the trend.
From a whopping 25-point gap during Higgins first season at the helm in 2021, Derry cut the buffer between them to 13 last year. Last week’s President’s Cup final, despite the usual caveats, resulted in a 2-0 victory for the northerners.
Close-season recruits Adam O’Reilly and Colm Whelan, 21 and 22 respectively, represent the profile Higgins has been chasing to complement the experience of multiple league winners Michael Duffy and Patrick McEleney.
Speedster Jake Mulraney, returning from a salary of €315,000 in the MLS, was tempted to join them, only to stay local with St Patrick’s Athletic.
Rovers have kept to their policy of minor tweaks too, re-signing Trevor Clarke from Bristol City and performing what is a perennial ploy of snaring the best available player from their Dublin rivals, Bohemians. Liam Burt deepens their attacking options, as does Celtic loanee Johnny Kenny, but the influence of Estonian international Markus Poom could be pivotal to whether their hegemony prolongs.
Of course, Ireland isn’t unique in having a couple of powerhouses out front. Manchester City and Liverpool hero court in England for the past five years while Bayern Munich’s stranglehold in Germany is only getting rattled during this campaign.
Indeed, the onus is on the rivals of those donning the stripes and hoops to thwart the feared breakaway.
Although St Pat’s are the likely prime contenders, their bankroller since 2007, Garrett Kelleher, was deeper in long before Desmond and O’Doherty pitched their investment.
He’s witnessed the folly of overcommitting and only since Stephen O’Donnell left him in the lurch by quitting days after delivering the FAI Cup has a return to contracts beyond 12-month duration been approved. How far they’re willing to stretch the budget could be crucial to arresting the chasm created by Rovers and Derry.
Dundalk’s fourth place finish in 2022 regained them European qualification but the mood music from Co Louth sounds a screech rather than melody.
Chairman Seán O’Connor was forced to deny reports of the club seeking a buyer, whilst admitting additional investors would be welcome. By O’Donnell blaming his unwillingness to fulfil a recent Leinster Senior Cup tie against Shelbourne on a shallow squad pool, questions over their ability to shadow those ahead of them arose.
“We’d have no issue doing it if we had 20 or 22 fit players that could do it but we don’t have enough bodies to play three games in a week,” explained the Lilywhites manager.
After that, a dark horse seems improbable. Sligo Rovers, in John Russell’s first season as boss, are a work in progress, ditto Bohemians, while Damien Duff was frank in confessing Shelbourne are shopping in a different market to the big boys.
“Usually, a quality, experienced player in this league costs €1,200 per week and I ain’t got that,” he asserted.
It’s just as well for the Premier Division’s reputation that the pacesetters do. That being reflected in tiers emerging isn’t necessarily to be embraced, however.
Kevin Foley is the latest former Ireland international enlisted by the FAI to work on the backroom staff of their underage squads.
Stephen Kenny’s assistant at senior level Keith Andrews has been the main beneficiary of the policy designed to retain links with ex-players and facilitate their coaching Education. Richard Dunne, Kevin Doyle, Colin Healy, John O’Shea, and David Meyler are among those to lend their expertise to the next generation.
Andrews began his exposure to the international sphere with the squad that reached the U17 Euros in 2017, among them Adam Idah, Nathan Collins, and Aaron Connolly.
From there he was promoted to the U21s by Kenny and the pair remain a combination with seniors.
Foley, who won eight caps, is 38 and coached in the MLS with Tampa Bay Rowdies before returning to England with Forest Green Rovers and more recently national league outfit Brackley Town — compatriot Stephen Ward.
The 38-year-old joins U19 manager Tom Mohan and his assistant Mick Neville to succeed Jonathan Walters, appointed last month by Andy Pilley as Sporting Director of his two clubs, Fleetwood United and Waterford FC.
Recent training camps held in Dublin and Birmingham were the final preparation for the U19 Euro elite qualifiers, which Ireland have home advantage. They begin against Slovakia on March 22 (3.30pm) followed three days later by Estonia (3.30pm) and finally Greece on March 28 (7.30pm). All three of Ireland’s games are to be staged at Ferrycarrig Park, Wexford.
Seedorf — nephew of former Real Madrid and Inter Milan star Clarence — spent January on trial at City but Rebels boss Colin Healy opted against tabling a contract offer. The 22-year-old, a free agent since parting company with Polish second division outfit Zaglebie Sosnowiec last summer, first appeared in a City shirt in the opening friendly against UCC and marked it with a goal.
His versatility was on display next time out against Dundalk, switching from left winger to right back, but Healy feels he has sufficient options in those areas for the 36-game campaign ahead. The Dutchman recently returned to his native Netherlands.
Healy hadn’t ruled out making additions ahead of what’s shaping up to be a 7,600 sell-out at Turner’s Cross. Unlike British clubs, whose transfer window closed on January 31, League of Ireland clubs have until next Wednesday, February 22, to complete business.
One route City are unable to explore further is the loan market. They’ve already filled the four permissible berths with Matt Healy (Ipswich), Tobi Oluwayemi (Celtic), Ethon Varian (Bohs) and Kevin Čustović (Vejle).
All should be available for Friday’s showdown. Healy has so far ruled out only Cian Murphy; the young striker’s knee is still a few weeks away from being ready for action.
