Graham Cummins: Expectation of Irish clubs in Europe far exceeds the reality

STEP UP IN CLASS: Graham Burke of Shamrock Rovers in action against Manuel Cafumana of Ludogorets during the UEFA Champions League 2022/23 Second Qualifying Round First Leg match. Photo by Alex Nicodim/Sportsfile

Our expectations for League of Ireland clubs competing in European competitions is unrealistic. 

It shouldn’t even be a topic of conversation that an Irish club is capable of qualifying for the group stages of the Champions League. Clubs seem to be scrutinised for not reaching the group stages of European competition when success for a League of Ireland club should be judged on a team qualifying past a single round.

At best, clubs will budget for getting past one round in Europe. Most clubs will take the cautious approach and will budget for the expectancy of being eliminated from Europe in their first game. 

The former budgeting plan is an overestimating risk, I’ve seen this firsthand myself. 

Before I rejoined Cork City in 2018, speaking to then manager John Caulfield, he explained to me that the team had to get past a round in Europe because that was what the club budgeted for. 

Unfortunately, we were defeated by Legia Warsaw and then Rosenberg. We have seen the consequences of those defeats in City’s financial restrictions over the past few seasons. Now, I don’t believe those defeats were the sole reason for the club’s financial issues but they did have an impact.

I don’t know if it is a good idea letting players know that their futures at the club might depend on the outcome of a European game. It’s a positive in terms of giving players extra motivation, but a negative because it increases pressure on players in what already is a stressful industry.

When it comes to European games, the main difference I found is the speed and strength of players. The higher the level; the quicker players are, as was evident in Shamrock Rovers’ encounter with Ludogorets. In the domestic league; players like Richie Towell and Dylan Watts don’t stand out like a sore thumb for their lack of pace but against Ludogrets they did.

Rory Gaffney could have benefited from having someone that was quick playing alongside him. The Limerick native was arguably Rovers' best player on the night without having a significant moment in the game.

Rovers will admit that they are an inferior outfit to the Bulgarian side. At times, they were just chasing shadows and you could see the frustration on the players faces because they aren’t used to getting the runaround. 

I always feel the best tactic when you know you are going to be under pressure for the majority of the game is to have two players up front. That way when the ball is played from back to front at least you have two players fighting for it and preventing the ball from coming straight back.

Irish teams must realise that the direct route tends to be the most successful against superior opposition and having two men battling for hopeful long balls is better than one.

During my time as a Rovers’ player one of the main tactics that was drilled into us was to always protect the middle of the pitch. The management team would much rather the ball go wide rather than an opposition team play through the middle. It’s a tactic that clearly works domestically for Rovers because they pin opposition teams back, meaning their fullbacks, who could exploit the Hoops willingness to allow the ball go wide, cannot influence the game.

Unfortunately it wasn’t a tactic that worked against Ludogorets. Watts and Towel were too narrow out of possession, and Ludogorets took advantage of that in the wide areas, in particular with their first goal.

The argument could be made that Rovers were a much better side in the second-half - which they were - but I would put that more down to the Ludogorets players taking their foot off the gas. The Bulgarians are still only at the beginning of their season and were probably more concerned about protecting their two-goal lead than adding to their advantage.

It will take nothing short of a miracle for the Hoops to overturn the tie and progress to the next round, but the home support and the lack of a long-haul journey will help them in the return leg/

Perhaps if Rovers had to play out of second-gear most weeks it would better prepare them for European games where they have to be at their very best to get a result. 

Whatever the outcome, they have already surpassed what I expect to be an achievement for League of Ireland teams by progressing through their first qualifying game.