When Martin O’Neill announced his provisional squad for the crucial World Cup qualifier against Austria this month, two names stood out above the rest. Daryl Horgan and Andy Boyle were both named to a Senior International squad for the first time in their careers. And it was the first time any current League of Ireland player had been part of a squad announcement in almost ten years. The eagle eyed few who may read this will immediately bring to my attention that Gary Rogers was part of the squad that played Oman and Serbia. The difference in this instance was that Rogers, having previously trained with the Senior squad prior to the Euros, was called up to replace David Forde who withdrew from the squad. He has failed to make a squad since.
It was the naming of the duo this time around that I found more significant. The squad faces a single, yet crucial competitive qualifier. Unlike the forgettable friendlies Ireland played in the USA in 2007, this is the strongest possible squad Ireland have picked. Joe Gamble was the sole League of Ireland representative on that tour which also featured future forgettables such as Stephen O’Halloran and Alan O’Brien. More memorably, it also featured the novel call-up and capping of Joseph Lapira, a US college amateur whose selection was met with derision amongst experts and outrage amongst followers of the domestic league. You have to go back 31 years to find the last player who featured for Ireland in a competitive fixture. Pat Byrne was captain of Shamrock Rovers when he appeared as a substitute in a 4-1 defeat at home to Denmark. So, even the naming of two Dundalk FC players to a provisional squad alone represented a landmark moment for the League. Fears of a token call up to a provisional squad were not realised when both players made the final cut to travel to Vienna this weekend. They weren't just in the conversation for being a part of the squad, they were in the running to feature in the first team.
Their inclusion in the squad only adds to a growing League
of Ireland influence in the Senior team of late. Eight of the Euro 2016 squad
began their careers with Senior domestic clubs. Wes Hoolahan (Shelbourne),
Stephen Quinn (St Patrick’s Athletic), Shane Long (Cork City), Daryl Murphy
(Waterford United), Stephen Ward (Bohemians), David Meyler (Cork City), James
McClean (Derry City) and Seamus Coleman (Sligo Rovers) all donned their former
clubs jerseys for a photo during the summer that was a great advert for the
League. David Forde (Galway United & Derry City) was a last minute omission
from the final squad who also started out at home. It’s not unusual for key Irish players to have spent the early part of their career playing in
Ireland. Going further back, both Roy Keane and Paul McGrath, two of Irelands
greatest, solidified their development by spending a season playing domestic
football. It begs the question now more than ever, do the FAI and the Irish
public need to seriously consider backing the League?
It’s a question worth asking and very likely one to end up into a debate between followers the League of Ireland and the English Premier League. It is Ireland’s other football civil war, after Saipan. The dedicated die hard followers of local football regaling against those who devote their time and money to the clubs in England. Money spent on Sky Sports subscriptions and the odd trip across the water is money that substantially help any Irish club at Senior level. Those who forego spending a tenner on a match ticket on a Friday night to spend money in a pub watching a game on TV. Ultimately everyone is entitled to follow whoever they want. Far from it for me to tell people what to do with their own life. However, it is also a fair entitlement for any Irish football fan to question objectively the reasoning for their ignorance of our own league.
This isn’t coming from a lifetime Galway United fan immersed in the League of Ireland. For years, I regarded Liverpool and Celtic were the be all and end all when it came to club football. My general state of emotion often was dependent on those two team’s fortunes. I often found myself getting into arguments in school and on social media amongst friends and enemies about the Premier League. The Irish Senior National team always came first but Irish football aside from that barely registered. I looked out for Galway United’s results but never stepped foot in Eamonn Deacy Park until last year. A couple of years ago, this dysfunctional obsessive following of Liverpool and Celtic began to subside. Real life problems coupled with a growing involvement in Irish football home and away made me think about this obsession I had with the aforementioned clubs. It was way over the top. Within a few years I was working with Galway United, heavily involved with my local Junior club in playing, coaching and administration. And I was following the Irish national team home and away at every opportunity that I couldn’t give two thoughts about either Celtic and to a much lesser extent Liverpool unless someone mentioned those teams to me. And I couldn’t fathom that the same obsession others have for foreign teams is still valid, or that it even once applied to me.
I don’t discredit those who follow foreign teams exclusively. I might raise my eyebrows or shake my head but I’ll leave them to it. It’s those people who follow foreign teams who lambast the quality of football in Ireland that I take exception to. The majority of these people have either never gone to or watched a League of Ireland game, or much worse, never played or watched a game at Junior level across the country. What gives them to right to criticise or attack the League football here? These people aren’t football fans, their hypocrites who follow other Leagues or competitions in Europe for entertainment and not a passion for the game. There are plenty of people who follow local football and the Premier League in this country. They have no problem following both Leagues. I still keep an eye out to see how Liverpool and Celtic are doing still. The irony manifests itself in the form of laughing at your own countries standard of football before roaring like a lunatic in the Aviva following the National team! That doesn’t make sense and instils feelings of resentment and hostility amongst football fans in the country.
I can assure you that no one is laughing at Dundalk this season, whose exploits domestically and in Europe this season can give them the right to claim the title of Irelands greatest ever team. They exceeded the efforts of Shelbourne in 2004-05 by narrowly missing out on the Champions League group stage by losing 2-1 to Legia Warsaw. Ciaran Kilduff scored a superb goal in the 2nd leg that was worthy of any Champions League highlight reel. This was preceeded by a historic 3-1 aggregate win over BATE Borisov in the previous round. BATE have been a regular feature of the Champions League in recent years but they were played off the park in Tallaght in the 2nd leg where Dundalk won 3-0. They automatically qualified for the Europa League group stage by virtue of beating BATE Borisov and after losing to Legia Warsaw, they were drawn into Group D alongside Zenit St. Petersburg, AZ Alkmaar and Maccabi Tel Aviv. While it lacked a truly marquee name, the gulf in class was still daunting. However, where Shamrock Rovers struggled 5 years ago, Dundalk are on the cusp of greatness by putting themselves in a good position to qualify for the last 32. They have picked up 4 points from their first four games, drawing away to Alkmaar and beating Maccabi at home. Even more impressive were their battling displays against top seeds Zenit, losing 2-1 home and away. In the second leg, Daryl Horgan scored a marvellous solo goal to draw Dundalk level. Andy Boyle has been part of a disciplined and defensive back four who are more than holding their own.
These are all teams whose budgets simply dwarf what Dundalk FC operate on. In financial terms, contrast Zenit St. Petersburg's reported annual budget of €165million to the €1 million the League of Ireland club usually spends. What makes Dundalks achievement even more impressive is that their results in Europe and the prize fee’s accumulated have long since dwarfed the prize fund they got for winning the League of Ireland. Winning their third successive League title earned the team just €110,000 in prize money - €10,000 less than they were awarded for drawing away to AZ Alkmaar. The issue of financial backing the League receives has long been an issue amongst clubs and their supporters. Supporters have often used the €360’000 salary of FAI CEO John Delaney as the focal point of their ire regarding the FAI’s stance on their domestic league. Some might have called it paranoid but in July when the Football Association of Ireland announced a financial injection into Irish club football – that amounted to €5,000 per club in the top flight, few could argue against their thinking anymore. It was a pathetic offer that St.Patricks Athletic refused to accept, stating “The board of SPAFC wants its decision to serve as a clear message to the FAI that it has utterly failed in its responsibility to the domestic game and to those clubs who, in spite of its indifference, have managed to keep some semblance of professionalism within football in Ireland.” Sadly such was the financial straits some clubs were facing, they were forced to accept the offer of €5’000. The offer was to help clubs formulate a Strategic plan in moving forward. Surely the FAI must have realised that clubs doing a Strategic Plan (something I could do myself across a few weeks for free) will realise it takes a lot more €5’000 per annum to run a League of Ireland club. A lot of clubs are doing enough just to survive each season with players signing 9 month contracts or less to play for them. It’s not good enough. To paraphrase this, it’s not as Fran Gavin said, in defending the €5’000 grant, creating an atmosphere for clubs to succeed, it’s a not a viable product that can succeed in the long term.
Dundalk need not worry about money. Their exploits in Europe have seen them pick up €2.4 million just for qualifying for the Europa League group stage and a further €360,000 for picking up three points. Maybe more awaits them. What about the rest of the League however? No one can begrudge Dundalk their success, with the exception of Drogheda United fans but this success is likely to increase the gap that is already extending between Dundalk and everyone else. Serious investment is required in Irish football. Dundalk have achieved that in spite of the FAI. How many years will we have to wait for next Irish domestic football success story. While I could argue at length about the football culture in this country, investment in the League and its structures is something that can be done immediately. We can improve facilities across the League that make it more welcoming for new fans and families. We can make prizes for competing in the League enticing to increase the competiveness in the League. This in turn can create a greater intensity and edge to the League already there. That’s just off the top of my head. We can only stand to benefit in the long run by investing heavily in the League of Ireland.
The structures need to improve from the grassroots up. While most young lads playing football in Ireland dream of playing for Man United or Liverpool, the prospect of playing in the League of Ireland should be a positive one for them. Especially if it can lead to greater things like it has for Seamus Coleman and James McClean in recent years. Local football does not end at the League of Ireland. Daryl Horgan started playing football at Salthill Devon, while Andy Boyle came through the ranks of Crumlin United, two strong junior clubs with great support. We don’t hear enough about these clubs yet we’ll hear plenty of stories about local GAA clubs in the second half of the year. While some people may not have a local League of Ireland team or may be unable to attend league games on a regular basis, there’s a great chance there is a local Junior club near them. I have a deep personal connection to my own local club so I have been heavily involved with them for a number of years both playing and working for them. Its voluntary, but it’s been great and I get more joy from winning games with them than I would seeing Liverpool win. Whether you play at Junior level or help out or both, you’re making a valuable contribution to Irish football. And you may find it to be rewarding than watching Jamie Carragher or Thierry Henry (BASTARD!) do analysis on a Monday evening.
Is this asking for too much? All I want to see is Ireland do well. Given the nature of player movement and more extensive scouting networks across the World, less and less Irish lads are being signed to English clubs on youth contracts. Less and less are making the breakthrough to the first team and thus the options of players playing at the highest level in Europe are dwindling from the figures we used to have 20 or 30 years ago. There is no need however to cast these prospects aside if they don't get picked up by a English clubs scouting system. If we took that logic, Seamus Coleman would be, by his own admission, playing Gaelic Football for Killybegs. Young players need to be playing competitive football. They can get that in the League of Ireland. This is why the likes of Shane Long and Kevin Doyle were picked up by Reading a number of years ago. They were playing regular football at the highest level in Ireland that aided their development to the point it impressed the English club to sign them. Both of those players have had fine careers ever since. In the future, both Horgan and Boyle may be moving abroad. Today, no one can argue against their inclusion in the Irish national team. And they're a part of it because they were playing in the League of Ireland.
So many more can follow his path if we decide to support it.
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