Premiership clubs rediscover joys of shopping in Ireland
DUBLIN: There was a time when Ireland players were among the titans of the English game.
A post-war lineage can be traced through Johnny Carey, Johnny Giles, Liam Brady, Paul McGrath and Roy Keane; all of whom could make legitimate claim to being the best in their respective positions in England's top league.
None of the current crop of leading Irish players could have pretensions to such a claim. This is reflected in the international team's decline, and one could be forgiven for thinking it evidence of a paucity of Irish talent.
But while quality is at a premium, quantity is not. There are over 150 Irish players plying their trade full time across the Irish Sea.
In England, 18 of the Premier League's 20 clubs have Ireland players on their books, likewise 8 out of 12 teams in the Scottish Premier League.
Of even greater encouragement for the game in the Republic, is that the domestic league, the League of Ireland, has become a fashionable shopping destination for the discerning British club.
While most successful Irish players joined British clubs as schoolboys, there had always been those who appeared in the domestic league first.
But as the game in Britain became more professional, it became increasingly difficult for players to step up from part-time competition and by the 1980s the cross-water trade had all but dried up.
John Coady, who went from Shamrock Rovers to Chelsea in 1987, was one of the exceptions. He believes player attitudes in his day mitigated against them going abroad.
Career break
He took a career break to go to London and despite playing 16 games and scoring twice, he soon returned. Like many of his era, he had a full-time job and was earning extra money as a part-timer with Rovers.
"We'd seen lads go across, not succeed and then come back totally disillusioned," Coady says.
The increase in the number of clubs now paying full-time wages has also changed the landscape and the players' attitudes, he adds.
"Professional football makes all the difference. It's a proper career choice. So now lads are really looking after themselves; watching their diet, getting to bed early, it was different when I was playing."
Another exception was Roy Keane who signed for Nottingham Forest from Cobh Ramblers in 1989 but it took 16 years for the next breakthrough player to emerge when Reading manager Steve Coppell took an $150,000 punt on another youngster at a different Cork club.
After one season in Reading's championship-winning side in which he scored 18 goals, Kevin Doyle is now setting the Premier League alight. With 13 goals in domestic competition in an injury-interrupted season, media speculation suggests his value may have increased 100-fold.
And his success has highlighted the quality and value on offer in the League of Ireland and there is now a steady stream of players crossing the Irish Sea.
Former Republic of Ireland manager Eoin Hand, who now has a number of roles at the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), including career development officer, believes money well spent is at least partly responsible.
Grassroots development
The FAI spent close to ten million euros last year on grassroots and player development, is expanding their Regional Development Units and setting up a national academy to develop elite players from 13 upwards.
"There was a time when sessions was almost like 'we'll throw down a few coats' but there's a vast improvement in the training now."
"Overall there's a greater awareness about paying attention to facilities, there's more all-weather pitches and mini-centers for training where clubs can send their best players," says Hand.
This has led to better skill and fitness levels and moving the season to the summer when pitches are in better order has also improved the quality of the soccer on offer, he says.
The UEFA licensing system which requires higher standards in the running of clubs and better facilities is also an important factor. And with clubs harboring serious ambitions of qualifying for the group stages of the Champions League, they are taking a more professional approach.
"It gives players options. They can stay here and go later. Market forces will always dictate that you could go abroad, like a Doyle, at a more mature age.
Despite the success, recent events show League of Ireland clubs are never far away from a crash. One of the most successful clubs in recent times, Shelbourne, went into financial meltdown with money owed in taxes and players' wages.
AFP
(China Daily 05/23/2007 page23)
