Derby hoping for Rovers link, as Sligo Super Cup approaches
DERBY County, Ipswich Town, Sheffield Wednesday and Chesterfield are the stand-out entrants for this year’s Sligo Super Cup, an elite under-12 tournament which will be staged at Sligo Showgrounds on the May Bank Holiday weekend, May 4th to 6th.
Joining the UK quartet in the tournament organised in association with Sligo Rovers and the Sligo/Leitrim Youths League will be defending champions, Dublin&District Schoolboys League (DDSL), Glenavon, the Mayo Schoolboys League and hosts Sligo/Leitrim.
With plans well advanced to build on the spectacular success of the inaugural competition last year, the draw for the two group stages will be the centrepiece of a gala launch, hosted by Cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council, Clr. Seamus Kilgannon, at County Hall on Thursday, April 12th.
As part of their involvement in the tournament, Derby County sent two delegates to Sligo last week ahead of the tournament.
John Barton, head of Academy Operations at Derby, and Tom Crisp, coach, had both been extremely impressed with what they had seen during their visit to Sligo.
Crisp, who will be overseeing the Derby Under 11 team during the tournament said The Showgrounds will be a whole new experience for his players.
“Looking at the ground, the pitch is great. Our lads don’t often get the chance to plan in environments like that so it’s putting them in a pressurised situation to see how they get on. We’re really looking forward to it.”
Barton, who has played for both Everton and Derby County, added: “It’s testing for them, they have had experience prior to the 11s, but you put them in with a crowd, it puts some sort of real environment it. They might not have come across that situation too often. I’m really impressed with it, I’ve been impressed with the ground and the set-up. Packie (Lynch) has put us in line with the detail. You get a feeling for things and I think it will be a good tournament,” he added.
Derby’s involvement in the tournament has largely come thanks to the help of former Rovers man Keith Gilroy.
Gilroy, who played for the Bit o’Red in the early 2000s, has been keen to set-up a partnership between his former club and Derby County, where he is now a coach.
Barton added: “Keith’s been mentioning this for a while, trying to develop some sort of a relationship over here with Derby County/Sligo sort of connection. We spoke to the manager (Ger Lyttle) about ways we can develop that, and have a real solid partnership moving forward. The initial contact did come through from Keith into Packie.”
Ireland has always been a good hunting ground for Derby County, and is somewhere that the Rams have used for scouting for some time. The Irish connection currently, though, is slowly coming back to where it once was, according to Barton.
“It goes in peaks and troughs. The one that people would remember is Jeff Hendrick who came over and the rest is history in terms of his career and I’ve just seen a lad at Sligo, Adam Wixted, who was one of our apprentices as well. We’ve generally had a good few Irish young guys coming to the academy and we’ve got some coming on to the programme next year. The Irish connection might not be at the height of all time, it seems to be coming back again. We’ve got good people doing work for us here in terms of recognition and scouting,” he added.
Barton says he would prefer to only take players away from Ireland when they are old enough to be able to cope with moving away. That is when they are around 15 or 16, he feels.
“It’s a big shift, you get some of the big clubs who will move families across and talk about work, finding employment as well. We’ve come across that. Until you get to the sharp end of your decision making and opportunity, the older age groups are taken out of their natural surroundings is a big decision to make.
“We’ve got three (Irish) lads coming on to the programme as apprentice status next year, so that’s 16. And we’ve got another lad that’s Under 15 that will come across as an apprentice, from Shamrock Rovers. It’s more the latter age groups, even then the transition of coming from home into a different environment (is hard). In reality, at 16 you’re going into your first form of employment, so they finish at 15 here and then come across at 16 to their first form of employment, and football is a very aggressive industry, your first job is in football. It’s a big adjustment to make. They’ll never admit that they’re finding it tough. Further down the line they’ll look back and they might say that they struggled when they first came,” he added.
Barton has often been compared to Seamus Coleman. Both right-backs, and while Coleman moved from Sligo Rovers to Everton, Barton moved from nonleague Worcester City to Everton in 1978.
“I always remember I went from a non-league club to Everton in ‘78, I remember it as though it was yesterday. I was walking into a dressing room, besides yourself, I was the only one who wasn’t an international. It still gives me a bit of edge thinking about it now. It’s tough. And then you have to go and show your worth on the pitch as well. It’s not an easy thing to go through.
“You look at someone like Seamus Coleman and he looks as though he’s made a full recovery from a tragic injury so he looks as if he’s picked up where he’s left off and it’s testament to his own drive and determination. Talent alone is not enough, there are other attributes,” he said.
Meanwhile, the organisers are in the midst of an ongoing fund-raising campaign to meet the heavy costs involved in the staging of such a prestigious event.
Tournament Director, Packie Lynch explains: “We owe a debt of gratitude to John McKeown of Pet Stop Sligo who was our main sponsor last year and without whom we simply could not have staged such a successful tournament.
“However, due to other commitments, including continuing support for youth football in Sligo, John is unable to join us this year. Thankfully, many of last year’s other sponsors are back on board, but we are in the market for a main sponsor, and any donations or offers of help would be a terrific boost.”
In all, the two initial groups of four teams and then the knock-out stages, will feature a total of sixteen games, culminating in the grand final on Sunday morning.
“Sheffield Wednesday were with us last year, and their eagerness to return is evidence of their very positive experience of the tournament and of Sligo generally,” Packie adds.
Any company who would be interested in exploring the possibility of sponsorship options is invited to contact Packie Lynch by email packielynch@yahoo.co.uk or on 086 608088.