MINOR SKIRMISH CAN’T HIDE THE BIGGER BATTLE
‘Too many stadiums are stuck in the 20th century. Tolka is on its last legs and Oriel is caught in a time warp’
JOHN SHERIDAN has been immersed in football all of his adult life. A distinguished playing CV of 733 club games, included FA Cup and League Cup finals at Wembley, and 34 Irish caps embracing two World Cup finals.
That was followed by more than 650 games as a manager in England, mostly at clubs in League One and League Two.
That’s a vault of experience like no other manager in the League of Ireland. Sheridan, 55, has certainly been around.
So when, after just four games with the Blues he likened the League of Ireland to a pub league, and appeared to diss Dundalk head coach Vinny Perth, it touched many nerves.
Those who champion the domestic game were appalled.
Who does Sheridan think he is, ranted ‘Raging Ray’ of Bohemians? Bugger off to Blighty, admonished ‘Angry Alan’, a lifelong Shamrock Rovers fan.
Show us respect, chided ‘Conscious Con’ a Cork City diehard. Ah here, leave it out, lambasted ‘Excitable Enda’ of Dundalk.
Indignation ebbed and flowed through social media, print and on the airwaves as the Irish football community scorned the impudence of a newcomer.
There was some hurt in there too, for Sheridan was highly regarded on this side of the Irish Sea. He was a top-class footballer, a dead-ball specialist — silky, with an eye for a pass.
If he was a League of Ireland player today, he’d be Jack Byrne with knobs on.
From this remove, a few days on, some perspective is needed.
For starters, what’s said on the line by football managers is often done to rattle a cage.
Some of the language directed at match officials and rival benches is blue but it’s part of the game, even though it didn’t prevent Stephen O’Donnell from getting a red card at Inchicore on Sunday.
Sheridan has more wind-up cards up his sleeve than most, and he jabbed away at Perth for any weakness, even predicting he’d be sacked soon.
Knowing he touched a nerve, Sheridan may do so again when the teams meet at the RSC later in the season.
As for Perth’s post-match remark that he ‘can’t tolerate English lads coming over and disrespecting it (the League)’, it is one he may regret.
Sheridan is the son of a Dubliner, Paddy Sheridan, who moved to Manchester and settled there with his family.
Is he not as Irish as Londonborn Dave O’Leary. Paul McGrath or Ray Houghton, son of a Donegal man, or Kevin Sheedy, son of a Clare man?
Were English managers Paul Cook and Ian Baraclough not welcome at Sligo Rovers? London-born Pat Dolan at St Pats?
As for Sheridan’s ‘pub league’ assessment of the Irish club scene, he has a point, not so much the standard of play, but in stadium facilities, which are Third World by European standards.
Before last night’s trip to Sligo, Sheridan’s three away games as Blues manager took him to Tolka Park and Oriel Park twice.
Tolka is on its last legs, held together by chicken wire, glue and the unquenchable spirit of Shelbourne diehards.
The clock is counting down to the wrecking ball.
As for Oriel, it is caught in a time warp and looks much the same as when Sheridan trained there with Ireland in the 1990s. It is a venue unbecoming of a topflight club in the League of Ireland, never mind the champions.
Also, the pitches at Tolka and Oriel, one grass, the other plastic, score low marks among League of Ireland players.
What Sheridan has done, perhaps unintentionally, is shine a light into the cobwebs, broken seats, loose wiring, and uneven surfaces that dot many League of Ireland grounds.
Too many stadiums are stuck in the 20th century and need to be levelled or completely upgraded.
They include Oriel, Tolka, Dalymount (in the plans), Finn Park (in the plans), United Park, the Carlisle Grounds, St Colman’s Park, Ferrycarrig Park and Stradbrook.
The option of ground-sharing needs to be explored further, along with alliances between the State, councils and clubs.
While fans may find it hard to stomach, there would be benefits to Dundalk and Drogheda sharing a 6,000-capacity municipal stadium off the M1.
The well-heeled Dún LaoghaireRathdown area has a population of a quarter of a million. Why not build a 5,000-seater stadium in a corner of Kilbogget Park and watch Cabinteely grow?
For as long as our senior clubs play in pokey grounds, the game will leave itself open to criticism, and the growth of clubs, and their players, will be stunted.
Look around. The home ground of Slovenian outfit Celje, who play Dundalk tonight in the Champions League, holds 13,000, while Fehérvár of Hungary, who host Bohs next week, have a 14,300 all-seater.
Training facilities for senior clubs are also in the Dark Ages, as so few clubs have a permanent base of their own. Instead, they hire out grounds, which drains resources.
Also, the current prize fund is meagre, with a winner’s cheque of just €110,000.
For the FAI’s Centenary in 2021, the League of Ireland champions should receive a minimum of €1m, and the FAI Cup winners €250,000, with a €250,000 bonus for a team that does the double.
Sheridan’s ‘pub league’ remark irked a lot of folk, mostly the ones who care about their League of Ireland patch.
Sadly, not enough people — from progressive politicians to civil servants, from FAI chiefs to club officials — see the bigger picture.
Until they do, a certain amount of mud will always stick.