GRAHAM IS RIGHT FIT FOR GYPSIES
MY criticism and assessment of Bohemian in last week’s column stirred a hornet’s nest up in Phibsboro.
Needless to say, I stand over every single word that I wrote seven days ago.
Moreover, some of the barbed comments directed at me in recent days have simply got me thinking about other aspects of the club, its history and my involvement with it since the late 1970s.
I have been accused of leaving a legacy of debt from my two and a half years at Dalymount Park during which time we won the double, reached an
FAI Cup final and beat Aberdeen
and Kaiserslautern away from home in the UEFA Cup.
In my first full season in 1999-2000, the club recorded a profit of €25,000 and this figure ran into six figures during my second campaign.
So my legacy at Bohs is simple: trophies won while turning a massive profit.
Aspire
Shamrock Rovers are now where Bohs should aspire to and this should be the ambition of the board and new manager.
I’ve been accused of ignoring the fact that the club bounced back from debts of more than €4m in 2010 to become a stable operation.
Wrong. I’m well aware of this but the recovery of the finances happened five or six years ago so the recent lack of success and ambition is nothing to do with this.
Bohs are now recruiting their new boss following Keith Long’s exit and the standout candidate is Graham Coughlan (left), who managed Mansfield Town and Bristol Rovers between 2018 and 2020 and enjoyed a fine 16-year career as a centre-half in the English game.
Years ago when I was in charge of Bangor in the Irish League I tried to sign Graham on loan from Blackburn Rovers and when I was in charge of
Derry City will do it in the next few seasons while Bohemians must also target this sort of success.
Sligo Rovers, St Patrick’s Athletic and Cork City — on their way back to the top flight — must think this way also.
What’s great to see about this current Hoops side is that their achievements are not simply yet another phase of a boom and bust culture.
On the mid to long term, British clubs will look to snap up Bradley just as Lincoln City did a few months ago.
I felt at the time that he would have been correct to move to the League One club and he was very close to doing so.
Thankfully, he stayed at the Hoops and he is central to their future.
Let’s hope that Bradley stays.
Carlisle United I came up against him when he was one of the English lower leagues’ best centrehalves during his time at Plymouth Argyle.
He’s tactically aware and demands the best from himself and everyone around him.
Appoint
I’m delighted for them and what they are achieving at Tallaght Stadium.
It’s undoubtedly the blueprint for every other big club with ambitions.
Other clubs with the same or similar resources must aim for the same as the Hoops.
So I would appoint him with Derek Pender as his assistant.
I don’t see Derek being sufficiently experienced for the job now but definitely he’s one for the long term.
I always liked him as a player and the cut of the lad.
He’s clever and is a real Bohs man.