Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MCGRATH BRINGS FORD RUN TO AN END
After 30 years of involvement in Amateur League football John puts the brakes on
HE admits he’s going to miss the buzz when he’s gone.
The bond he shares with everyone connected with his club, the camaraderie of the changing room, the utter satisfaction from watching your team win – not to mention the thrilling roller-coaster ride that is the neverending quest for silverware.
But after 12 years at the helm, a stint that includes the 2A championship, the Cochrane Corry Cup and countless title challenges, the longest-serving manager in the Amateur League is stepping down.
Last week marked the end of an era at West Belfast outfit Ford after their esteemed boss John Mcgrath informed joint manager Gary Kelly of his intentions.
Although a relatively young 54 years of age, Mcgrath has given 30 years of service to the Amateur League, first with Crumlin United and latterly with Ford, and has more than earned his retirement.
Eighteen of those years Mcgrath spent at Mill Road where he was part of the team that lifted the newfangled Premier Division in 1995.
He would go on manage United’s seconds and eventually the first team, replacing one Tommy Breslin in the hot seat, before returning to the capital to take the reins at Ford.
So he leaves with a heavy heart, but says it’s been an enriching and unforgettable experience.
“I’ve met many people at Ford who are going to be friends for life,” said Mcgrath.
“The older crew go out together every Saturday night for a bit of craic and it’s all football-based and the only reason we are there is because of Ford.
“Winning the league in my first season there was a big highlight, that was absolutely brilliant, and then the next season we won the Cochrane Corry Cup.”
It says much about Mcgrath that in an interview geared specifically to celebrate his achievements, he wants to spend his time talking about others.
He remains excited about what lies in store at Ford with the squad they have now, and the youngsters poised to break through.
He is confident a bright future awaits and is convinced Kelly is the right man to take them there.
After all, he’s been grooming him for three years for this exact day, and believes the time is right for him to do things his own way now, to be his own man unconstrained by the need to compromise with his co-manager.
“Me and Gary have been managing now for three years, we get on very well and we haven’t had one argument in all that time,” said Mcgrath.
“And I think this year, slowly but surely, Gary has stepped into the first team manager’s place, and I told him at our last match against Tullycarnet it was his time.
“I think it’s time for him to go on his own, bring his own assistant manager in and do things his way.
“When you have two managers, you’re compromising all the time because you don’t want to step on anyone’s toes.
“I’ve probably been wanting to do this for a couple of years but I think now is just the right time. Ford are in very, very good hands, they have some good players at the minute with some very good young players coming through and hopefully next year they’ll progress because this year with the cups, it held us back in the league, because if you look at the top three teams in 2A, we got results against every single one of them and we competed.
“But when it came to Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, the boys were just shattered and we finished mid-table.
“But it’s a false position for us because we feel we should have been up there challenging for the league.”
No one in the Amateur
League knows
2A better than
Mcgrath, so it’s intriguing to hear him compare and contrast the teams that passed through and how the division has evolved over the last decade or so.
It may be the fifth tier as regards format, but there’s an argument it’s second only to the top flight, and possibly 1A, in terms of quality, evidenced by the fact that five teams Ford faced during Mcgrath’s reign will compete in next season’s Premier Division – Crumlin Star, Immaculata, Shankill United, Derriaghy and Ballynahinch Olympic.
“No disrespect to any of the teams around now, but in those days the team that won 2A went straight up to the Premier League, or 1A,” said Mcgrath, who singled out former striker Decky O’connor as the best player he managed.
“Now they are sitting in 1B or 1C and getting stuck there, the likes of Suffolk, Rosemount Rec, St Luke’s.
“So I don’t think the league is as strong as it was, but it’s still a very, very strong league. If you win 2A, the chances are you will win 1C.
“And for me, I would have to say the best team was Crumlin Star. Immaculata, we always seemed to give them a game, but Crumlin Star, they had the likes of Joe Gormley playing, and a few other players too.
“He went across the water and returned and look at him now, so that just goes to show you the talent that was playing in 2A.”
Kelly, meanwhile, paid tribute to the outgoing Mcgrath, admitting his are big shoes to fill.
“I don’t know how he stuck it this long,” smiled the Ford chief.
“For me personally, he welcomed me in as joint manager three years ago and he’s done so much to help me improve as a manager.
“It’s been like an apprenticeship almost – he’s a proper club man.”