CHARLIE FROM THE STANDS: Building on momentum!

It’s amazing what can be done when you market a product right. Most businesses and companies strive to find a compelling way of telling a story, about themselves, their products or their purpose. When you get that storytelling right, it can be game-changing on every level.

As someone who has been around the League of Ireland for longer than I care to admit (I’m still a youngfella), I have seen first-hand the ups and downs, the triumphs and the travesties, the talent and the passion for football in this country. Don’t get me wrong – it hasn’t always been there en masse. But it certainly looks like it’s growing…

On the opening week of the season, 34,480 people went and watched a League of Ireland game. This weekend, there is a chance that Tallaght Stadium could be close to full capacity as Shamrock Rovers and Derry City go head-to-head, a figure to the tune of around 10,000 people. Whilst that is impressive, it won’t be a one-off. Absolutely not. Look at how hard it can be to get tickets to games these days.

Last year’s FAI Cup Final at the Aviva Stadium was another example of how the love for the domestic game is growing. You’ll never stop the planes and boatloads of people heading to the UK at the weekends to watch their clubs, and you can’t expect that to stop either. But there’s a romanticism behind the League of Ireland now. It’s ‘cool’ to follow your local team. It’s even better to support them. And this is translating into progress and hopefully opportunity for clubs to develop and continue to grow these numbers.

However, all of this success must be capitalised on. It represents a chance for continued growth for clubs, but with opportunity comes risk, and unless facilities are improved throughout the league, there is the possibility of not being able to ‘make hay when the sun shines’ for a lot of clubs.  

As important as storytelling is – and I have to give credit to not just the league’s marketing team but the people behind every single club, the ones that are making the League of Ireland experience an attractive one for fans old and new - future-proofing is as important. The way forward involves not just celebrating current milestones and attendance increases, but acting on these. Continue to improve the matchday experience, invite schoolboy clubs to experience the league every week, create the interest among the youth so that will create the lasting interest.  

There is a parochial feel now to the League. Watch what that can become if it continues to be nurtured. It’s all about momentum…

One is better than none – a step in the right direction in Sligo

When I think back to last September, sitting in the Showgrounds after a second successive 1-0 defeat away to Sligo Rovers, I was trying to convey how Derry struggled to get a result there. Then, I thought it's not just exclusively in the Showgrounds – Derry City have only taken four points from a possible 12 against Sligo in both of the last two seasons, not the return you need against a team that is finishing in the bottom half.

In 2021, Derry took 10 points from the 12 on offer – so one has to question, what changed?

In short, style. Style changed. Ruaidhri Higgins set out to develop a style of play which would have Derry competing with the top teams in the League of Ireland. What’s more, it would be a style that would prepare his side for Europe. The next stage of Derry City’s development is further developing this style that will see them in a clinical fashion, take a big portion of points from the lower teams.

On Saturday, Derry City gave a master class in defending. Goalkeeper Brian Maher could have sat beside me during the match. Sligo have quality in attack – Max Mata, Simon Power and Fabrice Hartmann are all dangerous players, yet they were kept nearly silent in the second half. The best chance of the game fell to Will Patching in the third minute, when he blasted over from inside the penalty area. So perhaps Sligo’s defence were equally solid…

But in comparison to last season and the two 1-0 defeats, when Derry gave up a number of chances to Sligo in both games, you can see that Derry took a big step forward in their performance at the weekend. I still believe that they’ll take the remaining nine points on offer against Sligo this season, and like I said a couple of weeks back, the top of the league will be determined on how teams fare out against Galway, Sligo, Waterford and Drogheda away from home. The big games take care of themselves.

Masterclass

Whilst there was progress made in the Showgrounds by one set of title challengers, Damien Duff was plotting his own masterclass as his Shelbourne side ran out worth winners against Champions Shamrock Rovers. Shels fully deserved their three points after a big first-half performance, scoring two and missing a penalty. Their crowd played a massive part in the result – you can’t disregard that. A sold-out Tolka Park is a sight to behold, and with Will Jarvis again proving his quality and a fellow Inishowen man, Mark Coyle, captaining Shels and scoring on the night, it set the tone for what could prove to be a big result for both sides.

Rovers themselves are in a strange place. It looks very much like a formation problem that Stephen Bradley is currently facing – with his 3-4-2-1 setup struggling. The box midfield has been instrumental in their success over the last five years. By outnumbering the opposition in midfield, you can gain a huge advantage if you have the players to do it – and on paper, they always have the players to do it, and if ever they didn’t, they went and got them.

This time around, though early days, it is unclear whether new signings Darragh Burns, Aaron McEneff and Josh Honahan fit into the system. The two problem positions are right wing-back and the goalkeeper. Honohan, an off-season recruit from Cork City, played there on Friday night and it didn’t work, prompting Bradley into making a change at half-time. Leon Pohls and Lee Stacey are hardly at Brian Maher’s level.

Shamrock Rovers will miss Ronan Finn’s versatility, leadership and experience more than they think. Add to this losing Alan Mannus to retirement, and they have a massive leadership void, which would have been instrumental in guiding them through the bad start last year - could the current crop of players get through a similar start? Bradley would undoubtedly expect the likes of McEneff, Jack Byrne, Lee Grace and Rory Gaffney to step up.

Massive

Around the league, Keith Long’s Waterford had a massive result against Drogheda United, overcoming Kevin Doherty’s side 4-1. This is not a surprise. Waterford have been building a Premier Division side since Long took over, and his recruitment has been shrewd, and arguably much better than the clubs his side will be competing with this season. Built on a solid foundation, with four of their back five having decent Premier Division experience already, results like this may be more regular than you’d imagine this season.

Bohemians emerged victorious against a strong St Pat’s side, who by all accounts did everything but find the net. The expectation weighted on Ruairi Keating’s shoulders this season is sizeable. Losing Tommy Lonergan as an option as well means they don’t have that game changer to come on in a match like this. Bohs will take huge confidence from this, but I do think that both sides have slipped behind Shelbourne now in terms of where they will end up this season.

At Oriel Park, Galway United ran out winners against Dundalk – a result that honestly didn’t surprise me. Their players have no problem showing up to the big games away to Shamrock Rovers live on TV, but when you have a dogged Galway United putting it up to you, it nearly looks as if they don’t fancy it. What was notable was that Galway didn’t even have a recognised striker on the pitch, deploying both David Hurley and Karl O’Sullivan high up the park, in some kind of new ‘False 9’ formation. Another stroke of genius from the John and Ollie Roadshow.

Double game week

In a double game week, there are some massive games coming up in the Premier Division in the coming days, none bigger than in Tallaght Stadium on Monday night.

Derry City face St Pat’s at home on Friday, before travelling to face Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght in the tie of the round. The clash of the titans. A packed Tallaght. TV cameras. Yours truly on the screen. I am really interested to see how Stephen Bradley lines out his team both personnel and formation, considering the absences he’s facing (Neil Farrugia, Trevor Clarke, Byrne, McEneff). Ruaidhri Higgins will be mapping out what his midfield might look like with Cameron Dummigan, Patrick McEleney and Sadou Diallo all out, with the likes of Adam O’Reilly and Jordan McEneff hoping to get the nod. It promises to be a cracker.

Elsewhere, the likes of Shelbourne and Waterford both look to have good opportunities to pick up six points, and don’t be surprised to see Dundalk come away with nothing.

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