CHARLIE FROM THE STANDS: What goes on behind the scenes!

For years along the sidelines of football grounds all across the North-West, there would be a wee man with a flat cap, glasses and knee-length coat, looking out for talented prospects. You would see him getting on and off the old Swilly bus, taking in matches all over Derry, Inishowen and Donegal – accompanied by his trusted accomplice, big Tommy McBride.

The late Jim O’Hea had a great eye for a player. He worked with various clubs during his time, and his quiet, unassuming manner would have him go virtually unnoticed at times to bystanders, but his judgment of players was rarely wrong. Jim was a football man that could identify a player with potential to have a career over a player with talent. He was also one of the ‘old guard’ in recruitment: the experienced spectator who would have their own parameters in their heads, ticking boxes of things that would go unnoticed to most.

Football has evolved from the reliance on scouts like Jim, but they still play a role. In a two-part special, I want to delve into football recruitment now – focusing on the League of Ireland in particular, and give an insight into how it works.

The Naked Eye

As a player, I never understood, or even noticed, how at times players with loads of talent and ability would be overlooked. Even when it was right there in front of me in training. Despite being able to pass the ball as well as others, carry it as well as others, create as much as others or defend as well as others, for certain players, it just didn’t click. However, towards the end of my career, it began to make sense.

Some people see the game differently. There are people that are inclined towards the calm and composed, the brave forward-thinking passers, the electric wingers, or the top goalscorers. But it takes a lot to notice the other cogs in the machine, and not just those who get the headlines.

I will use the example of Paul ‘Oxo’ McLaughlin, who when in charge of Derry City’s reserves, attended a fairly one-sided D&D Cup Final. The losing team had just been done 5-1 in the Brandywell, but ‘Oxo’ had seen enough to take three of their players into his Derry side the following Monday.

Stephen Kenny has an amazing eye for players like this. One Saturday morning, he left the Brandywell to go to a cold and grey Dungannon, in the hope of finding a left-winger to help add balance to his squad. He returned with another right-winger, recruiting Niall McGinn (I was delighted with the competition!) That was emulated with taking Ryan McBride from Brandywell Harps in the Pat Harkin Final, Stephen McLaughlin from Finn Harps after a jump from the Inishowen League and perhaps one of his best stories, Daryl Horgan from a struggling Cork side to Dundalk where he went on to become a club legend and a catalyst for the club’s success during his tenure there.

That ability to see past just talent, and notice characteristics, mannerisms and skills that will thrive in a very specific environment, is crucial. You hear Roy Keane talk about ‘character’ There will always be a place for gut instinct and the naked eye in recruitment of players.

The importance of the ‘personal touch’ cannot go unnoticed either. Even managers at the top of the game deem this critical. Take Liverpool’s pursuit of Nabil Fekir, then of Lyon. Having agreed a deal in principle with his club for a transfer, Jurgen Klopp went for his mandatory one-hour sit-down with Fekir, only to cut it short by 30 minutes. Why?  Because Klopp felt he didn’t fit what he was looking for in terms of character.

Seeing a player play well and perform in a particular environment doesn’t automatically mean they will perform for you. If a manager meets a player and fails to see the ‘why’ (why or what is the reason this player wants to come to my club and play football) or ‘need’ (what is the player’s need to show up to training everyday and improve) in a player, it can be difficult to sign them.

The Gaffer’s Network and Referrals

The network of the manager is probably the most prominent element of recruitment in the League of Ireland. Used as an asset during job interviews, managers that will be able to access the inaccessible are often deemed attractive propositions by football clubs.

Over the years, you have seen several managers in the League able to access loan signings and even players that they have worked with previously. These are often players that will be trusted by the manager, or indeed be recommended by a friend in the game as being good enough. Whilst the success rate varies, there isn’t a manager in the domestic game that hasn’t asked a football friend a favour when it comes to a potential signing.

But managers will have their own types of network, be it players themselves that they have helped develop, coaches or other bosses. That is one reason I never felt Lee Carsley was the right fit for the Ireland job. The value of his network right now bares no relevance to the Irish senior side. His network is young, talented English players. Sure, he can become familiar with the talent pool of Ireland, but why would he spend time doing that if he can step into an EFL job as a next step and perhaps utilise some of the players he has worked with as loans or permanent signings.

Like any business, referrals play a big part in building a high-performing organisation / team. Imagine someone asked you to refer someone that you trust to do a job - your reputation is on the line if this person doesn’t work out. The thing about referrals is it tells you, more about the person that referred the person than the person they referred.

Now think about football. The amount of time players spend together is incredible, between training, eating, gym-work, travelling to and from games, living together and celebrating together over a coffee or beer. Then think about the amount of players that come and go from clubs for a variety of reasons. And what you’ll find with managers is that they will ask for opinions from their own senior players and recommendations on potential additions. This is common practise.

Referrals opens up a huge pool of players to a manager or club. For this to work, the one thing that a manager and club has to have is an open, honest and trustworthy environment, because without this, you will get it wrong 99% of the time.

A player needs to fit not only a style of play, but an environment. And trust me, when that goes wrong, it never ends well. And this is something that happens at all levels of the game.

Next week, I’ll dive a little more into the underworld of agents and the importance of data and analytics in the game. Who will be the League of Ireland’s first Moneyball?

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Another week and another managerial casualty, as Jon Daly departed St Pat’s after their disappointing start to the season. Despite claiming the FAI Cup last year, it was not enough to save Daly as he dismissed after just under a year in charge.

Daly’s cup triumph was followed by an exodus of 10 players, all of whom he had to replace. Despite the signing of Ruairi Keating and the emergence of Mason Melia, it hasn’t seemed to click for Pat’s yet, and their loss to Sligo was their seventh of the campaign so far and enough for Garrett Kelleher to flex his muscles. Five managers in five and a half seasons at Inchicore, and it would make you wonder about the expectations being set on them by both fans and Board – I think we might discuss this in the coming weeks.

Derry City will look at Monday as an opportunity missed, especially with the concession of another late goal, particularly against table-toppers Shelbourne. With St Pats, Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians all losing that day, the stage was perfectly set for Shelbourne or Derry City to push out their chest and take advantage. Neither were able to do so.

Shamrock Rovers’ defeat in Tallaght was a big shock for me. Galway can frustrate and beat anyone on their day, Sligo have dangerous forwards but seeing Waterford taking on the champions, scoring three goals and conceding one is an unbelievable result. Then take into account their result on Friday night a 1-0 win away to Sligo, it was certainly was an important weekend for Keith Long’s side. But there is an interesting underbelly to the results this weekend that I would like to discuss. 

These numbers are taken from one weekend of football, one which provided what many would call a few upsets. But my argument is that these kinds of stats have been evident for some time in the League. More and more, teams are affording possession to their opposition intentionally, for a variety of reasons:

1. They are confident that the quality they are facing isn't good enough to break them down 
2. They are happy to invite the opposition up the field and out of their shape and defensive structure. If they lose the ball during the transition, the opposition are at their most vulnerable
3. Teams are set in a low block or defensive shape that players are most comfortable in
4. Decent attacking options that can play on the counter, generally get more 1v1’s during a game, which is what you want to increase your chances of scoring or creating a chance

What each of these sides showed at the weekend is that not only can thy be organised and solid at the back, but they can be clinical on the counter. When playing that way, efficiency is key so being able to take the chances which are at a premium is a huge strength and one which will be relied on heavily in the climb up the table for each of these clubs.

I see the likes of Bohemians and Shelbourne doing this the most, and now, you’ll see teams coughing up possession to both in a bid to draw players out of their shape and make individual mistakes. This was evident on Monday night in the Brandywell when Derry had only 39% possession (unusual for them) but had the best chances of the game and should have taken all three points. Both Shelbourne and Bohs are teams that are much more comfortable defending, but can be so dangerous on the counter. You could see in Damien Duffs celebrations how relieved he was with the late Sean Boyd goal on Monday, it was a result he will be delighted with knowing that his side were able to share the spoils despite Derry’s chances.