In this bizarre moment in time when dirty laundry is being aired at press conferences, the League of Ireland managers have held their own.
Stephen Bradley got the ball rolling by lambasting Republic of Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrímsson for suggesting that Shamrock Rovers players have a better chance of being capped if playing at a foreign club.
Ian Harte presumably regrets his recent interview with a betting website when he claimed that Irish clubs are pricing teenagers out of the English market. Harte also said that Stephen Kenny has “found his level” at St Patrick’s Athletic.
In response, Kenny called him an “empty vessel” and Bradley noted that his “facts” were “completely false.”
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The betting website subsequently removed Harte’s claim that Rovers scared off Premier League clubs with the asking price for Justin Ferizaj.
There could be a lesson here for the next League of Ireland sceptic to consider before imparting a back-handed compliment or comments that do not stand up to scrutiny.
As the GAA and rugby media continually complain about controlled access to managers and star athletes, the League of Ireland offers the antithesis to bland quotes.
Last Monday, Cork City’s Tim Clancy accused referee Damien MacGraith of egomania. It seemed apt that Clancy’s pitchside interview on Virgin was almost drowned out by the Kaiser Chiefs ‘I Predict a Riot’.
It may be boom time for soundbites but Bradley also understands the art of diplomacy, especially when it comes to convincing the Government to stump up €8-10 million annually to fund club academies and create a sustainable industry similar to how Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have propped up horse and greyhound racing since 2001.
Minister for Sport Patrick O’Donovan’s recent comments about being too “preoccupied with other things” to focus on League of Ireland academies does not chime with his predecessor Thomas Byrne’s pre-election assurances.
“It’s better to ask in a year or definitely after six months,” said O’Donovan, “to see how we are getting on . . .”
Ministers come and go. Byrne has been redirected to European Affairs and Defence so the FAI must do business with O’Donovan, who previously described John Delaney as “a great man to bring out the chequebook”.
At least he knows the recent history of Irish football having juggled the sport and tourism portfolios as a junior minister in 2016.
“We can’t allow it to be pushed down the road for another year,” said Bradley this week, “it is so important for our academies that we have investment.
“We have to keep banging the drum and doing the right things. And have open dialogue with politicians and with decisions makers to let them see how important investment is for the league and every club academy. That is definitely needed to grow the industry in this country and help bring through more Michaels and Victors. Because that is our future.”
Michael being Michael Noonan and Victor being Victor Ozhianvuna, a pair of 16-year-olds at Rovers who in any other era would have moved to a Premier League academy by now.
“The landscape of football has changed for us over the last 10, 15 years,” Bradley explained. “Brexit changed it, for the better I feel for this country, but we’ve got to take ownership of that. Players need a serious option to stay here. We need investment for that to happen.”
The FAI would be well advised to bring Stephen Bradley to future meetings with the Minister. Rovers deserve credit for convincing the families of Noonan and Ozhianvuna to ensure the players stay put until they turn 18 when others like Ferizaj, Naj Razi and Kevin Zefi signed with Italian clubs.
The association should be commended for funnelling some of the €700,000 previously used for the defunct Emerging Talent Programme to increase the coaching time of the most talented 14- 17-year-olds in the country. School holidays will be used to help 250 teenagers catch up with UK and European club academies.
The sought-after Government funds would render this latest FAI project unnecessary.
Up Next
Entering round five, Waterford are top of the Premier Division table with Bohemians manager Alan Reynolds hoping that the risky signing of Lys Mousset will start to pay off on Friday night at the Regional Sports Centre.
The former France under-21 striker has clocked 218 minutes for Bohs, taking just three shots with only four of his 70 touches in the opposition box. So far, Mousset has zero goals and zero assists.
In contrast, Waterford’s veteran finisher Pádraig Amond has one goal and one assist with three of seven shots on target and 16 of his 124 touches coming in the box.
Aidan Keena leads the scoring charts with five in four starts for St Pat’s with nine of 16 shots on target and 20 of his 101 touches happening in the red zone.
