IT WAS A dismally disappointing summer for League of Ireland clubs in European competition this year, with Cork’s City 5-0 aggregate defeat to Rosenborg last night ending Irish involvement for another year.
All of Dundalk, Shamrock Rovers, Derry City and Premier Division champions City have now made their exit, with none having made it to at least a play-off round in either the Champions League or Europa League.
Many hoped Dundalk’s qualification for the group stages of the Europa League in 2016 would mark a turn in fortunes for Irish clubs in their quest to battle alongside Europe’s elite.
However seven defeats in 12 European qualifiers this year has marked a poor return, with just three wins secured by clubs from this country in 2018.
Former Ireland and St Patrick’s Athletic manager Brian Kerr said City’s 3-0 defeat to Rosenborg, on top of their Champions League qualifier exit against Legia Warsaw, were due to a gap in quality caused by Irish club’s constantly selling their best assets each season.
“What it shows is that the players they are putting out aren’t good enough to win games against the best team in Poland and the best team in Norway,” he said.
"The image for the league isn't good enough for us to retain players." - Brian Kerr analysed the state of our domestic game after Cork City's loss to Rosenborg #RTEsoccer pic.twitter.com/L6TahnsTau
— Soccer Republic (@SoccRepublic) August 17, 2018
“The best players in Ireland, on the Cork team, aren’t good enough to win in Europe. You can’t keep selling your best players every year and replacing them with younger players.
“Ryan Delaney went, Kevin O’Connor went, Greg Bolger went and most importantly of all — Sean Maguire went. They are not replacing them with battle-hardened players who know how to win matches in Europe.
Out of 12 games this year, Irish teams have failed to score in eight of them. Only Dundalk scored a goal at home,” Kerr added.
“You can’t progress in Europe if you are constantly selling your best players and replacing them with young players, some of them were playing Munster Senior League last year.
“They don’t have the physicality required, the tactical nous required, the cuteness required, the speed required, and the ability to take chances to score goals.”
Kerr assessed that the poor showing of League of Ireland club’s in Europe this summer was the result of a much wider malaise within club football in this country, with a lack of adequate promotion a key factor.
He said: “The development is too slow. We have a league of which there is no proper promotion — no marketing. John Caulfield has said there isn’t marketing for the league: there isn’t enough professionalism about the promotion of the league. The image for the league isn’t good enough for us to retain players.
What frustrates me is seeing players going off to play in the lower divisions in England rather than play for Dundalk or Cork in the Champions League.
“The tradition at the club [Rosenborg] and the success they have had over years means that they have a knowledge base and a culture, and they know what it takes to win matches and European games against most reasonable opposition.
“Can we get to that position? Not with our league as it is currently structured. We have done too much fiddling around with the structure of our league, about whether it is a ten-team or twelve-team league or whether we play three rounds of matches or four.
“We are ignoring the core issues: the promotion of the league, the marketing of the league, the professionalism of the league, the back up structures of the league.
If you take the first round of the FAI Cup last weekend: it was almost a state secret but for the efforts of RTE and the newspaper that sponsors it, the Daily Mail.
“The development of the stadium has been a mickey mouse, piece-by-piece development. We talk about building a new stadium here, and maybe an all-weather pitch in there, and maybe we build one new stand at a time. It is all piecemeal.
“We stopped doing anything for about 50 years, bar Cork’s situation. They’ve done a good job, Sligo have done a good job. A lot of the dressing rooms and the facilities aren’t up to standard.
“There is a huge amount to be done for the league to have credibility.”
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Gotta love Brian Kerr, how he’s not being used as an asset in our league is beyond me. The FAI don’t like people with their own mind and the conviction to speak out.
@Dan Finlay: Agree, all that Kerr said was spot on, real football man, not a yes man, so no place for him in FAI
Revenues of Rosenberg 20 million plus, City 2 million if lucky. No mon no fun. Loi teams are not going to do well unless sugar daddy’s come in and are willing to take millions in losses with the hope of getting results in Europe.
@prop joe: Sugar daddy?? Rosenberg don’t have a sugar daddy. It’s a Norwegian club supported and funded by Norwegians! If Irish people funded Irish clubs instead of English clubs we could easily be on a par with them!
@Kevin McMahon: the Scandinavians follow English football in a big way and go to lots of matches. So is that really an excuse
@Kevin McMahon: Rosenborg have a stadium and training ground provided by local government. I doubt a loi club would get anything without being sued by the GAA or someone else. Hence the money will have to come from a private source.
@prop joe: do the GAA sue people?
@Denis McGrath: they sued Rovers when they had a deal with the council. The stands are miles away from the pitch thanks to outside interference
Please elaborate. I had no idea about this. Did they argue the distance of the stand from the pitch? Why?
@prop joe: always ends up with a dig at the GAA, doesn’t it?? Of course it’s their fault the FAI are shambles. And in fairness to the FAI, I cant see how the LOI is going to change when we live next door to a football crazy nation which has it’s leagues funded by big sponsers/private investors and huge TV money
@Dave L: google Tom Davis high court ruling v Tallaght studium.
@Kieran: its not the GAA but in the case of Tallaght studium, they objected out of spite. The worst case of outside interference was Bertie Ahern blocking eircom park, in favour of the Bertie Bowl. No sporting organization is going out politic the Taoiseach’s office.
Brian Kerr has too much knowledge of the game to not be involved at a senior level. When you see what we have got, he is wasted.
Without reading any of the other comments .. Brian Kerr should be in a position of director of football on an underage technical level his record amongst his Irish peers on an underage international level is unrivalled …he and who he chose should be given a budget to bring on under age players both technically and professionally
The reality is that the LOI cannot compete financially with even league 2 and the national league in England. There are 60 Irish players registered with clubs in those leagues alone. There are another 10+ in the Scottish championship and Division 1. They aren’t over there for the weather. Kerr is talking about Europa league when the league cannot compete financially with the lowest levels of football in England. He needs a reality check.
@tim dawson: respectfully disagree. Brian Kerr knows grass roots football and LOI football better than anyone in this country. What he is talking about is basic promotion of the domestic game in an organized manner. Fact is he disagreed publicly with John Delaney years ago and is still paying the price for it.
@Gordon McCabe: Kerr is just another bitter ex coach/player. The game needs to be promoted but there is no money to do so. Delaney made a mistake by putting all the resources of the FAI into the Aviva. It has been a disaster and only now is turning around financially.
@Gordon McCabe: what exactly do you disagree with? That we can’t compete with league 2 and conference and Kerr talks about doing better at Europa league qualification? Here’s the problem with the league. The clubs, which are private businesses, have asked the governing body, who have no stake in it, to run it for them. Why would the FAI put money into marketing it? If they do they merely make more money for third parties. This comes down to basic capitalism. They will not invest in a product that they do not own. By that I mean the clubs.
@tim dawson: I disagree with the idea that the head body of football in Ireland shouldn’t be held accountable for not promoting it’s sport in a savvy and organised way. For any business to have a chance of success in the long term I would have thought this would be required as a minimum.
@prop joe: Croatia?
@Gordon McCabe: lol. The FAI do not make money if the LOI does well. The privately owned clubs will. They hold the registration of the players and man the turnstiles. Your argument is the equivalent of the Welsh regional rugby supporter demanding more money for the Regional game while condemning the WRU for interference in private enterprise. The WRU don’t , or only invest in what they have control in, for the very same reasons as the FAI don’t in LOI.
@tim dawson: ok. If the LOI didn’t exist would the FAI exist? The WRU have a HUGE stake in regional rugby. The tightening of ‘Gatland’s Law’ is a prime example of this. Bringing Welsh players back to Welsh clubs for the improvement of the Welsh rugby game.
@Gordon McCabe: you just love moving the goal posts. The FA exists in England but don’t run or own the premier league. Garlands law was introduced to ensure greater access to the players for the coach. It was not to strengthen the region’s. That was just the bi product of it. The WRU pay for that extra access but don’t pay as much , or anywhere near, as the RFU do to premiership rugby because they are in a position of strength due to the financial status of the region’s. They have to take what is offered. The same applies to the LOI clubs. They are weak financially and have nothing that the FAI wants or needs.
@Gordon McCabe: They do promote it in a savvy and accountable. Many successful competitions are ran throughout the country by branches of the FAI. They just don’t see any financial gain from investing their money in someone else’s business without receiving a share in that business.
@tim dawson: wasn’t moving the posts, thought I was responding to your comment. But you’re opinion onus isn’t budging on this one so I’ll leave it. I disagree with your reasoning behind why Gatland’s Law is in place, and I’m sure there are articles and interviews to back up my thinking. But I think the 2 of us fundamentally disagree with the role the FAI or any national sporting body should promote and/or run it’s organisation, and how yours organisation integrates with it’s regional sides.
@tim dawson: in short, I reckon if we were having this conversation over a pint in the end we’d conclude “we’ll agree to disagree”!
How can rugby here be so wealthy and not soccer? I would have thought soccer has a much bigger following here that could easily be tapped into.
@Peter Brophy: I think that’s what Kerr is getting at. People in this country love football and if it was marketed and publicised in a more professional manner then greater revenue can be generated by individual clubs who can in turn not sell their most valuable assets year after year. This can then encourage the public to stick with a team as there is continuity and familiarity with the squad. This more professional attitude across the board, starting with the promotion of the main products (league & cup) will garner more respect for the sport here which will increase ad and other revenue which can only be a good thing…..will never happen with the likes of Delaney in charge though, seems to have written off the loi and cup years ago :-(
@Peter Brophy: because if you go to a rugby game you are seeing some of the worlds top players like Conor Murray , Sexton, Aki, Stockdale whereas if you go to LOI you are watching lads who arent in the top 50 or 60 irish players who are all over the water let alone on an international level. LOI is like going to Young Munster versus Cork Con and nobody goes to that either
@Kazuchika: nail on the head, and the LOI clubs sell their best players to English teams for sweet fa.
@Kazuchika: exactly!!
“Players going to lower level teams in England, rather than staying with Cork or Dundalk” – according to a Quora report, an average Division 2 player will earn between £1,000 and £2,000 per week. A top Div. 2 player will earn £5,000 per week. Could that be a factor?
They have been talking about promotion etc since I was a lad ..I love Brian but they most look to rugby and gaa to how they grew their games ..in a hurling all ireland semi final in 1985 in Croke park ..Galway v Cork only 8500 people attended ..combined attendances this year where 120,000..Big Mal Kelly spoke about playing at a club pitch in France in the early rounds of the Heineken cup in the mid 90’s ..when one man and there dog where watching ..now the final is in Seville with 60,000 people.. we know the FAI are flawed but the club system in soccer in the republic is flaw too..the ambition is always about getting the huge contract ..it’s now holistic ..it’s self centred ..Brian Kerr is not self centred ..if he was a GAA or rugby man ..his ideas would be listened too ..imo
Look at Limerick and Bray this year. Promotion is only one part of the problem. Irish soccer is off the boil about 25 years now. The one exception being the youth teams Brian was involved with.
The Hurling All Ireland on Sunday will show just how big a problem Soccer in Ireland has. The contrast is massive. Young people have no modern hero’s like Paul McGrath or even Pat Morley. It has been living off the Italy 90 and Germany 88 feel good factor for too long. As with all organisations change wont happen without total change.
You can’t get a big attendance unless you feel you belong
Sugar daddies only way forward. Didn’t Galway get bought by Saudis? There’s too much competition with rugby and GAA for a small country to expect to have a proper league. Sugar daddies could easily make the league SPL level.
You can’t progress in Europe if you’re sh*te in fairness..
What about looking at Rugby and creating 4 provincial teams that compete with Welsh and / or Scottish teams ?? Looks to me from the outside that are teams are too ‘local’ Dublin, Cork, Limerick might have a playing base to form meaningful teams and garner meaningful support but the current structure will never be more than a novel hobby for a few supporters