IT HAS BEEN a busy day at Cork City Football Club.
With last night’s FAI Cup homecoming out of the way, the double-winners announced this afternoon that key forward Karl Sheppard has extended his stay on Leeside after being heavily-linked with Dundalk.
Talented midfielder Greg Bolger may have left Cork after agreeing to join Shamrock Rovers, but John Caulfield has been able to bring in ex-Peterborough United full-back Tobi Adebayo-Rowling.
The promising 20-year-old arrived in the League of Ireland in early 2016 — linking up with ex-Posh manager Dave Robertson at Sligo Rovers.
He appeared 28 times in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division this season, and follows the likes of Kieran Sadlier, Achille Campion, Jimmy Keohane and Steven Beattie by making the switch from the Bit O’Red in recent times.
“The club didn’t need much selling; when I heard that the interest was there I didn’t think about going anywhere else,” Adebayo-Rowling said. “I am buzzing to play at Turner’s Cross as a home player in front of all of the fans.
I have never played European football before, so the chance to play in the Champions League is a massive opportunity. I know everyone here has the same mindset and that is that we want to go and win the league again.”
Manager John Caulfield added: “We are delighted to bring Tobi in. He is 21 [20], can play in a number of positions and, after two seasons with Sligo, he has a quite a bit of experience for his age. He has great pace, he is a tremendous crosser of the ball and he will be a really good addition to our squad.
“The important thing for Tobi is to come in, kick on and fight for his place. He has tremendous qualities and he will find here that there is real determination to win trophies. He is going to be a very exciting player and I am looking forward to working with him.”
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Meanwhile, Roy Keane has heaped praise on City after they claimed a first-ever league/cup double. Keane, once of Cobh Ramblers, attended Sunday’s FAI Cup final with Ireland boss Martin O’Neill and spoke highly of their victory at the Aviva Stadium.
“Brilliant, it was a really good game,” the Corkman said today. “It was tough on Dundalk, but I really enjoyed the occasion. I’ve been to the last few finals. John Caulfield and the players, I thought they were brilliant — really fantastic.
“There was good tension in the game with a lot at stake. It’s really brilliant for Cork.”
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Good piece and great to see him doing so well, Munster are certainly in the upper tier of teams in Europe and a real handful at home but the crunch needed against the power teams in a semi or final they are a bit away. This new setup will take time and will have its down days but with the right acquisitions and leadership they could be there in a couple of years.
@mrbryanrussell: What Munster have been missing from the past 8 years is what it is needed to win a Champions cup/ Heinekin Cup – a world class 7 and world class 10. Unfortunately Munster have have just a series of bad luck in this department – constant injuries to TOD, Bleyendaal and now Cloete and Carbery have knocked their season and when you’re relying on 2nd and 3rd choice players in these positions it is highly unlikely you will make it all the way to the final in May.
There’s always a reaction when Munster don’t do well, especially from certain quarters within and outside rugby who like to twist the knife when they get the opportunity.
However Munster are still not far off making a breakthrough but there are a few things needed for that to happen in my opinion.
The new coaching staff and shift in playing style needs to bed in.
We desperately need some players of the right quality to come through the academy. When I say “the right quality” I don’t mean simply international quality but players made out of the same stuff as Clohessy, Galway, Foley, Quinlan, Stringer, ROG etc.
Players who are 100% Munster and would see pulling on the red jersey (of Munster!!) as the greatest honour imaginable.
It might be a big ask now that we’re so removed from the amateur era but a couple of players like that would be gold dust.
We need to shift away from the notion that the HC is the only thing that matters. Too many times in recent years we’ve shot ourselves in the foot by putting ourselves in a poor position in the Pro14 by going after a European Cup we were never likely to win.
Build towards making ourselves as good as anyone in the league, win it and evolve from there.
We need to ensure that any players that are brought in from outside, either IQ or not, are of the required quality and willing to give 100% to Munster.
And probably above all else we need a bit of luck, especially with injuries.