Ireland Manager Travel Guide

The History….
Football has been played in Ireland since the 1880's but was almost exclusively played in the Ulster region (now found in Northern Ireland). It was not until after the 1916 Rising that Ireland created a 'Free State' League and Cup competition in 1921 which originally consisted of eight Dublin based teams. Eventually the competitions became known as The League of Ireland and The FAI (Football Association of Ireland) Cup. The number of clubs in the league rose gradually until reaching 22 clubs in 1985. This led to the creation of a two-tier format consisting of the Premier League and First Division.

Shamrock Rovers, nicknamed 'The Hoops', are the most successful club in Ireland with 15 league titles and 24 Cup victories. Shelbourne come close with 13 league titles and are the most successful club over the past few seasons with 5 titles in the past 8 seasons. However, no one can match Shamrocks superiority in the cup with second placed Dundalk only having won the competition 9 times.

The remaining competitions in Ireland are the League Cup, the All-Ireland Cup and the Provincial Cup competitions. The League Cup was introduced in 1973 and has been won a record 7 times by Derry City. The All-Ireland Cup was created last year and pits the two Cup competition winners along with the two best-placed league sides (excluding the cup winners) against the winners of the corresponding Northern Ireland competitions. Linfield of Northern Ireland won the inaugural cup, and so the Irish sides will be looking to win the trophy for the first time this season.

Irish club have enjoyed very limited success in European football, as they have to compete in the qualifying rounds of both the Champions League and UEFA Cup. The greatest achievement in recent times would be Shelbournes feat of reaching the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League in 2004. After a 0-0 draw against Deportivo at home they lost the away fixture 3-0 and so failed to reach the lucrative knockout stage by only one match.

On the international scene Ireland have a reputation for punching well above their weight. Highlights include:

▪ 1988 European Championships; the first time Ireland had qualified for a major championship with the added bonus of a victory over England in their first match.

▪ 1990 World Cup; a penalty shootout victory over Romania gave Ireland their greatest ever achievement, a quarter final which they subsequently lost 1-0 to hosts Italy.

▪ 2002 World Cup; After managing to qualify from a group containing both Holland and Portugal they eventually reached the knockout stages where they lost on penalties to Spain.

Although seemingly unspectacular, their achievements appear even greater considering their population of just 4 million people (around 1/20th of the population of England).

Who to be…
There are two types of challenge in Ireland. The first would be to try and take a team with domestic success, such as Shelbourne or Derry City, and try to achieve European success. Winning either the Champions Cup or EURO Cup would be a serious test but more realistically you should be aiming for the knockout stages of either competition. The second challenge would be to take control of a first division club and lead them to domestic success. Kilkenny City or Monaghan United would be the hardest teams to manage but you could always try and reawaken the sleeping giant of Shamrock Rovers.

Internationally you should be aiming for a major tournament victory given the past achievements of the national side.

Players to Watch…
Ireland has produced a succession of players who have competed at the top level of English football. You may find it a challenge trying to keep hold of your best players when the English clubs come knocking at your door. Remember that it is even more important keeping hold of your best players in Ireland as you are much less able to attract top players to your club until you have a significantly improved reputation. Ireland usually throws up some great regens who have the ability to develop into top quality players, so keep an eye out particularly on some of the non league clubs. Unfortunately nearly all of the top Irish players ply their trade outside of Ireland but here are a few youngsters worth a look:

John Paul Kelly, Bohemians
Stephen Ward, Bohemians
Stephen Rice, Bohemians
Stephen Bradley, Drogheda United
Eamonn Zayed, Drogheda United
Liam Kearney, Shelbourne
Roy O'Donovan, Cork City
Chris Deans, Bray Wanderers
Gary Dicker, U.C.D.

The League….
The season runs from March until November and was changed to give the top teams a greater chance of European success. Clubs are now well into their domestic season by the time the European preliminary rounds begin. The Irish Premier League consists of 11 teams (following the withdrawal of Dublin City) playing each other 3 times. Only the bottom placed team is relegated during the first season. The top placed team gains entry into the Champions Cup 1st qualifying round, the second place team into the EURO Cup 1st qualifying round and the third placed team into the EURO Vase competition.

The first division consists of only 10 teams playing each other 4 times. The top 2 placed teams gain promotion to the Premier League in the first season to return the number of teams in the top flight to 12. In subsequent seasons the team placed 2nd must compete in a two-legged playoff against the 11th placed team in the Premier League. The winner will gain the final spot in the top flight. A non-league side is then promoted to the first division at the end of the season to maintain 10 clubs.

Both the Senior Challenge Cup and League Cup are run as straight knockout competitions similar to the FA Cup. The winners of the Senior Challenge Cup are granted entry to the EURO Cup qualifying competition. The All-Ireland Cup consists of 2 groups of 4 teams, from both Ireland and Northern Ireland, with each club vying to qualify for the semi-final knockout stage.

AUTHOR: Duncan Moore

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