It says in the papers and on the podcasts: Just sleeve and don't look back in anger

12 was the magic number in the #greatestleagueintheworld last week. Apparently, this is the only possible number that we can have in the Premier Division without being accused of elitism.

 

It is also the number of clubs that have been managed by League of Ireland personality Dermot Keely. The ex-maths teacher has retired from writing his Sun column.

 

As he admitted himself in a cheerful valediction, Mr Keely was partial to an auld moan. In fact, his ability to pack several gripes into a one-page column was almost as impressive as watching him foul during his playing days.

 

In the tradition of tabloid columnists, Dermo was wont to look backwards with rose-tinted glasses while haranguing officialdom about anything and everything with fixture-scheduling being, perhaps, his favourite subject.

 

However, Keely was by no means the only offender in this regard, and he will be missed. Hopefully he takes to twitter in his retirement!



 

Another man of many clubs, Stephen Kenny, spoke to the LOI Weekly podcast in advance of the final round of fixtures. Like most Shamrock Rovers supporters, I am not a fan of Kenny, though I am a big fan of LOI Weekly.

 

This interview with the current Dundalk manager did little to alter my opinion on either score.

 

When asked about his ill-starred reign at Tallaght Stadium, the Dublin 24 native was evasive and pointed out that it was “a long time ago”. A risible answer considering that hosts Daniel McDonnell and Johnny Ward had just worked through Kenny’s managerial career chronologically!

 

However, no reasonable human being could demur from the criticism Kenny levelled at referee Anthony Buttimer. Buttimer had been responsible for a 20-minute delay in the Limerick v Galway United match as he objected to what he perceived as a clash of colours.

 

Apparently, the sleeves were the issue. Indeed, it was noticeable that Anthony Buttimer seems to be something of a unifying force in Irish football. The (entirely justified) moaning about the kit-clash obsessed Cork whistler was a constant across all platforms. 98fm’s Jamie Moore and the Mirror’s Paul O’Hehir, amongst many others, had a go: (http://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/z-league-ireland-reflecting-another-11408240.

 

It is worth noting also that Stephen Kenny’s comments about inconsistently applied rules echoed similar sentiments from a Soccer Republic panel that included Brian Kerr and Cork City boss John Caulfield. Personally, I think Mr Buttimer is our least excellent referee. In fact, I’d give him a grade of about 12%.

 

Of course, league reconstruction has been the principal gripe of a variety of moaners throughout this season. There were several culprits last week but chief among them was Galway United manager, Shane Keegan, and Kieran Burke of the ‘Between the Stripes’ podcast.

 

Burke decried the lack of a play-off this season, mid-week fixtures and the perennial bogeyman, the ‘FAI’, with the vigour of a Dermot Keely studs-up tackle from the mid-80s. Some balance was provided on this excellent podcast by a fascinating interview with Finn Harps Commercial Director, Aidan Campbell.

 

Campbell described how the financial picture for newly-relegated Harps was not all doom and gloom as the levels of home support in Ballybofey might not be too adversely affected by the club’s drop to the First Division.

 

Furthermore, a lowering of the costs associated with fielding a competitive team in the Premier Division and accommodating the away supporters that top-flight sides bring with them might allow Harps to avoid any serious financial difficulty.

 

Campbell also rightly pointed out that the decision to cut the top division from 12 to 10 was driven by the larger clubs in the league as much as by the FAI.

 

While the tone of this podcast was reasonable overall it would be nice to see someone involved in the First Division recognise that at least part of the reason for dropping teams from the Premier is the need to create a better functioning second-tier.

 

If he wasn’t at all complementary about the new structure, Shane Keegan was, at the very least, positive about Galway United’s future. In fact, Keegan’s quotes across the week could easily be worked into a listicle about getting over a relegation.

 

Speaking to the Mirror on Monday 30th the Laois man was talking up Galway’s promotion chances for 2018 while heavily suggesting that he is right person for the job (see here).

 

At this stage he even seemed to tire of his own criticism of the new league structure, simply stating that “It just sounds like sour grapes if you go on a rant at this stage - it sounds like you're making excuses” and “everybody thought it was unfair from day one”.

 

He was right. It did sound like he’s making excuses, and he had promised not to do just that in the build-up to the final game (see here).

 

Although even that interview contained virulent complaints about the supposed incredulity of the footballing public at the fact that three teams were being relegated from the Premier Division and angry complaints that his team were good enough for that level. At least the anger was dissipating by this week.

 

Amidst all the high-decibel double-speak, Keegan’s interviews did contain one intriguing revelation: the boss-man at Éamon Deacy Park had set his team a target number of points earlier in the season and they had surpassed it before the last game: https://www.thesun.ie/sport/football/1724016/galway-united-hit-points-target-but-shane-keegans-side-are-still-on-brink-of-relegation/.

 

Perhaps Shane Keegan could do with maths lessons from Dermot Keely? Like I said, we’ll miss the old….

    About Thomas Tormey

    View Full Profile