 “A Disjointed Team Completely Lacking in Morale†- Notes for the Shelbourne Pre-Season FriendlyWritten by HarryfromBath on Thursday, 4th Jul 2013 11:06 HarryfromBath assesses the mood in the opposition camp ahead of Saturday's first friendly of the summer by delving into their forums. Some Brief Historical Notes With origins dating back to Victorian times, Shelbourne are one of the oldest and most famous League of Ireland teams. Most of their supporters now come from the North Side of Dublin, but their roots are based in the Ringsend suburb which is south east of, and not far from, the city centre. They have a strong European pedigree, playing over 50 times in all competitions. Their greatest moment came in 2004, when they eliminated Hadjuk Split in the Champions League second qualifying round, before losing 3-0 to Deportivo La Coruna in the play-off round, with all three goals coming in the second half of the return leg in Spain. Shelbourne also gave Glasgow Rangers the fright of their lives in 1998. For security reasons, the game was moved to Tranmere Rovers' Prenton Park ground, and with just under an hour played, they were incredibly leading 3-0. Rangers stormed back to win the game 5-3, then going on to win the Ibrox leg 2-0. Second Season Syndrome However, times are darker now. With nine points gained and nine goals scored in 18 league games, Shels are enduring a wretched second season since returning to the top flight in 2012. Having recently replaced Alan Mathews with new coach John McDonnell, a read through their forum reminded me of TWTD shortly after Mick took over from Paul Jewell last November. “Everything he touches turns from gold to sh*te†“Alan Mathews is an arrogant self-centred old school manager. It’s all about him and his bank balance. If he was a good manager or even just a club man, he would have a long-term plan to produce young Reds, bring down the wage bill, and run the club the way its fans deserve.†“Right now, all young Reds are doing is supplying other League of Ireland and English clubs with footballers as they give their youth a chance.†“Alan would rather pay his mates ten times more than a young Red.†Supporters have been angered by what they see as a lazy manager using a chequebook rather than making the effort to bring through an outstanding crop of talented youth players. “Alan would continue to spend until Shels go bust, like he did at all the other clubs he has managed. It’s like a trail of destruction reading his CV.†“Look at his track record. Ask any Longford fan. They are still paying the debt back that Alan ran up.†“Welcome back JohnnyMac and Best of Luck..†“...No pressure, but just keep us up in the Premier Division.†“Good appointment.†“Delightedâ€. “He’ll be in the dugout tonight. Excellent.†Joining Shelbourne on May 24th, Johnny McDonnell has a long track record of managing clubs in the League of Ireland, and was Brian Kerr’s assistant manager when he coached the Faroe Islands. “The new manager was obviously making a difference. He was shouting at the defence to give the keeper passing options instead of just hoofing it. They played some really good football against (Derry City) one of the top three teams in the league.†The Tactical Overview in One Sentence Shelbourne supporters feel that they have shown far too much respect to opponents, inviting them on and then seeing their suspect defence regularly taken apart. “Asking for Trouble†“With one up front, we give opposition back fours all the time in the world to play their way out of defence. With two forwards, teams can’t play their way out of their own half so easily.†The Reds' problems have been as much down to the efforts when out of possession. The absence of any pressing game has allowed opponents to play through them at will on occasions. Youth Versus Experience “With a decent manager, the lads that came through the under-19s can use their great footballing skills instead of being told to hoof the ball and run.†“We won’t survive with three or four under-19s in the side. The lads around them aren’t good enough to carry team mates learning their trade in a relegation fight.†“This is a relegation dogfight, and we need all our experienced players on the pitch.†“Maybe the players might get some confidence from the new manager.†The parallels with our plight last November are endless. Defence “With Brian Kerr’s apprentice, I think we will need to see the team get used to more efforts at getting organised at the back, and hopefully with a bit more effect from now.†There is little criticism of 20-year-old Niall Burdon between the sticks. He was praised for his penalty save in their recent exceptional 3-0 win over Bohemians, but equally criticised for his “slack diving tackle†which conceded it in the first place. “If there is any sort of budget available to the boss in July, the priority must be a centre-back. We look very vulnerable there.†“We’ve got a serious vulnerability in Ian Ryan at centre-back. His faults are so obvious and so serious – poor pace, positioning and distribution.†[Former St Johnstone centre-back and one-time Blues target] Graham Gartland isn’t much better, and our full backs are triers, but they are targeted time and time again by opposing teams.†“I haven’t seen a good game from Pat Flynn this season, and the lack of footballing ability at the back is killing us.†“Flynn has no left foot.†The tough-tackling former Shamrock Rovers defender has had a poor season, and is widely seen as the benchmark for mediocrity when assessing poor performers: “That new oul’ lad in the middle was Pat Flynn-esque in the talent stakes. Holy lantern!†“Our guys were being outpaced down our left side time and time again.†The left-back position has also been very problematic. Former Carlisle player Des Byrne was brought in for the recent Peterborough friendly. Ominously, the 32-year-old “looked like he had put on a few stoneâ€, but there was no word about whether he was offered a contract. “Robert Cornwall looks quality and has made the right full spot his own.†The 18-year-old St Patrick’s Athletic youth product is seen as a versatile defender, but who is establishing himself in the full-back role. Midfield “We paid a lot of respect to a team whose play merits little respect. If you play three in the centre of midfield and a lone striker, one of the midfielders has to play in front of the other two to compensate. We have shown time and time again this season that five in the midfield with no ambition to score is an accident waiting to happen.†“Robert Bayly really looks like Robert de Niro in Taxi Driver with that haircut, and the similarities probably don’t end there – bleedin’ head banger!†The combative midfielder “was brilliant on and off the ball against University College Dublin (in a Cup game played on June 4th).†However, he can be inconsistent. “Bayly was brutal against Shamrock Rovers (on May 24th). He just watched the game half of the time.†“Cronin and Bayly with Brennan just ahead†is a preferred central midfield trio. Glenn Cronin is a 31-year-old former Bohemians player who spent six years at Exeter, and is seen as offering more of a footballing balance alongside his more tenacious partner. There is little comment about Sean Brennan on the forums, but the 27-year-old former Drogheda midfield grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck in their 3-0 over Bohemians on June 14th, his performance seeing him being named as the league’s player of the week. “Sheeran is a good player but he looks like he’ll need a while to settle.†The 19-year-old youth product “is a tidy player, but a relegation battle is a tough learning curve. He is one for the future or to bring off the bench if things aren’t going well for usâ€. “How Hurley can start on the wing with Prizeman and Kelly on the bench is mind blowing to me.†Many players would like to see 19-year-old natural winger Alex Prizeman start ahead of 27-year-old utility midfielder Stephen Hurley. Prizeman and 22-year-old Darren Tinnelly were widely praise for their performances out wide in the Bohemians victory. The crux of Shels problems – blooding youth players in a relegation battle – reared its head once again. “I hate having a go at young lads like Prizeman who are learning their way, but at the minute he looks way out of his depth.†The run of friendlies are giving the new manager an opportunity to look at a few new players. Carl Walshe, a 20-year-old midfielder from Home Farm, who became a scholar at Portsmouth before joining Bognor Regis, played in the friendly against Peterborough earlier this week and may feature again. “At the minute we have no attack†“Some of our finishing was criminal last night (against Derry). There was lots of huffing and puffing, but that’s not going to be enough to keep us up.†“So long as we continue to play a solitary target man up front with four defensive midfielders on the pitch and we will not score.†“Leech is hopeless and Kelly is not a striker.†With 31-year-old Philip Hughes going to St Patrick’s Athletic on loan for the season, without troubling the scorers this campaign, and 27-year old former Oldham striker Dean Kelly injured, Mark Leech is Shelbourne’s only experienced striking option. “If two of Philly, Kelly or Leech are not on the pitch at the start of the match, I will assume we are conceding defeat even before the kick-off, as we have done so many times this season.†With one of these three players gone and another injured, this comment suggests a major crisis up front. Mark Leech played on his own in a 4-5-1 formation against Peterborough, being replaced by midfielder Lee Murtagh, who was on trial at the club. Murtagh, “a lanky string of a striker who looked late 20's and played for Firhouse in the Leinster Senior League†has been signed, according to their website. Shelbourne Supporters' Views of ITFC and the Game Shelbourne have four friendly games – marketed as a ‘summer festival’ - arranged against British opponents in pre-season. They will also be playing Aberdeen on July 20th and Leeds United XI on July 29th. They opened this run with a 1-1draw against Peterborough on Tuesday in front of 400 spectators, making 11 substitutions over the course of the second half. “Would love to make money on these friendlies, but our capacity is way down for safety reasons.†“I would love to fill Tolka Park up with as many so called Leeds supporters and feck health and safety.†“Ipswich won’t bring that many. The novelty of these friendlies has long worn off.†“What’s the story with playing Ipswich the day before the Drogs match? Crazy!! That game should be called off.†“Nobody that will play the league game will play in the game. I would say that the squad will mainly consist of trial players, and players who haven't got game time in the last five to six weeks.†Other Points Shelbourne’s ultra-loyal fans are known as 'An Briogáid Dearg', which translates from Irish as ‘The Red Brigade’. They celebrated their tenth anniversary with a planned display before their most recent league game against Sligo Rovers. These choreographed displays are not unusual and give great credit to supporters of a club which usually attracts gates in the low thousands. Websites The one website worth looking at is Shelsweb Chat. The forum is quiet but well informed. Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
|
   Blogs by HarryfromBathBlogs 295 bloggers |
