Manager merry-go-round in the NT&DL
By Gary Culbert
PREMIER DIVISION
THE absence of Killavilla United means it is all to play for this season at the top of the Premier Division, which kicks off this weekend alongside the shield final. Having pushed the title race to the final day last season, Henry Newman’s BT Harps will of course be the heavy favourites to become the new dominant force in the NT&DL. However, the newly promoted sides might have a thing or two to say about that.
Shinrone take their seat at the top-table off the back of an iconic final-day first division title win in their own back yard. Key to success that day was home advantage, and that theme will very much have to prevail this year if Declan Mullally’s men are to stand in the way of Harps cruising to the title.
As ever, recruitment from outside the immediate village has been an absolute necessity for the small rural club. Goalkeeper Jason Ryan has joined from Killavilla and comes straight in as first choice keeper, whilst there is significant excitement about new Brazilian winger Weverton Dourado. The player to watch this year for the Offaly outfit though is Riann McLoughlin. The powerful striker is most known for his scoring ability and devastating runs down the channels, but his link-up play has seen significant improvement in the off-season, and he has looked red-hot in pre-season friendlies and the shield.
If Shinrone can make a good start and get good crowds to their home games they can hurt any team. However, it is also true that they were ripped to shreds on Moneygall’s big pitch in the cup last year, so they have a point to prove this time round on the bigger ball-playing pitches in the premier division, such as BT’s lengthy new artificial pitch, and even away to teams like Rearcross. Can the old legs go one step further this year?
In any case, we won’t have long to wait to see if the first division winners have what it takes to compete with the big boys; Shinrone travel to BT Harps for a mouth-watering shield final in the premier division this Sunday.
Moneygall have gone the other route, focusing on who they already have and building on the sound foundations that Billy Hayes has laid down over the past three years. Kevin Fitzgerald will be a huge loss in the centre of the park, but Paul Costello Junior is a ready-made replacement for the Villa-bound set piece expert. And given his injury trouble which ruled him out for much of last season, Costello almost feels like a new signing this time round. If Billy Hayes is to make it four trophies from his four years in charge, he will need his most valuable player, Jack O’Brien to step up and prove that he can do it in the big leagues.
One team that has seen plenty of transfer activity is Ardcroney, however it has mostly been in the wrong direction. Their top scorer for the past two years, Jamie Ryan, has left for Killavilla United; whilst their next best in the scoring charts, Darren Moran, provided a huge shock recently by announcing that he would be leaving for neighbours Knigh United. Those goals will be hard to replace, but Glen Austin and Eddie Coonan seem to have found a ready-made replacement in Jack Daly.
Also opting to join Villa in the CCFL is Lee Doran, whilst fringe first team players Diego Kleboe and Gary Culbert have both returned to Cloughjordan. Ardcroney’s biggest losses however were not suffered in the transfer market, but instead came about due to personal reasons: Shane Doran and Paddy Reddin have both parted with the club for different adventures beyond these shores.
On paper, Arra Rovers are the team that should be offering the biggest challenge to BT Harps, but they are often susceptible to big drops in form throughout the season due to competing sports. However, having recently had to do a complete rebuild using youth players, Dermot O’Halloran is well equipped at bedding young players seamlessly into his team. And just as well, as a crop of last year’s youths premier division title winners will have landed on his doorstep during the summer.
Rearcross are also a team that should be in a position to challenge BT Harps for the title, but yet another managerial change has seen their odds lengthen at the eleventh hour. However, the new manager will not need much time to get to know the players; Paul Graham Carey played up front for Rea’s seconds last season and was used as an impact sub for the first team on multiple occasions last season.
Carey’s footballing exploits span a lot wider than the small village of Rearcross however. In fact, the new Rea’ manager is possibly the most decorated footballer in the NT&DL.
There were Premier League lifts with Shannon Town and Star Rovers in Limerick, and later with Pike he repeated those feats whilst also adding two Munster Junior Cup on top. He even played two seasons with old Limerick City under Sam Allardyce.
It remains to be seen how much – if any – of the Big Sam playbook will be utilised by Carey, but one thing is for certain, he takes great pride in leading Rea’ forward: “I didn’t take this role to go through the motions. I’m here to continue the great work of previous managers; to set a standard, create a culture, and shape a real identity as a team.”
Holycross are another team to change manager in the off-season: Aaron Ryan replaces Davy English in the hot-seat.
FIRST DIVISION
All three divisions went down to the wire last season, in what could only be described as one of the most memorable and entertaining campaigns in recent memory.
As ever, it is all to play for in the first division this year; any of the seven teams could challenge for the silverware. However, there is one team in particular that has caught the eye in pre-season: Borrisokane.
In the space of two weeks, the newly promoted side went from manager-less and looking like they would not have a team, to surprise title favourites. That turn-around is down to the appointment of the formidable Matty Power. An impressive player for Borrisokane in his day, Power currently resides in and plays his soccer with Birr Town, and he has not been shy in inviting some of those players down the N52 to Borrisokane
Indeed, there have been some impressive performances from Birr based players in the Borrisokane team during pre-season friendlies. But the local lads have impressed too: James Hough, Brian Donnelly, Luke Quigley and Stephen D’Arcy ensure there is a strong spine of familiar faces from defence through to attack.
The change in fortunes at Borrisokane happened in a short space of time, but Portumna Town have flipped the script even quicker. Managerless in the week leading up to the shield, the Galway club were even entertaining the idea of not entering a team this year, well that was until Mark O’Sullivan stepped up. Last year he was an assistant manager with the Portumna under 17 side that the won the CCFL league, and he previously managed East Galway FC in the CCFL at senior level. O’Sullivan is a young manager who plans to blood in a few players from the under 17, and may be able sign some players from East Galway.
Having moved onto their new pitch in the heart of the village, Cloughjordan are another team that have found themselves a new manager. Boasting a CV that includes managerial stints at Moneygall ‘A’ and Nenagh Town ‘B’, Eddie Brady joins the club during a time of complete rebuild on the pitch. The youth players that had been in the pipeline for years are finally ready for junior football, which will allow some of the top-class veterans like Kevin Quinlan and Kevin Kennedy to finally enjoy their golden years with the second team.
Borroway are a team that are always impossible to predict. But before we get that, Paul Gould has announced that he is stepping away from his managerial role at the club, and it would be remiss not to mention the contribution that he has made to the club and indeed the league over the past decade. The passionate manager won plenty of trophies in his time at the club, and was desperately unlucky not to pull off one of the all-time great underdog title-wins two seasons ago.
However, the show must go on, and the directors of said show will now be Seamus Woodlock and David Bourke. Both have featured heavily on the pitch in recent years for the Thurles club, but it is the latter that will strike fear into goalkeepers across the first division this season as a player/manager.
Grange United were undoubtedly the surprise package across all three shield competitions this year. Former League of Ireland player Brian Bowe has returned at the age of 43 for one last hoorah with the Laois outfit, and was very impressive against Borrisokane in the semi-final before limping off injured. Tommy Brophy was back with a bang for Grange in the shield final, fresh from his league winning red-hot form with the Portlaoise over 35s during the summer. The 38-year-old helped himself to one goal and three assists in the shield final, which was played in his native Thurles.
SECOND DIVISION
It is true that the NT&DL lost two teams when Killavilla United departed, but thanks to the welcome addition of some new teams the total remains the same as last season.
Knigh United are a club with strong underage routes, and now, for the first time in their history they have a junior team. Coming into the NT&DL with a new team requires at least some players with experience in the league, and Knigh have found just that in their new player/manager: Jack Sanders. The Englishman joins from Sallypark Odhráns, where he won a first division treble, whilst playing in almost every position across the pitch. Sanders brought Ronan Ducie Hogan and Craig Connolly with him from Latteragh, whilst Brazilian striker Wesley has made the short trip over the road from Ardcroney. Lenny Raleigh joins from Pike Rovers youths and is definitely one to watch this season for the new entrants, who are already heavy favourites to lift the second division title at the first time of asking, just like Grange United did two seasons ago.
BT Harps ‘B’ are the other new team in the second division. Managed by club stalwart Richie Kennedy, Harps’ seconds will be a mixture of old wise heads and fresh young legs.
YOUTHS
Having fired BT Harps’ senior men’s team to premier cup success last season, Ryan Loughnane could very easily have been spoken about earlier in this article. However, Loughnane is once again eligible for youths soccer this season. And having helped himself to four goals in the Anne Gilmour Youths Cup final last season, there is no limit to the goal tally and trophy haul that this gifted finisher should be aiming for this season with BT Harps at youths level.