1 day Ago By Irishexaminer.com
A penny for Roy Keane’s thoughts if he were to scan the latest list of Irish internationals. Only two of the 20 players selected for the opening U15 matches this week in Croatia are from clubs outside of Dublin. Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic account for 14 alone, with one apiece from Cork and Galway.
Keano’s long-held suspicion of the preference for players in the capital, stretching back to his 1980s era, holds true but the fact the reasons remain unchanged ought to be the biggest concern. From a cursory delve into the disparity, reasons around regular competitive football are derived from the decision-makers. The rationale centres on players in Dublin benefitting from a standard and frequency of training and matches not replicated nationwide.
Not that it will be broadcast. You’d think then that the mechanism for redressing the balance would be retained, rather than ditched, then? No. The Emerging Talent Programme was a brainchild from the technical director terms of Brian Kerr and Packie Bonner, translated into reality in 2006 by John Morling.
By design, it was intended to provide players aged 12 upwards with extra specialist training, supplementing what they received at their clubs. That meant, for most, a third midweek evening learning the ropes but based on a streamlined national curriculum. Initially, 12 centres were established, spread across the country to capture talent in all towns and cities.
In essence, the ETP was split into regional and league centres, the latter run by the 32 schoolboy leagues, with a grant of €1,000 paid by the FAI for each age-group. Through those tiers developed a scouting system, with bounce games between different centres, twice-yearly gatherings for the cream and entry into tournaments such as the Galway Cup. Ultimately, the apex was funnelling the elite into squads like the U15s, the youngest international level.
Over the summer, that system was culled and will be forever no more, it seems. Leagues and staff were informed by email, leaving the local organisers bemused at the measure at a time the paucity of Irish talent across the top leagues in Europe is such as topical issue. By any objective analysis, this amounts to nothing more than a cost-cutting measure.
Estimates in recent years have put the outlay at between €650,000-€750,000 per annum, encompassing rent, external coaches above FAI staff, tournaments, kit and various other sundries. It doesn’t just affect boys. Girls were originally mixed into the boys programme before Centres of Excellence were established.
They align with the summer season and so there’s no plans to continue next year beyond the current intake finishing in November. David Courell, the FAI’s interim chief executive, deferred a question on the thorny topic following Saturday’s AGM. The nod or shake of the head he sought from newly-titled chief football officer Marc Canham down the back of the room wasn’t forthcoming, only the promise of clarity.
Nothing has emerged from Abbotstown but the savings are in keeping with the overall erosion on budgets of high performance. Shane Robinson departed his role as academy director of Shamrock Rovers last year to join the FAI as Canham’s deputy. He had this to say on the scheme when presenting jointly with academy manager Will Clarke the annual report illustrating the alarming decline of the conveyor belt.
“Will talked about turning on and off funding — they are conversations we are having ourselves,” he said. “When the ETP was set up, it was to support the players going away to the UK at 16, so it was set up at around the 13, 14 year old age group. “We are currently reviewing that but we can guarantee that from July it won’t be called the ETP and won’t be run in the same way.
“It is one of the areas that links into this, and how we do that. Now we need to set it up to support the players who are still in the country. That takes a change of mindset and time to get it actioned.
” Effectively, that function is now the preserve of the national league clubs. That’s the same sector, comprising 20 League of Ireland clubs joined by Kildare, Carlow/Kilkenny, Mayo and Limerick, already starved of money to field their teams, male and female. Only half of the 24 have a pre-academy element, an avenue that recruits youngsters in advance of competitive games beginning at U14 levels.
Furthermore, six counties don’t have any national league club, creating blackspots that the ETP aimed to close through its geographical spread. All that this has delivered is a black hole in the development model. It’s latest name, the Football Pathways Plan, is supposed to enhance the robustness, not impede it, but the withdrawal of resources from where it’s proven to be most crucial, around the 12 years of age domain, is bewildering.
Cork’s Premier League icon might have reason to repeat the latest barb he dished out before the recent match against England. Hallgrimsson will belatedly take to skies for scouting Receiving a vote of confidence after just two matches is a new departure in the chronicles of Ireland managers, but scouting duties linger as a talking point around Heimir Hallgrimsson. The Icelander has attended just one match in England — the Championship opener between Luton Town and Burnley on August 12 — since opting to monitor his players on club duty from afar.
FAI bosses have no objection to the newcomer taking residency at their video analysis bunker to utilise the Wyscout service, affording him the ability to observe multi-screens simultaneously on any given matchday. While he gave no indication after his second successive defeat against Greece last week of changing his approach, it is understood he has scheduled a number of games abroad to visit. That doesn’t just apply to England.
The former Iceland and Jamaica manager highlighted the importance of his players operating at the highest level. Liam Scales and Adam Idah have a Champions League phase to compete in and have home matches against Slovan Bratislava and RB Leipzig either side of the next international window. After two home Uefa Nations League fixtures, Ireland’s upcoming double-header is away to Finland on October 10 and Greece three days later.
UCD's European return evokes memories of Haaland's cameo Champions League action remains a thing for one Irish club – with UCD hosting Stjarnan FC tonight (WEDS) in the Youth version. It marks the return of Irish clubs to the top tier of European competition following a hiatus. As the Students qualified as U17 champions, they'll avoid the age restrictions obstacles players experienced when the U19 winners were the representatives.
Stjarnan are the Icelandic club which Shamrock Rovers beat twice 1-0 in their legs of the Europa League to guarantee a place in the upcoming Conference League phase. That's the senior sphere that Erling Haaland dominates but he was once in the Youth competition, lining out against UCD. It was 2017 when the First Division club last participated, their team featuring Neil Farrugia and Conor Kearns facing Molde.
At 17 then, he'd already broken into the first-team and was only called upon late in the second leg, off the bench on the hour, with the tie in the balance. His presence aided their Norwegian side's progress, as his converted penalty contributed to a 5-4 shootout victory. Replica matches of the senior competition go ahead in the afternoon but the clash of the domestic champions at the Belfield Bowl kicks off at 7.
30pm, with the second leg in a fortnight. Email: john.fallon@examiner.
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