Former Shelbourne title winner Alan Cawley has his say on the league title race on the Talking Derry City podcast.
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00:00Well folks, welcome to this week's show. We did say last week we were going to get a guest
00:09on and at that stage, me or Simon, as we normally would be, didn't have anything lined up but
00:15we knew we'd have enough contact to speak to people and what a guest we've got on. We've
00:19got a League of Ireland winner nonetheless, Mr Alan Colley. Alan, thanks for joining us
00:24mate.
00:25Absolute pleasure Kev, Simon, good to see you lads.
00:28Yeah, we're delighted to have you. I don't know how Kevin worked his magic here, we're
00:32going up in the game I think.
00:34Let's just say the full budget has been spent on this one Simon. He's gone all out he has,
00:42he's been torturing me all week he has.
00:44Well he's got plenty too you know.
00:46All you dirty fellas in the dirty budgets, they're good big budgets, so they are.
00:55But no Alan, you know yourself, you've been watching the league a lot this season, it's
01:03been, shall we say, enticingly so at least when you're looking at all these results.
01:09It's been unbelievable really Kevin, yeah, obviously following the league week to week
01:12and I suppose starting off with Shell's top of the league would have been a surprise package,
01:18nobody envisaged at the start of the season that they'd be top of the league after 29
01:22games but they're there on merit I suppose because regardless of their indifferent form
01:27even in recent weeks nobody's capitalised so I think they've had a really good season.
01:34But the fact that they are on top is a surprise for me but good luck to them and if they can
01:38stay there, who knows, there's obviously only seven games to go, it's going to be an interesting
01:43run in.
01:44But just I suppose the inconsistencies with all the team has made it so, not sure if it's
01:48made it exciting, but it's made it, it's made their eyebrows be raised week to week
01:54just with the results and it's been crazy really.
01:56I'm not sure if it's the fact that when you have some surprise results is it because the
02:02league is more competitive or is it because it's poor.
02:05It's a bit of both I would probably say but certainly the ones I tipped at the start would
02:10have been Derry-Shamrock Rovers to be fighting it out.
02:13I think Derry probably at this stage, if you had to say Shamrock Rovers won't really be
02:17in the race come seven games to go and how inconsistent and indifferent their form has
02:22been, everybody would have said well Derry will definitely win the league this year.
02:26So I'd sit here a bit disappointed at how it's gone as well and the fact that they haven't
02:30really capitalised on Shelbourne slip-ups in the last couple of weeks as well.
02:35But I do think we're down to a two-horse race now, despite Derry I would feel being a disappointment
02:41this year, they're still in with a great chance of winning the league and obviously it's going
02:45to be a two-horse race now at this stage.
02:47I think we can rule out Shamrock Rovers, I covered the game against Bohemians on Sunday
02:53and I think that was probably it once they got beat there.
02:57So I think we're down to a two-horse race Kev, it's probably exciting from your point
03:00of view, definitely a bit nervous as well but I think it's going to be really exciting
03:05and there's going to be lots of twists and turns because I certainly don't see, and especially
03:09based on the evidence of what we've seen all season, I don't see Shells going on a six
03:13or seven game win until now at the end of the season and I don't see Derry doing that
03:16either so there's going to be plenty of twists and turns.
03:19Do you think Alan, the league now, you were just saying about the standard, whenever else
03:23you can go back to 2005, 2006, even your 2004 one, the league and the teams that were there,
03:30is it because maybe they're all full-time, they're all maybe over-coached, they're all
03:35over-analysed, there's no Paddy McCourt, Joseph Undo, there's none of them players out there
03:41now would you think?
03:42Yeah, definitely and they were kind of match winners if you like, as you know Kev, and
03:47underdated, just change a game in an instant and they're probably, those two that you name
03:52are, and then you'd include Wes Houlihan as well, two, three of the best players that
03:57were ever in the league.
03:58I don't think there's anyone playing in the league at the moment that we're going to say
04:01in 10, 15 years, he was one of the best we've ever seen in the league.
04:06I think Jack Byrne has the ability to be that but just because of injuries and the stop-start
04:11nature I suppose, I definitely think Jack is an unbelievable player.
04:14I think Dawson Devoy coming back into the league as well, he's a fantastic talent.
04:20Mandria was one as well that I'm a big fan of, so I think they have the potential to
04:24be those players but because they haven't done it over a long period of time because
04:28they've been in England and back, whereas the likes of Wes O was here for a good few
04:32years, Paddy was here for a good few years, Joseph as well, but certainly in terms of
04:37standard itself, I don't want to be one of these fellas that looks back and goes, oh
04:41in our day it was much better.
04:43I think to be fair, we had good players and good teams, good managers and it was a brilliant
04:47time to be playing in the league against great Derry teams.
04:50I played against some great players, Liam Coyle was one of my favourites of all time,
04:53I loved Liam, and we played against great Derry teams all through the years and I think
04:59Cork had a very strong team, Shells and Bowes throughout different years had strong teams,
05:03but I wouldn't be looking back, I'm not one of them that looks back and goes, oh our time
05:06is better than now.
05:07I just judge it on what I'm kind of seeing and it definitely has dropped off Kevin, but
05:14I think that's due to, not so much that the standard is poor, I think it's due to the
05:18circumstances in the sense that when I played, there would have been a lot of older senior
05:23pros and men I would call them, I look at the league now and maybe because of I suppose
05:28Brexit and different things, there's great opportunities for young lads in terms of young
05:32lads getting into the team and the first team maybe earlier, but I see it more as a development
05:36league where young fellas, now our best talent is hoovered up after them playing 30-40 games
05:41here, they're gone.
05:43So I see it as, in one sense it's a really good opportunity for young lads to, the likes
05:47of a Sam Curtis or you see Mason Mealy now, they'll play 40-50 games and be gone and there's
05:53great opportunities for those lads because of maybe the structures and young lads coming
05:57through 17s, 19s and then into the first team, but I would have been in dressing rooms with
06:02like 31-32 year olds, 35 year olds, men and it almost felt, I was a young player at the
06:08time and I was going up against men every week, the likes of Eamon Doherty, Peter Hutton,
06:13these fellas, you know, pro men and Sean Hargan and it was tough, a tough league, so I just
06:18think circumstances have changed and the landscape has changed a little bit, but I still enjoy
06:24it every week, I love the league, you know me Kev, I absolutely love it, I'm there every
06:27week going to matches and I just think circumstances and the landscape has changed, that's all.
06:33You say you mentioned that experience and stuff, you look through the Derry City team,
06:38just if you look at them in particular, you've got Bert Connolly, you've got Pat Hoodman
06:42there, you've got the likes of Fats who was there, you know all these experienced guys
06:46who've won a lot in the League of Ireland, but what do you think, because as you touched
06:51on at the start, for a lot of Derry fans this is the year that you have to do it, you know
06:56some Pats, Rovers are all going to come stronger next year again, this is your opportunity,
07:00but what do you think, just looking at them, because the goal scoring was the problem,
07:04they got Pat Hoodman, scored the goals, tied up a wee bit, but what's the missing link
07:08now that they haven't gone on in that sustained run that's going to win you this title?
07:12Yeah, it's an interesting question Simon, because I'm a big fan of Rory, but I do think
07:17we're at the stage now where, like you say, this is the year to have to win it, and I'm
07:21sure Rory's under no illusions as well, because as I said at the start, if you take Sammock
07:25Rovers out of it at the start of the season, Derry people and Derry fans, and Rory himself
07:30obviously would never have jumped the gun, but he certainly would have thought to himself,
07:34well if they're not in the mix we've a great chance, you know, and then Shells come out
07:38of nowhere and now they're fighting it out with them, and it's going to be a real fight,
07:42a real dogged fight, because especially Shells are up for the fight, absolutely, and that's
07:46something that I think they might have a little ledge on Derry, I think they are so dogged
07:52at maybe because it's Derry's style and the way they play that they want to get it down
07:55and play ball, but I certainly think there's more fight in Shells at the moment is what
08:01I can see, now that may change over the next six or seven weeks, but certainly all the
08:04things that I've watched with Shelburne all year, grinding out results, fighting, battling,
08:10not the easiest on the eye in a lot of games, I do think it's a bit disrespectful to say
08:14that they're kind of direct and long ball, I think they do play at times as well, but
08:20they're just conservative and cautious and they're well organised and they kind of start
08:24from defence almost that they're thinking, if we have a draw we pick up a point, that
08:29they don't go all guns blazing to pick up the three points, whereas Derry I think would
08:33have that approach, and that's just down to different managers and different styles and
08:37whatever, and there's no real one way to win I think, you know, there's all different styles
08:41which makes the game great, but I just think at the moment that's where they have a little
08:44ledge over them, and I think Rory has done a really good job up to a point, but I'm sure
08:52he'll admit himself, because of the resources, the budgets, the players he's able to sign,
08:56you mentioned at the start of the season, we were critical of a couple of the strikers
09:01up there, Kavanagh, the lad that scored in the cup final, his name escapes me now, McGonagall,
09:09so to bring in Hoob and Hugh Yew with class, I always felt is the best centre forward in
09:12the league, so Rory's able to go out and get the players that he wants, and this is
09:17the year I think that he has to win it, so I'm sure he knows himself, but I just think
09:21at the moment, if you're looking at the two of them, I think that's where they have the
09:23little ledge over themselves, I just see them as really, really up for the fight.
09:28Yeah, but wouldn't you agree, because we've been talking about this, where you just want
09:31them to throw the shackles off, I know it's squeaky bone time as they say this season,
09:35but you want to be a bit more offensive, just go for it if you're going to win the league,
09:40you want to do it all guns blazing sort of thing, maybe that's not the right approach.
09:44Yeah, well I think to be fair to Rory, he's an attacking coach and he wants them to go
09:50out and play it, I think I would have been shouting about this for the last two years,
09:53and I looked deep into it as well, Simon, when we were doing the games, the home form
09:57and the pitch was always a big gripe with mine, now you look at the home form this year
10:01and they've won 9 out of 14, it's very good, so you can't really throw that at them, and
10:05the last two years when I was critical of them at home and basing it a lot on the pitch,
10:09because the pitch is dreadful, it really is, it's not conducive to the way Rory wants
10:14to play at all, and I'm sure he knows that himself, but when I was making those points
10:18about the pitch the last couple of seasons, their away form was always good, whereas you
10:24look at their away form this year and that's been the issue for them on the road, where
10:28normally I used to always find, I've seen them down in Tallinn more times, in Talcott
10:33Park, come down, play on good pitches, and passing teams off the park on a really good
10:37grass pitch, but you look at their away form this year where they've played 15 and they've
10:42only won 4, that's not really going to get you over the line, the home form will get
10:46you over the line, but you need to be backing it up with maybe out of those 15 games, 8
10:50or 9 on the road you want to be winning and maybe drawing 3 or 4, but when you see them
10:54only winning 4 and they've lost 4 as well out of the 6 games, 4 of them have been lost
10:59on the road, I think that's probably an area as well where Rory might look back and I'm
11:04sure he can go into all the individual games away from home where he probably feels the
11:07loss points, but I certainly think that's been a problem for them this year as well
11:12and even you look at the example there when they went down to Galway last week, now I
11:15know Galway was a tough nut to crack, but that's one where you're looking and thinking
11:19Shell slip up, we need to capitalise, and even when they were fortunate enough, I felt
11:23the night they got the rub of the green and they got the bit of luck and went top, the
11:27night they beat Waterford and the fluky goal, Ben's header, then you're thinking they're
11:31on top now, they'll really kick on, and then they slip up away to Galway and it's just
11:35kind of been indicative of all season really. Now they're not the only ones who've been
11:39inconsistent, as we said all the teams have been at some point, but if you want to win
11:44the league, you need to be capitalising on your rivals' mistakes and almost making a
11:50statement when at some point as well, I felt they had to go down to Galway and win that
11:53weekend, that would have been really kind of Shell's, now I know that Shell will know
11:57Derry are on their coattails, but that would have been a real kind of kick in the teeth
12:01for them, where I don't think Derry have ever landed that blow on Shell's nose yet, now
12:07they can do in the next 5 or 6 games, and they might be able to land a knockout blow
12:11which is what they want, but they've yet to be able to kind of hit them where it hurts
12:15just yet.
12:16Do you think the cup tie this Saturday can be one of them psychological blows as you
12:23talk about, you know if you knock them out of the cup, or if they did one, do Shell's
12:27then go right fully focused on the league now?
12:29Yeah, we're covering the game and I'm looking forward to Kevin heading up, and I've been
12:34thinking about this a lot as to who it suits and who fancies it, now obviously I think
12:40both of them will want to win the cup, the cup's the best day of the year, I absolutely
12:44love the FA Cup, and of course Rory won it there and had great success and it was brilliant
12:47for him, and you often find when a team wins the cup, it's the catalyst to go on then and
12:52win the league, like we've seen with Shamrock Rovers, I felt that with Derry, they got over
12:55the line, I'm thinking they'll kick on now and win the league as well, that's obviously
13:01yet to happen, but it's an interesting one, I'm not sure who, I think it suits Shell's
13:07a little bit in the sense that it might be a nice distraction from the league, because
13:14there is a bit of pressure on them at the moment, I think it's one win and six, I was
13:18doing the 21s on Friday so I didn't get into Dailymount, but I was chatting to a lot of
13:21people who were at the match, and by all accounts Bo's were the better team, Shell's
13:25didn't play well at all, so this might be just a nice distraction away from the league
13:30for the moment, and they can just have a crack at it, as you say, if they lose they can easily
13:34turn around and say, oh we've bigger fish to fry, we're going for the league, whereas
13:37if they win obviously they're in a semi-final and you look at the teams that are left, no
13:40disrespect to them, but whoever comes out of Shell's and Derry will really fancy their
13:44chance to go on and win the cup, so I think both of them will want to win, but if either
13:49lose the two managers can quickly turn to, oh well we're focusing on the league and we're
13:54going for the league, you can quickly turn it around, so it might be just a good game
13:59as a break for the two of them from the league, but I certainly think from Shell's point of
14:02view it might be a nice distraction for them.
14:04I think too, Alan, you were talking about Derry earlier and the way Rory Walsley play,
14:10I think a few Derry fans in particular, they get a wee bit frustrated, as Simon said earlier
14:15about letting the shackles off, there's a lot of possession, but they don't seem to
14:20harm teams with the possession in too many games and that's frustration particularly
14:25at home with the fans, they're disappointed with that, possession is one thing, but harming
14:29teams is what they want.
14:31Yeah, absolutely, and we see that at all levels of football, especially possession based teams
14:35and that's always the argument against them, are you keeping possession for possession's
14:40sake, are you actually going for the juggler, and that's where you could flip that around
14:45and say Shell's are not that possession based, but yet they might be direct and that might
14:51be their route to goal or whatever.
14:53It's something similar even with Rennie at Bowes at the moment, the last three or four
14:56weeks I've watched them and they've really improved, Bowes have been very good the last
15:00three weeks, but they just still lack that killer instinct and that cutting edge up top
15:05and people are making the point now, if they had this team at the moment in the last three
15:09or four weeks with Afalabi up top, Bowes I think would be in the mix.
15:14There's all different ways to look at it, Kev, you obviously see a lot more of the Derry
15:17games than me, so I'm not sure in terms of the real issues there with the possession
15:23and is there a lack of cutting edge, Rory I remember was always pointing to about crosses
15:27into the box, we get more crosses into the box than other teams and stuff, but yet there
15:31was McGonagall or Key and Cavan on the end of them, whereas now you have Hoobin, but
15:35I thought when they signed Hoobin, I really thought that was the missing part of the jigsaw,
15:39I thought with Duffy, Hoobin, the attacking players to have, I know Patrick's been in
15:43and out, I don't think the pitch helps Patrick either in terms of his, I suppose the mileage
15:48on the clock on those Astro pitches, he was years at Dundalk playing on that pitch as
15:52well.
15:53I hate the pitch lads, for anyone that doesn't know, the pitch needs to be ripped up, if
15:57I was a Derry fan, I'd go up to the Brandywell, dark when there's no one there and I'd run
16:02into the Brandywell and I'd be digging up that pitch if it was me, if I was a Derry
16:05fan.
16:06They're horrendous, not just for Derry, for everyone, they shouldn't be allowed and they're
16:11a major hindrance to Derry I think.
16:15I think we're going to see some improvements in that regard, lots of talk anyway, maybe
16:20not next season, but we'll see, they're definitely making improvements off the pitch too, which
16:25is going to help as well.
16:27Yeah, of course, and in fairness to Philip, he's obviously invested heavily, he's backed
16:31Rory, it's great to see, you'd love to see him get over the line for a, I'm a friend
16:35of Rory and he's a great fella, I'd love to see him get over the line, I really would,
16:40because he's been obviously, it's third season, fourth season, I think he's done a really
16:46good job up to a point, but of course when you are at the top, again I go back to whether
16:53he likes it or not, I know sometimes he gets irritated by the chap with the resources,
16:57the budget, it's there, like Philip's backed him, you need to get over the line in the
17:00league when you're kind of investing heavily, and I'd love to see it, I really would, because
17:06I think Rory's a great fella and I'd love to see him get over the line for him.
17:09What did you think Andre was, them signing was a bit of a shocker wasn't it?
17:15Yeah, it was a bit left field because you look at them defensively and I don't think
17:20they're all that bad, like Connolly at the back is obviously a really good player, they've
17:25only conceded, is it, 24 goals, so I think Shells have 19, Gaull with 20 as well, so
17:31they're there, they're about defensively, they've no issues defensively, it was a strange
17:36one for me because I always thought Boyce was a really good player, and I'm not sure
17:40if Rory really fancies him, and then you bring in that right fully, he played Ciarán Coll
17:45right full in the game in Talcott Park there against Shells a couple of weeks back, I actually
17:49thought he played really well that night, and I'm not sure was he playing Coll because
17:53Jarvis loves to cut inside on his right foot and obviously Ciarán left footed might have
17:57been strong if he did cut in, but it was a funny one for me because I think they're
18:02fine defensively to be honest with you, now McJanin might have been a bit of a loss, he
18:06was a good player as well, but I don't think that's their issue to be honest with you defensively.
18:13That's what we're hoping now, I'm a big Paddy McElhinney fan and I think that's just what
18:18we've been missing, even if he plays that sort of holding modified role that allows
18:22a little passing get forward a bit more and you're more creative players in those final
18:27sort of third positions, I think that's been lacking, whether it's been injuries or
18:32just sort of retaking the sort of line-up, what's been difficult at times for him.
18:40I think with Patrick, I'm a huge fan of Patrick as everybody knows, great lad as well on top of
18:44being a great player, but I just think I'd fear for him just with the whole mileage on the clock
18:51on that pitch, was he five years at Dundalk on that pitch, then he goes back to Derry,
18:57I think is he two or three years back at Derry that pitch, there's definitely something there,
19:01now I might meet Patrick Saturday and he might say to me, no there's nothing to do with it,
19:05but I definitely think, I played on the pitch in Oriel Park in Dundalk for a year
19:10and it was a disaster, it really was, I hated it, I ended up doing me back
19:14and it was purely down to training on that every day and trying to play on it,
19:18it definitely doesn't do me any favours and I definitely think with Patrick because of the
19:21amount of time he spent on it and he'd be such an addition, a fit Patrick McElhenney, oh my god,
19:26he'd be one of the best in the league, one of the best for Derry and it's just a shame that he's never,
19:31he hasn't really had that run of games for him I suppose this year, you know.
19:33Well that's what we're thinking, the likelihood of him going to that last game of the season,
19:41Shelbourne at the brand new, that would be nice, that would be a good exciting end of the season
19:46if it was all going to blazing for that one. Yeah that would be brilliant now, that's where
19:52I've kind of struggled through the whole season and I want the season to give me something back
19:57now at this stage, so if that means it's an end of season, last day of clash, it would be
20:04absolutely brilliant, brilliant for us tuning in and because even the last four or five years,
20:09something that I think is missing as well from the league that when Dundalk were dominant,
20:16you had Cork nipping at their coattails and they built up, they genuinely built up a big rivalry,
20:20like it was massive, we used to do the games and you'd be Turner's Cross, Oriel Park,
20:24there was genuine needle, they didn't like each other, there was a respect but they genuinely
20:29didn't like each other, the managers didn't really get on, the players didn't get on,
20:34but they were all great players on both sets of teams, both of them were pushing each other on,
20:39I'm not sure if we've seen a rivalry yet, like Shamrock Rovers,
20:43obviously the last couple of years they've already been the closest,
20:46there's a little bit of a rivalry but they haven't really built up that kind of bitter
20:49rivalry, and now you have Shells new on the scene and I know Damien Duff's mantra in a lot
20:56of cases is us against the world and no matter who, he kind of builds the rivalry up against
21:00no matter who the opposition is on a Friday, but I do think the league is a better place when you
21:04do have maybe a period where you have three or four years of a team going toe to toe against
21:09each other, it makes for a great feeling for us and I don't think we've obviously haven't
21:14had that this year, so if it came down to Derry, Shells and the last day of the season,
21:19that would be some way to finish it, and if they were to build up a rivalry, because obviously
21:23I know Damien and Rory were good pals but there was a bit of a needle there at the end of the
21:26last game as well, so yeah, it would be a cracker in the brandy well, I'd love to see that I have to
21:31say. That's one of them all, you're right about Damien, he seems to have that siege mentality,
21:38everybody plays, it doesn't matter if it's UCD, Derry City, he just seems to have that
21:44everybody hits us but we don't care type mentality. Yeah, he's been brilliant for the league,
21:50Duff was one of my heroes growing up, so to see him back managing the league has been absolutely
21:54amazing and I think he's been a huge addition and he's been so genuine as well, there's no
21:59lip service paid to anything, he's all in, it's brilliant and when you have a fella of his profile
22:05and his stature, I'm not even sure if the young lads that go to the matches now even realise
22:10how this was one of our best ever players, you look at the international team at the moment and
22:15we're frying out for a good player, this fella was a world-class player, so it's really amazing
22:22to have him in the league but he does build up that kind of us against the whole world, I don't
22:26know the Jose thing, obviously his own personal experience doesn't come from there, I'd say he
22:31probably has taken plenty from that but he's done an unbelievable job Kev, regardless of what people
22:36think of the way he plays or how the team is set up or whatever his approach is and how he gets the
22:42best out of his team, unbelievable job because you think, I mentioned the resources, Seán
22:48McGrover, Derry, Pat, a few of them paying bigger budgets, it's amazing the job he's done now,
22:54his star player, we went back to it there a few minutes ago, Paddy McCourt, Joey N'Doua,
22:59Jarvis was obviously one of them Cavalier kind of players, match winner and he was winning matches
23:04for them earlier on in the season when they were just maybe not playing well but he'd pop up with
23:07a moment of magic, so he's been a big loss for them as well and Gavin Molloy has been a massive
23:12loss, people don't mention that as well Kevin, I was mad about Gavin Molloy last season, I thought
23:17somebody would take him last season, he was unbelievable, the young fella, now he's gone over
23:21playing every week for Aberdeen, he's doing really well, so if you lose your two best players, that's
23:25like taking out, I don't know, Hoobin and Duffy or Mark Connolly and Hoobin or whoever it might be
23:31Moylan before that too y'all, didn't he? Sorry? Moylan the year before that as well
23:36Yeah, you know what I mean, Moylan was probably the best player in the league last year, best
23:41young player, so there's three, you're right Simon, Moylan as well, so you take those two
23:46out as well this season, he's had to deal with that, I think he's done a brilliant, brilliant job Duff
23:52Aye, like I agree with you because the Big Fair and Simon back me up because we both joke about it,
23:57I actually tipped Shales to be forward, that's who my tip was at the start, they top Rovers 2nd,
24:02I just thought his signings too, he signed League of Ireland players that knows the league,
24:07Sean Gannon was an unbelievable signing they bring him on, so Duff, credit as credit's due
24:13you're right, but he has that sort of a Renewal mentality too, everybody gives their all,
24:18rows their seats up and they're hardly beat like. Yeah absolutely, and that's what he's built it on,
24:24Paddy Barrett has been one of the stars of the season, playing unbelievable stuff,
24:27I looked at Paddy the last couple of years thinking, is Paddy on the way down you know,
24:31and he gets a hold of him, Paddy looks like the player we all thought he was going to be,
24:36so him and Molloy were absolutely brilliant together, and then you lose Molloy, Sean Gannon's
24:40come in, he's been unbelievable as well, Tyreek Wilson, Ledwidge, whoever plays in that left back
24:46slot, Shane Griffin, then you look at Lunny and Coyle, sit in front of the back four, I think
24:51Lunny actually is a better footwear than maybe what people give him credit for as well, but just
24:56he has, he's done an unbelievable, and that's where I tipped him as well Kev, I taught off the
24:59back of them getting to the cup final, that this year again try and build, finish third,
25:05get into Europe, and maybe if he was to strengthen then in the close season, go for the league next
25:09year, but he's certainly ahead of schedule and they're obviously in with an unbelievable chance
25:14of winning the league, and if they were to win it, they'll definitely strengthen, the club is
25:19in a healthy place at the moment investment wise as well, with him around people are only too happy
25:24to get involved with the likes of him at the helm, and so if they were to win it, they'll certainly
25:28be a force I think for the next three, four, five years, that could be as long as he stays,
25:32and like Simon said earlier on in the show, and he's right, Stephen Kenny is beginning to put his
25:36mark on Pat's as well, he's going to have them well oiled for next year, Rennie is doing, is
25:42beginning to turn things around there, you'd expect Bo's, the additions are Devoy and Ross Tierney are
25:47massive, if they assign a centre forward, Dave the Macon's a really good team, they'll be a lot
25:52stronger, so if they don't get over the line this year, things are going to be even harder next year
25:57to try and get over the line, because Seán McRover's off the back of the European stuff,
26:00they'll strengthen as well, so it's going to be, it could actually, whatever about the league
26:06this year, whether you say it's poor or kind of, I suppose that it's a, what I said is a development
26:13league, I definitely think we're building towards what could be a great league next year,
26:18with all those teams improving you would think. That's what I was about to say too, the standard
26:24people are talking about, but do you look at the crowds are going up, everything is going in the
26:28right direction for the league, but then you have, you know, you want that to continue, and off the
26:34field you're hoping the FAA, many times we say it, they try and help clubs out, because it's really
26:40just there to take off shortly. Yeah well it's crying out for that now Kevin, and obviously
26:45everybody's aware of that, because the attendances are up. The problem now is that the facilities
26:50can't take the attendances. I'm down in Dalymount a fair bit, and they'd be selling six, seven
26:55thousand if they had the ground for it, like it's unbelievable the demand for tickets in Dalymount,
26:59and that's in a lot of the grounds around the place, so it is, it's crying out for that investment,
27:04because the facilities, let's be honest, are still dreadful, like in a lot of the grounds,
27:08they're absolutely appalling. There's two or three that you would say are trying to make strides and
27:12improve, but some of them are absolutely horrendous, and I know Dundalk are going through a
27:16lot of trouble at the moment, but their ground is atrocious. Drogheda's is the same, like they're
27:21absolutely dreadful, and they're the things that need to improve, because as much as we're getting
27:25a lot of hype about the young players playing in the league, and the attendance has been great,
27:30if the facilities don't improve, people will soon get fed up with that as well, like you know.
27:35Because you've got all the characters as well, we mentioned Duff and Kenny.
27:38That's what I mean Simon, like in terms of the managers, it's never been stronger with
27:42them fellas, you know. Yeah, but you just touched on Dundalk and the difficulties they have at the
27:47moment, you know, it's sad to see from where they've gone, and the money that they got from
27:52their European run, and nothing was, you know, invested properly, and they've nothing really
27:57to show for it all. It's a really sad story at the moment, like with Dundalk. Yeah, it's dreadful,
28:02because all of us that love the league, it's a sad reflection on the league as well, because you
28:07don't want, like we thought these days were hopefully gone, where the clubs are in far
28:11better kind of footings off the pitch, and the days of fellas not getting their wages, and
28:16clubs being in turmoil, and potentially going to the wall. We'd hoped all those days were gone,
28:21and especially when you look at Dundalk and the history they have, huge League of Ireland pedigree,
28:26and you only have to look at the recent past, as you say, to be winning leagues, and Stephen's
28:29unbelievable success in Europe. So, how badly mismanaged has it been to get to this situation
28:35Simon, and as much as it is sad, questions have to be asked as well, and you have a new owner coming
28:40in, and I think the FEI have to ask questions as well, because even up until a few weeks ago,
28:44they were signing players. John Daly came in as a new manager, and he was allowed only in the,
28:49just before the window was gone there, and he was signing players. Daryl Horgan signed a new
28:53contract two weeks ago. So, I'm not sure how you can go from a situation where you're signing
28:57players, and you're signing new lads on new contracts, and all this must have been going
29:01on in the background, and I'm sure people were aware of it. They had to have been aware of it,
29:04because it just didn't creep up overnight. So, questions have to be asked of everyone really,
29:09and I know there was a statement released earlier, and basically the owner just confirming the
29:14reports that we were reading about that, that it is true, but the ones I feel sorry for are the
29:18players, because it's an awful situation where you're going out doing an honest day's work,
29:23and you're not getting your wages for it. I think that's an atrocious position to be in.
29:28I think we had that up with Derry as well too, so it's definitely not where,
29:32the way you want the league to be portrayed, especially I think, but for those that are
29:36livelihoods, they have families and stuff like that, so hopefully they get it all sorted out
29:40on that, but what about Sligo up there in third place? Are we going for Europe, or what's happening?
29:46We're the team, Simon, we're the team. Sligo, we're on the rise.
29:53We'll be the kings of Europe next year. Never mind that 7-0,
29:57that was only lulling you into a false sense of security.
30:00It's been unbelievable, because earlier on in the year, you'd be looking at the results and thinking,
30:06where's things going? When you think of last year, they scraped over the line, really,
30:11in terms of staying in the division, and John Russell, to be fair, I think he learned a lot
30:16from last year, John Russell. I was critical of some of the stuff last year with John,
30:22and he's only a young man now, so he's got a lot to learn, but I think he's got a lot to learn.
30:28And he's only a young manager, to be fair, and I'd love to see if a young manager makes mistakes,
30:34like we all make mistakes, if you learn from them, well then, brilliant, and good luck to you.
30:38And I think John, to be fair, has done that, because his recruitment last year was certainly
30:42questionable, some of the ones he brought in, whereas you look at it this year, and it's
30:45certainly been a lot more sound, with the likes of O'Malley coming in, it's been brilliant,
30:49Conor Malley, Ellis Chapman has done really well for them as well, even O'Hara, who I would have
30:55kind of, they've been question marks for me, but John's getting a tune out of him at the moment as
31:00well. I think McGinty coming back has been massive as well, arguably one of the best keepers in the
31:04league, McGinty. So yeah, he's done a great job to turn things around, and it just goes to show as
31:10well, Kev, I think, when you look at how indifferent the teams are, and how inconsistent they've all
31:16been, and how tight the league is, you win two or three matches, and all of a sudden it bumps you
31:21up the table, something unbelievable. I remember there was a team last year, I can't, but there was
31:25a situation where one of the teams had won three or four on the bounce, and never changed position,
31:30or it was the other way around, where they'd lost three or four, and never changed position,
31:34and you're kind of thinking, how is that happening? Whereas you look at a difference this year, a team
31:38wins three, four, bang, they're going from eighth up to third, or vice versa, so it's been brilliant
31:44to see, and even to be fair to him, I think he deserves credit for off the back, I know we're
31:48joking about it, but off the back of that defeat, which the wheel's going to really come off,
31:52I thought he handled himself really well in some of the interviews afterwards, and what he had said,
31:56and he basically backed the players, and says, look, these players have been on a really good
32:00run of form for me, this is just a blip, one off, these things happen, and he says, they'll show you
32:05a response next week, and they did, they came out last weekend to beat Waterford, and got their
32:10season back on track, and now they're in a great position to potentially finish in Europe, and if
32:14he did, fair play to him, it'll be an unbelievable result. We're sort of coming to the end, I know
32:21you're a busy man, and we're running out of time, you're going to be at the Ireland game in the
32:27morning, I'll take it, yeah? Oh yeah, I'll be at that, we're doing a game on TV, and Jim Crawford,
32:33a former teammate of mine, great fella, good friend as well, doing a great job with the 21s,
32:38and I know there's a lot of doom and gloom, not just around the match on Saturday, but
32:42even Stephen's time, and people looking at the senior team, and wondering where we're going,
32:46certainly with this 21s, there's plenty of talent in there, Simon, really good players,
32:50Joe Hodge, I know he had your little spell with yourselves, and things didn't work out,
32:55what a player he is, he's absolutely brilliant, I covered the game on Friday against Turkey, and it
33:00was as good a performance as I've seen from an Irish team in a long, long time, to go away to
33:04Turkey, and to perform the way they did, never in trouble, they were so assured, played their football,
33:11caused trouble when they had the opportunities to cause trouble, and then they got the winning
33:14goal, they were brilliant, all over the pitch, Andy Moran as well, I think he's going to be a real
33:18star, there's a lot at the moment, he's injured at the moment, but Boston Lowal, I think is
33:23a big future as well, Sam Curtis, who we all know playing in the league, is going from strength to
33:28strength, and he's only 18 years of age, so if they get the job done tomorrow, and I fancy them,
33:33to beat Latvia, to go a point ahead of Italy, and to put themselves in a position where they could
33:37qualify with two games to go, Norway and Italy, so brilliant job Jim is doing, and fair play to
33:43the 21s. Green shoots now, happy days. We need as many green shoots as we can get.
33:53We'll take any colour shoots, they don't have to be green.
33:59Go at it okay, if we get this man to make a prediction on the league title, maybe on
34:05Saturday, we need you to stick your neck on the line.
34:10Yeah, I normally have no problem sticking my neck on the line to be honest with you, but
34:14I suppose the fact that you're Derry lads, and you're all pulling for Derry, and I would, I'd
34:19love to see, I think it would be a great story for Shells, being honest, former Shells player, and I
34:23think Duff has been great, but Rory's a pal, I'd love to see him get over the line, when they won
34:27the cup, I was so happy for him, so delighted for him, and I would, I'd love to see them get over
34:32the line, and to be fair to Philip Daugherty, I met him a couple of times up there, he's invested
34:36heavily, and you need people like that as well, supporting the clubs and all, so I would, I'd
34:41love to see Derry get over the line, will they? I don't know, I think it's going to be a brilliant
34:45title race, but I won't give you a prediction on that, but I will give you a prediction on
34:50Saturday night, and I think Derry will win the cup at home.
34:55Well, we'll get you a pint in the Blackbird and shout it out after that production then.
34:59I'll hold you to that, I will hold you to that lads.
35:02Listen, that's brilliant, I know you're a buzzy man, so thanks for sorting us out tonight,
35:07and well, we'll see you Saturday night.
35:09Good, I look forward to seeing you lads, and thanks a million, and
35:12ring me or call me any time you want.
35:14Yes, appreciate it all.
35:15Thanks lads.