Keely - Radical thinking is needed
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Following the news that Kildare County's 5-1 defeat at home to Shelbourne
last Saturday will be their last ever game as a football club, Shelbourne
boss Dermot Keely was very sympathetic towards all those involved in running
the club. Keely was the club's first-ever manager back in 2002,
and this return to Station Road brought back to him just how positive things
had looked for the club when they first entered the league.
“Funny enough, I walked into the kitchen because we were having a cup of tea and a bit of a chat before the game. It was only when I walked in, as it was going on all day here, it just struck me that the last time I was there was the press conference, which started the whole thing off. Everybody was so optimistic, it got off great and it looked like it might be a runner. So, it's very, very sad. I don't know, maybe its fate. It's strange, it's strange,” said Keely.
Keely went on to say that he feels radical thinking is needed, if the league is going to prosper in the same way that it has done in the past.
“I think if you speak sense in this league, you're considered to be outside the pale. I see two or three clubs that are struggling: Derry, Cork, Galway, Drogheda early on, it's difficult times. We're bereft of leadership I believe. I think we need radical thinking, we need something to save it. I mean, I had a meeting on Sunday where they had a review of The Participation Agreement and a huge amount of work went into it.”
“I just think, if we're talking about improving this time of the year, in the middle of a five-year plan, every five year plan is gone. We still, I say, are going to persist with thinking that everything is going to be alright, and it's up to the clubs to run the clubs. I just think that in two-and-a-half years time there won't be a league, the way it's going. It might go back to the way it was, and maybe that's how it should be. We've lived beyond our means as football as an industry over the last four or five years,” concluded Keely.
“Funny enough, I walked into the kitchen because we were having a cup of tea and a bit of a chat before the game. It was only when I walked in, as it was going on all day here, it just struck me that the last time I was there was the press conference, which started the whole thing off. Everybody was so optimistic, it got off great and it looked like it might be a runner. So, it's very, very sad. I don't know, maybe its fate. It's strange, it's strange,” said Keely.
Keely went on to say that he feels radical thinking is needed, if the league is going to prosper in the same way that it has done in the past.
“I think if you speak sense in this league, you're considered to be outside the pale. I see two or three clubs that are struggling: Derry, Cork, Galway, Drogheda early on, it's difficult times. We're bereft of leadership I believe. I think we need radical thinking, we need something to save it. I mean, I had a meeting on Sunday where they had a review of The Participation Agreement and a huge amount of work went into it.”
“I just think, if we're talking about improving this time of the year, in the middle of a five-year plan, every five year plan is gone. We still, I say, are going to persist with thinking that everything is going to be alright, and it's up to the clubs to run the clubs. I just think that in two-and-a-half years time there won't be a league, the way it's going. It might go back to the way it was, and maybe that's how it should be. We've lived beyond our means as football as an industry over the last four or five years,” concluded Keely.
About Daire Walsh
Daire Walsh began reporting for Extratime in 2009, when he covered Kildare County's games in the League Of Ireland First Division. He currently reports on games involving the league's Dublin sides and also Bray Wanderers. … View Full Profile