Tony Sheridan: 'I'm a Shelbourne man and still a fan. It was probably one of my biggest mistakes leaving Shelbourne.'

Playing in the League of Ireland during a period which was well stocked with technical footballers, Tony Sheridan still stood out, producing instinctive flashes of skill and memorable finishes.

From schoolboy football with Lourdes Celtic, the young midfielder joined Coventry City, going on to make appearances under Bobby Gould in the early days of the English Premier League.

Returning to Ireland in 1995, Tony signed for Shelbourne, enjoying instant success by capturing the League of Ireland Cup and back-to-back FAI Cups in his first two seasons.

Momentum appeared to be leading to an inevitable league title win in 1997/98, but a last day loss ensured the Reds would miss out completely on silverware that year, when added to two cup final losses thrown in for good measure.

“That year we lost out on the treble,” said Sheridan speaking to extratime.com.  “Even now, when I talk to some of the lads, we can't really put our finger on where it went wrong. Did we bottle it? I think that could be the answer. The pressure of going for all three was hard to take and maybe we lost confidence after we got beat in the League Cup final.”

When Dermot Keely replaced Damien Richardson as manager at Tolka Park, Sheridan performed admirably in his new boss' maiden campaign, but was still allowed to pen a new deal with Portadown at the start of the following season.

“It wasn't that I wanted to leave Shelbourne and sign for Portadown. I'm a Shelbourne man and still a fan. I felt that I deserved a better contract. It was good money, but I felt there were players that were on a lot more than I was and I was better than them.

"That was the stumbling block between us. Portadown rang me, we had a chat and I enjoyed my year up there, but it was probably one of my biggest mistakes in leaving Shelbourne.”

On top of departing the club he loved, the Crumlin native also missed out on contributing to Shelbourne's frequent Premier Division title wins in the subsequent years to come.

“That's football. There are certain things that you can't control and certain decisions that you make. If I signed the contract on offer, I could have been part of the later successes, but unfortunately I wasn't. It's great that the lads got to where they got, to win leagues. 

“That is something that I lost out on because winning the title with Shelbourne would have been the icing on the cake for me. I was a League Cup winner and got two FAI Cup wins, but having a league medal would have been great.”

A reunion with Bobby Gould in 2000, at Cardiff City, seemed like a good fit, but a managerial reshuffle and financial matters resulted in a premature one, without a first team appearance.

“Bobby Gould offered me a contract for a year. I worked my socks off for the amount of time I was there. I was training on my own while the other lads had a day off, so it wasn't as though I didn't put the effort in. I came home with my family for one weekend and Alan Cork came in as manager, with Bobby becoming Director of Football. 

“When I came back, I got weighed and Alan said to me: ‘You were starting tomorrow, but you're not now because you're a pound overweight.’ I was earning more money in Ireland, so I spoke to Bobby about terminating my contract and he did.”

Spells at Shelbourne (twice), Dublin City, Glenavon (on loan) and Waterford United came and went, with Tony eventually finding himself playing in the Leinster Senior League. 2005 witnessed a return to League of Ireland football, when he accepted an invitation to turn out for a struggling Shamrock Rovers side, under the tutelage of Roddy Collins.

“There was a Rovers fan, who was also a director and he used to come down to Terenure. He spoke to Roddy, who asked me to give them a dig out for six or seven months. In a way, it was a bit of a shock, being a Shels fan as well. I did what I could for them, but obviously it didn't work out because we got relegated.”

Holder of a UEFA B Licence, Sheridan is currently coaching schoolboys where it all began for him, but hasn't ruled out a role at a League of Ireland outfit, if the opportunity ever presents itself.

“I've been trying to get in for the last few years. I'm doing coaching now with my former club as a kid, Lourdes Celtic. I enjoy coaching the U-13s because they're at a stage where parents come to me and ask to give them a bit of advice. I don't understand why League of Ireland clubs don't use people like me, who made mistakes, to keep the young lads grounded.

"It's something I would love and be interested in, but unfortunately I've never been offered it, so I'll just keep plugging away with Lourdes Celtic.”

Stephen Finn named as new Longford Town U19 Manager https://t.co/GnqUElM07Tpic.twitter.com/35tlPEvdeo

— Extratime.com (@ExtratimeNews) January 1, 2022