A step back from professionalism

Whether the league wants to admit it or not, the domestic game has unfortunately taken two steps backwards as full-time football begins to slip out of view.

Only two Premier Division clubs, Bohemians and Sporting Fingal, can proudly claim to be full-time clubs. The other teams have to work over-time to balance the demands of Airtricity League football with other sources of income.

In many ways, this was inevitable as a global financial crisis ensured that a reality check needed to happen for everyone. The affects of that are still ongoing and as much as some clubs have tried to hide their problems they keep cropping up.

So far, there have been no financial meltdowns or embarrassing incidents with teams not being able to pay for their coach hire for an away game, but there is definitely trouble ahead.

Finn Harps and Galway United have already sounded the alarm that they are struggling to keep up with the cost of running a football club. Both are working hard to address the issues that they face on a daily basis, although they are just the first clubs to admit that they are having problems.

As the halfway point of the season creeps up, it will be a good time for every club in the Airtricity League to assess how well or how badly they’ve done, what they can do to improve things and whether sustainability is achievable over the coming months.

The demands on the people running the clubs is enormous and their efforts rarely receive the kudos that they deserve. To think of how many hours they put in and the little return that they get, it is admirable that they continue to stick it out. But clubs are built around people like that and the league needs more of them.

Two years ago, it appeared that those efforts were leading most clubs towards a full-time professional set-up. Some even reached that level, although most had to abandon it as the extra pressure that it brings proved to be too much to handle.

Bohs have hung on and Sporting, a relatively new club, are up there with them. Both have top-class managers and big squads, but surprisingly a couple of other clubs trump them in terms of attendances. This is quite odd, especially in Bohemians’ case as they have won five trophies in two-and-a-half years, yet they don’t pack out Dalymount Park as much as they probably deserve to.

This leads to asking whether full-time football in the Airticity League can be held onto or will Bohs and Sporting eventually take a step back like the others?

Full-time professionalism is something that the league should collectively aim for, as long as it can be sustainable, as results in European competition over the last few years suggest that it is how to overcome other European teams.

But in the meantime, the demand of balancing a full-time or part-time job and giving as much time as they have to their respective clubs is proving quite difficult for players and staff.

Take the example of Drogheda United, who last week lost manager Alan Mathews and midfielder Brian King. Okay, the results haven’t worked out for the Boynesiders so far this season, but both manager and player were trying to work jobs and be as professional as they could be for Drogs.

It is a tough thing to do. How can standards stay as high as supporters expect them to if their players are being overworked and over-burdened?

Perhaps a further step back from professionalism is needed. But if that happens, can the ground in between ever be made up again?