Is this the start of Shamrock Rovers' dominance?
Credit:
As I said last week, there has been a lot of positive attention and praise aimed at Shamrock Rovers ever since their historical European achievement - and rightly so. Over the next few weeks, when their European campaign continues into the group stages, more and more people who usually don’t take any notice of the league here will begin to cast an eye on Shamrock Rovers and their European adventures.
Games against Russian side FC Rubin Kazan who actually beat Barcelona in the Camp Nou in the Uefa Champions league group stages two years ago and also games against Tottenham means that huge interest will be attracted from many people from different backgrounds including - and perhaps more importantly and crucially - business people. Attracting business people could attract further investment.
Shamrock Rovers deservedly, are already due to net €1,000,000 plus from qualifying into the group stages. What this figure ends up at I don’t know. However, what I do know is that financially, clubs who have been competing with them over the last few years may find it extremely difficult to keep up. Already, they are running a very financially sound project up there in Tallaght with the impressive Tallaght Stadium and ever growing fan base. With this new cash injection, and with responsible investment, it should now bring them to a completely new and unforeseen level.
I had a conversation with a friend last week about how great it will be to see an Irish side compete at a top European stage in front of millions of people watching. My friend is doing a Masters in Business Management at the moment and he was telling me how much he reckoned it would lift the whole profile of the club both on and off the pitch. He used the phrase, the rich get richer. He asked me what I thought the future implications and impact of Shamrock Rovers recent triumph would have on the league here in Ireland not only off the pitch but on the pitch also. It was a good question and one that am sure many will be thinking.
As any of you who may have read some of my previous articles will know, I look on the Norwegian model as something that the Irish league of Ireland could possibly aspire to. One of the top teams in Norway is Rosenborg BK and I cannot but compare Shamrock Rovers new success and possible future success to that seen by the Norwegian club during the 90’s-early 00’s.
Like Shamrock Rovers are in Ireland, Rosenborg were always a top Norwegian side having won many league titles prior to 1995. However, in 1995, they qualified for the Uefa Champions league for the very first time which brought the club on to a new level. This enabled Rosenborg to not only secure the finances of the club but also become the wealthiest club in Norway. This allowed them pick up the best and most promising players the domestic scene had to offer as well as recruiting some foreign players. They went on to reinforce their dominance at domestic level and during the 90’s and early 00’s, won the league an impressive 13 times in a row without too much of a challenge from rival clubs. I think this example is highly comparable to that of Shamrock Rovers in the context of things.
A small illustration of the financial power that Shamrock Rovers will undoubtedly have going into the future was highlighted last week. After qualifying for the Europa group stages, Shamrock Rovers went out and signed two high calibre players in Rohan Ricketts and Jim Paterson. You only have to take a quick glance at both players CV’s to see that they are two quality additions to an already impressive playing squad.
Within a few days, they were making their debuts in a difficult fixture away to Dundalk at Oriel Park. Ricketts put in a man of the match display which saw him heavily involved in both goals which gave Rovers a 2-1 victory. Paterson was also deeply involved . He made a top class last ditch tackle on Jason Byrne at a crucial stage in the game. Had Byrne scored at that stage, we could have been looking at a completely different outcome.
Take nothing away; whatever success and fortune comes Shamrock Rovers way is well deserved. It was only a few years ago when their own supporters saved them from extinction. They have worked ever so hard to be where they are today, both on and off the pitch, and I would never begrudge them their success.
However, looking at it from a different viewpoint, is this the start of Shamrock Rovers domestic dominance? Will other clubs who have been challenging them over the past few years struggle to keep up both on and off the pitch? Will a huge gap begin to open up between them and the rest of the teams competing at the top? We have seen clubs in the past over spend and get themselves into a financial mess; will this be the case again with teams vying to keep up financially with Shamrock Rovers? All these questions will be answered gradually but for now, I’d like to wish Shamrock Rovers all the best in their upcoming European games.
Before I finish this week, I would like to wish my sister Louise, who has previously done a lot of work for extratime.ie, a happy birthday, all the way from Dublin to Australia.
Games against Russian side FC Rubin Kazan who actually beat Barcelona in the Camp Nou in the Uefa Champions league group stages two years ago and also games against Tottenham means that huge interest will be attracted from many people from different backgrounds including - and perhaps more importantly and crucially - business people. Attracting business people could attract further investment.
Shamrock Rovers deservedly, are already due to net €1,000,000 plus from qualifying into the group stages. What this figure ends up at I don’t know. However, what I do know is that financially, clubs who have been competing with them over the last few years may find it extremely difficult to keep up. Already, they are running a very financially sound project up there in Tallaght with the impressive Tallaght Stadium and ever growing fan base. With this new cash injection, and with responsible investment, it should now bring them to a completely new and unforeseen level.
I had a conversation with a friend last week about how great it will be to see an Irish side compete at a top European stage in front of millions of people watching. My friend is doing a Masters in Business Management at the moment and he was telling me how much he reckoned it would lift the whole profile of the club both on and off the pitch. He used the phrase, the rich get richer. He asked me what I thought the future implications and impact of Shamrock Rovers recent triumph would have on the league here in Ireland not only off the pitch but on the pitch also. It was a good question and one that am sure many will be thinking.
As any of you who may have read some of my previous articles will know, I look on the Norwegian model as something that the Irish league of Ireland could possibly aspire to. One of the top teams in Norway is Rosenborg BK and I cannot but compare Shamrock Rovers new success and possible future success to that seen by the Norwegian club during the 90’s-early 00’s.
Like Shamrock Rovers are in Ireland, Rosenborg were always a top Norwegian side having won many league titles prior to 1995. However, in 1995, they qualified for the Uefa Champions league for the very first time which brought the club on to a new level. This enabled Rosenborg to not only secure the finances of the club but also become the wealthiest club in Norway. This allowed them pick up the best and most promising players the domestic scene had to offer as well as recruiting some foreign players. They went on to reinforce their dominance at domestic level and during the 90’s and early 00’s, won the league an impressive 13 times in a row without too much of a challenge from rival clubs. I think this example is highly comparable to that of Shamrock Rovers in the context of things.
A small illustration of the financial power that Shamrock Rovers will undoubtedly have going into the future was highlighted last week. After qualifying for the Europa group stages, Shamrock Rovers went out and signed two high calibre players in Rohan Ricketts and Jim Paterson. You only have to take a quick glance at both players CV’s to see that they are two quality additions to an already impressive playing squad.
Within a few days, they were making their debuts in a difficult fixture away to Dundalk at Oriel Park. Ricketts put in a man of the match display which saw him heavily involved in both goals which gave Rovers a 2-1 victory. Paterson was also deeply involved . He made a top class last ditch tackle on Jason Byrne at a crucial stage in the game. Had Byrne scored at that stage, we could have been looking at a completely different outcome.
Take nothing away; whatever success and fortune comes Shamrock Rovers way is well deserved. It was only a few years ago when their own supporters saved them from extinction. They have worked ever so hard to be where they are today, both on and off the pitch, and I would never begrudge them their success.
However, looking at it from a different viewpoint, is this the start of Shamrock Rovers domestic dominance? Will other clubs who have been challenging them over the past few years struggle to keep up both on and off the pitch? Will a huge gap begin to open up between them and the rest of the teams competing at the top? We have seen clubs in the past over spend and get themselves into a financial mess; will this be the case again with teams vying to keep up financially with Shamrock Rovers? All these questions will be answered gradually but for now, I’d like to wish Shamrock Rovers all the best in their upcoming European games.
Before I finish this week, I would like to wish my sister Louise, who has previously done a lot of work for extratime.ie, a happy birthday, all the way from Dublin to Australia.
