As supporters of Dundalk FC, we all want the same thing for the club, we all want the club to succeed on and off the pitch, we all want the club to challenge for domestic honours , we all want the club to represent the people of Dundalk with pride and passion, and also represent the League of Ireland on the European stage.
Basically, all we want is that the team gives everything on the pitch and they never give up.
That’s pretty much what we expect as supporters, is it too much to ask for?
Setting Standards
Throughout our history, from our early days in the 1920’s when we first entered the League of Ireland, we started setting the standards from an early point.
In 1932 we became the first team outside Dublin to win the League of Ireland.
We made our debut in Europe in 1963/64 season, and became the first Irish team to win away in a European tie.
In the 1970s, we qualified for the round of the last 16 of what is known as today as the Champions League, the old European Cup.
In the 1980s, we won the FAI Cup, the league, and the league cup on multiple occasions, the same can be said for during the 1990s, when we lifted the league trophy in 1991 in Cork and 1995 in Oriel.
In recent years, we have been the most successful League of Ireland club, qualifying for the Europa League group stages on two occasions and stood on the verge of Champions League Group stage football, the furthest any League of Ireland club as gone in that competition.
Poor Performances and Player’s Responsibility
My point is, Dundalk FC have always been the club setting the standards throughout Irish football, we have been the club breaking and setting new records, so this brings be on to the current era of Dundalk FC and the FAI Cup Quarter Final game against Galway United in Eamon Deacy Park on Friday night last.
Simply, the performance against Galway was unacceptable. End of. And I’m sure the players, management and staff are fully aware of that. I certainly hope so, their response to that defeat and performance will truly define their character.
Going to first division opposition in a cup competition and losing the game is one thing, but effectively “giving up” is something that Dundalk supporters will not accept.
As supporters we expect and deserve better.
When you pull on the shirt, you are expected to give everything and leave everything on the pitch, no more and no less. When you cross the white line, you are representing all the supporters and everyone of Dundalk, we are all behind you, the least you can do is fight for us.
Its not just the player’s fault.
Throughout this season, I have used the phrase “Consistently InConsistent” alot to describe our performances and results, but I cannot put the blame for this at the feet of the squad, alot of the responsibility is with the management.
During the era of Stephen Kenny, there was a running “joke” that even the supporters could pick the team because the team never really changed, even with injuries, the core of the team remained the same, I dont want to compare our current era to Stephen Kenny, but I believe that some of the core elements must remain the same. If the team selection is constantly changing it can only lead to confusion for the playing squad and ultimately poor performances.
We are currently 37 games into the season and I still believe that Stephen O’Donnell still hasn’t settled on his regular eleven.
On Friday Night, the team selection raised many an eyebrow with the manager going with the same eleven that were beaten 3-1 against Derry, going with the same back four that conceeded three soft goals was eye opening and concerning.
Many supporters were left baffled and scratching their heads when our management team went to the bench in the 30th minute of the game for a triple substitution.
The triple substitution consisted of Greg Slogget for Johannes Ili-Kokko, Robbie Benson for Conor Malley and Robbie Mc Court for Darragh Leahy, being 3-0 down and needing to go on the offensive to try to get back into the game, our management team decided that changing two of our midfield players and our left back was the answer. Baffling.
The Three Roles of Management
As a manager, there are three roles that fall under your remit, they are:
Recruitment, Coaching and Motivation.
Recruitment has been under alot of focus this season, as a club we were late to the game with no signings coming in until just before pre-season, it left alot of supporters wondering what was going on. With no signings coming from the League of Ireland and all our signings coming in from the lower leagues in Scotland and the UK, with a mix of them coming in on loan, it left the supporters scratching their heads.
Out of 37 games this season we have fallen behind 23 times and out of those 23 games, we have only come back to win twice. Therefore, when we go behind the chances of us recovering to win the game are slim to none. On the road, we have only won twice, UCD and Sligo.
When we go behind we dont seem to have a game plan to turn the game around, we dont have a plan B with many supporters suggesting we dont have a plan A either. So does this come down to poor Coaching??
From watching some of our games recently, it is evident that our players, some not all, lack a serious amount of motivation and confidence , there is some effort there but its very lacking. As a supporter, its very frustrating to see the ball being passed back and forth from our midfield to our defence and back again, there is no plan, no incentive and no game plan, no ideas.
Its highly frustrating and concerning to watch. It needs to be addressed.
The concern now is, given that we are unlikely to make it into the European spots this season, we are likely to be without any European money next season. Therefore, this is going to leave an approx. 600k euro hole in the clubs accounts. I dont know about you, but im not aware of many small businesses that can take such a large amount out of their accounts and expect to peform to the same levels as before.
Some of the problems we are going to face are the following:
- Our pitch is in dire need of upgrading, losing any european money will definately have an impact on upgrading it in the short term.
- Attracting players to the club next season will be increasingly difficult, leading to more loan players coming in.
- Attracting investment might be more difficult with no European football.
Losing out on European money will require everyone to step up and start raising additional funds via new fundrasing avenues, the 1903 are definately going to be leading the way on this.
So, to summarise, the current era of Dundalk FC is going to be alot different than before, we aren’t going to be the force that we once were four or five years ago. The supporters will need to manage their expectations, maybe in the short term.
Next season is going to be a tough one if we aren’t in Europe, but we need to take the positives from this and use it as a chance to rebuild our squad, not with loan players but with full time players on long term contracts. We need players who want to prove themselves, hungry and determined players. We might need to look at the U-19s for some talent.
With regards the current squad and management, clubs are allowed to have a bad season, but we need to learn from it and focus on our weaknesses and improve on them, but some of the players who didn’t put in their best performance in the last few games really need to ask themselves a question, do they have what it takes to play for us? Have you given everything and left everything on the pitch?
If you cannot give everything for Dundalk FC, then maybe Dundalk FC is not the club for you.
As far as management goes, we need to focus on settling on a core team and stop tinkering with the team selection. Consistency is key. Let’s get to a situation were the supporters know the team each week before they set foot in Oriel, like the good old days.
End.