Charlie from the Stands: Why is the standard of football in LOI in decline?

Ok you got me its a click bait line to get you to read the rest, but bear with me. I want to dig into why, since the heights of the Dundalk side of 2019, have we seen a decline in goals scored, points accumulated and goals conceded.

If you are an avid reader of this column you will remember I mentioned it could be as little as 68 points to take the league this year. And looking at it now, it will probably be less. Let's look at what it has taken in previous years:

My prediction

As you can see the numbers that Dundalk and Cork were putting up from 2015 up until 2019 were so, so impressive and all that while sharing two FAI Cups between them, as well as some incredible European runs. Were they so much better than everyone else?

I remember playing against them in 2016 during my last season and they didn't seem that far ahead on the pitch, yet at the end of the season they finished 15 points ahead of us. So what was the difference? It is the same thing that I am seeing in the league right now, the big difference between the league back then til now is the Managers. The difference between the then Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny and Derry’s then-manager Kenny Shiels was night and day.

The quality of managers in LOI right now is at an all time high, their methods, philosophies, backroom teams, analysts, tactical awareness and overall standards is as high as its ever been. See below a list of the management teams in the LOI Premier Division and tell me I am wrong?

Shelbourne: Damien Duff - needs very little introduction. Revializing Shelbourne with his unique management style. Joey O’Brien - played over 160 times for West Ham and Bolton.

Derry City: Ruaidhri Higgins - A student of the game who has taken Derry City from last position in April 2021 to winning an FAI Cup and qualifying for Europe every year. Paul Hegarty - An experienced LOI Assistant/Manager who’s leadership and experience played a crucial role in Derry City's league-winning campaign in 1997.

Sligo Rovers: John Russell - A player that has won everything in the game including that league win with Sligo in 2013. A manager that is currently overachieving with his budget and set of players. Ryan Casey - Decent career in England who seems to complement John Russell.

Galway United: John Caulfield - Has won everything as a player and almost everything as a manager, with the League Cup the only trophy to evade him - I could probably throw him one of mine. Olly Horgan - A man that needs no introduction, the magician that performed miracles with Finn Harps for years. Oh and won 3 Ulster Senior Leagues which is no mean feet let me tell yeah.

Waterford: Keith Long - Who has had a decent career in Ireland and is considered one of the best managers at producing young talent in the country. Tony Kelly - After losing Alan Reynolds to Bohemians, Tony Kelly has come in to help stabilized Waterford United.

Shamrock Rovers: Stephen Bradley - Four in a row winner last year that has lost his mojo this year. Glen Cronin - Good LOI career that seems to be the bit at Rovers.

St Patrick’s Athletic: Stephen Kenny - Considered the best of LOI management this century with five titles to his name. Sean O’Connor - League of Ireland winner in 2010 with Shamrock Rovers.

Bohemians: Alan Reynolds - Has won the LOI with Shels in 2006, but the less we say about that the better. He has also had a number of successful campaigns as assistant manager. Stephen O’Donnell - FAI Cup winning manager with St Pats and six times league winner as a player.

Drogheda United: Kevin Doherty - Three time LOI winner with Shels. Daire Doyle - Played in England and is the calming influence beside Doherty.

Dundalk: John Daly - FAI Cup winner as St Pats Manager in 2023. Played at a decent level in Scotland. Liam Burns - League winner with Bohemians in 2008.

My point with the above outline is that managers in LOI have never been stronger and it's the biggest contributing factor to nobody running away with the league and overall competitive nature of the LOI this season, not the quality of players or quality of football.

This can be seen from Shamrock Rovers exploits in Europe. Everyone is pointing to Rovers saying they aren't a great team anymore. They won 4 league titles in a row, so they are still a quality outfit but they maybe lack the consistency of before and may be in decline since Europe last year. But you look at their squad and the European performances it's clear they are a threat. But in LOI they are struggling badly. This isn't due to the quality of their squad.

It's the other managers that have learned how to play against the three-four-two-one formation and are tactically catching up.

You only have to look at the Galway vs Derry game on Friday night. At around 60 minutes Derry had a sustained period of pressure on the Galway goal including a great effort on goal by Patching and another run that evaded a number of Galway players who looked to be tiring.

At this stage it looked like it was only a matter of time before Derry scored. John Caulfield and Olly Horgan quickly realize the danger and make a double substitution, not only halting Derry’s momentum but freshening up the area of the pitch that Patching and Derry seem to be getting the most of the joy; they took off McCormick for Nugent and Hurley for Bordon. Now, I am sure Caulfield and Horgan didn't expect to go up the pitch and snatch a winner but that 10 minutes spell really defined the remainder of the game and is an example of why it is so hard for any team in the country to put a run together.

You then look at the Dublin Derby on Sunday, a game separated by moments, with chances falling to each team and a game that was a toss of the coin.

The league this year is not a league suffering from a lack of good players or a league in decline. It's a league full of some of the best managers we have seen in many years. And its a trend that I do not see changing over the next five to ten years. If most or half of the managers stay around then we are in for some fiery battles that will see teams taking points off each other week in week out and year after year.

For me this is what I want to watch, I want to watch the title race, European spots and relegation battle going to the wire.