Approaching the end of the year it would be nice to be able to look back and feel good about at least some of the things that occurred in Irish professional football. However, the truth is that 2009 leaves in its wake a period of tribulation and turbulence. On the International front the Thierry Henry incident not only banished hopes of a summer in South Africa it also took much of the sheen off what had been a solid and impressive qualification campaign by the Irish team.

While the style of Giovanni Trapatonni may not hold much aesthetic appeal the fact is that his motivational and organisational skills are beyond reproach. The Italian has moulded a team spirit of great consequence and I can assure you that whatever level of sport a team is performing at this is one of the prerequisites for success. Team spirit is based on honesty and determination and the more accredited aspects of success, namely talent and ambition, are only of relevance when they are backed up with character.

On the home front, the financial difficulties of the League of Ireland have been exposed in every media outlet in the country. Mismanagement, trickery, subterfuge and downright ineptitude are words that have attached themselves to domestic professional football. In truth it has to be stated that while these words of distress cannot be entirely refuted, the fact is that in the majority of cases it was misguided and impatient ambition that created most of the disarray. As referred to in the previous chapter, if talent and ambition are not backed up by a foundation of honesty and determination then confusion is really only around the corner, and unfortunately in the shape of Cork City Football Club confusion came with a capital C.

Mr. Coughlan, the owner of one of the very best football clubs in the country has, unwittingly I hope, has allowed his club to be exposed to ridicule on several occasions. I fully endorsed his takeover of the club simply because he was the only man with the courage to step forward at a precarious time in the club’s history. But what has transpired in the meantime, culminating with him being charged and found guilty by an FAI Commission, has really enveloped himself and the club in the worst possible type of publicity. I used the word unwittingly earlier because I find it very difficult to believe all this has been done by design. It would take a very strange and bizarre individual to preside over the many events that have occurred at Cork City in the last year and do so willingly. Hence, all things considered, I hold the opinion that if Tom resigns and allows some more qualified and aware individual or individuals to take on the specialised and onerous responsibility of taking the club into the next decade, then I think Tom Coughlin’s part in the history of Cork City FC may well, in time, be viewed in a better light.

It is my professional belief that this year of disarray for The League of Ireland had to happen. I have many years of experience in full-time professional football, which grants me the understanding that the enormous transition that has seen the League move, in a period of five or so years, from unmitigated disasters in European competitions, alleviated occasionally by the odd glorious defeat, to the hugely impressive performances and uplifting successes of recent years, underlines the quality of the product on the park.

Ultimately, what occurs on the park is the most important aspect of professional football, but of course it has to be directed by a well-run off-field operation that must show itself capable of sustaining the on-field activity on an ongoing basis. With The Football Association of Ireland now showing true leadership I am confident those people running our clubs will react positively and sensibly to the demand for a more astute style of stewardship and a gradual restoration of the pride do important to any sports organisation.

I am in Cork next Monday the 28^th of December running a one-day Seminar on team management at The Sports Village on the Model Farm Road. I was have been hosting similar events around the country and I have found a genuine and enthusiastic interest in the programme. Managing is completely different to playing and coaching and with little support available to those managing teams at all levels I have found people very keen to explore the art of football management in an enjoyable and educational environment. So if you are involved or even merely interested in football management look up the website at sportsvillagecork.com and come along and participate.

I do want to offer you all the full compliments of the season and although I am not one for New Year resolutions I do have great confidence for 2010. Irish people are at their best when the odds are stacked against them.

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