FourFourTwo UK – September 2019

FourFourTwo September 2019 95

DAVID SNEYD

is a Dublin-based

journalist who has

been covering Irish

football over the last

10 years for titles

including The Times

and Irish Daily Mail

SHAMROCK

ROVERS

NICKYBYRNE

Another Home Farm
player who ended up at
Leeds, Byrne was part
of the 1997 FA Youth
Cup-winning squad that
included McPhail, Harry
Kewell and a host of
other future Premier
League stars. Byrne was
released by the club later
that year, but he soon
managed to scrape by
and earn a living as
a member of Westlife.

EDDIEVANBOXTEL

A keeper who played for

Home Farm, then signed

for Leeds – and that is

where similarities end

between Byrne and Van

Boxtel. The latter spent

six years on the run from

police and, when he was

finally caught, was jailed

for seven-and-a-half

years for possession of

cannabis resin worth

€3.5m (presumably not

meant for personal use). 

KEVINDOYLE

Snapped up from Cork

City by Reading for just

£78,000, Doyle made the

Championship Team of

the Year in his first season

after scoring 19 goals. He

hit 13 in his first Premier

League season, ending

up on 2007’s PFA Young

Player of the Year list

with Cristiano Ronaldo,

Wayne Rooney, Aaron

Lennon, Cesc Fabregas

and Micah Richards.

STEPHENO’DONNELL

The winger joined Arsenal

from Newcastle – the

one in County Galway –

as a 16-year-old in 2002.

He departed the Gunners

in 2005 and later said he

should have developed

his game back in Ireland,

where he’d go on to win

trophies at Bohemians,

Dundalk and Shamrock.

He scored the goal that

took Rovers to the Europa

League group stages.  

RICHARDDUNNE

Dunne, another Home

Farm alumnus, managed

to reinvent himself from

being the life and soul

of Manchester City’s

drinking culture to being

named the club’s Player

of the Year four seasons

running (2005-2008). In

all, Dunne won 80 caps

for the Boys in Green and

made 515 league outings

for Everton, Manchester

City, Aston Villa and QPR.

MICHAEL KEANE

No, not the Everton (and

England) defender. This

Michael Keane swapped

St Patrick’s for Preston

in 2001 and impressed

David Moyes so much,

the gaffer let him babysit

his children. The Dubliner

later became the first

player in Irish football to

be sacked for allegedly

being overweight, only to

net a six-figure wrongful

dismissal settlement.

WINGERS, WESTLIFE AND WEED – THE IRISH LEAGUE’S HITS AND MISSES

“But once you process it and talk about it, try to understand it, it
makes you a better person. You have clarity and can understand the
reasons for why it happened.”  
Bradley was determined not to let bitterness take hold, and, with
the help of his late mother, he found himself on the path to managing
Shamrock Rovers. He has been in the job for three years, and had the
club properly challenging for the title for the first time since they were
crowned champions under Michael O’Neill in 2011.  
Back then, it seemed as if Rovers were destined to begin a period of
domestic domination. They won back-to-back League of Ireland titles
and became the first Irish team to reach the Europa League’s group
stages (their Tallaght Stadium hosted Harry Kane’s first Tottenham
goal). But the money earned from that historic run seemingly came
with a curse. After O’Neill left to coach Northern Ireland, several
managers were appointed and sacked – including Stephen Kenny,
who will replace Mick McCarthy as Republic of Ireland boss in 2020.  

Clarity of purpose has returned to Shamrock Rovers over the past

few years, with Bradley and McPhail spearheading the charge while

Robinson works diligently behind the scenes to create a production

line of talent that can to help build a sustainable future. 

That means the best will likely be cherry-picked by British clubs, as

happened recently when Manchester City paid Rovers in the region of

€500,000 for 17-year-old keeper Gavin Bazunu. One hopes he heeds

Bradley’s advice about how to handle life as a Premier League player.  

Even if Rovers finish 2nd behind Dundalk this year, there’s a growing

sense of optimism that the best is yet to come, felt by the fans and

the team, but perhaps most for all by Bradley and McPhail.  

“It feels like a different club now,” enthuses Bradley. “It felt old when

we came in – tired, with no energy. We’ve tried to be bold, brave and

change all of that, and bring in the right characters who are ambitious

and hungry like us. We’ve decided to create things our way, and we

believe it’s the right way.”