[size=4]Fighting for one's club is not cue for a punch-up
[/size][size=3]Emmet Malone [/size]
On Soccer: First, a confession. In the light of events at Tolka Park on Friday night, going to the game between Bray Wanderers and Cork City instead seems, in hindsight, to have been a misjudgment.
It was not, mind you, as grave an error as getting into a punch-up with somebody considerably younger, much fitter and more experienced in the boxing department. So, for the umpteenth time I find myself being strangely impressed by the passionate devotion Ollie Byrne has for Shelbourne Football Club and absolutely staggered that Irish football's most prominent club official could be guilty of such a colossally poor call.
I shouldn't be, at this stage, I know. Friday's altercation was just the latest instance of Byrne becoming embroiled in some show-stealing incident that was bound to overshadow anything that might occur out on the pitch. Sure enough, the defeat by Shamrock Rovers seems to have been a riveting encounter, but the headlines over the weekend have all centred on the pre-match fight, and most of the stories have featured Collins making it clear he was not the one to throw the first punch.
The league investigation, involving a committee of three (Paddy McCaul, Eamon Naughton and Eddie Murray) which met for the first time last night, should ensure that we hear more about this in the weeks ahead, although it would be a surprise if any serious sanctions are imposed.
Collins, of course, is hardly an entirely innocent party here. The irony of the current Rovers manager referring on radio to financial difficulties and internal unrest at Tolka Park doesn't need to be pointed out, as it is just a few weeks since his own club was in complete meltdown.
None of that, however, excuses the behaviour of Byrne, who only a month ago was calling for Rovers to be thrown out of the league because, he said, a number of the club's supporters had provoked a minor fracas with Linfield fans during the build-up to the Setanta Cup final.
It was pointed out to him then that the club's officials had no control over the actions of a small number of supporters before a game in which Rovers were not involved, but he asserted nevertheless that they had not done enough to restrain the offenders. To their credit, though, they weren't in there, leading by example, throwing the digs.
Byrne's achievements at Shelbourne over the years are beyond question. Off the field, it seems certain that he has prevented the club from going to the wall on a number of occasions. On the field, he has overseen the club's emergence as the country's top side with a bigger, better, more expensive squad than any of their rivals, one that enjoyed considerable success at home in recent years.
His methods, however, often make him a nightmare to deal with. Journalists who write about the club are routinely berated at length over the phone when unfavourable pieces are published. League, FAI and rival club officials receive similar treatment when Byrne feels that Shelbourne have not been treated in the desired way.
In public, meanwhile, he has been involved in a string of altercations with rivals from other clubs, match officials and, perhaps most unedifyingly, supporters. At least two that I have witnessed in recent seasons, at Richmond Park and at Tolka Park, have required the intervention of gardaí.
Twice last season he was fined by the league and warned about his behaviour following incidents at games against Shamrock Rovers and Drogheda United. Only a few weeks ago, when Shelbourne lost, he became embroiled in a public shouting match with a Bohemians fan.
What is particularly significant about Friday's incident is that it comes just a few weeks before the Dublin club kicks off this year's European campaign, a time when there will be more talk of demonstrating to potential investors what can be achieved by a club that turns over around €2 million a year but which would, almost at a stroke, quadruple that figure if it could qualify for the Champions League group stages.
To date, however, there has been a marked reluctance on the part of big investors to fund the desired progression. But then major brand and sponsorship managers might be excused for viewing an alliance with a club whose chief executive (and owner) routinely ends up trading insults with spectators at games and now settles his differences with a rival club's manager by resorting to a punch-up as something of a gamble.
Whatever the reasons, the club's lack of backing from the corporate sector is underlined on an annual basis when they compete in Europe. Year after year Shelbourne play foreign clubs that enjoy no greater standing in their leagues but who are nevertheless heavily funded by the manufacturers or distributors of major brand names in those countries.
Under Byrne, Shelbourne have established themselves in recent years as the dominant force in the domestic game: they have won four championships in the last six seasons and last year's games against Deportivo La Coruna confirmed the extent of their potential appeal. Still, the club does not have what might be described as a single major blue-chip sponsor, and the big investors courted in the wake of the European run all eventually shied away from making a commitment.
During the hard times Byrne has probably been Shelbourne's greatest asset. But if the club really is serious about graduating to "the next level" so regularly mentioned, incidents like Friday's suggest he could turn out to be their most costly liability.
© The Irish Times
