Indo article from this morning on Shamrock Rovers in Europe aswell
Daniel McDonnell
Today at 07:44
The looming presence of a historic World Cup in Australia has allowed Shamrock Rovers’ Champions League failure to slip under the radar, the cries for more exposure for League of Ireland exploits in Europe dying down when there’s a result you would like to go away.
There are mitigating factors that Rovers can point to in the attempt to explain a meek exit at the hands of Breidablik, a part-time Icelandic opponent from a league that is ranked lower in the UEFA charts.
Stephen Bradley would have expected his speedy wing backs Trevor Clarke and Neil Farrugia to be a big part of his European plans and the loss of Jack Byrne for the decider after he was clearly struggling in the first leg speaks for itself as a setback given his importance.
But Rovers have set standards for themselves as domestic champions and it arguably does them a disservice to apply kid-glove treatment to disappointments. At this stage of their development, they should be hitting a higher bar in this sphere.
Breidablik were technically sharp and clever in their movements – they are better than the unflattering description of their status - and no Irish club can afford to be complacent against teams from a country where they have really invested in development.
Yet there is something odd about the fact that Rovers, an Irish force that is developing a reputation for its work at academy level, look so old as a first team entity when placed against European peers. In Iceland last night, the youngest member of their starting team was 24-year-old Markus Poom, who was also the only winter arrival in the XI. The average age was 29.2.
Bradley’s dressing room is full of multiple league winners and they are still ahead in the race to emulate the four-in-a-row side of the 1980s.
But the number of points they have dropped this season – 8 draws and 4 defeats in 25 league games – should have them playing catch-up.
Across the 2022 campaign as a whole, the Hoops drew 7 games and lost 5. They conceded 22 goals across a 36-game league season and have already shipped that tally at the 25-game mark this time around.
Nobody has been good enough to punish that.
In reality, despite the attempts to freshen up their squad, Rovers remain reliant on the same faces and haven’t evolved.
Admittedly, they have tried to bring in prospects in the right age bracket but those individuals are leaving other LOI clubs for League One when previously they might have gone to Rovers as their next step.
The likes of Liam Scales, Andy Lyons and Danny Mandroiu came to Tallaght, improved and then left and they’ve not sourced replacements with the same upward trajectory.
There is a danger of slipping into kneejerk reaction mode in the immediate aftermath of a let-down.
Indeed, in his early days at Rovers, Bradley was written off prematurely on a number of occasions, including by his own supporters. His achievements shouldn’t be taken for granted; after a dysfunctional period he has been the central figure in the Hoops becoming serial winners again.
However, a critical assessment of their European performances is necessary if this group are to be considered an all-time great by LOI standards.
It’s possible that the team that broke through in the abridged 2020 campaign was Rovers’ best side of this era. They won 15 out of 18 games in the league and drew the other three with Jack Byrne and Aaron McEneff starring and doing well enough to earn moves further afield. Indeed in 2019, a two-legged victory over Norwegian side Brann highlighted their potential. That was an underrated result.
Since becoming champions, however, Rovers haven’t beaten a decent side over two legs. Teuta Durres (Albania), Hibernians (Malta) and Shkupi (Macedonia) are the only teams they’ve got the better of across 180 minutes and all of those opponents were in pre-season.
The counterpoint to that is that Rovers produced exceptional 90-minute displays against Slovan Bratislava (2021) and Ludogorets (2022) and they acquitted themselves well in the Conference League group games in Tallaght last year.
On the road, though, their record is mediocre, looking poor defensively even when they play three centre halves with two holding midfielders. Conceding four to Flora Tallinn two years ago was a scarring experience and Bradley’s charges now play more conservatively without being harder to break down.
The backlash from Breidablik will hurt this group and they could still go on a run through the Conference League qualifiers against other champions that have fallen by the wayside but advancing through three ties is a big ask.
It is deluded to expect that an Irish team will play group stage football every year, especially as European qualifiers are cup football where strange things can happen, yet it’s still jarring for Rovers that opponents from Estonia and Iceland are delivering crushing blows when they do have the resources to compete with them.
They reached the top of the Irish ladder at the right time, with changes to the structures of the competition opening a backdoor route that wasn’t available to the other dominant LOI sides of the 21st century.
Success at home could still make this an extremely memorable year for those of a Rovers persuasion and their European campaign isn’t over either.
The niggling feeling, though, is that this deflating reverse will add an asterisk to their legacy
