Stuart Byrne column: It's time for LOI players to say 'enough is enough'
League of Ireland legend and Mirror Sport columnist Stuart Byrne has the final word every Friday
Players need to take a united stand and say ‘enough is enough, we no longer accept the pitches in this league’.
Do it through the PFA Ireland. Bang the drum. Put pressure on the FAI, so they in turn pressure the clubs because it’s a bloody joke at this stage.
If the players have any self respect they will find their voice because there’s no way you can play in this league and be happy with those pitches.
My son is a Manchester United fan for his sins and on Monday, I was flicking between the Crystal Palace-Man United game and Derry City-Shelbourne.
I fully understand that Palace are a Premier League club with huge resources, but Selhurst Park was like a billiard table. Such a beautiful lush surface.
When I flicked over to Derry-Shels, I had to avert my eyes because of the absolute state of that artificial pitch at the Brandywell.
There’s nothing new in what I’m saying here. We all know the pitches - apart from Tallaght Stadium - are an embarrassment.
But we do nothing about it and that’s what grinds my gears.
We’re coming into better weather now and the pitches will improve and the debate will be forgotten about.
But I guarantee you we’ll be back having the same discussion next February, March and April because nobody in power does a bloody thing about it.
The artificial pitches are an abomination and should be put in the bin for starters. They inhibit the players, inhibit the pace of the game, and inhibit the product.
And most of the grass surfaces are no better.
By the end of May, we’ll have played about 18 or 19 games of the season. That’s two thirds of the league campaign played on dreadful pitches.
What a shambles that is.
It’s gone beyond a rant, or an annual moan. The reality is everyone knows the pitches are sub standard, but nobody wants to take action or make a plan.
We live in a country where grass grows out our nostrils. It’s actually impossible not to grow grass in this country, so how are we getting it so wrong?
I’ll tell you what a good pitch does for the product. Fewer injuries for a start because managers rest certain players going to the likes of the Brandywell and Oriel.
But when a player arrives at a ground at 5.45pm and walks out onto a lush, green surface it lifts them by 30%. And that’s no lie.
Just look at the Waterford players in Tallaght on Monday. The pitch was like a bowling green and the players responded.
Good pitches make you want to play and play quicker. The quality of the game goes up and the product looks the part.
It was the complete opposite tuning into Derry-Shels the other night. Just a truly dreadful surface.
The FAI should be putting huge pressure on clubs to get their pitches in order over the next 18 months. Let’s put a deadline on it.
Where are our standards? Players and managers wouldn’t have stood for it in my day, I’ll tell you that.
It’s an attitude problem. We give out about this and that and, ultimately, f*** all is ever done.
Sure, the crowds are up around the league but too many people think we’ve reached some sort of promised land.
The truth is the rest of the league is falling down around us and nowhere is that more evident than the pitches.
The players have the power. It’s time we heard from them because the FAI don’t seem bothered and will just brush it under the carpet until next year.
WRITING WAS JON THE WALL
I said it a few weeks ago but April and early May is moving time for managers in the League of Ireland.
If you’re still in a job by the middle of May, well done, you’re probably going to see out the season.
Jon Daly is the latest casualty but let’s be honest, results weren’t good enough with seven defeats in 15 games.
With their recent American investment, there was added pressure and the decision makers weren’t prepared to take any more chances on him.
I can’t get away from the fact he made 11 new signings over the winter.
They won the FAI Cup six months ago and were in contention for the league until the late stages of last season.
You don’t rip it up your squad, you tweak it. That was a big call by Daly to sign so many new faces, and it’s one he got wrong.
St Pat’s is still a great job for a manager. It’s a club I played for but I feel they underachieve and have done since the Pat Dolan days.
They need a big personality like him to run that club.
BOHS JOB WILL ASSIST STEVIE IN HIS MANAGERIAL CAREER
I’m delighted to see Stephen O’Donnell back in action so soon, having become Bohemians assistant.
Sacked by Dundalk in April, management may have got in on top of him.
Don’t forget he’s still relatively new to coaching and hasn't been in that space for too long.
He was a hell of a player and is a bright young coach, so it wouldn’t have been right to see him fade away from the game at 38 after two managerial jobs.
Stevie has loads to offer and I feel a step back from management will actually help his development.
A stint as No 2 will do him the world of good.
And it’s refreshing to see him take it on. There’s no ego at play. He’s not saying ‘I must be the main man’.
Management is such a heavy responsibility, it can drag you down. But at Bohs, he’ll get to coach and rediscover his love of the game.
Alan Reynolds had great success as an assistant at various clubs, so I think they’ll bounce off each other and work well.
But it’s a big job at Bohs because they hadn’t recruited well over the last 18 months, and that needed to change.
I played with Rennie and I know what he’s like. He’ll have a rocket under those players after losing at home to Galway and I expect a response in Derry tonight.
CREDIT TO THE FINE WINES
I’ve a new pet peeve to add to my ever increasing list.
You arrive at a bar and you’re about to order a couple of drinks, when the bloke ahead of you orders a bloody cocktail.
Fifteen minutes later, you’re still giving the lad daggers while the barman continues to throw his shapes.
Still, my glass of red was worth the wait and while I was getting stuck in, it got me thinking of the players who are like fine wines.
Yesterday, I saw that 34-year-old Aaron Greene won the SWI / SSE Airtricity ‘Player of the Month’ for April award.
Great shout, because he’s been brilliant.
I was in Derry when Rovers won 3-1 a few weeks ago and was watching Greener up close. Has he ever looked fitter?
He’s always been quick, but that lad looks so lean and is in the best shape of his career, so hats off to him.
Rory Gaffney, 34, was last season’s Player of the Year and Pat Hoban, 32, is once again the leading scorer in the league.
The millennials and ‘Gen Z’ crew need to get their fingers out because the auld fellas are kicking their arse.
I might even get my boots out, even with one knee.
Anyway, I’m off for a Mojito....
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