JUST HOW seriously the three participating overseas clubs – Celtic, Manchester City and Inter Milan – will take the Dublin Super Cup is unlikely to become apparent until the event at the Aviva Stadium on July 30th-31st.
It will be clear by then too just how many of the players named by Damien Richardson in the Airtricity League squad will be available but more devoted fans of the local game are likely to be hoping it will be half or less of the 35-long list issued yesterday.
With Shamrock Rovers, St Patrick’s Athletic and Bohemians set to play in Europe between now and when the invitation tournament takes place, Richardson has had little option but to name an enormous panel that includes players who will not be available in the event their clubs make even half decent progress in Europe.
If the three clubs make their third qualifying rounds of their respective competitions, however, 17 of the 35 players will be forced to withdraw from the squad. Combined with the fact players from Sligo Rovers, who only enter the Europa League at that stage, have not been considered, it does not augur well for Richardson who could do with engineering an improvement on his team’s 7-1 drubbing last August against Manchester United.
The suggestion that the inclusion of a local representative side was supposed to be part of an effort to promote the club game here has always seemed a little cynical but those who are not involved in either the Champions or Europa League will doubtless be pleased to play high-quality opposition in a fine stadium.
For the others, though, the occasion is unlikely to provide much of a consolation if their various European campaigns have gone so poorly as to facilitate their availability. Either way, the situation is a little less than ideal.
If even the league’s top two clubs do make it through – Rovers would have to come through just one round, St Patrick’s Athletic two – then Richardson is unlikely to be able to get by with what he has left. Two of three goalkeepers he included yesterday and three of the five strikers play for one or other of those two Dublin clubs while the scale of the hit in defence and midfield would also be unmanageable given there is talk of a 25-man-plus final squad. Be prepared, in other words, for the possibility of many more announcements over the coming weeks.
One of the more interesting inclusions is Joe Gamble who has yet to see any action since returning to the league with Limerick only last week.
Bray get just one player in at this stage – Gary Dempsey – despite their strong start to the campaign while Derry City fare much better with nine.
“I’m confident we’ll be capable of competing with Celtic and Manchester City in this tournament,” says Richardson.
Here’s hoping.
SQUAD– Goalkeepers: Ger Doherty (Derry City), Gary Rogers (St Patrick's Athletic), Alan Mannus (Shamrock Rovers); Defenders: Pat Sullivan (Shamrock Rovers), Owen Heary (Bohemians), Simon Madden (Dundalk), Stewart Greacen, Shane McEleney, Daniel Lafferty (Derry City), Colin Hawkins (Dundalk), Dan Murray, Craig Sives, Ken Oman (Shamrock Rovers), Danny Murphy (Cork City). Midfielders: Daniel Kearns, Dean Bennett, Ross Gaynor (Dundalk), Daryl Kavanagh, Dave Mulcahy (St Patrick's Athletic), Joe Gamble (Limerick), Gary Dempsey (Bray Wanderers), Gary McCabe, Ronan Finn, Conor McCormack, Stephen Rice (Shamrock Rovers), Killian Brennan (Bohemians), James McClean, Gareth McGlynn, Barry Molloy, Ruaidhri Higgins (Derry City). Forwards: Gary Twigg, Karl Sheppard (Shamrock Rovers), Eamon Zayed (Derry City), Jason Byrne (Dundalk), Danny North (St Patrick's Athletic).
