Danny Mandroiu signed a six-month deal with Shamrock Rovers yesterday, and it immediately brought an old debate back to the fore.
Has the attacker taken a step back going to Ireland, or a step back up? It’s an interesting debate, and it has many different facets which I thought I’d seek to explore. Sensitively, of course, certainly more so than suggesting in a post-match interview that going back to Ireland is, in some way or another, failure.
Pros of Going Back to Ireland
I’ve always been a bit dumbfounded when I see the League of Ireland referred to as the ‘farmer’s league’ by some. There are a lot of reasons a player such as Mandoiu may feel Ireland is a step up, or at the very least has some elements that underline why it isn’t entirely a step down.
First of all, there’s the European angle. This week, Shamrock play the first leg of their Europa Conference League tie with PAOK, a two-legged affair that will lead them to the group stages if they win. If they lose, they’ll drop into the Conference League, but again, the group stages. Whatever detractors might think, ties like that are a hell of a lot better than playing Manchester City’s kids on a Tuesday night at Sincil Bank.
Also, bear in mind that while we might not think of the League of Ireland as a big division, over the Irish Sea, it is backpage news. If you pick up an English paper today, where will Lincoln be in it? Even if we signed a player for a club-record fee, we’d get a mention three pages deep, maybe. In Ireland, Mandroiu signing for Shamrock is likely to be headline news – that’s back pages of a Dublin newspaper, a European capital city. The world doesn’t revolve around our little corner of the UK, and many of those saying the League of Ireland is a step back perhaps haven’t spent that much time in Dublin in the past.
There’s also a big chance of silverware. Shamrock have won the title four years in a row, and five years ago lifted the FAI Cup. Remember how we celebrated when we won the EFL Trophy and the National League? They’re not national titles. Be as condescending as you wish, but know that the League of Ireland is, obviously, a big deal in Ireland, and playing there holds a lot of prestige for certain players at certain clubs.
Cons of Going Back To Ireland
When Mark Kennedy made his infamous comments, he referred to Danny ‘going back to Ireland’ as a step back in his career, and while we’ve outlined why it might not be a step back entirely, it is a failure in some manner. Players don’t move from Shamrock to Lincoln because we’re a bigger club (I’ll debate that in a minute) but they move to England to climb the ranks. The Premier League is one of the biggest divisions in the world, and players are happy to drop to our third tier to perhaps climb higher.
To spend two seasons here and then go back, the second retreat in his career, could be classed as a step back in terms of Mandroiu’s career. He was linked with Standard Liege while he was with us, and Celtic before he left Shamrock the first time. In that respect, going back to Ireland is a step back, because it is the opposite direction he intended to go when he came to the UK.
Also, even the Irish top flight has a big gap in terms of quality. Mandroiu proved he was talented enough for League One, but Drogheda, bottom of the division at present, have Elicha Ahui playing, who struggled for game time at Ayr United. Zack Bradshaw was a regular for Bohemians, eighth in the table of ten, and has now been loaned to Tranmere for better experience.
The LOI Premier Division might be a route into Europe, but when the top side are signing Rayhaan Tulloch, a player who couldn’t get a game at Shrewsbury, it does suggest the quality isn’t quite the same as League One, where Birmingham City are paying millions for players.
Shamrock Rovers v Lincoln City
Here’s the big question that I’ve seen asked – are Shamrock Rovers bigger than Lincoln City? As always, the answer is relative, and can be a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ depending on your argument. It’s a bit like the chicken and egg situation. Have we ever played in Europe? No. Have we ever won the top domestic league title? No. Are we one of the best clubs in the country? No. On those criteria, Shamrock are of course, bigger.
Would we get more than 6,153 supporters to a game if we were in the Europa League qualifiers? Yes, as we’re likely to top 10,000 this weekend against Mansfield. We have a smaller catchment area in terms of population density, and we’re a small provincial city in England rather than one of Europe’s capitals, and yet we’re a bigger draw. Sincil Bank is a 10,669-capacity stadium with an average attendance of 8424 last season (78% full), whereas Shamrock’s Tallaght Stadium is 10,500 with a 5,945 attendance (56.6%). Who is bigger?
In terms of purchases, Shamrock’s record buy, according to this website, is a player we trained and released, Luke Dimech. Other than that, Andy Lyons at just £35k is their record signing. While our captures are always undisclosed, you can imagine £35k is a long way down the list of our record purchases. However, one of their record sales is Mandroiu at £30k. To us.
Conclusion
I’m not offering an argument as to which club is bigger; I’ll let you all debate that. What I will say is that while some will see Mandroiu’s move as a retreat, the right set of results could see him playing against Porto, Roma or Man Utd. Even if they lose against PAOK (which they most likely will), they’ll end up in the Conference League, where teams like Chelsea, Real Betis and Lens await. That’s quite a shop window. Mandroiu might have gone back to Ireland, but he’ll be in the spotlight in terms of exposure to clubs on the continent, which is where interest has come before.
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