The End of the Sporting Dream

Liam Buckley

On launching Sporting Football three years ago Liam Buckley fulfilled a personal and professional ambition of what he had always believed was possible in the League of Ireland. More importantly, he believed that any club he led should aspire to the high levels and as a result was fulfilling that particular dream when the club secured the FAI Cup in 2009. His vision was based on very practical experience learned at winning clubs such as St. Patrick’s Athletic, Athlone Town and Shamrock Rovers. 

On Wednesday that dream dramatically came apart for him and the playing staff when the club terminated contracts and withdrew from the Setanta Cup now unable to realistically fulfil the requirements for the Independent Licensing Committee which meets on Saturday. Unless another major benefactor materialises over the coming twenty-four hours. Something which Buckley himself has conceded as unlikely when he spoke earlier today. 

“Obviously this is the end of the road for the plan we started out with in 2007 and came into being with the support of Fingal County Council the following year,” he explained, “To see it finish in this way, bearing in mind the time and effort so many people have put into it, is very tough.” 

For those not old enough to recall his glory days in the early eighties at Glenmalure Park alongside Alan Campbell in the Shamrock Rovers attack, his efficiency and ability in front of goal was undisputed in the League of Ireland. It was this reputation that saw him attract the attention of continental football clubs, finally leading to a move to Belgian side Waregem in n the mid eighties after being a regular top scorer for “The Hoops” 

When he left in 1986 it was from the best club set up in Ireland which under John Giles and Noel Campbell encouraged skillful players ply their trade supporting them by good training facilities and guided by the professionalism brought back from England and Canada by Giles himself. So when Buckley went to Belgium to see things at the club with his agent Goyvaerts, it was the practical side that helped his decision with the stadium and training facilities an improvement of what he had at Rovers. 

Having decided to make the move he was rewarded with a opportunity to play in a UEFA Cup Semi-final against Inter Milan in his first season which then led to a transfer to Racing Santander in Spain two seasons later. His time at Racing saw him compete on a weekly basis in the same league as Real Madrid, Barcelona; Valencia and Athletic Bilbao – all within a couple of years of leaving Rovers.. 

For Liam though it was also an information gathering exercise that would form the basis of his managerial vision for a League of Ireland club where the day-to-day progress of a club needed to be both on and off the field. His experience taught him that winning matches alone could not guarantee a club a long-term future but it went a significant way towards it. Attracting the best players in any league was the real secret to success. 

Winning trophies attracted the players 

Buckley knew enough to realise that Sporting Fingal had a long road ahead when they set off in 2008 but as of that day it was also clear that the natural optimism of the manager equipped him well to make project a success within the local community – given the time. Tremendously competitive he was capable of delivering success as his passion and competitiveness are too often underestimated. Indeed, for him it was no surprise the Ford FAI Cup was won within a season of joining the league. 

But as a manager who portrays himself in a casual and easy going manner - often using very few words with the media – it takes a while to learn that beneath the Peter Pan looks lies a person who just loves to win. In that sense the ending of the Fingal project is particularly tough for him to comprehend with the news so raw and so fresh he repeats the clubs footballing achievements over the past 36 months. 

Few know that many years ago Buckley was attracted by the idea of working at Belfield Park when a vacancy arose at UCD AFC as in his mind the club had a great pitch, great training facilities and access to the student players that would allow training during the day. At a time when few clubs were full time the idea of a "professional model" would allow him implement the many ideas that could not be contemplated in "part time" clubs. In the end the opportunity never came to pass for him. 

Many years later it did and at Sporting Fingal he proved it could be done. The problem though was could it be sustained? Without reaching the Champions League knock out stages and earning the lucrative bonuses dues, such a model could no longer be financed in Ireland. 

For those who might revel in the in the demise of another League of Ireland club on the eve of a new season – albeit in the Airtricity era – they fail to recognise the achievement by and vision of Fingal County Council. The downside of the project however was the same weakness from day one and that was a lack of heritage, established fan base or natural community from which to draw support should the economics not add up during any given season. That void made the model unsustainable when compared many of the league clubs. 

Sadly, Buckley, Fingal County Council, the players and community ran out of time to establish a lasting legacy and the three year project looks set to end