Did I tell you we are reigning Champions of Ireland?
Group A
Linfield (holders)
Shelbourne
Glentoran
Derry City
I'm none too happy with this draw. It's probably the toughest draw we could have got (despite the fact that Cork City won the Eircom League). Setanta will be delighted with it, as it's the one that guarantees the highest ratings. Originally I thought that the old 'heated balls' would come into play to keep Linfield and Derry City apart after the events of February [link to jh], but as it turns out, my faith in the randomness of draws has either been restored, or this group was put together deliberately. It's a cracking draw football-wise and Setanta will no doubt be delighted with it, but we will have to do very well to progress from the group. Ah well as the old saying goes, if you want to win something you have to beat the best. But I remain disappointed. Why?
1. Shelbourne: they may have had a disappointing sesaon, triggered off in no small part by our convincing defeat of them back in May, but the had a strong last third of the season and Pat Fenlon will no doubt have them back stronger than ever again next season. Let's not forget Shels are full-time and took the Glens apart (2-1 and 4-1) in July in the Champions League qualifiers.
2. Glentoran: Our 3-0 win over them at the weekend would make you think I'd be delighted to play them. But no. This will now mean we will play Glentoran at least 6 times this season (2 league, 1 CIS cup, 1 CA Shield, 2 Setanta) with probably a seventh in the Irish Cup. Familiarity not only breeds contempt, but it breeds a certain boredom and takes the crunch out of encounters. Considering we played them 7 times last season too, a little break would have been welcome.
3. Derry City: I am still amazed we were drawn together. I thought it was a cert we would be kept apart, after what happened to our supporters coming out of the Brandywell after the friendly there back in February. Put simply, security arrangements INVOLVING THE PSNI are going to have to be put in place very soon, or a) the games will be for home supporters only, or b) Linfield refuse to fulifll the fixture if the safety of their supporters cannot be guaranteed. We cannot run the risk of being sitting ducks for a mob of republican hood scumbags outside the ground again, policed by no-one except ex-Provos. I've heard it mentioned that there may be another way for Linfield fans to enter the ground. All I want is that the safety of visiting fans is secure.
This will really test the credentials of a future all-Ireland league. Derry City are seriously handicapped by the location of their ground, and the seemingly no-go area status for the police in that part of the Bogside. Don't get me wrong, I'm very excited by the games with Derry, it will be our first competitive fixtures in 34 years. Some are even speculating that these two were paired together on purpose to 'test the waters', so to speak. The problem is that there is going to be a media frenzy in the build-up to the game (it doesn't help that we play at the Brandywell in our penultimate group game, with no doubt a load at stake) which will no doubt attract hangers-on of all hues. Linfield now have a travelcard scheme in place for contentious away matches, and I have no doubt that genuine Derry fans will behave impeccably. But it's getting in and out that will be our problem and if that cannot be guaranteed or should the same scenes happen again, I fear for Irish League football. Fingers crossed...
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