Shamrock Rovers made it three-in-a-row but did they have an advantage?

Before I continue let me deal with the pedants who have already weighed in with that hoary old chestnut; ‘The League table doesn’t lie!’

Of course it lies, as a matter of fact, in our league it is almost Trumpian in its mendacity.

Undoubtedly Rovers lifted the trophy in the last Sunday’s dead rubber but there has to be more than that to being ‘the best team’ I’ve always despised the pundits who, with nothing of real interest to say about a game, reverted to the old worn out cliché.

It’s a gimme that we ARE the two best sides on the island north or south but to be the best sides – or, indeed, the best individuals in any sport you must consider the obstacles they had to overcome to get there.

To give a slightly oblique analogy; two sprinters are competing in a 100metre race, one has a handicap of ten yards but only loses the race by FIVE yards.

The other guy actually wins the race but is he the better runner? I don’t think so.

Similarly with Derry and Rovers where we operate under a burden of handicaps that never even comes into the minds of the Tallaght men. A case in point. Over the LEAGUE season City have HALF (eighteen) of their thirty six games AWAY from home while Rovers have just SIX (City 2;Harps 2; Sligo 2) outside The Pale. This is an absolutely crucial imbalance which just has to be a major factor in the destination of any league title. And that’s just on the playing side.

Think of the financial side. All that money which could be used for the development of young players and club infrastructures basically thrown down the drain in hotels, transport and other various overheads. I haven’t seen this quantified but I’m sure it would finance two or three top class players and it’s available not only to Rovers but to ALL the clubs in The Pale.

It is surely no coincidence that, this season, the most southerly club in the Premier League is . . . SHAMROCK ROVERS! Nor indeed that, historically, the clubs who have always had the most severe financial struggles have pretty well been ALL the clubs outside Dublin. The Limericks, the Various Cork sides (I can remember SEVEN in my lifetime and played against three of them), the Waterfords, Galways; indeed pretty well ALL the ‘country’ clubs, including ourselves.

It’s surely time now that the FAI stepped in to (as they say in political circles) ‘even up’. Surely and especially in football – the starting point must be a level playing pitch.