The Balance between Youth and Experience, a Difficult Dilemma
It is a dilemma that effects every team in the world of professional football. The question is, how much experience do you need to pair with youth for the perfect balance. As much as Alan Hansen was a terrific footballer in his own right, he might best be known for the controversial statement he made on Match of the Day in 1995. 'You can't win anything with kids' was Hansen's view on a young and fresh Manchester United side in 1995. It was fair to say that Ferguson's side proved him well wrong by clinching a league and cup double that year. However, it's Hansen's statement that has been the phrase used to describe any team that people feel is being loaded by youngsters. There must be balance to a team in football, a mix of both youth and experience is necessary. This is something that Shamrock Rovers are beginning to realise under the management of Stephen Bradley in the top tier of the League of Ireland.
When Stephen Bradley took over midway through last season from Pat Fenlon, it would be fair to say that the Shamrock Rovers hot seat looked a daunting proposition. Yet, within a year of arrival, the former Hoops player has implemented a clear style and philosophy within the club which has seemingly taken the club forward. An injection of youth into the squad has been a crucial part to these improvements. Bradley has put a major emphasis on dipping into the fine youth set up that Rovers have assembled, a strategy not used by the clubs previous managers. In fact it's a philosophy that has allowed the fans to get behind their manager, knowing full well that he's trying to do the best for the club short term and long term. In League of Ireland terms, it's a fresh approach from a fresh manager. Youth is great in a lot of ways, yet there are drawbacks and these have surfaced occasionally for Bradley's side.
When you think about it, what does youth offer you? It offers you pace, exuberance and flair, all very respectable and required traits in a lot of ways. However, for all these good points, there are the disadvantages. In fact it is usually the use of the previously mentioned traits that can also lead to the downfalls, too much exuberance and too much flair can usually lead to naive and novice mistakes. When Stephen Bradley took over at Shamrock Rovers last season, a mass exodus occurred. This left Bradley with a depleted and extremely youthful side. Despite the younger guard performing admirably for the remainder of the season, inevitable cracks showed in certain fixtures with heavy defeats to Cork and Dundalk the unfortunate consequences. While 18 year old Sean Boyd proved himself to be an exciting youngster to watch, the lack of depth to the squad showed off the slight inadequate ability of others. When last season finished it was clear for all to see that experience was required over the close season, Alan Hansen's words had rung through at Tallaght Stadium.
This year has had a complete different feel to it at Tallaght. The club is making progress for the first time since those league wins under now Northern Ireland manager, Michael O'Neill. At the heart of their morale boosting season has been a finely balanced side, with the additions of key experienced personnel like Dave McAllister, Roberto Lopes and Ronan Finn proving to be successful. These players pieced together with exciting youngsters such as Trevor Clarke, Aaron Bolger and Lee Grace have lead to a strong season for the Hoops. They lie third in the table behind strong Cork and Dundalk outfits and have a FAI Cup semi final away to Dundalk in the near future also. In comparison to the previous five seasons of turmoil that has been brewing at Tallaght, this season has been a vital step forward in the progression of this football club.
It does seem that Stephen Bradley has managed to get a tune out of Shamrock Rovers this season that wasn't previously found by previous managers Kenny, Croly and Fenlon over the preceding five seasons. This is down to his astute use of young flair with more cultured and street wise performers. Alan Hansen was true in a lot of ways back in 1995, it is not impossible to win things just with kids, but it can be an extremely tricky objective. A balanced team is something that is necessary to succeed, it is hard to find but it can be done. Everyone loves youth, it brings excitement and flair but it needs the helpful guide of elders to get the greatest success from youngsters.