By Kieran Burke - @KieranBTS/@BetweenStripes.
That time of the year is rapidly closing in again, a time in the season that supporters generally hate but the majority of players and coaching staff love. It is of course the mid-season break.
Almost as well established as the concept of summer football in Ireland is the debate itself on whether a two-week pause in domestic football action is necessary. and if it is stalling the leagues progress in terms of striding for professional standards both on the pitch and perhaps more crucially in terms of outside perception.
Just this week, Soccer Republic pundit Alan Cawley spoke out venomously against the summer break on their Soccer Republic Extra podcast, while fellow guest on the show, Pat Fenlon also voiced his objections.
Of course, the concept of a break in play during a league campaign is far from isolated to just the League of Ireland. Many leagues around Europe take breaks during their seasons and granted, while the majority of these are due to weather conditions the so-called best league in the world, the English Premier League look likely to introduce a mid-season break of their own in the coming years in an effort to aid the national teams efforts at major tournaments.
Some critics have incorrectly pointed to the League of Ireland’s mid-season break as one of the key factors behind the unprecedented fixture congestion Premier Division clubs have experienced so far this season, as the league organizers opted to front load the fixture list in order to aid the chances of Ireland’s European contestants come the summer months. However, that is exactly the issue, the decision to front load this seasons Premier Division games schedule in order to avoid postponements later in the season should Irish clubs progress in Europe was a short-sighted and poorly thought out one, even if it was a decision made with the best of intentions.
Player fatigue, inconsistent results, poor standard of play and reduced attendances, thanks to a plethora of unwanted midweek matches have been a scourge on any otherwise brilliant new look League of Ireland season.
The decision to alter the structure of both divisions into two sets of ten-team leagues has seen competitive league tables emerge, with the odd exceptions, and that has resulted in increased media coverage and interest in the domestic game.
Graham Burke’s leap to fame in recent weeks has only furthered that cause and while it’s unlikely the Shamrock Rovers man will remain in Ireland past the summer, it is of crucial importance for the welfare of our leagues players that the mid-season break remain.
As much as some people would like to champion the League of Ireland as a fully professional league, the sad reality is we are still a long way away from such a scenario. For the majority of clubs, especially in the First Division, part-time contracts are a necessity for survival and with that comes outside influences on players such as work or student life. To ask a part-timer, who may be combining a full-time job with League of Ireland football and a family life, to sacrifice what may be the only chance he has for a break with his loved ones in order to project a false image of professional for the League of Ireland is rather laughable and selfish of those suggesting such an outcome.
Injury crises have begun to mount at a number of clubs with many suggesting the leagues unforgiving fixture schedule may be a key factor behind that and it’s hard to disagree. From a player welfare and sporting perspective a mid-season break is crucial in allowing exhausted players to recharge their batteries and that will hopefully lead to a higher standard of play across the league once action resumes.
Many on the anti-break side have thrown out the line that a summer-break should only be acceptable if Ireland are playing at a major tournament. With all the respect in the world, can those people, hand on heart, say they could fathom attendances remaining anywhere near normal levels during the World Cup if the tournament contained Ireland or not? There are some games in both divisions that are extremely difficult to market, perhaps these same critics of the mid-season break should have a go at marketing a mid-table First Division clash taking place on the same day as even the most mediocre of World Cup encounters?
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