As we have seen throughout the past half-decade or so, the Irish League is an ever-evolving beast and clubs must sometimes be elaborate for the sake of staying competitive.
Larne and Glentoran have welcomed on board the investment of Kenny Bruce in 2017 and Ali Pour in 2019 that has allowed both clubs to adopt full-time strategies, helping the former to their first-ever Irish League success in the 2022/23 season, and since then, American business executive Michael Smith has become Carrick Rangers’ majority shareholder and Coleraine agreed to be taken over by London-based home town duo Ranald McGregor-Smith and Patrick Mitchell in a deal that could be done before the year is out.
Investment opportunities in the Championship are being sounded out as well. In December, Bangor confirmed that they are in talks with North American investors, with a windfall to the tune of £1m touted that is potentially coming in the pipeline.
But advancing with the times does not always involve a wealthy benefactor.
Cliftonville, who had risen to become arguably Northern Ireland’s top part-time outfit, announced that they’d be undertaking a hybrid model with a view to a full-time transition.
That meant they could hire their first-ever full-time manager in Jim Magilton, who assumed the hotseat in north Belfast in the summer, and facilitate the signing of full-time players – they have a mixture of fully professional and part-time talents at the club as we speak.
No money men or women. A rather more organic switch, manageable within their means – and, so far, it’s worked for them.
Magilton has Ireland’s oldest football club fighting at the top of the Premiership table just as Paddy McLaughlin did before and, following their 2-2 draw with Glentoran at Solitude thanks to Ronan Hale and Shea Kearney strikes either side of the interval, they are four points off top – albeit with leaders Linfield having played a game fewer.
Ben Wilson, who teed up Hale to slot in the deadlock-breaker against their cross-city rivals, has been revelatory in red and has already attracted transfer interest at home and abroad.
The striker, who has barely turned 22, joined from Brighton and Hove Albion and leads the top-flight scoring charts on 16. Scottish Premiership establishment Hibernian are said to be monitoring the product of Coleraine’s set-up closely.
With eight, the second-highest Cliftonville scorer in league play is a rather more long-serving punisher around these parts – Joe Gormley.
If the Reds’ all-time record goalscorer’s foray into the professional game across the water didn’t quite pan out as hoped, then the outfit he has hit the net over 260 times for have reaped the rewards of that.
The Ardoyne native, who rose to prominence having scored for fun at local Amateur League side Crumlin Star, turned 34 in November but is scoring at his best goal-per-game ratio in the Premiership since the curtailed 2019/20 campaign. It’s a bit of a stretch to say he’s found a fresh lease of life – after all, 41 goals across all competitions in the two seasons prior to this one testifies that there’s been no reason to reduce or revoke his ‘Joe The Goal’ nickname at any time – but he’s been serviceable indeed for Magilton.
A crucial equaliser en route to a 4-1 win at Dungannon Swifts, the deadlock-breaker in a 3-0 North Belfast Derby defeat of Crusaders at Solitude and a delightful hat-trick in a 5-0 rout of Coleraine at the same venue already stand as key contributions in 2023/24 by the crafty marksman.
Leopards don’t change their spots, predators don’t lose their thirst for blood and there’s still a place in a modern Irish League for cold-blooded killers in front of goal like Joe Gormley.
And if Cliftonville intend to keep their title ambitions alive, they’re going to need him.
Featured image from INPHO/Stephen Hamilton.
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