Hoops, They've Done It Again!

Trap’s men winning 4-0 in Tallinn may have sparked wild scenes of national celebration, but in terms of pure sporting romance nothing in 2011 compared to Shamrock Rovers turning over Partizan Belgrade and thus becoming the first Irish team to make it through to the group stages of a major European competition. Sorry, Ed Power, but Cork City’s 1997 Intertoto Cup heroics don’t count!

The David vs. Goliath nature of the win is underlined by the fact that Partisan are expected to sell their teenage striking sensation Lazar Markovic during the January transfer million for a cool €10 million – a sum which would probably pay every Airtricity League wage-bill for the next five years.
Needing to beef up their squad ahead of those home and aways against PAOK Salonika, Rubin Kazan and – most mouthwateringly – Spurs, Rovers brought in Rohan Ricketts, a 28-year-old Londoner who started out as an Arsenal youth player, controversially made the move across North London to White Harte Lane where he notched up 30 Premiership appearances and after spells at Coventry, Wolves, QPR and Barnsley has subsequently plied his midfield trade in Canada, Hungary, Moldova and Germany.
“To go to Belgrade and beat a big club like Partisan 3-1 is Roy Of The Rovers stuff,” Ricketts reflects over a cup of tea in the Tallaght Stadium Café. “I’d trained pre-season with Stevenage, Chesterfield and Southend – I scored a hat-trick for them in a friendly – but either it wasn’t the right club for me or we couldn’t agree terms. Then on transfer deadline day Shamrock Rovers came in with the offer of Europa League football and the extra sweetner of having Spurs in their group. I knew the club’s name but not its history. The fact that Rovers nearly went out of business, but was saved by the fans, who still run it, is amazing. The welcome I got from everybody when I arrived in Tallaght is something I’ll never forget.”
Playing regular first team football – and being paid for it – again was a blessed relief for Rohan after his largely disastrous European odyssey.
“First of all I ended up in Hungary with Diosgyori VTK, which was terrible for me,” he winces. “It was a great life experience because I got to see the bottom of the barrel. It was a director who signed me, so from day one there was a conflict of interest with the manager. Then I was supposed to go to Turkey but the deal broke down and I ended up at a Moldovan club called Dacia Chisinau, which was even more horrendous. I played a couple of games, never got paid and a year later still have FIFA chasing them for my money. People say, ‘It’s ridiculous what Wayne Rooney and Mario Balotelli are on’ – but I’m telling you, man, if you’re not in that top 20% of players it can a hard slog.”
An oft-debated question within Irish football circles is how the Airtricity compares to its English counterparts.
“With our current team, I think we’d hold our own in the top half of League One,” he proffers. “A couple of years ago I’d have said the Championship, but you’ve some really big clubs in it now like Leeds and Southampton, who we wouldn’t be able to compete with. Outside of Celtic and Rangers, I also think we’d do okay in the Scottish Premier League.”
DROP CAP
Asked who’s impressed him since he came to Ireland, Rohan Ricketts doesn’t hae to pause. He immediately names Richie Ryan, who’s just moved from Sligo Rovers to Dundee United and Tallaght teammates Ronan Finn, Christopher Turner, Gary Twigg, Billy Dennehy, Gary McCabe and Karl Sheppard.
“They’d all do okay in England,” he proffers. “The most outstanding player I’ve seen here though is Joseph Ndo at Sligo. He’s probably too old now for a big move, but he’s the sort of guy who can sell-out stadiums. The margins are really fine – I know so many great players in the lower leagues who – if things had worked out a little differently – could be big Premiership stars. There’s definitely a lottery element to being a footballer.”
What about Enda Stevens who’s just left Rovers for the bright-ish lights of Villa Park?
“He’s obviously got a lot to learn, but the talent and – just as importantly – the attitude’s there. Enda’s very comfortable with the ball; lovely left-foot and pacey. Could be a bit better defensively, but that’ll be drilled into him by Alex McLeish and the Villa coaches.”
Talking to Hot Press last year, Phil Neville was of the opinion that Seamus Coleman had learned more playing first-team football for Sligo Rovers than he would have done going through the Everton Academy.
“The Airtricity League is a good place to learn your trade, definitely. It’s really high-tempo because there’s something on the line and you’re getting used to dealing with big crowds and the media. You don’t get that playing for the youths or a reserve team.”
Rewinding to Thursday September 29th this year, just how good was it to be back at White Hart Lane where under Glen Hoddle – “A great coach but wasn’t received too well as a man manager” – Rohan picked up two Player Of The Month Awards.
“Very emotional. To have 30,000 Spurs fans give me a standing ovation as I ran on to the pitch was amazing. Even more amazing was that the 5,000 or 6,000 Rovers fans out-sung them throughout the game.
“We could have been 2-0 down early on – Pavlyuchenko had a great chance and Defoe hit the bar, but our goalkeeper that day, Richard Brush, was outstanding. After that we got our goal, kept possession better than we usually do and gave them a scare before they eventually scored three in quick succession.”
The trip to Salonika proved to be less enjoyable.
“One of the PAOK fans called me a nigger,” Ricketts recounts. “When that happens you’ve two choices – either kill ‘em or don’t give them the satisfaction of upsetting you and get on with your game. I’ve decided that the second of the two options is best. It’s just ignorance.”
It must have been especially galling a few days later then when Sepp Blatter came out with his “discrimination can be settled with a handshake” remark.
“Yeah, it was. There should be zero tolerance towards racism both on and off the pitch. This idea that it’s a bit of harmless slagging – bollocks!”

A massive music fan – “I’m into everything from reggae and soca to Maverick Sabre and The Script” – Rohan was made up during his time with Toronto FC to meet 50 Cent.
“I’d scored two goals and decided to go to the club where 50 was performing to celebrate. I had my jersey with me and as he was leaving with Lloyd Banks and the other G-Unit members managed to grab a few minutes with him. I asked for a photo with the jersey, he said, ‘Can I keep it?’ and I’ve stayed in contact with his management and visited their office in New York on a fact-finding mission. I’ve started my own online magazine, column10.com and am working on creating some apps for iPhones and Androids, so I wanted to see how 50 runs his operation.”
As if that wasn’t enough to be going on with, Ricketts does regular pundit work in Canada, is about to record a pilot show for America’s Sirius XM Radio Network – if optioned Howard Stern and Neil Diamond will be among his colleagues – and has penned a must-read eBook, Passion For Football.
“From being a teenager in Clapham where most of my mates were smoking weed and some of ‘em selling crack to being told by a club ‘We don’t want you anymore’, I’ve made it as honest as possible. It’s like me tweeting last week that Spurs at Tallaght is likely to be my last game for Shamrock Rovers. The people who pay to see you every week deserve to be told the truth.”
Will it be with a heavy heart that he leaves south County Dublin?
“Totally,” Rohan nods. “The feeling when we beat UCD to win the league and all the Rovers fans ran on to the pitch is one of the best I’ve ever had in football. I’m a Hoops supporter for life!”

Read Rohan’s online magazine at column10.com and get his Passion For Football eBook from bit.ly/t5RS7o and http://amzn.to/uKkimX