Latest news with #BrianKerr
Irish Times
31-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Challenges for young Irish players trying to make it explored in RTÉ documentary
In 1998, RTÉ's Prime Time highlighted the precarious journey of Irish teenagers moving to England to pursue a career in professional football. 'The game of soccer is no longer a sport,' said Miriam O'Callaghan , 'it is an international business with English clubs quoting shares on the stock exchange. 'Young players are now the raw material for this business with each new talent worth millions of pounds. 'So, what are the risks for the many young Irish players who dream of a full-time football career with its promise of money, adulation and celebrity status?' READ MORE Prime Time 1998, Young Irish footballers moving to the UK, while Richard Dunne shares a dinner table with three bulldogs. — KM2 archive (@KillianM2) Back then, Everton scout Michael Doherty was not even trying to hide how 'easy' it was to pick off Irish talent at 16 and, as tended to happen, discard them at 18. 'I think English clubs look at [Ireland] as a sort of free market,' said Doherty. 'It is quite easy to bring them over.' Neither of the two boys interviewed by Prime Time – Alan Kinsella, then 14, and Alan Hughes – ended up having prolonged careers in the game. 'It's terrible,' said Hughes, the former Brighton youth goalkeeper. 'You are there for two years and it is so hard to settle down, and when you finally settle down you are told to go home again. 'Nobody really tells you things are not going to work out.' [ Behind the scenes at St Patrick's Athletic's academy Opens in new window ] Brian Kerr featured, speaking in his previous role as FAI technical director, and on the cusp of managing the Republic of Ireland under-16 and under-18 squads to unprecedented European Championship titles. 'They are going to England younger and younger, they are going on trial at 12 and 13 years of age,' said Kerr. 'At the moment, four of our under-14 international team from last season have been signed up. Brian Kerr and Shelbourne head coach Damien Duff. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho 'That's a very unnatural situation for young kids to be going into. They should be in their own environment among their parents. They should be staying in school.' Kerr had the vision, demanding that the youth development being done in the 2020s by clubs like Shelbourne , St Patrick's Athletic and Shamrock Rovers became an FAI priority in 1998. But the FAI is dealing with a €70m debt and, as a result, are unable to fund a proper academy system. The need for such a system has increased in recent years, after new Brexit laws blocked players from signing for an English club until they turn 18. [ FAI warns of Brexit impact shrinking Ireland's talent pool Opens in new window ] This means that League of Ireland clubs are overwhelmingly responsible for producing talent in a country that used to rely on boys like Kinsella and Hughes being developed at clubs like Everton and Brighton. Kerr's voice resonates down the decades: 'Statistically, it has been shown, the players who go at 18, 19, 20 with experience of playing in the League of Ireland behind them have done much better. 'It is very hard to put a value on being at home, among your own peers, family and friends, and the support structure that that gives people. 'I think there is an opportunity now for the national league to expand, to improve its quality and to keep more of our better players at home for a later stage of their careers.' Football Families, a new documentary about the same subject, produced by Shinawil, airs the first of three episodes tonight (Thursday, July 31st) on RTÉ One at 10.10pm. It focuses on the Shelbourne FC academy with a cameo from Damien Duff , who resigned as the club's first team manager last month. The introduction to the programme is immediately misleading: 'The tide has turned for Irish football ...' A new series featuring — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) The stark reality faced by individual teenagers, forced to move to England in 1998, is replaced by an insurmountable scenario facing modern League of Ireland clubs. Duff repeatedly states that the gap between the Shels' academy and what he experienced living inside the Blackburn Rovers training ground from age 16 is widening. 'Do I see enough players that take my breath away, that maybe happened 10, 15, 20 years ago? No, I don't.' An obvious difference between the two shows – produced 27 years apart – is the teenagers featured in 2025 are not blinkered by a need to attempt a moon shot to clubs like Everton or Manchester United straight after their Junior Certificate. 'I would love to eventually play in England, that's my end goal,' said Dan Ring after scoring 43 goals for the Shelbourne under-17s. 'But I know there is a long way to go.' Football Families deals in reality; the most determined 16- and 17-year-olds who cannot break into a League of Ireland first team are increasingly moving to European academies, with German clubs now seen as the smart destination. 'The industry in the UK and across Europe is much bigger,' admits Colm Barron, the Shelbourne Academy head. 'They go into a full-time training environment from the age of 16. 'We cannot compete with what the [foreign] clubs can offer them from a development perspective.' Episode one continually comes back to the lack of funding. An FAI audit of every League of Ireland academy is being sent to Government on August 15th, to ideally secure an €8 million annual investment from the next budget. Football Families, begins tonight at 10.10pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player
BBC News
07-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Buddies head home buzzing from 'beneficial' pre-season camp
Assistant manager Brian Kerr says the training camp in Spain has been "very beneficial" for St Mirren as they prepare for their season-opener on Buddies travel to Gayfield this weekend (Saturday, 12 July kick-off 15:00 BST) to take on Arbroath in their first League Cup group stage game. Before that, they face Airdrieonians on Tuesday in their final pre-season game back on home Robinson's side have spent the last week in the blistering heat of Pinatar, and Kerr can only see positives from their time in the sun."It's been a great week," Kerr told club media."It's been great for bringing the new boys together, bringing some young boys over, continuing to add to the fitness that the boys had already topped up on and getting our ideas across for the way we want to play. "The boys have worked very, very hard. "It's been extremely warm conditions but what they get out of that is going to be very beneficial going back in towards the last pre-season game next week and then the first game of the cup."
Daily Record
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Brian Kerr hails Roland Idowu's qualities after shining in first friendly win
The Irishman netted twice in the Saints 4-0 win over Dumbarton on Saturday in the Buddies first pre-season game of the new campaign By Kyle Gunn St Mirren assistant boss Brian Kerr was full of praise for Roland Idowu after his double against Dumbarton. The Saints stepped up their preparations for the new season with a 4-0 victory away to the Sons on Saturday. Mikael Mandron headed the Paisley side in front in the first half after an inviting ball in from the left from the Scottish League One player of the year last season, Evan Mooney. In the second half, Idowu – who made his loan deal from EFL League Two side Shrewsbury Town permanent this summer – scored a brace in what was a performance that excited the fans. The Irishman joined the Paisley side on a two-year deal after a successful loan last campaign. James Scott, who will be eager to be more involved this season after having limited minutes last term, closed off the game with the fourth and final goal. Buddies assistant manager Brian Kerr was delighted to have the team back out on the pitch in what is the first of three pre-season games ahead of the Premier Sports Cup opener against Arbroath on July 12. And Kerr has heaped praise on Idowu for his performance as he explains why they are okay with the Irishman losing the ball on occasions. 'We know what you get from him. He's a winger type,' he told Express Sport. 'He's going to go and try and beat men time after time. Even today, he loses the ball on occasions, but when you get the quality that he has on the other side and in the two goals, then you've got to accept that sometimes he's going to lose the ball. 'We know that we can accept him losing the ball four or five times if he's able to fire two balls into the back of the net the way he did today. 'That's what we know, and the boys know it as well. Sometimes, you've got to accept match winners. 'They know, the boys, the maverick types that Roland tends to be, and the other boys will do the job getting him the ball and hopefully he produces that magic.' New boys Liam Donnelly and Jayden Richardson featured from the start of Saturday's game, with new goalkeeper Ryan Mullen not being used. Richard King is yet to touch down in Scotland after being on international duty with Jamaica at the Concacaf Gold Cup. Kerr went on to add his thoughts on the strong win in West Dunbartonshire. He said: 'It was a good exercise, which is the most important bit. We knew the boys were all going to get their 45 minutes in so it was important that we saw the work rate more than anything else. 'There was some great quality, there were some great goals and bits and pieces, but most importantly it was to get some minutes in the legs.' Stephen Robinson's men flew out to Spain yesterday to further ramp up their fitness.
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'None of them done themselves any harm' - Kerr praises young Buddies
St Mirren assistant manager Brian Kerr says "a few staked their claim" in the Buddies comfortable pre-season friendly win against Dumbarton. Mikael Mandron opened the scoring for Stephen Robinson's side before Roland Idowu added a double and James Scott rounded off the scoring with a late goal. Advertisement "I think it's always important that strikers get opportunities and chances," Kerr said. "We've managed to get Mika, Roland and James all scoring goals today, which is pleasing for us and important for them on a personal point of view. "A good workout, a good performances along the way with young boys and with some of the experienced ones. "There's a couple of them really state their claim for their place in the season." The Buddies had a number of academy graduates and young players out at The Rock, and Kerr added "none of them have done themselves any harm". Advertisement "It's great for the young boys to come in," he added. "Obviously, Callum [Penman] and Evan [Mooney] came in last season. We've got Billy [Hutchison] and Thomas [Falconer] that came in and performed very, very well. "Opportunities are there for the boys if they want to take them. Certainly, none of them have done themselves any harm."
BBC News
29-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'None of them done themselves any harm' - Kerr praises young Buddies
St Mirren assistant manager Brian Kerr says "a few staked their claim" in the Buddies comfortable pre-season friendly win against Mandron opened the scoring for Stephen Robinson's side before Roland Idowu added a double and James Scott rounded off the scoring with a late goal."I think it's always important that strikers get opportunities and chances," Kerr said. "We've managed to get Mika, Roland and James all scoring goals today, which is pleasing for us and important for them on a personal point of view. "A good workout, a good performances along the way with young boys and with some of the experienced ones."There's a couple of them really state their claim for their place in the season."The Buddies had a number of academy graduates and young players out at The Rock, and Kerr added "none of them have done themselves any harm"."It's great for the young boys to come in," he added. "Obviously, Callum [Penman] and Evan [Mooney] came in last season. We've got Billy [Hutchison] and Thomas [Falconer] that came in and performed very, very well."Opportunities are there for the boys if they want to take them. Certainly, none of them have done themselves any harm."
