League of Ireland legend and Mirror Sport columnist Stuart Byrne has the final word every Friday
I don’t want to hear any more talk of Shamrock Rovers having a “free hit” against Sparta Prague next week. That’s defeatist language, belonging to a bygone era.
Sparta will be a good side. They reached the Last 16 of the Europa League this year, and were knocked out by Liverpool. But there’s a danger of Rovers bigging them up too much. Sparta are still in pre-season and that counts for something. Bradley and his players have been here before and I’ve no doubt behind the scenes there will be no talk of ‘free hits’.
They were far more pragmatic against Vikingur. Subtle tweaks, but they set out their stall and were harder to beat because that exit to Breidablik really hurt last year. Let there be no more talk of fallback options into other competitions. This is the Champions League and if their approach is right, they can throw the kitchen sink at Sparta Prague next Tuesday.Dawson Devoy’s return to Bohemians made headlines this week, as did Ireland international Greg Cunningham returning home to join Galway United.
I’ve always been a big believer in balance in a football team. It has to be right and it will be interesting to see if those players fit into the mix. I’m aware that theory has been floated again regarding last week’s events, but only the FAI and Gardai can say for sure.
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