Jack Byrne was right to think long and hard about the MLS, considering the financial security on offer and the doors it could open.
Joining Charlotte FC would be a chance to better himself as a player and, at 26, you can’t deny him that opportunity.
I’m only realising now what a short career it is being a footballer. You have to make the most of it.
Jack’s move to Cyprus didn’t work out after a bad injury, while Mick McCarthy was sacked days after Jack arrived.
But that doesn’t mean it was ‘a bad move’. You sometimes see it described as a ‘nightmare spell in Cyprus’ but that’s nonsense.
It was a brilliant move at the time.
Sure, you want to play, but you need to look after yourself too and Jack got a decent wage - as he would in a thriving MLS.
Now, I wouldn’t live in America if you paid me. I’m at a different stage of life but the place is crumbling and, geopolitically, it’s on a knife edge.
It’s a fractured country and weighing it up, we’re actually getting a lot of things right in Ireland even though it doesn’t always seem that way.
It now looks like Jack will stay but if there's a dramatic twist and he goes, he'll have to find that out for himself but I’m not surprised by the interest in him.
He’s a sensational talent and I’ve consistently said he should be in every Ireland squad, injury permitting. We’re crying out for a player like him.
Rovers have reaped the rewards of having Jack around the place. They’re chasing four-in-a-row and reached the group stages in Europe last year.
He has raised his team-mates' levels and, because of that, Rovers would have coped just fine without him, if it came to it.
Jack’s absence wouldn’t leave a hole in that squad. Yes, it would be a calculated risk selling him but I’ve news for you - Rovers would be fine!
At the start of the year, I thought they would win the title and now I’m absolutely convinced of it.
They made a slow start but the rest couldn’t get their act together to capitalise and they’ll pay for it.
I’d love to be wrong as I want to see a wide-open title race but Rovers will walk it and nobody will convince me otherwise - with or without Jack Byrne.
There’s a lot of fingers in the one pie behind the scenes at Rovers when you think of who represents who at the club.
It’s not ideal but it’s also a reason why Jack is at Rovers in the first place, and the club has benefited from having him around.
Someone made the point to me that Stephen Bradley and Stephen McPhail were nearly on their way to Lincoln City, so why shouldn’t Jack entertain a move of his own.
Well, they didn’t go, did they? We saw that family circumstances played a significant part in that but that’s life and life is the ultimate dictator.
I don’t know Jack’s personal circumstances. I don’t know how tied he feels to home life in Dublin.
But Jack and Shamrock Rovers have been good for one another and had it been the end of the road, he would surely go with everyone’s best wishes.
Time to ban plastic pitches
The debate this week over artificial pitches is hardly breaking news.
Fair play to Stephen O’Donnell. Sometimes you have to be careful what you say if you’re about to point the finger at your own club.
But Stevie’s said ‘enough is enough’ and called out that dreadful Oriel surface. Maybe it needs a harsh truth and a fork in the ass to get people moving.
Apparently it would cost between €750k and €1m to rip out the astro and replace it with a grass surface but, eh, am I missing something?
That sounds like a ridiculous amount of cash when we live in a country where grass grows out of people’s ears.
Be it on TV or in person, games at Oriel or the Brandywell are a dreadful watch on those pitches and I’ve no doubt they contribute to injuries.
I was at Tallaght Stadium recently, and it was honestly like being in outer space compared to Oriel Park.
It comes back to the wider stadia / facilities debate but stakeholders - including TV companies - need to step in and demand a ban on artificial pitches by a certain date.
Enough is enough.
Rest must rise to Chris' level
Chris Forrester is a class act - on and off the pitch.
His interview in today’s paper tells you as much. But he doesn’t need to apologise for being off his game a few years ago.
We’ve an awful habit of focusing on one player in certain teams. Jack Byrne at Shamrock Rovers. Patrick McEleney at Derry City. Chris Forrester at St Pat’s.
Are they ‘on it’, or are they ‘off it’?
There’s 10 other players on their team, for crying out loud. They can’t do it all by themselves.
I believe all the Shamrock Rovers players have improved because of Jack Byrne. Can you say the same of St Pat’s? No. Can you say the same of Derry City? No.
I played in a team with Wes Hoolahan, Joey Ndo and Alan Moore. We looked at them and thought ‘they’re deadly, I need to get the finger out quick’.
That’s why managers sign these players and it's up to the others to react and step up.
If their standards rise to the point where the marquee player doesn’t stand out as much, that individual will knuckle down and go again.
A rising tide lifts all boats.
I'll sorely miss my magical May
We’ve had a tough time at home as my wife's mother, May O’Sullivan, passed away last week.
She was a huge presence in our family and is sorely missed.
Growing up on the oasis that is Cedarwood Road, I played football outside her gate from the age of four, and she became a great supporter of my football career.
We were going through her belongings the other day and found a bag full of old Irish Mirror newspapers.
I knew she liked reading my column, but I didn’t realise she kept them. Hopefully she’s somewhere reading this one as it is dedicated to her.
I miss you, May.
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