I know its not the same but if I was to take a Manager / Coaching job in say Germany the first thing I'd do is collate as much footage from the League as possible to understand and learn what I'm getting myself into!!
Well we do keep telling everyone who will listen that we have the most comprehensive, competitive footballing league system in the world.
I can only imagine that they think it is post-colonial bluster and will be further diminished by either Brexit, Trump or the North Korean Easter Bunny!
Well we do keep telling everyone who will listen that we have the most comprehensive, competitive footballing league system in the world.
I can only imagine that they think it is post-colonial bluster and will be further diminished by either Brexit, Trump or the North Korean Easter Bunny!
What fucking planet is CO'L on?
Planet Roland, where every day is another payday for overpromoted opportunists.
Well we do keep telling everyone who will listen that we have the most comprehensive, competitive footballing league system in the world.
I can only imagine that they think it is post-colonial bluster and will be further diminished by either Brexit, Trump or the North Korean Easter Bunny!
What fucking planet is CO'L on?
Planet Roland, where every day is another payday for overpromoted opportunists.
Irishman Chris O’Loughlin has made Belgium his new home as he helps to revive one of its most historic clubs
THE last time Royale Union Saint-Gilloise were Belgian champions, Anderlecht were spending their last season outside the top flight.
It meant 1935 looked like the end of one era and the beginning of another in Belgian football, at least until now.
The Jupiler Pro League finished up for its mid-season break on Monday with newly-promoted Union seven points clear at the top of the table.
Overseeing things is sporting director Chris O’Loughlin, who was born in Limerick and lived in Shannon but mainly grew up in South Africa before moving to his dad’s hometown of Belfast.
A title challenge from Union may seem unlikely but, then, O’Loughlin’s career has, at times, seemed improbable.
Injury had ended hopes of breaking through at Cliftonville and Larne and he had been working for Halifax Bank before he decided to pursue a career in coaching.
It brought him back to South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Australia, where he was assistant to Jim Magilton at Melbourne Victory.
Bar a spell with Charlton Athletic, home has been Belgium for the past eight years.
He has come a long way from not being able to secure an interview with an Irish League club when returning from Down Under.
O’Loughlin told SunSport: “It’s kind of what I tell the players — everyone has a different journey.
“ Not everyone is going to be in the youth team of a Premiership club from the age of seven and progress to the first team and their national team.
“And not everyone is going to start their career at the top in club management. Everyone has their own pathway and you’ve got to own it.
“It wasn’t always the easiest at times but, I know it sounds clichéd, it makes you who you are.”
PROUD HISTORY
If O’Loughlin has worked his way from the bottom up, the club can argue it has — after a considerable amount of time — merely regained its rightful place.
Go back to the mid ’30s and there was not much argument over which was Belgium’s leading club.
Club Brugge had won one league title, Antwerp two, while other names like Standard Liege, Mechelen and Anderlecht had yet to win any.
Union had 11, the last three in successive seasons which featured a still-record 60-match unbeaten run.
In 1959 it reached the Fairs Cup semi-finals but was first relegated from the top flight in 1963 and again in 1965 and 1973.
FELL DOWN THE DIVISIONS
Bouncing back a third time proved more difficult with the club later sinking as low as the fourth division.
It may well have remained in the lower reaches had it not been taken over by Brighton owner Tony Bloom and Alex Muzio in 2018.
Union had returned to the second level three years earlier but had just had a season in which they had won only a quarter of their 36 league matches.
There was an immediate improvement as they finished third.
CAME ONBOARD
In 2019, O’Loughlin came in from top-flight club KV Kortrijk where he had been assistant manager.
The FAI’s head of coach education Niall O’Regan was an early visitor with a Pro Licence class, as he had been at Sint-Truiden, where O’Loughlin had won promotion as Yannick Ferrera’s No 2.
History repeated itself, albeit it in a different role, with the Second Division title won at a canter, averaging almost 2.5 goals per game.
Their return to the top flight after a 46-year absence has gone better than anyone could have anticipated.
With a budget in the lower half of the 18 top-flight clubs, recruitment had to be good.
IDEAL PROFILE
O’Loughlin explained: “We believe there is value out there and why should we be throwing money around when we don’t have it?
“I can’t pretend myself and my team are watching leagues around the world, that’s not realistic, but we do use data that’s objective so we are able to draw up a clear scouting list.
“You still need to find out if a player is interested or available — they might have an incredible release clause — but once they are a viable option we watch them to see if they have the qualities to fit into our team and find out more about them as human beings.
“ We are very strong on having a good mentality and that you shouldn’t have to sacrifice that for talent. That is part of our culture.”
EXTRA EDGE
And there is another factor which O’Loughlin believes has been key.
He said: “We have an injury-prevention programme which we do four out of five days a week.
“My experience as a coach was that you could have seven, eight, nine or ten players who were disciplined and you didn’t need to tell them to do their own individual programme.
“ But then there was another group who just never did it.
"When you’re a coach or part of a staff under pressure to get results and injuries happen, it’s difficult.
“Of course injuries are part of sport but, if there’s an opportunity to reduce the risk, why would you not take it?
"That is something I learned and why we put that programme in place so it’s as much a part of our training programme as possession work.
“ We have an incredible rate of healthiness in the squad, we’re the healthiest in the league.
"We had one ACL injury from a tackle which was unavoidable but 99 per cent of the time the coach can pick from a full squad.”
CONNECTION WITH SUPPORTERS
Given his career to date, O’Loughlin knows better than to plan ahead or say whether a return to hands-on coaching at some point appeals.
He said: “I enjoy what I’m doing now.”
With his son born and his kids in school there, Belgium feels like home.
He appreciates the familiarity of the country’s football, whereby all staff are on the pitch and interacting with supporters after a game.
That friendly feeling is accentuated at Union where the cheapest season tickets range from €25 for kids to €160 for adults.
Its Stade Joseph Marien — with its art deco main stand and wooden seats and located at the edge of the 59-acre Duden Park — is a protected structure.
GREAT ATMOSPHERE
He said: “The club always had a core support, even when it was in the lower divisions, who loved the team.
“It’s in a special part of Brussels so there are pubs and cafes outside the ground and people loved to go along on matchday and meet friends for a few drinks and go to a match.
“When results improve, it’s normal you might bring another friend along and so it grows.
“But it’s very social, there’s no aggression or animosity at the matches or outside the ground, it’s just pleasure and friendship.
“ They sing for 90 minutes and it really feels like what sport is meant to be.”
GAME BY GAME
A league title would complete the fairytale.
Playing away to second-placed Club Brugge on a Thursday night before hosting Anderlecht, who lie third, at 12.30pm on Sunday at the end of January has the look of a pivotal few days.
O’Loughlin shrugged: “We started the season a little bit that way too.
“You have to play them some time. We can take confidence in what we have done so far.”
STVV worked for Roland live in house by the corner of the ground. That was also owned by Roland and would sometimes put team manager into . Very handy for work.
Comments
Watch it on TV my arse.
I can only imagine that they think it is post-colonial bluster and will be further diminished by either Brexit, Trump or the North Korean Easter Bunny!
What fucking planet is CO'L on?
Irishman Chris O’Loughlin has made Belgium his new home as he helps to revive one of its most historic clubs
THE last time Royale Union Saint-Gilloise were Belgian champions, Anderlecht were spending their last season outside the top flight.
It meant 1935 looked like the end of one era and the beginning of another in Belgian football, at least until now.
The Jupiler Pro League finished up for its mid-season break on Monday with newly-promoted Union seven points clear at the top of the table.
Overseeing things is sporting director Chris O’Loughlin, who was born in Limerick and lived in Shannon but mainly grew up in South Africa before moving to his dad’s hometown of Belfast.
A title challenge from Union may seem unlikely but, then, O’Loughlin’s career has, at times, seemed improbable.
Injury had ended hopes of breaking through at Cliftonville and Larne and he had been working for Halifax Bank before he decided to pursue a career in coaching.
It brought him back to South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Australia, where he was assistant to Jim Magilton at Melbourne Victory.
Bar a spell with Charlton Athletic, home has been Belgium for the past eight years.
He has come a long way from not being able to secure an interview with an Irish League club when returning from Down Under.
O’Loughlin told SunSport: “It’s kind of what I tell the players — everyone has a different journey.
“ Not everyone is going to be in the youth team of a Premiership club from the age of seven and progress to the first team and their national team.
“And not everyone is going to start their career at the top in club management. Everyone has their own pathway and you’ve got to own it.
“It wasn’t always the easiest at times but, I know it sounds clichéd, it makes you who you are.”
PROUD HISTORY
If O’Loughlin has worked his way from the bottom up, the club can argue it has — after a considerable amount of time — merely regained its rightful place.
Go back to the mid ’30s and there was not much argument over which was Belgium’s leading club.
Club Brugge had won one league title, Antwerp two, while other names like Standard Liege, Mechelen and Anderlecht had yet to win any.
Union had 11, the last three in successive seasons which featured a still-record 60-match unbeaten run.
In 1959 it reached the Fairs Cup semi-finals but was first relegated from the top flight in 1963 and again in 1965 and 1973.
FELL DOWN THE DIVISIONS
Bouncing back a third time proved more difficult with the club later sinking as low as the fourth division.
It may well have remained in the lower reaches had it not been taken over by Brighton owner Tony Bloom and Alex Muzio in 2018.
Union had returned to the second level three years earlier but had just had a season in which they had won only a quarter of their 36 league matches.
There was an immediate improvement as they finished third.
CAME ONBOARD
In 2019, O’Loughlin came in from top-flight club KV Kortrijk where he had been assistant manager.
The FAI’s head of coach education Niall O’Regan was an early visitor with a Pro Licence class, as he had been at Sint-Truiden, where O’Loughlin had won promotion as Yannick Ferrera’s No 2.
History repeated itself, albeit it in a different role, with the Second Division title won at a canter, averaging almost 2.5 goals per game.
Their return to the top flight after a 46-year absence has gone better than anyone could have anticipated.
With a budget in the lower half of the 18 top-flight clubs, recruitment had to be good.
IDEAL PROFILE
O’Loughlin explained: “We believe there is value out there and why should we be throwing money around when we don’t have it?
“I can’t pretend myself and my team are watching leagues around the world, that’s not realistic, but we do use data that’s objective so we are able to draw up a clear scouting list.
“You still need to find out if a player is interested or available — they might have an incredible release clause — but once they are a viable option we watch them to see if they have the qualities to fit into our team and find out more about them as human beings.
“ We are very strong on having a good mentality and that you shouldn’t have to sacrifice that for talent. That is part of our culture.”
EXTRA EDGE
And there is another factor which O’Loughlin believes has been key.
He said: “We have an injury-prevention programme which we do four out of five days a week.
“My experience as a coach was that you could have seven, eight, nine or ten players who were disciplined and you didn’t need to tell them to do their own individual programme.
“ But then there was another group who just never did it.
"When you’re a coach or part of a staff under pressure to get results and injuries happen, it’s difficult.
“Of course injuries are part of sport but, if there’s an opportunity to reduce the risk, why would you not take it?
"That is something I learned and why we put that programme in place so it’s as much a part of our training programme as possession work.
“ We have an incredible rate of healthiness in the squad, we’re the healthiest in the league.
"We had one ACL injury from a tackle which was unavoidable but 99 per cent of the time the coach can pick from a full squad.”
CONNECTION WITH SUPPORTERS
Given his career to date, O’Loughlin knows better than to plan ahead or say whether a return to hands-on coaching at some point appeals.
He said: “I enjoy what I’m doing now.”
With his son born and his kids in school there, Belgium feels like home.
He appreciates the familiarity of the country’s football, whereby all staff are on the pitch and interacting with supporters after a game.
That friendly feeling is accentuated at Union where the cheapest season tickets range from €25 for kids to €160 for adults.
Its Stade Joseph Marien — with its art deco main stand and wooden seats and located at the edge of the 59-acre Duden Park — is a protected structure.
GREAT ATMOSPHERE
He said: “The club always had a core support, even when it was in the lower divisions, who loved the team.
“It’s in a special part of Brussels so there are pubs and cafes outside the ground and people loved to go along on matchday and meet friends for a few drinks and go to a match.
“When results improve, it’s normal you might bring another friend along and so it grows.
“But it’s very social, there’s no aggression or animosity at the matches or outside the ground, it’s just pleasure and friendship.
“ They sing for 90 minutes and it really feels like what sport is meant to be.”
GAME BY GAME
A league title would complete the fairytale.
Playing away to second-placed Club Brugge on a Thursday night before hosting Anderlecht, who lie third, at 12.30pm on Sunday at the end of January has the look of a pivotal few days.
O’Loughlin shrugged: “We started the season a little bit that way too.
“You have to play them some time. We can take confidence in what we have done so far.”
Did he actually ever ‘manage’ us?
I think it's fair to say it's worked out well for him in Belgium though.