Pat Dolan

Patrick Dolan
Born	September 20 1967 [Ardrahan, Co Galway]
Nationality	English
Occupation	Football manager / pundit

Patrick Dolan (born 20th September 1967 in Dagenham, England) is a former football player, manager and executive. He also took on the role of Head Coach with new FAI League of Ireland outfit, Wexford Youths, and was a soccer analyst on the now-defunt Setanta Sports

St Patrick's Athletic

Dolan joined St Pats in a state of poverty. They were playing in Harold's Cross Stadium while they tried to raise enough funds to return to Richmond Park. As St Pats could not justify his salary purely on footballing grounds, Dolan was employed with the St Pats office. Within months he had ignited the local business community and new sponsors came on board. As Dolan's injuries got worse, and after 3 goals in 12 League appearances, he retired from football and appointed marketing manager for the club. Dolan worked closely with manager Brian Kerr and new chairman Tim O'Flaherty (a respected local businessman), and in December 1993 St Pats returned to Richmond Park.

Over the next 3 years the club went from strength to strength as Dolan's marketing and Kerr's team building saw the Saints win the league title in 1996. In December that year Kerr was appointed Director of Coaching by the FAI. Chairman O'Flaherty surprised most with his appointment of Dolan for team manager with most commentators believing that Kerr's assistant Liam Buckley would get the job. Buckley resigned in protest but crucially, Dolan kept respected coach Noel O'Reilly on his staff. After a disappointing finish to his first season, Dolan spent relatively large sums on securing the top young Irish players available and signed three of the Ireland team that finished third in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship. His large squad won the 1997/98 League championship on the last day of the season as arch rivals Shelbourne lost a 2 point lead. After leading St Pats to a credible performance in the Champions League against Celtic Dolan resigned as manager to concentrate on his new role as Chief Executive one game into the 1998/99 season. Liam Buckley was persuaded back into the club to take the managerial hot seat. Buckley would lead the Saints to a second straight league title and Dolan continued to work effectively as chief executive. The following December Pats lost 3 successive games and despite lying in third position in the league, Buckley was sacked. Dolan was immediately reinstated as team manager but could only steer the club to sixth place.

Dublin Saints and the registration season

Early into the 1999/2000 season saw the first cracks in the relationship between Dolan and Pats fans as he accused a section of fans of being drunk overly abusive to a new player, Martin Garrett. Dolan used his match day programme notes to lambaste the Saints travelling fans and, inevitably, the fans hit back. The team finished in fifth position. The following season, acting in his capacity as CEO, Dolan began negotiations with St Francis F.C., with a view to merging. His use of terms like 'Dublin Saints' and 'Pats-Francis' in both his programme notes and his column for national newspaper the Irish Daily Star angered many Pats fans and in a stormy meeting held by the club to announce their plans, many sought his resignation. Backed by staunchly loyal chairman O'Flaherty, Dolan remained in both jobs. Before the end of the season the merger was off but the damage was most certainly done in the eyes of many fans.

The following season saw the Saints improve dramatically on the pitch and they were leading the league when the FAI announced they were deducting 9 points from St Pats total as they played an ineligible player, Paul Marney, for 3 games. St Pats strongly argued it was a clerical error and as Marney had been registered properly they did not seek to gain an advantage. The FAI overturned this decision and re-instated the nine points, much to the annoyance of closest rivals, Shelbourne's chief executive Ollie Byrne. Dolan and Shelbourne manager Dermot Keely traded insults in their competing tabloid columns on a weekly basis. After receiving an anonymous tip off, the league investigated the registration of every St Pats player and found that one, Charles Livingstone Mbabazi, wasn't correct. They deducted fifteen points and St Pat’s title challenge lay in tatters. St Pats, again, angrily denied the charges and a leaked report (to the Evening Herald) commissioned by new league CEO Roy Dooney apparently exposed several minor irregularities in player registrations on several teams but was never released. However only St Pats were punished and they would settle for third place in the league. St Pats started the season as they ended the previous one and for the first time progressed in Europe beating HNK Rijeka in the Intertoto Cup. Only an away goals defeat to KAA Gent stopped further progress.

However the levels of performance dropped and a section of the St Pats support openly protested against Dolan, with a "Dolan Out" banner appearing at games. They called themselves the 'Independent Saints' and were criticised by genuine St Pat's supporters for selling their own merchandise but putting none of their profits back into the club. Their dislike for Dolan had stemmed from a personal level when he accused them of being drunk in Cork, they were somewhat blind to his achievements. The majority of St Pat's fans had huge appreciation for what Dolan had achieved for the club, and they still do to this day. It took a late winner at home to Cork in St Pats' last home game for Dolan to avoid bringing the team into the relegation playoff. In February 2003, Dolan parted company with St Pats to take the high profile job at Cork City. It left St Pats fans divided with the following season seeing many terrace debates between Pro and Anti Dolan camps.

Cork City FC

In March 2003, Dolan was appointed team manager of Cork City. Cork had finished in fourth place in 2003 but with the exciting partnership of John O'Flynn and George O'Callaghan, many pundits expected their challenge to be stronger. Dolan caught the imagination of the Cork public and much like his Saintmania and Supersaint tags, and along with Brian Lennox re-branded Cork City as the Rebel Army. He would lead Cork to 3rd position in his first season, 16 points behind league winners Shelbourne. The following season, Dolan invested heavily in players and it seemed to pay off as Cork beat Malmö FF and NEC Nijmegen in the Intertoto Cup before falling to Nantes. Dolan would improve Cork to second place in the league and they finished only three points behind winners Shelbourne. Shortly before the beginning of the 2005 season, Cork announced that Pat Dolan was no longer manager of the club.[1]

Much like his departure at St Pats, no formal announcement was made as to the reasons behind it. In another mirroring of the St Pats departure, Cork fans were split into Pro and Anti Dolan camps. Dolan had finished building a strong team at Cork, following the good work first laid out by Dave Barry and then Liam Murphy, and the club went on to win the league title in 2005 under new manager Damien Richardson, with the notable addition of Roy O'Donovan. A key factor in the victory in 2005 was the ability for Cork City to finally beat Shelbourne, something which they never managed while Dolan was in charge.

Waterford United

In September 2005 Dolan was appointed as an "advisor" for the Blues[2]

He brought in James Claffey to work as a Sports Psychologist alongside him. In the eight games they were there Waterford only lost once, a remarkable feat, considering they hadn't won a game since the previous April. They eventually finished 8th place in the Premier League seven points clear of the relegation playoff spot that for so long looked theirs.

After Dolan's former side Cork City drew with Waterford, Dolan gave a surprising interview in which he spoke about Waterford in the 3rd person and referred to Cork as "we", despite his role with Waterford and his behaviour during the match which included protesting to have Cork player Danny Murphy booked and subsequently ruled out of the FAI Cup Final.

Media

Throughout his St Pats and Cork City days Dolan wrote a weekly column in the tabloid newspaper Irish Daily Star. His outspoken and often controversial column saw Dolan's profile rise outside the League of Ireland scene. After his departure from Cork City, Dolan joined Setanta Sports as their main football pundit. He continues to front their Setanta Sports Cup coverage, as well as commentating on Serie A, Champions League and UEFA Cup football. He is also now a regular guest on soccer radio show and podcast World Soccer Daily. Dolan is parodied, to some acclaim, by Apres Match.

Wexford Youths

Dolan has recently taken on the role as Head Coach of the newly formed League of Ireland First Division outfit, Wexford Youths. It is believed that Dolan will assist manager and owner Mick Wallace on a part-time basis due to his current media commitments.

Search for new Ireland manager, and appointment of Trapattoni

Through his weekly column in the Irish Daily Star and regular appearances on Setanta Sports, Dolan was fiercely critical of the FAI's recruitment process to find a new senior International team manager. He believed that James Claffey and Mick Dunne should have been part of the panel to decide the next Ireland Manager, as both were Colleges Football Association of Ireland (CFAI) members. James Claffey had captained Waterford Institute of Technology to the CFAI Cup.

When it was announced to almost universal approval that Giovanni Trapattoni, one of the most successful and highly-respected managers in European football, was to be the new Ireland manager, Dolan derided the appointment, saying on a Setanta UEFA Cup broadcast that the only person who should be pleased with this outcome is Trapattoni's accountant[3]. He also stated that he believed Trapattoni is "past it" and "sad" an Irish candidate wasn't even considered for the appointment.