2002/03

Last Saturday the votes were cast and the Glenwood player of the year was
unveiled at the end of season party in Rathmines. This reporter was unable to
attend but even the most one-eyed viewer of this seaon's efforts from the
Loreto men would be hard-pressed to single out a player who dominated.

Rather, the season was marked by a general decline in Glenwood's play,
mirrored in their results. It was a little too close to the end of the season
before relegation was avoided, and the prime emotion of all true fans was one
of frustration. On paper the team is capable of much better than this, but
this season was surely one of no steps forward, two steps back.

Rovers weren't helped by a slew of injuries during the season. Colm Ward
missed the entire campaign, as less, consequentially, did yours truly. Odhran
O'Brien, Dave Lynch and Johnny Roche all picked up knocks at one stage or
another which forced them out of the team. Players such as Shane O'Brien II,
Dave Farrell and Cormac Langford were no longer available, and may other
stalwarts missed a higher number of games than normal. While the beginnning
of the season saw an estimated 22 players in the squad, by mid season the
usual struggle to field 11 plus a sub or two made manager Ward's job even
tougher than it was already.

This season also saw the complete collapse of any semblance of training, and
the result of this short-sightedness was clear in the results. It was
blatantly obvious that most of the other teams in this highly competitive
division were training at least once a week, and the stop-start nature of the
season due to the weather meant that Glenwood's usual method of playing
themselves into form never got a chance to show itself.

Instead we were treated to a number of brave defeats by the odd goal, a few
too many embarrassing performances, and the occasional draw or victory to aid
in the fight for survival. Not really good enough. Indeed before season's end
there was open talk of what lay in the future. While threats of Glenwood's
demise were perhaps overstated, one or two voices suggested voluntary
relegation, which would be a bitter pill but may allow Glenwood to play in
more competitive games in a season. The usual promises about training next
season were made, doubtless to be reneged on come next August.

The real threat is that Glenwood's more ambitious players may seek to ply
their trade elsewhere next season. While there has always been a steady
turnover in playing staff, for the past few seasons Glenwood have improved as
a squad. Not so 2002/2003. Players in stop-gap positions, a wafer-thin bench,
and no threat to incumbents playing in the comfort zone, all add up to a team
heading in one direction. Change of one sort or another is necessary to halt
the decay of a once great team, Glenwood Rovers, Melchester Rovers, Munster
FC. The question is, do the players really want it?