Pat Dolan
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Patrick Dolan (born September 20, 1967 in Dagenham, England) is a former football player, manager and executive, who currently works as a football pundit/analyst for TV station Setanta Sports. Dolan, and his twin Eamon, were born in Dagenham to Irish parents and both began life as trainee footballers. Eamon signed with West Ham United and Pat signed for Arsenal F.C. They bought played for Republic of Ireland at youth and Under 21 level. Although injuries forced Pat to cut his playing career short, he would become one of the most high profile figures in League of Ireland football.
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[edit] Early Career
Dolan signed YTS forms with Arsenal F.C. when he turned sixteen and made numerous appearances for both the youth and reserve team. In 1988 he was loaned out to Walsall F.C. to gain experience and soon made the move permanent. The following year, having failed to make the impact expected of him, he was loaned out to League of Ireland side St. Patrick's Athletic. After a handful of appearances he returned to Walsall but was promptly released. He joined Galway United, the home town team of his father, before moving to Shamrock Rovers. In 1992 he joined St Patrick's Athletic on a full time deal.
[edit] St Patrick's Athletic – Saintmania and Supersaints
Dolan joined St Pats in a state of poverty. They were playing in Harold's Cross Greyhound 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 he struggled with his weight, he retired from football and appointed marketing manager for the club. His first gimmick was "Saintmania!" and he emblazoned all merchandise with this slogan. 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.
[edit] 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 o KAA Gent]] stopped further progress. However the levels of performance quickly dropped and sections of the St Pats support openly protested against Dolan, with "Dolan Out" banners appearing at all games. 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 was sacked by St Pats. The club did not release the reasoning behind the decision. It left St Pats fans divided with the following season seeing many terrace debates between Pro and Anti Dolan camps.
[edit] Rebel Army
In March 2003, Dolan was appointed team manager of Cork City F.C. Cork had finished in fourth place in 2003 but with the exciting partnership of John O'Flynn and George O'Callaghan, many pundits expected Cork's challenge to be stronger. Dolan caught the imagination of the Cork public and much like his Saintmania and Supersaint tags, 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 FC Nantes Atlantique. Dolan would improve Cork to second place in the league and they finished only three points behind winners Shelbourne. Shortly after the end of the season, Cork announced that Pat Dolan was no longer manager of the club. 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. They would however, unite behind the team as Damien Richardson delivered the title that Dolan craved
[edit] 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 tremendously outside the League of Ireland scene. He began doing some television work for national broadcaster RTE's coverage of local football. 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.
| Preceded by: Brian Kerr |
St Patrick's Athletic manager 1996-1998 |
Succeeded by: Liam Buckley |
| Preceded by: Liam Buckley |
St Patrick's Athletic manager 1999–2003 |
Succeeded by: Eamon Collins |
