ARE Crusaders the next great kings of the Irish League? At this rate, perhaps.
2015 saw the balance of power remain in north Belfast, but after two winters residing at Solitude, the Gibson Cup made its way up the Shore Road and through the gates of Seaview for the first time in 18 years.
Stephen Baxter must take immense credit. Ten years after he took control, they were in intermediate football during his first full term in charge. A title-winning legend there in his playing days, his achievements in the dugout have arguably surpassed anything he did as a player.
They had crept closer onto Cliftonville’s radar during their back-to-back title victories of 2013 and ’14, but over the past 12 months, the Crues have surpassed them and some. They did so with a style that was far from universally loved. But it was a style that was unfairly labelled as long ball-esque.
In the north Belfast derbies, the Reds’ supporters would cry “hoof” every time Crusaders went direct. But it wasn’t as often as they’d have had you believe. A long ball team doesn’t make stars of its wingers and central midfielder. But in Player of the Year Paul Heatley, Young Player of the Year Gavin Whyte and the crafty Richard Clarke, Baxter had stars that contradicted the criticisms. Not that Crusaders particularly cared. Adopting the old Millwall ‘no-one likes us and we don’t care’ attitude, they almost used it as motivation.
Jordan Owens led the line in the very fashion that his manager used to, carrying the physical and aerial threat that did allow them to mix it up. His goals were invaluable, but playing with two out-and-out wingers was the key. Whyte on one side, Heatley on the other, they were direct and deadly with the ball at feet.
Baxter just got things right. They were already well positioned by the time January came around, but the additions of Barry Molloy and Stephen O’Flynn were shrewd. It gave him a depth to work with and by the time their rivals were crossing the finishing line, the Crues were long since in the paddock.
For many of those expected to challenge, it was a year of upheaval. To say that Cliftonville have declined would be harsh. Crusaders have taken it to another level. But the Reds just had too many things go against them to mount a proper challenge, either for the 2015 title or the one their rivals already look almost certain to retain in 2016.
Out of the hotseat has gone Tommy Breslin and in - if you like - has come Gerard Lyttle. Breslin was hugely successful after taking over from Eddie Patterson four years ago, but he was always a reluctant number one. And when this season started poorly, he mulled over his future long and hard. The 6-1 defeat by Ballymena was the straw that broke it and he resigned soon after, to be replaced by ‘Skin’.
The ex-Celtic midfielder has made his own tweaks since. The more scientific approach, things like the introduction of GPS monitors, has gone down well with the players. But he has had to deal with the same issues that Breslin had. They had already lost Liam Boyce, but Joe Gormley’s incredible 40-goal haul meant his absence wasn’t quite fully felt.
But his departure for Peterborough has decimated their once razor sharp attack. A side blessed with the luxury of goalscoring forwards over the past few seasons, they will hope - with some justification - that winning the race to bring the sought-after Daniel Hughes in in January will strengthen them once more.
But injuries have hurt them. Marc Smyth’s chronic groin problem has affected their defensive solidity, even despite the introduction of Levi Ives, whose form has improved them at the back.
Lyttle faces a big task, however, to bring them back to the powers of the couple of years previous. They’ve been far from the only side to make a managerial change, but theirs has been a smoother transition than others.
Warren Feeney seemed to be just getting his head around things at Linfield, just starting to make progress, when Newport County came calling. His ambition being what it was, he headed back to England to assist John Sheridan at Rodney Parade.
David Healy was an iconic name to replace him, but his managerial experience was null. They do sit tight behind Cliftonville in the table at present, but the new regime has yet to properly click at Windsor Park.
Eddie Patterson’s tumultuous relationship with the embattled Glentoran board eventually got the better of him. He delivered the Irish Cup to the Oval for a second time in three years in May, and he did so with the style typical of an Eddie Patterson team. He did so despite having his hands bound behind his back by the club’s financial difficulties.
They sacked him in mid-October, pointing to the side’s ‘deteriorating' league position and the need to be competing for places in European football competition. Alan Kernaghan came in but the board’s seemingly lofty ambitions would be beyond most.
Rodney McAree took on Darren Murphy’s task of trying to keep Dungannon Swifts in the top flight, while the struggle goes on for Warrenpoint at the bottom. A penalty shootout win over Bangor kept them up in May, but losing Daniel Hughes to Cliftonville is a huge blow to their already faint hopes.
If Stephen Baxter had one serious contender for manager of the year, it would have to have been Coleraine boss Oran Kearney. His attention to detail has guided the young Bannsiders towards the upper echelons, and even a tough December shouldn’t dull the light coming from the Showgrounds at present.
The Big Two are no longer the big two in the Irish League. It’s Cliftonville who will next month appear in a fourth League Cup final in a row, having won the three previous, and you feel that it’s they who will push Crusaders hardest for the title.
But it looks like even that will only be a gentle challenge. Turning the corner into 2016, Crusaders are streets ahead in more ways than one.
