Many people dream of owning their local football club.

They fantasise about the big-name players who would sign up to wear their club’s shirt.

They imagine transforming the once-empty trophy cabinet into one overflowing with silverware.

They picture the pride that the town would have for their club, basking in the on-field success that has come from their ownership.

For many, this is purely a dream.

For Kenny Bruce, this is the reality that he has created.

In 2018, Larne FC had all the components of a free-falling club into extinction.

The club had been outside of the top flight of Northern Irish football for 10 seasons and were dangerously flirting with relegation into the predominantly amateur third division.

Off the pitch, it was a sorry state of affairs with the club in great financial difficulties and its stadium in urgent need of refurbishment.

A considerable change was needed for Larne to maintain its existence, let alone progress.

Kenny Bruce was born in Larne but had spent most of his life in England.

The business tycoon was responsible for co-founding online property company Purple Bricks, which was worth over a billion dollars at its peak.

Bruce had been made aware of the difficult circumstances that his hometown club had found themselves in and saw an opportunity to have an incredible impact that would shape the future of Larne and Northern Irish Football.

Over the past six years, under Bruce’s ownership, Larne have enjoyed a meteoric rise.

From dwindling at the bottom of the second division to claiming back-to-back NIFL Premiership titles.

Bruce has claimed to have invested £5m into the club, a level of finance that had never been seen before in the Irish League.

Bruce has used his business acumen to build a club that is becoming self-sustainable with state-of-the-art facilities and an abundance of riches on the pitch.

In this analysis, I will look at how Larne have used their financial power wisely in the transfer market to bring them their unprecedented success.

Experience Through The Spine

A common tactic of clubs with financial power is to bring in experienced big-name signings to bolster a club’s reputation.

Often, signings of this nature can have catastrophic implications if the club has been blinded by the desire to acquire the services of a household name.

A journeyman player whose powers on the pitch have diminished yet still demands a substantial wage can financially ruin a team.

However, Larne have done exceptionally well at signing players who bring both experience and quality.

The backbone of Larne’s title wins over the past two seasons has come from having a rock-solid defence.

Last season, they only conceded 17 goals in 33 leagues, an improvement from their previous tile-winning campaign a year prior, where they conceded 18 goals in as many games.

Cian Bolger has been central to that.

The Irish Centre back has brought a vast level of experience to Larne, playing over 300 games in the football league.

Since joining Larne in 2021, the 32-year-old has been appointed club captain and cemented himself as one of the league’s best defenders.

His pizza chart shows that he’s one of the most aerially dominant centre-backs in the league, with a percentile rank of 97.3 for aerial duel win percentage.

He also proves his ability on the ball, with a percentile rank of 92.1 for progressive passes per 90.

Larne have proved their ability to bolster key positions with experience.

The January signing of Manchester United academy product Ro-Shaun Williams, who brought more Football League experience to the side, was a shrewd signing, adding depth in quality to the backline.

In midfield, one of Larne’s first eye-catching purchases was the signing of Mark Randall in 2019.

The former Arsenal player had made over 200 appearances in the football league before making the move to Northern Ireland.

Having played well over 100 times for Larne, the 34-year-old has been instrumental in their success, playing a pivotal role in big games.

Yet no player has made a bigger contribution over the past two seasons than 29-year-old Scottish striker Andy Ryan.

Signing in January 2023 from Hamilton Academical, the forward brought vast experience with him, having played in all of Scotland’s top four divisions and scoring over 100 career goals.

Over the past season, Ryan has become the league’s most potent striker.

Ryan finished the season as the League’s top goal scorer, finishing the season with 24 goals.

Yet, he isn’t just a goal scorer.

His pizza chart shows that he ranks highly amongst the league’s centre forwards for dangerous passes, with a percentile rank of 84.5%.

Ryan contributed six assists in the League last year, displaying why he has such a high goal-contribution rank amongst forwards.

Ryan has been one of the best imports to have graced the Irish League in recent years.

However, Larne’s search to build their winning team hasn’t always required them to look outside Northern Ireland.

Acquiring The League’s Best Talent

10 years ago, the Irish League was completely semi-professional.

This resulted in the league’s best talent having to go to England or Scotland to fulfil their ambitions of playing professionally.

Larne became one of the very first sides to turn professional.

This has allowed them to attract some of the top performers in the Irish League, who otherwise would have sought moves away from Northern Ireland.

One of the primary examples of this is Larne’s dynamic midfielder, Leroy Millar, who moved from his hometown club, Ballymena United, in 2022.

Millar was an established Irish League player before his arrival at Inver Park and was well sought after in the summer of 2022 when his contract finally expired.

Millar’s impact was immediate.

Everyone has noticed Millar’s improvement since turning professional.

His goal contributions have been the area of most notable progress since joining Larne.

In his first season, he had a combined total of 20 goals and assists in the league.

He had another solid season in 2023/24, contributing a total of 14 goals and assists.

This is a dramatic improvement, with Millar never reaching double figures in combined goals and assists until his move to Larne.

Larne’s growing reputation, unparalleled professionalism and financial power have enabled them to fight off competition from League rivals such as Linfield and Glentoran.

This was seen evidently with the acquisition of Portadown striker Lee Bonis.

Five seasons ago, Bonis was playing amateur football; now, he’s become one of the most sought-after strikers in Ireland.

Bonis had many suitors before moving to Larne, having impressed over the previous couple of seasons with Portadown in the top two divisions.

Yet he chose to become a key part of Larne’s project after signing in January 2022 for a record £119k.

Bonis concluded last season with 28 goals and seven assists in all competitions.

His performances over the past two seasons have even seen him receive an International call-up, a feat that is rarely achieved by Irish League players.

Many clubs in England are monitoring his progress, and rumours suggest their great interest.

Bonis having several seasons of full-time football under the belt will help the transition if he does make the move to England.

Being contracted to June 2026, it’s expected that Larne will get a satisfying fee if he does make the move over the summer.

Making Profit

There was a stigma attached to Northern Irish players.

Often, many of the country’s best prospects would seal moves to England and Scotland yet would struggle to adapt to their new environment.

Increased training and homesickness were often touted as reasons why so many failed and would return shortly after their initial arrival.

However, Larne have provided a pathway for young players to make the transition to the next level.

Kofi Balmer was the primary example of this.

Signed for free after the expiry of his contract at Ballymena United, the central defender quickly established himself in Larne’s first team during the 2021/22 season.

His performances earned him a move to Crystal Palace, with Larne selling him for a reported £300k.

Larne repeated this in an almost identical manner to Craig Farquar.

The 20-year-old had only played a handful of games for Ballymena United when Larne swooped in after spying his potential.

As seen in Farquer’s pizza chart, the 20-year-old ranked highly in both aerial and defensive duels.

Farquer impressed in Larne’s European qualifiers and made a strong start to the season before being sold to Crystal Palace in January for an unreported fee.

Despite Larne’s financial ability to bring in experienced pros with years of experience, they currently have the third youngest squad in the division with an average age of 24.

Larne’s ability to recoup transfer fees in the manner they have allows them to be self-sustainable.

They will be hoping to see further profit made with the arrival of Northern Ireland Schoolboys u18 Captain Oisin Devlin, who at just 17 has over 50 first-team appearances for second-division side Institute.

Larne’s are also intent on developing their own players, who will later establish themselves in the first team with a view of being sold later down the line.

Larne have utilised the loan market effectively to aid the development of their young talent.

Dylan Sloan, who was recruited at u18s level, became a crucial part of Larne’s squad this season after successful loans across the top two divisions in recent seasons.

Right-back Sean Brown caught the eye of many while on loan at Bangor and then later at Ballymena this season.

However, forward Matthew Lusty was undoubtedly the standout performer while out on Loan this season.

Lusty scored nine goals in 20 games for Dungannon this year.

His pizza chart also demonstrates many of his standout attributes.

His defensive capabilities, progressive passes, and dribbling are all clearly seen in his high percentile rank for each of these game characteristics.

Conclusion

Under Bruce’s ownership, Larne have gone from strength to strength.

On too many occasions, new owners overspend, overpromise and underachieve.

Larne have a clear process when recruiting, understanding what profile of player they need to recruit to have success.

Bruce sets his eyes on Larne becoming the first ever Northern Irish side to qualify for the group stages of a European Club competition.

Larne have continuously silenced many of their doubters.

It will be no surprise if Larne achieve this new height for club football in Northern Ireland.