Analysis of 1st series of games

[Sumac]

So what are your views after the first round of Games

Bohs - Looking good to retain the title
Cork - Coming into a bit of form, though I don't think they wil challenging Bohs at the end of the season
Derry - Inconsistency is killing them, need to start converting chances. Otherwise Bohs will be too far ahead.
Shamrock Rovers - I have been impressed with the Shams. Twigg on fire! Not strong enough to challenge for title. Should get European spot
Galway - Started well , but starting to struggle a little. Would be happy with another 12 point return from the next round of Games. Should finish ahead of Drogs, could finish ahead of Bray, hard to see who else we could finish ahead of.
St Pats - Consistently inconsistent. Won't be ahead of them at end of the season, but is nice to be ahead of them for Jeffs return to Terryland
Dundalk - starting to gel now and I expect them to kick on over the next series of games
Sligo Rovers - A better team than their position suggests. Bad luck or injuries to key players could leave them in danger of being in the bottom 3 though.
Bray - Decent young team but I think the relegation playoff will be between themselves and Galway
Drogheda - A little adrift already. Galway did claw back from a very bad position last year but even tougher in 10 team league

[sligoman]

Bohs - Didn't impress in our game with them but do look like they'll win the league again, not by as much as last season but still easy enough I think.
Cork - On form now but think they will drift back a bit as the season goes on.
Derry - Really hit a bad patch, were great til we beat them up there. Will turn things around I think, should get 2nd.
Shams- Twigg is good and is getting results for them. Will finish mid-table.
Galway - Obviously started well but that's ended now and they will slip back down towards the bottom. Finish 9th.
St. Pats - Really should be doing better, playing poor lately.
Dundalk - Really underperformed so far. The introduction of mental Mickey might improve things.
Rovers - Won't be involved in a relegation battle. Rovers starting to hit form now and have got good results against the bigger teams, should have beaten Drogs too. Will push for the European spot again if injuries/suspensions are kept down.
Bray - Gormley seems to have a much more committed team this season. Still very hard for them but I think if they stay committed then they can stay up
Drogheda - Easily the worst team in the league. Will definitely finish bottom.

[micls]

Bohs - Didn't impress in our game with them but do look like they'll win the league again, not by as much as last season but still easy enough I think.

Spot on

Cork - On form now but think they will drift back a bit as the season goes on.

Dont think we'l win the league but if we stick with the 4-3-3 rather than reverting to 4-4-2 we'l pick up a fair few points

Derry - Really hit a bad patch, were great til we beat them up there. Will turn things around I think, should get 2nd.

Havnt impressed me at all. Were very poor when we played them and seem to be stuck in a bit of a rut. Seem very short on creative players through the middle

[pete]

I think first series more or less shows.
- Bohs will win title. defence is too good & Byrne is starting to score again.
- Drogs will get relegated.
- Middle order could finish in almost any order.

That siad Derry should be closer to Bohs.
Pats look weak & will do well to finish in top half.
Bray seem to have been playing well but not enough points to show for efforts.

Can europe distract Bohs enough for title to slip? Small squads will hit all team sin Europe this year I think.

Out of europe will benefit CCFC. If we are to compete will be based on clean sheets.

[Sumac]

Would be good for the league if Derry and/or Cork could push Bohs.

[Umberside]

So what are your views after the first round of Games

Bohs - Looking good to retain the title
Cork - Coming into a bit of form, though I don't think they wil challenging Bohs at the end of the season
Derry - Inconsistency is killing them, need to start converting chances. Otherwise Bohs will be too far ahead.
Shamrock Rovers - I have been impressed with the Shams. Twigg on fire! Not strong enough to challenge for title. Should get European spot
Galway - Started well , but starting to struggle a little. Would be happy with another 12 point return from the next round of Games. Should finish ahead of Drogs, could finish ahead of Bray, hard to see who else we could finish ahead of.
St Pats - Consistently inconsistent. Won't be ahead of them at end of the season, but is nice to be ahead of them for Jeffs return to Terryland
Dundalk - starting to gel now and I expect them to kick on over the next series of games
Sligo Rovers - A better team than their position suggests. Bad luck or injuries to key players could leave them in danger of being in the bottom 3 though.
Bray - Decent young team but I think the relegation playoff will be between themselves and Galway
Drogheda - A little adrift already. Galway did claw back from a very bad position last year but even tougher in 10 team league

Bohs - Will win title, maybe by 10 pts
Cork City - Probably as high as we will be all season. We could stay where we are but I think we'll probably finish in 3rd.
Derry - Strong start, but losing at home too often has cost them being top. Should be the main challengers to Bohs.
Shamrock Rovers - Best they've been in a long time, could possibly get a European spot, thought winning the league is too much to ask.
Galway - Brilliant start, have faded slightly but I think they have an outside chance of qualifying for Europe if they keep confidence high
St Pats - Nowhere near as good as last year, but they'll definitely challenge for a European spot.
Dundalk - Good team, but maybe because of all the new players they need time to gel, won't challenge for Europe but no chance of getting relegated.
Sligo Rovers - Poor start, however they're now getting their form back and will shoot up the table. Good chance of Europe again this year, but need to get another run going. The most entertaining team (and manager) in the league without a doubt.
Bray - Better than last year, but need some points to avoid relegation via play-offs. If they find form, could move up the table.
Drogheda - Will get automatically relegated, but it would be nice to see them fight to the end and not give up like Derby County. Alan Mathews is a good manager to have in that situation. If they hit form could pull off an unlikely comeback. If they do relegated, I'd fancied to bounce back but that's for another season.

[thischarmingman]

That siad Derry should be closer to Bohs.
.

Would be good for the league if Derry and/or Cork could push Bohs.

Bohs - Didn't impress in our game with them but do look like they'll win the league again, not by as much as last season but still easy enough I think.

Bohs had a sensational season last year but I can see them winning by a similar amount again this year. I'm still not entirely sure why people expect a team who finished 27 points behind them last year to to catch up after losing their best and most creative players. Are Ger O'Brien, Tam McManus and Liam Kearney worth McCourt (even half a season), McGinn, Morisson (again, only half a season) plus 27 points? Don't think so. If we win the league this seaon it will be down to a phenomenal run coupled with a Bohs collapse of epic proportions. You can count on one hand the number of league defeats they've had since the start of last season. As I've said before we are capable of playing any side in the league off the pitch...on our day. It's just not our day often enough. And I'm not sure what people thin we've done since November to warrent the expectations that we have what it takes to overhaul Bohs.

Aside from that, it's nice to see Cork starting to come good though I don't see them having the consistancy to take on Bohs seriously. Bray I'm sure will start to pick up more points. They were great against us in the second half in Bray, especially when you consider the battering they got for the first half hours. Hopefully they'll start turning some of those battling draws into narrow wins.

[Dalymountrower]

`Bohs .... stronger squad than last year, mid-season blip expected due to either Euro run or early exit. League win with three games to spare.

Derry.....weaker than last year but enough good players to put a good run together and its between them and Cork for 2nd.

Cork..... best organised team that Bohs have played, Doolin likes to battle so I would see Cork maintaining their good form and lots of 1-0 wins

S`rock Rvrs.....Good going forward but very lightweight, very vulnerable in the last quarter of each game I`ve seen them in. Good enough for fourth, wd tip them to challenge Derry for the League Cup

Dundalk.....Strong squad managed by Walter Mitty, not even he could manage to acheive lower than fifth or sixth

Sligo...... Great at home and poison away, apart from the Derry result, between them and Dundalk for fifth/sixth

Pats..... No pleasure in saying it but worst Pats team I have seen in twenty years, if it wasn`t for the Drogs they would be going down. Should have held on to Johnny Mc.

Galway.....Will challenge Pats and Bray for seventh

Bray.... Nice football side but lightweight, hopefully will keep it going and stay out of trouble

Drogs.....Not nice to see them where they are, ghost of christmas future for Bohs fans. Hopefully Matthews disproves Roddy`s dimissal of them and they get a run going

[Roo69]

I think first series more or less shows.
- Bohs will win title. defence is too good & Byrne is starting to score again.
- Drogs will get relegated.
- Middle order could finish in almost any order.

That siad Derry should be closer to Bohs.
Pats look weak & will do well to finish in top half.
Bray seem to have been playing well but not enough points to show for efforts.

Can europe distract Bohs enough for title to slip? Small squads will hit all team sin Europe this year I think.

Out of europe will benefit CCFC. If we are to compete will be based on clean sheets.

Pretty much spot on there Pete.

[Black and White]

Its far to early to tell, sure there is a gap at the topa nd the bottom but we must rememebr Galway had a dreadful start last season, and they came back, I expect to see Matthews to wheel and deal when the wondow re-opens and expect the Drogs to be alot better, thing is though, how big will that gap be when it re-opens.
Bohs seem to be gathering abit of pace now so obv they will be there or there abouts, Pats are struggling, esp up front but I dont want to see fabio go to them, we have a thin enough squad as it is!
Galway seem to be hitting a bad patch, have they produced their best far to early?
Bray are where I expect to see them, down near the foot and battling away.
Sligo I'm disappointed with, was expecting much more from them, they where awful against us earlier in the season.
Derry, Cork and Rovers as they are, challenging for the European spots.

[bennocelt]

I think St Pats are awful and Keena looks like he hasnt a clue TBH

[redobit]

Its far to early to tell, sure there is a gap at the topa nd the bottom but we must rememebr Galway had a dreadful start last season, and they came back, I expect to see Matthews to wheel and deal when the wondow re-opens and expect the Drogs to be alot better, thing is though, how big will that gap be when it re-opens.
Bohs seem to be gathering abit of pace now so obv they will be there or there abouts, Pats are struggling, esp up front but I dont want to see fabio go to them, we have a thin enough squad as it is!
Galway seem to be hitting a bad patch, have they produced their best far to early?
Bray are where I expect to see them, down near the foot and battling away.
Sligo I'm disappointed with, was expecting much more from them, they where awful against us earlier in the season.
Derry, Cork and Rovers as they are, challenging for the European spots.

Absolutely our worst performance of the season. Some games you just have to put down to a freak game and just move on.

[sligoman]

Absolutely our worst performance of the season. Some games you just have to put down to a freak game and just move on.

We were actually better than Dundalk in that game. Up til they scored at the end of the first half, and after their third goal, we played better than them. They just took their chances unfortunately. Shams away was our worst performance imo.

[redobit]

We were actually better than Dundalk in that game. Up til they scored at the end of the first half, and after their third goal, we played better than them. They just took their chances unfortunately. Shams away was our worst performance imo.

In the second half of the dundalk game we were brutal, absolutely all over the place. But as i said hopefully just a freak scoreline you get from time to time.

[eamo1]

Bohs are quality.Very curious to see how they will get on in the C.L qualifiers.Drogs will get relagated in last place.Shams could surprise some and break into the top 3 if Twigg keeps scoring and if they hold onto him in the summer.The mid table places could be in any order as someone else said.

[Raheny Red]

Biggest surprise of the season so far, for me, is that Drogheda haven't suffered a hiding. Yes they are currently winless but they are far from being the whipping boys

[oriel]

Bohs - Very strong, seem to be easing to retaining the title.
Cork - Improving by the week, playing some good stuff too, a huge challenge to Derry for r/u
Derry - Would have expected them to challenge bohs better with their settled team, still a long way to go, their quality remains.
Shamrock Rovers - Surprised they have done so well, look to have a settled side now and full of confidence, think 4th spot is realistic if they keep on form.
Galway - Agree with Dave Barry on MNS, their manager is too negative talking about relegation battles week in week out, hard working team, but can see them drifting a bit, should be ok to stay up though. Play off contenders.
St Pats - Hard to know how they will perform from one week to the next, could well settle into mid table or maybe even fall into danger zone, prob wont but they`ll have to address their form and consistency quickly.
Dundalk - Was begining to lose patience, but we`ve been playing good stuff with poor results, of the 3 games lost at home, thought we deserved a draw in each, great win in Derry, but one swallow doesnt make a summer..........would glady settle for a 6th place finish, 5th would be a brilliant effort first year back, maybe a bit much though.
Sligo Rovers - Decent side, they will get better and will be ok, I like their manager a real character.
Bray - Another hard working team, but small squad may cause them problems during the summer, but they might surprise a few people, will be a tall order though. Play off contenders.
Drogheda - I think if it was a 12 team lge they would have a chance, maybe setting targets of winning games v other sides around the bottom, prob is there is hardly anyone they can turn their sights on this time, I think the big plus for them is their club is still in existence, definite relegation, but they seem a happy lot for now.

[WoodquayBoy]

Galway - Brilliant start, have faded slightly but I think they have an outside chance of qualifying for Europe if they keep confidence high

As oriel says later in the thread, Foster is sounding like a git coming out and predicting a relegaiton battle for us. Won our first 2 games and were last to lose unbeaten record (or was that Derry?) so what message does that send to the players when the manager basically says "ah, it was all a fluek, we're really sh&te and will struggle for the rest of the year."
And Dalymountrower, can I pick you up on somethingm, you say if it wasn't for Drogheda, Pats would be relegated, but in your final table prediction you have both United and Bray finishing lower than Pats??

[pól-dcfc]

Won our first 2 games and were last to lose unbeaten record (or was that Derry?)

It was us.

[Schumi]

And Dalymountrower, can I pick you up on somethingm, you say if it wasn't for Drogheda, Pats would be relegated, but in your final table prediction you have both United and Bray finishing lower than Pats??

Maybe he reckons they would have lost a play-off if they were in it.

It was us.

Us actually.