Who will win the 1st division

[Lamper.sffc]

11 games gone. First phase done. We have all played each other once. Whats your opinion on the teams so far. I guess its quite obvious that the biggest surprise is the run UCD are on. Im extremely impressed with their form. Fair play to them. Waterford have been impressive also.
I guess the teams who need to do better are ourselves and shels although an argument could be made that the start both teams have made are decent but its just the brilliant form of UCD and Waterford that is keeping the favourites off the top.
Our form is up and down. Brilliant one week crap the next. While it seems shels are grinding out results without playing to well (for the full 90 anyway).
So i guess the question is are the favourites still the favourites and will it be a four horse race like it was last year.

[passinginterest]

It's obvious isn't it, Kildare County :D

Ok so maybe not. Fingal should still be strong enough, but they'll have to beat the sides around them, none of the top 4 will drop many points against the lower teams, so really it's a mini league between themselves. The thing that put's me off Fingal is the fact that they looked decidedly unfit and disintersted when they played Youths earlier in the season, I've since heard that players are not happy with training and others are just not bothered, they're just happy to take the money and go throught the motions. UCD, Waterford and Shels don't have as much quality, but they all have plenty of desire and none of them are getting fat off their wages. I have a feeling UCD will gradually slip away as the season goes on, as they don't have the experience or strenght in depth, Waterford are doing well and they have a manager in Henderson who has already shown he can win the division on a shoe string, I think they'll be there or there abouts all the way, but possibly just miss out on the playoff spot, I can see Fingal just doing enough to make the playoff and Shels winning the league by 5 or 6 points.

Hopefully the Youths can maintain fifth and not allow too big a gap to develop to the top 4, then look to challenge for promotion next season.

[Lamper.sffc]

It's obvious isn't it, Kildare County :D

Ok so maybe not. Fingal should still be strong enough, but they'll have to beat the sides around them, none of the top 4 will drop many points against the lower teams, so really it's a mini league between themselves. The thing that put's me off Fingal is the fact that they looked decidedly unfit and disintersted when they played Youths earlier in the season, I've since heard that players are not happy with training and others are just not bothered, they're just happy to take the money and go throught the motions. UCD, Waterford and Shels don't have as much quality, but they all have plenty of desire and none of them are getting fat off their wages. I have a feeling UCD will gradually slip away as the season goes on, as they don't have the experience or strenght in depth, Waterford are doing well and they have a manager in Henderson who has already shown he can win the division on a shoe string, I think they'll be there or there abouts all the way, but possibly just miss out on the playoff spot, I can see Fingal just doing enough to make the playoff and Shels winning the league by 5 or 6 points.

Hopefully the Youths can maintain fifth and not allow too big a gap to develop to the top 4, then look to challenge for promotion next season.

Yeah that was true. Things have improved gradually since then. The problem lately is the injury list. 5 or 6 first team players missing against athlone. Good to see your lads doing well. I should have given them a mention to be fair.

[Raheny Red]

I can see Fingal just doing enough to make the playoff and Shels winning the league by 5 or 6 points.



It was a good post up until this point. No chance that we will win the league. I'm not even confident of 3rd place.

[Angus]

Must say I have been very impressed at the standard - first time for me supporting UCD in Div 1 (relative newbie) and while clearly the Prem is a step up, it has been pleasantly surprising.

I have seen all our games against the other 4 and thought Fingal were not good, wlthough that was very early in the season, shels look tasty but were more interested in a scrap when we played them and WY and WU both looked very solid.

I backed us at 8/1 to win and would not switch....Having said that, if we lost Finn for a while....

[Battery Rover]

Having seen all the teams play this season by far the strongest team we have faced is Waterford and under Stephen Henderson I believe they will win the division.

I thought Fingal looked disinterested and one dimensional against us last week and didn't like a team bringing the game to them. For a team who have players on more per week then our entire team budget they were shocking which shows money and success don't necesarily go hand in hand.

UCD play good football but I would be worried if Finn was injured as most of the play goes through him.

Shels look like they are at nothing this season and will do well stay in the Top 4 from what I have seen of them.

We are in a rebuilding stage for the season but we are bringing in a few more players over the coming month and would expect us to climb to possibly fifth place if the signings planned come through.

[Raheny Red]

Having said that, if we lost Finn for a while....

Is there any chance of him being snapped up in the summer?

[Magicme]

For me the best team has been UCD. If they can sustain their top notch performances they will win it easily.

Surprise package for me has been the youths. They have played well against everyone by the looks of things and were not shockingly bad against us!

[KevB76]

Having seen everyone once now I'd have to go with Fingal to win, UCD a close second, Waterford some way behind and Shels a close fourth.

[LK37oldskool]

The best team we've played so far is Waterford by far.We're slowly improving after another terrible start to the season.This round of games is crucial for our season and with 4 of the top 5 to come to Limerick we could shake things up. A few new faces in the transfer window will make a huge difference to us.

[Monkfish]

Fingal/UCD for me.

[Lamper.sffc]

Having seen everyone once now I'd have to go with Fingal to win, UCD a close second, Waterford some way behind and Shels a close fourth.

Just for the record. Id just like to say again. I hate your keeper:D

[pineapple stu]

Is there any chance of him being snapped up in the summer?

Don't think so, but he'll more than likely be gone at the end of the season. Finishing college this year.

(He's in contract till the end of the season, so if he goes in the summer, we get a transfer fee and stick Greg Bolger in instead, which isn't too shabby an outcome).

My two cents, having seen all the teams (been to all our games bar Kildare at home, and caught the second half of Kildare v Shels on Saturday; that's obviously a limited enough exposure) -

Waterford - by far and away the best team technically that we've faced. Would be worried about their strength in depth though; they have 17 in their squad, and couldn't fill the bench against us as they were missing two players. A couple of injuries could really hurt them.
Wexford - did their homework against us and seem to be improving with time. probably not consistent enough to challenge for promotion, but fifth should be well attainable. Could decide the title though, as I think the obvious top four will drop more points against them than any other team.
Sporting Fungus - Awful against us; players didn't care, easy passes went astray, basic errors everywhere. Have the players though, and evidently got a root up the hole after our win. Should be unstoppable if they want it. It's not clear if they want it though.
Shels - Don't think they have the guile to go up. They play a very one-dimensional, physical, Dermot Keely-esque style of play. If Plan A fails, revert to Plan A sort of stuff. Should have scored twice as many against Kildare, but lax finishing let them down, and I think that'll cost them this season.
Limerick, Mervue and Athlone were reasonable enough teams; Limerick seem to be improving under Scully. Think they'll be next after Wexford. May take more points off the top four (Limerick and Mervue drew with Fingal already).
Monaghan, Harps and Longford were poor. Monaghan seem to have improved in recent weeks, but I'd be surprised if they troubled anyone in the top half too much.
Kildare, God bless them, looked like they knew the rules of the game, but had absolutely no idea about the tactics. Hard to see where they're going to more get points from. Hard to see how they drew against Harps.

I still don't know where we fit into all this. I've said all along that we're not good enough to go up, but we're visibly improving, and we were able to beat Athlone away with two different teams this month, which is good for strength in depth. And the longer we stay top, the more I have to consider a play off is a possibility. We're not converting as many of our chances as we could though, which could be a problem.

I'll go with -

Waterford
Fungus
UCD
Shels
Wexford
Limerick
Mervue
Athlone
Monaghan
Harps
Longford
Kildare

[adamd164]

I'd go with Waterford too having seen all of the top 4 apart from Shels this season.

Hendo is one cute old whore.

[Lamper.sffc]

I still don't know where we fit into all this. I've said all along that we're not good enough to go up, but we're visibly improving, and we were able to beat Athlone away with two different teams this month, which is good for strength in depth. And the longer we stay top, the more I have to consider a play off is a possibility. We're not converting as many of our chances as we could though, which could be a problem.

When yous lost to wexford i thought ah now this is when they will start to falter but yous didnt. Yous just carried on winning which is a great sign. The team didnt drop their heads which shows a good team spirit. The longer yous stay up there the more determined your team will become plus the confidence will rise also. Wasnt worried about yous before the season but Im certainly worried now.

[blue til i die]

UCD have impresses me the most so far, if they hold onto Finn, they could be in with a shot. With Kilduff up front, he'll score loads of goals. They seemed very organised.

Although Shels beat us, i didnt think too much of them. they scored in the last few minutes to beat us when we could have won. Madden does look very good up front.

Sporting Franchise still have superb quality even if people have doubted them. i still dont think they've clicked but i still expect them to challenge. scored in the last minute to equaliser against us.

Wexford seem to be getting better everyweek, limerick have a good manager in scully, and will get better.

I'll be pretty happy if we finish in the play-offs. My only concern with us is how small our squad is, we couldnt even fill the bench against UCD. If we get injuries we could be in trouble.

[DeNiro]

Think it's between Waterford and UCD. They both play the best football in the Division. Would expect Finn to stay until end of the season, but would expect him and others to move on then. Kilduff's goals have dried up a bit, so a return to form for him is key for UCD's overall challenge

[Theskinloyal]

I'd say Fingal will run away with it although UCD are playing great I'd say given their youth and inexpierence they'll have to settle for the play offs. Hopefully we'll be in the playoffs too but couldn't see us going up. I doubt Keely will have any/much money to spend during the summer and I assume we're going to lose Paddy Madden who's been our best player so far imho, he'd be impossible to replace. We've f all options up front.

[Ash]

If we can keep the concentration for the full 90 minutes we'll pick up a lot
more points in Round 2. For me, Waterford looked the best of the bunch so far.

[KildareFan]

Kildare, God bless them, looked like they knew the rules of the game, but had absolutely no idea about the tactics. Hard to see where they're going to more get points from. Hard to see how they drew against Harps.

The reason we drew against harps was becuase of the weather on the night.

Obviously we are the joke of the league and it's not hard to see why because we probably were on the road to becoming the worst side in League of Ireland history but I think there have been enough signs against Shels and Waterford to suggest that we are starting to turn the corner. I know that we have one very interesting signing who should make his debut at the weekend and we have a few more lined up for when the transfer window opens.

With our next 3 games coming against Harps and then two home games v athlone and longford, i think (hope) we'll be pick our first win soon.

As awful as we have been, we still aren't cut adrift at the bottom and I think that Somerville has shown that he is capable of getting us off the bottom of the league before the end of the season. Stupid mistakes are costing us dearly at the moment like 3 goalkeeping errors against shelbourne but somerville will cut that out

[Sam_Heggy]

We are woeful, decent players but with the lack of a real experienced manager it looks like we will be staying in and around our current position.

No team has really impressed me this season, no team has hammered us and lets be honest, this is one of the worst Harps sides I can remember.
I haven't seen Shels yet so can't comment.
Waterford and Fingal would be the most physical sides with Waterford being the fitter and more organised.
UCD have a good passing side and are quick on the break.

At the minute I would have to say Waterford to win it with UCD second.

[CSFShels]

Those out there who think we're going to come 4th need to get their head examined to be honest. I don't think we'll win the league but we'll be very close, probably in 2nd.

[pineapple stu]

Do expound your reasoning.

(You may well be correct, but no point just saying "You need your head examined" and leaving it at that)

[CSFShels]

Do expound your reasoning.

(You may well be correct, but no point just saying "You need your head examined" and leaving it at that)
Ok fair enough, the reality is we're going to keep grinding out wins, thats what Keely teams do. Some of our performances have been below par, some haven't. We definitely haven't been on form. We will most likely hit form at some stage in the season. But no matter what, we will keep grinding out results. Last season was the same. And this season our squad is stronger.

On the other hand you have, UCD who have had the form of their lives at the start of the season, but it could be argued that they don't have the squad or the experience to last the season. Shels would be expected to finish ahead of them on that basis.

Waterford I'd say most would also argue, do not really have the quality to compete when the going gets tough. They fell apart when it counted last season, and I'd bet on them doing it again. They haven't picked up a win against any of the top sides this year, and barely managed it last year, when the crunch games come up towards the end of the season, they'll probably be found wanting. Similar comparisons could be made about Shels to an extent, but not to the same level. When the going gets tough, we'll start to show our class, like we did with our ridiculous run coming towards the end of last season. You'd expect Shels to show their superior class towards the end of the season. And with the **** poor crowds they're getting, do not rule out another financial crisis. 3 sponsorship or not.

Fingal do not look like a team with good spirit. Every report from an opposition team seems to reflect this. Aren't picking up points against the lesser teams as much as you'd hope, and aren't demolishing teams like was expected (Kildare the exception). Looks like it could be a speeding train heading to crash.

Now I'm not saying all these things will happen, I reckon one of the 3 will prove me wrong, and find us wanting but to expect all those teams to finish ahead of Shels this season, given the quality in our squad and the manager we have, don't expect us to be dropping too many points. When we fail we'll fail spectacularly, but we don't really fail that often.

[Martinho II]

Our start of the season has being very poor. Granted we have a fairly young squad but we have no excuses as a few of the older heads have being very disappointing so far. I am not expecting much from the second round of games unless we get some new heads in.

The best team I have seen so far have being Ucd. Waterford were the next. After Shels performance against us I dont think they are great and Fingal flatter to deceive. Its College for me followed by Waterford .

[kingdomkerry]

Hopefully Waterford

[Mr Maroon]

Kildare.

[bennocelt]

Our start of the season has being very poor. Granted we have a fairly young squad but we have no excuses as a few of the older heads have being very disappointing so far. I am not expecting much from the second round of games unless we get some new heads in.

The best team I have seen so far have being Ucd. Waterford were the next. After Shels performance against us I dont think they are great and Fingal flatter to deceive. Its College for me followed by Waterford .

u have a handy young wing back though, maybe he should be pushed up to mid?

whats his name - think he is on the left side

[blue til i die]

Waterford I'd say most would also argue, do not really have the quality to compete when the going gets tough. 1.They fell apart when it counted last season, and I'd bet on them doing it again. 2.They haven't picked up a win against any of the top sides this year, and barely managed it last year, when the crunch games come up towards the end of the season, they'll probably be found wanting. Similar comparisons could be made about Shels to an extent, but not to the same level. When the going gets tough, we'll start to show our class, like we did with our ridiculous run coming towards the end of last season. You'd expect Shels to show their superior class towards the end of the season. 3.And with the **** poor crowds they're getting, do not rule out another financial crisis. 3 sponsorship or not.


1. How can you say that when more than half the squad are new players who werent there last season??

2. In the 3 matches against the other top 3, we lost to you with a goal on the last few minutes, fingal equalised in the last minute, and a very close game with UCD. Although we havent beaten any of ye, we're still second, ahead of both you and Fingal.

3. We have a realistic budget which is being stuck to. No financial crisis this year.

Only worry i have is the size of our squad. We only have 17 players so injuries and suspensions could hurt us.

I still think UCD have looked the best out of the top 4, so far, from what i've seen.

[GalwayRed]

Shels-Seen every game bar UCD and have yet to see us put in a good performance for the full 90 minutes so 7 wins out of 10 is great. Not seen anything to suggest we are capable of winning the league but I think we can edge a play off spot.
Fingal-Seen them against ourselves and Athlone and they werent great in either. They did enough against us and could just about argue they deserved to win but after they scored the players didnt look interested in pushing on. Against Athlone again it seemed like the players didnt wake up until the final 20 minutes. Still expecting them to win the league but not nearly as comfortably as I first thought.
UCD-Only saw them for the first time this season against Galway. Both teams had strong line ups and they held their own. Got a deserved win and gave me cause to believe their great start is no fluke. I dont think they have enough to win the league due to the fact their squad is so young but they may come close. Should get a play off spot.
Waterford-Only seen them the once against shels and they were poor. Both teams played badly that night and neither looked like a promotion challenging team. Obviously theyve improved since then hence their league position but to be in with a shout of promtion their form against the sides around them needs to improve. I think and hope theyll be the side that miss out(Nothing against them I just think it might be between shels and them for 3rd).

[Town Legend]

u have a handy young wing back though, maybe he should be pushed up to mid?

whats his name - think he is on the left side

I think that might be Tom King although I stand to be corrected. But have heard alot of good things about him!!

[CSFShels]

1. How can you say that when more than half the squad are new players who werent there last season??

2. In the 3 matches against the other top 3, we lost to you with a goal on the last few minutes, fingal equalised in the last minute, and a very close game with UCD. Although we havent beaten any of ye, we're still second, ahead of both you and Fingal.

3. We have a realistic budget which is being stuck to. No financial crisis this year.

Only worry i have is the size of our squad. We only have 17 players so injuries and suspensions could hurt us.

I still think UCD have looked the best out of the top 4, so far, from what i've seen.
I would have thought the late goals would strengthen my point somewhat. Late goals are what win leagues. Point noted, on the new players though. But yeah I think Waterford will be happy with a playoff spot.

[dfclilywhite]

I would have thought the late goals would strengthen my point somewhat. Late goals are what win leagues. Point noted, on the new players though. But yeah I think Waterford will be happy with a playoff spot.

As you know too well from last season.

[CSFShels]

As you know too well from last season.
Crushing as that is, you're right. Dundalk scored a number of late goals in the run up to it aswell, Waterford being a major one.

[Schumi]

I honestly think the four teams in contention could finish in any order. We're playing well but inexperienced, Shels are just scraping wins and it's hard to see what direction they'll go, Fingal have the strongest squad but don't seem as committed and Waterford looked good on Friday but have a tiny squad. It could go any way, should be exciting regardless.

[Lamper.sffc]

I would have thought the late goals would strengthen my point somewhat. Late goals are what win leagues. Point noted, on the new players though. But yeah I think Waterford will be happy with a playoff spot.

and lose them.:p

Are you on boards.ie much. Sound very familiar to a guy over there;)

[howsyourtouch]

tom king would be the right full,a red haired lad,the left full could be mick lee,he played there few times this season...

[Mayo Red]

Bit of pressure on Fingal with the money invested and all but I think UCD will still probably edge it in the end. I wouldn't discount Shels for a playoff place though either.

[pineapple stu]

Ok fair enough, the reality is we're going to keep grinding out wins, thats what Keely teams do. Some of our performances have been below par, some haven't.
That's a fair enough point alright. I'd worry (well, hope :) ) that your relative lack of goals would mean that a game you could have won 1-0 will end up 0-0, and you'll drop a few points that way.

Last night's results in Galway and Morton adds a bit more to this thread, I think. UCD, bringing on pretty much our subs bench from Friday, beat a full strength (and ten-man) Galway away, while Fingal lose at home to the lowlier Sligo. I think our League Cup run should answer any doubts as to our strength in depth, to be honest.

[blue til i die]

could come down to the experienced heads toward the end of the season....

[Rovers1]

while Fingal lose at home to the lowlier Sligo. .

:eek: we're not lowlier, were just biding our time;)

[Schumi]

:eek: we're not lowlier, were just biding our time;)

We tried that last year, didn't work too well.

[CSFShels]

That's a fair enough point alright. I'd worry (well, hope :) ) that your relative lack of goals would mean that a game you could have won 1-0 will end up 0-0, and you'll drop a few points that way.

Last night's results in Galway and Morton adds a bit more to this thread, I think. UCD, bringing on pretty much our subs bench from Friday, beat a full strength (and ten-man) Galway away, while Fingal lose at home to the lowlier Sligo. I think our League Cup run should answer any doubts as to our strength in depth, to be honest.
We weren't big scorers last year either and we finished marginally behind a Dundalk side who I'd have rated higher than the 3 teams we're up against here. Obviously not Fingal on paper, but I don't think Buckley is very good to be honest. And we're yet to play out a nil nil so far haha. We've scored in every game in every competition except against Fingal, where we did infact also score a perfectly good goal which was ruled out. We're not going to spend the season beating teams 4 and 5 nil I doubt. We're going to grind out tonnes of one goal victories and I'd imagine that'll put us above all but one come the end of the season.

[Hairy Bowsie]

I think Shels will finish 3rd, behind UCD and Fingal.

[Lamper.sffc]

We weren't big scorers last year either and we finished marginally behind a Dundalk side who I'd have rated higher than the 3 teams we're up against here. Obviously not Fingal on paper, but I don't think Buckley is very good to be honest. And we're yet to play out a nil nil so far haha. We've scored in every game in every competition except against Fingal, where we did infact also score a perfectly good goal which was ruled out. We're not going to spend the season beating teams 4 and 5 nil I doubt. We're going to grind out tonnes of one goal victories and I'd imagine that'll put us above all but one come the end of the season.

Where have I heard these points before. I wonder:D

[CSFShels]

Where have I heard these points before. I wonder:D
What is your obsession with the fact that I post on another forum too?

[ConfusedBlue]

Waterford I'd say most would also argue, do not really have the quality to compete when the going gets tough. They fell apart when it counted last season, and I'd bet on them doing it again. They haven't picked up a win against any of the top sides this year, and barely managed it last year, when the crunch games come up towards the end of the season, they'll probably be found wanting. Similar comparisons could be made about Shels to an extent, but not to the same level. When the going gets tough, we'll start to show our class, like we did with our ridiculous run coming towards the end of last season. You'd expect Shels to show their superior class towards the end of the season. And with the **** poor crowds they're getting, do not rule out another financial crisis. 3 sponsorship or not.


Waterfords squad last year was arguably a better squad quality wise,big difference this year is that we actually have a manager who has belief in his players being able to actually play some football.This is the first season in I dont know how long that a Blues side has got the ball down and tried to play.
We're going to be there or there about come the end of the season.We haven't lost any ground on teams around us,if we draw every game against the top3 from here on in happy days as it means we're in with a shout of promotion.Injuries could cripple us but the way we're playing at the minute,only a madman would bet against us gaining promotion!!!!!!!!

[Lamper.sffc]

What is your obsession with the fact that I post on another forum too?

None. just taking the p*ss. Relax.
Wasnt a hundred percent sure. Take a chill pill

[Lamper.sffc]

Waterfords squad last year was arguably a better squad quality wise,big difference this year is that we actually have a manager who has belief in his players being able to actually play some football.This is the first season in I dont know how long that a Blues side has got the ball down and tried to play.
We're going to be there or there about come the end of the season.We haven't lost any ground on teams around us,if we draw every game against the top3 from here on in happy days as it means we're in with a shout of promotion.Injuries could cripple us but the way we're playing at the minute,only a madman would bet against us gaining promotion!!!!!!!!

When it comes to yous and Ucd there is a lot to be said for a good manager and good team spirit. It can go a lot further than money can to be fair. There are other reasons yous both might not make it, that have already been mentioned but you have the shels and ourselves a lot more worried than we where at the beginning of the season.

[Dick Long]

Waterford have just played UCD away and our next two away fixtures are against Fingal and Shels (with Wexford's visit in betwen), so there's a good chance those people who are using the can't-beat-teams-around-them reason will have further ammunition, considering we would probably take two more away draws but our other meetings with Fingal and Shels were in the first and third games of the season with a new manager and half a new squad still getting to know each other.

I think if we can hang in there in the meantime and our admittedly very disappointing crowds (400ish) can improve then the consensus is that the Management Committe will find the funds to add another two or three players come the transfer window and if they come off it might give the Blues the impetus to be right in there at the death. There are lot more out there but even a realistic 50 or so more paying at the gate for starters would make a big difference and hopefully the win against Rovers tonight in the League Cup might be a turning point on that front.