Weekend games (30 April)

[danthesaint]

We don't have any left wingers. Guy, Coughlan and Cash are all mainly right footed

in fairness tho coughlan isnt bad on the left, ryan looks way out of his depth there

[SkStu]

Bohs are stunningly average; no guile or creativity in the slightest..

i think its clear after the first round of games that whichever team wins the league this year will have been an average team. As i said preseason, the quality has spread more evenly throughout the league and as a result teams are a lot closer in terms of overall quality. That said, all it will take is one team to go on a five or six game streak to wrap this league up the way things are going.

As for us, i think its obvious that Fenlon is struggling to find the right team, or the right mix. There are a lot of new players in the squad and, as is often the case, it doesnt always work out as you want or as quickly as you'd like. The Fenlon selection issues and quantity of new players, coupled with the defensive tactics we have faced this season (and which are fine and to be expected), have led to a pretty underwhelming season so far. But i think to write us off as you have, europe or otherwise, is going to come back to bite you.

[Dodge]

There are a lot of new players in the squad and, as is often the case, it doesnt always work out as you want or as quickly as you'd like. The Fenlon selection issues and quantity of new players, .

That can't be an excuse. Bohs have kept more of their squad than anyone. Pats played bray last week with only the goal keeper reminaing from last years squad. Bohs still have the likes of Oman, heary, Powell, Keegan, Byrne etc etc from alst year.

[Ezeikial]

i think its clear after the first round of games that whichever team wins the league this year will have been an average team.

Getting the excuses in already? Are you really that anxious?


As i said preseason, the quality has spread more evenly throughout the league and as a result teams are a lot closer in terms of overall quality.

The budgets have not become more even - Bohs and Shamrock Rovers are both twice the amount of the best of the mid-table group (Pats, Sligo & Dundalk). If the top 6 teams are closer in overall quality (as you say) this reflects badly on Fenlon and O'Neill in particular


As for us, i think its obvious that Fenlon is struggling to find the right team, or the right mix. There are a lot of new players in the squad and, as is often the case, it doesnt always work out as you want or as quickly as you'd like. The Fenlon selection issues and quantity of new players, coupled with the defensive tactics we have faced this season (and which are fine and to be expected), have led to a pretty underwhelming season so far.

The "lots of new players" bit is a red herring and a lame excuse - the core of last years squad remain. Fenlons tactics, team selections, and his management/motiviational skills may be more of an issue



But i think to write us off as you have, europe or otherwise, is going to come back to bite you.

I would not write off Bohs - in fact I believe that they should still win the league if Fenlon has any substance at all to him.

Bob the Builder should be able to manage that squad to another league title!

[Rocketman]

Derry 2 up Deery and Mc Daid after 25mins. Missed a penalty as well.

[dancinpants]

Derry 3-0 up.

McDaid with his second.

[gufc2000]

Longford Town 0 - 0 Waterford United
10' - Ten minutes gone in Flancare Park with approx 100 people in the ground. No incidents to report yet.

From extratime

[Acornvilla]

Longford Town 0 - 0 Waterford United
10' - Ten minutes gone in Flancare Park with approx 100 people in the ground. No incidents to report yet.

From extratime

pity i couldn't have gone tonight we might have made it 101 or2..... no one cares anymore in longford :(

[SkStu]

That can't be an excuse. Bohs have kept more of their squad than anyone. Pats played bray last week with only the goal keeper reminaing from last years squad. Bohs still have the likes of Oman, heary, Powell, Keegan, Byrne etc etc from alst year.

jeeze, i thought that you would be able to get the fact that its not an excuse but just mentioned as it is clearly a contributing factor to our less than impressive displays. And trying to integrate over half a new first team (2 GKs, Gray, Quigley, McGlynn, Raf, Higgins, Greene etc etc) is obviously going to present some hurdles. And clearly it has. Thats all im saying. I also acknowledged that Nutsy hasnt covered himself in glory in achieving this either. But im not overly worried. He's good enough to turn it round.


Getting the excuses in already? Are you really that anxious?

definitely not anxious. At all.



The budgets have not become more even - Bohs and Shamrock Rovers are both twice the amount of the best of the mid-table group (Pats, Sligo & Dundalk). If the top 6 teams are closer in overall quality (as you say) this reflects badly on Fenlon and O'Neill in particular

i didnt say the budgets had become more even. I said the quality had become more evenly distributed due to the demise of Cork and Derry. Can you not acknowledge that? And im not sure how it reflects that badly on O'Neill or Fenlon or any other manager. There are only so many players any club can sign.


The "lots of new players" bit is a red herring and a lame excuse - the core of last years squad remain. Fenlons tactics, team selections, and his management/motiviational skills may be more of an issue

see my answer to Dodge's post. Not an excuse, lame or otherwise. A point was made that we have been overwhelmingly average. I agree and im offering some reasons why.


I would not write off Bohs - in fact I believe that they should still win the league if Fenlon has any substance at all to him.

Bob the Builder should be able to manage that squad to another league title!

i believe Fenlon has the substance and im not panicking at all yet. Even if we didnt win the league this year i wouldnt get too upset about it, we've been spoilt the last 2 seasons. Dont get me wrong, i want to win more than anything and i think we will. But we will definitely have to improve.

Generally, im a bit surprised over the reaction my post got. It wasnt meant to provoke such a response. You both seemed to pick up on one point i made about new players and isolated it. I thought 2 intelligent posters like yourselves would understand the points i was making.

[Schumi]

5-0 Derry now. Ouch.

[blue til i die]

5-0 Derry now. Ouch.

If salthill fans look at aertel it wont seem too bad :D

[Schumi]

7 ha ha ha. http://whatsonyourshelf.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/count-von-count.jpg

Fingal and Waterford winning too.

[gufc2000]

Longford down to 10

[L.T.F.C.]

Second yellow for Mooney. Wouldn't mind the original Mooney for us!
FML!

[CSFShels]

Poor oul Salthill ain't gonna finish this season. Wouldn't be surprised if Mervue folded too.

[L.T.F.C.]

1-1 Freeman
Thank God!

[MuckaTucka]

Poor oul Salthill ain't gonna finish this season. Wouldn't be surprised if Mervue folded too.

At the risk of sounding like an arrogant GUFC fan.

Why on earth are Salthill and Mervue in the League of Ireland?

[HarpoJoyce]

Fingal and Waterford winning too.

http://www.rolandsmartin.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/credicard.jpg where it is due.

For the other scorelines, do you want to quote a http://www.swampsauce.com/Swamp%20Sauce/Dreamweaver/Graphics/Logos/bottle.jpg

[Acornvilla]

1-1 Freeman
Thank God!

for god sake man don't get my hopes up!!!:crossed::crossed:

[CSFShels]

At the risk of sounding like an arrogant GUFC fan.

Why on earth are Salthill and Mervue in the League of Ireland?
Well I'd be of the opinion that they were right to go into the A league and actually be part of the Irish league system, would much prefer if our way of doing things was the same as the English 1 and every team fit into the hierarchy somewhere. Because other teams aren't doing things the same way, Salthill and Mervue have been promoted before they are ready.

[Acornvilla]

At the risk of sounding like an arrogant GUFC fan.

Why on earth are Salthill and Mervue in the League of Ireland?
because they are probably too ambitious for their own good. that and the age old tale of the FAI's incompetence
Ireland is where ambition and incompetence meets creating bankers, politicians and Loi Chairmen

[The Lep]

Longford 2-1 up Lester pen.

[CSFShels]

<3 Longford.

[Schumi]

Why on earth are Salthill and Mervue in the League of Ireland?

They borrowed Galway's DVD?

[Acornvilla]

Longford 2-1 up Lester pen.

:pig: are flying! come on :pray:

i am so gay for these new smilies

[PELEderry]

What a result for Derry City tonight! Could have easily been double figures!

Can Longford hold on so Derry go top of the table?

[eL Bettor]

George O Callaghan hits post in last minute but Longford hold out to win :(

[Acornvilla]

All my Christmases at once! role on wexford and salthill

[L.T.F.C.]

Come on the Town! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ujmb3jQAJE

[The Lep]

Fingal win 1 nil, Browne sent off for a second bookable.

[Ezeikial]

i didnt say the budgets had become more even. I said the quality had become more evenly distributed due to the demise of Cork and Derry. Can you not acknowledge that? And im not sure how it reflects that badly on O'Neill or Fenlon or any other manager. There are only so many players any club can sign.


Especially with about 90% of players out of contract at the end of last season, budget should equal quality in the hands of a decent manager.

The demise of Cork and Derry gave Bohs and Shamrock Rovers further opportunities to stretch the gap - Bohs Higgins, McGlynn, Gray were signed by Bohs, while Murphy, Murray, and Dennehy were signed by Shamrocks.

Bohs signing of Aaron Greene to compete with Byrne, Madden, Quigley and Cretaro, at nearly €1k a week illustrates the Bohs' board determination to spend to another title, and the Bohs performances to date brings Fenlons signing abilities into question

With Shelley, Heary, McGuinness, Oman, Rossiter, Powell, Cronin, Keegan, Brennan, Murphy, Byrne, Madden retained from last years squad, compared with just about 4 each at Dundalk (Cherrie, Kelly, Burns, Mulvenna) or St Pat (Rogers, Lynch, Guy, Byrne) it must reflect poorly on Fenlons inability to integrate a smaller number of high quality/high earning players into an established league winning squad.





You both seemed to pick up on one point i made about new players and isolated it. I thought 2 intelligent posters like yourselves would understand the points i was making.

I don't know whether to be offended or flattered!

I understood all your points - I just thought that they made no sense, other then questioning Fenlons performance to date

[sligoman]

The 4 Fingal fans broke into a crazy round of applause at the final whistle. Fair play to them for travelling, must be hard to leave Dublin.

We had at least 384 chances to score too, deserved a point at least but it's not to be.

[The Lep]

Its unfair to expect Fans of Dublin clubs to travel so far away. Sligo should be relocated in Meath to make it fair for them ;)

[poster]

The 4 Fingal fans


There was 4? Where'd the fourth come out of??!! :eek:

[Lamper.sffc]

The 4 Fingal fans broke into a crazy round of applause at the final whistle. Fair play to them for travelling, must be hard to leave Dublin.

We had at least 384 chances to score too, deserved a point at least but it's not to be.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EOdPxkPqlQA/SHb5ODfLLLI/AAAAAAAAAfA/_ctwh9y5E50/s400/grapes.jpg

;)

[The Lep]

There was 4? Where'd the fourth come out of??!! :eek:

Fingal :)

[Acornvilla]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EOdPxkPqlQA/SHb5ODfLLLI/AAAAAAAAAfA/_ctwh9y5E50/s400/grapes.jpg

;)

that looks like somthing i'd draw :)

[Rocketman]

Looks like a good wine to me!

[Acornvilla]

Looks like a good wine to me!

bitter

[SkStu]

Especially with about 90% of players out of contract at the end of last season, budget should equal quality in the hands of a decent manager.

The demise of Cork and Derry gave Bohs and Shamrock Rovers further opportunities to stretch the gap - Bohs Higgins, McGlynn, Gray were signed by Bohs, while Murphy, Murray, and Dennehy were signed by Shamrocks.

Bohs signing of Aaron Greene to compete with Byrne, Madden, Quigley and Cretaro, at nearly €1k a week illustrates the Bohs' board determination to spend to another title, and the Bohs performances to date brings Fenlons signing abilities into question

With Shelley, Heary, McGuinness, Oman, Rossiter, Powell, Cronin, Keegan, Brennan, Murphy, Byrne, Madden retained from last years squad, compared with just about 4 each at Dundalk (Cherrie, Kelly, Burns, Mulvenna) or St Pat (Rogers, Lynch, Guy, Byrne) it must reflect poorly on Fenlons inability to integrate a smaller number of high quality/high earning players into an established league winning squad.

I think it is unquestionable that budget does equals quality in the case of Bohs. It just hasnt clicked yet and Fenlon hasnt found the right blend from the old and the new. Is that his fault? Absolutely. But im confident he will and the good thing is that it so far no other team or manager is any better at meeting the same challenge any more consistently. And certainly not enough to make it count so far. I certainly dont think it brings Fenlons "signing abilities" into doubt, moreso his tactical/managerial ability. And even then, any questioning is temporary. The man has done more than enough in his career with Bohs to be given time to find his team this season. You should be asking yourself why your team and manager havent been able to take advantage of our averageness.





I don't know whether to be offended or flattered!

I understood all your points - I just thought that they made no sense, other then questioning Fenlons performance to date

Be flattered, im not here to offend. Apologies that my original post made no sense to you, it did to me but maybe i wasnt clear enough for you.

[Rocketman]

bitter

If it gets you drunk, is good lol

[SkStu]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EOdPxkPqlQA/SHb5ODfLLLI/AAAAAAAAAfA/_ctwh9y5E50/s400/grapes.jpg

;)

everyone knows the green ones are more sour...

http://www.4marks.com/galleries/articles/s225/2982.jpg

[MariborKev]

I know we all have games where we say "it could have been ten" but tonight it really could have.

Scored 7, missed a penalty, two cleared off the lines and missed three one on ones. Rampant stuff.

[Ciaran W]

How many goals has McDaid scored for derry this season ?

[Rocketman]

I know we all have games where we say "it could have been ten" but tonight it really could have.

Scored 7, missed a penalty, two cleared off the lines and missed three one on ones. Rampant stuff.

Sounds like the forwards had a stinker Kev lol

[MariborKev]

5 goals i reckon.

[desaintsno.12]

Ireland is where ambition and incompetence meets creating bankers, politicians and Loi Chairmen

brilliant

[Ezeikial]

I think it is unquestionable that budget does equals quality in the case of Bohs. It just hasnt clicked yet and Fenlon hasnt found the right blend from the old and the new. Is that his fault? Absolutely.


Agreed - budget should equal quality and quality should equal points. Bohs and Fenlon have dramatically underperformed.

To put it into context - for Bohs the cost per point won to date (based on estimated budget) is about €5,500 - €6,000, whereas for Pats and Dundalk its in the region of €1,500 per point.

You can argue whether Fenlon has made the wrong signings or focus on his tactical and man-management limitations. Either way, the buck stops with Fenlon and his players.



You should be asking yourself why your team and manager havent been able to take advantage of our averageness.


I imagine that the vast majority of Pats and Dundalk supporters are very content with the performances of the respective teams and managers.

Six points ahead of the leagues Viv Nicholson, and a new form of entertainment reading the Bohs forum!

Of course it can hardly last, even the above Viv Nicholson should be able to win the league with the squad at Bohs. But its fun while it lasts!

[oriel]

Sligo fans still going for that 3rd place finish ? Its a club I like, but the amount of cocky posts on here in Feb/Mar about such a high table finish was just incredible. Even if we beat Rovers tomorow, I would still say 3rd for us would be a massive ask.

Maybe its time for everyone (myself included) to recognise what a quality side Fingal are. If they can build up their home support, they would be a good addition to the PD.

[hoopy]

You can argue whether Fenlon has made the wrong signings or focus on his tactical and man-management limitations. Either way, the buck stops with Fenlon



Interesting to see how he deals with the differences of opinion between certain players after the game the other night.