El Managers

[Flea]

Who are the best and worst managers in the premier at present :confused:

I would think the best is Doolin
You know who the worst is ;)

[Flea]

I was just wondering if someone could please make this into a poll ;)

[jofyisgod]

Doolin gets top marks for his work. Fenlon, much as i hate him, is an above average manager ;) , but you can't argue with titles, so our very own Pat Dolan must get a mention.

[brendy_éire]

Doolin by a mile.
Fenlon's good, but overrated, I think. For the amount of money he has at his disposal, Shels aren't doing as well as they could be.
Would like to think that Stephen Kenny is good also, he's done well enough at Longford and Bohs.

[gael353]

Buckley was by far the worst, we knew it when he was at athlone yet he walked into a title winning team at pats and prooved his crapness at rovers. O'Reirdon also at Sligo rovers was a much over hyped joke good to see they got rid of him. at the moment id have to say Doolin is doing well, but rynolds is still my bet to be the worst.

[Slash/ED]

Fenlon's good, but overrated, I think. For the amount of money he has at his disposal, Shels aren't doing as well as they could be.


We're champions, we're winning the league (Which, if we win it, would be the first two in a row in our history), we've gotten further in the champions league than any Irish team has ever managed before and we've a good chance of making the UEFA cup group stages. How well should we be doing? :confused:

[Flea]

We're champions, we're winning the league (Which, if we win it, would be the first two in a row in our history), we've gotten further in the champions league than any Irish team has ever managed before and we've a good chance of making the UEFA cup group stages. How well should we be doing? :confused:

Well I for one am not disagreeing with Shels achievements this year but out of 10 how would you rate the management. I only get to see Shels the few times a year but what really tests the management is when you are behind with only a few minutes left in a game. From what I can see Fenlon is a really good manager but you'd know best...

[brendy_éire]

How well should we be doing? :confused:

Have you ever won the treble? ;)
Shels shouldn't be getting put out of the Cup by the likes of us, and should be top of the League by a fair margin at this stage of the season.

[Slash/ED]

Well I for one am not disagreeing with Shels achievements this year but out of 10 how would you rate the management. I only get to see Shels the few times a year but what really tests the management is when you are behind with only a few minutes left in a game. From what I can see Fenlon is a really good manager but you'd know best...

I rate him very very highly. He's excellent in the transfer market, rarely makes a bad buy and can spot a player, case in point being the St Pats reserve player he's turned into one of the most consistent players in the league. His tactics in Europe this year have been spot on because he was capable of learning from his mistakes before, which is a good sign in a manager. He's turned us into the most efficent team in the league and the character and team spirit in the side has to be put down to him aswell, and as you said the amount of times we've scored late crucial goals this season has been absolutley unbeliveble.

He's learned so much from his first two seasons in charge, it's amazing. He's nearly always spot on with his team selections and subs and isn't afraid to make the hard decisions. I rate him as the best manager in the league but then I am biased :)


Shels shouldn't be getting put out of the Cup by the likes of us, and should be top of the League by a fair margin at this stage of the season.

Well, to be fair, the cup wasn't exactly a priority and it came in the middle of a massive European games for us. Look at UCD beating cork after the Inter Toto, we were bound to have a European hangover and it's cost us the cup, but despite the hangover we're still in pole position to win our very first two in a row being top with a game in hand. I really can't see how much more he could be doing, the cup was unfortunate but the league and europe more than make up for it. And I'm normally very critical of managers :D

[Colm]

Best: Pat Dolan, he's won league titles and has the best European record.
Also, I suppose an honourable mention has to go to Fenlon aswell but apart form the two of them I don't think there are any outstanding managers in the el.

Worst: Take your pick from the rest of the chancers!

[pineapple stu]

Doolin by a mile.


Doolin gets top marks for his work.


I would think the best is Doolin

I know it's very hard for me to be neutral on this, but Doolin was completely shown up by Pete Mahon tonight. Cork fans also will know how much has changed at UCD since Doolin screwed us over and Mahon took over a complete mess. Always thought highly of Stephen Kenny too. Ger Bickerstaff at Kilkenny seems to have done a good job as well.

Stephen Kelly hasn't exactly set the world alight since taking over at Athlone, even losing at home to Monaghan last week.

[Thirsty Hoop]

The interesting thing is that the old guard are on the way out. Richardson, Keely, King etc. are all out of the picture. The two up and coming managers in the EL are Fenlon and Doolin, both of whom went straight from playing careers into management. Kenny is young but not as good as people think. Buckley is gone now and will, I think, struggle to get back in. Dolan, as much as I like the guy, is a bit of a spoofer. He has no concept of budgets and St. Pat's are still paying for his era. Cork beware. Roddy is the ultimate spoofer, his time in the sun is over. Matthews, I think, should get out of Longford. He's gone stale down there, but I don't know who else would take on such a dirty coach. Giller was a great manager, but unfortunately work committments got the better of him. I'd have him at Rovers in a flash. In the first divison, Jim Gannon is doing a job at Dundalk. Then again, he mightn't be there too long ;)

[Flea]

The interesting thing is that the old guard are on the way out. Richardson, Keely, King etc. are all out of the picture. The two up and coming managers in the EL are Fenlon and Doolin, both of whom went straight from playing careers into management. Kenny is young but not as good as people think. Buckley is gone now and will, I think, struggle to get back in. Dolan, as much as I like the guy, is a bit of a spoofer. He has no concept of budgets and St. Pat's are still paying for his era. Cork beware. Roddy is the ultimate spoofer, his time in the sun is over. Matthews, I think, should get out of Longford. He's gone stale down there, but I don't know who else would take on such a dirty coach. Giller was a great manager, but unfortunately work committments got the better of him. I'd have him at Rovers in a flash. In the first divison, Jim Gannon is doing a job at Dundalk. Then again, he mightn't be there too long ;)

I think you've got that just about right about the newer generation but im undecided yet on Kenny.I'll have to wait until the new season to see what sort of an impact he makes. He was of course excellent at Longford considering the resources but didn't do too well at bohs.Derry were down in Longford last week and even though they lost 3-0 they played good football in the first half. Matthews is doing good recently but the start of the season was the worst football i have ever seen(hes not a dirty coach though)

[Maz]

Matthews is doing good recently but the start of the season was the worst football i have ever seen(hes not a dirty coach though)

aaron is coach here, mayb thats who he is refering too!

[De Town]

Matthews, I think, should get out of Longford. He's gone stale down there, but I don't know who else would take on such a dirty coach.

Dirty :confused: I wouldn't exactly call us dirty. OK, Barry might go in a bit hard now and then but I definately wouldn't call us dirty. We play 3 times as mush football as ye do when were both playing well.

[Maz]

Dirty :confused: I wouldn't exactly call us dirty. OK, Barry might go in a bit hard now and then but I definately wouldn't call us dirty. We play 3 times as mush football as ye do when were both playing well.

he just an aggressive defender!! :p

[De Town]

he just an aggressive defender!! :p

Exactly. He just likes to let the Forward know that he won't have an easy match ;) I'd say Murph will feel it tonight :D

[Flea]

aaron is coach here, mayb thats who he is refering too!

No I think he is referring to Alan e.g Ancellotti is the Milan coach i.e Manager


Dirty I wouldn't exactly call us dirty. OK, Barry might go in a bit hard now and then but I definately wouldn't call us dirty. We play 3 times as mush football as ye do when were both playing well.

The Town are not a dirty team they just lose disciplne sometimes but it is never too serious. You should know Thirsty Hoop look at Dillo's sending off in Richmond...it was nothing! :(

[Longfordian]

. I don't know who else would take on such a dirty coach.


Your club, to name but one.. :)

[Thirsty Hoop]

Maybe it's only against us but Rovers v Longford games rarely finish with 22 players on the pitch. Ferguson is a thug, every supporter in the EL will say that. Dillon was unlucky to get sent off last time, I'll give you that, but Longford do have a reputation across the league as being 'the new Bray' (i.e. dirty *******s).

[Longfordian]

It seems to be just a Rovers-Longford thing, mainly in Tolka or Richmond as well, a coincidence I think. Ferguson, for a "thug", has been doing well not to be even booked in the last twelve games..

[Sonic]

Dirty :confused: I wouldn't exactly call us dirty. OK, Barry might go in a bit hard now and then but I definately wouldn't call us dirty. We play 3 times as mush football as ye do when were both playing well.

yeah dead right there DE TOWN mush is exactly what it has been. ;)

:ball:

[De Town]

yeah dead right there DE TOWN mush is exactly what it has been. ;)

Funny Man :rolleyes:

[Fair_play_boy]

This is one of the good threads that has been posted, as it invites us (god forbid) to use our judgement rather than reach into the murky areas of our vocabulary to find suitable insults for the players / refs / linesmen / players who are under scrutiny. Managers are soooooo different when it comes to making judgements.
How do you rate a manager fairly? There is no single measure. Results alone are no good. Players can perform below par in a crucial game or two, and your season is gone west. Transfer market? Not likely. All you need is buy one donkey and all your good transfers are forgotten. Media presence? Puh-lease. How you come over in the press, radio and TV is largely dependent on who is favoured by the powers-that-be in the broadcast and print media, and who their pets are.
Which brings me to Pat Fenlon. It makes me feel kinda dirty to say this, but I think he is the business. Much as I like Pat Dolan, and believe in his approach to Cork City, Fenlon has it all. Next Thursday Shels play Lille at Lansdowne Road. I do not think it will be a 24,000 sell out game like Depo, but the crowd will be there to witness another chapter in the 2004 legend of Irish soccer success in Europe.

[TonyD]

Yep, Fenlon has it all, including the Budget. I'm not saying he isn't a good manager, but being able to pay the best wages in the league is surely a big advantage. For my money the best job in the league over the past few years, taking resources into account was probably Stephen Kenny at Longford (They've had more cash since Matthews took over). Of the rest of the current bunch Doolin did well at UCD, and is also impressive at Drogheda. I'm amazed Bohs didn't bust a gut trying to get him instead of gambling heavily on Farrelly. I also must put a word in for John McDonnell, who has done a steady job at Pats since he came in, considering the mess left by the previous incumbent. If the financial situation improves at Richmond I'd have high hopes for him getting us back up to the business end of the table.

[Roo69]

Maybe it's only against us but Rovers v Longford games rarely finish with 22 players on the pitch. Ferguson is a thug, every supporter in the EL will say that. Dillon was unlucky to get sent off last time, I'll give you that, but Longford do have a reputation across the league as being 'the new Bray' (i.e. dirty *******s).

I actually never even knew Bray had a name for being a dirty team ? anyone enlighten me on this ?

Fenlon and Doolin must take most credit this year i reckon, and so should Dolan for europe - but in saying that i think he has under preformed in the league and cup by a long way, for the players that he has, Cork are muck ! they should be really challanging Shels and Drogs for the title IMO

[pineapple stu]

Doolin did well at UCD, and is also impressive at Drogheda.

Whatever about Drogheda, Doolin did NOT do a good job at UCD. Fell out with players, whined about the job, got us relegated just three years after we'd been in Europe. I'd honestly be interested (seriously) why you think he did a good job with us.

[Flea]

I think people forget how poorly he did with UCD because of the success he is currently having at Drogheda. Mahon has turned the UCD team around after the mess that was left but Doolin is doing very well at the moment at Drogheda, if it continues is the question?

[ColinR]

Whatever about Drogheda, Doolin did NOT do a good job at UCD. Fell out with players, whined about the job, got us relegated just three years after we'd been in Europe. I'd honestly be interested (seriously) why you think he did a good job with us.

I think the reason people think he done a great job with ucd is cos of the season before ye got relegated. he turned them round when all was lost (about 15 points adrift) and comfortably survived, only for the club to sell half his team, so he had to start all over.

[pineapple stu]

only for the club to sell half his team, so he had to start all over.

We were only ever six points behind that year. And the club didn't sell half the team. We lost about five players in total that year. One had fallen out with Doolin (Robbie Doyle). One went to West Ham (Clive Delaney), so you couldn't do anything about that. One went to Rovers after seven years at UCD (Baz Ryan) - again, that's life. Two others weren't getting their game anyway (Greg O'Dowd and Richie Purdy). And that's about it. The manager gets full say as to who stays and goes at the end of the year, so nothing was done above his head and to say otherwise with no evidence is ridiculous. The club strucure is such that we always have quality youngsters coming through anyway, so losing players isn't a huge blow, but of course Doolin ignored that structure. He's unfortunately gotten a knack for spouting rubbish to the press which is subsequently taken as truth.

Another candidate is yer man Healy at Harps though - don't think he's lost a league game yet!

[liamon]

I'd honestly be interested (seriously) why you think he did a good job with us.
How about the fact that Cork City always had far better players than UCD, but Doolin always managed to put out a team that was organised, effective and horrible for us to play against. City always struggled against them.

I hated those games.

[ColinR]

We were only ever six points behind that year. And the club didn't sell half the team....... And that's about it. The manager gets full say as to who stays and goes at the end of the year, so nothing was done above his head and to say otherwise with no evidence is ridiculous.

not saying any rights or wrongs about it, but the impression that was given was the opposite. the person the media always interviews was the manager, and at the time doolin was complaining about a lot within ucd.

anyway, should be fun next season, when we play ucd after the words in the press today ;)

[iceman]

Serious war of words between Doolin and Mahon in todays papers.

[corkharps]

Another candidate is yer man Healy at Harps though - don't think he's lost a league game yet!

16 league games unbeaten! He is winning over a lot of us doubters!He also told derry where to go! :D

[patsh]

I think Pat Dolan is the best....AND the worst !

[dublinred]

Don O'Riordan is by far and away the worst , he blew one of the first divisons biggest budgets and ended up finishing 6th , the all time classic line has to be "go tell the samba band to start playing again" during a cup tie with galway a few years back.

[Bald Student]

Doolin always managed to put out a team that was organised, effective and horrible for us to play against. City always struggled against them.

Enough of the past tense, City still struggle in Belfield.

[pineapple stu]

not saying any rights or wrongs about it, but the impression that was given was the opposite. the person the media always interviews was the manager, and at the time doolin was complaining about a lot within ucd.

Fair point, but I think after today, anything Doolin says should be treated as complete horseshít! The amount of out-and-out lies in that piece was remarkable!


How about the fact that Cork City always had far better players than UCD, but Doolin always managed to put out a team that was organised, effective and horrible for us to play against. City always struggled against them.

Youz did comfortably win the first two games against us last season, though, and could have won in Belfield with ten men. Doolin was good at sticking ten men behind the ball, but not much more (look at the number of goals we scored in the last two seasons - way less than one a game). Mahon has done the same defensively, but has added an extra attacking dimension now. Plus, the fact that Cork haven't had a decent manager since Dave Barry (in my opinion!!!) has a hell of a lot to do with it as well.

[liamon]

Enough of the past tense, City still struggle in Belfield.
Which is why I'll be hoping that 3 of Bray/Harps/Kildare/Galway manage to get promoted this year.

[Schumi]

I think the reason people think he done a great job with ucd is cos of the season before ye got relegated. he turned them round when all was lost (about 15 points adrift) and comfortably survived.
I think you're right about that, as misguided as it is. The team we had that season was brilliant. The second half of the season was what it was capable of and there's no way that we should have been anywhere near the bottom of the table at any stage that year.