Week 26 - 26th Sept onwards

[bluewhitearmy]

At the start of the season the teams with a substantially bigger budgets were

Shamrock Rovers
Sligo Rovers
St Patricks Athletic
Derry City

Limerick and Cork were also generally acknowledged to have had bigger budgets

Stephen Kenny probably started with the 7th or 8th highest budget and was certainly ranked number 8 in the pre-season bookies odds.

Dundalk were expected to finish in the lower half of the table by most observers and will certainly have exceeded expectations by seasons end

By who? unless of course by "acknowledged " you mean " Some mad Cork lads said Limerick had huge budget so we all decided they were right".

[Dodge]

Dundalk were expected to finish in the lower half of the table by most observers and will certainly have exceeded expectations by seasons end

BY many yes, and a top 3 finish is an excellent season for kenny and Dundalk. But they were certainly not in the bottom 7 budgets for the year.

[redobit]

Fair play to Athlone. Have some good memories of visting St. Mels as a young lad so looking forward to seeing their new ground as Ive never been in it. Another trip away from Dublin too aint a bad thing either.

[Martinho II]

Athlone town fans were great supporters of us in our top flight days so I have no problem goin to their games if i am still workin in Dublin nxt season... Athlone was always more of a soccer hotbed than Longford ever was.. We wont go up either this year and it serves us right for turning down Roddy Collins five long years ago now.. what goes around .... btw massive congrats to Athlone and to a few of the long term fans that I have the pleasure of knowin over the years.. ye will be a superb addition to top flight.. Why TC let go James O Brien and Aidan Collins I never know.. The man should be shot!

[ATFC-1887]

Yeh i think Aido proved last night that TC letting him go was a terrible move. He has been the best defender in the league by a long shot this season. Our player of the year easy imo. James O'Brien has been fantasic too. Since his debut away to Harps 14 games ago we have not lost. He controls the game so well.
Not looking good for Longfords playoff chances at the moment. Mervue have 2 very winnable games left while Longford have us in Athlone. Will be an interesting end to the season for sure.

[Charlie Darwin]

No midlands clasicos next season... will the economy collapse?

[gael353]

Pat Dolan said every time he was on MNS "limerick spending the money" in fact he couldn't even say "limerick" without saying spending the money.

[Charlie Darwin]

To be fair to Pat, every team in the league is spending the money. Except for Dundalk, whose budget I hear was so low they had to use imaginary numbers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaginary_number).

[Bawnville Hoop]

To be fair to Pat, every team in the league is spending the money. Except for Dundalk, whose budget I hear was so low they had to use imaginary numbers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaginary_number).

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/09/Sligo_Rovers_FC_logo.svg/150px-Sligo_Rovers_FC_logo.svg.png

[Nesta99]

Ciaran Bond, Chairman of Dundalk publicly said what it was costing per week to run the club including team budget, couldnt be bothered looking for it but certainly was on the more modest side and a lot less than what previous managers including John Gill had to spend. How is it though that so much seems to be known about the budget of clubs by supporters throughout the league? Do you have a network of spys infriltrating the boards of every club Dodge?

[Jofspring]

Ciaran Bond, Chairman of Dundalk publicly said what it was costing per week to run the club including team budget, couldnt be bothered looking for it but certainly was on the more modest side and a lot less than what previous managers including John Gill had to spend. How is it though that so much seems to be known about the budget of clubs by supporters throughout the league? Do you have a network of spys infriltrating the boards of every club Dodge?

We know as much about Dundalks budget as Dundalk fans know about everyone else's.

[MiniMourinho]

12K is not small. I'd call it upper-medium sized.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Any public commentator discussing Limerick's finances has generally been talking nonsense, seeing only dollar signs due to the owner.

Well done to Athlone, lets just hope it isnt end up like Roddy's last foray into the top tier.

[ATFC-1887]

Well done to Athlone, lets just hope it isnt end up like Roddy's last foray into the top tier.

People keep saying this but look at the 2 clubs. Monaghon didnt even have a sponser. And Even when they went up they had no fans. At least the last few months we showed there is interest in the club, and there is a big potential fan base there. I wouldnt be worried.

[oriel]

Athlone is a solid football town that won two league titles previously. They attracted 2k home fans to a FD match this weekend.

I think they will cope fine with the adjustment of PD life, it will be a tough, but nothing less challenging that any other promoted side but they should be much better placed than Monaghan I would think.

Expectations and how to manage it is key, for example they will go from losing less than 5 games to possibly more than 10. Possibly some very bad hammerings too and winless months but it's all about finding your feet and consolidating, fans need to have patience and more importantly be realistic when (most) sides get promoted. And to stick with your team.

[ATFC-1887]

Exactly. Id honestly take staying up by a point next year. Survival is all that matters next season. Then we build on that

[Dodge]

Do you have a network of spys infriltrating the boards of every club Dodge?

Yes, that's exactly it. Just like Ezekial does

[sadloserkid]

12K is not small. I'd call it upper-medium sized.

Are you talking thousands or iches?

[Quayman]

12K is not small. I'd call it upper-medium sized.

That's includes all weekly running costs and not just the team for DFC as confirmed by Bond

[oriel]

Anyway back to the actual matches.

A return to winning ways by Dundalk tonight against Derry will secure European football next season, and with it a top 3 finish. This will be the highest league finish since we last won the PD in 1995.

Derry can join us in Europe if they finish 4th and either Dundalk or Sligo win the cup.

[Lim till i die]

That's includes all weekly running costs and not just the team for DFC as confirmed by Bond

They are in their eyes running the club for 12 grand a week.

Putting the wage buget at 7800.

With 4200 left over for everything else.

Not that I give one, it's just a bit much to expect everyone on here to be as gullible as Ciaran Bond apparently thinks Dundalk fans are.

[brendy_éire]

Derry can join us in Europe if they finish 4th and either Dundalk or Sligo win the cup.

Seriously doubt we'll be finishing in 4th spot based on recent performances. Shams are three points behind, albeit having playing a game more.
Coming down off Glenshane atm, in the rain, overlooking a cloudy, grey south Derry, I can't see anything other than a Dundalk win tonight.

[legendz]

Congrats to Limerick on a third win on the trot within a week.

[adamd164]

Great result for us tonight, drawing away to Sligo. We really have turned a corner the past couple of months.

That result should also mean that Pats can't be caught, still a few games left but they'll be tough to catch now.

[Nesta99]

They are in their eyes running the club for 12 grand a week.

Putting the wage buget at 7800.

With 4200 left over for everything else.

Not that I give one, it's just a bit much to expect everyone on here to be as gullible as Ciaran Bond apparently thinks Dundalk fans are.

Gullible TCM's may make those books balance!

[legendz]

Great result for us tonight, drawing away to Sligo. We really have turned a corner the past couple of months.

That result should also mean that Pats can't be caught, still a few games left but they'll be tough to catch now.

Good result alright. On current form, it's a pity there isn't another Munster derby, I'd like to see how that clash would go. Still, Limerick can be satisfied with having won 2 of them! :p ;)

Pat's should be able to free wheel it in to the title from here. At least Pat's v Sligo will still have some edge to it, despite the gap and games left.

[sligoman]

At least Pat's v Sligo will still have some edge to it, despite the gap and games left.No it won't, very few of our players will actually be interested in it.

[adamd164]

Good result alright. On current form, it's a pity there isn't another Munster derby, I'd like to see how that clash would go. Still, Limerick can be satisfied with having won 2 of them! :p ;)

True, yet we're above them in the table.

[Dodge]

No it won't, very few of our players will actually be interested in it.

They will if Pats don't beat UCD. As it is, 6 points from 4 games is what Pats need.