Transfer Rumours 2015

[Charlie Darwin]

That seems to be the case but if I stick my fingers in my ears and pretend I never heard it, it might not happen.

[Aaron]

Has this been confirmed anywhere?

Confirmed himself via Facebook page

[Acer]

Confirmed himself via Facebook page

He's known for 'exaggerating the truth'. I'll wait till rovers confirm it. It would be a strange signing for them.

[gufcfan]

Lots of jokes going around about it being a 19-game contract.

Isn't that what Gavin Brennan had this year?

[White Horse]

Pat Hoban on why he is leaving the Champions for league 2 football:

“I feel I have to go to England and prove myself because it’s obvious that the sides in League One or the Championship don’t rate the Irish league enough and I don’t know why that is"
http://talkofthetown.ie/2014/11/19/dundalk-striker-hoban-feels-he-has-to-make-english-move-to-move-up-the-ladder/

[nigel-harps1954]

Evan McMillan to Bohs to be confirmed today

[Charlie Darwin]

Rovers have signed North and re-signed Brennan, Cregg, Madden, McCabe and Sean O'Connor: http://www.shamrockrovers.ie/news/latest-news/35-news-sp-840/3802-north-is-a-hoop

Pat Hoban has started playing university town roulette and apparently is going to Cambridge now, along with Gearóid Morrissey.

[ger121]

Pat Hoban has started playing university town roulette and apparently is going to Cambridge now, along with Gearóid Morrissey.

The Oxford Firsts firm with not like that one bit. Someone will end up getting a good thrashing over this.

[Longfordian]

He won't dare show his boat race in Oxford any time soon

[GCdfc]

Pat Hoban on why he is leaving the Champions for league 2 football:

“I feel I have to go to England and prove myself because it’s obvious that the sides in League One or the Championship don’t rate the Irish league enough and I don’t know why that is"
http://talkofthetown.ie/2014/11/19/dundalk-striker-hoban-feels-he-has-to-make-english-move-to-move-up-the-ladder/


I don't rate the Irish League either.

[Jofspring]

Evan McMillan to Bohs to be confirmed today

Had heard we were talking to him. Pity as I would like to have seen him come in. If Oji stays they would have been a very strong centre back pairing.

[DaveyPats]

Evan McMillan to Bohs to be confirmed today

Signed last week. Was told he will be only trained once a week with them.

[sligoman]

Rovers have signed NorthHere's Danny being unveiled at Tallaght earlier this afternoon...

https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10620568_730253427043528_4816636690228171762_n.jpg ?oh=87ef288c943549e197684bd54c34276a&oe=551BAF1B

[dong]

I could see North scoring a lot of goals next year. Probably against us as well while he is motivated and fit. Once he picks up an injury the temptation of pints and burgers will be too much though.
I think he's lost a yard as well with the injury problems he's had.
Good to see Shams caving in to Fenlons demands now.
Have they axed the B team "long term project" as well after all of one season?

[Charlie Darwin]

B team was going to be scrapped either way. Seemed to be mainly Croly's project and board couldn't justify the expense, same as Cork and Pats.

Have a bad feeling about North but he's hardly going to be commanding a huge wage, and we've gotten rid of a rake of higher earners already.

[bluewhitearmy]

Cork announcing a signing in the morning according to their twitter.

[ger121]

Have a bad feeling about North but he's hardly going to be commanding a huge wage, and we've gotten rid of a rake of higher earners already.

Is he finally the replacement for Twigg? Unlikely. Will he get you goals if he stays fit? Probably. Did well enough in a very average Sligo side last season and scored more goals than the any of the front men at Rovers.

[Charlie Darwin]

Nobody can replace Twigg, but he's the most natural goalscorer we've had since. I think he'd score goals anywhere once he's fit, but I'm not sure he's the kind of striker you want when you're chasing a title, which is where Rovers want to be, and things aren't going your way. With Twigg you always felt that when the rest of the team wasn't functioning, he'd always take the responsibility on himself and score, whereas I don't think North is really that player, consistently at least. Certainly I think he'll be an improvement on watching Kilduff miss open goals.

[Charlie Darwin]

Hoban signed for Oxford United. A step down but he obviously has the confidence in his own ability to make the move up. Best of luck to him.

[Nah Nah Nah Nah]

North will score lots of goals for Shams I fear. Wasted by us playing out on the wing most of last season. Would say he is the the best finisher in the league (of goals and burgers obviously)

[Dunny]

Hoban signed for Oxford United. A step down but he obviously has the confidence in his own ability to make the move up. Best of luck to him.
Oxford announce it at all hours ffs :)
Cant play until January.

[dong]

Nobody can replace Twigg, but he's the most natural goalscorer we've had since. I think he'd score goals anywhere once he's fit, but I'm not sure he's the kind of striker you want when you're chasing a title, which is where Rovers want to be, and things aren't going your way. With Twigg you always felt that when the rest of the team wasn't functioning, he'd always take the responsibility on himself and score, whereas I don't think North is really that player, consistently at least. Certainly I think he'll be an improvement on watching Kilduff miss open goals.
What was the point of starting it if you are only going to give it one season though Charlie?
Surely that fruits of it would never be seen for a few seasons.
Nutsy started making noises about it almost straight away. There is a big condescending statement that Roche made as well when it was announced that made it pretty clear it was a long term strategy of some sort. I am sure I can find it online somewhere.
That's now gone out the Window as a manager who is well known to apply a lot of pressure on boards for big budgets starts to build a squad.
Coincidence? Hardly.

[Dalymountrower]

Signed last week. Was told he will be only trained once a week with them.
Thats just to do the accounts though.He may also play some football.

[micls]

We've just announced that we've issued Djilali from Limerick. First right winger we've signed in a long time. Happy with that!

[Jofspring]

We've just announced that we've issued Djilali from Limerick. First right winger we've signed in a long time. Happy with that!

Played left wing for us a lot and was actually poor on the wing. Thought his best games for us were when he went through the middle.

[SwanVsDalton]

According to BBC Foyle sports reporter Eric White (https://twitter.com/ericwhite80/status/535764105878327298), Derry close to signing Cillian Morrision and Michael Duffy has been offered a trial at Celtic.

Stephen Dooley is also on trial at Wycombe.

[Ezeikial]

B team was going to be scrapped either way.



What sort of nonsense is this?

Are you seriously expecting anyone to believe that the B team was to be scrapped irrespective of any demands from Fenlon?




Seemed to be mainly Croly's project and board couldn't justify the expense, same as Cork and Pats.


Why?

Was the expense a surprise to the board?

Did they expect to get a financial return in the first season?

[Ezeikial]

Nobody can replace Twigg............

That is not what you were saying when he left.

[Calcio Jack]

No great mystery as to why B team scrapped. - reason is cost which can't be justified , nothing to do with Fenlon, as it doesn't add anything extra to his first team budget it just means we don't have to spend €95k on a B team.

Same as a household budget where say for example you decide not to go on hols next year because you don't have any spare cash- that doesn't mean you have the €2k or whatever you spent last year available to spend.

Or in other words our cash reserves have been reduced substantially over last 3 seasons so what was to be a long term project now has to be suspended.

Still I assume Pats and others who bleated on about how unfair an advantage we had and said they would like to have had the chance to enter a B team will step up to the plate .

[GCdfc]

Still I assume Pats and others who bleated on about how unfair an advantage we had and said they would like to have had the chance to enter a B team will step up to the plate .

But will they be offered it in secret by the FAI?

[Dodge]

Still I assume Pats and others who bleated on about how unfair an advantage we had and said they would like to have had the chance to enter a B team will step up to the plate .

Buckley said he thought clubs should have a level playing field. And now there is one.

[Macy]

No great mystery as to why B team scrapped. - reason is cost which can't be justified , nothing to do with Fenlon, as it doesn't add anything extra to his first team budget it just means we don't have to spend €95k on a B team.

Same as a household budget where say for example you decide not to go on hols next year because you don't have any spare cash- that doesn't mean you have the €2k or whatever you spent last year available to spend.

Or in other words our cash reserves have been reduced substantially over last 3 seasons so what was to be a long term project now has to be suspended.

Still I assume Pats and others who bleated on about how unfair an advantage we had and said they would like to have had the chance to enter a B team will step up to the plate .
Actually shows that for all the bs, Rovers no different to any other club in terms of budgeting. Could be justified last year, they gave a 3 year commitment (another bit of FAI paper not worth the effort of writing), and then the season didn't go as they budgeted for so the B team is scrapped/ postponed.

[Ezeikial]

Or in other words our cash reserves have been reduced substantially over last 3 seasons so what was to be a long term project now has to be suspended.


What has happened since Rovers made this commitment ONE YEAR AGO?

Two significant things:

1) Increased income via Europa League qualification
2) Pat Fenlon appointed Manager


Go figure which of these has had the biggest influence on pulling the plug on the B team




Still I assume Pats and others who bleated on about how unfair an advantage we had and said they would like to have had the chance to enter a B team will step up to the plate .

Did you really not get it yet?

[Charlie Darwin]

What was the point of starting it if you are only going to give it one season though Charlie?
Surely that fruits of it would never be seen for a few seasons.
Nutsy started making noises about it almost straight away. There is a big condescending statement that Roche made as well when it was announced that made it pretty clear it was a long term strategy of some sort. I am sure I can find it online somewhere.
That's now gone out the Window as a manager who is well known to apply a lot of pressure on boards for big budgets starts to build a squad.
Coincidence? Hardly.
I'm not entirely sure what the logic was. It was a project that Croly had been lobbying for as part of his plan to have a Malmo-style model, but it was expensive and the benefits were debatable, especially with the need to field a U19 squad and soon an U17 squad, it was just a bit of a mess.


What sort of nonsense is this?

Are you seriously expecting anyone to believe that the B team was to be scrapped irrespective of any demands from Fenlon?
Fenlon doesn't own the club - he can't demand they scrap a team he's not even the manager of. From what I know, the B team was deemed to be an expensive exercise that not everybody was in favour of to begin with, and they were always going to re-evaluate it along the way as any diligent business would.


Why?

Was the expense a surprise to the board?

Did they expect to get a financial return in the first season?
No, nobody expected to get a financial return and the expense was planned for when the decision was made. But people change their minds about things. They gave it a go for a year and decided it wasn't worth the expense, especially as the U17 league will be an additional expense in the coming years. We now know that other clubs looked at the numbers and made the exact same decision this year.


That is not what you were saying when he left.
I never said he was replaceable.

[Ezeikial]

Commenting on the launching of Rovers B, Jonathan Roche said this in mid Feb 2014:


"We have to do something," said Roche, "because we can't stand still and think, 'right, we spend the most in Irish football therefore we will win trophies'. Having money isn't enough.
http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/rovers-want-to-find-irish-ibrahimovic-says-roche-30000932.html


After being discarded by Rovers, Trevor Croly said this in early August:



“What we’re spending… Our budget is the fourth highest budget in the league so you’ve got to be realistic"

http://www.thescore.ie/trevor-croly-shamrock-rovers-players-pressure-soccer-republic-1605411-Aug2014/

From No 1 spenders to No 4 in less then 6 months and now this long term project has to be shelved.

Should we start a collection?

[Charlie Darwin]

And to think some people say fans of other clubs are obsessed with Rovers. Don't know where they get it from :)

[Louth4sam]

And to think some people say fans of other clubs are obsessed with Rovers. Don't know where they get it from :)

The club we love to hate!!

[Mr A]

Could be as simple as Roche's figure relating to overall spending while Croly's related to first team expenditure only.

[Lim till i die]

My sauces in the pale have us linked with Ayman Ben Mohammed from UCDD.

Any good?

My only memory of him is Sam Oji kicking him into the fourth row of the stand in Belfield

[Lim till i die]

Also *something about Shamrock B boo hiss etc*

[delboyderis]

No disrespect to this young lad ayman ben mohammed but if thats the best that we can be linked with at the minute,god help us for next season.:angry2:

[Jofspring]

No disrespect to this young lad ayman ben mohammed but if thats the best that we can be linked with at the minute,god help us for next season.:angry2:

Pretty sure at the start of the season a UCD fan was saying he looked very good and they would struggle to hold into him. You seem to think if we sign some players from UCD we are screwed but if you actually look around the league they have had some of the top players that have gone on to win leagues and cups.

[bluewhitearmy]

Pretty sure at the start of the season a UCD fan was saying he looked very good and they would struggle to hold into him. You seem to think if we sign some players from UCD we are screwed but if you actually look around the league they have had some of the top players that have gone on to win leagues and cups.

I am seriously hoping his comment is a wind up based on the nonsense he was talking in the Limerick section.

[delboyderis]

I am not knocking ucd players but if he was that good i am sure some of the big dublin teams would have snapped him up by now.he is only a young lad,we need mature experienced loi players.martin russell probably knows him well but i just think that we need to be aiming higher if we want to stay in the top half of the league.

[Jofspring]

I am not knocking ucd players but if he was that good i am sure some of the big dublin teams would have snapped him up by now.he is only a young lad,we need mature experienced loi players.martin russell probably knows him well but i just think that we need to be aiming higher if we want to stay in the top half of the league.

I would imagine we will be looking at a blend of experience and youth. Our budget certainly wouldn't be big enough to be filling our team with experience.

[delboyderis]

The main thing is that we compete with the big guys when the season starts.they wont get many in the markets field if they dont im afraid.

[bluewhitearmy]

The main thing is that we compete with the big guys when the season starts.they wont get many in the markets field if they dont im afraid.

Completely unrealistic to expect us to compete with any of the top 4 we can't financially so we won't on the pitch unless Russell is brilliant.

[delboyderis]

We didnt do too bad this season so why not push on and compete for fourth spot next season.its all about improving every season.they wont get the crowds if they arent competing against the big guys.

[El-Pietro]

Pretty sure at the start of the season a UCD fan was saying he looked very good and they would struggle to hold into him. You seem to think if we sign some players from UCD we are screwed but if you actually look around the league they have had some of the top players that have gone on to win leagues and cups.

As it happens i was checking something out yesterday and noticed this UCD team from 2008 (they were relegated in 2009). Bear in mind Ronan Finn was a member of the UCD this season as well
http://extratime.ie/fixtures/detail/10246/2/

Look at their bench that day FFS. If they could hold onto their players they could win leagues.

[delboyderis]

I suppose its hard for the small clubs to hold onto their good players when the big clubs come knocking.i have been supporting ipswich town since the 80's and its happened a lot with them too.