LOI fixtures 27th/28th March

[geysir]

Took his goal very well. Fair play to him

Still don't think he's a top striker. glad you care enough about my opinion to keep bringing it up

Eh?? the point which has escaped you, probably due to some narcissistic tendencies, is we don't care about your opinion (it's worthless), but just love rubbing it in.

[Nesta99]

Cork don't appar to have improved. Still desperately scraping wins against sides at the bottom of the table.

Caulfield has spent a lot of money and for what?

I fully expect Cork to improve and as long as they are picking up the wins it doesnt matter how really. I expect us to continue to improve too though and putting away the so called weaker teams is especially important this round with home advantage to Cork and Shams v Dundalk.

[Yossarian]

Caulfields joke shop selection also didn't help matters.

What was the selection?

[Pablo Escobar]

What was the selection?
Johnny Dunleavy and Dan Murray were playing in midfield.

[WoodquayBoy]

I don't care how dislikeble a character people feel Flynn is, there is absolutely no excuse for Oji headbutting him.

[Yossarian]

Johnny Dunleavy and Dan Murray were playing in midfield.

Six defenders against Bray? What will he do against a decent team!

[Charlie Darwin]

I don't care how dislikeble a character people feel Flynn is, there is absolutely no excuse for Oji headbutting him.
Who thinks he's unlikable? He's the most lovable player in the league. A complete and utter mad fecker.

[nigel-harps1954]

Who thinks he's unlikable? He's the most lovable player in the league. A complete and utter mad fecker.

I think he's sort of taken over the role of Dave Rogers in the league. Hated by some, while others can't help but laugh at him.

[Charlie Darwin]

I think he's sort of taken over the role of Dave Rogers in the league. Hated by some, while others can't help but laugh at him.
One of my all-time favourite LOI moments is Eoin Hand's reaction to Rogers pulling down his shorts on RTE. He genuinely seemed like that was the last straw and he'd given up on humanity entirely.

[De Town]

Pat Flynn is an absolute gent and one of the funniest fellas you could ever meet. Yes he can be a loose cannon at times while on the pitch but he's a solid defender and a top bloke in my eyes.

[Charlie Darwin]

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[El-Pietro]

Dan Murray libero. I've seen everything now.

[jinxy lilywhite]

So 5 games in for all clubs, how good or bad of a start do you think your club has had.

From a Dundalk POV 5 wins, 11 goals and none conceded is the perfect start. Though performances could be slicker we can only beat what's put out in front of us but we are getting better with each game. Would of expected Pats to put up a bigger performance and Sligo to a lesser extent.

Longford, Bohs and Drogs fan's must be delighted with their start

[White Horse]

Six defenders against Bray? What will he do against a decent team!

Is Caulfield holding them back and stopping their development? Last year, Cork were tactically poor but I put that down to working with some limited players.

He has a really good squad this year. Does he know how to get the best from it?

[Pablo Escobar]

Is Caulfield holding them back and stopping their development? Last year, Cork were tactically poor but I put that down to working with some limited players.

He has a really good squad this year. Does he know how to get the best from it?
I think there's question marks there. We had more games in pre season than most and seemed to learn nothing. Now, whilst you can argue with results, overall performances and tactics have been poor. However, we have been creating lots and lots of chances, most falling to Karl Shepperd. He has had at least 15 chances that are in the "should have scored" category.

[Dalymountrower]

.From what I've seen so far surprised at how ordinary Rovers were, Dundalk didnt look ad good to me as they did last year but are flying. Bray and Galway much the same level and Limerick behind them .
Happy with Bohs displays particularly first half v Dundalk and Bray game.Good spirit against Rovers. Cant really judge until we play the teams of a simiar standard, which might just be everyone else in the league.

[White Horse]

.From what I've seen so far surprised at how ordinary Rovers were, Dundalk didnt look ad good to me as they did last year but are flying. Bray and Galway much the same level and Limerick behind them .
Happy with Bohs displays particularly first half v Dundalk and Bray game.Good spirit against Rovers. Cant really judge until we play the teams of a simiar standard, which might just be everyone else in the league.

Bohs really impressed me. They were well coached, knew what they were good at, and tried to expose Dundalk where they have weaknesses. I was impressed with Long's tactical responses during the game, especially when going down to 10 men. If you compare them to Sligo, they are miles apart.

It was embarrassing to hear Heary speak during the live coverage on RTE. He didn't know that Dundalk's attacking threats came from clever movement from McMillan. Heary was talking about "midfield runners". You could almost hear the disgust in Kerr's voice when he commented on it.

Coaching is big part of what makes a team successful.

[Town Legend]

Delighted with our first 5 games. Never expected anything out of the first two (Dundalk and Rovers) but 7 points from our last 3 is great.

Rovers really impressed me when we played them. Some start from Dundalk though, 5 from 5 while keeping their net intact. Could end up been a case not who will challenge Dundalk for the title but who will actually score first against them!

[nigel-harps1954]

Don't think anyone can really judge until at least the first series of games are through. For Harps, we've played four games, three against three of the sides expected to be at the bottom of the league and one draw away against Shelbourne.

Happy that we haven't conceded yet, and happy we're sitting joint top of the table, but we were also in the same position last season.

The next four games will be a much better gauge of where we're at with UCD (A), Athlone (H), Wexford (A) and Shelbourne (H) to come. If we're still sitting in the top two after that, I'll be much more confident.

We definitely have the squad capable of mounting a crack at the title, but we really need to improve performances. We were awful against Cobh, but still ground out a result we may not have got in recent seasons. Time will tell where we're at.

[Acornvilla]

I'm massively impressed with Cabinteely so far, in that they havn't made a show of themselves and have even had great crowds. I doubt anyone expected them to get two wins, and a 3rd in the cup even, at this stage..

[ATFC-1887]

Delighted with our start after a few tough games. 3 away games in the first 4 with 2 of them being Shels and UCD, and to have 10 points is impressive. And its not just the wins that have impressed. Our overall play has been fantastic. From start to finish we pressed Shels and completely dominated the game.
Long way to go yet but im quite confident.

[atfconline]

Here's a reason not to get carried away, we've started with the same run of results that we did in 2000/01!

Didn't see us coming away from UCD & Shels with 6 points though, very impressive - and late goals in both games as well.

[adamd164]

The league table has a sense of deja vu about it already, with Dundalk, ourselves and Rovers making up the top 3.

You'd expect Pat's to push up, the 2 early defeats were a bit of a setback but Limerick are a bogey side for them so that was an important win yesterday.

Longford and Derry might have surprised a few people with their starts. Some poor results for Sligo so far.

[Jofspring]

You'd expect Pat's to push up, the 2 early defeats were a bit of a setback but Limerick are a bogey side for them so that was an important win yesterday.

On one hand Pats didn't have to do an incredible amount to beat us but on the other hand I thought they looked completely harmless. Created very little over all when you consider what they were up against. They knocked the ball round well with very little penetration. We probably should have snatched a draw from the game if we had anything about us going forward. One of their goals was a very scrappy one in the box from a corner we failed to clear and the other was a straight forward kick out from the keeper and a flick on to Greene. If they continue in the same vein they won't be anywhere near challenging.

[da bishop]

On one hand Pats didn't have to do an incredible amount to beat us but on the other hand I thought they looked completely harmless. Created very little over all when you consider what they were up against. They knocked the ball round well with very little penetration. We probably should have snatched a draw from the game if we had anything about us going forward. One of their goals was a very scrappy one in the box from a corner we failed to clear and the other was a straight forward kick out from the keeper and a flick on to Greene. If they continue in the same vein they won't be anywhere near challenging.Could not agree more jof.Pats played some great football especially first half but are not clinical,you always felt they would give us a chance to level and lets face it at the moment we are muck [spirit or not].Pats wont win league and i would be far more in dread of a hiding from Dundalk if they are in the mood poor pitch or no poor pitch.

[PartySaint]

On one hand Pats didn't have to do an incredible amount to beat us but on the other hand I thought they looked completely harmless. Created very little over all when you consider what they were up against. They knocked the ball round well with very little penetration. We probably should have snatched a draw from the game if we had anything about us going forward. One of their goals was a very scrappy one in the box from a corner we failed to clear and the other was a straight forward kick out from the keeper and a flick on to Greene. If they continue in the same vein they won't be anywhere near challenging.

We've gone back to 2012 Pats, we'll pass the ball around the back loads but have nothing creative in the middle of midfield to get us going.

We won't get near winning the league this year.

[SkStu]

From the Bohs board...gave me a laugh anyway. 😄


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[Dodge]

We've gone back to 2012 Pats, we'll pass the ball around the back loads but have nothing creative in the middle of midfield to get us going.


Forrester was excellent in the first half and Pats should have been a couple of goals clear. Creating chances wasn't the problem.

Poor in the second half but never really troubled from Limericks open play. They pressed with the win behind their backs and Pats looked a bit ragged in midfield then. Pats will definitely have to improve if they want to win anything

[El-Pietro]

The Warriors idea is an interesting one but this is executed fairly poorly.

[dong]

The dreaded line is uttered:
"It won't be easy but a win against Bray could kick start our season".

[Roo69]

City win 1 nil in bray.. djilali with the goals in the 83rd minute. Seemed we had the majority of the ball but couldn't score until the end.

The game was fairly even up until Graham Kelly was sent off. Can anyone tell me why he was sent off actually? Looked like a very run of the mill tackle to me.

Cork dominated from there on in but never actually looked like they were going to score. Bray defended absolutely brilliantly and should have taken a point from the game after such a team effort. Very lucky goal in the end to win it. Moral much be seriously low in the Bray camp after playing so so well and coming away with nothing. Hard to see were the first point will come from...

[Nah Nah Nah Nah]

You mightn't need to look too far ahead!

[oriel]

Would agree its possibly too early to rate all teams fully, as only 5 games played, and some will improve, some may go the other way though. Lets see where everyone is after a full set of games when Series 1 is completed. However you can still give a first impressions on sides.

Obviously very pleased with Dundalk's very good start, but that's all it is, a very good start. We'll have some challenging games coming up before the end of series one, notably Rovers and Cork both away on consecutive Friday's in April. These are two really key games, and if we're still clear at the top after these games, we'll be in a great position.

I still don't think Dundalk have reached anything near last years form yet, so there is scope for improvement, but the display last Fri v Sligo was very good, particularly in the first half when the game was won. The build up to all 3 goals was excellent, with the play quickly moved from the back at a very high pace.

Looking forward to seeing what Rovers and Cork will be like, I was disappointed by Pats attitude when they came to Oriel Pk, they got what they deserved, nothing. I also think Longford will finish very comfortable in mid table and may even make a late push up higher. Bohs by all accounts were very organised against us and most agreed the 3-0 win was very flattering, they should be fine this season. Derry seem to have got things together and may be solid, and finally Sligo looked a pale shadow of previous seasons.

[patrickccfc]

Looking forward to seeing what Cork will be like

Maybe we'll have 8 defenders starting against ye

[oriel]

Ha - seemed to be pretty mad selection JC went for alright v Bray.

[El-Pietro]

Maybe we'll have 8 defenders starting against ye

Danz Beckenbauer has been reborn as a central midfielder.

[ciaraa]

Longford, Bohs and Drogs fan's must be delighted with their start

Drogs very weak and worrying start - getting beat 3-0 by that derry team is not good.

[White Horse]

Drogs very weak and worrying start - getting beat 3-0 by that derry team is not good.

Derry looked quite strong when we played them.

Drogheda should stay up comfortably this season. There are several teams much weaker.

[MeathDrog]

Derry looked quite strong when we played them.

Drogheda should stay up comfortably this season. There are several teams much weaker.

Probably will stay up but it won't be comfortable. They're not much better than the season they went down (saved by Fingal).

[ciaraa]

Probably will stay up but it won't be comfortable. They're not much better than the season they went down (saved by Fingal).

Yes that was pretty much the jist of a conversation I was involved in last week. Massively skeptical about McDonnells abilities and the type of squad he has assembled for the sort of season ahead of them. If Bray start winning in June again then its trouble. Limerick will have more bottle too I feel.