2015 Fixtures

[kingpin4]

Sounds like we didn't really trouble them at all. Went 60 odd mins without testing their keeper going by Twitter.
Really need to keep on the coat tails of those around us.

[Town Legend]

Ye started well and had a decent chance to take the lead. Town settled after about 15 mins and took the lead through a tame Pat Sullivan shot that made its way to Salmon who fired in. We had one or two good chances to extend the lead and Limerick could of snatched a late equaliser. The young keeper couldn't be blamed for the goal and didn't put a foot wrong to be honest. He made a few decent saves. Only other point to note is ye owe us a sheet of Perspex to replace the section Russell put his fist through in frustration near the end! ;)

[gael353]

Can we give you sean russell as payment for that piece of perspex? Absolutely shocking and only for his father plays every min of a game....again. Turner was poor again, rainsford was poor again, clarke had no support again. Then theres mr anonymous. Missing from play for about 88 mins of the game. Hiding behind everyone and offering nothing yet like russell seems to have a 90 min "must play" card. So with 3 players playing poorly and anonymous being .....anonymous we never looked like getting something out of this game. Note to martin Russell. Your son isn't good enough. Holland should be given the cup game next week. Try send O'Donnell away, just far far away

[Town Legend]

No thanks Gael. We had him for half a season last year. He was useless, he couldn't cross his legs never mind the ball! Don't know what your first choice keeper is like (I have heard bad reports though) but I would give your young keeper a run of games and see how he goes. He dealt with whatever was thrown at him tonight and couldn't blame him for the goal.

[outspoken]

Holland is streets ahead of O'Donnell going by last nights display, loads of confidence in that kid, fair play to him.

We should have won by more last night but didn't take our chances and then ye had 2 or 3 major chances to snatch a draw but luckily didn't take them. Clarke actually looks a good player but f*ck me does he need support up front, ran his socks off and several times looked up to cross with no one within 20 yards of him.

[da bishop]

The problem is gone beyond the players we have available now,...in case anyone has,n noticed thats 14 games without a win....14 GAMES...time for a different voice before its too late.

[kingpin4]

The problem is gone beyond the players we have available now,...in case anyone has,n noticed thats 14 games without a win....14 GAMES...time for a different voice before its too late.

Do you mean a different manager? I'd be hard pushed to think of someone who'd improve us with the current squad. Russell has gotten a fairly easy ride from everyone because they know how little he's had to work with.

[Jofspring]

Ya not a hope a different manager would make a difference. Russell is a good manager and the only gripes I'd have is sticking with O'Donnell and his son. O'Donnell is understandable because up to recently the back up was only 16 years of age. The squad is fairly thin and lacking quality. I don't see what a new voice could really add. He showed what he can do with a decent squad the end of last season.

[outspoken]

To be fair I think the appointment of Russell was with a mind to next season in the first division should worse come to worse.

[bluewhitearmy]

To be fair I think the appointment of Russell was with a mind to next season in the first division should worse come to worse.

No, no it wasn't considering we went and got Ndo,Djilali, Lee Lynch and others just after he came in. He was brought in to challenge for Europe this season after having us for half of last season and then things went tits up this off season and into the season.

[osarusan]

I don't think Russell is the problem and I'd say he's as frustrated as anybody else with the obvious limitations of the team*.

When is the transfer window and will we even have a penny to spend?

Without serious reinforcement, we are simply relegation certs.

*Apart from continuing to play Russell junior.

[fieldofmarkets]

No issue with the manager at all, in fact he is probably our best hope of an escape.

[Jofspring]

Transfer window is in July. Depending on results in June that could be way too late. Need to win at least 2 of our opening 3 games in the Markets Field in my opinion.

[bluewhitearmy]

Prince and Ali supposedly arriving this week. Heard that before but would be a nice start to reinforcements if true.

[Jofspring]

With the move to the markets field the pitch should suit prince a bit better. Ali coming in will put pressure on O'Donnell (should be straight into the team).

It's the first time the club have said publicly that prince and Ali were on the way I think so that's a good sign.

[CraftyToePoke]

Good and necessary news if so, as the margins in the games suggest we aren't beyond repair but kids who might be good enough with some time, mixed with kids and players who don't look like their future is at this level is a bad concoction as the table is demonstrating. After the expense of, Thomond, and the squad assembled for that season, the training ground, the MF move, it surely makes sense to do whats necessary squad wise to maintain Premier Div status this year while the youngsters come through, for those making these decisions.

I think we do have the right manager also, I wouldn't change it, if you are going to get money manager, he will want to spend his way out of this, which doesn't look like happening. If we can add some experience in key areas, and take pressure off the youngsters, it would be great, but agreed, that July seems a way off and the table could be looking beyond repair by then, big few weeks ahead.

[blueblood]

It's the first time the club have said publicly that prince and Ali were on the way I think so that's a good sign.

Did the club say this recently!
Do they have to wait until the transfer window to play or are they already registered?
Wasn't there another guy due as well Bariou or something!

[Jofspring]

Did the club say this recently!
Do they have to wait until the transfer window to play or are they already registered?
Wasn't there another guy due as well Bariou or something!

Well somebody said the club said it on the radio that they were arriving. I could be mistaken there though.

Abdel Bouriama isn't happening.

I'd imagine since they weren't signed with anyone in the last window (January) that they are free to sign at anytime.

[blueblood]

Well somebody said the club said it on the radio that they were arriving. I could be mistaken there though.

Abdel Bouriama isn't happening.

I'd imagine since they weren't signed with anyone in the last window (January) that they are free to sign at anytime.

Cool thanks,
When are they supposed to be arriving?

[NeverFeltBetter]

Another awful result to add to the glorious 2015 season. If they can't up their game against Bray, the club doesn't belong in the PD. Defeat at opening of MF will be death knell I feel: few are going to shell out desperately needed money to see this squad lose and scrape draws.

[Lims4ever]

Out of both cups at 1st attempt dreadful , you could say it will leave them to concentrate on the league but that fight will soon be over hard to see where a win is coming from . If you can't score goals your going nowhere fast you could see in pre season that was going to be a problem we look so lightweight going forward we huff and puff but just don't look a threat whatsoever and that is down to players just not being good enough.

[gael353]

Our defense has gone to muck again. Whithead for two and a mix of paudie and williams for the third. Bray are poor and i expected some players to up their games tonight as they would be playing a team at their level. But no mr anonymous went missing again and russell was lightweight and terrible again. Tbf red had a good first half but should really have scored early on in the second. Cups and league....P 16 W 0 D 5 L 11.

[delboyderis]

Unless they sign a few decent players in the window they are back in the first div.its been clear from the start that the team isnt up to the standard and results dont lie.every week theres an excuse about results but im afraid there isnt any sign of an improvement.too be honest the buck stops with the manager and i like martin russell.he has limited resources but if were any other club the boss would be gone long ago.the seasons record so far is shocking.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Do people really think that a new manager with the same resources would do better? Who would even take the job with the club in the state that it's in? Aim higher if you want to blame an individual for what's happened this season.

[Lims4ever]

If Martin Russell walked away in the morning I would not blame him has to be very fustrating watching players week in week out who just are not good enough for that level and he can do nothing about it with the resources that he has , people complain about him playing Sean Russell who else is there to replace him ??? Hes surely a better option than rainsford ,Tony whitehead I see got blamed for 2 goals last night he's not a full back he's a centre half but again who else have we to replace him nobody get 1 or 2 more injuries and were ****ed altogether

[NeverFeltBetter]

I would actually consider it more likely that Russell would walk than be sacked. Pulling this kind of shift with UCD is one thing, but Limerick should be providing him with more. If things were better. I won't believe he took the job with the expectation of this season situation.

[delboyderis]

I know martin russell is working with a limited budget but he has made some poor signings for example connor o donnell,aidan price is past it,vinny faherty isnt fit,sean russell isnt any good.dean clarke isnt bad but he isnt a top class striker.sean harding is one of his better signings.we then have the rubbish thats left like darragh rainsford,ian turner,etc.pat o sullivan has to take some blame but the buck stops with the manager and he just hasnt got the results.the table doesnt lie and limerick are by far the worst team in the league at present.if it was another club i'm afraid martin russell would be a goner as its a results business.you can put out all the excuses you like but its the manager who always takes the axe if results havent gone the right way.

[Jofspring]

The reason he has been left with making those signings is because he didn't have the money to sign better. He proved last season that with decent money he could make good signings. He spent better in 4 months than Taylor did in a year and a half.

[da bishop]

I am not buying this lack of squad quality,depth etc in terms of Russells performance,the squads at Galway,Bray,Drogs,and a few more are no better or worse than what he has at his disposal.a new voice needed,different style and shape with what is available,no one is saying Russell is not working hard to turn it around but he did sign this squad and its not happening folks...ref Gael 16 games.....NO WIN.

[Lim till i die]

Williams
Tracy
Duggan
O'Connor (the disinterested midfield one)
Hughes
Clarke

There's the list of players who are up to it (and some of them are a stretch)

There's a much longer list of players in our squad who are absolutely nowhere near the required standard.

Pathetic again last night. Shane Duggan is doing the work of four or five men but when you defend like we defend and carry who we carry you're always going to be ****ing against the wind.

As for Russell he was sold the ugliest pup in Irish football, there's no way he left a cushy number as Buckleys heir at Pats to take over a club in a worse state in every way than Ucd who he left to go to Pats in the first place.

As for our dearly beloved chairman I'd love to know who if anyone has been in his ear since last December. Terrible decision after terrible decision at all levels of the club.

The funny thing about it is when you look at the crowds and the levels of interest its costing just as much out of his pocket to keep this farce on the road as it was in any of the previous years.

Cutbacks my arse. Has made a good fist of ripping the guts out of the club to cater for corporates and families who don't exist alright but I'm struggling to see the dividends.

Still a black hole. Just not a fun one anymore.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Wondering what kind of crowd will turn out for Drogs. Has the club been promoting it enough locally? You'd be hoping for 1000+ right?

[Jofspring]

Well this week there should be a major build up to try get a sell out. The club need it badly. Last thing we need is for them to hope it sells itself.

[kingpin4]

Disappointing result in front of a big crowd tonight. There really is a gulf in class between us and even the poorer teams in the league.

Hopefully we'll keep some of the first timers or band-wagon crowd who were there tonight.

[CraftyToePoke]

Was there a confirmed attendance ?

[thomas72]

I think it was 2,308

On the match if Limerick couldn't win tonight of all nights they'll never win a game.
Make it worse drogheda were just as poor two very poor teams shocking shocking stuff.
The Limerick Oscar traynor had better wingers and strikers than Limerick very sad to see.

[gael353]

There was no count taken so that figure was just plucked from someones arse. Over 3 thousand and a few hundred turned away. Russell should be sacked. There ive said it. Not for continuing to play his useless son but for the way his team came out tonight. Totally dead for the first 15 mins, couldn't get out of our half killed the positive atmosphere. Playing three midfielders in his back four. No central defender. O'donnell, whithead, o'hanlon, rainsford, anonymous, flaherty, tina and of course sean russell should all be released. Not good enough. The ground....not impressed. More thee half fenced off.
I am offering free of charge to do the PA on match nights. Some bad hangers on came with us from thomond but jp dillon is just terrible.

[NeverFeltBetter]

I will say, listening along on the radio, I too was very underwhelmed by the showing in the early stages. Seemed like the occasion got to the team. Came out swinging in the second, but let themselves get sucker-punched.

The other thing was how, with the exception of the penalty shout, how little Limerick had in the last ten or so minutes.

[delboyderis]

Was at the game last night and as usual Limerick didnt offer any real threat up front.red o hanlon is absolutely useless,darragh rainsford isnt up to it either or sean russell.i have said it previously that it is time for russell to go.i know he hasnt had much to play with but its his team now and they play the same way all the time.just not good enough and looking like relegation favourites at the minute.pitch looked brilliant,the ground still needs a lot of work though.stand is like a wind tunnel,was bloody freezing in it,needs to be sealed off at the ends.very badly organised for entering and exiting the ground,parking also a problem.with the crowd at it last night i would think that they will get a thousand or so back for the next game.a lot of people just turned up to be there on the night and i dont think will be seen back.

[Lim till i die]

First off credit where it's due to Pat O'Sullivan. He reached out to the lads which given all that had gone on was quite big of him.

Im not going to comment on the "stadium"

Was pleasantly suprised with the turnout. They wont be back.

Why wont they be back?? Because its an absolute shame that someone somewhere sat down at the start of the year and thought that team was acceptable to bring back to the Markets Field.

Drogheda are absolute dog**** and never looked overly bothered

I feel really sorry for some of those players. Others not so much.....

Again I have to give credit where credits due our goal was one of the best goals I've seen this season (And it was from PLAY!!!)

But.....

P 17 W 0 D 5 L 12

Is that the legacy Pat wants to leave when he sails off into the sunset at the end of the season??

Because, regardless of what any of us think of his behaviour or his foibles, on balance he doesn't deserve that.

[donnrua]

Very poor again last night. The first goal was schoolboy stuff - simple free kick and no one marking in the box. Shane Duggan, Shane Tracy and Dean Clarke are the only three worth a place on any LOI team. Williams gets caught two or three times every game, Rainsford and Hanlon are middle of the road junior players. Sean Russell is not a footballer and apart from the goal O'Conor did sweet f.a as usual. Let's face it the only outlet we have for anything in midfield is Duggan and he cant do it all by himself. Hughes is an honest but limited player. Sorry to say it but the first division beckons!

[da bishop]

I was delighted with the ground,its not ..our..home but it will be home and will always be there.plenty improvements could be made hopefully a few of these will happen.pitch in fine condition and great to see the shed lads back.now the game itself has to go down as a personnel disaster for manager Russell,at times it looked like this bunch of players were on planet mars,Tracy defensively terrible,Williams is bluffing it ,Hughes headless,O Donnel..well is O Donnel.Duggan brilliant,a few of the younger players look as if they lack good coaching ,we were not positive when we needed to be and after we levelled we were all over the place and paid the price with Drogs 2nd.tbf to Drogs ,though not much better than us,they at least had some shape about them.great crowd as was to be expected.oh ya ....we LOST.......again.

[blueblood]

We lost but were definitely the better team but f#ck do we need players. Drogheda had 2 chances and both went in off the post, they were do so so lucky to win especially with that 2nd/3rd penalty incident in injury time. We're not far off that bunch of bad teams at the bottom. Hughes played his worse game for us and that was typical of the team bar duggan. ODonnell cost us again I'm afraid

[gael353]

clueless, inept, unable to influence the game. clearly disliked by his team. yes sean Russell was fuppin terrible. went onto the field with 10 players....maybe 9 and deservedly took the lead. second half the makeshift defence crumbled. price for the second hughes for the third. if we're going down at least play players who will try. duggan was excellent, anonymous played well.. it doesn't matter how many players arrive if he keeps playing, hughes out of position, tina, rainsFord....and his son....we will get relegated.

[fieldofmarkets]

What team would you gave played from those available last night?

[bluewhitearmy]

What team would you gave played from those available last night?

O Donnell

Costelloe
Price
Williams
Tracy

Hughes
Duggan
O Conor

Turner
Clarke
Mann

Fairly clear he is playing Jason Hughes out of position to accommodate his son there is no other reason for it. I think Russell is getting off with a bit tbh yes he has very limited resources to work with but he is most definitely making those limited resources worse by playing people out of position and insisting on sticking with people who have not only had no positive effect on the team but have actually had a negative effect on performances including his son.

[osarusan]

Fairly clear he is playing Jason Hughes out of position to accommodate his son there is no other reason for it.I think that he is playing Hughes there because Harding is out.

But the issue will be that when Harding comes back (whenever that is) Hughes will be dropped instead of playing in midfield - he wasn't really starting until Harding got injured in Bohs.

[LK37oldskool]

I would agree with osarusan, Hughes is a far better footballer to play in the role behind the strikers. He scored several goals from that position last year and he certainly puts in a better shift. russel is lost out there. Nepotism AT ITS WORST.

[fieldofmarkets]

I think you have to play Hughes at RB until Harding is available. Isn't Costelloe a left back as well as Tracey?
Ideally i would have Hughes playing in front of the midfield (don't like him in the midfield). He seems best when he is only thinking of attacking the goal. I think that's where Athlone played him too. He could play up top off Faherty or Clarke.
I'm not as hard on Russell as some here, he has scored or made many of our few goals and tends to be involved in the few creative things we do. There are a couple I would rotate out ahead of him.
I wish we had the luxury of putting Tracey into the middle 3. If the back 4 wasn't so makeshift we could do it with Costelloe at LB.

[gael353]

Of what we have
O'donnell, costelloe, price, williams, tracy
Hughes, duggan
o'conor
Tina, clarke, mann

Russell should be sacked if he keeps playing his son.
What we need
Another
Another another another williams
Prince
Duggan o'conor tracy
Clarke another

[bluewhitearmy]

Costelloe can play right or left and is a much better right back than Jason Hughes or Tony Whitehead who have played there since Harding has been injured. What bothers me is some of these players are absolutely crap and on top of it are putting in little or no effort both our wingers spring to mind for an ex right back Turner doesn't help back nearly enough and for a lad who the only reason anyone has ever given for him being in the team is effort Rainsford seems happy to stand and watch as the game goes on around him. Russell can be tidy on the ball at times but doesn't want to know about it when there is a challenge involved.

Sean Russell taking a free kick in perfect position for Shane Tracy and basically chipping it over the bar against Pats quite annoying too and you could see it bother lads on the pitch aswell.