Clare Junior Soccer

[Clifford]

Sorry bit lost with "Ye Old English", please explain further!!

out of the country for a few days on scouting missions, so just catching up with the treads etc. i personally wouldn't like to see newtown in limerick league because it would knock clare soccer back a further 5 steps. the stigma of limerick league been better than clare league would expand (not to just junior but underage soccer) at the moment i firmly believe the standard in underage soccer in clare is up there with the best of most counties. the standard of clubs facilities are going in the right direction and we and i say we because i think all clare soccer teams have a fundamental onus to improve their clubs and in retrospect clare soccer. the knock on effect of the move would have a serious impact on clare soccer. fair enough dayrl, david o'grady, nabs etc going to limerick league because right now it is miles ahead of clare soccer but to dilute it further would ring the death bell and we would never get an even keel or back to par well not for the considerable future.
i would prefer newtown join the munster senior league (was this an option) as this would improve clare's status in the soccer stakes and who knows but a clare under 21 team down the line.
the best comment i think is clubs getting together to trash out problems. i know at the end of the day we are all club men and would hate for one team to dominate etc but we can still improve from the starting line to the finishing line in the basic base of clare soccer which will benefit all clubs in the long run. the clare agm teams go in with club agenda's only but maybe we could have proposals made up JOINTLY or something along this line. lets make the first step and who knows by next season the gap will have closed that little bit closer.

[CousinSylDolan]

I can hear the Tumbleweeds blowing through the site!!!!! Would have thought the Olympic boys would be blowing their trumpets this week!!! Maybe they have all gone to La Manga before their big game.

Cousinsyl who do you fancy in this one, as far as I know no 1st Division Team has won the playoff game to go up and did not Rineanna play in last years and beat Bridge Celtic 4-0? Could be wrong on these facts!!!


No Rineanna did not play the playoff last year... Connolly beat Bridge Celtic. This is the 3rd year of playoffs in the league and even though we as a club voted against them at the outset I now think they keep the leagues competitive for longer which can only be good...

As for this year.... Rineanna and Olympic. Its very hard to call and will depend on which Olympic show up. I mean they were flying 4 weeks ago and went to Bridgetown in a crunch game and blew up.... Rineanna are always consistent and Tommy will have his best team there no doubt and well revved up....
I firmly believe Olympic are good enough to go up but will need to proove so on Thursday night...
Best of luck to both sides.... :ball:

[MadMick]

No Rineanna did not play the playoff last year... Connolly beat Bridge Celtic. This is the 3rd year of playoffs in the league and even though we as a club voted against them at the outset I now think they keep the leagues competitive for longer which can only be good...

As for this year.... Rineanna and Olympic. Its very hard to call and will depend on which Olympic show up. I mean they were flying 4 weeks ago and went to Bridgetown in a crunch game and blew up.... Rineanna are always consistent and Tommy will have his best team there no doubt and well revved up....
I firmly believe Olympic are good enough to go up but will need to proove so on Thursday night...
Best of luck to both sides.... :ball:

Thanks for putting me right on Connolly, they are down now, they should be relegated to the 3rd Division but I cannot see that happening! Should be a good game and could be a bigger crowd than the Cup Final, (Clare Cup not FA Cup)!

[CousinSylDolan]

What makes it interesting is it is so hard to call who will win... The teams have not met in the last few years so have not much to gauge each other on.

I have not seen much of the Rovers this season but I have been impressed by Olympic on occasions...

I've heard the 2 sides trained together for much of the year too so that should add to the spice of an already tense local derby...
A lot at stake and it may well come down to a battle to see can Fahy keep Olympics danger mouse quiet.... Should be some battle between the 2 and they know each other well...

On another note wasn't it a shame that Connolly beat Bridge Celtic in last years playoff... Celtic would have been a good addition to last seasons premier.

Anyone know much about the Rovers.... :confused:
I wonder will Jocks, Hugh, Bob Max, Daithi and the likes be there?????

[shelbourne1904]

Newtown confidence appears to be on a high at the moment.
Any predictions for Sunday.
Newtown 2 - 1 Bridge Celtic
Come on Gaffer take the Glory when its due.
What about this for a forecast?????

[MadMick]

What makes it interesting is it is so hard to call who will win... The teams have not met in the last few years so have not much to gauge each other on.

I have not seen much of the Rovers this season but I have been impressed by Olympic on occasions...

I've heard the 2 sides trained together for much of the year too so that should add to the spice of an already tense local derby...
A lot at stake and it may well come down to a battle to see can Fahy keep Olympics danger mouse quiet.... Should be some battle between the 2 and they know each other well...

On another note wasn't it a shame that Connolly beat Bridge Celtic in last years playoff... Celtic would have been a good addition to last seasons premier.

Anyone know much about the Rovers.... :confused:
I wonder will Jocks, Hugh, Bob Max, Daithi and the likes be there?????

Another spice to the game is the Manager of Olympic managed Rineanna for a while, I wonder how this will affect the game, I remember there being some trouble up in Doora in a Semifinal with some of the players, not sure but I think they lost on Pens to the Burren who then played Bunratty. I think Rinneana will edge it because Tommy will have the edge and know how to rise his players!! Should be a cracker and there might just be a few goals as well, Andy Downes is a brilliant forward, small yes, great balance, two great feet, like lightening across the ground and will work until he drops. The Captain will be his dogged and determined self and will drive the team on to Victory. Prediction 3-1 Rineanna after Olympic score first!!!!

[old boy]

olympic always promise so much & fail to live up to expectations
they have been doing it for the last few years...

rinneanna to win as they have more heart and will want it more

[gaffer]

Come on Gaffer take the Glory when its due.
What about this for a forecast?????

If only I had a bet at the bookies. Could have taken a few euro off JP, God knowns he has enough of the Yanks money.

[MadMick]

If only I had a bet at the bookies. Could have taken a few euro off JP, God knowns he has enough of the Yanks money.

Gaffer what is your prediction for Thursday night???

[old boy]

Gaffer what is your prediction for Thursday night???rovers to win 2-1 :D

[gaffer]

Gaffer what is your prediction for Thursday night???
Going for a Rovers win in this. But I expect it to be a good game.
Rovers to win 3 - 2

[Kicks]

Think Olympic might nick it. Rovers were terrible against Cratloe didnt look good enough for the first division nevermind the Premier, plus its a game rineanne didnt want to be playing in, while olympic would probable have settled to be in this position at the start of the season.

[OpenGoal]

Think Olympic might nick it. Rovers were terrible against Cratloe didnt look good enough for the first division nevermind the Premier, plus its a game rineanne didnt want to be playing in, while olympic would probable have settled to be in this position at the start of the season.


I agree with the comments earlier about depending which Olympic team turns up, but I think olympic are the better team. If they turn up with the right attitude, which I think they will, then they might just surprise all the neysayers here. The small fella up front for Rovers is good, but speed seems to be his main asset, and from watching last sunday he's not nearly as quick as Paul O'Connor in the olympic defence. Should be a great game, no quarter given or asked, and might go right down to the wire..........

[papa-j]

Guys new poster here. Knowing both clubs well & having seen & palyed against both in the recent past I'd have to agree with this being a close affair.
However if both teams play to the best of their ability I would expect the Bananna boys to beat the Specials.

The pitch at Ballycasey will be perfect for football, most important man will be wearing black(who is it) plus are there linesmen?
Anyway being quite local to both clubs I'm just happy that some team from west clare or the arran Isles aren't contesting..less travelling next year :D

[MadMick]

Guys new poster here. Knowing both clubs well & having seen & palyed against both in the recent past I'd have to agree with this being a close affair.
However if both teams play to the best of their ability I would expect the Bananna boys to beat the Specials.

The pitch at Ballycasey will be perfect for football, most important man will be wearing black(who is it) plus are there linesmen?
Anyway being quite local to both clubs I'm just happy that some team from west clare or the arran Isles aren't contesting..less travelling next year :D

Not sure who the officials are but there will be 3 of them, there could be some fun as the officials will get absolutely slaughtered by everyone!!!! what a combination we could have!!!

[Nibzer]

Heard albert finnan and nobbers stepped down as park rangers managers on sunday..also heard alberts managing the bridge next year.....anyone else hear anything about this?

[CousinSylDolan]

Heard albert finnan and nobbers stepped down as park rangers managers on sunday..also heard alberts managing the bridge next year.....anyone else hear anything about this?

The 2 lads at Park have stepped down alright but not till the end of the season....

Albert lives in the Bridge and there was talks he was managing them about 3 years ago.... Not sure about next season though...

[allrounder]

I was at the game on Sunday and Rineanna were terrible. Were they missing players? Maybe they were tired having played the Bridge on friday night. If they play as poorly Olympic will win easy. Rineannas regular goalie is a loss as he takes crosses well and bosses his area. He was watching from the sideline on crutches due to a leg infection. In saying that the goalie they had sunday couldnt really be blamed for any of the goals. Cratloe walked through them and should have scored more. Whats up with Cratloe anyway? The have some good players and should be pushing the top 3/4 not in relegation playoffs. I saw them knock Avenue out of the FAI and they beat the Bridge when they were flying. They up their game against local teams in the league and seem to fold against the rest.

[Prem Rep!]

The 2 lads at Park have stepped down alright but not till the end of the season....

Albert lives in the Bridge and there was talks he was managing them about 3 years ago.... Not sure about next season though...


I know Albert had been approached on numerous occasions in the past and would love if he was involved in the set up some way. But to be honest I haven't heard anything yet.

[Revolver]

Heard albert finnan and nobbers stepped down as park rangers managers on sunday..also heard alberts managing the bridge next year.....anyone else hear anything about this?

Heard Neil Jordan(Saoirse)will become Park manager for next year.
What a disaster for them!! :) :) :)

[shelbourne1904]

I was at the game on Sunday and Rineanna were terrible. Were they missing players? Maybe they were tired having played the Bridge on friday night. If they play as poorly Olympic will win easy. Rineannas regular goalie is a loss as he takes crosses well and bosses his area. He was watching from the sideline on crutches due to a leg infection. In saying that the goalie they had sunday couldnt really be blamed for any of the goals. Cratloe walked through them and should have scored more. Whats up with Cratloe anyway? The have some good players and should be pushing the top 3/4 not in relegation playoffs. I saw them knock Avenue out of the FAI and they beat the Bridge when they were flying. They up their game against local teams in the league and seem to fold against the rest.
They are another training ground for thr GAA.Thats whats up!!!!!

[CousinSylDolan]

Just heard that Olympic tried last night to get tonights game vs Rineanna called off....

It seems 5/6 of the Olympic players are Donna and Joseph McCaul fanatics and told managment at the weekend they want to watch tonights Eurovision on the telly....

I've been informed though that the Clare Lg have thrown out the request so the Olympic committee are now erecting loudspeakers to blast out the event in Ballycasey tonight....

Adds to the excitment really :D :D :D

[BallBreaker]

All,
Newtown are on the lookout for quality players for next season, Jim Rocks the Manager runs it as professionally as possible and instilles dicipline in the squad. If any player feels he would like to give it full commitment in a serious attempt to improve well on League and National cup honours please contact Jim Rocks on 086 8589277,discretion assured. :ball: :ball:

[number?]

alternatively if you are ambitious, avenue united are always looking to improve its squad to search for more honours! ;)

[old boy]

alternatively if you are ambitious, avenue united are always looking to improve its squad to search for more honours! ;)
if avenue are so ambitious why are they playing in ruan

it is crazy that one of the most succesfull teams in clare has not got their own ground in ennis :confused:

[MadMick]

All,
Newtown are on the lookout for quality players for next season, Jim Rocks the Manager runs it as professionally as possible and instilles dicipline in the squad. If any player feels he would like to give it full commitment in a serious attempt to improve well on League and National cup honours please contact Jim Rocks on 086 8589277,discretion assured. :ball: :ball:

Rocks, quality and Discipline all in the same sentence!!!

[MadMick]

if avenue are so ambitious why are they playing in ruan

it is crazy that one of the most succesfull teams in clare has not got their own ground in ennis :confused:

Old boy, or should I say New boy go and read the thread before making a comment I don't think we all want to go through this again!!!!!!

[BallBreaker]

Rocks, quality and Discipline all in the same sentence!!!

If anyone has worked under Jim before will know there is nothing wrong with that statement.

[Nibzer]

If anyone has worked under Jim before will know there is nothing wrong with that statement.

Dats true...but then again if i disagreed id probibly have no job in the morning :D Top man...

[Nibzer]

Jeeeez dat clareleague.com site fairly died didnt it..jus on it their nd there hasnt been a post on it in days..maybe twas a bad time to start it up then ey!

[Pauliwallnuts]

Jeeeez dat clareleague.com site fairly died didnt it..jus on it their nd there hasnt been a post on it in days..maybe twas a bad time to start it up then ey!

I'd say when the new season starts up again it should become popular.
It was indeed a bad time to start it up.

If it could start to get information from the CFL (Jim Madden et all) before anywhere else people would be flocking to it & while they were there would be inclined to post.

I still reckon it will be a success.
I have a feeling that one of the Olympians runs it but I'm not too sure.

Anyone any idea who set it up ???

[old boy]

Just heard that Olympic tried last night to get tonights game vs Rineanna called off....

It seems 5/6 of the Olympic players are Donna and Joseph McCaul fanatics and told managment at the weekend they want to watch tonights Eurovision on the telly....

I've been informed though that the Clare Lg have thrown out the request so the Olympic committee are now erecting loudspeakers to blast out the event in Ballycasey tonight....

Adds to the excitment really :D :D :D could be worse paddy dunne could be referee & the 2 linesmen also ..

[old boy]

ballbreaker / nibzer


i can understand reason for new players

can u agree player of season sean lindsay 39 years old
newtown a

:p :p :p :p :p

[gaffer]

I'd say when the new season starts up again it should become popular.
It was indeed a bad time to start it up.

If it could start to get information from the CFL (Jim Madden et all) before anywhere else people would be flocking to it & while they were there would be inclined to post.

I still reckon it will be a success.
I have a feeling that one of the Olympians runs it but I'm not too sure.

Anyone any idea who set it up ???

I believe Murphan has setup this site.
From what I know he is involved with Bridge Celtic.

[allrounder]

Well........

[CousinSylDolan]

Rineanna won it 1-0....

I dont think Olympic can argue it was the fair result and the better/hungrier team won. Rineanna had 5-6 chances compared to Olympic's 1 or 2.

Brian Kelly (Jocks) was back in the Rineanna team and ran the show. Himself and Pa Fahy at the back were solid out (apart from Pa's 2 moments of madness with the handball and the crazy late pass)... Anyway the 2 of them were excellent and deserve their place in the Premier division....

As for Olympic.... I think its a learning curve still on how to be clever/cute... Experience of the Premier team really showed last night and proves there is a sizeable gap between Premier and 1st divisions despite what people think...

I can't stop thinking of the moment when a certain Olympic player was shouting over to the Bunratty B sideline "That's why we will get promoted" when ye put the 5th past us in Olympic... I remember thinking that comment might just come back to bite you in the ass!!!!!!!!!

Anyway well done to the Rovers last night and well done to Olympic on what was a very good year for them... Tough trips to Kilmaley, Corofin, Rock and Burren await next season though.

[shelbourne1904]

Rinneana 1 Olympic 0.
It was a terrible match.What baffled me was when Olympic went in only 1 down at half time and had a strong breeze they kept playing with only 2 up front and never threatened the RR goal at all.Why no passion???Why not throw the kitchen sink at it???

For what its worth,and Im not being smart,they dont look like a premier side.Add to that the fact that RR suffered badly for the latter part of the season and were getting terrible results(except V Bridge) they still controlled the game last night but could possibly be only deffering the inevitable.

[devilfish]

Yeah, agree with Syl on last nights game. It looked like the management of Olympic made some errors last night with tactics and selection. Jimmy Houlihan found it difficult to get into the game and should have been brought back into mid-field to collect more possession. He is one of the most dangerous ball carriers in this county but simply couldn't get a hold of it as it spent much of the time collecting snow in the clouds. I felt Olympic didn't do themselves justice and never looked like they wanted it. As for Rineanna, experience showed and Jocks was different class. They created enough chances to win the game handy but lacked that killer touch in front of goal.

As for that comment that we all heard on the Bunratty line that evening in Shannon, I think Syl has said enough....the wheel turns full circle.....

[OpenGoal]

Fair result, beaten fair and square by Rinnenna. Credit to them. They showed great heart. Have to disagree about mistakes in team selection though. that was forced upon us. Richie hanly injured after five mins, his replacement, colly, injured by half time. Donnacadh played for half the match with a twisted knee. Not using these as excuses but they explain the team selection problems. If we are not good enough to get a result against rinnenna then we really didnt deserve to go up any way, so its back to the drawing board I guess. If we've learned anything from this season its the fact that every point is crucial and if we hadnt gone out to places like Kilrush, Mountshannon etc with hangovers we couldve gone up automatically. Bitter pill to swallow today, but hopefully we can learn from it.
Pitch last night was top class, far superior to Doora. Well done to Norman etc for the upkeep of it. Just one note to newtown. Why no pics in the clubhouse of all the successful Youth teams a few years ago under Gerry Hall????? i.e. 93Shieldwinners,94cupwinners,95cupwinners

[CousinSylDolan]

Accurate and honest assesement there Opengoal.... I was wondering would we hear from an Olympian again on here...

Good comment on the pitch last night. When its not had too much rain its a top class surface and set up in general.

Does anyone know who the Lombardo lookalike was in nets for the Rovers?
He did what he had to do solidly all night. Where does Tommy find these lads from?

[First]

Hello All

I have been asked to post a reply , about the Lombardo in goal for Rineanna last night. A certain member of the Rineanna team ( currently injured ) asked the question , who is the goal keeper and the number 7!!!!!!!!, when he hobbled in to Newtown last night.
I don't want to start a conspriacy but Rineanna have a great record of finding players that no one has ever seen before.
Maybe Tommy needs to get a scouting job from 1 of the big boys across the water.

Just another observation , I have been away for a while but the standard has really dropped , it says alot when the opinion is that Jimmy houlihan is the "best ball carrier in the county". He has the first touch of a rapist.

[old boy]

fair play olympian .. for coming on about last night match... would have to disagree tactics,,, ye should have went for it in the last 10 mins might have as well lost 2-0 / 3-0 ye sent up wrong centre half in the end ,, cannot remember his name paul i think took all goal kicks / free kicks at back he should have went up front

were was big derek collins (gazza ) when you needed him

:ball: :ball: :ball:

[old boy]

Hello All

I have been asked to post a reply , about the Lombardo in goal for Rineanna last night. A certain member of the Rineanna team ( currently injured ) asked the question , who is the goal keeper and the number 7!!!!!!!!, when he hobbled in to Newtown last night.
I don't want to start a conspriacy but Rineanna have a great record of finding players that no one has ever seen before.
Maybe Tommy needs to get a scouting job from 1 of the big boys across the water.

Just another observation , I have been away for a while but the standard has really dropped , it says alot when the opinion is that Jimmy houlihan is the "best ball carrier in the county". He has the first touch of a rapist.
would have to agree with you on standard it has really dropped even the top teams in premier are not impresive
as for jimmy houlihan did he not leave a double winning bunratty a to join olympic says a lot about his commitment & ambition

[CousinSylDolan]

as for jimmy houlihan did he not leave a double winning bunratty a to join olympic says a lot about his commitment & ambition


Just wanna state that when Jimmy Houlihan was a Rat he always gave 110% and total commitment. He was one of the main reasons we won a double last year. It was very disappointing to see him go but he had his reasons for leaving.

As for his 1st touch being compared to that of a rapist... I'm afraid I've never had the experience of a rapists 1st touch like our new friend First so that I cannot comment on... :D I have however witnessed Jimmy's 1st touch with a football and it would be a strong point of his game in my opinion. ;)

[First]

From watching last nights game, I have to say that Jimmy wasn't the only Olympic player that lacked ambition last night. As for Rineanna there ambition was fulfilled again last night. " Lets just survive". Its a shame to see the clare leagues better players are all moving into limerick, Mike O'Malley, Davy Wall , Martin O' Neill. As I said earlier I have been away for a while , but is it true that there was no youths team in Shannon this season. If this is so good bye the Clare league.

[First]

For a young fellow its a shame to see him giving it up.
You must also feel for the lads on the line who can also see his lack of interest. Was he too good to take off . Not on last nights showing.

And where is Gazza , a true gentleman and a fighter. He wouldn't have shirked the tackles that i seen some of the olympic boys pulling out of last night.

Football is a simple game , keep the ball and pass it.

[CousinSylDolan]

maybe ye should all stop having a go at jimmy...the fact that he was on that bunratty side says it all about him...as for ambition if a fella doesn.t want to play serious football why knock him for that surely it is his choice..as for the match last night have to say all though donnacha is a great player..his injury slowed him down last night and where i could understand his passion in wanting to stay on olympic had a lad 6ft something on the bench..could have thrown him upfront for last ten minutes at least..


He would surely have been a better option that the center half they threw up front for the last 10. I was thinking they would throw Osi up there but he is lethal from 60 yards from goal as we learned in Bunratty.....

[old boy]

For a young fellow its a shame to see him giving it up.
You must also feel for the lads on the line who can also see his lack of interest. Was he too good to take off . Not on last nights showing.

And where is Gazza , a true gentleman and a fighter. He wouldn't have shirked the tackles that i seen some of the olympic boys pulling out of last night.

Football is a simple game , keep the ball and pass it.
have to agree ,,, jocks & pat fahy would have earned their win last night if gazza was about at least he would have had a go !!! :ball:

[leftie]

have to agree ,,, jocks & pat fahy would have earned their win last night if gazza was about at least he would have had a go !!! :ball:

Gazzie is on his holidays unfortunately otherwise he definately would've been in the team.

[First]

It's great to see Jocks back , a great player