2022 Season, Arrivals and Departures

[Jd2793]

Two lads return from Drogheda to Lincoln. Big losses. Will put Drogheda right in the relegation battle.

Also, Dundalk need to tie up their loan signings. Will be a fight for Europe if they leave.

is bradley going back ?

[Kiki Balboa]

is bradley going back ?

Unlikely him as he is a season-long loan. But you also never know. The problem with these loan deals is that they are too favourable to the British clubs, who have the recall options.

Williams loan has finished early due to injury. A great lad. Wouldn't be surprised if a replacement came in for him via the loan market again though. I know there is rumours of Alfie Lewis going back to Pats, but I wonder if Dundalk will be intrested in him.

Macari's loan is finishing, and he was offered a new contract at Stoke (not signed yet as far as I know). Hopefully, it is in everybodys interest for him to complete the season at Dundalk, considering the leaps and bounds he has improved. But maybe Stoke want him back for another loan in England (or worse to be a reserve player....). I know he is a pretty big Stoke fan, like season ticket as a kid. He seemed on the way out of Stoke when Dundalk signed him (it was expected for him to sign as a full time player in the summer when his contract was finished), but nevertheless, happy for him to still get a chance to play for his boyhood team. Connollys loan is also finishing too, but he wants to move back to Ireland (at it seems he is very happy at Dundalk) for family reasons. He is under contract in Scotland for a couple of years, but does not want to go back.

Loan deals have their issues and provide little stability for the club, but, all things considering for Dundalk, we only had 2 players under contract (O'Kane and Mawyo) when O'Donnell came in, and started recruiting pretty late in December, these loan deals gave us a pretty great base to build on. Its insecure now, but was by far the best option for the club (and those players and loanee clubs).

[Bunny Kelly]

Two lads return from Drogheda to Lincoln. Big losses. Will put Drogheda right in the relegation battle.

Also, Dundalk need to tie up their loan signings. Will be a fight for Europe if they leave.


Those lads gone already or do Drogs have them until July 1st?

[Jd2793]

Those lads gone already or do Drogs have them until July 1st?

gone already by the sounds of drogs tweet earlier. can we expect ucd to be down a few bodies tomorrow @thebowler

[Bunny Kelly]

gone already by the sounds of drogs tweet earlier. can we expect ucd to be down a few bodies tomorrow @thebowler

Often the case with UCD, Keaney is suspended but I'd imagine him & Todd would be prime candidates to have finished up

[Shinkicker]

https://blogyv.com/shamrock-rovers-presenta-una-oferta-de-15-milions-de-lliures-esterlines-per-alfredo-morelos/
Alfredo Morelos to Rovers. If this is true the tide is turning, Linfield keeper, rangers striker, 6 poppies on you jersey, next you'll be called Shambolic Rangers.

[Nesta99]

lol 15 million kitchen sinks or whatever bait is need to 'lliure' him in, bit of craic mind!

[pineapple stu]

Seems to be a direct Catalan translation of this (https://readceltic.com/2022/06/16/shamrock-rovers-submit-shock-15-million-bid-for-alfredo-morelos/) for some reason.

(I'm presuming a site called "ReadCeltic" is more likely to refer to R*****s than some random Catalan one, but this is football, and football is strange!)

[sbgawa]

We must have sold the stadium ��

[Nesta99]

the Ryanair sponsorship of Rangers was a funny addition, obviously would never happen without a mass exodus by Rangers fans to the tune of ANY sponsorship. Pity it didnt say that Morelos was being signed by rovers (DD) to loan back to Celtic to get around financial fair play, that could actually have taken off among scottish football circles....

[Nesta99]

We must have sold the stadium ��

You'd have to have sold it twice!!

[Shinkicker]

If you sell the stadium twice you'll get his left leg and right hand, fcuk all use to anyone.

[DCSIL]

Puts in the Shade a Harps fan coming out here and always mentioning Derry

[joey B]

https://shelbournefc.ie/shelbourne-announce-signing-of-welsh-goalkeeper-scott-van-der-sluis/

Shels signed another Welsh keeper ,hoping for better luck than the last one ……

[joey B]

http://cobhramblers.ie/club-statement-2/

Cobh manager departs,shame for them,really like Cobh as a club but obviously hasn’t happened for them this season….

[The Bowler]

http://cobhramblers.ie/club-statement-2/

Cobh manager departs,shame for them,really like Cobh as a club but obviously hasn’t happened for them this season…. Agree Joey, like Cobh, and they deserve a bit if a run at the play offs one of these years. I wonder if any more managerial casualties coming before the transfer window opens

[da bishop]

Agree Joey, like Cobh, and they deserve a bit if a run at the play offs one of these years. I wonder if any more managerial casualties coming before the transfer window opens
Lovely club ,but tbf one win in 13/14 games something had to give and when they have to be ruthless they are,no doubt there will be others,vital win for Treaty last night and for Tommy Barrett as the wins have dried up ,one in 8/9?Brays whole coaching setup needs to be looked at surely?

[total hoofball]

Not really sure what expectations clubs like Cobh and Athlone are having this season in a tougher division with their squads made up of mostly young players on expenses many of whom really should be playing at Intermediate level

[Jd2793]

cobh are hopeless. cant do much down there when they are getting 19s from city who arent good enough for first division.

[nigel-harps1954]

Harps sign Dylan Duncan, last with QPR.

https://finnharps.ie/finn-harps-sign-dylan-duncan/

[RealJohn91]

Harps sign Dylan Duncan, last with QPR.

https://finnharps.ie/finn-harps-sign-dylan-duncan/
How is he available before July 1st? Every other signing I've seen so far hasn't been able to play till then.

[2 Year Contract]

How is he available before July 1st? Every other signing I've seen so far hasn't been able to play till then.

From looking him up, it appears he’s been without a club since leaving QPR in July 2021 so they may have been allowed to register him as he was a free agent? Unsure of the deadline for registering them but it’s the only possible solution I can think of

[total hoofball]

Hard to find anything regarding registration rules for 2022 season but going on previous seasons if you were a free agent when the previous transfer window closed you could still sign/play a for LOI club at any time after the closure of the 1st transfer window. If you were registered with an Intermediate or Junior club you could sign/play for a LOI club from June. Anyone else who was registered with another LOI club or clubs from any other leagues can only play for their new LOI club from the transfer window opening from July

If that lad from Harps has come from UK and is playing from June it would indicate simply he had no club

[DCSIL]

Cathal Heffernan signs for AC Milan from Cork permanently. Good luck to him.

[joey B]

Feyenoord tracking Sam Curtis,be great to see more of these moves and tbf they seem to be happening more and more,can’t expect the UK to develop our players any more….

[Kiki Balboa]

Feyenoord tracking Sam Curtis,be great to see more of these moves and tbf they seem to be happening more and more,can’t expect the UK to develop our players any more….

What a fantastic player. It is really great that the market for LOI players seems to widening, which should mean transfer fees should be increasing. It gives LOI clubs more power to get better deals.

[2 Year Contract]

Yeah Sam Curtis is a huge prospect and looks destined for a big move away. He was voted as Pats player of the Month for May. Scary that he only turns 17 in December!

Elsewhere in terms of Pats young lads, UK journalists are reporting that Josh Keeley is a done deal to Spurs on a 3 year deal and Luke McNally looks to be on the way to Burnley from Oxford as a Nathan Collins replacement for a fee of £1.75m which would see Pats earn €350k via the sell on clause.

[TonyD]

Yeah Sam Curtis is a huge prospect and looks destined for a big move away. He was voted as Pats player of the Month for May. Scary that he only turns 17 in December!

Elsewhere in terms of Pats young lads, UK journalists are reporting that Josh Keeley is a done deal to Spurs on a 3 year deal and Luke McNally looks to be on the way to Burnley from Oxford as a Nathan Collins replacement for a fee of £1.75m which would see Pats earn €350k via the sell on clause.

All great to see as a Pats fan. As well as being a serious talent Sam Curtis is also a beast of a lad for his age. Even facially he looks about 23. Adam Murphy will be the next player off the Pats conveyor belt from what I’ve seen of him. So unlucky with his injury.

[Martinho II]

What is Ben Curtis like as a player lads and are there prospects of him going across the water?

[Nesta99]

Dundalk fielded 14 year old Luke Mulligan in the friendly against Larne Saturday. Supposedly he didnt look out of place either. It is great to see players go to clubs where technical ability rather than a physical presence is the focus, AC Milan, Feyenoord, Anderlecht, Borussia Monchengladbach, Dundalk, Inter, Udinese, Getafe, Seville, Stade de Reims, Wolfsburg, and 2 keepers at 2 of the current best sides in Europe.

[The Bowler]

What do people make of this interview from UCD Manager Andy Myler ? Sounds like a man making his excuses in advance of possible departure? https://fb.watch/dN9SYZmLxM/

[Nesta99]

He is circling the wagons for sure but I dont think there was much there to indicate he could leave. He might be deflecting responsibility of UCDs form like a manager that fears that a sacking is near hand. The persecution of UCD by refs is bordering on conspiracy theory rhetoric. Refs are consistent with all teams, often consistently bad. I'd hate to have to do a post match interview when incidents are fresh in the mind as ye could say anything in that moment. Myler looked quite calm there imo.

[pineapple stu]

I wonder is Andy behind the "LoI corruption" Twitter, which has all our soft penalties against as a pinned tweet?

https://twitter.com/FAIMadness/status/1529503176747008002?t=X9lHCc-ButzFqd9_4ovT5Q&s=19

[D24Saint]

I wonder is Andy behind the "LoI corruption" Twitter, which has all our soft penalties against as a pinned tweet?

https://twitter.com/FAIMadness/status/1529503176747008002?t=X9lHCc-ButzFqd9_4ovT5Q&s=19

Whoever runs the page should have covered their tracks a bit better. Its clear that its an UCD fan with an axe to grind. They should have just called the page FAI Hates UCD.

[Nesta99]

I wonder is Andy behind the "LoI corruption" Twitter, which has all our soft penalties against as a pinned tweet?

https://twitter.com/FAIMadness/status/1529503176747008002?t=X9lHCc-ButzFqd9_4ovT5Q&s=19

The first one there did look to be a nudge in the back so not extremely controversial though the shels player milked it. The last one the ball came off the arm and helped push the ball on in front getting it under some control, dunno if it was in the box and the ref looked initially that he was signaling for a free and then changed to pointing to the spot but ive lost track on the handball rule at this stage . The one against St Pats kinda reminded me of the John Cleary cup final penalty v Derry. Bohs one was a good tackle. For most though the footage isnt great to be certain ether way.

[sadloserkid]

What do people make of this interview from UCD Manager Andy Myler ? Sounds like a man making his excuses in advance of possible departure? https://fb.watch/dN9SYZmLxM/

Based on the general tone of a good chunk of your posts here I suspect you wouldn't be broken hearted if he was to leave? Seeing him depart Belfield seems to be your driving football ambition (in the short-term at least)?

[The Bowler]

Based on the general tone of a good chunk of your posts here I suspect you wouldn't be broken hearted if he was to leave? Seeing him depart Belfield seems to be your driving football ambition (in the short-term at least)? Ah that's a tad harsh now, I've a good general interest across the league, but as a UCD fan, of course my posts will focus on goings on at my club. I'm not at all happy about the direction the club is taking, we were never a long ball team, never in all my 15+ years watching. I don't think he's a good manager at any level based on what ive seen, I think we probably fluked getting promoted last year, and just hate watching us play hit and hope most of the time. The irony being, when we try and play, we have proven we can do it. Recent goals v Pats and Harps show that. I don't recall us scoring from a long punt all season, so I'm even more confused. As to my driving ambition, I want to watch UCD playing the UCD way, so every second Friday at the Bowl brings me pleasure, not frustration. For what it's worth, I think Bray need to sack Devo also, and bring in some fresh blood.

[The Bowler]

Whoever runs the page should have covered their tracks a bit better. Its clear that its an UCD fan with an axe to grind. They should have just called the page FAI Hates UCD.

That's hilarious, didn't know we had any fans other than me and Stu. We've had some soft ones for sure, but setting up a Twitter account to highlight them, he must be getting desperate

[John83]

That's hilarious, didn't know we had any fans other than me and Stu. We've had some soft ones for sure, but setting up a Twitter account to highlight them, he must be getting desperate
There are dozens of us.

[joey B]

https://www.sligorovers.com/bit-o-red-sign-frank-liivak-from-levadia-tallinn/

Sligo sign Estonian international Frank Liivak….

[A N Mouse]

The first one there did look to be a nudge in the back so not extremely controversial though the shels player milked it. The last one the ball came off the arm and helped push the ball on in front getting it under some control, dunno if it was in the box and the ref looked initially that he was signaling for a free and then changed to pointing to the spot but ive lost track on the handball rule at this stage . The one against St Pats kinda reminded me of the John Cleary cup final penalty v Derry. Bohs one was a good tackle. For most though the footage isnt great to be certain ether way.

So everyone agrees, defo not a pen!

[Poor Student]

There are dozens of us.

Hundreds even.

[Nesta99]

So everyone agrees, defo not a pen!

Well it was a peno, just one that shouldnt have been given...

[TonyD]

What is Ben Curtis like as a player lads and are there prospects of him going across the water?

Haven’t seen him, and as far as I’m aware he hasn’t made the Pats bench yet (open to correction there), so he seems to be a bit behind the brother.

[The Bowler]

Hundreds even. Great to know, you'd be hard pressed at an average game at The Bowl to pick out the same 10 faces game to game, outside of the players families. Always been a great mystery how the football media team at UCD have failed to mobilise any sort of meaningful student attendance at games, given there are 30k students in the place. Pints can be had just around the corner, just needs a but of effort and imagination

[2 Year Contract]

Haven’t seen him, and as far as I’m aware he hasn’t made the Pats bench yet (open to correction there), so he seems to be a bit behind the brother.

Ben has made the bench 4 times this season, most recently the 3-0 win over Bohs before the break.

Ive seen him a couple of times for the 19s including a 3-0 win over Rovers on Monday, he looks a good prospect too but as you say, he doesn’t appear to stand out as much as his younger brother Sam has. Hard to judge lads playing in the 19s league though (particularly defenders) until they get into senior football and play games at that level

[Poor Student]

Great to know, you'd be hard pressed at an average game at The Bowl to pick out the same 10 faces game to game, outside of the players families. Always been a great mystery how the football media team at UCD have failed to mobilise any sort of meaningful student attendance at games, given there are 30k students in the place. Pints can be had just around the corner, just needs a but of effort and imagination

I was only messing about the hundreds.

There's been many attempted promotions and initiatives over the years including free beer vouchers back in the Budweiser sponsorship days, playing on a Thursday, free entry for students and so on. In the pre social media days I used to plaster the campus with posters for upcoming games for a couple of seasons. Nothing seems to garner interest with the student base or stick. If you look on the UCD forum here you can probably dig out previous discussions about it. There's probably more traction trying to tap into the locality than the students.

[The Bowler]

That's great insight Poor Student, thanks, will look into that thread.

[Poor Student]

That's great insight Poor Student, thanks, will look into that thread.

Here's one such discussion: https://foot.ie/threads/126132-UCD-support-discussion

In my memory there was a lot more robust discussion about it here in years gone by. Maybe some of it took place on threads in the main LOI forum. There was a time when a fair few fans of other clubs would write missives on here about how UCD's lack of support is a disgrace to the league and would welcome our demise or removal, particularly Cork fans who couldn't cope with the fact they were playing hoofball to Clive Delaney and couldn't beat us.

[pateen]

https://www.sligorovers.com/bit-o-red-sign-frank-liivak-from-levadia-tallinn/

Sligo sign Estonian international Frank Liivak….

Interesting signing