One-third in - how's it going?

[pineapple stu]

See if we can get a bit of midweek discussion going. (I miss the good old days when there was some insanity happening every week it seemed! The LoI is getting old and a bit dull :p)

So by way of random discussion - we're just gone past the one-third mark in the Premier. The weekly match threads seem to have more fans giving out than being optimistic. I wonder if that translates to a majority of clubs' fans not being happy with the season to date?

A quick run through as I see it, but interested to get the views from around the league.

Derry - have to be delighted with their start. One point from six against Drogheda and Shels was really poor, but the response has arguably been worth the blip. Let's say 9/10 on the absolutely rigorously-scientific-not-at-all-to-stir-debate "supporter satisfied scale".
Rovers - only three points behind and grinding out wins, but how are they always struggling for goals? Is there cause for concern ahead of the European games? They really should be targetting the Conference League groups, but a repeat of last year's disaster isn't impossible at all. 6/10?
Dundalk - have to be happy with third. Given the chaos of pre-season, that's surely about as good as they could have hoped for at this stage? Not sure if they can keep it up, but for now it has to be 7/10 at least.
Sligo - only lost three games, but seem to be underwhelming so far? Seem to see regular complaints from Sligo fans about the season. 4/10?
Pat's - inconsistent and the 4-0 against Derry was a bit of an eye-opener in terms of how far off the top they may be. Doyle and Forrester in the team but fewer goals than everyone bar the bottom three. 3/10.
Bohs - going backwards the last couple of seasons it seems. A tough few games coming up too. 4/10.
Drogheda - to not be in the bottom two at this stage has to be a result given the exodus in pre-season. Defence is a worry, but for now they have to be up around 7/10.
Shels - have won away to Sligo and Derry, and lost twice to Harps. It's not dull anyway, but is it any good? That last-minute goal in Harps last week has probably dropped them from 6/10 to 4/10. Thin margins at times.
Harps - seem to be ****e except when they play Shels. Again, last week probably moves them up a bit, from 3/10 to 4s?
UCD - was always going to be a struggle, but I think we should still be going better than this. Don't think we're that much worse than last time (Scales/O'Neill/Farrugia/8 other punters v Todd/Kerrigan/Whelan/8 other punters), but the table doesn't lie and the end of the season looks a long way away. 3/10.

First Division clubs - nobody can be happy down there. 0/10 :p

Anyways - discuss...

[placid casual]

In regards to Rovers, up until yesterday, I would have said that we are going along swimmingly, and in a decent ace to kick on and be successful this season.
That all goes out the window if the Rovers mgmt team decide to leave tho.
Derry are doing better than expected, and everyone else bar the students are just a mish mash of some half decent players and little consistency.

[joey B]

We just haven’t replaced the players we lost with the same quality of player,our best signing is probably a fella we signed from Letterkenny Rovers which speaks for itself,it’ll be a long struggle of a season for us but from I’ve seen from Drogheda,UCD and Shels they aren’t much better!

[Kiki Balboa]

For Dundalk, pretty happy. We play with a bit of steel. For me, that back 5 is able to win leagues. I think eyes should already be on shoring up contracts for next season and all the winter transfers seem to be able to offer something. Mark Connolly might be signing of the season. There is a buzz about the team, and hopefully we can continue on improving, while adding depth.

There is definitley problems in the team. Lack creativity and we rely on Keith Ward too much. Center midfield has been an issue for years, and doesn't have the best ability to boss a game or to open teams up (although recent performences might indicate a change). Bradley is very good, but hasn't gotten a good run. Other than that, we don't have another decent winger. Team is still trying to find itself going forward. When Bob Benson comes back it should pick up another gear. We also had one horror show away to Drogheda, which was a dire performence. The team also is fairly thin, and we have a consistency problem, even during games. I dont think we played a game yet that we were good in both halves.

But to be honest, it is a long term thing, and it is great building blocks. Each lad coming in has a great attitude and seem to be enjoying playing for the club. And while we have issues with the team, they are addressable. It will be interesting race for 3rd spot. Pats were the better team against us and are only 1 point behind, but there seems to be more bad feelings over there. In saying that, I really feel like we are only 2 players short of challenging for the league.

So all in all, pretty happy, the team is young and seems to have some potential. Hopefully we get better in each round, and next year hit Europe again.

[sbgawa]

I would say im happy enough with Rovers , unlucky to lose in Derry , cant believe Sligo drew with us twice but as you say comes down to not scoring enough goals.
Do feel we are close to clicking , would have been 5 wins on the bounce if we'd beaten Sligo which we should have.
More concerned about how good DErry look tbh, huge game next Friday
Management leaving will be a problem and the replacement if it happens will be seen as the reason we do or don't win the league.
I think its more likely a run in Europe costs us the league than anything else.
Looks like we we are seeded now for Q1 so a win there gives us 6 more weeks guaranteed and if we win one of the 3 rounds we have 6 more (14 weeks of midweek matches) so i honestly reckon we need to be at least 8 or 9 points ahead of Derry by the time we get to Europe (5th July).
So that's ten games between then and now including 1 against Derry ....we need a hell of a run.

If we dont have a decent lead by then id nearly be happy getting knocked out early and winning the league.

[nigel-harps1954]

10/10 for Harps. Lured everyone into a false sense of security and we mount our title charge from here.

[Stuttgart88]

I'm not convinced Rovers' management leaving will be that disruptive. I can't help linking lack of goals to management which have frustrated me for a while. It's pretty football by numbers and technically sound but not very effective at penetrating a low block. Maybe new ideas will unlock the real potential of this squad.

[placid casual]

Who would be the manager then, If they do decide to leave. Apart from O'Donnell there isn't any other decent managers in the league. Recruiting from outside the LOI is always fraught with danger, imo.
Surely players want stability in the dugout more than anything, so a lack of security about who's running the team will lead to a drop off in performances.

[D24Saint]

I expected some ups and downs this year with the new set up. I didn't anticipate an abject performance like the one on Friday. After the first two games this season (Presidents cup v Rovers & Away to $hels) I was hopeful of at least a third place at minimum, now id see that as an fantastic season. I think we wont win the cup this year and wont qualify for Europe via the league. Hopefully is a sunny away trip in July. 4/10

[pineapple stu]

Do feel we are close to clicking , would have been 5 wins on the bounce if we'd beaten Sligo which we should have.
I think there's something in this alright, but then I wonder why Rovers need a third of the season to click?

Surely they should be a fairly established, settled, squad at this stage? Manager in his sixth full season. Two-time reigning champions. Not a huge amount of squad turnover over pre-season (certainly compared to Derry). Surely it should be a well-oiled machine at this stage?

[sullanefc]

Great

[El-Pietro]

Came into the season not knowing what to expect from our team. Definitely thought Waterford and Galway had better teams on paper than us. Was definitely worried about a lack of goals, aside from Cian Murphy and Barry Coffey, definitely wasn't expecting much from Ruairi Keating.

After 13 games we are in first place 3 points/1 game played more than Galway and we're 12 points clear of the rest of the pack having beaten everyone. One more point and we'll have matches last years total, and we're only 6 goals behind our total for last year, while only conceding 6 goals in total.

We've been winning comfortably and playing well in most games, though Galway and Bray in particular came to Turners Cross and stifled us and that is somewhat worrying. On the plus side we had a bit of a shaky period recently and aside from dropping points at home to Bray we won the rest of our games so thats probably a good sign.

Matt Healy is probably the player we are most surprised by/excited by and whether he stays beyond his current loan will have a lot of influence on how our season ends, as will Barry Coffey to a lesser extent. It says a lot that 6 goal Barry Coffey is not considered our best player. Both are out of contract with their mother clubs so there is some hope they might sign permanent deals with their "hometown" team (Healy is from Cork, Coffey from Nenagh) Ruiari Keating has been very good, in addition to his goals. Very happy with his performances. Ally Gilchrist has been key as well, and we're all wondering why Shels let him go.

We also have a number of key players to come back from injury so we're feeling confident about the season, though everyone has their eyes on the Galway away game at the end of May. I would expect a sizable traveling crowd for that game.

[Stuttgart88]

I think there's something in this alright, but then I wonder why Rovers need a third of the season to click?

Surely they should be a fairly established, settled, squad at this stage? Manager in his sixth full season. Two-time reigning champions. Not a huge amount of squad turnover over pre-season (certainly compared to Derry). Surely it should be a well-oiled machine at this stage?Form can just suddenly come though, in any sport. I can see the points for continuity but I just think the squad is experienced enough to handle a couple of games without Bradley and I think some new ideas could well get more out of the squad. Pure speculation of course.

[Glen Of Aherlow]

I expected some ups and downs this year with the new set up. I didn't anticipate an abject performance like the one on Friday. After the first two games this season (Presidents cup v Rovers & Away to $hels) I was hopeful of at least a third place at minimum, now id see that as an fantastic season. I think we wont win the cup this year and wont qualify for Europe via the league. Hopefully is a sunny away trip in July. 4/10

One plus point for me this season was that we were fairly solid at the back despite losing the likes of Desmond and Jaros and with Paddy Barrett out injured , but even that fell apart against Derry.

[total hoofball]

I'm not happy with Shels on the field, everything off the field looking so much more promising for the club after a mostly miserable 15 years

In terms of where we are this season we have ripped up a decent part-time FD title winning squad and swapped for a mostly poor full-time PD squad who will be struggling to finish above 9th so I'm pretty disappointed so far and I don't see it getting better unless there is serious July transfer window activity. Duff's appointment has brought a huge buzz around the club, sold big numbers of season tickets and generated alot of sponsorship revenue so all great on those aspects. Duff likes to play football and is committed to a 3-4-3 wing back system, everything I've heard around his professionalism and training is all very positive but he doesn't have the quality of players to execute what he is trying to do though they have dug in to pull off surprise away wins at Sligo and Derry. I'm concerned if our home win drought continues all the early season positivity around the club may start to turn sour. After suffering relegation in 2020 it cannot happen again. Any of Shels, Drogheda, Harps or UCD settling for 9th spot and a play-off is asking for trouble with one of those 3 full-time FD teams as likely opponents

Having seen most of the teams in action this season I don't think any team is up to much so I'm positive if we can get things together on the field as the season goes on we will be in good shape to push up the table come 2023 and 2024

[pineapple stu]

Form can just suddenly come though, in any sport.
True. I fully agree with your previous comment though ("I can't help linking lack of goals to management which have frustrated me for a while[...]Maybe new ideas will unlock the real potential of this squad") and that's why if I were a Rovers fan, I wouldn't be as satisfied with the season so far as others seem to be. But that's their call of course.

But certainly can't deny that they have that habit of grinding out wins without playing well. Maybe it's unrealistic to expect a 2020 season every year.

[JC_GUFC]

For Galway United promotion is the target - anything less is a failure.

As we saw last year getting promoted from the playoffs is very tricky. In the last few years Longford and UCD have been very lucky that the Premier Division side have been in turmoil when they've faced them but all things being equal should we face Harps or Drogheda in a playoff after getting through 2 rounds of the Division 1 playoffs they'd be favourites.

We had a brilliant win on the first day down in Cork but at half-time in the second game against Waterford we were 0-2 down and it looked like we were going to fall 6 points behind them and that they'd run away with the league. A brilliant second half display saw us nearly beat them and re-find Stephen Walsh as a striker. It also seemed to completely blow their confidence.

Because of the nature of the fixture list and having the bye so early, while Cork have theirs towards the end we've always been playing catch-up on them. We had a few poor performances against Treaty and Athlone where we got away with wins but then went to Longford and were absolutely woeful and got beaten. Since then we've bounced back and the style of football has improved.

We have now achieved the best start in our history, though there is such a gap in standard between the top and bottom in this Division it's hard to imagine the top sides dropping too many points.

I'd say 7/10 so far - the football could improve a bit to add more excitement but ultimately promotion and ideally the title are what it's all about and we're pretty much bang on track for that.

[Jd2793]

Came into the season not knowing what to expect from our team. Definitely thought Waterford and Galway had better teams on paper than us. Was definitely worried about a lack of goals, aside from Cian Murphy and Barry Coffey, definitely wasn't expecting much from Ruairi Keating.

After 13 games we are in first place 3 points/1 game played more than Galway and we're 12 points clear of the rest of the pack having beaten everyone. One more point and we'll have matches last years total, and we're only 6 goals behind our total for last year, while only conceding 6 goals in total.

We've been winning comfortably and playing well in most games, though Galway and Bray in particular came to Turners Cross and stifled us and that is somewhat worrying. On the plus side we had a bit of a shaky period recently and aside from dropping points at home to Bray we won the rest of our games so thats probably a good sign.

Matt Healy is probably the player we are most surprised by/excited by and whether he stays beyond his current loan will have a lot of influence on how our season ends, as will Barry Coffey to a lesser extent. It says a lot that 6 goal Barry Coffey is not considered our best player. Both are out of contract with their mother clubs so there is some hope they might sign permanent deals with their "hometown" team (Healy is from Cork, Coffey from Nenagh) Ruiari Keating has been very good, in addition to his goals. Very happy with his performances. Ally Gilchrist has been key as well, and we're all wondering why Shels let him go.

We also have a number of key players to come back from injury so we're feeling confident about the season, though everyone has their eyes on the Galway away game at the end of May. I would expect a sizable traveling crowd for that game.


echo most of that . healy bolger and keating all excellent this year, two lads in midfield especially. been a little disappointed with coffey overall but still cant mumble at 6 goals.

[EatYerGreens]

For Galway United promotion is the target - anything less is a failure.

As we saw last year getting promoted from the playoffs is very tricky. In the last few years Longford and UCD have been very lucky that the Premier Division side have been in turmoil when they've faced them but all things being equal should we face Harps or Drogheda in a playoff after getting through 2 rounds of the Division 1 playoffs they'd be favourites.

We had a brilliant win on the first day down in Cork but at half-time in the second game against Waterford we were 0-2 down and it looked like we were going to fall 6 points behind them and that they'd run away with the league. A brilliant second half display saw us nearly beat them and re-find Stephen Walsh as a striker. It also seemed to completely blow their confidence.

Because of the nature of the fixture list and having the bye so early, while Cork have theirs towards the end we've always been playing catch-up on them. We had a few poor performances against Treaty and Athlone where we got away with wins but then went to Longford and were absolutely woeful and got beaten. Since then we've bounced back and the style of football has improved.

We have now achieved the best start in our history, though there is such a gap in standard between the top and bottom in this Division it's hard to imagine the top sides dropping too many points.

I'd say 7/10 so far - the football could improve a bit to add more excitement but ultimately promotion and ideally the title are what it's all about and we're pretty much bang on track for that.

Surely the best bit for Galway all season has been developments off the pitch as well ?

[Martinho II]

For us I was extremely sceptical after a lot of our players leaving us plus local favourite Aodh Dervin. We made a poor start after a stop start to season with bad weather and drew with Cork and lost to Bray. Then we hit our mojo and played brilliant football and went 7 games unbeaten. Darren Craven and Eric Molloy the stand out players for me but since we played Cork City and Galway Utd we have gone backwards and I think the lack of confidence in getting a standalone striker has gone against us. For me 6/10 so far and we will make the playoffs just about.

[osarusan]

Where I'd expect to be with Treaty.

Cannot compete with the top, and easily clear of the bottom. Playoffs going to the 5th spot in a 9-team division is crazy but hey, we'll probably make the playoffs. Whichever one of Cork and Galway misses automatic promotion should wipe the floor with the other teams in the playoffs.

[trevy]

Disappointing so far from Waterford as we were most people's favourites to win the 1st division. We've already lost a manager and are well off the pace. No news on a new manager being appointed either. Maybe the owner cant afford it as has to probably pay off Bircham and Morris. I can't see us catching Cork or Galway so we'll have to settle for play offs which will be tough. Our record in play offs over the years is dreadful.

[De Town]

Wasn't too optimistic before the season started with the appointment of Gary Cronin as manager and the squad we assembled but we've done better than I expected so far. Our last 2 results, while disappointing, are not unexpected for me. We have an ok starting 11 but outside of that we're struggling for quality.

For example, Michael Barker missing the Galway game on Monday was a huge loss as Mick McDonnell our 3rd choice CB just isn't up to the level required. We also don't have a proper striker (yet). Verdon's done well up there for us so far in the games I've seen but he's not prolific by any means. Hopefully Magurusan can get fit and firing as he seems to be more of a natural striker but the poor lad appears to be made of glass so I won't hold my breath on that one.

Making the playoffs would have been a good season for us at the start of the season and despite our decent run of form for a few weeks there, that remains the target imo. I'd expect the top 2 (maybe 3 if Waterford can get their house in order) to pull well clear of the rest and ourselves/Treaty/Bray/Wexford won't have a hope in the playoffs really as we're all miles off the standard required.

So far, I'd give us a solid 7/10 for our efforts.

[outspoken]

Where I'd expect to be with Treaty.

Cannot compete with the top, and easily clear of the bottom. Playoffs going to the 5th spot in a 9-team division is crazy but hey, we'll probably make the playoffs. Whichever one of Cork and Galway misses automatic promotion should wipe the floor with the other teams in the playoffs.

Wouldn't agree at all that cork/Galway will wipe the floor with everyone else in the play offs.

[TonyD]

It’s probably not a good time to be asking this question of Pats fans. Things are bound to look a bit bleak after last week. Up to then I’d say we were doing ok, no more, no less. We were third until fairly recently, so I’m still hopeful that last Friday was just a one off horror show. We competed well against Derry up there, beat Rovers at home, should have beaten Dundalk, so it hasn’t been all gloom and doom. I’d give us a 5/10.

[ontheotherhand]

It was going grand until this week!

Overall we are a few sloppy goals to Sligo (3 of them) and Derry off the top of the table. If we keep Bradley id be confident enough we are up there by seasons end. Only Derry and in a few patches Pats have been on top for periods longer than 10 mins against us. To be fair to Derry it was for 45 mins so we will see how the head to heads pan out. Sligo have somehow still dug out two draws so that makes me give us a 7/10. Great to see yet another player go from the ever lauded mgmt of Keith Long to the awful mgmt of Bradley and really struggle like Andy Lyons has done as well. Add him to the list of players who've gone backwards under Bradley I suppose.

[ForzaForth]

For Wexford, the season thus far has been very good and we just need to get one place further up the table for a play-off place which is our only realistic ambition. The management team of Ian Ryan and Lorcan Fitzgerald has been stunningly good since they arrived mid-season last year and have transformed the senior team. Even leaving out the Waterford game which is traditionally our biggest gate, crowds are up by the guts of 100% since the lads took over. Our football, especially going forward, has been a joy to watch. We're probably not as fluent as we were at the very end of last season, but the departure of the excellent Jack Moylan may explain that. New signings to impress this year include Alex Moody in goal who is playing his first LOI season, Joe Manley and Luka Lovic who has recently come in after an injury which kept him out for the start of the season. The key player again for Wexford is Jack Doherty who can cause absolute havoc up front with his unique playing style - low centre of gravity, turns on half a sixpence etc. Mood in Ferrycarrig seems to be generally optimistic as far as can be ascertained.

[PartySaint]

Pretty Sh*te

[Seagull]

Sh1tshow once again.

[2 Year Contract]

I think a lot of people are incredibly reactionary to 1 or 2 bad/good results or performances in a row this year. Given how inconsistent all of Pats, Dundalk, Sligo, Bohs, Shels etc are at the moment, you could realistically be changing your season rating out of 10 pretty much every game recently

[TonyD]

I think a lot of people are incredibly reactionary to 1 or 2 bad/good results or performances in a row this year. Given how inconsistent all of Pats, Dundalk, Sligo, Bohs, Shels etc are at the moment, you could realistically be changing your season rating out of 10 pretty much every game recently

Absolutely agree with this. Pats are great again after last night seemingly. We were complete rubbish after last week. The truth is somewhere in between.

[Jd2793]

the world will always crumble when you lose tbf. shels have real issues in attack imo but its clear duff has them playing how he wants, its evident enough on the pitch. get another forward in and they'll be fine i reckon as the process in general seems ok.
pats are a weird one for me , have some quality individuals but i dont get the same sense of a style of play when i watch them (mostly highlights tbf) . I cant believe its taken so long to get mccormack into that midfield, the boy has good quality and will help doyle up top no end.
dundalk are the ones i think whove rode their luck a bit upto this point , cant argue with the pts total but i dont think they'll keep up this pace for the remainder of the season. also what happens when bradley goes back to hibs?
sligo are the same as they were last year, average as f1ck. dont create next or near enough to be a serious team contending , not sure how they held onto europe last year.

[ontheotherhand]

Absolutely agree with this. Pats are great again after last night seemingly. We were complete rubbish after last week. The truth is somewhere in between.

It does seem like a few are jumping the gun but they always do. Can't believe some of the negative stuff I've read around Clancy at this early stage. He's only there a wet week and came in during a bit of a strange situation. If he gets you to the levels you hit in the President's cup you'll be grand. I did expect him to get more out of Doyle though to be fair. What's your take on his start?

[TonyD]

It does seem like a few are jumping the gun but they always do. Can't believe some of the negative stuff I've read around Clancy at this early stage. He's only there a wet week and came in during a bit of a strange situation. If he gets you to the levels you hit in the President's cup you'll be grand. I did expect him to get more out of Doyle though to be fair. What's your take on his start?

I think he’s working very hard, has a good touch, holds the ball up well and is beginning to find the net now. Took his goal very well last night ( offside claims notwithstanding.) What I find frustrating watching him is that in my view he spends too much time going wide and dropping deep. Not sure if this is under instruction, but I’d like to see him concentrate on staying in and around the box.

Edit. Presumed you were talking about Eoin Doyle there. If you meant Clancy, then it’s been a mixed bag. I’d say he’s doing ok. Far to early to be making definitive judgments. Stephen O’Donnells first season at Pats was very ropey, but he improved in the second year

[ontheotherhand]

I think he’s working very hard, has a good touch, holds the ball up well and is beginning to find the net now. Took his goal very well last night ( offside claims notwithstanding.) What I find frustrating watching him is that in my view he spends too much time going wide and dropping deep. Not sure if this is under instruction, but I’d like to see him concentrate on staying in and around the box.

Trying to make too much of an impact with the hype surrounding his name maybe? Jack did the same for us for a while. He's found a better balance of finding the right space and time to get on the ball now I think. Rather than just going to get it in any area.

[oriel]

the world will always crumble when you lose tbf. shels have real issues in attack imo but its clear duff has them playing how he wants, its evident enough on the pitch. get another forward in and they'll be fine i reckon as the process in general seems ok.
pats are a weird one for me , have some quality individuals but i dont get the same sense of a style of play when i watch them (mostly highlights tbf) . I cant believe its taken so long to get mccormack into that midfield, the boy has good quality and will help doyle up top no end.
dundalk are the ones i think whove rode their luck a bit upto this point , cant argue with the pts total but i dont think they'll keep up this pace for the remainder of the season. also what happens when bradley goes back to hibs?
sligo are the same as they were last year, average as f1ck. dont create next or near enough to be a serious team contending , not sure how they held onto europe last year.

Going clear into 3rd place week probably flattered us, 4th is more our scene this year, that said I don't think the quality competing for 3rd is that high, its fairly open and I see this position changing hands many times this season, not sure if Sligo will be in the running for it mind, which makes a trio of Pats, Dundalk and Bohs imo.

[The Bowler]

Good man Stu, good thread. With you completely on UCD, this team should be at least as good as the last one when we were in prem. Arguably with Whelan and Kerrigan we have more guns this time. So let's have a look at the comparisons on both seasons after 14 games ;

2019 - Played 14, W3/D1/L10, 10 pts, GF13, GA26

2022 - Played 14, W0/D5/L9, 5 pts, GF 9, GA32

We've lost 1 less, but that's about the only stat that isn't dismal by comparison. Winless in 2022 and 5 points worse off at same stage. Playing mostly a long ball hit and hope game. Next week we will be the team in Finn Park playing like Finn Harps ! When this squad implodes as it will this summer, I fear for the lads still there for rest of this season and next, and long dark wilderness period whenever the Myler/OConnor ****show finally comes to an end. There will be a huge rebuilding exercise for whoever comes in, in terms of rebuilding the football culture at the club.

[JC_GUFC]

Surely the best bit for Galway all season has been developments off the pitch as well ?

Well that's a huge positive too - we're finally going to get our own dedicated training facility and base for the academy - it remains to be seen how much this facility "belongs" to the club - I suspect it may end up that we have to pay rent on it - which would be a bit underhanded by the Comers if that's how it plays out - but even in that scenario it's much better than where we're at now.

I would also say that outside of a few of the Dublin clubs we probably have the best academy in the country so things are looking very positive both off and on the pitch.

[JC_GUFC]

Wouldn't agree at all that cork/Galway will wipe the floor with everyone else in the play offs.

Whichever one doesn't win the league, assuming Waterford don't get themselves back into it, which I wouldn't totally rule out, will be hugely disappointed if they don't make the playoff final.

Longford have taken points off all of the "big 3" this season and on their day can be ok and should be comfortably 4th in the Division but over 2 legs I would be surprised if they beat either Cork or us.

In saying that we played Bray over 2 legs last season and were beaten in the quarter-final - I'd have been confident that we'd have gone on to beat UCD as our style matched up well against them last season, whether we'd have beaten Waterford, who knows, we'd likely have been too cautious unlike UCD who went to outplay them.

If we get promoted this season we'll be in a better position starting the 2023 season in the Premier than we would have been for this season so it may work out for the best.

[Kiki Balboa]

Average Points per Game over the last 3 full Seasons (21, 19, 18)



1st=2.32



2nd=1.93
3rd=1.66
4th=1.57
5th=1.42
6th=1.28
7th=1.19
8th=1.14
9th=0.90
10th=0.48

Average Points per Game so far in 2022




Shamrock Rovers= 2.17
Derry City= 1.78
Dundalk= 1.82
St. Pats= 1.56
Sligo Rovers= 1.33
Shelbourne= 1.41
Bohemians= 1.30
Drogheda United= 1.12
Finn Harps= 0.59
UCD= 0.47

[placid casual]

Nice bit of revisionism there Balboa.

[Nesta99]

What's revisionist about it?

[Kiki Balboa]

Nice bit of revisionism there Balboa.

What??? Why?

No point to it, just thought it would be an interesting little thing as we are half way through the season (nearly everbody played each other twice). You might be able to see where the gaps will be at the end of the season.

[total hoofball]

I'm not happy with Shels on the field, everything off the field looking so much more promising for the club after a mostly miserable 15 years

In terms of where we are this season we have ripped up a decent part-time FD title winning squad and swapped for a mostly poor full-time PD squad who will be struggling to finish above 9th so I'm pretty disappointed so far and I don't see it getting better unless there is serious July transfer window activity. Duff's appointment has brought a huge buzz around the club, sold big numbers of season tickets and generated alot of sponsorship revenue so all great on those aspects. Duff likes to play football and is committed to a 3-4-3 wing back system, everything I've heard around his professionalism and training is all very positive but he doesn't have the quality of players to execute what he is trying to do though they have dug in to pull off surprise away wins at Sligo and Derry. I'm concerned if our home win drought continues all the early season positivity around the club may start to turn sour. After suffering relegation in 2020 it cannot happen again. Any of Shels, Drogheda, Harps or UCD settling for 9th spot and a play-off is asking for trouble with one of those 3 full-time FD teams as likely opponents

Having seen most of the teams in action this season I don't think any team is up to much so I'm positive if we can get things together on the field as the season goes on we will be in good shape to push up the table come 2023 and 2024
You just gotta love it that since my mostly pessimistic post 3 weeks ago the following day Tolka Park was saved and we have gone onto to win 4 in a row!

No injuries, no suspensions and actually getting to play your best starting eleven can make a hell of a difference in this league. The trio of Farrell, Moylan and Boyd all clicking immediately together in attack, Dervin, O'Driscoll, Griffin starting to look more assured of themselves after some shaky performances, JJ Lunney coming back from injury has been really brilliant in the middle of the park and has brought a calmness we badly needed

Not getting carried away and predicting we beat Rovers on Friday to go 5 in a row or anything, I think a number of teams in this league will go on as many win steaks as winless droughts. These 12 points give Shels a welcome breathing room over Harps and UCD, we just have to avoid injuries and suspensions and add 3 quality players in the summer to bulk up the bench to have a go at finishing in that top 6

[Glen Of Aherlow]

From a Pat's point of view i think it's obvious we need more experience in midfield and at right back and i'm sure Clancy will be looking to get a couple of players in during the window and hopefuly get Jamie Lennon back fit as well and try to push on in the second half of the season.

[TonyD]

From a Pat's point of view i think it's obvious we need more experience in midfield and at right back and i'm sure Clancy will be looking to get a couple of players in during the window and hopefuly get Jamie Lennon back fit as well and try to push on in the second half of the season.

I’ve seen a couple of rumours of Alfie Lewis coming back to Pats. Not sure there is more to it than wishful thinking though. Three in the middle of the park seemed to work well against Shels, so maybe that’s the way to go. I think it would be harsh on Adam O’Reilly to leave him out once Lennon is fit, he gets through a huge amounts of work and is great for getting the foot in. A lot of negative comments about his ability on the ball, but I think he’s decent enough.

[Glen Of Aherlow]

I’ve seen a couple of rumours of Alfie Lewis coming back to Pats. Not sure there is more to it than wishful thinking though. Three in the middle of the park seemed to work well against Shels, so maybe that’s the way to go. I think it would be harsh on Adam O’Reilly to leave him out once Lennon is fit, he gets through a huge amounts of work and is great for getting the foot in. A lot of negative comments about his ability on the ball, but I think he’s decent enough.

Yeah three in the middle definitely works a lot better and i was glad to see Forrester playing further forward against Bohs. I think O'Reilly's done well and he was great against Bohs but we need to be able to change things around in midfield at time especially with Friday and Monday games and we're relying on young players a lot.