Keith Long

[Philosophizer]

Would have been better keeping Long.
This is what happens when you sack your manager without a better replacement lined up. They acted on emotion in sacking Long, had to pay him severance, found out there weren?t any great options available, ended up with a completely sideways move and a lot of money down the drain.

[Jd2793]

they'd have been better off committing to something with a young up and coming manager like ryan (even if a bit underwhelming) over devine who was poor with derry last time out. the cup win in 2012 is a lifetime ago , his most recent loi job should be a big worry for bohs fans.

[total hoofball]

I'm going to make a wild prediction that Devine won't last that 2 year contract at Bohs, hell if he doesn't make a hot start for that Bohs fanbase he may be out sooner than Kwasi Kwarteng

[Dermobohs]

Very harsh there hoofball, long got 8years ffs. We hardly have a rep for sacking managers without reason either, ?
Bit sceptical though I must admit, the Derry folk didn?t love him at all by all accounts!

[total hoofball]

Nothing harsh at all, Long started out with part-time team on a modest budget, built the club up on the field and now the club is full-time with a vastly bigger budget and expectations which damned Long in the end

It's a blatant panic appointment by Bohs, twice Devine made great starts with Derry before getting found out, he only won 2 out of his last 16 matches with Derry while being backed financially, any Bohs fan who is not in denial will know this appointment is high risk that it will not work out

[ger121]

I?m not a happy camper. Not once did I see Devine?s name mentioned before today. Any of the Derry lads have an honest view on him. Pros and Cons?

[placid casual]

It strikes me as a short term appointment, and maybe a safer bet than Ryan who's unproven in the Premier division. As a Rovers fan I have to be honest and say "meh, whatever". Time will tell I guess.

[Another Bohemia]

This reeks of a panic hire. Dont think he was interviewed in the first batch and then suddenly everything's agreed and he's in place. Doesn't inspire any confidence but after seeing the state of the performance tonight against Pats I'll be happy if he can at least make it look like the team know how to play football.

[Knocklyonhoop]

Smacks of panic appointment. I’d have gone for Ryan (ye, I didn’t interview him etc etc……)

[joey B]

Strange appointment,Devine went in as first team coach at Letterkenny Rovers a couple of weeks ago and now he’s managing one of the biggest clubs in the country,odd but time will tell I suppose…..

[Longfordian]

It strikes me as a short term appointment, and maybe a safer bet than Ryan who's unproven in the Premier division. As a Rovers fan I have to be honest and say "meh, whatever". Time will tell I guess.

Two year contract doesn't scream short term unless there are clauses we don't know about yet. It's uninspiring but so were all the other publically mentioned candidates really. At least he's managed in the Premier Division.

[sbgawa]

I'll buck the trend by saying he made Derry hard to beat (at least for us for a while) and if cork and waterford come up next season being hard to beat in what will be a very competitive division all the way down will be important.
He may not have been first second or even third choice but he's a proven premier division manager so he's not the worst choice.

[total hoofball]

Is he really a proven Premier Division manager? Two spells with Derry great first seasons with FAI Cup win and European qualification but major slumps with poor football and poor recruitment the following seasons, getting sacked by a club definitely can be overlooked they all have but getting sacked by the same club twice?

It really comes around full circle to the question is Devine an upgrade over Long and I don't believe there is many people would say he is an upgrade. If you let a long term successful manager go you have to hire an upgrade if you have any ambition of a minimum European football to match your full-time budget, must have been other stuff behind the scenes with Long and the Bohs board

[brendy_éire]

I?m not a happy camper. Not once did I see Devine?s name mentioned before today. Any of the Derry lads have an honest view on him. Pros and Cons?

He's a great man manager. Seems like the type of fella who will get players playing for him, and instill a sense of what they're playing for. He did make us more solid defensively, and we won games we didn't expect too. Did very well in cups, though still can't accept the Setanta Cup final performance against Crues. He upped our scoring too.
Negatives: was a bit boring to watch, at times. Some of his signings, especially the foreign ones, where poor. Also felt that when we went a goal or two down, there wasn't much of a Plan B; a criticism I'd also have of Higgins, TBF.

I don't think it's a panic signing, or a poor one. He's very qualified, worked with the IFA a good bit, and knows football in the country very well. He's also into the community aspect of football clubs and giving up his time for it, which should suit Bohs well.
In saying all that, I'm surprised at the signing. Maybe it's because I didn't see him moving to somewhere that far south.
It'll be interesting to see what sort of a budget he gets. Always wondered what he'd do with a bit more than he had with us.

His record at Derry was:

Finished 5th, 4th, 4th and 7th, qualifying for Europe 3 times. He reached 3 cup finals (Setanta, FAI, League Cup), winning 1 trophy (FAI Cup, 2012).

In 159 games in charge of Derry City, he won 67, scoring 243 goals.
https://twitter.com/thebiscuitg/

[Jd2793]

the 4th place with derry in 2019 wasnt all that great though. the league that year was pretty desperate IMO. the most boring pats team ever finished only 5pts behind derry. cork had started the rot. dont know thing its a pretty desperate signing. time will tell , not so sure bohs fans will have a lot of patience this time around as budget will undoubtedly be decent again.

[Philosophizer]

Just heard Roddy talking on Second Captains and he mentioned that he applied for the Bohs job. He applied, and about 2 hours later they announced Devine.

[Martinho II]

Just heard Roddy talking on Second Captains and he mentioned that he applied for the Bohs job. He applied, and about 2 hours later they announced Devine.

Cant wait to read Roddys book for my xmas reading! didnt know that bout him at all!

[wonder88]

Good to see a goalkeeper get one of the big jobs in the league of Ireland. Was Henderson Cobh/Waterford the most recent in the league?

[Martinho II]

Good to see a goalkeeper get one of the big jobs in the league of Ireland. Was Henderson Cobh/Waterford the most recent in the league?

yeah pretty sure you are right on that wonder88