2024 Season, Arrivals and Departures

[kksaints]

No player IMO over the last 10 years will come even close to the worst 'overseas' quality I have ever seen to Abibi for Dundalk in 2021, GK. He was so bad a FD club wouldn't have taken him yet he played 4 euro games, christ even typing his name brings back nightmares.

Was Zahibo not even worse tho? He was so incredibly bad against Tallinn I think that he was taken off after 30 or so minutes?

[Kiki Balboa]

No player IMO over the last 10 years will come even close to the worst 'overseas' quality I have ever seen to Abibi for Dundalk in 2021, GK. He was so bad a FD club wouldn't have taken him yet he played 4 euro games, christ even typing his name brings back nightmares.

Played in the Serie B last year...

[holidaysong]

Was Zahibo not even worse tho? He was so incredibly bad against Tallinn I think that he was taken off after 30 or so minutes?

Zahibo was the worst ever LOI signing purely on a cost to output ratio.

I can understand how Abibi would be considered worse though, although not necessarily from a cost perspective but considering the amount of games and errors.

[sulywaterfordfc]

No player IMO over the last 10 years will come even close to the worst 'overseas' quality I have ever seen to Abibi for Dundalk in 2021, GK. He was so bad a FD club wouldn't have taken him yet he played 4 euro games, christ even typing his name brings back nightmares.

Did Athlone not have an overseas keeper a couple years ago who made more headlines for jumping out of the way of the ball then he did for matching winning saves? We’ve had some bogies down in Waterford through the years, where lads were made out to be top tier because of the CV/previous clubs then their actual footballing ability - it’s the absolute worst habit LOI fans have, assume someone is class before a ball is kicked because they played for a reputable club at some stage during their career. I’d say there’s a few clubs that can make a case for bringing in the worst overseas signing in the last 10 year.

[pineapple stu]

Igors Labuts or something wasn't it?

Hard to judge how bad he was given he seemed to be actually trying to throw the games in fairness

[Nesta99]

Was Zahibo not even worse tho? He was so incredibly bad against Tallinn I think that he was taken off after 30 or so minutes?

And pursuing the club recently for some sort of breach of clause seemingly!! Nice guys doesnt = good player but Abibi at least was trying and you could see he hurt when he fooked up. Was forced upon the then head coach not even being on a list of targets. Sold to a football braindead chariman owner by an agent who had his ear. Dont know if Zahibo had an agent in commone or whether news went round that there is this club who can be covinced to pay a fortune to your crocked or hopeless players. It was when Perth returned that Zahibi were sidelined. One to just have a keeper on the bench, the other given a few chances like v Vitesse in hope game time helped. Between travel home and covid isolation if his disputed clause is on game time well he knew the restrictions and opted to travel o not the clubs doing. There are actually worse players/signings though didnt have the chance to do as much damage - Darren Mansaram, Baba Isaka, Mickey Collins and his gambling ring....

Anyway maybe we should change Bohs to the general consensus of relegated in the prediction league. Redarmyfaction will be happy and bohs can put faith in the tradition of never been relegated in case the new predictions are glib!

[Dermobohs]

Hard to tell what's going on with Bohs if it's Fenlon's fault/Devine's fault/Lambert's fault or all of their fault but on the field they don't seem to be adjusting to going full-time professional very well and don't look to have much confidence in their current underage crop which has served them so well in recent years when they were training early evenings

I'm taking an educated guess on LOI imports over recent years it's about 40/60 from the UK if they will be any use and 25/75 from elsewhere for being any use. One way or the other you can't build a squad in the LOI even in the medium term to challenge for anything with haphazard panic signings of international unknowns from agent contacts even the ones turn out to be decent not many settle down or stick around in Ireland
Buck stops firmly with Devine here. Fenlon is finding players, I have that on good authority, but Deccy has the final say.Lambert has zero, zilch, nada, f@&k all to do with the playing side, his sole job is to make money and liars with the various club officers in charge of shop, bar, ticketing etc.
At which he does a fine job, although he’s not everyone’s cup of tea tbh.

[2 Year Contract]

Buck stops firmly with Devine here. Fenlon is finding players, I have that on good authority, but Deccy has the final say.Lambert has zero, zilch, nada, f@&k all to do with the playing side, his sole job is to make money and liars with the various club officers in charge of shop, bar, ticketing etc.
At which he does a fine job, although he’s not everyone’s cup of tea tbh.

That he does, that he does ;)

[Shinkicker]

Hard to tell what's going on with Bohs if it's Fenlon's fault/Devine's fault/Lambert's fault or all of their fault but on the field they don't seem to be adjusting to going full-time professional very well and don't look to have much confidence in their current underage crop which has served them so well in recent years when they were training early evenings

I'm taking an educated guess on LOI imports over recent years it's about 40/60 from the UK if they will be any use and 25/75 from elsewhere for being any use. One way or the other you can't build a squad in the LOI even in the medium term to challenge for anything with haphazard panic signings of international unknowns from agent contacts even the ones turn out to be decent not many settle down or stick around in Ireland
Lambert won't have the ultimate say on his own, but he may be part of the senior committee or Board that does. The committee or board are not responsible for choosing or signing players, but they are responsible for the person who does choose or sign the players. I don't want to see Devine or Fenlon loose their job but the recruitment drive this year has been terrible. Even now we've signed a Polish striker from a J3 Japanese club who wasn't on their squad list three days ago. If he's not starting in J3 he's probably not good enough for our PD, and a 20yr old CB from Solihull who also wasn't a regular starter. It looks like we are just getting numbers in, instead of quality. I do hope I'm proved wrong.

[2 Year Contract]

2 centre backs rumoured to be coming in the door at Dalymount are Jevon Mills on loan from Hull, 20 year old centre back that played 9 games on loan at Solihull Moors this season in the English 6th tier. Capped twice by Ireland U19s in 2021.

The other is a 23 year old American lad called Aboubacar Keita who played 37 MLS games for Columbus Crew between 2019 and 2021, then signed for Colorado Rapids in 2022, did his ACL and has yet to make his senior debut for them, but played 8 games for their reserve team last year. Capped at U20 level by the USA 5 years ago

[2 Year Contract]

Waterford have signed 23 year old English defender Harvey Macadam on loan from Fleetwood. If he doesn’t have the nickname Tar then I’ll have lost all faith in the game

[Kingdom]

Waterford have signed 23 year old English defender Harvey Macadam on loan from Fleetwood. If he doesn’t have the nickname Tar then I’ll have lost all faith in the game

Brilliant. Keep us updated.

[RealJohn91]

Centre half Jevon Mills signs on loan for Bohs from Hull until the summer.

[SPXcyan]

Harvey Macadam is a midfielder by all accounts, he has plenty of first team experience with the Cods so it'll be interesting to see how he fairs with us, he should do well alongside fellow loanee Baggley.

[pineapple stu]

Waterford have signed 23 year old English defender Harvey Macadam on loan from Fleetwood. If he doesn’t have the nickname Tar then I’ll have lost all faith in the game
Sounds like they're on the right track there anyway

[Dermobohs]

Defender abubakar keita signs for bohs from Colorado rapids

[RealJohn91]

Aboubacar Keita who is also a centre half has joined Bohs on loan from Colorado Rapids until the end of the season. Has played 30 times in the MLS and is a former US youth International so some decent pedigree on paper.

[RealJohn91]

Divin Isamala who is yet another centre half has also signed according to his club St Francis. He was on the radar of a few English clubs but I'm guessing he'll be more a fixture in the u20s this season.

[Jack B]

Seems a move that could have a high ceiling if it worked out but cause to be wary that he's done his ACL and hasn't played a competitive game in around two and a half years.

[joey B]

Harps signed Conor Walsh on loan from Sligo,bit confused with that one,our back up is very young but seems to be highly rated and Heimer is our no 1,he was rough last week though so I assume this a the back up plan if he continues like that….

[SPXcyan]

Connor Evans of Crewe Alexandria signs for Waterford, 20 year old striker.

[RealJohn91]

Very busy day for Bohs anyway as they've also signed Luke Matheson on loan from Bolton. Looks like he's a full back.

[Another Bohemia]

Divin Isamala who is yet another centre half has also signed according to his club St Francis. He was on the radar of a few English clubs but I'm guessing he'll be more a fixture in the u20s this season.

With Cornwall out for the season and one of the loan players only being in until June there will probably be plenty of opportunities for minutes.

[oriel]

Was Zahibo not even worse tho? He was so incredibly bad against Tallinn I think that he was taken off after 30 or so minutes?

He was another bluffer living on a past CV that was long out of date, ah I just think there was no one quite like Abibi, played one ok game, won us Pres Cup saving (poor pens), but on the face of it, just a shocking signing, Shields was still there for half that season, so he was protected in a way, but he was bad bad.

I remember watching Vitesse Euro game away, we went 2-1 up, then you could almost see the faces of the Vitesse players thinking, we need to test this guy, and they did, ended up 2-2.

Himself and Zahibo ruined the home leg, all over them and 9 players playing out of their skins, lost 2-1. Zahibo so bad he was booed by home fans when he came off, this was a guy on P6 part 2 wages of well over 3k a week too, total and utter waste of money, but Mad Bill knew better.

[pineapple stu]

Very busy day for Bohs anyway as they've also signed Luke Matheson on loan from Bolton. Looks like he's a full back.
They can sign players now having struggled all pre-season for signings.

Does that suggest these are panic signings - quantity not quality sort of stuff?

[SPXcyan]

For the first time in a long time, I worry for Bohs, least us newbies/ Sligo and Drogs are likely to be weaker for the season, I just expected better from Bohs.

[Nah Nah Nah Nah]

Harps signed Conor Walsh on loan from Sligo,bit confused with that one,our back up is very young but seems to be highly rated and Heimer is our no 1,he was rough last week though so I assume this a the back up plan if he continues like that….

Hope it doesn’t end up like McNicholas who never really played when he went on loan to ye

[SkStu]

For the first time in a long time, I worry for Bohs, least us newbies/ Sligo and Drogs are likely to be weaker for the season, I just expected better from Bohs.

Reeks of desperation and panic alright but we will have to wait and see if these three offer quality in depth and were astute signings, albeit all loans. Still no way for us to be doing business as a professional set up.

[nigel-harps1954]

Hope it doesn’t end up like McNicholas who never really played when he went on loan to ye

Expect it'll be much the same tbh.

[Nesta99]

Seems a move that could have a high ceiling if it worked out but cause to be wary that he's done his ACL and hasn't played a competitive game in around two and a half years.

Eevn bad ACL injuries shouldnt have someone ot for that long. Usualy indicates a generally injury prone player that injures all but the original ACL getting back to fitness. Some like a Stephen O'Donnel have lazarus like abilities getting back after horror injuries and then ye have the Mountneys or McEleneys. Its a huge gamble but maybe with some luck there is a decent talent there that just needs a break...pardon that pun!!!

[ontheotherhand]

They can sign players now having struggled all pre-season for signings.

Does that suggest these are panic signings - quantity not quality sort of stuff?

Pure panic but it might work out? I think the bit that stands out is how many targets they missed out on during the proper time to do business. Really misguided stuff.

If the stories are true and Fenlon came to Devine with 4-5 players lined up and was rejected only for Devine to go after players that would ultimately move to Waterford, or stay at Shamrock Rovers....then I'd be moving Devine away from any sort of decisions pretty lively. Maybe make him a coach? I'd love to know how much time they wasted trying to sign Hoare from us. Utter fools errand but they chose it voluntarily.

Divin could be good though. We were looking at him a while back. Never seem him play mind you but interesting to see how he steps up at least.

Bohs for the league now.

[Briuk]

Panic signings from Bohemians, I bet they were working simultaneously in all the operations and they thought some of them wouldn't go through.
They have too many players now.

[Dermobohs]

Panic signings from Bohemians, I bet they were working simultaneously in all the operations and they thought some of them wouldn't go through.
They have too many players now.
We have not. They are all defenders which brings the defence up to acceptable numbers.

[Another Bohemia]

We have not. They are all defenders which brings the defence up to acceptable numbers.

Yeah we have 4 fit Cb's and 4 fit fullbacks. Maybe 1 too many but considering they are mostly loans I don't think that's an issue at all.

The squad size seems large but you have to remember that Talbot and Cornwall won't play this year and Buckley could be back this season but it will take a significant amount of time for him to reach full fitness.So from the 27 listed as squad members you quickly get down to 24 active players then at least one of the loans only lasts until June and there are rumours about McManus moving to the UK once he's back fit. The squad gets very thin very quickly when you start examining it with a critical eye.

[Shinkicker]

Conversation at Bohs training today
Fenlon "Well, Declan it's great to see you've signed 2 new defenders" .
Devine "No Pat I've signed 3"
Fenlon "that's OK plenty of cover" who's the other fella over there?
Devine" I don't know, I though he was with you Pat".

Me, We'll see how his works out. I just hope there is quality and not just bodies to make up numbers.

[Another Bohemia]

It's so hard to not see Bohs signings yesterday as panic moves but I do wonder how they would be viewed had they been signed a month or 6 weeks ago?

Ismala is a player we had in the last 2 preseasons and was linked to Blackpool I believe it was last year and from what I know that was why he didn't sign for Bohs.

Matheson is young but has played a significant number of senior games in the UK through various divisions and has England underage caps which is no mean feat.

Aboubacar Keita again has underage international experience with the US as well as a number MLS games which is a step above where good players in the league like Dan Casey, lee Desmond and Mark Doyle have/will play.

The biggest unknown would be the young fella from Hull then which can be worth a punt every now and again.

But bringing them in so late means that it's going to take a few weeks for them to get up to speed which puts them and the club in a **** position.

[pineapple stu]

It's so hard to not see Bohs signings yesterday as panic moves but I do wonder how they would be viewed had they been signed a month or 6 weeks ago?
It's a fair question - although part of the concern has to be that they're only being signed now rather than 4/6 weeks ago.

You could say Keita hasn't played MLS in three years and was actually in the third tier last year.

Matheson hasn't played a senior league game of any description since a brief League Two spell ended 20 months ago. He then joined Conor Carty at Bolton B - Carty was at Pat's last year. He's only been capped up to U18 level - wouldn't read too much into that.

The Polish lad who wasn't getting his game in the Japanese third tier is just bizarre - it would surely reflect badly on the LoI if he did well (which isn't to say he won't). And yet he scored in the Polish top flight as recently as Nov 2021 - though I think his stats suggest he was increasingly viewed as someone not up to that level (starts and minutes reducing year on year). Still be interesting to know what happened in Japan though.

Mills - Solihull Moore and Gateshead? Meh

Any one of them could be worth a punt in the squad as you say, and there's certainly some random signings who've done ok recently (Tulloch at Dundalk wasn't bad despite a handful of lower league appearances by age 22, bit like Mills). All four of them together though sounds a bit much.

And you still have to wonder is there nobody better in their academy to bring through instead? Matheson is 21, Mills is 20, Keita is 23 - not like they're grizzled veterans.

[Jack B]

It's so hard to not see Bohs signings yesterday as panic moves but I do wonder how they would be viewed had they been signed a month or 6 weeks ago?

Ismala is a player we had in the last 2 preseasons and was linked to Blackpool I believe it was last year and from what I know that was why he didn't sign for Bohs.

Matheson is young but has played a significant number of senior games in the UK through various divisions and has England underage caps which is no mean feat.

Aboubacar Keita again has underage international experience with the US as well as a number MLS games which is a step above where good players in the league like Dan Casey, lee Desmond and Mark Doyle have/will play.

The biggest unknown would be the young fella from Hull then which can be worth a punt every now and again.

But bringing them in so late means that it's going to take a few weeks for them to get up to speed which puts them and the club in a **** position.

It's definitely the optics and timing that are the main issue rather than the players individually. Getting 4 players in - all defenders - on the last day of the window just shines an even bigger light on the obvious mess the off-season has been in terms of recruitment for Bohs.

Mills and Ismala are the kind of unknown punts you see happen often in this league so it's a matter of who knows with them, the other pair walk that thin line between marquee signings on paper and having huge question marks due to fitness etc. Keita clearly had an awful injury and has only played reserve football - and not much at that - in the last two and a bit years, while Matheson had wonder kid vibes about him initially but never reached his potential and apparently has had similar troubles with fitness. Saw a couple of Bolton fans saying he's struggled to even get U23 minutes this season, but there's no doubting that both have great pedigree for the league, they wouldn't even be here if there wasn't an asterisk next to their names, so if they can get back approaching previous levels they could make a huge difference. Still think Bohs have the bones of a better squad than most teams in the league but you couldn't be confident in Devine, nor the preparation they've had to really make the most of what they have.

[Another Bohemia]

It's a fair question - although part of the concern has to be that they're only being signed now rather than 4/6 weeks ago.

You could say Keita hasn't played MLS in three years and was actually in the third tier last year.

Matheson hasn't played a senior league game of any description since a brief League Two spell ended 20 months ago. He then joined Conor Carty at Bolton B - Carty was at Pat's last year. He's only been capped up to U18 level - wouldn't read too much into that.

The Polish lad who wasn't getting his game in the Japanese third tier is just bizarre - it would surely reflect badly on the LoI if he did well (which isn't to say he won't). And yet he scored in the Polish top flight as recently as Nov 2021 - though I think his stats suggest he was increasingly viewed as someone not up to that level (starts and minutes reducing year on year). Still be interesting to know what happened in Japan though.

Mills - Solihull Moore and Gateshead? Meh

Any one of them could be worth a punt in the squad as you say, and there's certainly some random signings who've done ok recently (Tulloch at Dundalk wasn't bad despite a handful of lower league appearances by age 22, bit like Mills). All four of them together though sounds a bit much.

And you still have to wonder is there nobody better in their academy to bring through instead? Matheson is 21, Mills is 20, Keita is 23 - not like they're grizzled veterans.

The core of my point I suppose is that if these signings were made 4-6 weeks ago there would be some cause for optimism but as it is they are panic signings.

On whether there are better players in the u20's. They had an opportunity to play during the preseason in the Leinster senior cup and at least from what I saw the majority of them were a year away from being ready for the physicality and speed of the Premier division. If we were in a position where we had a settled back 4 with some good rotation options I'd say they could be worth a punt in games where you have a solid lead or even cup games against first division opponents but that's not the case. Matheson and Keita actually having 1st team minutes is a big plus IMO because even if they are a couple of years removed they already know that the pace is quicker, the tackles harder and have played at a level that is comparable to the LOI even if it was a couple of years ago. Yes the u20's need time to get up to the level but so many of them are quite small and light so putting them in the position to be easily bullied could set them back significantly as well.

[Shinkicker]

It's so hard to not see Bohs signings yesterday as panic moves but I do wonder how they would be viewed had they been signed a month or 6 weeks ago?

Ismala is a player we had in the last 2 preseasons and was linked to Blackpool I believe it was last year and from what I know that was why he didn't sign for Bohs.

Matheson is young but has played a significant number of senior games in the UK through various divisions and has England underage caps which is no mean feat.

Aboubacar Keita again has underage international experience with the US as well as a number MLS games which is a step above where good players in the league like Dan Casey, lee Desmond and Mark Doyle have/will play.

The biggest unknown would be the young fella from Hull then which can be worth a punt every now and again.

But bringing them in so late means that it's going to take a few weeks for them to get up to speed which puts them and the club in a **** position.
Post match interview
Commentator "hard luck tonight Declan, it was a good game, but what do you think went wrong?
Devine" well John, it's a new squad, we are in transition, we are still getting to know each other and gel as a squad, but we'll come good and maby go on a good run".
Commentator " but Declan there are only three weeks left in the season"

[pineapple stu]

The core of my point I suppose is that if these signings were made 4-6 weeks ago there would be some cause for optimism but as it is they are panic signings.
Yep - but they weren't. Piszczek and Keita seem to have been unattached for the entire transfer window for example - that's not entirely encouraging. Ditto did Hull want Mills to go on loan but couldn't find anyone interested?

So the lateness of the signings is something that I don't think can be overlooked.

[RealJohn91]

Yep - but they weren't. Piszczek and Keita seem to have been unattached for the entire transfer window for example - that's not entirely encouraging. Ditto did Hull want Mills to go on loan but couldn't find anyone interested?

So the lateness of the signings is something that I don't think can be overlooked.
Keita is on loan

[Nah Nah Nah Nah]

The unattached lads could easily have played a few friendlies if they were being lined up to see if they would work out. We had a few fellas in the last month or so we didn’t sign based on training and friendlies. Pity we couldn’t have done that with Bogdan.

[pineapple stu]

Keita is on loan

Ok - so put him in with Mills instead of Piszczek so. Same point

[Briuk]

Ok - so put him in with Mills instead of Piszczek so. Same point
Has Dignam retired? I see he played in the Collingwood cup but not part of the squad

[pineapple stu]

That's Louis, Mark's brother

Mark left last summer to move to London for work. Louis is on the LSL team

[Mr A]

Waterford have signed 23 year old English defender Harvey Macadam on loan from Fleetwood. If he doesn’t have the nickname Tar then I’ll have lost all faith in the game

Presumably known for his sticky coverage of attacking players

[Eminence Grise]

Strong in the tackle is Macadam. Has a hard shoulder.

[ger121]

Strong in the tackle is Macadam. Has a hard shoulder.

I heard his Father Tar was well known for being rock solid.

[Shinkicker]

I heard his Father Tar was well known for being rock solid.
Yeah and his mother loved her asphalt