View Full Version : 2024 Season, Arrivals and Departures
joey B
13/11/2023, 2:27 PM
JR Wilson signed by Sligo Rovers.
Thewhitepele
13/11/2023, 6:23 PM
Shels fans what is your opinion on JR and why did Duff let him go?
total hoofball
13/11/2023, 7:13 PM
I like JR nice fella honest player I though he would have been kept on at least as cover at full back. Good going forward comfortable on the ball but he has a habit of lapsing defensively may have been the weak link in a very strong backline this season
joey B
14/11/2023, 10:14 AM
https://m.independent.ie/sport/soccer/league-of-ireland/arsenal-and-man-city-join-hunt-to-land-17-year-old-waterford-star/a39238394.html?fbclid=IwAR2OuIjQzXpt3F5rV4TNDH23dw Lb569l4ukQ4SBz25Djd14W0IZwXBXKqm8&s=09
Southampton,Arsenal and Manchester City interested in Romeo Akachukwu of Waterford……
culloty82
14/11/2023, 10:50 AM
Cian Barrett has returned to Tallaght after his loan spell at Kerry - put in plenty of effort, but can't imagine Billy would have been desperate to keep him for another year.
Jack B
14/11/2023, 10:52 AM
Only tidbit I picked up in the post-cup celebrations was that Mark Doyle is apparently off to the States.
joey B
14/11/2023, 1:41 PM
Paddy McLaughlin to be the new Cork City manager…..
D24Saint
14/11/2023, 2:31 PM
Any sign of the PFAI free list yet.
2 Year Contract
14/11/2023, 3:13 PM
That's would be an impactful loss if true. He certainly seems to add a lot to the way you play currently and is certainly a selfless player. Could be a hard on to replace.
I liked his goal in the final but Jesus not that much! ;)
Another Bohemia
14/11/2023, 3:28 PM
I liked his goal in the final but Jesus not that much! ;)
Tried to edit accidentally deleted such is my luck with phones today! He gave you a hard on and will be a hard one to replace lol
Jack B
14/11/2023, 3:41 PM
Tried to edit accidentally deleted such is my luck with phones today! He gave you a hard on and will be a hard one to replace lol
I almost did like his goal in the final that much for what it's worth!
It's a funny one with Doyle. I'd say he's gotten more stick off the fan base than anyone else in the squad, and while I disagree and think it's been harsh at times I can also get why because he can be extremely limited in general play. But ultimately you can't argue with his contribution, I think he's got great instincts and attacking positioning and generally is always liable to pop up with goals and dangerous moments. His output will definitely be tough to replace if nothing else.
D24Saint
14/11/2023, 4:05 PM
So we are looking at a few going potentially.
Curtis (destination unknown) , Doyle (USA) and in doubt is Lyness could be going back to the UK , Carty has to report back to Bolton I think. Murphy might still want to move on. Then we have Timmermans retiring & I’d say Ben McCormack will move on. If we can bring a few in it shouldn’t case too much disruption apart from Curtis who will be tough to replace.
Partizan
14/11/2023, 4:27 PM
Waterford rumoured to have turned down a 500k offer from Southampton for 17 year old Romeo Akachukwu. Arsenal and Man City now looking for his signature.
https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/league-of-ireland/arsenal-and-man-city-join-hunt-to-land-17-year-old-waterford-star/a39238394.html
Romeo signed a long term contract with the Blues in July. He is still only 17.
https://waterfordfc.ie/romeo-long-term/
kksaints
14/11/2023, 4:50 PM
So we are looking at a few going potentially.
Curtis (destination unknown) , Doyle (USA) and in doubt is Lyness could be going back to the UK , Carty has to report back to Bolton I think. Murphy might still want to move on. Then we have Timmermans retiring & I’d say Ben McCormack will move on. If we can bring a few in it shouldn’t case too much disruption apart from Curtis who will be tough to replace.
Is Timmermans retiring? I saw it rumoured but nothing from an anyway reliable source.
ger121
14/11/2023, 5:11 PM
Any sign of the PFAI free list yet.
Normally out a couple weeks after the season ends so would expect to see initial list soon.
Burnsie
14/11/2023, 5:13 PM
Is Timmermans retiring? I saw it rumoured but nothing from an anyway reliable source.
yes he announced it himself on Instagram last week
Jack B
14/11/2023, 6:00 PM
So we are looking at a few going potentially.
Curtis (destination unknown) , Doyle (USA) and in doubt is Lyness could be going back to the UK , Carty has to report back to Bolton I think. Murphy might still want to move on. Then we have Timmermans retiring & I’d say Ben McCormack will move on. If we can bring a few in it shouldn’t case too much disruption apart from Curtis who will be tough to replace.
McLaughin has very good pedigree, hasn't played much due to lack of fitness + how good Curtis is but I wouldn't be surprised if he turned out to be a quality right back at this level and an able replacement.
Heard David Norman say "we'll see what happens" to someone in McDowell's to someone that asked if he was staying, which I kind of took as him definitely leaving. Hopefully not though.
Certainly in a stronger position than we've usually been anyway, albeit that doesn't mean there still won't be a lot of work to be done.
culloty82
14/11/2023, 8:15 PM
Paddy McLaughlin to be the new Cork City manager…..
Until he wasn't!
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67419068
joey B
14/11/2023, 8:29 PM
Until he wasn't!
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67419068
That is very funny,Cork trying to flush out a leaker in the ranks maybe!
Finn Harps confirm Tim Hiemer, Patrick Ferry, Ryan Rainey, Sean O’Donnell, Matty Makinson, Max Hutchison, Stephen Doherty and Jamie Watson will remain at Finn Park for the 2024 season. Full story https://finnharps.ie/harps-confirm-retention-of-8-players-for-2024/
Nesta99
14/11/2023, 9:58 PM
That is very funny,Cork trying to flush out a leaker in the ranks maybe!
Throw in talk of Reynolds on the move back and ye could see where this got some legs?
total hoofball
15/11/2023, 12:44 PM
This is what you love about offseason LOI transfer rumours most of them are hilariously bad chinese whispers or outright fabricated bull.sh.it!
McLaughin has very good pedigree, hasn't played much due to lack of fitness + how good Curtis is but I wouldn't be surprised if he turned out to be a quality right back at this level and an able replacement.
Heard David Norman say "we'll see what happens" to someone in McDowell's to someone that asked if he was staying, which I kind of took as him definitely leaving. Hopefully not though.
Certainly in a stronger position than we've usually been anyway, albeit that doesn't mean there still won't be a lot of work to be done.
If Norman goes, fine, if he stays, fine. I don’t think It’ll break us. Sam Curtis and Adam Murphy would be two big losses, but I imagine McLaughlin was signed with Curtis going in mind, and Kian Leavy has been a great addition in the midfield. I had almost forgotten about Tom Grivosti. Not sure if he is still under contract. If he could get back fit it would be like a new signing.
Jd2793
15/11/2023, 4:05 PM
gannon gone from rovers... return to pats?
joey B
15/11/2023, 4:19 PM
Waterford exodus started with Kilian Cantwell being let go,you’d imagine there will be more….
Joe Strummer
15/11/2023, 4:21 PM
gannon gone from rovers... return to pats?
I was told last week he is off to Drogheda
ger121
15/11/2023, 5:28 PM
Waterford exodus started with Kilian Cantwell being let go,you’d imagine there will be more….
Stupid question maybe but what would be driving the exodus?
joey B
15/11/2023, 5:36 PM
Stupid question maybe but what would be driving the exodus?
There might not be an exodus but I think if they want to compete in the Premier they'll probably need quite a few additions which would see quite a few leaving.....
2 Year Contract
15/11/2023, 7:00 PM
Stupid question maybe but what would be driving the exodus?
Finishing 25 points below one of the teams they'll likely be fighting it out with in the bottom 4 next season
Bunny Kelly
15/11/2023, 7:17 PM
A bit sensationalist about Waterford, a hardly used squad player not getting contracted renewed is hardly a harbinger of things to come. It would have been more worrying if they were resigning players who couldn’t get into their team last year
total hoofball
15/11/2023, 7:46 PM
Stupid question maybe but what would be driving the exodus?
The cheques that are sent out from HM Prison Preston signed by an A. Pilley bouncing?
Nesta99
15/11/2023, 9:25 PM
Be nice if Waterford helped take up a bottom slot and so help Dundalk avoid a repeat of 2012.
ontheotherhand
15/11/2023, 10:34 PM
Funny to see only one Rovers player in the Team of the Season when we are apparently in a period where the league is weak. Couldn't be that weak if so many amazing players weren't even close to winning it.
pineapple stu
16/11/2023, 9:52 AM
Well, they have to put 11 players in it one way or another?
Seems to indicate that a lot of Rovers players disappointed, and nobody else had enough good players to capitalise.
The champions losing home and away to a part-time Icelandic side would be a bigger measure of the strength of the league for me.
Jd2793
16/11/2023, 10:09 AM
gaffney is probably the only other rovers player hard done by. lennon should be in over clark too for me. always find a way to argue with players choices though
Jack B
16/11/2023, 10:54 AM
If Norman goes, fine, if he stays, fine. I don’t think It’ll break us. Sam Curtis and Adam Murphy would be two big losses, but I imagine McLaughlin was signed with Curtis going in mind, and Kian Leavy has been a great addition in the midfield. I had almost forgotten about Tom Grivosti. Not sure if he is still under contract. If he could get back fit it would be like a new signing.
I think Norman proved himself a good player once he settled in and was played in the right position. But yeah, he's certainly not irreplaceable like Redmond would be. Far as I know Grivosti is out of contract, he was a quality defender but a lot up in the air with him given the injury.
Seems to be a weird level of optimism around Murphy but I'd be shocked if he stayed. As you say though it wasn't like he was a regular once Leavy came in.
joey B
16/11/2023, 11:15 AM
Daniel Kelly exit confirmed by Dundalk …
patsdad
16/11/2023, 11:25 AM
I think Norman proved himself a good player once he settled in and was played in the right position. But yeah, he's certainly not irreplaceable like Redmond would be. Far as I know Grivosti is out of contract, he was a quality defender but a lot up in the air with him given the injury.
Seems to be a weird level of optimism around Murphy but I'd be shocked if he stayed. As you say though it wasn't like he was a regular once Leavy came in.
Tom Grivosti is definitely under contract for 2024.
ontheotherhand
16/11/2023, 11:46 AM
Well, they have to put 11 players in it one way or another?
Seems to indicate that a lot of Rovers players disappointed, and nobody else had enough good players to capitalise.
The champions losing home and away to a part-time Icelandic side would be a bigger measure of the strength of the league for me.
A lot of players disappointed in a league winning team? Manager must be unreal!
Cant think of a single player who had a bad season to be honest. Maybe Burt and Power but only because they were injured.
It's a list of players who stood out at clubs other than Rovers with one hoop (not even the right one!) thrown in because they couldn't quite go full tilt.
pineapple stu
16/11/2023, 12:03 PM
A lot of players disappointed in a league winning team? Manager must be unreal!.
Not sure how you figure that. Rovers with their resources should be winning the league by 20 points, not winning it on the penultimate day
Stutts - a Rovers fan - has said it should be Celtic/Rangers level of dominance, but it's far from that.
The rebuild will be interesting; I'm not sure Bradley's up to it tbh. Time will tell though
Jack B
16/11/2023, 12:49 PM
Tom Grivosti is definitely under contract for 2024.
Could be wrong, was under the impression he signed on a two-year deal and there hasn't been any update in the meantime of a new contract. Granted we aren't the most public club for this sort of thing.
joey B
16/11/2023, 1:17 PM
Sligo Rovers first-team budget for next season set to drop by 35-40 percent ,seems a pretty major deal,will be in the relegation picture for sure…..
ontheotherhand
16/11/2023, 1:50 PM
Not sure how you figure that. Rovers with their resources should be winning the league by 20 points, not winning it on the penultimate day
Stutts - a Rovers fan - has said it should be Celtic/Rangers level of dominance, but it's far from that.
The rebuild will be interesting; I'm not sure Bradley's up to it tbh. Time will tell though
We've won four leagues in a row stu. It has been dominant. Let's not pretend massive investment hasn't been put into other clubs as well. Derry are far closer to us on that front than anyone else is to Celtic or Rangers. And Pats were competing with us for Jack Byrne so.....not quite the same disparity at all really.
Anyway, enjoy your off season. Another Bradley debate in a year he's made history doesn't seem like a good use of our time.
Jd2793
16/11/2023, 3:14 PM
rovers confirm honohan signing. could do well in a back 3 but i have my doubts. good luck to the lad , honest as the day is long.
pineapple stu
16/11/2023, 4:22 PM
We've won four leagues in a row stu. It has been dominant.
It's not been as dominant as it should be though, let's be honest. I think ye're going backwards. And Europe has been really poor, more than once.
Anyway, I know we've had this discussion more than once, and at this stage I have my view and you have yours, which is fine. But going back to the original comment, I can't see anything to support the view that "Funny to see only one Rovers player in the Team of the Season when we are apparently in a period where the league is weak. Couldn't be that weak if so many amazing players weren't even close to winning it." If anything, it points to a lot of meh players in the league, as indeed does the European results this year. I'm not sure how you think a team of the year in a weak league would look?
ontheotherhand
16/11/2023, 5:10 PM
It's not been as dominant as it should be though, let's be honest. I think ye're going backwards. And Europe has been really poor, more than once.
Anyway, I know we've had this discussion more than once, and at this stage I have my view and you have yours, which is fine. But going back to the original comment, I can't see anything to support the view that "Funny to see only one Rovers player in the Team of the Season when we are apparently in a period where the league is weak. Couldn't be that weak if so many amazing players weren't even close to winning it." If anything, it points to a lot of meh players in the league, as indeed does the European results this year. I'm not sure how you think a team of the year in a weak league would look?
It was half a joke stu. But forwards or backwards we have won four leagues in a row. Teams rise and fall. In 20 years this Rovers team will be recognized as great. As will Bradley. I'm sure you could find a few that criticized McLaughlin and the rest as well. What counts in the end are the trophies and medals on the table.
For the TotY, it's just funny. Doesn't bother me as it happens ever season. I'm told we have all the best players but when the votes come in people seem to think otherwise. To answer your question though, a team of the year in a weak league where we have all the talent would be a rovers 11 obviously.
pineapple stu
16/11/2023, 7:27 PM
It was half a joke stu.
Fairy nuff - that stuff doesn't come across well on t'internet! :)
Yeah, it's an unusual selection. I do think part of it might be that Rovers this year were generally a bit less than the sum of their parts. Maybe a decent player playing above himself for a season is more deserving of a vote than a better player not having a great season by his standards. Bradley's bete noire of Europe is a particular black mark, although probably Europe doesn't really count if it's a PFAI vote.
On a related topic actually, Damien Duff hasn't made the shortlist for PFAI Manager of the Year, which I find a bit weird. He's only taken them into Europe for the first time in 17 years, having been First Division two years ago.
Bradley, Daly and Doherty are the nominees. Caulfield, Keegan and Long in the First.
placid casual
16/11/2023, 7:46 PM
Not sure how you figure that. Rovers with their resources should be winning the league by 20 points, not winning it on the penultimate day
Stutts - a Rovers fan - has said it should be Celtic/Rangers level of dominance, but it's far from that.
The rebuild will be interesting; I'm not sure Bradley's up to it tbh. Time will tell though
Your attitude is symptomatic of the wider LOI communities antipathy to Rovers being the most dominant team this little league has seen since the last 4 in a Row, also a Rovers team.
The failure to see what's in front of their own faces presumably extends to the players themselves who voted for this Team of the Season-Any part time watcher of Rovers would telk you that Pico had his worst season since joining Rovers and was our 2nd worst defender(after kavo) yet he somehow made the team here
As for my own opinion on possible Rovers players worthy I'd humbly put forward Grace, Clearly & Gaffney with honourable mention to Poom. This ultimately matters not a jot in the big scheme of thing's, as the important trophy still resides in Tallaght,and with it a chance to correct the poor European form we showed this season.
pineapple stu
16/11/2023, 8:18 PM
Your attitude is symptomatic of the wider LOI communities antipathy to Rovers being the most dominant team this little league has seen since the last 4 in a Row, also a Rovers team.
I think you do Stephen Kenny's Dundalk a disservice there - five league wins in six years and six successive Cup finals is pretty dominant too. Pretty much every one of those seasons had a higher points-per-game tally than Rovers' last three years, and of course they delivered in Europe, where Rovers have repeatedly failed. Their achievements exceed the current Rovers team for me.
You're right though that in the end the Team of the Year doesn't really matter.
ontheotherhand
16/11/2023, 8:27 PM
Fairy nuff - that stuff doesn't come across well on t'internet! :)
Yeah, it's an unusual selection. I do think part of it might be that Rovers this year were generally a bit less than the sum of their parts. Maybe a decent player playing above himself for a season is more deserving of a vote than a better player not having a great season by his standards. Bradley's bete noire of Europe is a particular black mark, although probably Europe doesn't really count if it's a PFAI vote.
On a related topic actually, Damien Duff hasn't made the shortlist for PFAI Manager of the Year, which I find a bit weird. He's only taken them into Europe for the first time in 17 years, having been First Division two years ago.
Bradley, Daly and Doherty are the nominees. Caulfield, Keegan and Long in the First.
Ah stu, we've "known" each long enough that I thought I'd have a bit of credit in the bank!
It could be true that no Rovers player played above themselves but I'm happy enough with that. It doesn't mean we didn't see very high levels of performance. Grace and Gaffney in particular were exceptionally good but everyone played very well outside of the European debacle.
But look we know what these lists are. The players who stood out the most at their clubs and played above and beyond those around them usually get the votes. Would I put Keating in a team over Gaffney? Not a chance in hell. But Keating stood out for a fairly poor Cork side and deserves the praise. He almost saved them on his own.
If it was just a vote for the best players it would be very boring altogether. I'd fancy a full strength Rovers 11 to beat that team of the season though.
Also shocked not to see Duff on the shortlist. Thought it would be Bradley, Duff and Doherty but it's hard to argue with Daly's inclusion. Some turnaround in form and a cup win to boot...he might even be favourite! I don't think Bradley will get it but how weird is that? The only man to ever win four in a row and he probably won't be the manager of the year. If you listen to his interview with Richie Sadlier you might even vote for him yourself. Heartbreaking stuff. No idea how he has kept the focus through the last few seasons.
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