Town 2025

[Martinho II]

First time I have posted since the storm on Fri as had no electricity or broadband for 4 days. Hadnt realised the damage to the wall is that bad. Hopefully it will get sorted. Thats great with additional new faces.

[MoydowMonty]

I've no idea what the extent of the damage is, but I hope games can still go ahead while it gets worked on. I'd like to know if there's any fundraisers too, I'm sure they could do with the money.

To add to the bad news, Karl Chambers has gone to St Mochtas according to FAI Connect. The 2 longest serving players gone now.

Edit: if I'm not mistaken, him and Elworthy were the final players standing from the 2020 promotion :sad: Gonna be very strange not even having one of them knocking about

[Martinho II]

I've no idea what the extent of the damage is, but I hope games can still go ahead while it gets worked on. I'd like to know if there's any fundraisers too, I'm sure they could do with the money.

To add to the bad news, Karl Chambers has gone to St Mochtas according to FAI Connect. The 2 longest serving players gone now.

Edit: if I'm not mistaken, him and Elworthy were the final players standing from the 2020 promotion :sad: Gonna be very strange not even having one of them knocking about

Yeah that sounds right with the two lads. Gutted that KC is gone!

[Martinho II]

Any info on the town subs that came on against Drogs in regards to new names as I have never heard of them before?

[MoydowMonty]

Any info on the town subs that came on against Drogs in regards to new names as I have never heard of them before?

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/longford-town-fc/startseite/verein/4287 you can find them there, but to sum it up they're academy players from other teams so we can only expect so much from them.

That being said maybe they're intended for our own academy and they just got called up to make up the numbers against Drogs? That's only me best guessing though since the club aren't saying anything. Still haven't officially announced Spain or Giurgi either.

Is there any info whatsoever on a new jersey or merchandise? Cutting it fairly close to start of season now. And with the storm damage they could do with everything they'd get from those sales

[Martinho II]

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/longford-town-fc/startseite/verein/4287 you can find them there, but to sum it up they're academy players from other teams so we can only expect so much from them.

That being said maybe they're intended for our own academy and they just got called up to make up the numbers against Drogs? That's only me best guessing though since the club aren't saying anything. Still haven't officially announced Spain or Giurgi either.

Is there any info whatsoever on a new jersey or merchandise? Cutting it fairly close to start of season now. And with the storm damage they could do with everything they'd get from those sales

Not a peep out of them tbh!

[MoydowMonty]

Like they haven't announced anyone since the 15th of Jan. And it's obvious that we've signed a few lads since then so what is the holdup? Basic stuff and it takes 30 seconds to say someone has signed. I know that stuff with the storm damage happened but you can still let us know who has come in ( and Chambo leaving). You shouldn't assume everyone just knows from social media or whatever.

I seen they had an open training session on. Hope that went well. That was something Hendo kicked off when he came in so I'm glad that's being continued

[Town Legend]

Have we played any friendlies at all? I know we played Drogheda in Leinster Senior Cup and we have Shelbourne tonight, but I don't recall any friendly games being played. The league is starting Saturday week.....so if all we have played is a max of 3 games (St. Mochtas this weekend in LSC), then that's very bad preparation in my opinion.
No jersey and no confirmation of a squad this close to the season is a bit ridiculous as well.

[the 12 th man]

So far Mochtas have beaten Shels and Drogheda in that competition although their opponents were not at full strength so it will be a good test,will they put Chambers out against Town?


Playing away to Bohs in a friendly Thursday and home to Galway Friday according to FAI connect.

[MoydowMonty]

Have we played any friendlies at all? I know we played Drogheda in Leinster Senior Cup and we have Shelbourne tonight, but I don't recall any friendly games being played. The league is starting Saturday week.....so if all we have played is a max of 3 games (St. Mochtas this weekend in LSC), then that's very bad preparation in my opinion.
No jersey and no confirmation of a squad this close to the season is a bit ridiculous as well.

Played a friendly against Shels a couple of weeks ago, Emmanuel James scored in a 1-0 win.

But I agree on your last sentence. I don't know how more people aren't giving out about the lack of word on the squad. There's no excuse for this in 2025. 3 weeks now since they've said about any signings even though we clearly have a few more lads from last season (Topcu, Fay etc) and those lads from other club's academies, plus Giurgi and Doran.

So is it just laziness? Or assuming people will just find out anyway through social media/FAI connect? No excuse either way. Getting really fed up of it.

[MoydowMonty]

Home kit reveal https://www.sportsfile.com/id/3036191/

Looks grand. Hopefully we get a change in the away kit for once

[MoydowMonty]

Was at the friendly against Galway. A non-contest really. Reminded me of the cup tie last season.

Onwards to next Saturday now. I don't know if we'll get the big crowd we got the first game in the last 2 seasons, but I hope it doesn't end in the same disappointment those occasions did, as crowds fell off hard after both times

[outspoken]

Yeah I'm not really sure what we learned playing a team like Galway, physically the gulf is absolutely enormous, pure monsters those Galway lads. It's all about next week, as said above the mood for the last two seasons was set by dreadful opening day defeats, we have to get off to a winning start this time around.

Hopefully the community rows in behind after the storm damage and we get a big crowd out. Bray seem to be bringing a few.

[MoydowMonty]

If playing out from the back is gonna be the gameplan this season then I hope to god it improves, cuz that was honestly the worst I've seen it tried in a long time. It didn't work once last night.

I badly hope a good crowd comes out, but it's such a bandwagon county that I'm not really sure. People came out this time last year cuz there was a bit of buzz around the 100th year. This time there's nothing of the sort and all our key players have left.

Surprised there hasn't been a fundraiser for the damages, I feel like that people would be behind that and would net a few bob like the covid one did

[MoydowMonty]

Sportsfile getting a couple of names out that look to be in the squad. Pharrell Manuel and Stefan Ugbesia. Both from other academies. Squad is surely near done now if not done already

[Martinho II]

Sportsfile getting a couple of names out that look to be in the squad. Pharrell Manuel and Stefan Ugbesia. Both from other academies. Squad is surely near done now if not done already

Who is SU MM?

[MoydowMonty]

Who is SU MM?

I'll be honest with ya I only know what I got from a google search, that being he comes from Brays academy and has played very little in the past.

That's what the good few of these new signings have been, lads from academies with proving to do. The most experience we've signed is probably Spain and Giurgi.

[MoydowMonty]

So this is our squad for the next few months it seems. Gonna be asking a lot of the young lads to step up it looks like

Goalkeepers
Harry Halwax
Jack McCarthy

Defenders
Dean O'Shea - CB LB
Eric Yoro - CB
Aaron Walsh - CB
Jamie Egan - CB
Manny Milongo - CB
Oisin Hand - CB
Osaze Irhue - RB
Pharrell Manuel - RB
Ryan Boyle - RB

Midfielders
Luke Wade-Slater - LM RM
Ross Fay - CM
Emre Topçu - CM CDM
Joshua Giurgi - RM
Aaron Doran - AM
Darragh Murtagh

Forwards
Danny Norris - LW
Dean George - CF
Fran Campbell - RW
Manny James - CF
Jamal Ibrahim - W
Mo Boudiaf - W
Stefan Ugbesia
Scott Browne

And course ya never know, Adeyamo could get sick of Iceland and decide to join us mid season for the 4th year in a row

[outspoken]

Maybe Marty might have a list of players ages from years gone by but I wonder is this our youngest ever squad?

[MoydowMonty]

I'll be stunned if it isn't. There's 2 lads there over the age of 24, and both of them are only 26

[Martinho II]

Maybe Marty might have a list of players ages from years gone by but I wonder is this our youngest ever squad?

Very good question top of my head I think its one of the youngest. In our glory years we always had experience but this is different altogther!

[Longfordian]

Has Emmanuel James left? Thought he was involved in pre season? He's not listed as having a squad number on the recent post on X.

[MoydowMonty]

Has Emmanuel James left? Thought he was involved in pre season? He's not listed as having a squad number on the recent post on X.

#14 Emanuel Oluwafemi is him I assume?

[Martinho II]

#14 Emanuel Oluwafemi is him I assume?

Yeah its the exact same person. I clicked on his picture just to be sure and its definitely him!

[Longfordian]

Cheers lads. Only saw him a few times last season so wouldn't really know him by sight.

[MoydowMonty]

Poor first half against Bray but improved a good bit in the 2nd I felt. Definitely showed a bit more belief. Thought they deserved at least a point out of it, fierce unfortunate hitting the bar and looking back I do think it should have been a penalty for the challenge after. Was it definitely Yoro who got the OG btw? Cuz I swore it was Murtagh, and I still think it was.

I said last week about the crowd for the first game and the importance of showing up. Apparently only 640 there tonight. I really hope it doesn't drop just because of the result cuz I do think they really tried the 2nd half, and also because that's already quite low for an opening match

[outspoken]

It was beyond Baltic tonight and given the lack of expectation and the small away crowd I didn't expect a whole lot more. Would have probably got 800+ on a nicer evening but the fear now would be a return to 300 max crowds.

It was definitely Murtagh who got the touch, he was unlucky, keeper should stop it. Murtagh ran his socks off as did all the lads they just lacked quality and still trying to gel.

We looked more dangerous when the two big men went up top. I thought it was a pen in real time, having seen a replay he's just off balance and was already on way down when bray player ran into him, no penalty.

Bray were more organised than us and looked as if they had a better understanding of each other despite having more debutants than us. Interestingly chatting to bray fans before they mentioned how good pre season results had been so it seems they got their prep right whereas we were playing two games in two days last week, obviously desperate to try and get lads minutes and familiar with each other.

I thought Spain looked good as did the right full Urhue. Were lacking something in the CM but I'd expect us to improve a lot as time goes on but it could be a tough season given this has to be out youngest and most inexperienced squad ever

[Town Legend]

From where I was sitting in the stand I definitely thought it was Yoro who scored the og. He also had his head in his hands straight after it so also going by that reaction I think it was him!!

[outspoken]

From where I was sitting in the stand I definitely thought it was Yoro who scored the og. He also had his head in his hands straight after it so also going by that reaction I think it was him!!

Funny enough somone else stand side said thw same, ive watched it back and it looks like murtagh to me, either way Yoro had a very poor game.

[MoydowMonty]

I was in the main stand too and it looked like #15 to me (Murtagh) and watching the replay in slow motion I still think it was him. So imo Yoro is a bit hard done by getting credited with the goal. But he was sh1te the rest of the game, he'd want to wake up. Irhue had a very good game, a lot to live up to in Elworthy's position, hopefully he keeps it up

[outspoken]

I've had it confirmed that final touch was from Yoro after it was flicked back by Murtagh.

[De Town]

Thought the difference between the two teams in the end was Bray's 2 experienced centre halves. They could still be there heading balls now and we wouldn't have broken them down. Outside of those two, it was two very young, and quite headless, teams. Periods of the game was almost like watching an underage game, where both teams are kicking and rushing all over the shop and just chasing the ball with very little structure or plan apparent.

In saying all that, I thought we were unlucky to not pick up a point, albeit we created very little in the way of clear cut chances, but for the effort alone we probably deserved a point as Bray weren't up to much either.

Gonna be a long season I'd say...

[Town Legend]

Are we the only club in the league that puts out squad numbers and then swap them about as the season goes on? I know it might not bother many, but it really wrecks my head lol.....not a week after putting up squad numbers and already we are changing going by the lineup tonight posted by the club. Normally we leave it for a few weeks until soelmwone is out injured for 2 or 3 games and they lose their number to someone else already in the squad who had another number!!!

[MoydowMonty]

You're not the only one. I remember when Benny O'Brien Whitmarsh signed and was given the #5 that Hand was wearing. You'd assume Hand was gone at that point but apparently he was only injured. A player should keep their number till they leave the club, even if they're only out injured. And since they never say when someone is out injured it just gets confusing

And I wouldn't mind but I remember during the Cousins era they explicitly said that players going forward would have dedicated numbers, cuz before then they would always swap and change.

[outspoken]

Maybe they just wore different numbers tonight because it was LSC? I'd say that's the case. It's proving hard enough to get to know all these new players without doing that.

[Town Legend]

They should just stick with their squad numbers regardless of what competition it is.
They would be better off sticking to 1-11 starting and then the subs numbers if they are going to be at that craic!!

[MoydowMonty]

They should just stick with their squad numbers regardless of what competition it is.
They would be better off sticking to 1-11 starting and then the subs numbers if they are going to be at that craic!!

Exactly. And I don't care if a player breaks both their legs. Until their contract is up and have left the club, you keep your number. You want people to know who's who in this whole new squad, don't make it any harder to figure out. If you give an injured players number to someone temporarily, that only confuses things

[Martinho II]

Exactly. And I don't care if a player breaks both their legs. Until their contract is up and have left the club, you keep your number. You want people to know who's who in this whole new squad, don't make it any harder to figure out. If you give an injured players number to someone temporarily, that only confuses things

Maybe if they did that then towns form would pick up dramatically! How did game go last night? Rather worrying that we have only scored 1 goal in 4 and that was an OG!

[MoydowMonty]

Wasn't at it myself and haven't seen much about it. Last couple of years we've been knocked out by Maynooth and Crumlin so losing to these teams are nearly a formality.

I know LSC is a bit of a meme at this stage but I'm always hoping we make a run at it and go far. Would have been nice this year when we can safely say we won't be making much noise in the league.

I won't make it to Wexford either so I'll be streaming it, but I can't see us getting our usual good result against them this time around

[MoydowMonty]

I went into Elvery's in town yesterday just to ask about the new gear if they had any idea of when it would be available. They had no idea, haven't heard anything from anyone. Just said hopefully in March since the season has obviously kicked off already. They said there had been others in asking about it too.

It's a joke that it's taking this long. I said this in an earlier post but I wonder if it's Macron's fault. Because from a quick google search I can't see Kerry's new stuff available to buy anywhere and they switched to Macron this year. But they had shamrock rover's kit out very quick no bother at all. Might just be fobbing off us and Kerry cuz we're smaller clubs. Either way it does Town no favours, most people are just gonna assume it's the club's fault. And when the league is getting bigger the way it has, this kind of stuff can't be happening.

They also said last year's stuff didn't sell well either, even though there's almost none of it left on the shelves which confused me slightly.

[outspoken]

I went into Elvery's in town yesterday just to ask about the new gear if they had any idea of when it would be available. They had no idea, haven't heard anything from anyone. Just said hopefully in March since the season has obviously kicked off already. They said there had been others in asking about it too.

It's a joke that it's taking this long. I said this in an earlier post but I wonder if it's Macron's fault. Because from a quick google search I can't see Kerry's new stuff available to buy anywhere and they switched to Macron this year. But they had shamrock rover's kit out very quick no bother at all. Might just be fobbing off us and Kerry cuz we're smaller clubs. Either way it does Town no favours, most people are just gonna assume it's the club's fault. And when the league is getting bigger the way it has, this kind of stuff can't be happening.

They also said last year's stuff didn't sell well either, even though there's almost none of it left on the shelves which confused me slightly.

Macron stuff (like everything else) has gotten so expensive. I paid something like 75 quid for a quarter zip a couple of seasons ago when i'd bought similar in previous seasons for max 55.

[MoydowMonty]

Everything is getting more expensive. I had a glance at the Longford GAA jerseys while I was there just to check prices. 75 for an adult, 53 for a child which they'd grow out of in no time. Long gone are the days you'd get Town adult jerseys for 40.

But I'd much sooner pay money for my local team's gear than 100+ for a premier league jersey cuz they absolutely don't need that money and clubs like Longford certainly do. But I did think 80 was steep for the centenary jerseys last year, but maybe that's cuz it wasn't a Macron template or something. I'd hope they're closer to 60 or that this year, don't want to be putting people off. Be a bit cheeky asking for 80 when they're coming this late too.

[MoydowMonty]

On account of Athlone's poor start, one of 2 things will happen tomorrow:
- We win
- Or we get a pi$$ed off Athlone team and they absolutely thump us

This kinda feels like a 2nd chance to kickstart the season after last weeks postponement. I hope the lads show up for it and get at them.
Dunno how far LWS is from returning to fitness, but we could do with his experience

[outspoken]

On account of Athlone's poor start, one of 2 things will happen tomorrow:
- We win
- Or we get a pi$$ed off Athlone team and they absolutely thump us

This kinda feels like a 2nd chance to kickstart the season after last weeks postponement. I hope the lads show up for it and get at them.
Dunno how far LWS is from returning to fitness, but we could do with his experience


Won't be back for a while from what I understand. You're bang on about the second chance part, we lose this and any floating fans at all are lost already.

[MoydowMonty]

Came away from that match feeling positive. Should have beaten them they weren't up to much at all. Longford clearly the better team throughout.

Irhue and Topcu in particular were the standouts to me. Doran had a good game too. Just wish the triple sub happened a bit earlier we could have done with it around 65-70 mins. But overall there's more positives to take than not.

Seemed to be a better crowd too. Hope most of them see the effort that was put in and decide to come back.

Also I could make a dedicated post about the ref if I wanted. All I'll say is he was absolutely shocking

[outspoken]

Thought a draw was fair, serious chances for both sides, both keepers excellent on the night. A very enjoyable game. Fully agree on Irhue and Topcu.

[LTFC]

Didnt realise we have a Town thread!
Glad to get a point, it was deserved but could have gone either way in the second half. We probably had the better chances but Athlone could have snuck it,
Cant figure out the attendance given, there seemed to be an awful lot of cars there for a crowd under 700.

[MoydowMonty]

Didnt realise we have a Town thread!


Soon as I came across it I knew this thread had to be resurrected. If there's other lads on here who might like to post but aren't aware please do let them know, good to have these discussions going. I've been made aware most of it has moved to Facebook these days, but am I f**k going anywhere near that cesspit.


Cant figure out the attendance given, there seemed to be an awful lot of cars there for a crowd under 700.

FAI connect says 684. I was surprised I thought it was more than that for the same reason you gave. Still if we could manage 600+ at most home games that would be decent. Was sad seeing it at 300-400 hundred last season

[outspoken]

Didnt realise we have a Town thread!
Glad to get a point, it was deserved but could have gone either way in the second half. We probably had the better chances but Athlone could have snuck it,
Cant figure out the attendance given, there seemed to be an awful lot of cars there for a crowd under 700.

I'm convinced our fans drive out early walk back home and drive another car out, it's been like that for years.

Before one of the Clasicos last year I was driving down from a commentary gig in Dublin, pulled into the car park about 15 mins into the game and I said to myself jesus there is an unbelievable crowd here tonight, sprinted over to the gantry to take over the commentary there and when I looked over the stand was bloody empty, couldn't understand it.

[LTFC]

I think it was a bit higher last night, not massive or anything, but certainly more than the Bray game.

What is your hope for season? Are we better or worse than last season, if better are we strong enough to be in with a shout of playoffs?