Pats game

[cmak-88]

how do ye see this one goin?

[sligo23]

we could do with getting 3 points
but its going to be hard
hope there will be a decent turn out but i dont think there will:(

[sligoman]

For once in ages, I'm feeling confident about this one. We played with great heart and spirit against Drogs[bar the last minute] and Judge and Faz have to score soon, I hope. Pat's are in poor form. Prediction 2-1 to Rovers.

[feo123]

neither side in great form, could have an end of season tempo to it. i'll go with 1-0 to rovers. interesting to see if hughes plays!?

[sligo23]

We played with great heart and spirit against Drogs.

great to hear
thats one thing i've noticed this season weve played with passion, heart and determination.
well done to all the lads, everyone of them has been brilliant this season.

[feo123]

they always give of their best, probably the most hard working squad of players since ive been coming to the showgrounds anyway. we've been lucky enough aswell i think with injuries this year, with the small squad we had at the start i was worried that injuries might weaken us severely, but no-ones been out for that long really only players out with strains for a game or two at most. apart from Badjziak no one has been out for long i dont think?
they never stop working for the 90 minutes. that starts in training

[Terry]

its in the indepenedent as a friday night kick off? Is this correct?

[SligoBrewer]

its in the indepenedent as a friday night kick off? Is this correct?

tis..

[sligo23]

its in the indepenedent as a friday night kick off? Is this correct?

yeah it is
its because of the germany game, not that anyone will be watchin that:p:D:p

[clubman]

One thing I'd like to see happen apart from a Rovers win that is to see Faz nominated as man of the match. I don't know what it is but his away form certainly is way above his home form. In Drogheda he was superb especially first half. The remarks I heard round me from the Drogheda fans makes me think they are getting the wrong man in Hughes.
Faz for man of the match.

[Da Real Rover]

One thing I'd like to see happen apart from a Rovers win that is to see Faz nominated as man of the match. I don't know what it is but his away form certainly is way above his home form. In Drogheda he was superb especially first half. The remarks I heard round me from the Drogheda fans makes me think they are getting the wrong man in Hughes.
Faz for man of the match.

Does that not kinda defeat the purpose of man of the match?? I dont dispute at all that Faz has been brilliant but A man of the match award is ment to go to the best player of the game. Giving it out on kudos undermines and devalues the whole thing.

[life long red]

great to hear
thats one thing i've noticed this season weve played with passion, heart and determination.
well done to all the lads, everyone of them has been brilliant this season.
and so say all of us

[clubman]

Does that not kinda defeat the purpose of man of the match?? I dont dispute at all that Faz has been brilliant but A man of the match award is ment to go to the best player of the game. Giving it out on kudos undermines and devalues the whole thing.

Forgive my ignorance Da Real Rover but where in my post do I suggest that kudos should be handed out. My hope is that Faz gets the award on merit and merit alone as if the award would be dished out any other way.

[feo123]

do you know if theres many away fans coming kdjac?

[jamie m]

anyone know what the story will be with pats fans tonight? will they have jinks ave stand for themselves, going to go for a 2-1 win for rovers- foy and faz to score :)

[SligoBrewer]

no promotion from the club at all about this game
no talk of it round the town.. what a load of crap

[Rovers fan]

no promotion from the club at all about this game
no talk of it round the town.. what a load of crap

got to agree one would barely know the game was on. Plus there is a banner on oconnels street saying that all game or on saturdays!

I really hope there is a big crowd, its nearly what we need to do to keep cook,turn out in numbers.

[sligoman]

I saw three big road-side signs being made up on Wednesday at the Showgrounds. No idea where they were put though, I didn't see them anyway.

[Rovers fan]

disappointing really. They showed good heart in the second half but they dug the hole for themselves by defending poorly. I had a feeling the 1st goal was coming because there seemed to be no urgency. Judges goal was unreal and faz was just all round top class. Crowd was average but i suppose for a friday night it wasn't too bad

[sligoman]

**** performance in the first half, not that Pat's were too good either, got their chances and took them. We didn't really perform until last 20 minutes or so, therefore, didn't deserve anything from the game imo. Good to see Faz and Judge score again at last, 2 good goals too. Ref was a ***** as usual. Crowd was desperate.

[Redzer]

I thought the game changed in our favour after Hughes came on. If we can not hold on to him and build a squad around him, then we are going nowhere. It's up to the MC to really push the business community for real sponsorship. I don’t believe they can do it. Not because they are incapable or anything, but because they are all holding down regular jobs, and they simply do not have the time during business hours to pursue these people.
I really think change in the way we run the club is the next step. We have the manager. We have the basis of a title winning team. We have the ground.
What we don’t have is money.
It's unrealistic to expect part time volunteers to run what is a business.
The present management set up will never get us the money we need. The gates,advertisments etc will not generate the money either.
When did the last major sponsor come on board? Tohers, Jako etc seem to have been there for years. Granted they have been tremendous towards us.
I think we should at least debate a full time management set up. Start off with a CEO of some discription. AFAIK there is a secretary there full time.
We cannot hold on to our best players, if we dont have serious investment.
Turner, Hughes and the likes are what we need if european football is to come to the Showgrounds.
IMO we need a proven businessman to head the running of our club. Keep a voluntry committee to help run the different departments. Grounds, Lotto, Finance, etc etc.

[biscuit]

to be honest redzer, adam did decent wnhen he got on the ball, but didnt look arsed to chance and hurry like he usually does, lost it a couple of times and earlier in the season he would have went flying after it..imo

[Rovers fan]

to be honest redzer, adam did decent wnhen he got on the ball, but didnt look arsed to chance and hurry like he usually does, lost it a couple of times and earlier in the season he would have went flying after it..imo

thought the same myself

[feo123]

no matter how important a game is, we should still get more than we did last night! no excuses. crowd of sunshiners in this town

poor first half, we lost our way completely. all pats did was get the 3 goals, wernt great otherwise, but thats what wins football matches! hope the season dosnt just fizzle out. if it does we'l probably start off next season on a bit of a low. 2 quality goals, jusdgy looked much better in the 2nd half aswell.

in fairness, we havnt had a performance as bad as the 1st half since we last played pats in the showgrounds...just one of those nights

[DocRovers]

Dont want to be too pessimestic but we are having "one of those nights " too often. We have won 1, drew 3 & lost 5 of our last 9 games. We have picked up 5 of a possible 21 points in this round of legaue games so far - relegation form. Without Hughsie we have lost our last 3 games. I fear for next year were we to lose himself & Turner. Have any of the decent signings excelled?

[red bellied]

I think Cooke is playing a bluff on his last stand Custard call. Alot of the Rovers side seemed disinterested last night. After his rallying call from the Champion last Wednesday I expected a gutsy performance, dont think we got that.

[red bellied]

Cant believe no one else has mentioned this on the forum but all of Cook signings have been rubbish and supporters have forked 60,000 grand out for this.

Gordon is like a headless Emu, needs to get his head out of the sand.

Boyd has replaced Hughes in midfield?

Meredith is the missing link.

Ventre is the only have decent signing until he stopped playing him at left back.

[Knappagh Red]

Why did Hughes not start if he was fit to come on? I think center midfield is a major problem as in the last three games the opposition have loads of time and space like Fahey last night running almost from box to box without being tackled or closed down which led to a goal. Boyd is too slow and O'Grady can no longer compete against the better teams and his passing is terrible.

[feo123]

boyd has been pretty good imo the last few weeks

[DocRovers]

I cannot understamd not playing Hughes in the middle, we shoud build the team around this - Boyd is not as effective. He has been scoring regularly in the second half of the season also. The recent signings are not going to bring the club forward by that much. Decent signings at the money we have will not be easily made, hopefully Cookie has some contacts. But despite all the committment shown, 5 points from 21 is worrying.

[feo123]

not many people will go to united park or dalymount and get anything anyway. we've also played derry and pats in those 7 games. not easy either.

[DocRovers]

I dont agree. We played Waterford twice, Longford, Galway & UCD - not top half teams. Pats have been poor for weeks & should pick up 9 from 9 against us. UCD have beaten Derry in Derry twice this tear - so I dont think results have been great. TBH I think we have played better than the results show & sometimes you dont get the rub, but how long do you ignore the results for. We are in trouble next year without reinforcements. Also dont think ahyone could turn in another season like Faz had this year.

[Rovers fan]

Ventre is the only have decent signing until he stopped playing him at left back.

didnt think danny was great at left back. He was all over the shop against waterford.

[feo123]

its getting annoying at this stage the amount of bad vibes on this thing the last week or 10 days. look back to the start of this season. 3 days before our first match, the manager walks out. monaghan beating us at home in front of about 50 people in a pre season friendly, all the commotion that went on around that time. relegation looked a certainty! no one thought for one second, and dont say ye did, that we would finish in the top 6. we have about 19 players at the moment. im sure thats one of the smallest squads in the country. we've had that number all season. we have exceeded our own expectations greatly for this year, with a small budget and a small squad, and plenty off the field problems.
we've brought forward one of the best talents in the country in seamie coleman, i personally have never seen sligo rovers playin more attractive football and i've been coming for at least 12 years. we should be happy with this season. i am. we've faiuled to get many wins in the last few weeks, get real, the players cant keep going week in week out. nobody can perfrom to their best every game. its not possible. with our limited squad, we've done more than enough this season.

i thought when we were winning games, thinking of getting 2nd spot people were over-reacting, ye are definatly over-reacting now. look at the team above us. bohs. they have better players than us supposidly, they've spent so much more money than us, yet we've competed with them and stayed above them the whole season, but have just fallen behind the last few games. thats natural. players get tired. training 3/4 times a week at a high level, then playing in big games at the weekends take their tole. we didnt have the squad to give players a rest here and there, the main 11 have kept on playing everyweek, thats not an easy task.

this season has been an improvment i think, our football has been brilliant when we've been at our best, getting more credit than ever from the media and other clubs and their supporters. we shouldnt be looking into the future and casting a big dark shadow over it. the futures bright, paul cook is the man to bring us to where we want to be. he's been with us 6 and a half months only. when he gets a full pre season with us, we'll see an even bigger improvement i think! dont come saying back anything about money, im talking about our displays on the pitch, if ye want to talk about the money theres the other thread to do that in

[feo123]

didnt think danny was great at left back. He was all over the shop against waterford.

one game :rolleyes:

[clubman]

I dont agree. We played Waterford twice, Longford, Galway & UCD - not top half teams. Pats have been poor for weeks & should pick up 9 from 9 against us. UCD have beaten Derry in Derry twice this tear - so I dont think results have been great. TBH I think we have played better than the results show & sometimes you dont get the rub, but how long do you ignore the results for. We are in trouble next year without reinforcements. Also dont think ahyone could turn in another season like Faz had this year.

Come on down off that hobby horse Doc and start to look at things as they really are. The two against Waterford were in the Cup. Any Rovers fan worth their salt will tell you Rovers played Waterford off the park in the replay and tes we didn't get 'the rub'. We beat UCD three times this season which is a first. Yea UCD beat Derry etc but football is not like that and you're around long enough to know that. The recent games against Bohs and Drogheda were amazing games and our lads were simply supberb in each. We drew with Longford at a time they were on a roll and fighting for their lives. We drew with Derry. The only poor result from our point of view was the loss to Galway but that was only a couple of days after our FAI Cup exit and our lads were dead on their feet that night. Last night we never left the blocks in the first half. Our second half display speaks volumns for Paul Cook in the manner which he turned the players attitude from beaten out of sight to make them believe that at even three nil down the game was still there to be won.
We have four games left to see out this season. A season which started as a total nightmare. Not many nightmares turn out like this one. Lets just reflect on all the good that has come from such an awful start. Paul Cook will continue to build and next season will be better because we'll start afresh. Paul Cook is no quiter.
Rant is over.

[Rovers fan]

one game :rolleyes:

one game in particular! I think he has played better in a cenral role, was caught out a bit at right back the last night. But its not hi fault he was out of position and that again is down to our small squad. We have been really lucky to avoid injuries this season. Form has not been great recently but obviously lads like judge are going to be tired,they haven't had a rest all season. No matter how the season finishes we will be top 6 or 7 and i would have jumped at that at the start of the season. people might feel disappointed because we had a chance of getting into europe but this has been a good season. The only negative is attendances and lack of finances for next season

[feo123]

thats my fortnightly rant at our own fans over btw ;)

[DocRovers]

Lads, dont get me wrong - I agree, everyone has done brilliantly all year. The attitude, spirit & football has been excellent - I am NOT criticising. But you keep on saying Bohs have better platers, Derry are bigger than us etc etc. As long as we have that attitude we will remain 6th/7th & be a 'feeder' club for Bohs! The performance in Dallymonut was great but we never troubled them & to be 3-0 down after half an hour to Pats at home in a crucial game (last European chance) shows that maybe we dont have the quality we need.

I think its a little simple to say everybody is tired, though granted we have a small squad. But small squad more money per man! I do fear that our midfield is very dependent on Adam, esp since Turner left. Plus Faz has carried us at times, as he is the one who has the ability to open teams up. Before you all shout "Judge" - I agree he does also, but Faz has done it every week, Matt is not as consistent. We need to build on this year now, by getting organised for next term & holding on to those players that have done so much for us. But the results dont lie we have been struggling of late.

[showgies]

Com. Paul Cook is no quiter.

Did he not quit at Southport?

On the subject of Hughes looking disintersted on Saturday night, I am sure Cook told him to stay up front as a third striker. Boyd and O'grady were poor in the first half but I thought Boyd got on the ball more in the second half and started quite a few moves with his passing.

We certainly looked a stronger team with the introduction of Hughes and Cash. My only gripe was why was the switch made at half time rather than into the 2nd half.

[feo123]

But you keep on saying Bohs have better platers, Derry are bigger than us etc etc. As long as we have that attitude we will remain 6th/7th & be a 'feeder' club for Bohs! The performance in Dallymonut was great but we never troubled them.

nobody said derry are better than us.

and we hit the bar twice in dalymount, should have taken the lead, and had other chances to, so where did you get that out of?

[DocRovers]

I think there are difficult places in the league to go but that we should be able to get results in most of them. We have 5 from the last 21 despite good effort from the lads. You can say "one of those nights", everybody's tired, we should have scored etc. but does it worry you? All the lads have given their best, no question about it, but if giving our best gets us these results I am worried.

[Red Army]

Did something happen the Pats bus on the way home?

[Rovers fan]

Did something happen the Pats bus on the way home?

ya i heard a few young fellas from sligo went onto their bus and started a fight

[feo123]

i went to o'neills after the match, and their supporters bus was still parked just above it even after the pats team had gone by, then i looked away and when i looked back i seen 4 guards walk from the bus, but i wasnt sure were they just walkin past or were they on it, then they got into the squad car and drove off, and beeped at the bus when they went by it.

[Shedzer]

This year is very similar to last year in a few aspects

*We went into the start of the season not knowing what to expect..
*We start the year good and seem to fade near the end
*We flirt with the prospect of Europe
*Talk off the manager going surfaces
*Players leave under strange/disheartening circumstances
*We finish 6th/7th


The football this year was better, the squad probably wasn't as good but was used better. The pitch is still terrible, the money for wages etc still isnt there nor will be there.
We have secured all other players bar Hughes for next season, which is great.

Off the pitch the club has gone back the way if anything..
*Another year, same bad pitch
*Commitee and manager on different wave lengths you'd think..one side with ambition, the other wanting security.
*The land mine type surface that leads from the turnstles to the stands still exist


Season highs
-Bohs at home
-Cork at home
-Waterford Cup replay despite loss
-Judge and Faz getting 10+ each and Faz being generally class
-Brush, Peers, McKensie all becoming better players
-Seamus Coleman

[Danny]

Did something happen the Pats bus on the way home?

a few of our little hard men were spitting/roaring at some sligo fans as they came by our bus and but for a couple of our older fans it could have turned nasty
then one of the windows on our bus got smashed by a rock
it came from the far side of the road from the ground.
i'd say it was the same lads.
it was a double glazed window and only the outside smashed so we were able to drive home after the gardai were informed.

thought we played some great football in the first half and then looked clueless in the 2nd. very very nervous near the end...

[Rovers1]

Season highs

-Cork at home

and away! :D

[jamie m]

there could have been a nasty altercation at the end of the game also, pats sub keeper at final whistle turned around and said something to fans behind shed end goals, one person actually went on to the pitch to confront him but thought better of it, hopefully not included in match report or probably facing another fine,

[Guts&Glory]

a few of our little hard men were spitting/roaring at some sligo fans as they came by our bus and but for a couple of our older fans it could have turned nasty

What lovely guys you have on your buses!!