in the dung!

[@ndy]

Right...the situation is bleak. Looking at the the table, it's Derry, Drogs and Longford we should be aiming at finishing above. People say waterford, however, i would expect them to be mid tablers...however, i was surprised at how bad they were vs us....having said that, they beat us...having said that, so has everyone else.

Our next 5 games are as follows.

16/05/03 Drogheda away
23/05/03 Pats home
31/05/03 Longford away
06/06/03 Bohs home
13/06/03 Cork away

I said earlier in this forum, after the rovers game i think, that after 10 games, i'd like us to have won at least two games.

Looking at the above, we need to pick up points at both O2 park and Flancare. A point or three in belfield against pats would be nice too. We can't expect points vs Bohs or Cork. If we can get two draws out of these 5 games, and win two, then we will have stabilised the situation. If we fail to win any of these 5, and only pick up draws in 3 or less...we're still in big trouble.

Here's hoping.

[UCD_4_Life]

I can only see us beating Drogheda.

If we're lucky we may get a point off Longford and or Pat's but I won't be holding my breath.

[@ndy]

Yeah. I'd be surprised if it did pan out that way tho. Drogs are well capable of beating us, and they'll want revenge for the end of last season, and putting them in the play offs. We'll probably get a shock result there somewhere...we're due one...here's hopin...

[Soko]

Originally posted by @ndy
We'll probably get a shock result there somewhere...we're due one...here's hopin...

Probably in the 'Cross. Bogey teams dont dissapear in a flash (even though ye might go down) and I'm still wary whenever ye come to town. Thankfully Delaney is gone but with 10 men behind the ball City can create fcuk all.

[@ndy]

I wouldn't bank on it...altho, it is a hope. I'm moving to Cork next week so perhaps i can spread glass on the training pitch or sth that week :p

[CollegeTillIDie]

The situation is far from ideal , but not to the extent you should change which club you support.

Any idiot can support a winning team !
If you were only interested in Glory you would already be a supporter of some other club anyway like Bohs, Shels or Waterford United . Teams that win things regularly ( even if it is only the First Division title in the case of the Blues).
That's a no brainer.

What we have at Belfield is a totally unique situation. An underdog team with a difference. We have a completely different ethos at our club. This is because being a student/graduate team running on a relative shoestring we are subject to losing players more frequently than other clubs. Let me illustrate the point as follows:-

Seamus Kelly (Bohs); Tony McCarthy (Shels); Terry Palmer (Shamrock Rovers) ; Aidan Lynch (Drogheda United) Graham O'Keeffe (Shamrock Rovers); Robbie Dunne (Dublin City)Ciaran Kavanagh ( Dundalk); Ciaran Martyn (Derry City); James Keddy (Shamrock Rovers); Andy Myler (Drogheda United) Michael O'Byrne (Dublin City) SUBS:- Andy Noonan (Dublin City); Jason Colwell (Shamrock Rovers) and Barry Ryan (Shamrock Rovers)

All of the above either started their careers or made their careers here in Belfield . If we had half of those players still in the club we would be competing for titles.

When you also consider that over the years players such as
Ken O'Doherty, Joe Hanrahan, Tony McCarthy,Kevin Grogan and Clive Delaney all left for English football .

Our problem this year is very simple. We lost 4 players to other clubs and didn't get even 50 cent in transfer fees. This is the first time this has happened to us. With the result that we don't have A kitty with which to sign outside players. We will be forced to look for on loan signings such as Dessie Baker , who has only played one game for us so far, give the guy a chance, and older former players attracted back to the club. If Tony McCarthy loses his place at Shels I would suggest we get him on loan too.

Once we start scoring goals regularly and tighten up at the back things will come right. My first eleven for what it is worth would look like this , assuming all the current available squad were fit on any given day :- Pat Jennings Jr. in goal
The defence would be Pat Sullivan, Robbie McAuley, Tony McDonnell, Darragh Ryan; midfield would be Johnny Martin, Alan Cawley, Alan McNally and Hugh Davey and Up front I would play
Dessie Baker and Robbie Martin. Robbie Griffin is a utility player and has played at centre half briefly in his previous spell with UCD. He may have his critics but at least he is prepared to have a shot at goal which is more than could be said for one or two others. Where is Pat Burke these days apart from sitting in the stands? Is he injured?
College TillI DIe

P.S. U.C.D. Ladies take on Shamrock Rovers on Wednesday May 28 in Belfield. They sometimes play on the Under 21 pitch and at other times across from the Sports Centre.
They came second in the League last year , won the F.A.I. Cup and hope to better that this year. So if you are that keen on seeing U.C.D. maybe win a game , check this one out. They have several former International players as well as a few up and coming former underage International players.

[@ndy]

Originally posted by CollegeTillIDie
The situation is far from ideal , but not to the extent you should change which club you support.

I'd find it impossible to stop supporting college and follow another el team due to success or lack of...no way could that happen.

[Schumi]

Originally posted by CollegeTillIDie
Where is Pat Burke these days apart from sitting in the stands? Is he injured? He's injured. I was talking to him at the Bray game. I think he'll be out for a good while (although I'm not sure whether he was taking the pi$$ about the length of time, Aberdonian Stu might have a better idea).

[pineapple stu]

6 months I heard. That'd be from the Collingwood.

[@ndy]

I don't think i've ever seen the lad play. Pretty sound bloke though.