Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Time for another pointless off-season debate…
There’s a lot of talk on other boards about how we’ll struggle next year now that we’ve lost three, probably four, first-teamers. So how does our prospective team for next year compare to the 2003 team? I’ve rated each team, plus the bench plus the manager (!) out of ten. 8/10 is meaningless other than it’s better than 7/10 before people start complaining that this looks like a Dublin City ratings list!
2003 v. 2005
Keeper
Pat Jennings v. Darren Quigley
Jennings’ form was woeful at the start of 2003, but in fairness he picked up towards the end and kept almost as many clean sheets as any other keeper in the league. Quigley looks an excellent shot-stopper, which will be handy for our next visit to Tolka!
OVERALL – 6-8
Defence
Mahon v. Mahon: The same. 8-8
McNally v. McNally: Ditto. 9-9
McAuley v. Kenna: Both are quality centre-backs; Kenna maybe shades it, but McAuley is good for a free-kick every now and again! 9-9
Davey v. McAuley: Robbie Mac just shades it on the grounds that he knows where the (opponents’!) goal is. 8-9
OVERALL – 34-35
Midfield
McDonnell v. McDonnell: The same. 8-8
J Martin v. Gannon: I’m really looking forward to seeing Gannon play next season (assuming Sully goes). Johnny was poor under Doolin – though not the only one! – and picked up after he left, but I reckon Gannon has more about him than just pace (i.e. can beat his man) and I’m shading him on those grounds. 7-8
Cawley v. Murphy: I don’t think Murphy is the same kind of player as Cawley or Finn – i.e. an attacking, creative midfielder. 8-6
O’Donnell v. O’Donnell: The same. 7-7
OVERALL – 30-29
Attack
R Martin v. R Martin: The same. But I’m going to give the 2005 Robbie an extra mark on the grounds that he may have some confidence back after getting 15 goals last year. 7-8
Rooney v. Byrne: 1 goal in 24 v. 3 goals in 75 minutes. No contest here. 4-7
OVERALL – 11-15
The bench
Gallagher v. Gallagher: The same. This year’s Gallagher gets an extra mark though as he now has first-team experience. 6-7
Griffin v. Foley: Different positions, but in strength, much of a muchness. 6-6
Ryan v. Dicker: See above. 6-6
McWalter v. McWalter: The same, but again Podgo has much more first-team experience now, so give him an extra mark. 6-7
Sullivan v. Brophy. Again, different positions, but Sullivan wins hands down here. Brophy was second-top scorer for the reserves last year (with 6!), but has only a few minutes’ first-team experience. 8-5
OVERALL – 32-31
The manager.
Snigger!
OVERALL – 1 (well, he showed up for the games!)-10
The final tally –
2003: 113
2005: 127
Obviously, the 2003 team is missing a couple of players through injury and squad depth, etc. – Finn, Whelan and Gallen spring to mind. However, last year, we signed Quigley, Gannon, Doyle, Hughes, Byrne and Kenna, all of whom made an impact during the season, so I’d be confident of finding at least another two or three players again this season to balance that out.
Interesting that of the four players who have left/are likely to go, none were starters during 2003 (Finn out for most of the season, Doyle and Hughes not signed, Sullivan back-up to Martin and Mahon for much of the season). Of the 2003 players who have left, all bar one (Cawley) have been replaced. Depth-wise, the current squad won’t stand too many injuries, but we’ve yet to sign players. We seem to have at least as good a team as in 2003, so if we can come anywhere near matching the form once Mahon took over, we should be well clear of trouble.
Any thoughts? Or am I looking into things a bit too much?!
