Its the last couple of paragraphs that will be of interest to Rovers fans.
MARK O'NEILL-CUMMINS' EIRCOM REVIEW
The top of the Premier Division table
had a familiar, and some may say
predictable, look about it after Friday
night's games.
Drogheda top, closely followed by Cork,
Derry and Shels.
It's no surprise that Drogs are doing
so well. Since Paul Doolin took over,
he has wisely spent the generous
transfer budget that his new board made
available.
He has quality in all positions and has
instilled in his players a great work
ethic complimented with excellent
training and preparation for matches.
Only last week, Stephen Bradley cited
Doolin and the new Drogs set-up as one
of the reasons he turned down offers
from England following the FAI Cup win.
Drogs are unbeaten in the League mainly
thanks to a superb back four, well
marshaled by the brilliant Jason Gavin.
Only time will tell whether they can
keep it going until November.
Staying in Co Louth, it was great to
see Dundalk finally get off the mark.
Boss John Gill promised that a win was
just around the corner and he was
proven right.
Watch them ascend that table in the
coming weeks and challenge Rovers at
the top sooner rather than later.
It was with great sadness that we
learned this week of the death of the
legendary Ewan Fenton in Limerick.
Fenton played and later managed the
great Limerick sides of the 60s and
early 70s that featured such
illustrious names like Irish
internationals Al Finucane, Kevin
Fitzpatrick and Andy McEvoy.
Fenton played in the Blues' first foray
into Europe, the Cup Winners' Cup of
1965-66 when they met CSKA of Bulgaria.
80,000 saw the away leg in Sofia.
He left for Linfield in 1967 and won
the Irish League and IFA Cup before
returning to the Market's Field and
managing Limerick to an FAI Cup triumph
in 1971.
It is a sign of the times that his
passing didn't receive the widespread
media coverage it deserved in this
country. Surprisingly so, considering
he was British and had been part of
that great Blackpool side who won the
FA Cup in 1953.
He was also one of a select band who
played or coached in all five top-
flight leagues in Britain and Ireland,
having also spent time with Wrexham and
North End in his native Dundee.
Our condolences go to his family at
this sad time.
Back to events on the pitch, and Sligo
Rovers were up in Dublin to meet Dublin
City in the battle of the promoted
sides last Friday night.
You can really see the progress the
Westerners have made both on and off
the pitch in recent seasons and new to
the cause is Richard Sutherland.
The UEFA B coaching licence holder is
the Bit o'Red's new commercial manager.
He has massive plans for the club,
including bringing in more cash for
players and getting the club involved
in coaching children in the town,
county and whole region. If every club
had a Richard Sutherland we'd be in a
much better state.
On the field, Rovers have a fine squad
with many new faces from last season.
They clearly need time to gel further
but they have a realistic chance of a
top five finish.
They would have taken all three points
against City had they converted the
many chances offered to them - in the
Premier you have to take those chances
when they come along.
14/04/2006, 1:59 PM
sligoman
Read that alright, O'Neill Cummins is normally very bad at writing these articles but in fairness to him, he alway's gives us good praise!:).
