The End

This time last year the idea of Wexford Youths, in the League of Ireland, was little more than a dream. Today is the eve of the last game of an eventful first season in the ranks of Irish footballs elite. It is some achievement that this side has managed to take at least a point from every team in the division. Lest we forget, the vast majority of the players involved had never played at anything more than junior level. They have grown and developed as the season has progressed, from a team of raw talent and enthusiasm, into composed and polished players. Many have failed to make the grade along the way, others have grown into the first legends of Wexford Youths, Paul Malone was crowned player of the year by the Supporters clubs after terrorising opposition players across the land.

The Wexford Youths have generated a sense of pride and passion, among football fans from Wexford, across the country and beyond. I wear my Youths jersey with joy to training here in Dublin every week, one of my friends is in Lanzarote at the moment and reported his delight at seeing the Wexford Youths jersey paraded along the beach. The fact that all of the players are drawn from the locality only multiplies the respect and admiration that the club has gathered in it's first year of existence.

The supporters club was formed during the season and has brought colour and noise to 'Ferrycarraig Park' (I believe that's what we're calling it now) and to grounds around the country. Dedicated fans have followed the team from high to low without fail, and they should receive some reward or recognition also. Tomorrow will be only my fourth game of the season, I've been looking forward to it for weeks, I'll never be an uber-fan or an Ultra, but Wexford Youths will always be my team from now on. If someone asks who I support Wexford Youths is now and always will be the answer, it gives something more, and means something more than Liverpool FC ever did, or could. For that I thank Mick Wallace and the players and staff who have made Wexford Youths a reality. The next few seasons are bound to be full of joy, despair and surprises, but I can't wait.

Right that's the sentimental stuff out of the way.

Predictions wise I think we're looking at a draw. Shels will hardly be too bothered and we need a point to secure 9th place. I'm hoping for a few goals so 2-2 is the prediction.

Couldn't have said it better myself, passinginterest. It's fantastic to have our own team to support. I've thoroughly enjoyed the season, been lucky enough to see five of our six wins in the flesh and been impressed with the improvements I've seen since the season started.

I've also been impressed with Kopite & Co's 'Youth Army', who also started the season quietly but seem to have shed their inhibitions and it's great to have such a noisy band of supporters at every game, home and away. I might even join them tomorrow night!

Unfortunately, I have a 220-mile round trip to every home game, and my wife can't understand why I do all this driving to see the Youths more often than not draw or lose. I suppose it's hard to explain to someone who can't see the appeal, but when the Youths win, it more than makes up for the long hours on the road.

Anyway, sincere thanks are due to Mick for having the courage to articulate his dream and put his money where his mouth is.

Hope we get a good turnout at Tolka and a point will do me fine.

well put 'interest',could see a book about this soon?..its bin one hell of a season.all credit to the players and mick.thouroghly enjoyed the expierence,especially the away games.expecting 100 plus tomorrow night.have an idea using bin liners,watched it happen in italy recently.one half of the crowd in black,one half in white[now they were well rehearsed,they were able to change colours with a signal,we won't be doing that!].just another idea to entertain ourselves.

well done great season for first one, ye gave a serious fright in cobh in the 1-1 draw that was a result for us that saved our season.
hopefully wont see ye next season;)

Fair play lads.:ball:

Well done to team for magnificent performance in Tolka on Saturday. My men of match were Pa Doyle and Marty Kelly. Great atmosphere too.

Most impressive aspect was strong performance in second half - we won every fifty-fifty, our defenders regularly came in front of Shel's attackers and came away with the ball and we could have scored one or two more on the break. Pa Doyle had no chance with great last-minute free-kick by Mark Leech.

Looks very promising for next year now. Thanks for great memories this year to Mick, the lads and the supporters.

Great end to a great year for soccer in Wexford on Saturday night in Tolka Park.

The level of consistent noise from the supporters was excellent the atmosphere was excellent from start to finish and an excellent display by the Shels fans at the end of the game.

Just noticed a few clubs were looking at the number of players used this season. According to the stats on walkthechalk.ie we used 37 players (and I think it's at least one more because young Rossiter came on near the end against Shels and he's not on the list).
I knew we used a lot of players, but never realised it was quite so many. I doubt too many other clubs had a number this high. It shows just how much of an experiment this season was and the potential the club has to produce players.

in truth we shouldn't have been in the loi.idea was the 21s this year,apply for A league and then loi.i think when you look at the last few games we had a more settled side,the exception were changes forced upon the team.[thought it was rafa that was in charge for a while]i think mick was keeping an eye on the 21 title and the senior team suffered a little bit,the likes of shane dempsey i would think will be more of a regular next season.also at the start i reckon everyone was given their chance,some stuck it out and remained in the panel,others fell away.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kopite

in truth we shouldn't have been in the loi.idea was the 21s this year,apply for A league and then loi.i think when you look at the last few games we had a more settled side,the exception were changes forced upon the team.[thought it was rafa that was in charge for a while]i think mick was keeping an eye on the 21 title and the senior team suffered a little bit,the likes of shane dempsey i would think will be more of a regular next season.also at the start i reckon everyone was given their chance,some stuck it out and remained in the panel,others fell away.

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Agree 100%. Will be interesting to see if we enter a reserve team next year as well as the under 20 competition. Under 20 will not allow over age players so we may need a reserve team to keep everyone playing regularly. It would be a big expense, but it might help players make the transition to the first team. Would also be interesting to see who managed the reserve side as it would be nearly impossible for Wallace to take it on along with his current work load.

Season went reasonably well in my view. Think the opening few games there was a lot of hype and great support and the players responded to the exciting times at the start. Eventually, experience told, and we went through a very long mid season slump while Mick was sorting out a finalised panel and a group of players with whom he saw a future. The end of the season was promising too, and a great result on the last day sets things up nicely for next year.

My expectations for next year? A little more consistency and more attractive football. Its all well and good in opening season to play solid football, but now we should start moving forward and express ourselves, which was becoming more evident towards the latter half of the year. I'd be hoping for a mid table finish, move up a couple of places, and even threaten the top couple of teams.

Looking forward to (more than likely) good derby games with Waterford when/if they drop down. Cup game this year was a bit of a washout due to fixtures and the resulting 'B' team effectively put out.