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Thats some amount of players leaving / left Cork, but not sure that many were first team regulars? Sadlier, Beattie, Keohane and McNamee were 4 though.
Surprised they didnt go for Kilduff, did a decent job down there before and still has a good bit left in the tank.
Sadlier is a huge loss. The others to varying degrees are replaceable.Quote:
Originally Posted by oriel
McNamee never lit the world on fire down here and missed some key chances in front of goals in high profile games which didn't endear him to the support. I think he had a larger impact than most and think we'll miss him.
Jimmy is a weird one. He was at times a squad player and a key player. He was definitely useful to have around the place as he could fill in almost anywhere though he was most useful in central midfield and was one of our better players on the whole last season. We do still have Gearoid and McCormack, and have brought in some other players to fight out for the Keohane role so while I'll miss him I think we aren't too much worse off. We'd be better with him but we will be fine without him.
Beattie didn't play a huge amount last year between injuries and suspensions but he was a massive fans favourite and we'll definitely miss his blood and thunder attitude, but I don't think hes close to the best right back in the league. He definitely had a tendency to raise his game in cup finals and other big matches but hes not a real right back by trade. Colm Horgan played well for a spell last year, then his form dropped somewhat and then he got injured and his season was over. I think he can make the spot his own and by the end of the season will show himself to be a better out and out right back than Beattie. We also have John Kav who is probably the best of the lot if hes fit but he hasn't really been fit since 2015 or so. Hes had more bad luck with injuries than John Dunleavy who is another we miss but we couldn't rely on him to stay fit again unfortunately.
We're definitely weaker than last year which is inevitable. We needed to win the league last year to keep the gap between ourselves and Dundalk to a minimum and without the guaranteed CL money we have to take a step back despite making a small profit last year. Even if we had won the title I don't think we could have closed the financial gap entirely. I think we'll have a more back to basics approach this season. John will try to build a team similar to 2014, a tight-knit squad of players with something to prove who will run through walls for him. I have no idea where we will finish but I don't expect any titles this season barring a miracle diamond in the rough player to break through.
The worry is what happens to crowds if we have a poor start to the season. Expectations are going to be high regardless of what our squad looks like on paper. Season ticket sales have remained high though to be fair and I believe the Black jersey is our best selling jersey in the FORAS era so not all doom and gloom yet.
They're all replaceable, but the problem is that so far replacements have either not been signed or those that have are likely to be weaker or unproven. Possible exception is Casey in for Delaney at centre half.Quote:
Originally Posted by El-Pietro
Thats like, your opinion man. No way to say they are inferior until games are played.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ezeikial
Thats' a very honest view from EL P to be fair on players who have left and their abilities. Buckley / Morrissey are still more than decent in the middle, the latter is one I would have loved to have signed, but he'd never leave his home area. McCormack plays far far to deep for my liking and was a weakness in europe, almost sat infront of the back 4 and left too much space.
Fair point on not all who left being first choice team, but its the replacements that will determine how much those who left will be missed.
Also its worth noting Cork are working off a reduced budget, and the books have to balance with their set up. Might sound odd from a Dundalk fan but I think JC has done a good job with the finances he has had to work with, and look where he took them from before he joined.
Unless Cork get 2 or 3 more quality in, I can see them finishing no higher than 3rd.
Of course it's an opinion, just as your comments were. You also know well that I didn't say anyone was inferior.Quote:
Originally Posted by El-Pietro
That said, there is plenty to go on that the replacements so far are "likely to be weaker or unproven", with the possible exception of Dan Casey for Damien Delaney
Darragh Rainsford, Gary Comerford and Daire O'Connor are probably the more experienced of the rest of the signings and while any of these players could improve in the season ahead their respective performances in recent seasons would hardly lead many to conclude that they are likely to be improvements on Kieran Sadlier, Jimmy Keohane and Barry McNamee
Tadhg Ryan, Ronan Hurley, Cian Bargary, Shane Daly-Butz and Cian Murphy may all have potential but are all unproven at this level (arguably as are Rainsford and O'Connor)
Comerford and Casey are decent signings but losing the players with the most appearances last season (Sadlier, McNamee and Keohane) is a big loss.
While there may be more signings, all the indications are that Cork City will have a weaker squad - how that plays out in results remains to be seen
Sadlier is the huge loss, Jimmy being the next based on last seasons form. We haven't replaced Sadlier at all and that's the main concern, in terms of goals and creativity.
Jimmy, we have enough quality in that area. McCormack was our best player, bar Seani, when we won the league, he didn't reach those heights last season but he's a key player for us. I wouldn't trade him and Gearóid for any midfield pairing in the league.
McNamee isn't much of a loss. He's incredibly talented but was completely wasted on the wing and offered us little out there. Him moving on will reduce my levels of frustration at him not being played in the middle!
Delaney is no loss. Beattie was huge in terms of motivation and passion but struggled with injuries last season. We won't feel the on the field loss of him because of that.
As for those coming in, hard to know what to expect. Hopefully there's a gem in there somewhere and solid performances from the rest. Some good youth coming through which is great to see.
I'm confident we'll be solid, but I do worry about goals and creativity. We'll have to see. We've played 3-5-2 in all the friendlies so far which will be an interesting experiment at least!
Bring it on. I'm excited to see what Caulfield can do with the rebuild and I'm not convinced he's better with a big budget than a smaller one (last season being a good example). We'll certainly need a bit of luck along the way but I wouldn't in any way assume a Bradley team will be overtaking us. Caulfield hasn't finished outside the top 2 in any major competition yet, he won't be quick to give up that record.
Why is the budget so reduced at Cork? They have the best attendances & basically being the only team in Cork should get good sponsorship. While it's to be applauded that they aren't being reckless it seems like the money being spent is less than 2016 & 2017 when they didn't have Champions Lge either
I think people overestimate the amount attendances and sponsorship provide for teams budgets. For most clubs, European money or Investors provide a huge chunk of the budget.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bunny Kelly
We will earn 500k less in Europe this year. We reportedly have cut the budget by 300k-ish. That's seems perfectly sensible to me.
I don't think the budget will be hugely smaller than 2016/2017 but a lot of other clubs are spending at higher levels than then so relatively that has an impact. Our current players who were here in 2016/2017 will also be on higher salaries now.
We have made a small profit each year for the last 4 years. That's wonderful, but it's not like we have a bank account with a lot of fall back cash. We have to be careful with budgeting.
Quote:
Originally Posted by El-Pietro
https://twitter.com/Denis_Hurley/sta...61069379395585Quote:
Cork City manager John Caulfield has confirmed that the club has agreed with Danny Kane to cancel the defender's contract.The Ireland U21 international had been on loan at AFC Fylde, with whom he is now expected to sign a permanent deal
Chris Forrester has had his contract terminated so he can return to Ireland. Be interesting to see where he ends up.
https://www.afc.co.uk/2019/01/22/chris-forrester/
Welcome to LTFC Chris
Think that 6 months rule only applies to players agreeing terms in other countries to the one they are currently playing in.Anyway, given the size of Ireland there is a long and glorious history of 'tapping up' by every club.Quote:
Originally Posted by Yossarian
What a great replacement for Dylan McGlade and a shrewd bit of business there by Neale Fenn - caught everyone off guard.
Edit: I actually wouldnt be suprised if Shels get him, at the rate theyre going!
Darren Meenan gone to Athlone,some decline in that mans career!
Fond of the High life (Litreally)Quote:
Originally Posted by joey B
Or really lit.Quote:
Originally Posted by dundalkfc10
Athlone actually don't have a bad squad this season so far. Made a few shrewd signings this winter.Quote:
Originally Posted by joey B
Silly! I remember seeing him in a friendly for Harps at the Brandywell years ago thinking he was gonna be a top player!Quote:
Originally Posted by dundalkfc10
Quote:
Originally Posted by joey B
Was a real live wire type of player for Dundalk, worked really hard on the pitch, and definitely offered something to Dundalks attack but lacked real quality on the ball and was raw overall with his descon making. Probably played his best football at Dundalk, won the double, played Champions League and offered a nice balance with Byrne/Horgan on the other wing. Thats a pretty good LOI career.
He is 32 now so I guess a decline is inevitable, he also played everywhere in Ireland. If you look at his career before he came to Dundalk, he probably overachieved, so fair play to him. He wasn't out of place in Kennys early years.
At least Athlone are getting in real players now, hopefully they will actually win a game.