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Not saying it was a weak side albeit it was a weakened side - saying this and last week were very poor performances…. And despite that we’re still 4 points ahead …. So guess we’re doing more right than others … as an aside in 7 matches against Cork/Drogs/Shels this season have won none and taken only 5 pointsQuote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Have to say first 20 mins fantastic tempo and quality. Then sat back and got what they deserved. When they turned it on again they fully deserved the 3-2 win and possibly should have more.
I will say Clarke was the game changer. He introduced so much energy
Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Bradley has always reminded me of a Frank de Boer at Ajax, you can pick up titles from being the manager in a well run club with the best infrastructure but it is more a reflection on the club than on the manager. Obviously some credit is deserved for not messing things up but I'm not sure I'd have faith with Bradley in a tougher gig
Wasted opportunity by St Pats and Dundalk or different reasons. Pressure would really have been on Rovers prior to Europe, still is. 4 points and yer looking over te shoulder 2 and and there is no wriggle room to rotate too much between europe and domestic fixtures. A clubs businessmen will want Europe targeted over a league. Dundalk needed to build that gap back to 5th (+games in hand) and a very small hint of making an impact on a league run in, shouldnt have let the win slip in the last 10 minutes. Some dreadful wasted points from strong positions tbh. Derry still clinging in there!
Going for a unprecedented 4 in a row ( except of course only by Rovers) and the co architect of the academy that means we have an unprecedented level of sustainability… sure he can annoy at times with his team selections but imo he’s been brilliant and I just hope he continues with us for years to come… sure I’ll get narked here on the odd Friday night but looking at the longer view imo he’s already proved himself to be one of the greatest LOI managers everQuote:
Originally Posted by Bunny Kelly
Disappointing to concede a late equaliser again. We weren't particularly great and switching to three at the back after sixty minutes didn't work. Mulraney scored a very good goal. Possible foul in the build up to the Corks equaliser but it was a good finish by Keating.
But with the resources Rovers have, coupled with implosions at Cork and Dundalk, the dominant two before that, you'd expect them to be well up there each year. Certainly not drawing to Drogheda because of a bit of squad rotation.Quote:
Originally Posted by Calcio Jack
The academy is strange too because Rovers seem very reluctant to give players senior time. The squad seems quite old, and then players like Simon Power are signed when surely an academy player could do as good a job and maybe get sold on too.
European record not great either if we're honest; that defeat against Flora was particularly bad
I think Bunny's post is spot on tbh. He's certainly not one of the LoI's greatest managers - Stephen Kenny is streets ahead, and the likes if Jim McLaughlin would be too.
Whilst my personal opinion might differ a bit surely if he wins 4 in a row then by default he has to be considered one of the LOI’s greatest managers?
If he doesn’t ot would rereaise significant doubts and him as one of the top managers as it should be all but a formality for him this year.
Bradley is overrated!Quote:
Originally Posted by Calcio Jack
Well have to keep up the obsessive appearances...
Even game in Finn Park,we probably created the better chances and we had a great cameo from BJ Banda in the second half we looked a bit more solid in general aswell….
Kenny was a failure at the leagues greatest most successful club so that blemish automatically excludes him from ever getting ranked amongst the greatest …. Cue the usual differing opinions …. When Bradley got the job due to years of failure by the directors to capitalise on the MON era we were broke but Bradley managed to turn that around and build a cup winning team ( after 30 plus years) and the current 3 in a row team and as I mentioned is part of the brains trust behind the academy ( you seem to of forgotten Bazunu, Emaku etc who were given first team chances) plus the likes of Noonan & Nugent who started this evening and other academy graduates were on the benchQuote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
I think McLaughlin and Kenny in particular built title-winning squads at more than one club in an era when the playing field was much more level and that was harder to do. But now Rovers are getting more from Europe each year than probably the six non-Euro teams each make in a year. I mean, credit to him for not making a hames of it like Higgins at Derry but I think that advantage is huge. A good Euro run might change my mind but he's not had one. The defeats in Bulgaria and what's it called - the other garia - were fairly poor in particular.Quote:
Originally Posted by DCWA
I don't think any non-Rovers fan will agree with that at all. Huge success at Bogs, Derry, Longford and Dundalk. Excellent Euro results - they were knocking on the door of the CL groups one year. Unprecedented stuff. And he took over Dundalk in a relegation playoffQuote:
Originally Posted by Calcio Jack
Haven't forgotten them - just think that's a really poor return tbh. And I accept I may be biased as a UCD fan here who expects to see players coming through every year (and then they get us relegated)Quote:
Originally Posted by Calcio Jack
Quote:
Originally Posted by Calcio Jack
Again I think credit really needs to go to the board more than Bradley, most other clubs would have sacked him in the early years, he was allowed to slowly improve & was helped by a Dundalk implosion to mean there was no real challenger.
Credit he took advanatge of his breaks but basically he has an ideal set up. 4 in a row means less these days to be honest, across Europe & even in other sports, teams & athletes are way more dominant than in previous generations
You are off your rocker if you think Kenny is not in the greatest league managers conversation. Had a lot of success at multiple clubs. Sure what he done alone at Dundalk would have him high on the list. So what if he didn’t do the business at Rovers, neither did Nutsy and look what he did at Shels and Bohs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Calcio Jack
On the game tonight. Well we can’t defend but nothing new there. However, we do have goals in us and it always makes us dangerous in a match. What we do now, with our games in hand, while the Top 4 are otherwise engaged with European affairs, will go a long way to determining if we can stay in the hunt for Europe.
Isnt it more impressive to win league titles not with 'the leagues greatest and most successful club?! Sure I'd manage Rovers to a league title given the squad and bottomless pit of finances.Quote:
Originally Posted by Calcio Jack
I actually don’t disagree with any of this. I can’t comment on McLaughlin as before my time of course he is miles off Kenny.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
I just think by general footballing standards (for the want of a much better term here) winning 4 in a row basically slots him in automatically to the one of the greats category. Not to mention group stage appearance in Europe, although I know that comes with the caveat that the ECL made it much easier.
Also neither McLaughlin or Kenny managed a 4 in a row …. So if we win the title this season Bradley will be the first manager to achieve that … which will make him uniqueQuote:
Originally Posted by DCWA
Again I don’t (can’t) argue this however I am not sure what your point is about him being “unique”… the LOI has had plenty of “unique” managers…Quote:
Originally Posted by Calcio Jack
Thought we played quite strangely tonight. Went weirdly defensive when we were winning but in the process also had players uncomfortably out of position and were asking for Cork to equalise which they duly did. Doubly frustrating with the results elsewhere.
Never a penalty at the end of the game tonight but Derry deserved the win. Really upped it the last half hour or so. Being able to bring on so many experienced players showed. Patching excellent.
I'm probably being a bit harsh on him to make a point in fairness. But yeah, the Conference League qualification isn't that hard - beating sides from Malta and North Macedonia was all it took. And bunny's right that Euro money is distorting leagues everywhere; 4-in-a-rows are becoming far more commonQuote:
Originally Posted by DCWA
I think McLaughlin and Kenny in particular built great teams at multiple clubs. I'm not convinced Bradley would succeed at, say, Shels or Pat's, and I'm not convinced a manager like Pete Mahon (to pick a random solid but unspectacular LoI manager - there's probably a better more recent example!) wouldn't achieve what Bradley has at Rovers
Disappointing in drogheda tonight. A much more open / end to end game particularly in the 1st half. Both hit the bar but neither deserved to win so Corks late goal was very welcome as much as Derrys late pen was unwelcome.
need a big uptick for tue, nut I’d expect O’Neill and Farrugia back which will be a big diff.
is `Burt injured?
Can’t understand how Devine plays McDonnell as a no10 ahead of Clarke.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shinkicker
McDonnell is v limited that far forward. He’s a DM all day long.
Bohs could do with Coote back too.
You'd swear we were spending Dundalk kinds of money. Bottomless finances? If we had that Jack Byrne would be tied down, Jake Mulraney would have scored for us tonight and Colm Whelan might not have gotten injured.
Still very happy with Bradley. Right behind Pete Mahon on the all time great list though to be fair to Stu.
Pete mahon would have won 3 in a row for this Rovers team - what a beautifully nonsensical thing to suggest.
Jim McLaughlin is/was the greatest manager in LOI history, irrespective of what qualifying circumstances he encountered when at the height of his powers.
Bradser, in conjunction with McPhail has built a modern, professional club at Rovers, and their "legacy" will last a long, long time irrespective of how long either remains at the club.
Ah in fairness, ye're miles ahead of anyone else at the moment in terms of finances. Was it three mill for Europe last year alone? That's close to what Dundalk earned for the Europa League. (And should have been another three mill the year before but for losing home and away to Flora Tallinn). The lesson from around Europe is that lots of clubs can use European money to dominate local leagues. It's nothing unusual these days unfortunately.Quote:
Originally Posted by ontheotherhand
Another very flat display from Rovers tonight, created little to nothing throughout, either did Drogheda really, really really poor game of ball but Drogs definitely deserving of a point. Rovers will have to up things massively for next week.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Last season was the first time we had the league's biggest budget in recent times as far as I'm aware and even then Derry were able to beat us to multiple players. We have more now alright but the team this season is essentially the same as last so it's not as if we've spent big to stay ahead. I'd argue we are being a bit too frugal at the moment to be honest. As I said we missed out on quite a few in the off season that could have helped us now. Only 3 were loans brought in when we should have gotten Mulraney, Whelan and maybe O'Reilly.
Regardless of all that, Bradley will still be regarded higher by Rovers supporters than others and that's fine. We know where we were and we know where we are. I hope he stays here a long time.....unless Pete Mahon puts his hand up of course.
All fair. Thought Drogheda defended very well but they lacked the Draper presence up front so couldn't really get anything going in our half. We had enough of the ball but did nothing with it which isn't good enough with the likes of Burke, Gaffney and Watts on the field. We just aren't with it right now. Usually when we struggle we can rely on wing backs scoring or Gaffney doing something on his own but without Clarke and Farrugia we haven't got the pace to get in the box and Gaffney isn't at his best.Quote:
Originally Posted by outspoken
Badly, badly need Byrne, O'Neill and Farrugia or Europe won't be a distraction from the league for very long at all.
Great game at the RSC last night. Waterford played some super football at times but Longford always seem to raise their game against us and Galway. Parsons and Coughlan missed great chances late on to win it which would have been a good win as we were a man down for most of 2nd half.
ah here in that he manged a team in the LOI to 4 league titles in a row.Quote:
Originally Posted by DCWA
Anyway Rovers have been very ordinary this year, its only when they go behind do we see that extra pace, the desire to score and that extra gear has been needed a lot this year. Winning the league again takes preference and getting that 4th in a row is so important to fans. But Rovers need to then really look at getting the age profile of the team and blooding our youth.
Does that not reflect on Bradley a bit though? Don't forget ye're pulling in half a mill a year more in gate receipts too than Dundalk ever did (rough back-of-the-envelope calculations). Plus decent transfer fees, which Dundalk rarely got. I don't see how you can say ye're not at Dundalk levels of spending tbh.Quote:
Originally Posted by ontheotherhand
Dundalk's biggest mistake was keeping the same squad together too long I think. Rovers seem to be repeating that
Absolutely. And we've seen Stephen Kenny dismissed as not one of the best LoI managers so we know we have to adjust for bias there :)Quote:
Originally Posted by ontheotherhand
You don't like Pete? Decent manager; took Pat's from a relegation battle to going through two rounds of Europe. Beat better teams than Hibs and Shkupi too. Had UCD properly competitive as well. But ok - put Stephen O'Donnell, Keith Long, Liam Buckley or even Jon Daly, all solid but unspectacular managers too, in there and I think ye'd be doing as well tbh.
Weird 4-0 win for Shels last night considering our struggles with finishing in the final third there was an opportunity for an even bigger winning margin. Lunney's finish was an absolute beaut
For the past 3 seasons everytime I've seen us play UCD I've always said after the game "that's the worst UCD team I've seen at LOI level" and no question that UCD team last night is by far the worst UCD team I've ever seen in the LOI, I would worry for them this will be their last season in Premier Division for a long time
Also to add my contribution to the Bradley debate, he's a good manager, a bad manager wouldn't have lasted to win 3 leagues in a row, but with the largest budget, best squad by a distance, Cork/Dundalk capitulating, Derry/Pats wasting chunks of their decent budgets on sub standard players Bradley has had all of the absolute favourable conditions at Rovers to win those 3 titles and from watching each of these Rovers teams since 2020 they are in a gradual decline each season not improving so there would be a large question mark for me hanging over Bradley in greatest LOI manager of all time debates
I was being flippant with the bottomless finances comment but it is relative also. Rovers have shown restraint in their budgeting, it isnt that they couldnt sign players it was that they wouldnt if demands were deemed exsessive, there is a difference. They can also limit the number of kitchen sinks needed due to the stability thats provided to players - its like players forgoing a part of a wage to guarantee that they will always be paid. Longer term contracts help limit the inflation of a clubs wage bill year on year also. Coming to the end of players conracts, performance related bonuses, and a squad rebuild will force significant increases to that 4th highest budget, as player look for a premium from a club that they know has the ability to pay.Quote:
Originally Posted by ontheotherhand
I do think Rovers, certainly this season and in Europe, should be better given the squad and financial clout. It was the same for the likes of Doolin at Drogheda, took a lot of money and a season or 2 too long for him to win the league. Im sure there are other examples - league and cup winning managers that still struggled at times with clearly the strongest squad and one that can be strengthened if and when necessary.
Again this is relative, Not not wanting to take away from potentially winning a 4 in a row - it would be a super achievement and is all that will ultimately be on a roll of honour. But Rovers lack another club breathing down their neck. The Seanie season prevented a Dundalk 6 in a row. Rovers are clearly the strongest squad during this era, it was nip and tuck between Dundalk and Cork with last day of the season decider stuff in the previous decade. I think the absence of a toe to toe rival has blunted Rovers, they dont have to be outstanding every game, they can be very average and still win. It's not conducive to being European football ready either - not Rovers or Bradley's fault of course but you do need all ducks lined up to improve in Europe.Quote:
Originally Posted by Calcio Jack
HT | Sorry to everyone about the camera, had to bring it back for one game. Will have the normal setup back for the next home game!
https://twitter.com/KerryFC/status/1...qYDVpGIUA&s=19
Kerry FC apologised at half time for using the farcical automated camera. The first and third goals of the game were not caught on camera. Some people were calling it a security camera. If the automated camera missed two goals, it wouldn't make for a great security camera. The bank would be broken into and the camera would be looking elsewhere.
About as good as it gets for a fan in an isolated game of football in Dalymount last night. To come from behind late on after a frustrating run of form, in a match where you were trying not to let the frustration get the better of you. Had the kids in with me and what an experience for them. Glad more people are coming to games these days and getting that live match experience instead of just telly. Those moments in a stadium are worth their weight in gold.
I thought it was a penalty at the time, and watching it back I still think it is. Cian Kavanagh did well to draw the foul and got his heels clipped.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nah Nah Nah Nah
We were good for the last half hour, but we did look vulnerable at the back. Patching played well when he came on, great to have him back.
The new lad McMullan played the full game, his first in two months. Certainly looks like he could be a useful player.
Danny Lafferty was causing us plenty of problems and it was a lovely striker for his goal.
Still not quite sure how Sligo are so inconsistent, they really should be higher up the table.
For us, it's exactly what we needed, and a nice boost going to Tórshavn next week.