And also with his premier too.. Call me biased, but do you honestly think Dundalk are going to finish 6th below Pats, Bohs and Derry?Quote:
Originally Posted by CSFShels
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And also with his premier too.. Call me biased, but do you honestly think Dundalk are going to finish 6th below Pats, Bohs and Derry?Quote:
Originally Posted by CSFShels
1. Shels
2. limerick
3. waterford utd
4. Cork City
5. Monaghan United
6. finn harps
7. Longford Town
8. Wexford Youths
9. Athlone town
10. Mervue United
11. Salthill devon
for me it was a toss up between shels and limerick both teams have strenghten big time limerick look a very good team this year they added 5 or 6 top players to last seasons squad
Can't look beyond Shamrock Rovers for Premier, Sligo possibly to cause an upset with a following or Bohs and Dundalk.
In the first, It'll be one of Shels or Waterford for the title with Limerick possibly in the mix with them. Follow it with Cork and Harps. Monaghan not as strong this year and losing Mick Cooke to be replaced with Roddy is a loss to them man management wise too.
For me it'll look something like this.
1. Shamrock Rovers
2. Sligo Rovers
3. Dundalk
4. Bohemians
5. St.Pats
6. Derry
7. UCD
8. Bray
9. Drogheda
10. Galway
First Division
1. Shelbourne
2. Waterford
3. Limerick
4. Cork
5. Finn Harps
6. Monaghan United
7. Longford
8. Wexford Youths
9. Athlone
10. Salthill Devon
11. Mervue
League cup seems to be Derrys lucky competition so expect them to reach semi at least if not final. But I'd imagine Shamrock Rovers reserves to win it they have such a squad their 2nd team would be capable of it. If not I'd guess Sligo or even Dundalk to win it.
FAI cup, will be one of those surprise competitions again, put my head on the line here and even say Shels to reach the final of that one with Shamrock Rovers the eventual winners.
Dundalk for Setanta.
1-Shams, they should really walk it with their squad and budget but thanks to Mick O'Neills talent for getting below standard performances out of his players we should push them close.
2-Rovers, as long as we dont have our notoriously slow starts we should be there abouts come the end of the season.
3-Pats, Pete Mahon is a great manager and should get them to Europe this season.
4-Dundalk, just pipped to 3rd by Pats but should be always in the mix.
5-Bohs, if they last to the end of the season.
6-Derry, some good signings and could easily push into Europe but I dont think they can match the rest, IMO 2-6 will be tight.
7-Bray, comfortable season, no risk of relegation for a change but cant see them pushing past mid-table.
8-Galway, will struggle with a very weak squad coupled with the mess in the background but I was very impressed by what Sean Connor got out of them last season, could perform another achievement by just stearing them out of relegation.
9-UCD, significantly weaker than last season, not impressed by their signings and will be in the mix for relegation.
10-Drogs, can only see one outcome for them this season even with a good manager, straight down.
First Division
1-Shels, this has got to be their year especially with a player of Conan Byrnes calibre, top quality premier division player.
2-Limerick, this seasons surprise package and I really hope they get up, if they get the play-offs they have a good chance of beating the premier opposition.
3-Cork, good squad and will be there abouts come the end of the season, love to get some Munster team promoted.
4-Waterford, I feel that their ship has sailed at this stage, should push the rest but just out of reach.
5-Harps, one of their better seasons but not good enough to challenge the top 4.
6-Monaghan, big loss with Cooke and an exodus of their players, mid-table.
7-Longford, safe but never pushing on into the first half of the division.
8-Wexford, same as longford.
9-Athlone, another miserable season in the graveyard and could easily be in the mix for relegation.
10-Mervue, relegation dogfight.
11-Salthill, same as above.
FAI Cup - Rovers
Setanta Cup - Dundalk
League Cup - Shams
Premier
1. Rovers
2. Shams
3. Dundalk
4. Derry
5. Pats
6. Bohs
7. UCD
8. Bray
9. Galway
10. Drogheda United
First
1. Shels
2. Waterford United
3. Cork
4. Limerick
5. Finn Harps
6. Monaghan United
7. Wexford
8. Longford
9. Mervue United
10. Salthill Devon
11. Athlone Town
FAI Cup: Dundalk
League Cup: Pats
Setanta Cup: Shams
1 Derry
2 Rovers
3 Dundalk
4 Pats
5 Sligo
6 Bohs
7 Bray
8 UCD
9 Galway
10 Drogs
League Cup; Bohs
FAI Cup; Dundalk
In europe Rovers will win first round but then lose heartbreakingingly in both CL and Europa League play offs. Pats will scrape by their first game before losing in the 2nd QR. Bohs will get through that round but lose in the 3QR. Sligo will get by 2 rounds
Premier
1. Shamrock Rovers
2.Sligo
3. Dundalk
4. Derry
5. Pats
6. Bohs
7. UCD
8. Galway
9.Bray
10. Drogheda United
First
1. Shels
2. Waterford United
3. Cork
4. Limerick
5. Finn Harps
6. Monaghan United
7. Wexford
8. Longford
9. Mervue United
10. Salthill Devon
11. Athlone Town
FAI Cup:Sligo
League Cup: Pats
Setanta Cup: Dundalk
Premier
1. Shamrock Rovers
2. Derry
3. Sligo
4. Dundalk
5. Pats
6. Bray
7. Bohs
8. UCD
9. Galway
10. Drogheda United
First
1. Shels
2. Limerick
3. Waterford
4. Cork
5. Finn Harps
6. Wexford
7. Longford
8. Monaghan
9. Athlone Town
10. Mervue United
11. Salthill Devon
FAI Cup: Sligo
League Cup: Limerick
Setanta Cup: Shamrock Rovers
I can't see Shamrock Rovers running away with it as much as a lot of people are predicting. I think O'Neill is an innately conservative manager and they'll continue to drop points at times because of this. Having such a big squad can work against them when players become unsettled due to a lack of game time and friction in the camp could be an issue. They should progress well in all competitions so the big squad will be needed and if they have a successful European run they could easily take their eye off the ball in the league.
The positions from 2-8 are all capable of having a good run and exceeding expectations, injuries will be crucial to all of their chances and it may well be the team that can keep their first eleven fit for the longest will emerge as Rovers closest challengers. The Brandywell is always a hard place to go and that's why I'm putting Derry in 2nd there'll be a buzz about them this year and with a mostly local side I can see them exceeding expectations. Sligo are a bit too dependent on their outstanding midfield and I don't think they'll quite live up to the standards of last season. I like the look of Dundalk's squad and they might just be able to sustain a challenge for a little longer this season.
The first looks like being impossible to call too. Shel's might have finally put together the squad to sneak it but I wouldn't be surprised if it went all the way to the last day. I can see the top 5 having a bit of a gap on the rest and Harps could be this season's Monaghan if they can get a good start. Can't see Mon's keeping up the standards of last year and losing Cooke so close to the kick off is a blow to them. Longford should improve this year also and the Youths will be unpredictable as ever.
am I missing things or what? is roddy collins in for the job at monaghan utd??Quote:
Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954
honestly think our team is better than last seasons only real loss for me is garto ,Just need a new manager to take us to a higher level was never sure mick was that man. I am a not so put out at his departure just his timing
In honesty what Cooke brought to the club wasn't so much his match day managerial skills and often made very questionable decisions. His greatest gift to us was stability and his dedication. He also had a way of bringing good players to the club to play on a pittance but a lot of that was due to being able to assure the player that they would get paid, on time and in full. That hasn't changed at the club and I agree with passerby that bar Garto, we are a stronger better team than last year. The fact that Shels, limerick, Cork and waterford are better too is the only concerning factor for me.
Premier
1. Shamrock Rovers
2. Sligo - but may have some financial issues
3. Bohs - with that squad they will challenge- but may go bust
4. Derry
5. Dundalk
6. Pats
7. Bray
8. UCD
9. Galway
10. Drogheda United
1. Waterford - I just think it's fainally their time, Hendo has been there and done it before with less, they were arguably a bit flaky at centre half and they went out and signed Kenny Browne, have goals in them and strength all over the pitch.
2. Shels - Look very strong, will be completely Alan Matthews team this year, the only negative thing I'll say about them is they're potentially light up front. Having said that, they should have lots of goals from midfield. If their strikers click they could well win the league, if not they might have to settle for second.
GAP
3. Cork - Their starting eleven is as good as anyones but I'm not convinced there's much depth there and they have a couple of outstanding issues, namely a chocolate hands in goals and a manager that the jury is still out on. Also if Graham Cummins breaks an arm or a leg at any stage are they just going to start forfeiting games before kick off?
4. Harps - Could be this years Monaghan. A lot of people haven't given them any credit for how good they actually were at home last year and their form on the road should pick up after a couple of quality signings like Conor O'Grady.
5. Limerick - We've had a great pre season and look like having a very strong team, in Gary Sheehan and Stephen O'Flynn (with Peter Hynes hopefully putting in a few good shifts after an encouraging pre season) we have arguably the best attacking options in the division, have some genuinely amazingly talented youngfellas in the middle of the park and the defence this year appears to lack clowns for the first time in awhile. However, general consensus is we lack an experienced head in the middle of the park to kick people and any wide players in the traditional sense should we need a change of game plan at any stage.
BIGGER GAP.
6. Monaghan - Will struggle to repeat the previous few seasons form. Lost their attack and their main centre half, aswell as the manager. Still not awful by any stretch, but probably not up to the level of the teams above and momentum is against them heading into the start of the season.
7. Longford - Progress is being made but probably too slowly to have an impact on the upper end of the table this year. Will more than likely be a lot better than Athlone which should keep them happy enough!
8. Wexford - No Noel O'Connor side is ever going to ship too many hammerings and David Grincell was a great signing having lost Gary Sheehan. Dempsey to Waterford is a big loss for them aswell though and they are a bit short on quality in a Division with quite a bit of quality at the upper end this year.
9. Mervue - Look to be solid enough to break out of the Galway duopoly at the bottom of the Division this season. In Rory Gaffney they have one of the best players in the Division
GAP
10. Athlone - Their pre season has been a bit of a shambles by all accounts and they could be in for a long year.
11. Salthill - Are Terrible
1st-Shamrock Rovers
2nd- is nowhere.
agree 100%Quote:
Originally Posted by passerrby
not so sure - from what I've seen pre-season Fabio and especially Barrett won't replace Philly and Bermo- hope I am wrong.Quote:
honestly think our team is better than last seasons only real loss for me is garto
Likewise, Garto hasn't been replaced - not sure about Rogers.
Cathal O'Connor will be a big miss too.
First
1. Shels
2. Waterford
3. Cork
4. Limerick
5. Longford
6. Monaghan
7. Finn Harps
8. Wexford
9. Athlone Town
10. Mervue United
11. Salthill Devon
Yes, it'd safe money and hassle with the same eventual outcome.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lim till i die
Premier:
1. Shamrock Rovers
2. Sligo Rovers
3. Dundalk
4. St. Patrick's Athletic
5. Derry City
6. Bohemians
7. UCD
8. Bray Wanderers
9. Galway United
10. Drogheda United
First Division:
1. Shelbourne
2. Cork City
3. Waterford United
4. Monaghan United
5. Limerick FC
6. Finn Harps
7. Longford Town
8. Wexford Youths
9. Athlone Town
10. Mervue United
11. Salthill Devon
FAI Cup: Shamrock Rovers
League Cup: Derry City
Setanta Sports Cup: Sligo Rovers
Premier
1. Shams - To run away with it.
---------------
2. Dundalk
3. Pats
4. Rovers <----- 2nd-6th is anyones position. All teams can beat each other on any given day, so its a toss up, Dundalk to be the best of a bad bunch (Sligo Rovers involvement in Europe to have a major disadvantage on them with the thin squad).
5. Bohs
6. Derry
---------------
7. Bray
8. UCD
9. Galway
---------------
10. Drogheda United
I'm predicting Shams will progress to the Europa league group stages this year after getting through to the last Champions league Qualification round - they'll go straight into the group stage of EL.
FAI Cup: Shams
League Cup: Shock winner (First Division team)
Setanta Cup: Shams
Premier Division:
1. Shamrock Rovers
2. Sligo
3. Dundalk
4. Pat's
5. Derry City
6. Bohemians (if they survive)
7. UCD
8. Bray Wanderers
9. Drogheda United
10. Galway United
First Division:
1. Shelbourne
2. Blues
3. Co-op
4. Limerick
5. Monaghan
6. Harps
7. Longford
8. Wexford
9. Mervue
10. Athlone
11. Salthill
FAI Cup: Dundalk
League Cup: Why bother predicting something with only 10k for the winners. I'll predict Mrs McGinty will win the local bingo instead. Bigger prize fund.