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Excuses, excuses, excuses. A load of balls. Derry have a big enough squad to cope with the demands of the extra games. The fact is we should be beating Bray, Bohs, Drogheda and UCD at the Brandywell - we didn't. No matter how many games we played - the squad should have handled it and the fringe players should have been used. Molloy and Martyn started nearly every game recently and we could have rested them or one of them when playing against teams like Bray (no offence).
That's right we shouldn't have done so well in Europe this season. If we had of lost to Gothenburg in the first round we would have got abuse for not helping the league so then we go and play six games in europe therefore helping the league and it's our fault for the fixture pile-up. The league need to help the teams who qualify for Europe. As it stands I wouldn't like to be in europe next season if it means another fixture messQuote:
Originally Posted by bohs til i die
Were you at the match last night?!Quote:
Originally Posted by lofty9
We were played off the pitch. The fringe players were played and they played, well, like fringe players!!!! The regulars looked so mentally tired it was unreal.
We signed our death warrant when we left ourselves with a game every 3 or 4 days for the last 10 weeks of the season.
Its not crying over spilled milk, its a fact.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dee75
AFAIK
Derry agreed to a request from Drogheda to postpone a game in Drogheda in July. The game was postponed because of european games SIX days after the postponed game, and the two clubs both played the previous Sunday.
That game was scheduled 8 days after both played in Europe and 6 days before they were to play in Europe again. Sheer madness.
If you cannot play games with 4/5 days in between during the summer then you should not play in Europe. This was the exact same line I took when Kenny was getting our league games postponed in 2003 because we were playing CL games on the Wednesday. It ultimately cost us a title IMO.
Also it was 6 months ago that Drogheda v Derry was postponed because of the Setanta cup final. Why did it take so long to re-fix?
The fixture mess is down to managers of league clubs, nobody else.
I'd agree that the World Cup break was a joke, exposed totally when we had games going head-to-head with the knockout stages including league cup games on the same nights as the World Cup semi-finals.
The fixture list needs looking at and there are a few easy changes to make. I still don't understand why there's a full programme of Premier Division games scheduled for the same dates as the FAI Cup semi-finals. It immediately forces at least two rearranged games into the last three weeks of the season. Leaving it free would also allow other teams the possibility of playing rearranged games on their usual weekend date (if they don't reach the semis).
The Derry - Drogs six day postponement was the most ridiculous though. The league could easily work the first rounds of all the UEFA competitions into the fixture list, moving the competing teams to the following Sunday or Monday (depending on the competition) instead the list is published with games that are guaranteed to be rescheduled.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tomsoc
I said it a few years ago, schedule some mid-week games between UEFA/CL teams for earlier in the season [May/June]
On this point, the NLSA mentioned it to the FAI at one of our meetings during the year. We were told that clubs were able to do this, but had to organise it themselves effectively.Quote:
Originally Posted by Macy
There's 16 weeks of a pre-season; no reason why it can't be extended a week or two to allow clubs extra time to play postponed games.
We also queried the Drogheda-Derry postponement and were told that the FAI/league allowed it on the basis of "damned if we do, damned if we don't" - they were (rightly, IMO) slammed for allowing the postponement, but they said if they didn't allow it and Drogheda lost, they'd be slammed for holding our clubs back in Europe.
I don't think you can blame the FAI/league for the Drogs - Derry postponement. It's the clubs' fault.
Yes, the clubs should take blame too for the idea, but the league surely had the power to tell them to cop on to themselves?
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Originally Posted by pineapple stu
But if the league blocked it and a player [McCourt/Gavin for example] got injured and missed the European game then the clubs would slaughter the league.
Its the clubs/managers fault, end of.
Yeah, I made that point in my previous post. I still think it's the "risk" that should have been taken. They let games be played six days before European games most of the time; no reason to make an exception here.
A player can just as easily get injured in training so its a no-brainerQuote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Touched a nerve there, have I?Quote:
Originally Posted by OneRedArmy
See the other thread where it takes a Shels fan to point out the blinding obvious re Kenny and Bohs.Quote:
Originally Posted by BohsFans
You haven't touched a nerve as I personally wrote off winning the League after the League Cup extra time and qualifying for the UEFA CUP 1st round left us with too many games in too short a time period.
We hadn't even played Drogs until a few weeks back and still had Shels to play twice at the end of August.
Last season was our real chance, but I'm not sure losing away to Cork in front of 9,000 home fans qualifies as "bottling it".
Kenny leaves, if he goes, without a trophy of merit, but he single handedly turned our club around.
FACT. As you like to say.
More like 6,500 fans in Cork.Quote:
Originally Posted by OneRedArmy
The titles been there for the taking this season and last and Kenny has bottled it, simple as.
Nothing to do with us sacking him.
Shelbourne have been the team to beat for almost the whole season. They have been top longer than any other side. Shels have won the league because they are better than Derry.Quote:
Originally Posted by BohsFans
Because of derrys fixture pile up.Quote:
Originally Posted by DmanDmythDledge
Derry had it all in there own hands a few weeks ago and the games they have lost or drawns were against teams they are better than.
Fair play shels won the games and the league but Derry lost it when it was in there own hands.....so i do think there was an element of bottling it in there
In a strange sort of way I think Kenny blew the league at the
league cup final
Yes, I was at the match. If you had read my post correctly, you would have noticed that I suggested that the squad players should have been played in the matches vs Bray etc, therefore there would have been no excuse for fatigue in matches like last night. Martyn has looked wrecked for the past number of weeks, Deery or Higgins could have played in his position. It's not as if they are tired. The squad players that started last night were Holmes and Deery. I don't know if you can count Brennan as one. Holmes had a quiet night, but the damage was done in Deery's side. He was played out of position therefore looked like a 'fringe' player. Higgins actually did well when he came on, at least him, Molloy and McCourt took some responsibility for getting on the ball and at least tried to do something with it.Quote:
Originally Posted by OneRedArmy
As for Delaney, well he looked like the classy centre forward Ireland have been looking for:D
Superb hat-trick by Barrett for anyone who didn't see in on TV3 the other night.
Could have been 6 :eek: