Games Friday 12th to Monday 15th May

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Originally Posted by Kiki Balboa

This must have been some legendary performence by Sligo in Tallaght since yous wont stop talking about it.

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Not legendary but they looked competitive and dangerous throughout the game and I wouldn't put it down to us playing poorly as I would with others games we conceded or dropped points in. They just looked like the best team we've played. Maybe Tallaght just suits them as it did Dundalk at one point.

Shels should probably get a bit of the same credit from us. They've consistently played well against us and Moylan has levelled them up. Some run they are on now. Best they've had since 2003 I think I heard? Any Shels fans know?

Ah yes Jack Moylan, who along with Ryan Grayson were allowed leave bohs by Keith long , turning out to be really poor decisions those. I’d say every club can point to that type of error though.

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Originally Posted by Shearer

The honeymoon phase between Harps fans and Dave Rogers may be coming to an end, with the former finally realising that the latter doesn't actually s**t chocolate.

A four year deal for a fella with no senior experience who seems more concerned with taking photos at a funeral mass, buying bottles of wine and deleting his twitter account after every loss.

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He had managed a club in India, who no longer exist, and a club in America, who were last seen advertising open trials for a park league. Both would have been 'senior football' at the time.

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Originally Posted by Dermobohs

Ah yes Jack Moylan, who along with Ryan Grayson were allowed leave bohs by Keith long , turning out to be really poor decisions those. I’d say every club can point to that type of error though.

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How many goals has JM got now? Hes having some season so far!

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Originally Posted by Dermobohs

Ah yes Jack Moylan, who along with Ryan Grayson were allowed leave bohs by Keith long , turning out to be really poor decisions those. I’d say every club can point to that type of error though.

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Sean Gannon being let go by Trevor Croly still hurts.

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Originally Posted by ontheotherhand

Sean Gannon being let go by Trevor Croly still hurts.

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Some stat that Sean Gannon has 8 league medals from his time with Dundalk and S Rovers too. Who has the overall record I wonder for league medals?

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Originally Posted by Martinho II

Some stat that Sean Gannon has 8 league medals from his time with Dundalk and S Rovers too. Who has the overall record I wonder for league medals?

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He has 9, one from Pats as well. Some career. Everywhere he goes, he wins leagues. I think he holds the record but I'm open to correction.

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Originally Posted by Calcio Jack

Insert a Trump like ; I don’t like reality/another’s opinion so let’s denigrate them by name calling.

I’ve been watching Rovers for over 50 years so not saying I’m always correct but I do have a long time observing this ; I first noticed it when I went to see us play Drogheda away circa Xmas 1973…. I can still taste the feral atmosphere/vibe emanating from the locals in their desire to beat us….. as a small boy I was fascinated by it… and tbh a little be bit scared.

Also I’ve attended hundreds of matches over the years not involving Rovers and imo it’s clear to see the difference.

Anyway I’ll leave it at that , as once you get to a certain age one has less time to engage in debate….. aka I suffer from grumpy old man entitlement syndrome ?

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Ah Jack, you definitely were suffering from grumpy something there. I was rather amused by your post to be honest, I sincerely thought you enjoying the moment. No additional aggrievement was intended.

Had I realised you were feeling legitimately aggrieved I've have just scrolled on by and not assumed you were being humorous.

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Originally Posted by Calcio Jack

Sligo were excellent in Tallaght- it just proves that they like all teams when playing against us ‘raise’ their game and perform above their norm.

I always feel it must be so annoying for fans of other clubs when that happens and they then revert to their norm instead of maintaining a consistency at a higher level.

I guess the desire to beat us above all clubs drives the rest of the league and of course proves why for Rovers to win a league is much more difficult than for any other club.

That’s why the league needs a strong Rovers as it helps drag standards up for others ; if only they could maintain consistent standards -but then again that’s why there’s only one Rovers

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Its a proper irritation and I can totally identify with what you are saying CJ! When a cub like Dundalk or currently Rovers are dominating league titles and even the poorest sides suddenly pull out once in a generation like performances, it does beg the question 'why not week in week out?'. Is a compliment to the dominant club - Rovers in the last decade were so wound up playing Dundalk, Burke or a Brennan saw reds, Dundalk will undoubtedly find an extra few % trying to upset a title season, Its a phenomonen that few club will really experience but Dundalk and Rovers know about it all too well. Crowds play a part in that extra effort so covid BCD wins lost something those seasons.

I would say that the league needs any of the traditional club powerbases to help drag the rest along. The current Rovers run is undoubtedly based on the determinaton to end seasons behind Dundalk and so much so that the bizzare behaviour of our owners facilitated the sgning of Dundalk league winners and so got yiz over the line in the end - took a tad longer than it should though. Cycles come and go, i'd love Dundalk perennial winners of course but the nature of LoI is that (many) dogs have thir day, its a competative league often to the detriment of European progression, but in all honesty the ability of any number of sides goig on a title challange is what keeps us engaged for years on years imo. Placid Casusal would be lost without a pesky Dundalk winning the odd league and cup. I do think Rovers will emulate the famous 4 in a row side, it hurst to say so but it also sets a benchmark!

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Originally Posted by Calcio Jack

Insert a Trump like ; I don’t like reality/another’s opinion so let’s denigrate them by name calling.

I’ve been watching Rovers for over 50 years so not saying I’m always correct but I do have a long time observing this ; I first noticed it when I went to see us play Drogheda away circa Xmas 1973…. I can still taste the feral atmosphere/vibe emanating from the locals in their desire to beat us….. as a small boy I was fascinated by it… and tbh a little be bit scared.

Also I’ve attended hundreds of matches over the years not involving Rovers and imo it’s clear to see the difference.

Anyway I’ll leave it at that , as once you get to a certain age one has less time to engage in debate….. aka I suffer from grumpy old man entitlement syndrome ?

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In youthful ignorance you may have assumed this was football related rather than a local norm!

Know we were missing a load but the lack of any fight from those that played last night was very worrying. We were abysmal. Big game in Cork on Friday for the wrong reasons.

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Originally Posted by Nesta99

Its a proper irritation and I can totally identify with what you are saying CJ! When a cub like Dundalk or currently Rovers are dominating league titles and even the poorest sides suddenly pull out once in a generation like performances, it does beg the question 'why not week in week out?'. Is a compliment to the dominant club - Rovers in the last decade were so wound up playing Dundalk, Burke or a Brennan saw reds, Dundalk will undoubtedly find an extra few % trying to upset a title season, Its a phenomonen that few club will really experience but Dundalk and Rovers know about it all too well. Crowds play a part in that extra effort so covid BCD wins lost something those seasons.

I would say that the league needs any of the traditional club powerbases to help drag the rest along. The current Rovers run is undoubtedly based on the determinaton to end seasons behind Dundalk and so much so that the bizzare behaviour of our owners facilitated the sgning of Dundalk league winners and so got yiz over the line in the end - took a tad longer than it should though. Cycles come and go, i'd love Dundalk perennial winners of course but the nature of LoI is that (many) dogs have thir day, its a competative league often to the detriment of European progression, but in all honesty the ability of any number of sides goig on a title challange is what keeps us engaged for years on years imo. Placid Casusal would be lost without a pesky Dundalk winning the odd league and cup. I do think Rovers will emulate the famous 4 in a row side, it hurst to say so but it also sets a benchmark!

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Ah but Nesta, you all hate us even when we are **** and that's the difference. Outside of a select few, every fanbase and team love to beat us just that bit more. You know it's true. And yet we persevere in the face of such animosity......it's.....heroic some would say.

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Originally Posted by ontheotherhand

Sean Gannon being let go by Trevor Croly still hurts.

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1 of damn few players tha Rovers, Pats and Dundalk fans possibly felt a sting stng when leaving, especially Dundalk! Id still have him back, regardless of age and the new trend of 3 at the back with wingbacks, he's sort of lad whose influence, coaching and sharing experience wth young players could be gold dust - and he is likely to fill a hole in defence if called upon, I still wonder at that cross for McEleney in the cup final where wrapping his foot around that ball caused an injury...selfless, effective and game winner - ending up on crutches lol

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Originally Posted by ontheotherhand

Ah but Nesta, you all hate us even when we are **** and that's the difference. Outside of a select few, every fanbase and team love to beat us just that bit more. You know it's true. And yet we persevere in the face of such animosity......it's.....heroic some would say.

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Footaball rivalries - where would we be without them?! Hate is strong word, respect sits better. Ach I do or did (at the time) enjoy the sesne of audacity that Dundalk went all out to beat Rovers at times (PC can probably recall each time) and Cork fans who were desperate to build up a bitter rivalry - takes a bit more time and history than a few years to build a turely gritty antagonism between 2 clubs, Drogheda have done their best on the local scene, poor Monaghan United tried to do the same. Reality is clubs that have multiple titles, doubles, European 1sts/seedings will always be the ones that theres real bite between them. Do I enjoy getting one over SRFC, most definitely - as the record holders for most titles I think thats pretty much a given and the norm. But then Rovers have had everyone do their upmost to give them a legup - ground for nothing, govt backed academy, GAA told to get back in their box - ye know The Lucky Club...

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Originally Posted by Nesta99

Footaball rivalries - where would we be without them?! Hate is strong word, respect sits better. Ach I do or did (at the time) enjoy the sesne of audacity that Dundalk went all out to beat Rovers at times (PC can probably recall each time) and Cork fans who were desperate to build up a bitter rivalry - takes a bit more time and history than a few years to build a turely gritty antagonism between 2 clubs, Drogheda have done their best on the local scene, poor Monaghan United tried to do the same. Reality is clubs that have multiple titles, doubles, European 1sts/seedings will always be the ones that theres real bite between them. Do I enjoy getting one over SRFC, most definitely - as the record holders for most titles I think thats pretty much a given and the norm. But then Rovers have had everyone do their upmost to give them a legup - ground for nothing, govt backed academy, GAA told to get back in their box - ye know The Lucky Club...

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I do enjoy a good rivalry and at least with Dundalk it's somewhat real and mutual rather than completely one way and invented as some are.

Not going near the bait you left in the last paragraph other than to say how lucky I felt traipsing out to the Morton all those years. Was delighted to hear bohs might be doing the same while the government build them a ground.

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Originally Posted by Nesta99

1 of damn few players tha Rovers, Pats and Dundalk fans possibly felt a sting stng when leaving, especially Dundalk! Id still have him back, regardless of age and the new trend of 3 at the back with wingbacks, he's sort of lad whose influence, coaching and sharing experience wth young players could be gold dust - and he is likely to fill a hole in defence if called upon, I still wonder at that cross for McEleney in the cup final where wrapping his foot around that ball caused an injury...selfless, effective and game winner - ending up on crutches lol

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He's brilliant and really should have been a one club man. We ****ed that one up badly along with many other things at that time.

I know you are just having a wind up there Nesta but the Govt backed Academy stung a touch as like all clubs the Govt are doing feck all to help underage,,,id say we got about 5 percent of our Academy expenditure from the Govt by way of grants. Some people have questioned the money we spent over the last 6 or 7 years (particularly when we werent winning anything) but today our unders 12s won the SFAI National Championship (beat Pike Rovers from Limerick in the final ) meaning we are current holders of the 12's 13s 14's and 15s.
The pathway is super, having said that id encourgae everyone to go and watch some of the under age games the talent accross lots of clubs is excelent, might be a bit hyperbolic to say this but i do think we are on the cusp of something fantastic over the next few years.
Bazunu and Ferguson are just the start.

The Irish under 17s (With five hoops) beat LAtvia and Ukraine in a tournament last week, success at underage is becoming routine, we are so much better at underage then we used to be in a broad sense. The future is bright and our Senor mens team will be worth watching soon enough

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Originally Posted by sadloserkid

Ah Jack, you definitely were suffering from grumpy something there. I was rather amused by your post to be honest, I sincerely thought you enjoying the moment. No additional aggrievement was intended.

Had I realised you were feeling legitimately aggrieved I've have just scrolled on by and not assumed you were being humorous.

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I wasn’t feeling aggrieved just pointing out that my experience is that all clubs raise their game against us and I’d wager that if there was a poll asking which club aside from your local rivals do you most like to beat then Rovers would come out on top no matter whether we are dominating the league or bottom ( Sorry Nesta?) ….. anyway it’s just my view

f course I was just having a swipe at the Rovers acedemy - mainly because its the only part of SRFC that I am truly jealous of! Rolls of honour can be eclipsed as difficult as that may seem at times, stadia may be built one day, records are there to be broken, but when it comes to youth development its is THE part of SRFC that all clubs should be envious of and want to replicate. Not exclusively for ones own club but for Irish football.

I will sign off on this more placating comment, I was just getting back in to habit of posting and throwing in the odd wind up. But I once again will have very limited access to this or any fora until August - by then Im sure Dundalk and SRFC will be slugging it out for Champions League football, Cork will be bottom and UCD and St Pats will be trading punches on the play-off slot. The rest will be dog eat dog for Europe. On Europe, Dundalks seeding will get us through 2 rounds. Rovers will be lording it among the minnows of the Conference league after solid chances at EL but Bradser goes all out defence...same ols same old.

I think you fancy me Nesta. I'm very flattered.

So ...big games tonight.
Hopefully Rovers can take the 3 points against Pats who seem to be responding to the interim manager.
Hugely interesting game in Derry , Dundalk on the back of 4 wins would be a good scalp for Derry but ditto for Dundalk.
A win puts Dundalk firmly into joint second a loss and they are mid table with Shels / PAts and a few tough matches coming up

Trevor Clarke is suspended which is a pity given he is in a rih vein of form but Farrugia didnt play against UCD so i guess he will come in

No mention of how Colm Whelan's doing in the previews I see - any Derry fans got any update?

Not sure if the silence is good or bad... Coleman's injury was the same night but we've long gotten word as to when he's likely to be back

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

No mention of how Colm Whelan's doing in the previews I see - any Derry fans got any update?

Not sure if the silence is good or bad... Coleman's injury was the same night but we've long gotten word as to when he's likely to be back

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Still no news...

From here: https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soc...-need-29980775

But Higgins is still waiting to know the full extent of striker Colm Whelan’s knee injury amid growing fears of a second cruciate injury in 12 months.

Higgins added: “I’m not spinning you a load of nonsense, there’s no real clarity and there might not be for a couple of weeks.

“He has been to see the specialist again and they’re coming up with a plan. I don't know what the plan is. It's a bit inconclusive at the minute, so we just have to wait.”

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Originally Posted by ontheotherhand

Not legendary but they looked competitive and dangerous throughout the game and I wouldn't put it down to us playing poorly as I would with others games we conceded or dropped points in. They just looked like the best team we've played. Maybe Tallaght just suits them as it did Dundalk at one point.

Shels should probably get a bit of the same credit from us. They've consistently played well against us and Moylan has levelled them up. Some run they are on now. Best they've had since 2003 I think I heard? Any Shels fans know?

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In the Premier Division this current 8 game unbeaten run is our best run since our title winning team back in 2006 when we went on a 9 game unbeaten run that season including 8 consecutive wins, for all competitions and First Division I would have to do some digging

This seasons unbeaten run started off with a really poor 0-0 draw away to UCD in April it was the first game under Duff some boos started but the performances since that game have been mostly excellent efficient with a huge workrate all across the starting XI, we're not brilliant by any means but we're a stubborn team to win any points off

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Originally Posted by placid casual

I think you fancy me Nesta. I'm very flattered.

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Oh its your love of Dundalk FC that has me completely enamoured PC!

Rovers better hope Mannus isnt out for too long......

We must be the best team to have played in Tallaght since the famous Sligo team of 2023.

Shame we're so soft.

Ye were decent tonight alright if a little naive at times but that’s young players. Great game and atmosphere and best Monday night in Tallaght this season.

it’s mad what’s happened to Sligo since that match. Genuinely, they were brilliant that night!

Scoreline flattered pats.
A mad deflection and some woeful keeping was your only attempts on goal.
As for Eoin Doyle... Mrs Doyle would have been more dangerous.
Ref was awful for both teams.
Onwards.

Very enjoyable game tonight in Tallaght. Deserved win for Rovers. I happened to be sitting beside an Aberdeen scout in the west stand who was watching Farrugia and Sam Curtis.

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Originally Posted by Philosophizer

Very enjoyable game tonight in Tallaght. Deserved win for Rovers. I happened to be sitting beside an Aberdeen scout in the west stand who was watching Farrugia and Sam Curtis.

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Scottish clubs won’t pony up the cash LOI clubs are after. I remember Hibs thinking they could get Burns for Mickey Mouse money when he had time left on his contract. We got more from Mk Dons when it had only six months left.

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Originally Posted by D24Saint

Scottish clubs won’t pony up the cash LOI clubs are after. I remember Hibs thinking they could get Burns for Mickey Mouse money when he had time left on his contract. We got more from Mk Dons when it had only six months left.

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Glad to hear it. With the growing attendances and a bit more stability at LOI clubs now they should only accept proper offers.

Went to Tallaght expecting to see Pats get pasted but the performance was a lot better than expected, although that doesn’t make the kick in the face any easier to take. As mentioned defensive nativity is a real killer at the moment and Joe Redmond's long term injury has had a major effect on the team and was made worse by Tom Grivosti's 2 month injury also but it’s good to have him back now at least.

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Originally Posted by Jack B

We must be the best team to have played in Tallaght since the famous Sligo team of 2023.

Shame we're so soft.

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You've a long way to go to reach the heights of the Sligo team of 8pm-10pm, April 28th, 2023 Jack.

Decent performance by Pat's all the same but you're obviously missing Desmond at the back and probably need to find a good striker. Midfield options all looked pretty good but weren't getting much help from either end. Lennon was very good and Forrester is lovely to watch when on song.

Thought we controlled most of the second half and probably would have been more comfortable if not for Gaffney and Burke having their worst games in a long time. Thankfully Richie stepped up and put in another great performance. It was like watching prime Towell from his Dundalk days. Great to see so thank you to the Pat's fans for winding him up!

Curtis has so much talent but his naivety showed on a few occasions. I wonder would you be better off with a more experienced right back or perhaps he was just a bit exposed without Desmond in there?

Is Daly doing enough to be considered for the job?

One of the easiest wins for Derry city tonight, Dundalk will struggle to get top four.

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Originally Posted by total hoofball

In the Premier Division this current 8 game unbeaten run is our best run since our title winning team back in 2006 when we went on a 9 game unbeaten run that season including 8 consecutive wins, for all competitions and First Division I would have to do some digging

This seasons unbeaten run started off with a really poor 0-0 draw away to UCD in April it was the first game under Duff some boos started but the performances since that game have been mostly excellent efficient with a huge workrate all across the starting XI, we're not brilliant by any means but we're a stubborn team to win any points off

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I think there was also a win against Dublin City that was expunged in the middle of that run in 2006.

We had a number of long unbeaten runs in the first division over the years since then which I think were all over ten games at least, including off the top of my head in 2008 (twice), 2009, 2011, 2019 and the longest I can think of is the 2021 which we were unbeaten in the first two rounds of fixtures until Galway beat us so probably 18 games.

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Originally Posted by ontheotherhand

You've a long way to go to reach the heights of the Sligo team of 8pm-10pm, April 28th, 2023 Jack.

Decent performance by Pat's all the same but you're obviously missing Desmond at the back and probably need to find a good striker. Midfield options all looked pretty good but weren't getting much help from either end. Lennon was very good and Forrester is lovely to watch when on song.

Thought we controlled most of the second half and probably would have been more comfortable if not for Gaffney and Burke having their worst games in a long time. Thankfully Richie stepped up and put in another great performance. It was like watching prime Towell from his Dundalk days. Great to see so thank you to the Pat's fans for winding him up!

Curtis has so much talent but his naivety showed on a few occasions. I wonder would you be better off with a more experienced right back or perhaps he was just a bit exposed without Desmond in there?

Is Daly doing enough to be considered for the job?

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Clancy by his own admission was well backed but the recruitment has been poor really. Very few new additions would be getting into the team at all were it not for injuries, and while you're right regardless about Desmond, more currently Redmond being out is killing us at times. Think we've conceded the most goals in the top 8 and it's no coincidence that he and Grivosti have been missing for a large chunk of the season. Curtis has an extremely high ceiling but by the nature of his age will make mistakes, but you can apply that to McGrath (who had a bit of a shocker for the 3rd) and Lewis too so there hasn't been much cover for one another.

Hard to call with Daly, he's not hurting his chances anyway. After having a single shot on target in Clancy's last three games to scoring eight in the three he's been in caretaker charge of he's at least addressed things on that front, and from what I can tell a lot of the fans have really taken to the way he speaks. Jury would still be out for me, ultimately in the three games he's been in charge of Clancy actually took more points from the corresponding fixtures and we've not exactly had convincing performances in them either. Shels on Friday should be more of an indicator with it being against a side that we're more so in direct competition with than Rovers/Drogs/Cork.

Thought the Curtis Farrugia battle last night was entertaiing.
On balance Farrugia won the battle but they are two very talented young men who have a big future in front of them

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Originally Posted by sbgawa

Thought the Curtis Farrugia battle last night was entertaiing.
On balance Farrugia won the battle but they are two very talented young men who have a big future in front of them

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Curtis had done very well on Farrugia until his clanger at the end of the 1st half. Struggled a bit at times in the 2nd half but he dealt with Farrugia fairly well bar one very costly mistake. Farrugia is class and if he stays fit he'll be on the way to the Championship soon enough although he did make one terrible error that allowed Atakayi clean through but the finish was dreadful. It's possible that he didn't expect Atakayi to be able to match his pace.

Disappointing result particularly after equalising late on. We were the better team for most of the first half until the aforementioned clanger. 2nd half was much more Rovers and the 2nd goal was coming. Then after the equaliser we just gave Rovers far too much space and they could easily have scored before the penalty. Lennon had a good game and Grivosti makes a big difference to our defence. Thought Murphy as talented as he is was outmuscled too often and Breslin had a poor game and didn't get out quick enough to close down for the 2nd goal. Eoin Doyle was dreadful also. Thought we dealt with Gaffney well and he clearly was frustrated at times.

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Originally Posted by Candystripe

One of the easiest wins for Derry city tonight, Dundalk will struggle to get top four.

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Dundalk were muck last night, and based on that performance would agree top 4 will be a tough ask.

It may have been first league defeat to Derry in the last 7 games (5 draws 1 win) but after 5-10 mins last night, and from team selection it was fairly clear it would be a comfortable Derry win.

Only positive was, no more away league trips to Derry for this season !