2024 Season, Arrivals and Departures

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Originally Posted by Nesta99

Now there's some honesty, no bs. Its a **** show at Oriel, as it has with other clubs, proabably all at some point. CJ is spot on too, Rovers supporters worked damn hard to preserve the club but you havent forgotten the hard times CJ and pointed the finger. PC was up on his pedestal talking about barstoolers using this to LoI bash. He was just having a (justified) swipe with faux concern for the wider league.

You still havent answered my question on the possibility of losing fan ownership! A self proclaimed perfect model for LoI clubs that would prevent mistakes of the past being repeated. Im sure it would stick in the craw for the likes of CJ who was one of those who fought to bring the club back from the brink but could yet cede once again to private ownership, potentially risking the club being exposed to the whims of an individual. While its unlikely that DD would dismantle the club he could make Rovers a youth development outfit and feeder club to his main football interest. Care should be taken in LoI when laughing at other clubs as there but for the grace of god or he who laughs last etc etc. Its is mad that Dundalk's current situation is rooted in the appointment of a single mad geriatric about 4 years ago. Maybe if we had weathered that storm without demanding the ousting of people with very deep pockets, Bob would have moved on and some normal footballing operation resumed, who knows and tbh is a warning to any club that a few years can make a big difference. BA could well be the man that gets the off field club operations up to scratch, has acknowledge and not fudged the fact the facilities are not up to scratch. He scored an own goal with appointing NK but he has indicated an awarness of deeper issues at the club. It is too early to pass judgement on his ownership but if he was pushed out by fan groups where to then?

Part of Rovers business model is to wing the league every x number of years, the champions pathway making group stages possible semi regularly. If a SK led and heavily financially backed St Pats were to dominate going forward then that financal deficit could grow and become increasingly problematic. Selling the odd player, making Europe is still the basis of Rovers sustainability, hardly unique.

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I’m not sure what is the point of the above post bar explaining what we all know I.e. the future is uncertain- but what we’ve tried to do is future proof ourselves as best as possible but the good thing about sport in general is that no one or club stays indefinitely at the top ; current example is Bayern Munich- so we’ll see in a few years and that’s the fun/pain of it depending on which part of the circle your clubs sits.

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Originally Posted by Calcio Jack

I’m not sure what is the point of the above post bar explaining what we all know I.e. the future is uncertain- but what we’ve tried to do is future proof ourselves as best as possible but the good thing about sport in general is that no one or club stays indefinitely at the top ; current example is Bayern Munich- so we’ll see in a few years and that’s the fun/pain of it depending on which part of the circle your clubs sits.

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I suppose the argument is that you really haven't tried to future proof yourself if your business model is dependent on winning the league and doing well in Europe frequently. That's been the flaw of every LOI team that's boomed and busted. What happens if Kenny leads Pat's to multiple leagues and Rovers falter in Europe as a result? You can't depend on revenue from the academy simply because player development is dependent on so many factors outside of the control of the academy. You could have years with great youth teams and years with ones where there's no player who is above LSL standard. It's good to invest in these facilities but they don't guarantee revenue and shouldn't be seen that way imo.

The appointment of Kenny is a positive for the LOI - having a former international manager appointed to a club here raises the profile of the entire league.

Kenny has a good record in the LOI, but that does not guarantee future success. However, the better the level of competition the better the entire league will become.

Ireland will always suffer from the close proximity of Britain in terms of siphoning off talent - but one of the benefits of Brexit is that the kids will remain at home. This increases the potential of those players continuing to play and raise the standard of the LOI. I personally know several talented teenagers who were so disillusioned by their time working with English clubs, that they simply stopped playing altogether.

Jake Carroll signs for Bohs. Makes sense why he was still hanging around the place on match nights.

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Originally Posted by RealJohn91

Jake Carroll signs for Bohs. Makes sense why he was still hanging around the place on match nights.

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Without a club for 11 months and has played 1 league game in the last 2 years so wouldn’t be the most dependable availability wise but at 33 y/o in a couple of months he’ll bring a bit of experience to the squad anyways

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Originally Posted by RealJohn91

Jake Carroll signs for Bohs. Makes sense why he was still hanging around the place on match nights.

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Could be a good signing for a squad lacking in leadership in defence but the big question is fitness. He will be needed to play games with Mills and Mathesons loans ending soon.

That's a strange signing by Bohs, a 32 going on 33 year old centre-half who has hardly kicked a ball in 2 years due to injury is mostly likely going to be rubbish at that age in the LOI Premier Division even if they had a decent enough career in the UK in their 20s, there's enough experience in that Bohs squad already they don't need to another veteran around to pat the early 20 somethings on the back

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Originally Posted by Calcio Jack

I’m not sure what is the point of the above post bar explaining what we all know I.e. the future is uncertain- but what we’ve tried to do is future proof ourselves as best as possible but the good thing about sport in general is that no one or club stays indefinitely at the top ; current example is Bayern Munich- so we’ll see in a few years and that’s the fun/pain of it depending on which part of the circle your clubs sits.

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Once again the question of future ownership has been evaded. Fan ownership is a key pillar of futrue proofing SRFC, but isnt that at risk or not. As AB as said yes my point is that the future is uncertain and hence why taking excessive pleasure in another club's turmoil can throw some karma in your direction. When CCFC got in to financial trouble and were relegated I didnt take any paricular pleasure in it (bar to one or two on their forum that claimed that Cork were future proofed and that they would dominate the league by virtue of their sustainable model and average gate), my criticism was not to kick CCFC fans but to question how they let the elected FORAS board let things get out of control again.

Dundalk for all our current contribution to the GLITW soap opera are still in business. The management appointment was a mess for one reason or another. Its not good but may not be a disaster....yet. Whether SK was seriously considering the Dundalk job and the time given t him to decide was cut off is only relevant if he came out and said he would have taken the job and we missed the chance. Likewise Derry could also lament not making a move sooner. From what Im hearing SK was unsure about 'going back' to where he had good times and ditto with the Bohs offer. Nobody really expected him to come back to Dundalk so the situation really stays the same. We need a manager that could give us a fighting chance and will bring in a backroom team to help.

If its true, I get why Garts may have made a last ditch effort to get SK to reconsider the Dundalk job, but he did it while there was a manager in situ that had just been appointed, behind the back of the owner. Well intentioned but questionable jusgement to try and oust a newly appointed man using the weight of fan popularity and pressure. I can see why the owner would have seen that as over stepping the mark.

I will say again that it hs seemed for a while that Dundalk FC was eating itself from within in recent years and moves have been made to put an end to that cycle. Hopefully it will reap rewards down the line and it was certainly better that the apparant indifference of hyped up local ownership.

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Originally Posted by total hoofball

That's a strange signing by Bohs, a 32 going on 33 year old centre-half who has hardly kicked a ball in 2 years due to injury is mostly likely going to be rubbish at that age in the LOI Premier Division even if they had a decent enough career in the UK in their 20s, there's enough experience in that Bohs squad already they don't need to another veteran around to pat the early 20 somethings on the back

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There's hardly any experience in that defence though. Cornwall would be the one but he's probably out for the season. Matheson and Mills' loans are up shortly too. Who knows what state he's in physically but the side needs some depth and experience in defence.

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Originally Posted by RealJohn91

There's hardly any experience in that defence though. Cornwall would be the one but he's probably out for the season. Matheson and Mills' loans are up shortly too. Who knows what state he's in physically but the side needs some depth and experience in defence.

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Yep, Paddy Kirk is the most experienced defender of the starting back 4 and he's prone to being the biggest liability as well. Prior to this signing there was no alternate left back at the club either hence Flores getting games there. Risky but necessary signing imo.

To be fair, all the chat is that Carroll has basically been with them all season, has presumably proven a level of fitness to be offered a contract at this stage.

Is Wayne Groves going to get the Longford job permanently or are they still looking for someone else?

Jevon Mills had his contract with Hull extended for another year and he's now going to spend the rest of the season with Bohs. Good news as he's really starting to build a solid partnership with Keita.

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Originally Posted by RealJohn91

Jevon Mills had his contract with Hull extended for another year and he's now going to spend the rest of the season with Bohs. Good news as he's really starting to build a solid partnership with Keita.

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Great news. He's played well & the coaching staff obviously rate him even if they've had to bring him back down to earth a bit a couple of times. With him and Carroll I'm a bit more confident in our defensive reinforcements. Hopefully we can keep Matheson for the season as well

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Originally Posted by RealJohn91

Jevon Mills had his contract with Hull extended for another year and he's now going to spend the rest of the season with Bohs. Good news as he's really starting to build a solid partnership with Keita.

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Great news.

Came into this thread thinking there had been a bunch of transfer activity only to see PC having a gloat about the demise of Dundalk. Makes last night's result all the sweeter. Good enough for him as he would say.

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Originally Posted by placid casual

Complety agree. He has a base to work from there , although he might have to get rid of some expensive deadwood first.

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He's in an absolute no loss scenario though, if Pats don't win next 2 games, even 4th spot is probably a long shot, then its FAI Cup route for europe, if he misses that he can talk about starting fresh next season and still have 5 years confirmed paid contract taking him up to 58 years of age, great position for him really to be in, while not having to worry too much about his job!

Then again he could turn things around quickly in pre season and emerge as front runners for 2025, but Rovers and Derry are a good few years ahead, interesting to see how it will work out, to be fair though if one person can take a club up through the gears its him, will probably see a clearer picture on his ambitions next season.

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Originally Posted by RealJohn91

Jevon Mills had his contract with Hull extended for another year and he's now going to spend the rest of the season with Bohs. Good news as he's really starting to build a solid partnership with Keita.

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That is an important move by Bohs - he is a good quality CB at LOI level.

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Originally Posted by oriel

He's in an absolute no loss scenario though, if Pats don't win next 2 games, even 4th spot is probably a long shot, then its FAI Cup route for europe, if he misses that he can talk about starting fresh next season and still have 5 years confirmed paid contract taking him up to 58 years of age, great position for him really to be in, while not having to worry too much about his job!

Then again he could turn things around quickly in pre season and emerge as front runners for 2025, but Rovers and Derry are a good few years ahead, interesting to see how it will work out, to be fair though if one person can take a club up through the gears its him, will probably see a clearer picture on his ambitions next season.

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I actually don’t think Derry or Rovers are years ahead of us. Yes, they are certainly ahead at the moment, but things can turn around fairly quickly in this league. Although it’s not going well for us this season, I still think we have the bones of a good squad there. Two or three good players could make all the difference next year.

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Originally Posted by TonyD

I actually don’t think Derry or Rovers are years ahead of us. Yes, they are certainly ahead at the moment, but things can turn around fairly quickly in this league. Although it’s not going well for us this season, I still think we have the bones of a good squad there. Two or three good players could make all the difference next year.

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My point was on years when another club can realistically expect to win the league. SK might have a successful league campaign next season, but to win the league you will need to overtake both Rovers and Derry and I don't see that happening for a good few years. As the man himself said this week, 'Pats are the 4th club in Dublin at the min'.

The squad Pats have now should be ample quality to make europe each season, will need 4 or 5 new players to have a shot of the league IMO.