Tonight's Latest

**Drogman.** · 09/09/2008, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by sonofstan

It's quite likely that Pat's and Derry will finish on higher points totals than you won the thing with last year, so no.....

I'm not trying to dismiss your success at all, I'm just saying that we ended up winning the league with 3 games to go and everyone said it was a poor league.

Bohs are in pretty much or, slightly better, position and yet everyone says that it's been a brilliant league despite the majority of players not changing.

The full time excuse is rubbish as well, as Bohs, Pats, Cork, Drogs, Sligo, Galway and most of Derry were full time last season.

Anyway as I said, not trying to take anything away from Bohs, very much deserved this season, but I hope people who were crying about how sh*t the league was last year, realize the sense of deja vu this season.

**razor** · 09/09/2008, 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by Drogman.

could one argue that there wasn't much competition?

You can only beat whats put in front of you, fair dues to them.

**BohDiddley** · 09/09/2008, 10:19 AM

League has been much better this year, and we have come from a good distance behind to (maybe) win it.

If you want to talk about buying the title, then let's have a discussion about the viability of professional football in Ireland: any of the full-time teams, if they were in our position, could be so accused, and all are overspending.

I thought the sending off was harsh at the time, and put it down to Alan Kelly's usual card-happy antics, but the replay shows it to be spot on.

But I don't think it would have changed matters much. From front to back, and through the middle, even with several key players out, that was the most complete performance I've ever seen by any LoI team. If we keep it like that, or even 70% of that, we are unstoppable.

**sonofstan** · 09/09/2008, 10:33 AM

Originally Posted by Drogman.

Bohs are in pretty much or, slightly better, position

We're 4 points off your final total with 8 games to go - you lost 3 and drew 11 - we, so far, have lost 1 and drawn 4.......
oh, and you conceded 24 to our 8 so far. It would take a spectacular collapse for us to finish just slightly better than you.

**Drogman.** · 09/09/2008, 11:12 AM

Originally Posted by sonofstan

We're 4 points off your final total with 8 games to go - you lost 3 and drew 11 - we, so far, have lost 1 and drawn 4.......
oh, and you conceded 24 to our 8 so far. It would take a spectacular collapse for us to finish just slightly better than you.

Ah yes, but you have to take into account that we had Europe and Setanta cup to deal with as well, so in theory we played a lot more games than you did this season, as you were fairly distraction free.

Some record alright to be fair and can't take that away from you's. I still would put the Shels team under Nutsy being better than you's and us (last season) at the moment, no matter how corrupt the club was.

**Flexy** · 09/09/2008, 1:36 PM

Originally Posted by sonofstan

We're 4 points off your final total with 8 games to go - you lost 3 and drew 11 - we, so far, have lost 1 and drawn 4.......
oh, and you conceded 24 to our 8 so far. It would take a spectacular collapse for us to finish just slightly better than you.

Guys the reason Bohs are top is that they have grinded out more results than anyone else. Any team thaty scores the most goals and concedes the least deserves to win the league. Bohs have won quite a few games by the odd goal meaning wins rather than draws. It doesnt mean the league is any poorer

**CharlesThompson** · 09/09/2008, 3:28 PM

Originally Posted by Flexy

Guys the reason Bohs are top is that they have grinded out more results than anyone else. Any team thaty scores the most goals and concedes the least deserves to win the league. Bohs have won quite a few games by the odd goal meaning wins rather than draws. It doesnt mean the league is any poorer

I'm going to argue that the league this year is stronger than the league last year. One team running away with the league does not automatically mean that the league was weak.

Not hiding my bias here, but this Bohs side is arguably the best Bohs side I have ever seen. I was trying to describe to a friend of mine how Fenlon seems to have the midas touch when it comes to motivating a team. Using Gary Deegan as an example, I would surmise that if Pat Fenlon told him to set fire to his pubes because it would benefit the team, then Deego would set a match to them without question.

At the start of this season everybody was saying that the squads of every team were better. Drogheda had just won the league and strengthened their squad. Pats brought in some good players to improve their squad. Both these sides proved their worth in Europe this year. Derry now had Stephen Kenny back (and can still nick second place). Cork had signed Mooney from Cork and held onto Joe Gamble and with Healy also in midfield and the resigning of Murphy from Scotland you could argue that they had improved. Even bloody Rovers were hopeful of an improvement on last year.

So at the start of the season practically everybody was confident that the league would be stronger this year than last. Pat Fenlon has IMO surprised most people with his ability to motivate players and that my friend is the difference between Bohs and the other sides. Our player would rather die than lose a match. We are playing in a stronger league. We are going to win a stronger league and we are proving that we are better by getting more points than any other team (ever!).

**pineapple stu** · 09/09/2008, 3:38 PM

Originally Posted by DmanDmythDledge

Shock horror as football team buys players!

In fairness, you know what he means.

Originally Posted by CharlesThompson

I'm going to argue that the league this year is stronger than the league last year. One team running away with the league does not automatically mean that the league was weak.

Not hiding my bias here, but this Bohs side is arguably the best Bohs side I have ever seen.

In fairness, and even though I'm still a Pat Fenlon sceptic (loads of money again at Bohs), I'd have to agree with that. When Bohs beat us 2-0 in Dalyer, they were one of the best teams I'd seen in the league in a while (until they eased up at half time). Certainly head and shoulders above Drogheda last year. Is it still only two away points dropped all season? And you needed a dodgy penalty for those too.

**CharlesThompson** · 09/09/2008, 3:49 PM

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

In fairness, you know what he means.

In fairness, and even though I'm still a Pat Fenlon sceptic (loads of money again at Bohs), I'd have to agree with that. When Bohs beat us 2-0 in Dalyer, they were one of the best teams I'd seen in the league in a while (until they eased up at half time). Certainly head and shoulders above Drogheda last year. Is it still only two away points dropped all season? And you needed a dodgy penalty for those too.

There's no doubting we've ridden our luck a lot this season. We got a couple of peno's that should never have been peno's (and in fairness we all admitted them at the time). We've had win's where draws were probably more likely and even a win at Turners Cross where we couldn't complain if we had lost the match 2 or 3-0.

That said, results and performances like last nights and when we beat Drogheda recently have shown that we haven't exactly fluked our way through the season. I would also guess that the fact we only had 4 games in the Intertoto and we haven't had to play in the Setanta Cup either have benefited our run.

Factors however and all that they are still do not take away from the fact of the league being stronger this season than it was last season, and nobody will convice me otherwise.

**Drogman.** · 09/09/2008, 3:49 PM

Originally Posted by CharlesThompson

So at the start of the season practically everybody was confident that the league would be stronger this year than last. Pat Fenlon has IMO surprised most people with his ability to motivate players and that my friend is the difference between Bohs and the other sides. Our player would rather die than lose a match. We are playing in a stronger league. We are going to win a stronger league and we are proving that we are better by getting more points than any other team (ever!).

That was the same the previous year, even with the exodus of some players.

I'm not saying this season has been weaker, but to be honest, it hasn't exactly been stronger compared to last season. Because some players have come back doesn't exactly mean that the league is stronger. It should be, but as it turned out it hasn't. Bohs have walked it as they have been able to step it up to another level, but the rest of the league haven't.

Bohs have an excellent squad/team of players, and now have set the marker. If the rest don't catch up then it'll turn out to be a one team league like when Shels were at the top.

**CharlesThompson** · 09/09/2008, 3:55 PM

Originally Posted by Drogman.

That was the same the previous year, even with the exodus of some players.

I don't agree with that. As far as I remember anybody I know and others on the eL forums agreed very early on the Drogheda were going to win the league. Bohs, Pats, Derry and Cork were all in transition at the start of that season and very few people that I communicated with expected anything other than a Drogheda win.

This season there were less teams in transition and more teams improved their squads. If you go and look back for the thread that asked people for their predictions at the start of the season there was a lot of punters that had huge variants on who they thought was going to win the league. This directly as a result of the league not being the foregone conclusion that it was the year before where Drogheda started out as the strongest team, quickley overtaking Pats and then finished the strongest team.

**Drogman.** · 09/09/2008, 4:11 PM

Originally Posted by CharlesThompson

I don't agree with that. As far as I remember anybody I know and others on the eL forums agreed very early on the Drogheda were going to win the league. Bohs, Pats, Derry and Cork were all in transition at the start of that season and very few people that I communicated with expected anything other than a Drogheda win.

This season there were less teams in transition and more teams improved their squads. If you go and look back for the thread that asked people for their predictions at the start of the season there was a lot of punters that had huge variants on who they thought was going to win the league. This directly as a result of the league not being the foregone conclusion that it was the year before where Drogheda started out as the strongest team, quickley overtaking Pats and then finished the strongest team.

Ah yeah, I completely agree with you. But we're not arguing on what predictions we had at the start of each season, we're talking about the league after the games were played.

Agree that Cork, Derry etc were in transition but it still could have been a strong, competitive league. Same this year, everyone thought that it would go down to the wire, but as it turned out, nobody, except Bohs, have performanced well on a consistant basis this season, and now we're in for a flat ending to the season (from a neutral point of view).

**CharlesThompson** · 09/09/2008, 5:06 PM

Originally Posted by Drogman.

Ah yeah, I completely agree with you. But we're not arguing on what predictions we had at the start of each season, we're talking about the league after the games were played.

Agree that Cork, Derry etc were in transition but it still could have been a strong, competitive league. Same this year, everyone thought that it would go down to the wire, but as it turned out, nobody, except Bohs, have performanced well on a consistant basis this season, and now we're in for a flat ending to the season (from a neutral point of view).

OK. My last post on this as I don't want to seem pedantic and we could be going around in circles forever on this. Expectations as I said were different this season than they were for last. The world and his dog had Drogheda tipped to win the big one last season which they duly did. This was in no small part on the basis of the strength of the other clubs. i.e. they were weak.

This season, the money was going all over the place on who was going to win the league. This was on the basis that all of the other clubs had strengthened there squads. QED Stronger league. So while the perceptions (which we both agree) were based on the league being more competitive (i.e. the argument you are making)- which is a different argument to the fact that the league is stronger this year. There is a subtle difference, but a difference nonetheless. And that is that Bohs had stronger teams to beat this year than Drogheda had to beat last year and that is the point I was trying to make.

Reading over it again it does sound pedantic because it probably is. But it is the point I wanted to get across in defference to your orignal point.

**BohsPartisan** · 09/09/2008, 6:40 PM

Originally Posted by Drogman.

Ah yeah, I completely agree with you. But we're not arguing on what predictions we had at the start of each season, we're talking about the league after the games were played.

Agree that Cork, Derry etc were in transition but it still could have been a strong, competitive league. Same this year, everyone thought that it would go down to the wire, but as it turned out, nobody, except Bohs, have performanced well on a consistant basis this season, and now we're in for a flat ending to the season (from a neutral point of view).

As I said when I rang you to wind you up after the game, it is a stronger league this year, the proof in the pudding being that you, with pretty much the same squad as last year are nowhere. The reason we have run away with it is that WE ARE INVINCIBLE!

**Candystripe** · 09/09/2008, 6:59 PM

Originally Posted by BohsPartisan

WE ARE INVINCIBLE!

Still not beaten Derry yet though. Two lucky 0-0 draws and a 4-1 whipping in the LC.

INVINCIBLE!.........time will tell.

**Drogman.** · 09/09/2008, 7:30 PM

Originally Posted by CharlesThompson

OK. My last post on this as I don't want to seem pedantic and we could be going around in circles forever on this. Expectations as I said were different this season than they were for last. The world and his dog had Drogheda tipped to win the big one last season which they duly did. This was in no small part on the basis of the strength of the other clubs. i.e. they were weak.

This season, the money was going all over the place on who was going to win the league. This was on the basis that all of the other clubs had strengthened there squads. QED Stronger league. So while the perceptions (which we both agree) were based on the league being more competitive (i.e. the argument you are making)- which is a different argument to the fact that the league is stronger this year. There is a subtle difference, but a difference nonetheless. And that is that Bohs had stronger teams to beat this year than Drogheda had to beat last year and that is the point I was trying to make.

Reading over it again it does sound pedantic because it probably is. But it is the point I wanted to get across in defference to your orignal point.

We'll agree to differ so

**Drogman.** · 09/09/2008, 7:31 PM

Originally Posted by BohsPartisan

As I said when I rang you to wind you up after the game, it is a stronger league this year, the proof in the pudding being that you, with pretty much the same squad as last year are nowhere. The reason we have run away with it is that WE ARE INVINCIBLE!

You on the otherhand