Longford Town nil bohs two

**Maz** · 25/03/2004, 9:54 PM

i have to agree with Macy and the rest....i believe Barry is a great defender and leader for that matter! tbh i think there will be a fight between paisley and McGovern to keep their place

**max power** · 26/03/2004, 10:53 AM

had a quick look at pat dolans page in the star this morning and he was going on about a mate of his saying the game on monday was one of the best he had ever seen in the el....anyone agree....

**Wiseguy** · 26/03/2004, 12:54 PM

Firstly, i don't think the Town played that bad.We were on top for periods and we didn't take our chances, that we can be critical of.We were also over ran in midfield which is our problem area.The 2 goals were down to poor defending, the first also lacked communication and someone to take responsilbility.It was our 1st game of the season and the fact of the matter was and is that Bohs are a better side than us and will beat us 9 times out of ten.
Secondly, as anyone will tell you the best centre back partnership you can have is one that plays together the whole time.Barry may waist a lot of ball but he does do all the organising and talking and it was clear that was lacking on monday night.Stephen Paisley is a great prospect but he is inclined to knock it long himself.A defence needs a good organiser and that is Barry and he will be missed over the next 2 games.Brian Mc Govern is a good winner of the ball in the air and is ok on the ground aswell but lacks leadership so for me the best choice is Barry & Brian.
As for central midfield, i don't see any solutions to this problem unless we make a signing.
I still think we will have an ok season and if the team really clicks then possibly a place is Europe beckons.
And on a final note, having read through these posts somethings don't surprise me.Some people are one week on about a great team we have then the next are on about how ****e we are.We are an Ok team that is better than most but that's it.Were not ****e and were not great we win some and lose some and that is it so please stop whinging about it.

**max power** · 26/03/2004, 1:17 PM

wiseguy you picked up on a good point there, out midfield was very bad all agreed...but the pressure this put on a centre back pairing who do not normally play together was unfair on them......keegan was dropping back which meant when sean f got the ball he had no where to turn as keegan was in midfield.....just hoping for a better display on sat and on an ongoing point , if barry made better use of the ball when he had it at his feet i wounldn't say a word against the man, its the hoofing the ball long i hate and wiseguy was correct in the fact that paisley does it also...but what do you do when you have no midfield to pass it to anyway...

**Xlex** · 26/03/2004, 1:30 PM

The thing I can't understand in this Barry can't pass buzz is that there is nobody playing at the back for LTFC who can hit 35 - 40 yard passes anyway.

so why you single out our fantastic captain for critism is beyond me.

Max Powers hero can't swing a cross to save his ass.... I always thought that the lack of strength in midfield excused the back four of involving them in setting up attacks.

the quality of the ball into the box is and has been bad and it's a long time since we were competitive at set pieces. I believe that if Baker can keep a startinmg place we may have that sorted. How about making a honest effort to play someone in the middle of the park. Does Eric want a game. I think if he made an honest fist of it he may answer some prayers.

**max power** · 26/03/2004, 1:34 PM

anyone who can do the job in the middle is welcome.....if tom the gom wants to sign and can do the job he's welcome

**Wiseguy** · 26/03/2004, 4:30 PM

IMO it's as simple as this.Passing a ball isn't the hardest thing in the world to do.These guys should be good enough to do this.I am not trying to be to critical of any players here but for some of the players we have in the side and have the experience they have you have to be disapointed with the attempt they make at passing.Sean Dillon, Barry, Brian Mc all have played in England but once they get the ball you can be sure they will give it away.Now these players are excellent defenders and we should count ourselves lucky to be blessed with such players but if you can't pass a ball 50 yards then don't kick it 50 yards unless it's completely necessary.Aswell as this **** all players actually try and make room for themselves to recieve a pass which leaves it all a bit flat and we end going sideways.For instance, when we have a throw in no one wants to take on the responsibility of receiving the ball and trying to do something.With Francis and Keegan we have no pace up front.Francis is a poacher and thats it.Keegan is a target man.Now when Paul Keegan is flicking on headers this usually occurs 40 yards from goal.Sean Francis neither has the skill or pace to bring the ball from there into a position where he can create a chace of scoring.Shane Barrett can.We have 3 decent players who are well able to this e.g. Baker, Kirby & Barrett.Alan Kirby has had a seroius dip in confidence or something because he is only 1/4 of the player he can be.I don't want to ramble on but we now have our strongest squad ever with the biggest potential and 3rd is up for grabs because Cork don't travel well & we do so if we can reach our potential and sort out our home form then who knows!

**the 12 th man** · 26/03/2004, 4:53 PM

the star report on tuesday said it was very even with longford on top for a good period of the game.so i suppose if your dissapointed with the result you can be over critical of your own team

**boots** · 27/03/2004, 9:33 PM

just a quick question.. why wasnt Barrett started?
One of the star strikers of last season who has the ability to terrorise any prem league defence as proven many times. Why do we always seem to end up with "proven journeymen" up front. Francis is a quality goalscorer but hes never gonna skin the centre half to make the chance... and lets face it if bohs didnt want keegan why are we starting him? this underachievement complex is very frustrating.
ANd i suppose its this same complex that led AM to letting Adrian Murphy go to Athlone completely an untried quantity in the premier league. With already 3 goals in 2 games i dont think his talent is in doubt. (which was already proven in the u 21 squad when at 16 he singlehandedly tore experienced defences apart, even to a greater degree than barrett who played in the same team. I should know, i played with them) And i know the huge gap in standard etc. but when was the last time a LTFC player did that when we were in the first?? And at just gone 18 years of age..

another season of mid table mediocricy looms......

**Xlex** · 29/03/2004, 8:52 AM

Originally Posted by boots

another season of mid table mediocricy looms......

that's the greatest load of rubbish I've ever encountered. Finishing 4th and 5th is no mean achievement.

**Longfordian** · 29/03/2004, 10:40 AM

[QUOTE=boots] but when was the last time a LTFC player did that when we were in the first?? And at just gone 18 years of age..
QUOTE]

Eh Keith O'Connor springs to mind, Robbie Farrell banged them in in the first.Dont get me wrong im wishing Murph well but to state that he deserves to play more than Francis/Barrett or Keegan for that matter is rubbish. These "journeymen strikers" are proven players at the top level. To state that if Bohs didnt want Keegan why do we is absolute crap. i think you'll find all the Bohs fans rated Keegan extremely highly and were sorry to lose him. He left because ofa personality clash with Kenny, not because they didnt want him. "Mid-table mediocrity"?!! What planet are you living on, look who finished below us, St. Pats, Shamrock Rovers, Derry City, Drogheda all clubs spending alot of money..Fourth and Fifth in this division is a great achievement, they're our best ever finishes ffs..

**max power** · 29/03/2004, 11:23 AM

i hope when you read boots comments you'll realise i'm not really that bad after all......

**Bosco** · 29/03/2004, 9:32 PM

Barret didn't start against bohs because he was recovering form an injury.Mcgovern was injured aswelll but he had to start because of the lack of defenders.Barret did start against dc alongside keegan(who was offered a contract by bohs but wanted to leave)

**boots** · 02/04/2004, 2:41 PM

Originally Posted by Xlex

that's the greatest load of rubbish I've ever encountered. Finishing 4th and 5th is no mean achievement.

this is the under achievment mentality I was talking about... I mean we re now widely recognised as having the strongest squad in the country so why is 4th or 5th good enough. 2 or 3 years ago it was brilliant but now in our second UEFA cup year as reigning FAI cup champons why is it so ridiculous to mention the next step?

BTW can no one express an opinion anymore without getting rubbished by everyone?? thought thats what this place was for

Oh and just to clear up a mis-quote.. i didnt suggest A murphy should have being playing more than barrett/francis/keegan, i suggested he should have being tried properly. in which case we would now know if he should have being playing more than the afore mentioned trio

**Xlex** · 02/04/2004, 2:53 PM

I agree with you in a way. We should always be ready to take the next step. Breaking the 1,2,3 combination is the next step. But referring to another 4th or 5th as another season as another season of mid table mediocricy, is unfair. We have to preserve what we have and grow the business of a football club. We have to be patient and prudent or we won't have a club in the future. We have to maintain the balance between success on the pitch and success off the pitch. We can't go chasing the glory without the structure to follow it up. Another 4th would be great, third better. But we'll wait and see. It's a big leap to the next stage.

**Macy** · 02/04/2004, 2:53 PM

Originally Posted by boots

I mean we re now widely recognised as having the strongest squad in the country

By who? I'd say 4th or 5th is about right tbh.

Originally Posted by boots

i didnt suggest A murphy should have being playing more than barrett/francis/keegan, i suggested he should have being tried properly. in which case we would now know if he should have being playing more than the afore mentioned trio

Spot on that IMO.

Anyway, time to go home...

**Xlex** · 02/04/2004, 2:58 PM

Adrian Murphy is doing the right thing joining Athlone. He is going to devolop under Callaghan and gain the required experiance to bring him to the next level.