the game last night

**l.f.c......** · 03/04/2004, 10:05 AM

went up to the game last night limerick did not play to bad in awful weather
the goals limerick gave away were very soft first from a coner galway man left in 3 yards of space to pick his spot to head home. second goal a free kick just inside the galway half ball floated in yet again could not deal with the high ball galway man left in loads of space to head home. and for the third just when limerick pulled one back good finish to galway go up the pitch simple basic cross into the box man got in between or two centre half to head home.

what cost us last night was simple basic defending to clear your line

**JohnD** · 03/04/2004, 12:54 PM

Also went up last night. Agree our defence is all over the place without Paul there. Must say the Positioning of Conor Molam at full back defys logic. He is simply not a full back. Mike is off the pace and we need a centre half to command the defence alongside Finni badly.

We look shakey in goals as well.I feel that this year is going to be a long hard struggle as we simply have half a team who are not up to LOI standard. We wont win a lot of games because we are not good enough simple as that.

Please please Colin P will you pass the ball to create some movement up front. We wont get any extra points if he beats the whole opposition in dribbling. I have never seen such a greedy player...pass The Ball Please !!!

We missed Barry last night and our Subs bench tells you everything. about our squad. Thought that James played well though and we will be without Stephen next weekend as he is playing for Ireland..Best of Luck Steve!!

JohnD

**gael353** · 03/04/2004, 3:47 PM

The P in his name isnt PASS anyway. Id f*#k him off now on last nights performence. Thought Hughes, Conway (Dave) and Kerley weren't fit to wear the jersey! Worst game in two seasons bar none. Half that team should be shown the door now, simply not good enough...and thats the first division

**LFC in Exile** · 04/04/2004, 6:57 PM

Originally Posted by gael353

Half that team should be shown the door now

But then we wouldn't have enough players to field a team...

This was always going to happen.

Did Mernagh and Keogh play? We were never going to start the season well - considering the team didn't exist and no training was done. This is the upshot of allowing last season's good work to go to waste.

I have nothing but sympathy for Kerley this season.

**joeSoap** · 04/04/2004, 7:53 PM

Originally Posted by LFC in Exile

But then we wouldn't have enough players to field a team...
I have nothing but sympathy for Kerley this season.

Surely Mike has to accept responsibility for the lack of a squad. He was totally idle in the off season as regards signing players, and did very little in the way of encouraging those who left to stay on.He seemed to live in hope that Noel O'Connor was going to give him Cork Citys surplus, which was never going to happen.The players signed don't seem to be up to Eircom League standard...I know Alan Barry certainly isn't!!
Maybe he was under orders from the committee to do this, but surely a good manager will have the gumption to speak out against his committee if he feels it necessary, and be more vocal to the press about such matters.
This season will be a major test of his ability as a manager, as this season he has to do his own team building, rather inherit a squad full of Stevo's, Sweeneys, Purcells, McCarthys and Heffernans.
I wish him all the very best because he's a really great guy that I have the utmost respect for, but it's really going to be uphill for him.

**LFC in Exile** · 05/04/2004, 11:41 AM

Originally Posted by joeSoap

Surely Mike has to accept responsibility for the lack of a squad. He was totally idle in the off season as regards signing players, and did very little in the way of encouraging those who left to stay on.

Maybe he was under orders from the committee to do this, but surely a good manager will have the gumption to speak out against his committee if he feels it necessary, and be more vocal to the press about such matters.
This season will be a major test of his ability as a manager, as this season he has to do his own team building, rather inherit a squad full of Stevo's, Sweeneys, Purcells, McCarthys and Heffernans.

I wish him all the very best because he's a really great guy that I have the utmost respect for, but it's really going to be uphill for him.

I really think that is very unfair and a bit of distortion of what happened last season. You may remember that the start of the season was something of a disaster and Noel O'Connor wasn't around to sort it out and Kerley did the needful to get the players playing as they did (despite not being paid etc.) As for encouraging players to stay - what was he going to do? The players didn't stay because there was no word of a license - that has nothing to do with Kerley. If they didn't leave when they did they were risking moves to other clubs on the off chance that t he FAI would take pity on us. There is nothing Kerley could have done to prevent the exodus IMO, except make promises he could not guarantee and any player would be foolish to accept.

Kerleymay not have signed teh players you mention but to say that this is a major test of his ability ignores eveything that happened last season. Just holding the team together was a great achievement last season. Engineering a play off spot was remarkable. To say that Kerley is engaged in team-building is also stretching things. He is trying to find players wherever he can (he does not have a free hand to choose) and I wonder how many of these players would be his 'first choice' if his hand was not forced by the license debacle.

Finally, Kerley should stand up to the committee? What does that mean? The only way he can do that is to resign. It is not tenable to criticise a committee and remain as manager. Maybe that is what you think he should have done - but short of that there is no way to criticise them publicly and then continue working for the club. I think we have had to read between the lines of what Kerley has said to the papers to realise his dissatisfaction.

To suggest that all he has going for him is that he is a really nice guy and write off last season as "O'Connor's team" is ridiculous. O'Connor was long gone when the league run started. It was Kerley who got the most out of these players in really difficult circumstances and it is he (and the players) who deserve all the credit. After all he has shown committemnt to the Blues in this really difficult period unlike his predecessor who dropped us in it at the start of last season. I have no problem with him doing it - it was good for his career - but lets get away from all this revision of history.

**GalwayFrancis** · 05/04/2004, 4:26 PM

for anyone at the match on friday....the attendence was prob up because of the april fools joke in the Galway Advertiser.....sayin that the new investor would arrive by helicopter, on friday night!
wasn't able to get to the match..so how much was there...its easy to guess the attendence in terryland...the stand holds 1700....so how much?

**joeSoap** · 06/04/2004, 8:17 AM

I think I might not have put my points across as well as I might have liked to. I did not refer to last seasons squad as O'Connors team, they were very much Mikes, but the fact is that he had a welcome introduction into management seeing as there was a decent squad there and he didn't have to bother with the whole signing players issue that he had this year. His success, and I'm not for one minute saying that it wasn't all of his making, has made his job this year nigh on impossible, and I think it will be a big character test for him to cope when the results are constantly going against him, as they invariably will given the resources he has.
I do think that he could have tried harder to keep some of the departed though...I know for a fact he didn't overly pursue or try to appeal to the better natures of some to stay, and they felt undervalued by the club as a result.
Regarding him being more vocal with the committee....I feel that he should have taken a stronger hand with them. After all, he is hardly going to be sacked (who's going to replace him?), and he simply can't be happy with the situation.