Time to lick our wounds and move on

**Counting Crow** · 15/08/2004, 10:19 AM

I can honestly say I haven't felt this deflated leaving The Cross since the Cup S/F defeat to Derry. To loose to that crowd ( and in such a poor manner .... enough said ).
So mourn this weekend .......... but we all need to learn and move on.

IMO we badly need some strong players in the team ( reading the program the number of their players that are over 6 foot is frightening ) and they are physically bigger also ( not just in height ) - even their small players dwarf our boys. We have the flair players we need some strength now ( I'm not talking about donkeys, though ).

For the sake of the team, and individuals, we should see some changes now next week as it is clear that some individuals need a break - this will be good for competition as the subs will see that the first team is not a closed shop and it will keep them interested and sharp.

We need to work more on set pieces. The number of free kicks that went sailing over the bar was ridiculous. A player should, at the very least, hit the target. Likewise with frees into the box. No excuse. If a player isn't capable then don't take them.

NOTE: A good judge that I use at the start of a game ( to see if a team is "up for it" ) is to watch the throw ins. If a team is buzzing then players will be running and getting open etc. Think back to yesterday - how many times did D Murphy or K Lordan get caught waiting to throw it in????? Think about it.

Like I said at the outset, lick our wounds now but we can't feel sorry for ourselves long. We have a job to do to get into Europe next year and even be part of this "Irish Cup" ( big revenue there ). Feeling sorry for ourselves won't help anyone. Now is the time to show everyone how professional we are.

Let's hammer Dublin City next Friday - just for Roddy.

**De Town** · 15/08/2004, 11:08 AM

Originally Posted by Counting Crow

Let's hammer Dublin City next Friday - just for Roddy.

Please do

**SSS** · 15/08/2004, 11:20 AM

Broadly agree, particularly on the throw-in thing and the need for changes - but Dolan has not shown himself to be willing to make significant changes up to now, so I wouldn't be too hopeful. The current first 11 might be our best players, but the criteria of "form" must come into it and I worry that Dolan doesn't take that into account.

But here's the thing, move on to what? We will struggle to finish second ( the minimum requirement) regardless of what we do next.

Corner NO1 · 15/08/2004, 2:03 PM

[QUOTE=SSS] The current first 11 might be our best players,

[/QUOT
Your subs bench should be equal of not better than your startin 11 thats the whole reason in havin a big squad,not to have 11 good players and the rest dont make the standard..
im not sayin we dont have good players on the bench but they have to make more of an impact wen/if dolan ever makes the changes..E]

**Gary** · 15/08/2004, 6:03 PM

Why would you want to have better players on the bench than in the starting XI?

We do need to get more quality into the squad, no doubting that.

**Éanna** · 15/08/2004, 6:09 PM

I was gutted and angry walking out of the cross yesterday. simple fact is apart from mick devine, every player on that pitch put in an unacceptable performance. there's no shame in losing, but rolling over and not even showing any fight is just embarassing. lordan and woods have to be dropped straight away, and if danny murphy plays like that again, he should be benched for a good while. totally outplayed and outfought. sick

**Gary** · 15/08/2004, 6:54 PM

Originally Posted by xtreme rebel

the guy forgot to type in his article that Flynny really wants a move to a English club.

I dont think there are many in the league who wouldnt like to have a shot over in England, esp in the 1st division or Premiership.

What alot of fellas are overlooking with Flynn is that football is his livelihood. One more bad injury and he is probably finished as no club would want to takeover his wage and his medical bills (which must be alarmingly high).

And to say he has been playing crap recently is quite harsh. I thought Flynn, Vs Waaherfurh recently, was showing glimpses of his old self. His lay off for Fenns goal against SPA was brilliant. He is not quite there yet, but i reckon he will be back to his best very soon.

**eoinh** · 15/08/2004, 8:27 PM

Wake up city fans. Whenever we win all you get on here is " we are the greatest - this player is the best, that player is the best". Loose and its the exact opposite -some perspective please

**City Hero** · 16/08/2004, 1:09 PM

Lets be honest, Saturday was disaster.

We have lost 2 home games against Shels, but if we had won those 2 games, we would be above them in the league. We can't seem to beat Shels when it counts, but we can hold our own against the rest of the teams most of the time.

Next 3 games (Dublin City, Derry City & Drogheda), if we can get 3 wins, we will be in a much better position. Everybody wanted a win on Saturday to give us good chance of challenging for the league, but 2nd place is still achievable. Next year we can give Shels a good run for their money.

**tiktok** · 16/08/2004, 1:14 PM

To be honest, i'll be cheering on Shels and Drogs in the cup to increase our UEFA chances, but then I'm a miserable pr!ck

No your right City hero, we got outplayed and outfought on Saturday, and there's no better response to that than to dust yourself down and give Continuity Home Farm and Rodddy Collins the backlash. We need to have ourselves in as strong a position as possible for when Drogs come to town.

Second place is still well within our grasp if we knuckle down and get the consistency we had before the Euro run back.

**Gary** · 16/08/2004, 5:49 PM

Confidence-wise Friday cannot be underestimated. If we are all feeling deflated after Saturday, imagine how the players must feel.

They know that a win is vitally important against a poor team who are deservedly bottom of the league, in order to keep our season alive.

**vito_golightly** · 17/08/2004, 3:33 PM

Originally Posted by xtreme rebel

Reading a JOF article in 451 yesterday...some guy mentioned that O'Flynn cited his reasoning for staying "I owe it to the fans". Yes fair enough, but the guy forgot to type in his article that Flynny really wants a move to a English club.

You've got my piece ("God Signs on") confused with an entry in "City Diary":

"Wednesday 14th
John O Flynn seals his fate in the hall of City legends by signing a contract that will keep him at the club until the end of next season. His reason? Because he owed it to the fans..."

I didn't forget to "type [...] that Flynny really wants a move to a English club" cos i believe that is far too simplistic and misses the point. I couldnt deny though that I probably wanted to sub-consciously ignore that possibility.

Anyway here's some of what I actually said (Bear in mind, obviously, that this is just my opinion):

"He no longer sees the Coca-Cola leagues (you're having a laugh!!) as a means of advancement"

In other words, whereas a lot of fans believed before he signed that he would go to Northampton to give himself an increased chance of climbing the ladder, i tried to suggest that maybe now he thinks, in the aftermath of the Inter-Toto Cup, that Cork City is a better "means of advancement".

I agree with Gary that every player wants a shot at the upper echelons of the Globalisation Leagues but I personally didnt want to mention that - I focused more on a possible international future for Flynny as you will see in the piece.

Yours Sincerely

Some Guy