Premier Division- The Run In

**TonyD** · 08/09/2013, 5:27 PM

Originally Posted by Sheridan

Don't think anyone's writing Dundalk off at this stage, but the fact that a manager as psychologically fragile as Buckley or Kenny is going to win the championship just proves that there was no serious quality in the league this season.

What ?????? Psychologically Fragile ??? Seriously ? You do realise that both managers have won the Title in the past, right ? I'm sorry, but I think you're talking nonsense. As for quality, this Pats team is playing a quality of football as good as I've seen in my time watching this league. Can't speak for Dundalk, as I don't see them regularly, but their record shows they are no mugs. Sligo on their day are still a quality team too. Derry have fallen away, but have been good for most of the season. So it's been a really competitive league this year, not like when Bohs were winning it by 19 points or whatever it was (and that's not knocking that Bohs side, who were comfortably the best around that year.)

**PartySaint** · 08/09/2013, 5:32 PM

Originally Posted by Sheridan

Don't think anyone's writing Dundalk off at this stage, but the fact that a manager as psychologically fragile as Buckley or Kenny is going to win the championship just proves that there was no serious quality in the league this season.

Interesting you should say that, Buckley and Kenny are 2 of only 3 managers in the league that have actually won the title before. Ian Baraclough being the other one.

I hope RTE don't show our game against Dundalk, that means K.O will be changed to 7.05

**Sheridan** · 08/09/2013, 6:33 PM

Originally Posted by TonyD

What ?????? Psychologically Fragile ??? Seriously ? You do realise that both managers have won the Title in the past, right ?

Yeah, I do realise that both managers won titles 10+ years ago (Kenny in the last truncated winter "season", Buckley on Dolan's considerable coat-tails), and have bottled multiple attempts since.

**Aaron** · 08/09/2013, 6:47 PM

Dundalk 1-0 Drogheda

Stephen O'Donnell

Late in the game too

**Fester** · 08/09/2013, 6:56 PM

Originally Posted by Aaron

Dundalk 1-0 Drogheda

Stephen O'Donnell

Late in the game too

Futbol24 says 88 min with Dundalk having a man Sent off in the 90 min

**Aaron** · 08/09/2013, 6:58 PM

Yep about right, will be a good title race.

**TonyD** · 08/09/2013, 7:29 PM

Originally Posted by Sheridan

Yeah, I do realise that both managers won titles 10+ years ago (Kenny in the last truncated winter "season", Buckley on Dolan's considerable coat-tails), and have bottled multiple attempts since.

Disagree again. The only time since 1999 that Liam Buckley was in with a realistic chance of winning the title was last season. Bottling it would imply that his team were favourites or in a really good position to win it near the end of the season. (For example see Damien Richardson and Shels in 1998

- now that's bottling it.) It would be extremely harsh to characterise Pats last year as bottling it. Even if I was to accept that (which I don't - Pats just came up a bit short last year, that's all. Nothing to do with bottle.) it's still not multiple attempts is it ? And as for Dolans coat tails, yeah the bulk of that squad was brought in by Dolan, but plenty of managers have inherited a successful team, he still had to go and win the title again, and that year was the closest race I can remember. In any other season Cork would have run away with the league. Stephen Kenny likewise has never really had the squad since Bohs, and certainly never got into a position where his team "should" have won it. You can point to last year of course when he had Rovers, but whatever went wrong there I really don't think it was down to "bottle".

**Aaron** · 08/09/2013, 7:49 PM

Originally Posted by TonyD

Disagree again. The only time since 1999 that Liam Buckley was in with a realistic chance of winning the title was last season. Bottling it would imply that his team were favourites or in a really good position to win it near the end of the season. (For example see Damien Richardson and Shels in 1998

- now that's bottling it.) It would be extremely harsh to characterise Pats last year as bottling it. Even if I was to accept that (which I don't - Pats just came up a bit short last year, that's all. Nothing to do with bottle.) it's still not multiple attempts is it ? And as for Dolans coat tails, yeah the bulk of that squad was brought in by Dolan, but plenty of managers have inherited a successful team, he still had to go and win the title again, and that year was the closest race I can remember. In any other season Cork would have run away with the league. Stephen Kenny likewise has never really had the squad since Bohs, and certainly never got into a position where his team "should" have won it. You can point to last year of course when he had Rovers, but whatever went wrong there I really don't think it was down to "bottle".

I totally disagree with that. Many Derry fans including myself feel that our 2006 squad was arguably better than our treble winning squad and despite missing out on the league on goal difference our european run that year was unreal and we felt we probably should have won the league

David Forde
Patrick Jennings

Eddie McCallion
Peter Hutton
Clive Delaney
Darren Kelly
Ken Oman
Mark McChrystal
Sean Hargan

Kevin Deery
Barry Molloy
Ruaidri Higgins
Shaun Holmes
Killian Brennan
Gareth McGlynn
Paddy McCourt

Kevin McHugh
Gary Beckett
Steven O'Flynn
Mark Farren

**jinxy lilywhite** · 08/09/2013, 9:14 PM

I have to disagree with everything that Sheridan has said. Actually it is totally typical from a Dublin city come Bohs come rovers fan.

Kenny has won a league title with Boh, brought Derry pretty close to a league and probably in 2006 their European adventure cost them the league. An FAI cup and 4 league cups is no mean feat either.

to be honest we have the right man at the helm. he is no bottler and he is a born winner. time will tell if I am right or wrong but we will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.

**Ezeikial** · 08/09/2013, 9:32 PM

My gut feeling is that Stephen O'Donnell's late winner has a major bearing on what Dundalk need from the Pats game on 20 Sept. It probably change it from a "must win" into a "must not lose" match.

**Charlie Darwin** · 08/09/2013, 9:34 PM

Originally Posted by jinxy lilywhite

I have to disagree with everything that Sheridan has said. Actually it is totally typical from a Dublin city come Bohs come rovers fan.

That's a huge accusation!

Can't argue with your assessment of Kenny though. He failed at Rovers but there's not a manager in the world who hasn't failed. He's the most successful manager in Ireland right now and if Dundalk don't win the league it will be because they were outplayed on the pitch, not because of anything the manager does wrong.

**orielabu** · 08/09/2013, 9:36 PM

Anyone who pontificates about 'Managers bottling it' has clearly spent too much time watching Sky and has absorbed the 'sky' b....t.

**Mr A** · 09/09/2013, 11:02 AM

Pats v Dundalk is confirmed to be on RTE, 7.30 KO.

http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/irish...-dundalk-live/

**gormacha** · 09/09/2013, 11:47 AM

Originally Posted by orielabu

Anyone who pontificates about 'Managers bottling it' has clearly spent too much time watching Sky and has absorbed the 'sky' b....t.

The reasons why managers fail, or why clubs don't win titles, are many and complex. I doubt it's ever "bottle", whatever that's held to mean.

"Bottle" seems to me to be a pretty useless anglo-celt idea about bravery, which might have some relevance when discussing a player's liking or not for a 50:50 challenge, but says phuq all about managerial qualities.

**marinobohs** · 09/09/2013, 11:52 AM

farcical to say Kenny bottled it at shams. less than a year and residual problems from previous regime. I believe he has a better points/games ratio than Crolly has this year. Did a more than decent job at Bohs (in sometimes difficult circumstances ) and had excellent records at Longford and Derry.

Also not sure how Buckley can be called a bottler. Last year Pats ran out of steam because they were 1/2 players short of title winning team not due to managerial 'bottle'. Didn't bottle at Dublin City either.

Bit 'Awl arse' to say the league this year is somehow lacking quality ( it was always better in my day

) and Pats or Dundalk ( or AN Other) will be as deserving champions as any other year,

**Mr A** · 09/09/2013, 2:14 PM

People always say this is a particularly bad year for the league. Certainly the first division is described as the worst ever virtually every season.

**Ezeikial** · 09/09/2013, 2:58 PM

Originally Posted by Mr A

People always say this is a particularly bad year for the league.

Every year is a bad year if your team is not doing well

**Sheridan** · 09/09/2013, 3:39 PM

I'm sorry the truth is too harsh for some, but it remains the truth. If you look at Kenny's record, there's a very definite pattern there; he excels at provincial clubs where any media pressure is offset by his ability to inculcate a siege mentality. At high-profile jobs in major population centres, he can't cope with the pressure and it all ends in tears.

As for the quality of the league, there's been an progressive diminution in the general standard over the past five years for basic economic reasons. Nothing controverial or nostalgic about that observation, I would have thought.

**Ezeikial** · 09/09/2013, 4:13 PM

Originally Posted by Sheridan

I'm sorry the truth is too harsh for some, but it remains the truth. If you look at Kenny's record, there's a very definite pattern there; he excels at provincial clubs where any media pressure is offset by his ability to inculcate a siege mentality.At high-profile jobs in major population centres, he can't cope with the pressure and it all ends in tears.

The town of Dundalk hardly fits your definition of "major population centres", but we are going to temporarily evacuate a few thousand people out of Dundalk just to be on the safe side.