Where do Longford Town FC go from here?

**Dillo** · 01/11/2004, 2:38 PM

Town should have the purchasing power at this stage to sign a lot of quality EL players. I'm not referring to players like Glen Crowe, Kevin Hunt and Jason Byrne but there are players out there within our reach, it's just a matter of picking the right ones!

**max power** · 01/11/2004, 2:44 PM

Originally Posted by Dillo

Town should have the purchasing power at this stage to sign a lot of quality EL players. I'm not referring to players like Glen Crowe, Kevin Hunt and Jason Byrne but there are players out there within our reach, it's just a matter of picking the right ones!

BUT cork, shels, bohs, drogs, derry are all willing to pay bigger pay packets. so we are at a disadvantage already.

european football is a major plus for us, also a lot of players want full time wages, big difference between gettin paid for 33 weeks and 52 weeks in a players eyes.

**Dillo** · 01/11/2004, 2:47 PM

True. Let's just hope that the incentive of European football will be sufficient to lure these players from under the noses of these clubs!

**observer** · 01/11/2004, 2:48 PM

"Loads of players out there only to pick the right ones" did I here you say?
Is'nt that the whole trick. If everyone could do it then we would all have great teams?

thecorner · 01/11/2004, 2:50 PM

Originally Posted by TheJamaicanP.M.

Dan Connor is an under-21 international. Hes really impressed me for the last couple of seasons. Think people are over-reacting by calling him a thug. Some players will do whatever they can for their club. Connor cannot even be compared to Ratnolds. I think we need a big personality to replace Digger when the time comes.

ah lads...dont give us a reason to hate longford as well

**Dillo** · 01/11/2004, 2:58 PM

Originally Posted by observer

"Loads of players out there only to pick the right ones" did I here you say?
Is'nt that the whole trick. If everyone could do it then we would all have great teams?

Yes to an extent, that is the whole trick. But there's another small factor that comes into it. It's called MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Dillo** · 02/11/2004, 1:14 PM

Two cups in the bag this season but we don't want to finish second from bottom do we??

Be nice to cap off the season with a win Saturday night!

**Longfordian** · 02/11/2004, 1:26 PM

We definitely need one or two wins for respectability..If we dont win on Saturday it would be nice to win most or all of Dublin City, Derry, Waterford and Drogs games although the latter two will really want revenge

**Dillo** · 02/11/2004, 3:11 PM

There'e no reason why we can't obtain maximum points from the remaining four games after saturday night. In fact if we play the way we can, Shels are beatable on saturday night. We may restore a bit of pride and finish as high as possible.

**paddigol** · 04/11/2004, 2:34 PM

Originally Posted by MARTINHO II

should be an excellent season for us next year,the setanta cup will be an adventure and a half! and europe again!

Try not to let us down in europe next year then.
As much as I have huge respect for LTFC and think they are one of the biggest assets to the Premier, it's important to remember that every EL club would love to play in Europe and those that get the opportunity have a duty to give a good account of the league.
I'll forgive your uefa sins however if you do us a favour and beat shels!

**Dillo** · 04/11/2004, 3:54 PM

Originally Posted by paddigol

Try not to let us down in europe next year then.
As much as I have huge respect for LTFC and think they are one of the biggest assets to the Premier, it's important to remember that every EL club would love to play in Europe and those that get the opportunity have a duty to give a good account of the league.
I'll forgive your uefa sins however if you do us a favour and beat shels!

As I pointed out before on this forum, we played a quality side in FC Vaduz and although we didn't perform to our capacity we went out 4-2 on aggregate to a team containing eight Liechtenstein internationals. The Liechtenstein international team recently drew with Euro 2004 finalists Portugal, thus reflecting the quality I'm talking about Paddigo. We have nothing to be ashamed of!

**paddigol** · 05/11/2004, 9:15 AM

And how well exactly have Vaduz gone on to do in Europe? They lost 5-2 on agg to Beveren in the next round, who in turn have lost their two group games 5-1 and 6-1. Not exactly spectacular.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not having a cheap shot at LTFC, I just think they could have done better. For themselves as well as anyone else.
Anyway, Boh's performance was the real disgrace.

**Dillo** · 05/11/2004, 9:31 AM

Originally Posted by paddigol

And how well exactly have Vaduz gone on to do in Europe? They lost 5-2 on agg to Beveren in the next round, who in turn have lost their two group games 5-1 and 6-1. Not exactly spectacular.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not having a cheap shot at LTFC, I just think they could have done better. For themselves as well as anyone else.
Anyway, Boh's performance was the real disgrace.

Can't argue with you there but you've got to realise that FC Vaduz are a professional and superior outfit with experienced internationals playing in the swiss second division which is a huge step up from our ten team Eircom League. Bohs' performance at home in Europe was a shambles. Bohs are a full-time club and would have been expected to overcome their estonian counterparts. Instead they conceeded three of the softest goals you're ever likely to see in a european competition and they, for me are the team who really let the league down. It's hard to accept but as a league, we are miles behind meeting the required standards.

**boots** · 05/11/2004, 12:21 PM

To say the swiss second division is a huge step up for the eircom premier is an awful insult to Shelbourne and Cork City who have succesfully competed with the best of Spain, Croatia and France this year...
We made it look like a a huge step up because we put in such an inept preformance of shambolic defending and ineffective midfield play at home to Vaduz. If we played the way we did that day against Shels, Bohs r Cork we would have got a worse hiding.
The Swiss second division is crap.. we really have to lose the inferiority complex

**paddigol** · 05/11/2004, 1:26 PM

Still, i'm sure you'll improve next season, and best of luck with that.
At the end of the day, nobody could have put in a worse account of the league than Bohs. They should have been made change on the pitch after the game. They didn't deserve a shower.

**max power** · 05/11/2004, 5:31 PM

Originally Posted by Cop on

Dillo, you'd want to COP ON to yourself in all fairness. Vaduz are rubbish. Absolute muck. Brutal. Liechenstein internationals ? In the name of good Lord. How many youth internationals do WE have ?? You'd want to get a grip. We were brutal against them. You should be ashamed to be defending the indefensible.
Next you'll be saying that it was no embarassment to lose to Dublin City !!

just wondering have u ever said the above to ny of the players ???

**Dillo** · 08/11/2004, 4:18 PM

[QUOTE=Cop on]Dillo, you'd want to COP ON to yourself in all fairness. Vaduz are rubbish. Absolute muck. Brutal. Liechenstein internationals ? In the name of good Lord. How many youth internationals do WE have ?? You'd want to get a grip. We were brutal against them. You should be ashamed to be defending the indefensible.
Next you'll be saying that it was no embarassment to lose to Dublin City !![/QUOTE

Stall the ball there now a minute Cop on like a good lad. You mean to tell me Vaduz are rubbish. I presume you were at the home game at least! Vaduz totally outplayed us for the 90 minutes in Flancare Park. They didn't even perform in the Rheinpark as they obviously underestimated us but nonetheless still managed to come away with a victory. I agree, we WERE brutal against them. But we were made look brutal against them!! They played ball, we played "hit and hope". Having said that however, we definitely could have played a lot better on the day. They took their foot off the pedal for the last few minutes as they knew they were home and dry. And due to this brief lapse in concentration, we scored a couple of consolations in the dying minutes which only added a bit of respectability to the scoreline.
You are saying Vaduz are muck...... but that depends to what context you're referring to. Vaduz's subsequent results against Beveren of Belgium tell us that they are nothing but minnows, they're incapable of making any kind of impact in Europe and pose little threat to the vast majority of European sides. They were dumped convinincly by a poor Beveren side who were then easily knocked out in the next round. But if you're describing this Vaduz team as "muck" and "rubbish", where does this leave Longfod Town may I ask??
Cop on, I am not defending the indefensible here. Nobody more than me, was disgusted by the manner in which we were dumped out of Europe. It was an absolute disgrace loosing to Dublin City that night in Tolka, I never ever witnessed as a poor a town performance. Yes, we do have a number of youth internationals. But do you forsee Sean Dillon, Stephen Paisley and Graham Gartland representing Ireland in a World Cup?? Because I seriously doubt it!! I have high standards and high hopes for the future of LTFC. I am not an optimist or a pessimist. I am a REALIST!

**TheJamaicanP.M.** · 08/11/2004, 7:42 PM

Agree with everything you said Dillo. Cop On is talking rubbish. Longford were knocked out of Europe by a bigger club. We can only hope that the experience of European competition will stand the Town in good stead next season. It took ManUre a long time to get used to European football. They lost to the likes of Gothenburg and Barcelona. When Blackburn entered Europe, they lost their first five games. So all I would say is that Longford may have learned from their experience in Europe.

**Dillo** · 09/11/2004, 9:01 AM

Originally Posted by Cop on

OK, OK. Can I ask you a question - not loaded or anything. I know its dependent on many, many things, but how do you see us getting on in Europe next season ? Is it realistic for us to get past the first round (look, I know its dependent on who we are drawn against; if we can sign a couple of decent strikers) BUT, is it a realistic aspiration to get past the first round (considering most teams are minnows at this stage.)

It most certainly is a realistic aspiration for us to advance past the first round. This will be our third crack at Europe! It is a learning experience and hopefully this will stand to us. I think we will be better equipped this time round but as you say, it depends on a number of factors not least the quality of our oppostion.