Bit shocked by this. It’s a massive appointment in regards to the future direction of Cork and appointing Fenn is no better than a punt.
I for one am furious with the announcement about Fenn. Its the second time we have lost a manager to Cork City after Alan Mathews.
Fenn has done nothing the last few weeks which leads to the suspicion he had his mind made up to go if we couldnt compete for the title? I thought his body language didnt look great all any time I saw him. I think he must be getting his full badges shortly.
I really hope Fenn doenst go after any of our players. I am sure our board would tell him where to go if they are under contract.
Fenn has form for this sort of thing but I wish him the best of luck going to Cork. The Cork fans will be more demanding if things go wrong and I am sure Foras wont be as understanding as our board was.
Gary Cronin is he the right man to manage Longford Town?
Fair play to Fenn. He obviously has aspirations to manage at a decent sized club. It could go well for him, depending on how the BOM at city treat him.
For all the improvement in football style and affable public persona, his end product is not that far removed from what Cousins would have achieved with us.
If by any chance we could end up with O'Neill out of this situation then i'd think we would be up on the deal..
There aren't many if any of our players that Cork should be aiming to sign to be fair Marty!
Upwards to the vanguard where the pressure is too high.
Any chance Longford would take Gary Cronin back?
Wonder would Steacy be able for the step up? Has done little wrong in terms of goalkeeping and his distribution is very good, probably the best keeper we've ever had with his feet, so would fit in to what Fenn wants. Cork need to look for a new No. 1 for the future, bit of a risk and would be a big lifestyle shift for him to commit to moving down there as well of course. Having thought about it some more, I think I remember him saying he was beginning a 3rd level course in Dublin next year, so a move is probably out of the question in any case.
If anyone trys to sign Aodh I'll fight them.
Totally ok with Fenn leaving if Town managed to hire Collie honestly.
Last edited by Acornvilla; 22/08/2019 at 5:38 PM.
It seems like more of a marriage of convenience than anything. I think there's a bit of sentiment involved in it. Fenn is very well regarded by most Cork City supporters for his time there as a player.
I'm not really sure about him as a manager. He seems a little bit linear in his thinking and the way he sets Longford up as a side. They always aim to play football, even when it's not on, but they don't like doing the other side of the game. A team like Drogheda under Clancy is a lot more pragmatic, they can play and they're also very comfortable when it comes to the physical side of the game. The same can't be said for Longford in my experiences and you can expose them a bit if you get physical with them and disrupt them.
Fenn's had two seasons with Longford now with a very competitive First Division budget, last year he didn't even make the top four for a Play-off, this year it looks like they will make it, but I wouldn't back them against say Harps. I'd be far more confident of Drogheda going up ahead of them. If Longford fail to go up again and Fenn does goes south you can be sure he'll try and take Aodh Dervin with him. Either way I would say this is his last year with Longford, somebody like Bohs will pick him up maybe, his promise can only go unnoticed by the bigger clubs for so long and Longford probably need Premier Division football to retain him.
Overall feel that Fenn flatters to deceive and is a bit of a me-feiner and a good networker in the game. He doesn't adapt his game enough and sort of reminds me of the way Kenny Shiels always insisted on playing football on poor pitches then moaned about it afterwards, but never adapted like the better managers did. Fenn hasn't exactly uprooted any trees at Longford but has brought in a nice brand of football and developed a few very good players and made some shrewd signings like Steacy. Does that make him suitable to take over one of the biggest clubs in the country? I don't think so.
It's very harsh on Longford if he does walk out before the season is over.
Last edited by Olander; 22/08/2019 at 6:05 PM.
roddy collins you're a flanker you're a flanker!
Try and take Aodh Dervin is it Olander? Yes he'd be one capable of stepping up, as could Steacy in terms of playing Premier Division. Dean Byrne in the right set up too potentially, but I'm thinking of Cork as a likely title challenger.
Upwards to the vanguard where the pressure is too high.
Fenn did not inform any Town official about his desire to interview with Cork City. He went behind the clubs back. Very poor form.....but we should not be surprised.
One player nobody has mentioned that Fenn may take is Elworthy, Fenn has previously stated he feels Elworthy is the best RB in the division and he thinks very very highly of Breslin on the opposite side, could see him taking those two with him. Aodh Dervin and Dean Byrne be the other two he might consider while Steacy definitely won't be here next season he's been superb.
Just on some of the comments above, a lot of people Saying Fenn only plays one way and doesn't mix it up enough like Drogs (who we've beaten 3/3 times this season). We have been far more direct this season than in the past under Fenn we must don't have a decent target man or striker so it's been ineffective. In Interviews I've done with him in recent seasons we've often talked about how he has changed his approach to opt for a more direct system when needed. It's not a long ball game it's just getting the ball into the final 3rd quicker. But as I said, it's not worked at all this year without a striker.
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