Idiotic stuff that by a small minority,Rovers fans were exceptionally generous last year for our gofundme and the vast majority of them are embarrassed by that I’m sure….Originally Posted by ToberonaTornado
If you cant beat the opposition shure take it out on the bogs
https://twitter.com/IvanHarvey19/sta...81040997715970
I missed last night's game due to hay fever and sneezing fits. Seems like it was a very good performance. We've left it too late for the playoffs but this recent run is promising for next season. Shels up next which will hopefully encourage fans to come out and will also be a good test to see if we're playing well or if we've been getting results against bad teams (though good performances against Pats and Sligo were mixed in).
It's shaping up nicely in the FD behind Shels, who are very unlikely to let their lead slip now.
Cork are probably too far behind 5th place, and their run-in involves almost all the teams above them.
There's not a huge amount between Galway, UCD, Treaty, and Bray, though Galway are in the best form right now. Treaty, despite the final scoreline, were far from impressive last night.
A very good first half, I'd say. Second half was more about seeing it out, although there were enough chances to add a fourth goal.
I hope we get some defenders back in time for the Shels match. Darragh Crowley had to play right back, which clearly wasn't his best position, and most of Athlone's attacks came down his side in the second half.
A 36 game season would have been interesting.
City are 3rd in the half time table on soccerway, 5 pts of 1st and 12 pts clear of 4th.
We have lost a crazy amount of points from winning positions this year, late in games too.
Hopefully we will be a bit stronger in that department next year.
I was also at the Cork game last night and would say this is a fair summation. The third goal was particularly lovely.
Well we have been relegated and won the cup in the same season before - unfortunate timing that season as what would have been a relegation play-off the season before was automatic relegation with the umpteenth tinkering with the league format (even before Galway DVD days). Twas also the switch to Summer football so we were the cup winners for only a bit of a year. I wont make any big claims on getting away from the relegation zone but even having to go through the play-off never mind relegation is a big fall from grace, almost up there with fake accounts, bogus license application, relegation, examinership and repossession of a ground lease or 2 (damn rough spell that was) so as is always the way for LoI clubs today's problems are relative so will pull the head out of the sand about November hopefully nicely midtable and maybe with the cup....
Last edited by Nesta99; 04/09/2021 at 1:48 PM.
Can anyone tell me why Anthony Wordsworth was suspended for 4 games? Just looking through the games from last night and noticed that because he scored….
0-3 walkover to Dundalk, our luck is changing,,,be some fun if he shouldnt have played and we end up in 8th spot a point ahead of Waterford!! Im sure there is a simple explanation, its not like LoI suspensions kick up problems!
Punched 4 people in the head?
Or threw 4 coins into the crowd. One of them was probably a €2. 🙂
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
What has made the difference Nigel recently?
With Rovers our bad spell earlier was down to simple numbers injured followed by 8 or 9 wins in a row when we got people back.
Was it the same for Harps or a change of tactics or something else?
Awful run with injuries, couple of players left and new players brought in, confidence was totally shot. Any number of reasons really.
Sometimes you just need a win to lift the spirits and the FAI Cup win down in Limerick against Fairview Rangers, albeit in extra-time, seems to have given the players the lift they needed and was the catalyst for the revival.
Again, doesn't come into the discussion too often when people talk about the squads in the league, but the squad Harps have is too good to be looking at a relegation battle, and they know it themselves. Plenty of league and cup winners in there, no reason they shouldn't be further up the table.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
agree with you here but i think for most people thye just assume "ah its Harps ...relegation battle"
Not sure about that, I think Horgan gets plenty of praise, some of it unjustified at times IMO.
Let's call a spade a spade, Harps pitch is poor and has been for yonks. Harps are a physical side that play on the edge, I always laugh when I see their twitter (cringe) crying about how many bookings they receive in games. That's how Harps play, there's no point pretending otherwise and that poor aul Ollie Horgan is the victim of some sort of conspiracy. It comes from the top, and the way Ollie conducts himself on the sideline is embarrassing at times. Off the pitch, he is a gent, but he loses it far too often during games.
There is a bit of a narrative that Ollie is some sort of genius working off a shoestring budget. Harps have a competitive budget in Premier Division terms, nowhere near the top sides, but they're well able to bring in pros from the UK and Scotland, and they have done for some seasons.
This years squad is the most competitive squad Harps have assembled in years. There's some really good players and a really experienced backbone with the likes of Webster, Dunleavy (when fit), McNamee, McEleney etc. I find with Ollie he has a bit of a scattergun approach to signing players, anybody with a bit of LOI experience can be signed and there is a decent turnover, a good example of this would be Conor Barry, a player that is nowhere near the level Harps should be aiming for.
Ollie struck gold when he signed Owolabi this year, I saw bits and bobs of him in pre-season and he looked really impressive. It surprised me how slow Ollie was to introduce him but I suppose you have to acknowledge how well Adam Foley did early on in the season. Owolabi though will be a hot property in the off season, there's not many strikers like him in Ireland. Power, physically imposing, pace to burn, comfortable on both feet, has a bit of skill and can find the back of the net. He won't be short of offers from the UK and Ireland.
Harps could've made a push for Europe if they didn't have their annual mid-season meltdown, but they're on some run at the moment, so who knows. Ollie the messiah! Hopefully they can do it.
Last edited by Olander; 04/09/2021 at 9:51 PM.
roddy collins you're a flanker you're a flanker!
Even at this early stage I will be surprised if he is not a Derry City player next year.
Galway will never live that down. Gluttonous Celtic Tiger wankery that the club is still in the shadows from. I do hope it's not a repeat of 2002 for ye. A Galway-Dundalk PO fixture would be some craic all the same.Well we have been relegated and won the cup in the same season before - unfortunate timing that season as what would have been a relegation play-off the season before was automatic relegation with the umpteenth tinkering with the league format (even before Galway DVD days
It's a weird aspect of Ollie's time at Harps. Practically every season we start well in first 5/6 games. Then go missing in the middle and pull it together in the the end.
14 We were top first few games but fell apart. Bit better near the end, culminating in a cup semi....
15 Looked like we would run away with the league, then allowed Wexford to take over. Finished strong to go up through the playoffs....
16. Started with victory over Derry and looked very composed at first in the league. Weathered a difficult spell in the middle but stayed up pretty comfortably in the end
17. An anomaly as we were poor all season and comfortably relegated
18. Started pretty well and then hit a rocky patch. An away win in Galway changed our season and we finished brilliantly to go up by the Playoff
19. Started well with good draws at home to Dundalk and away to Pats then went on a sickening run and couldn't buy a win or a point. Pulled a few decent results together and stayed up by Playoff
20. Before Covid we had got off to a good start, beating Sligo, 1 minute from beating Derry, a great performance down in Cork but then after the break we were abysmal before pulling it out of the fire with our late run
21. Great start to the season then the mid season slump, followed by a great run to get us on track.
Bar 2017 our seasons have had a similar trajectory. One result seems to change things like Bohs away last season, Getting past Fairview this season the turning point. Long way to go yet though
Maybe has a Ollie fear of (league) heights and if Harps do to well too often he'd have to rewrite his post match relegation candidates talk. @Olander, He does shoot from the hip but I do think the ridiculously thin skinned refs have bought in to the Ollie ott reaction rep s and just pull out the cards if he complains much at all. He does play with a double edged sword though and isnt too pleased when Harps players are on the receiving end of Harps like physical tactics. I think he is shrewd and calculated too and takes the hits to take focus off things that are on the edge by his team on the pitch. That photo of him sitting in the stand, runners off and feet up on the back of the seat in front relaxing and still able to easily coach from there is iconic. That said Harps have been a long time evolving and there have been a few times that they look to be decent football sides but revert to type if under pressure - its hard to change the tendency for players to do what is most familiar when struggling. Finn Park would not be the place that teams generally hate to go to if it wasnt fo Ollie. Do Harps fans expect or want more though if it meant Ollie leaving?
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