Be nice if Waterford helped take up a bottom slot and so help Dundalk avoid a repeat of 2012.
Be nice if Waterford helped take up a bottom slot and so help Dundalk avoid a repeat of 2012.
Funny to see only one Rovers player in the Team of the Season when we are apparently in a period where the league is weak. Couldn't be that weak if so many amazing players weren't even close to winning it.
21 leagues and 25 cups.
Well, they have to put 11 players in it one way or another?
Seems to indicate that a lot of Rovers players disappointed, and nobody else had enough good players to capitalise.
The champions losing home and away to a part-time Icelandic side would be a bigger measure of the strength of the league for me.
gaffney is probably the only other rovers player hard done by. lennon should be in over clark too for me. always find a way to argue with players choices though
I think Norman proved himself a good player once he settled in and was played in the right position. But yeah, he's certainly not irreplaceable like Redmond would be. Far as I know Grivosti is out of contract, he was a quality defender but a lot up in the air with him given the injury.
Seems to be a weird level of optimism around Murphy but I'd be shocked if he stayed. As you say though it wasn't like he was a regular once Leavy came in.
Daniel Kelly exit confirmed by Dundalk …
Irish by birth ,Harps by the grace of god.
A lot of players disappointed in a league winning team? Manager must be unreal!
Cant think of a single player who had a bad season to be honest. Maybe Burt and Power but only because they were injured.
It's a list of players who stood out at clubs other than Rovers with one hoop (not even the right one!) thrown in because they couldn't quite go full tilt.
Not sure how you figure that. Rovers with their resources should be winning the league by 20 points, not winning it on the penultimate day
Stutts - a Rovers fan - has said it should be Celtic/Rangers level of dominance, but it's far from that.
The rebuild will be interesting; I'm not sure Bradley's up to it tbh. Time will tell though
Sligo Rovers first-team budget for next season set to drop by 35-40 percent ,seems a pretty major deal,will be in the relegation picture for sure…..
Irish by birth ,Harps by the grace of god.
We've won four leagues in a row stu. It has been dominant. Let's not pretend massive investment hasn't been put into other clubs as well. Derry are far closer to us on that front than anyone else is to Celtic or Rangers. And Pats were competing with us for Jack Byrne so.....not quite the same disparity at all really.
Anyway, enjoy your off season. Another Bradley debate in a year he's made history doesn't seem like a good use of our time.
rovers confirm honohan signing. could do well in a back 3 but i have my doubts. good luck to the lad , honest as the day is long.
It's not been as dominant as it should be though, let's be honest. I think ye're going backwards. And Europe has been really poor, more than once.
Anyway, I know we've had this discussion more than once, and at this stage I have my view and you have yours, which is fine. But going back to the original comment, I can't see anything to support the view that "Funny to see only one Rovers player in the Team of the Season when we are apparently in a period where the league is weak. Couldn't be that weak if so many amazing players weren't even close to winning it." If anything, it points to a lot of meh players in the league, as indeed does the European results this year. I'm not sure how you think a team of the year in a weak league would look?
It was half a joke stu. But forwards or backwards we have won four leagues in a row. Teams rise and fall. In 20 years this Rovers team will be recognized as great. As will Bradley. I'm sure you could find a few that criticized McLaughlin and the rest as well. What counts in the end are the trophies and medals on the table.
For the TotY, it's just funny. Doesn't bother me as it happens ever season. I'm told we have all the best players but when the votes come in people seem to think otherwise. To answer your question though, a team of the year in a weak league where we have all the talent would be a rovers 11 obviously.
Fairy nuff - that stuff doesn't come across well on t'internet!
Yeah, it's an unusual selection. I do think part of it might be that Rovers this year were generally a bit less than the sum of their parts. Maybe a decent player playing above himself for a season is more deserving of a vote than a better player not having a great season by his standards. Bradley's bete noire of Europe is a particular black mark, although probably Europe doesn't really count if it's a PFAI vote.
On a related topic actually, Damien Duff hasn't made the shortlist for PFAI Manager of the Year, which I find a bit weird. He's only taken them into Europe for the first time in 17 years, having been First Division two years ago.
Bradley, Daly and Doherty are the nominees. Caulfield, Keegan and Long in the First.
Last edited by pineapple stu; 16/11/2023 at 7:33 PM.
Your attitude is symptomatic of the wider LOI communities antipathy to Rovers being the most dominant team this little league has seen since the last 4 in a Row, also a Rovers team.
The failure to see what's in front of their own faces presumably extends to the players themselves who voted for this Team of the Season-Any part time watcher of Rovers would telk you that Pico had his worst season since joining Rovers and was our 2nd worst defender(after kavo) yet he somehow made the team here
As for my own opinion on possible Rovers players worthy I'd humbly put forward Grace, Clearly & Gaffney with honourable mention to Poom. This ultimately matters not a jot in the big scheme of thing's, as the important trophy still resides in Tallaght,and with it a chance to correct the poor European form we showed this season.
Shamrock Rovers- Where trophies are won and envy is scarce
I think you do Stephen Kenny's Dundalk a disservice there - five league wins in six years and six successive Cup finals is pretty dominant too. Pretty much every one of those seasons had a higher points-per-game tally than Rovers' last three years, and of course they delivered in Europe, where Rovers have repeatedly failed. Their achievements exceed the current Rovers team for me.
You're right though that in the end the Team of the Year doesn't really matter.
Ah stu, we've "known" each long enough that I thought I'd have a bit of credit in the bank!
It could be true that no Rovers player played above themselves but I'm happy enough with that. It doesn't mean we didn't see very high levels of performance. Grace and Gaffney in particular were exceptionally good but everyone played very well outside of the European debacle.
But look we know what these lists are. The players who stood out the most at their clubs and played above and beyond those around them usually get the votes. Would I put Keating in a team over Gaffney? Not a chance in hell. But Keating stood out for a fairly poor Cork side and deserves the praise. He almost saved them on his own.
If it was just a vote for the best players it would be very boring altogether. I'd fancy a full strength Rovers 11 to beat that team of the season though.
Also shocked not to see Duff on the shortlist. Thought it would be Bradley, Duff and Doherty but it's hard to argue with Daly's inclusion. Some turnaround in form and a cup win to boot...he might even be favourite! I don't think Bradley will get it but how weird is that? The only man to ever win four in a row and he probably won't be the manager of the year. If you listen to his interview with Richie Sadlier you might even vote for him yourself. Heartbreaking stuff. No idea how he has kept the focus through the last few seasons.
21 leagues and 25 cups.
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