First Division Run-In

[Neish]

The real battle will be Treaty vs Harps for the final playoff spot as I think UCD are far enough ahead of both and probably the most ideal remain fixtures to confirm their playoff place

I ahh stand corrected. Harps hit a poor run just when it was most important, and the infuriating thing about it was they brought it on themselves for the most part with silly errors and lapses in concentration

Still hard to see anyone but Dundalk take the first division title but would love to see Cobh get promoted one way or the other.

[pineapple stu]

I know Cobh have had to live in Cork's shadow mostly, but it's still mental how few Premier seasons they have. It'd be hard to begrudge them a promotion alright (murky ownership/flirtation with insolvency this year aside I guess)

[Neish]

I know Cobh have had to live in Cork's shadow mostly, but it's still mental how few Premier seasons they have. It'd be hard to begrudge them a promotion alright (murky ownership/flirtation with insolvency this year aside I guess)

This season in my 30th regularly attending Finn Park and LOI games, Harps were (if I'm counting right) in the Premier for 12 of those but I struggled to recall more than 3 or 4 when Cobh weren't in First division

[pineapple stu]

Yeah, they've had just four Premier Division seasons, and were relegated in three of those.

(They also had three seasons in the A Championship and one season out of senior football entirely, which technically count as not being in the First Division!)

[Hitman]

If UCD had a ... Dermot Usher involved, we'd be quite good.

I wouldn't count on it.

[pineapple stu]

Touché!

Maybe just his money so

[Glen Of Aherlow]

I really feel the South-East of the City is crying out for a team that is already there, if it was just linked together.

The biggest gripe I would have is Belfield is not easy to get too, because its so deep in the city.

To be fair, last time I was in UCD, there did seem to a lot of kids about, and they even had a drum. Pretty sure there were lads with a drum last Friday too. They brought more away fans than some clubs to Oriel this year.

From a football nerd point of view... It is an interesting time for UCD. The LOI is changing, and their once niche of basically being the one-stop bridge of young players to senior football in LOI is no longer the case as football development in the country has radically changed.

At the same time, reading from here (and other online activity), they seem to have a deeper local connection now, especially helped with underage LOI teams and their link-up with Mt. Marrion.

They have a great history and added a lot to LOI, and their presence in the league give it a nice oddity. They win their spots in the leagues based on performance.

I hope they can continue to develop.

Was at the playoff match in Richmond a few years back when UCD beat Waterford . Was chatting to an elderly man beside me and he was talking about the LOI years ago.

He pointed to a group of young lads down the front of the stand , said they're from Mount Merrion and go to UCD games regularly and two of them were grandsons of his .

He was telling me how he thought it was great and a good social outlet for youngsters when the lads launched into a chorus of 'F**K off back to the first division' towards the Waterford fans .

His face was a picture .

[Nesta99]

While I full agree with the merit side of things, it seems reasonable to me that at some point in the future they should have to justify the fact that they have literally almost no fanbase at all. Re Athlone - worst team in the country by a mile, with the town drowning in apathy over its men's senior team, Longford have been in the doldrums for 2 decades now, reasonably justifiable low attendances for both these sides. UCD are perennially in the hunt for promotion with a legacy of being the League's feeder club and yet the Bowl only fills up adequately solely from away fans presence.

Longford have been promoted twice in the last 11 years and been involved in the playoffs in most other seasons, wouldn't call that being in the doldrums. What have Galway United won in the last 30 years?

Like UCD, we've Also never missed a payment of wages over the last 10 or 15 years, we've never dropped out of the league and had to change our name.

This season in my 30th regularly attending Finn Park and LOI games, Harps were (if I'm counting right) in the Premier for 12 of those but I struggled to recall more than 3 or 4 when Cobh weren't in First division

Move on lads, Galway fans dont do history except when it suits!