Citys present team....

[RedX]

I see people writing about what there favourite team or should i say there best starting team is for this season.Some people cant understand why Warrens on the bench and others wonder why Woods is in the team.As far as i can see(in my opinion)there are a few players in the team that should not be in there or should i say could even be out of position.We have all come to the conclusion that O'Grady is not good enough.I am now going to give my opinion on how i rate Citys team and you must remember we are talking about a team WE ALL want to win the league...

1.Devine(one of the best if not the best in the league)
2.Hoggy(consisitent defender but never really gets forward..one problem position that Dolan knows as we have seen the switching between Carey and Hoggy)
3.Hedderman(some fans not happy with him already which is a disgrace.has showed very good touches and always trys to play football.Could develop into very good player)
4.Dan Murray(one of the best in the league)
5.Bennett(good player and has done very well but we could do with a more experienced player there at the moment.Certainly do not think Bennett is the man to replace Reynolds if we signed a new centre half)needs replacing.
6.O'Grady(sorry Conor..not up to scratch for City's title ambitions)
7.O'Halloran(fine player that is great to watch.big hearted lad that you need in every team especially if you go one down..if we signed a good partner for Greg he could develop into twice the player he is now).
8.Doyle.(getting better and better but still showing a lack of consistency)
9.O'Flynn(Fantastic player and would be in double figures now only if we had that creative player in midfield we crave)
10.O'Callaghan(Match winner on his game..every team needs this type of player.Its what we pay to see)
11.Woods(had a few games last season when on top of his game looked best winger in the league even surpassing Ollie C.Seems to have gone stale.If he does not improve needs to be changed soon)

Squad players...Cronin(very good cover at the back)..Warren(looked very good last season when he played,dont know why he did not get more of a run but Murphy also left him out as is Dolan now so something must be up here.You dont see two consecutive managers leaving out players that should be in the team lads).Andrews(dont know whats going on there..will be interesting to see if he is offered a new contract end of season)..Mooney(surprised hes not playing first team football elsewhere..great cover to have but has problem trying to keep the game flowing with his lack of throwing to full backs especially)..Carey(very eratic on the ball and gives away to much possesion..very quick but as of now,not good enough for the first team.Napier(how fit is he anyway?..if recovered and fit from bad injury should be Dan Murrays partner in the centre back postion)Colin T(drifts in and out of team..why he does not see more first team action is strange..played well at times last season).Colin P(good player to throw on for last 20 minutes..still very young)...


As far as i can see in the long run City need to get a new right full,a centre half,two midfielders and a striker.They need to get rid of a few of the squad players now and let the new signings battle with the people with the first team spots now to create a stronger team and squad...

[Audacity]

Agree with most of what u said RedX but in my opinion Cronin has been shocking all season. I must say that the two games that Daly played in he was City's man of the match (both against Ramblers). Also Benett has had a stormer in his last two games and I recon that he will make a great defender in time. Definate need for two midfielders as O' Grady is'nt at the races and hasn't been for awhile.

[Éanna]

I reckon we need a left-winger, a central midfielder and possibly a right winger. napier should be back soon to partner murray in defence and hoggy will be fine at right-full once he gets back on form

[thecorner]

Warren was left out by murphy due to injury

the question bout woodsie is being raised time and time again

we all know what a quality winger he is but is he being used right
he keeps drifting into the midfield
is he been told to do that?
if he stayed out on the wing,he would be affective and the lads would get quality service

your point about colin p being too young, what age is flynny?????,reckon u get my point

[yan]

my opinion is that i think Dolan seems to favour the full time players, with billy being an exception,i think he is trying to get rid of the part time players so the club will be fully proffessional, well it explains why d warren,d daly,g cronin,colin t, are not playing amoung others, i know some of those players are just not good enough anymore, im not too sure how many of the starting 11 are full time but i reckon b woods,hoggy are not full time?

anyone want to add to this or give an opinion????

[Ozymandias]

Agree with alot of what u say redx but I think you are wrong about George...He is a match winner on his day and can be brilliant (that can be said about woods as well) but george has been a liability against Waterford, Rovers and Derry..I was in the bradywell and he couldn't keep the ball and wasn't interested. If he can be consistent keep him on....he has done nothing since the bohs game ..maybe the longford game cause of his goal...
We need 2 midfielders and a striker.....

[NorthoftheLee]

I think everyone would agree that it's the midfield that needs the surgery as it has been the consistent week link this year so far. We definitely need to get a creative central midfield player.
I think it may be worth experimenting with pulling George back into that role for a game or 2. We have C. P. and Doyle who can play upfront with John. Doyle was supposed to be a striker wasn't he????
Saying that though, I'd prefer to have a specialist central midfielder in the thick of it with Greg. We need someone who can link up and control the play. Easier said that done I know but with all the releases going on across the channel, surely there has to be a couple of decent midfielders left go on a free? We are allowed to sign free agents aren't we?? When Napier comes back then pushing Bennett into the middle would certainly be worth a try.

[Dunner]

Pushing Bennett into the middle is not really a solution -even though he was good there for the past few seasons he is doing so well at the back that to move him out of position AGAIN would cause him more damage than good i think!! He is growing into a fantastic centre half so id leave him there-

WE NEED MIDFIELDERS!!!!!!

[NorthoftheLee]

Pushing Bennett into the middle is not really a solution -even though he was good there for the past few seasons he is doing so well at the back that to move him out of position AGAIN would cause him more damage than good i think!! He is growing into a fantastic centre half so id leave him there-

WE NEED MIDFIELDERS!!!!!!

Ya kinda agree with what you're saying, but my point about Bennet is with the current squad not changing( should have made that clear, my bad). Napier could do a good job at CB and Bennett could only improve the center of midfield. I think Bennett could handle the switch to midfield without too much difficulty. He has the ability.

[Audacity]

Originally posted by yan
my opinion is that i think Dolan seems to favour the full time players, with billy being an exception,i think he is trying to get rid of the part time players so the club will be fully proffessional, well it explains why d warren,d daly,g cronin,colin t, are not playing amoung others, i know some of those players are just not good enough anymore, im not too sure how many of the starting 11 are full time but i reckon b woods,hoggy are not full time?

anyone want to add to this or give an opinion????

Yan, to the best of my knowledge Dave Warren is full time with City. Should be given a chance against Shels on friday night.

Remember the 1st game of the season last year against Shels. Woods was out and replaced by Warren, George scored the first and Flynnie got a Brace. 3 - Nil and it was just like watchin Brazil.

Seriously though it was City's best game of the season and Warren hasn't had a look in since Billy came back, for all the good he's done.

[thecorner]

Originally posted by AUDACITY
Yan, to the best of my knowledge Dave Warren is full time with City.

warren is only a part time player
also doing an apprenticeship

[Audacity]

Originally posted by thecorner
warren is only a part time player
also doing an apprenticeship

Tks for the info thecorner, I must say i'm surprised, having seen Warren when he did get a run I was impressed. In my opinion he would make a better hand of the left wing than Woods.

[RedX]

the corner.....i understand what you mean about Flynny and Colin P being more or less the same age, but dont you think its possible for some players to be more mature maybe through experience at that age?.John O Flynn while not playing any first team football(with Peterboro),had been in England for a bit and had that experience which would probably make him more mature than many guys around that age,and got a great start when he got back which really gave him the confidence to continue.He might well have come back and had a couple of quiet games and have been left on the bench(thankfully not).Sometimes players dont develop into more regular first teamers until there mid-twenties.Anyway we are lucky to have two very good young players of there calibre...

[thecorner]

good point but when colin p came thru a few seasons back we all saw what a talent he was but he was not given his chance for a run in the side after that

if he was left in the side we could now be calling for him to be in the irish squad instead of flynny

[RedX]

I agree....getting away though from those two specific players i think that people have to also consider that some players dont get into the side because they might not be doing as well in training and there fitness might not be to the liking of the manager.I am not picking out any certain player but all these little things add up when a manager is selecting his team.Anyway i just hope Pat Dolan selects a side good enough to beat Shel$ Friday night...

[Ozymandias]

How is george in the side so....he looks lazy on the pitch
so much talent hope he cops himself on..he could be a star if he realises its a team game and flicks don't always work

[steven17]

Originally posted by RedX

Andrews(dont know whats going on there..will be interesting to see if he is offered a new contract end of season

i was talking to him about this .. he hopes he gets another cotract but said with this u21 leauge team playing teams like england wales and scotland he said "[B]i`m seeing every game over there as a trail and if i play well i wouldnt think twice about playing in england (wales or scotland) againbut my main goal is too get in a winning city team we`ll see

so even if pat gave him one or to games to save him from leaving
hate to see him go cause with deccie hopefully retiring next year and gaz moving on (again hopfully)could be a bit bear at the back!!!

any thoughts????

[thecorner]

Originally posted by Ozymandias
How is george in the side so....he looks lazy on the pitch
so much talent hope he cops himself on..he could be a star if he realises its a team game and flicks don't always work

george is probably our best player so far this season

[steven17]

Originally posted by Éanna
napier should be back soon to partner murray in defence and

what makes you think hes just gonna walk into the team after an injury hes had people dont come bak the same.

[RedX]

Steven....i would like to see more of John Andrews myself just to see how good he is.The feeling i get from seeing him about during matchday,training before the game and the way he signs autographs for the kids he seems like a decent guy.A lot of fans seem very keen on seeing him get a run and they cant all be wrong.I have seen him play a few times and most recently pre-seaon against the Cork A.U.L side and he does look like a good player.Dan Murray will not be moved from centre half and Dolan seems to like Bennett there so far so it is hard for Andrews to get his chance.He was played out of position and it did not work out for him last season(i think against Rovers or Bohs?).But not wishing injury on anyone but maybe he will get a chance sometime soon.But if Dolan brings in another centre half in the next couple of months i think you will know what he thinks of him....