eL 2005

gimmick

Well, the season is over for everyone bar Cork City and Drogheda United, so what are eL fans thoughts on the following

Highlight
Lowlight
Best player
Best Opposition player
Best Opposition team
Best Goal for
Best goal against
Best game
Best away fans
Worst away fans
Hope for next season

For me:

Highlight: Obviously the last game of the season, the celebrations at the final whistle, City have claimed the league for the first time in 12 years. The athmosphere was unreal, the players and fans alike celebrating in the shed.

Lowlight: The pathetic protest at the end of the Portadown game in the Setanta Cup at the start of the season, wher epeople were calling for Ricos head, just 2 months after he had taken over. They want Pat Dolan back. Some spat at the chairman. Amusingly, no one actually admits being there.

Best player: For Cork City this season it was our Keepr, Mick Devine. Easily the best keeper in the league, and IMO alone earned City about 14 points with his heroics in goal.

Best Opposition player: Gareth Farrelly controls games, and was no different this season when he played City. Conor O Grady of Sligo Rovers merits a mention here as well.

Best goal for: Roy O Donovans diving header away to Shels, after winding Heary up something magic all game.

Best goal against: Barry Molloys volley/lob in the Brandywell in September.

Best game: For excitment, it would be City Vs Bohs in June. Citywere 2-0, Bohs got one back through Dom Foley, and managed to miss sitter after sitter, and City won 2-1 in the end. The fact Bohs tried to play football helped no end, unlike most teams who came to the Cross this season.

Best away fans: Derry. Even in defeat after the cup semi and the decider, they were a very nice bunch. Not to mention they bring colour and noise and have some very witty songs.

Worst: Bray. May as well not brought anyone.

Hope for next season: eL clubs continue their progress in Europe. City to make the 3rd qualifying round of the CL at least. The TV coverage to be at least as good as last season. CHF to be relegated. Dolan to get a job so he shut his big trap. Limerick and Cobh to be promoted, and UCD to go down in the playoff. And obviously City to strengthen and retain the championship.

20 Times 20 Times

Great idea gimmick.

Highlight: Highligh of my season was the return to oriel park , in the cup game against the drogs that was on tv , great athmosphere shame about the result but was good to be home

Lowlight: Having to travel to "home games" over in century home park , nearly 50mile away , every "home" was mentally draining for me , and i seen the affect on teh playes as well

Best player: YOu all know who im going to say here , Ger mcCarthy had a great season with dundalk and got selected for pfai team of the year. he was one of the few highlights of this year

Best Opposition player: same as gimmick , conor grady. enough said

Best goal for: Peter hynes goal against limerick outside of the box and blasted into the top corner

Best goal against: too many for me to name , we were bad at the back

Best game: Thu 01.09 Dundalk 4 v 0 Limerick

Best away fans: Down in this division we dont get many , and i refused to name the fans of that team we played in the cup .

Worst: see above

Hope for next season: Promotion , simple as that.

bohsman

Highlight - Rovers relegation unfortunately. It was a bad season for us. Beating Shels in Dalymount was sweet too, especially with the bookies 2/1 giveaway

Lowlight - Dominic Foley

Best player - 3/4 kids coming through. No individual at Bohs could be called "best"

Best Opposition player - George O'Callaghan, also fair play to the Cork players that applauded the Bohs fans after the last game in Dalymount, makes a change from the Jason Byrnes of the league

Best Opposition team - Cork, the best team we played all season, Derry were nowhere near as good as them

Best Goal for - Foleys first against Drogheda http://www.bohemians.ie/Video%20Footage/goals_v_drogheda_220705.wmv

Best goal against - nothing stood out tbh

Best game - Bohs Shels in Dalymount, Fenlon in the stand the two shels players injuring each other and Joxer Kelly dominating the game

Best away fans - Cork

Worst away fans - Rovers

Hope for next season - Things are looking up with Thomas Heary back, a great team spirit and some of the kids coming through look very good, if one of Fabio O'Brien, Fitzpatrick or preferably Kevin McHugh are signed we should be back challenging

mchurl

For me:

Highlight: beating bohs in the second last league game of the season

Lowlight: being beaten by drogheda in cup semi

Best player: Eamonn Zayed ( when he was around) or David Tyrrell

Best Opposition player: Gotta be George O'Callaghan he looked head and shoulders above everyone else

Best goal for: anyone of David Tyrrel's two free'sa against bohs in above mentioned game

Best goal against: Pat McCourt for rovers against us in Dalymount

Best game: UCD game in cup quarter final had everythin us playing brilliant stuff and then UCd launching a fightback

Best away fans: Gotta be derry for entertainment value and they were up for a good laugh as well. They were beating us comfortably in the carlisle and so the bray fans headed into the derry section and starting jumping around and having a laugh with them great stuff altogether!

Worst: Bohs fans the two times we played them at home this season they caused trouble:mad:

Hope for next season:Push on from this season and finish in top six. Win back the FAI cup:p

Töpher

Highlight: The run in at the end of the season, some amazing football. Glentoran away in Belfast, magical trip all round.

Lowlight: Steauau Bucarest away when a host of individual mistakes cost us dearly (taking away the errors that were caused by Shelbourne crumbling, it would have been 1-1 and we would have gone through!). Bray away, when we were 2-0 and let it slip to 2-2, basically destroying any remaining hopes of 3 in a row.

Best player: Wes Hoolahan / Joey Ndo

Best Opposition player: John Paul Kelly, away to Bohs when we lost 2-1, he tore us apart from start to finish. No other player has done that for htier ful time on the pitch without fail to us this season. Every other player (yes, even Georgie!) had big quiet spells, JPK tore us assunder!

Best goal for: Weso, against Drogheda.

Best goal against: Eamon Zayed, at home to Bray. Magical.

Best game: Both Glentoran games! Special mention to the Drogheda at home game, although not going how I would have wished - no denying it was one of the most entertaining games of football I have seen in a long while!!

Best away fans: Derry.

Worst: Rovers.

Hope for next season: Championés! Championés! Championés! Cork to reach the 3rd Qualifying round of CL at least, Derry to prove they can do it in Europe. (Dunno bout Drogheda...). Shelbourne to win a European trophy (Inter-toto! )

MrJoeSoap

Highlight: The CL demolition of Glentoran or the great run at the end of the season, where we were scoring for fun (albeit against the 'lesser' teams)

Lowlight: The first game of the season, a pathetic performance and extremely lucky draw against UCD. We never fully recovered.

Best player: Wes Hoolahan, followed (some distance behind) by Hawkins and Jayo.

Best Opposition player: The Brennan/Farren combination for Derry.

Best Opposition team: Cork

Best Goal for: Wes Hoolahan in the 2nd minute against Drogheda at Tolka, my choice for goal of the season.

Best goal against: Killian Brennan's against us at Tolka.

Best game: The 3-3 debacle against Drogheda, no game has ever gotten me so wound up in my life. I broke the 100metre world record to let the linesman know my feelings. Turns out I was probably wrong in the end! Hugging Nutsy after Jayo's 90th minute free-kick made it all worthwhile.

Best away fans: Cork or Pats (who always seem to have more at Tolka than at Richmond, and still can't beat us for love nor money )

Worst away fans: Bray on Hallowe'en.

Hope for next season: We get our trophy back and Wes wins player of the season (FOR US!)

Slash/ED

Highlight: Both Glentoran games, for a few reasons. One as we salvaged the pride the Setanta Cup lost us and the league in some fashion. Two as the atmosphere both times was incredible, though I watched the away game on TV Three because the papers would have loved nothing more than a riot and nothing of the sort materialised despite the july 13th belfast match.

As I missed Glentoran away, Portadown away trip is worthy of a mention here. We may have missed the goal but it was a great trip.

Lowlight: The next European game, Steaua. A host of f*ck ups individually costing us against a side we were no worse than, none more so than Fenlon. His team selection, tactics and subs in those two games will baffle me for the rest of my existence. This was also during his lets pretend our best player doesn't exist phase.

Best player: Joey Ndo would have got it but for said phase, best in the league, simply incredible. Wes Hoolahan gets it for being more involved and also being spectacular.

Best Opposition player: Probably O'Callaghan. Hated by most Shels fans, I love the fact we've players like that in the league. Winds people up, gets people talking, and is a great footballer to boot. A character, which I respect.

Best goal for: Weso against Drogheda, Ndo against Rovers, and many others were technically better by miles, but nothing was as sweet as Glen Crowes volley on the judas sign. What a moment.

Best goal against: Glentorans goal in Tolka was an incredible team move, one which they showed no sign whatsoever of replicating during any of the other 180 minutes. Where did that come from!? Great goal though. Also up there would be the Waterford volley in the RSC, I forget the name of the scorer now, sensational goal.

Best game: Drogheda at home. Easy. Had everything, absolutley incredible goals, very important and tense game, controversy, dismissals and late goals at both ends. A point was as good as a loss for us, but still, what a game. One of those if it was on live TV it would have been replayed endlessly especially if it was in England

Best away fans: Cork the last time out in Tolka for sheer numbers

Worst: Shamrock Rovers, for attempting to channel their outrage at being accused of having a hoolie element by Ollie Byrne by invading the pitch and throwing things, starting fights outside the ground. And that was only a warm up to what their pr*ck element would try in Dalymount.

Hope for next season: Win our trophy back and at the same time be the first Irish club to make a European final.

KdjaCL

Highlight
Played some nice football, started to want to win. Johnny Macs team only really played for 3 or 4 games but when they did there was some hope.
Lowlight
Didnt score enough goals, got sucked into a fight we should have been miles away from with our defence. Simply because we couldnt score.
Best player
Maguire without question, if we had of finsihed higher would have beena contender for player of the season. He just wants the ball more than the other guy.
Best Opposition player
Houlihan, superb in every game vs us. Madness he wasnt playing much for Shels.
Best Opposition team
Derry we are good at the back but they cut us apart numerous times.
Best Goal for
Reillys free vs Rovers, more so for where iw as and who i was standing beside
Best goal against
Any of Houlihans vs us.
Best game
Tie
Beating Rovers 3-1 and playing ****, Playing well and drawing vs Derry, Beating Cork away with 9 men.
Best away fans
Cork, got to see all sides of them "the were gonna win league brigade" "the oh **** we losing to Pats at home and they have 9 men we dont deserve league" Always good fun with them.
Worst away fans
Rovers shockingly.
Hope for next season
Score more goals.

kdjac

blu_sonic

Highlight:
after our worst ever season its hard to say i suppose the humilation of bohs, but i missed that game so for a match i was at the bray 3-2 game i shat myself for 90mins

non-football wise the fact we survived exmaniership and are the first team in ireland to present our tax forms to the FAI.

Lowlight:
relegation, players commitment, Roddy Collins

Best player:
Barry Murphy imo the best goal keeper in the league last year due to the amout of work he gets, he conceeds but its about 40 shots on target against every game as opposed to 4 against devine

Best Opposition player:
Tony Sheridan oh opposition, i thought he was playing for dublin city in the play off, alan o'neil if you didn't know hes a ref and a ABR. otherwise richie baker/georgie boy/kevin doyle

Best Opposition team:
Cork great team and deserved champions, always went to matches thinking we'll loose

Best Goal for:
1. pat mcourt 2nd goal v bray
2. pat mcourt 1st goal v bray
3. jason mcguiness v douglas hall

Best goal against:
georgie cork v rovers

Best game:
Bray 3-2, edge of seat stuff

Best away fans:
Shamrock Rovers traveling support

Worst away fans:
Bohs: trouble makers - fights etc.
Shels: only sing when they're winning
Pats: trouble starters but can't back up what they start
Longford: just their treatment of our club and utter disrespect towards the club/fans/stadium

Hope for next season:
we are going to win the div1 title and to parade it in tallaght stadium, tallaght to be up and running by the end of next year