Greatest League in the World 2024 [new thread available]

Hodors Appletart

Shels announce a significant investment.

Let's goooooooooo Shelacticooooooo

Pawwed Rig

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122167608#Comment_122167608

Will Jarvis be there for the whole season or will he be called back to Hull over the summer?

Hodors Appletart

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122168562#Comment_122168562

Think it's for the season, and there are strong rumours that Harry Wood is coming back for the second part of the season

jonnreeks

Shamrock Rovers v Shelbourne now on Friday night!

Potential for another 10,000 at the Tallaght venue!

Shels will bring a huge away support now for this one after their recent results and form and could be looking for further tickets than the usual allocation!

😀

CSF

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122168636#Comment_122168636

It’s the whole season yeah. Wood is out of contract with Hull next month by all accounts, so him coming back will be on a permanent basis, if it gets over the line.

CSF

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122168346#Comment_122168346

I actually don’t agree with this. I think it’s more to do with a better standard throughout the league, rather than a drop off of level at the top.

Bottom of the league this season, already have more points than UCD finished on this season, and I’d be expecting the team who finished 2nd bottom also to finish on higher than Cork did last year.

If there are no whipping boys, then it stands to reason that the teams at the top are going to accumulate less points. But Rovers won the league on exactly 2 points per game, and we currently have 34 points from 18 games, so eh that’s not a massive drop off really is it?

Pawwed Rig

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122169128#Comment_122169128

Duff is on record as saying he does not have the budget to have too many players on 1,500 a week. Wood is a good player. You would think that he would get at least that much elsewhere without moving country. I am not sure Shels can afford him. I would like to be wrong on this though as Wood was an excellent player.

Hodors Appletart

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122169261#Comment_122169261

have you missed this morning's announcement?

CSF

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122169273#Comment_122169273

I wouldn't expect that to be an immediate gamechanger. That will just be formal communication of the 1 million investment (no small sum either) that was reported in the media a couple of weeks back, rather than some additional funding.

The reason Wood might be gettable is because hes just been at a League 2 team who were inches away from relegation, and was barely able to get a game at all. The biggest competition we are likely to receive for him, is likely other LOI teams, who will have already seen how he can operate at this level.

Hodors Appletart

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122169309#Comment_122169309

Echoing these sentiments, Luke Byrne, Technical Director, comments, “I am delighted to see this investment into the club to support our long-term on-field performance. I know Neil and Cathal are passionate about maximising the club’s position both this year and into the future. This marks an exciting new chapter for Shelbourne FC”.

chopperbyrne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122169118#Comment_122169118

Rovers are also running a schoolboys/girls age teams go free promotion for the end of their seasons, so could see quite a few extra kids at it.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C7OmJREt9ZF/

Ohmeha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122169261#Comment_122169261

Don't underestimate that some footballers early in their professional career like Wood may be happy to re-locate country and take a discount to go play for a club where they had a successful loan spell, you can add in the attraction of European football too. I'm sure Wood will have options in the UK and may have interest from other LOI teams too I would be surprised if he ended back with Shels but then again I was pleasantly surprised to see Jarvis back this season

PGE1970

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122169459#Comment_122169459

Having followed LoI for over 45 years and been involved at club level for a while, I have seldom seen a player not motivated by money.

Particularly a player coming from outside the league.

CSF

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122169519#Comment_122169519

I doubt Bohs were the highest offer for Danny Grant. All accounts were that Pats outbid them.

Money is still by far the biggest driver at this level (and most levels) but it’s definitely not the only one.

billyhead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122167608#Comment_122167608

If Will Jarvis was that good he would have represented England at under age level. The way you go on is as if he's the second coming of Christ.

Hodors Appletart

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122169592#Comment_122169592

Will Jarvis is the best on Earth.

topmanamillion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122169143#Comment_122169143

Europe is where the league is bench marked, not if Dundalk and Drogheda are less crap than UCD and Cork were last year.

There's a serious inconsistency to Shams and Derry. Even compare Shams to League Title number 1 and 2 and there's been a drop off.

Shams may well end up winning 5 in a row. But it'll be because the rest weren't up to challenging them.

Derry dropped 8 points against Shams last year and were 7 points behind them at the end of the season. They are completely risk adverse under Higgins and would rather settle for a 1-0 lose than going for it and losing 2-0.

CSF

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122169698#Comment_122169698

Europe hasn’t happened yet. And yet in spite of you putting that caveat in there to me talking about what’s gone on in the league, everything else in the post just refers also to what’s gone in the league, which is kind of confusing.

topmanamillion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122169749#Comment_122169749

Europe is the benchmark for every league in UEFA, there's an entire coefficient system built around it. The most recent European campaign was poor for the league. Same again and there won't be any debate if the league has regressed. Nobody will be pondering if Dundalk and Drogheda are better than Cork and UCD. As for me referencing what's going on in the league, is that not the point of this thread?

artanevilla

From what I can see in front of me, and I've seen every team in the league play in the flesh this year, there has been a drop off in quality all round. I may have said it before but I think how compact the league in in terms of points difference is not because some teams have improved and closed a gap but I think the gap has shrunk due to the talent drain that's been ongoing the last couple of years meaning the teams have regressed down to a similar level rather than improved up to a similar level.

Just because there is no whipping boy this year isn't an indication of improved quality all round, it just means there's not a whipping boy. You also have to remember the two teams that came up were already full time, so the gap from those two teams in the 1st to Premier was probably a lot smaller than say a UCD getting promoted.

I think Europe will be telling this year, I have a feeling the clubs won't do particularly well, there were signs of that last year as well. However I don't want to say that they will definitely struggle as I've no reference point as to how other leagues are performing or expected to perform.

For a few years we had quite a technical league, from what I've seen, that's diminished somewhat and we've gone back to a more physical, direct league for the most part. We had a couple of years post Brexit where lads were breaking into the league that would have went straight to England from underage, I think that's stopped a little bit and also clubs in England are buying a lot more LOI players than before.

topmanamillion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122170109#Comment_122170109

I agree, I hope I'm wrong but I wouldn't be holding out much hope for a league who's biggest attacking threats are a 32 year old Pat Hoban and a 34 year old Aaron Greene. They'll be stuck firmly in the pocket of any middling fulltime professional centre half.

I've seen Galway in the flesh 3 times this year. The fact that team are fourth in the league at the midway point is telling.

Shams were humped by a part-time outfit from Iceland who are limited to a 27 game league season because football is unplayable outside of April-October. Without Mannus and Byrne a shadow of what he was they've regressed from even last season.

Duff hasn't done anything revolutionary with Shels to have them top of the league. They're well organised and dogged. The kind of side that a European outfit will enjoy breaking down.

PGE1970

Ian Ryan gone from Bray.

Mushy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122171361#Comment_122171361

Think its time to give Devlin a chance, its been too long.

Pawwed Rig

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122169565#Comment_122169565

The salaries these guys are on is low enough that they have to worry about real life things like the rest of us. Apartment rental in Dublin could cost Harry Wood €20k of his Fter tax income. That puts him on an after tax cash received amount of about 20-25k to finance everything else. Hardly glamorous. Whereas if you goto lower league North of England or Scotland the costs and tax are lot less

CSF

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122174010#Comment_122174010

Shels were putting up Jarvis and Wood last season. Would expect it’s the same for Jarvis this season, and that Wood would likely be accommodated upon arrival if the deal happened.

Obviously the same things aren’t possible for older lads with families, but I’d imagine it’s a similar scenario for the likes of Bohs and Dundalk who have brought in a lot of young lads from abroad.

artanevilla

Clubs here will put players up covering the rent. Some clubs own properties that they let out to players, sometimes players will live with fans/volunteers of the club. I believe it would be the same in a lot of places in the UK where the club provides accomodation. Considering the short term nature of the job and the prospect of frequently moving to new places at short notice, it's the most practical solution.

But it certainly is a factor if the player or the club are playing. For example it's cheaper for Sligo to put players up than it is for Bohs, the has effects on budgets and indeed what the players are paid. Cost of living is a big factor for players deciding where to go. A club in Dublin might offer more money, but even on smaller remuneration, the same player might have more money is his pocket at the end of the month living in Sligo.

irishmanmick

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122164683#Comment_122164683

Not expecting Shels to go well in Europe then no? Shels have played 2 more games than other sides (same as the other Euro teams) which is 1 round in Europe. If you make it to next round then you'll have an immediate backlog. Another round after? Add in a cup run. Every team in Europe struggles with this every year - it's where the bigger squads come into play. Rovers have the most cover here, Derry after. They'll have to manage their squads too, but have more experience doing this. It's definitely a factor even if you don't want to consider it.

I actually think Shels will do alright in early rounds of Europe

CSF

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122174408#Comment_122174408

I’d be surprised if we made it to the 3rd round alright, yeah

NIMAN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122174408#Comment_122174408

After our euro run last year, our team looked totally exhausted for the title run in.

I'm not so sure the 'glamour' of likely playing some unknown team from one of the 'Stans thousands of miles from here is really worth it in the end, unless you actually qualify for a group stage.

artanevilla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122174666#Comment_122174666

It's worth it if you don't have a billionaire signing cheques.

kksaints

Jon Daly is the new Dundalk manager. It's such a strange league this year.

trashcan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122175356#Comment_122175356

I wish him well. Can’t help thinking he was a bit unlucky at Pats this year. Did a really good job last season.

StringerBell

Great game picked for tv football tonight, so **** dire I'm sitting in the stands on boards. Dreadful stuff, Drogheda are cat and this is such a poor performance from us I can't even complain about being behind. **** up and a half for the goal aside

shanec1928

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122175606#Comment_122175606

I’m sure you have changed your mind about the game now.

kksaints

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122175606#Comment_122175606

Hope you got off boards for the 2nd half.

PGE1970

Terrible from us in the 2nd half in the RSC.

Two games in a week that we should win but no points and seven goals conceded

Asamoah and Amond aside, Waterford are ordinary. They and Galway 4th and 5th in the league is strange but they are there on merit.

Our midfield is old and looking it. Heeney is awful at RB and Weir, whilst great from set pieces, can't defend. The lads from Lincoln aren't great and Bawa, apart from scoring two good goals in a week(!) doesn't do enough.

Kev has a lot to do. We badly need a CB, a RB (although Quinn could do a job there) and two midfielders. But we won't get them.

My only hope is that we finish ahead of Sligo because John Daly will get Dundalk motoring.

We're in real trouble.

sonic85

That was a great game. Poor enough first half but it really sparked into life in the second. Great hat trick from Amond. He's a machine!

StringerBell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122175725#Comment_122175725

Second half was a lot better yeah thankfully

kksaints

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122175892#Comment_122175892

Looks like a season too far for Deegan, he was overran for a lot of that game and was poor when he had the ball. Markey was great in the 1st half but not in the 2nd.

PGE1970

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122176042#Comment_122176042

We can carry Markey in MF. But not Markey, Foley (34), Deegan (36) and Brennan (32).

There's not enough cover for the defence.

dk1982

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122175606#Comment_122175606

Jeez bed wetters like you are so annoying. Brilliant game that was

StringerBell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122176246#Comment_122176246

If you think the first half was brilliant bed wetting is the least of your problems in life.

thebronze14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122176064#Comment_122176064

Saw Keaney has been on the bench since the dubious suspension he got. Is he but doing well this year?

PGE1970

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122176473#Comment_122176473

We've certainly conceded more since he was dropped. We've gone with Cann and Quinn/Webster since. Did well against Shels away but last two games have been a disaster defensively.

StringerBell

Ye just seemed to run out of steam defensively, put in a massive effort in the first half I thought. The intensity that was lacking in Waterford ye had in spades like, maybe just not enough left in the tank then. If ye had gone 3 up it would have been curtains but I think the psychological damage of the Galway game played a part too maybe once we got the first goal back.

PGE1970

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122176552#Comment_122176552

That's a fair assessment.

We didn't deserve to be 2-0 up as much as we didn't deserve to lose 4-2. There's little between those two sides yet we're in real danger of going down and you have a european spot in your sights. And good luck to you.

The 12 minute capitulation is a real worry. We are defending dreadfully. And that starts up front where Pierrot is useless, Bawa provides no cover to the FB and our midfield runs out of legs.

thebronze14

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122176482#Comment_122176482

As much as I love Webby he looked done last night in the second half. Mind you Cann was no better

Hodors Appletart

Duff saying there's budget to bring faces into the squad this summer anyway.

Dunmoreroader

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122176593#Comment_122176593

This game was a 6-pointer for most Blues fans but the Blues are a step above Drogs. However, they were too passive in 1st half and shocking defending for 1st goal then caught in possession on edge of own box led to 2nd. Once they had to go for it, they showed they are a level up. But the defensive lapses will continue to cost us against teams further up the table.

Tighten up defensively and we could finally have European football back in Waterford next season but I'm mostly happy to see daylight between us and the bottom two.

trashcan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122176064#Comment_122176064

Markeys been your best player anytime I’ve seen Drogheda. I’m a fan going back to his time at Pats. How often do you see him give the ball away ? Very rarely I’d argue. He’s also better at nipping in and winning the ball than he’s given credit for. I don’t think it’s a question of carrying him. If you were to be critical, and possibly the reason that he’s not at a club higher up the league, it’s maybe a lack of goals and/or goals created.