Greatest League in the World 2024 [new thread available]

The Golden Miller

Ye Shels easily the loudest in the league. Not even close in that regard, Tolka on another level when full. Even our away fans far louder than anyone else

PGE1970

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122191503#Comment_122191503

You also have the best tea, coffee, food, turnstile staff, floodlights, kit, mascots …

And Kim Jong Un as a leader given some of the blinkered comments here about the club and its future.

artanevilla

Not to mention the bathroom attendants, last time I was there he held my willy for me while I pissed. Great service. The sound insulation was great also cause I couldn't hear a peep from the home fans.

Hodors Appletart

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122192470#Comment_122192470

I'm not a bathroom attendant, I just liked the look of it

CSF

Hahaha I read that post last night, and knew it was gonna create chaos on here

kksaints

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122192387#Comment_122192387

Toilets rightfully left out.

budgemook

Tolka has the best view of the sky in the league too, nowhere else comes close.

is TGM Donald Trump?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA631bMT9g8

The Golden Miller

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122192600#Comment_122192600

They'll always try and drag you down when your at the top ha

The Golden Miller

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122192470#Comment_122192470

Hopefully they didn't forget to shake it for you at the end too, that would be poor service in fairness!

The Golden Miller

Cynical attempt by Bohs to buy more time to prepare, getting the game called off against us on Monday. Although they were fortunate to scrape over the line against us in the last game, they can't really afford another home defeat to us in front of their own fans. Getting vibes that they're running scared a bit, they know whats coming and want to kick the can down the road.

They can sort of accept Rovers being ahead of them, but once we went down years ago, have a huge superiority complex over us since. Watching us pass them back out is agonising for them! They can't accept it at all. Shels/Bohs has definitely become more bitter than the Rovers/Bohs rivalry in the last year or two. Although that was traditionally the case. Rovers/Bohs a fairly manufactured rivalry since Shels went down, and Rovers moved to Tallaght. Media pushed for an Irish classico. But it was always Shels/Bohs, and Rovers/Drums, that were the biggest for those clubs.

And with Shels back and competitve, you can feel that rivalry and bitterness ramp back up between Shels and Bohs. It's natural, not manufactured!

DvB

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this stage.

Patrick2010

Hes entertaining, I'll give him that.

artanevilla

Where's the best place to get Bohs news?

Just ask a Shels fan.

- bo -

The whole shtick was actually fairly entertaining at the start but it's really run its course now

howiya

On the subject of international call-ups I thought we'd managed to time the league around international breaks these days? There was a break in March

artanevilla

I think possibly because this is not a "competitive" window?

Randomfriend

In case any of you haven't heard the Richie Sadlier interview of Damien Duff, I think it's really excellent, mostly about Shels and how he's found management. A bit sad that he thinks everyone hates him, although I think some of it is learnt behaviour from the likes of Jose. He generally seems like he's struggling a bit to really find happiness or a balance in his life, but I don't see him leaving Shels any time soon, man is pouring his entire being in to dragging the club forward.

I've said it a few times in various places, but I love Duffer and I think his emergence in the league has been one of the best things that has ever happened to Irish football. I wish him nothing but success no matter how grumpy he acts.

It's also just excellent to have someone of his profile working here on the ground, who can say what they think of the state of Irish football and whose voice actually carries weight. He can say what he likes with basically no fear of negative consequences and people listen.

https://www.secondcaptains.com/2024/05/29/episode-with-richie-sadlier-damien-duff/

Pawwed Rig

No surprise here

https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/league-of-ireland/dundalk-goalkeeper-leaves-club-two-weeks-after-10-match-ban-for-calling-official-an-irish-c/a2080802809.html

CSF

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122201633#Comment_122201633

I enjoyed it aswell. It did give me some nervousness as to him eventually experiencing some kind of Kloppesque burnout.

I know you’re all eager for us to stop being by far the most discussed team on this thread, and Duffer (and admittedly the Will Jarvis discussions) is obviously a big part of that.

Randomfriend

I like that Richie kind of suggested he had a bit of a chat with him about some of this stuff afterwards. I'd hope a lot of it is a facade, ala Jose but yeah I just wish him to be happy and hope he doesn't blow his life up getting too worked up about football.

trashcan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122201633#Comment_122201633

I want to hate Duffer, I really do ( cos it’s Shels ) but I just can’t bring myself to. Yeah, his “everyone hates us” routine is a bit tiring at this stage, but I totally respect someone of his profile coming back home and really showing such respect to the league, when he absolutely didn’t have to. The only person in Irish football of such a high profile to come back to the league previously is John Giles, and while he talked a good game to begin with, ultimately he didn’t stick around for long. I just get the impression that Duff will, which I didn’t expect when he took the job.

NIMAN

I loved watching Duffer when he was playing. Plus he always come across as a civil enough spud.

But he appears to be actively trying to make himself unlikeable, and I don't think that's genuinely what he's like.

Not sure what he's up to? Yes, there could be an elementof trying to become the Irish Jose, but it doesn't suit him.

CSF

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122203554#Comment_122203554

I don’t think he’s trying to make himself unlikeable. I just think that his only focus is on being likeable for the people who are supposed to like him (and has surely made himself the most untouchable manager at any club in the league by a distance as a result of that).

The Golden Miller

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122201633#Comment_122201633

Ye for a long time, people assumed he'd leave Shels at the end of every season once he did well, that it was just a stop gap for him this league, until he got something better. I used to try and explain to people, it's different, almost personal for him. His goal is to bring Shels back to the top of Irish football and create a dynasty, and didn't want to leave his kids again. He's on record saying that several times.

CSF might know more, and this might be wrong, but I've heard for a long time he invested his own money into the club. Managed underage teams for a few years, and took no money when he became manager, gave his salary to Joey O'Brien. No idea how accurate that is, but you can see it's definitely a personal mission for him. He's not going anywhere, as alot of people once thought, if he did well for a season or two

The Golden Miller

It's worked to an extent. He does have the Bohs fans up in arms. It was fairly predictable they'd buy into it of course

The Golden Miller

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122203554#Comment_122203554

It's worked to an extent. He does have the Bohs fans up in arms. It was fairly predictable they'd buy into it of course

The Golden Miller

Something I always wondered too, when I think of guys like John O'Shea or Robbie Keane, who also tried to get into management, is what they thought of Duff going to the Irish league? And now that he has, and they see the passion he has for it, would there be a bit of jealousy or insecurity from them, since they would of thought they were too good for the league?

Now with it's growth, and how much Duff loves it, I'd say there's an element, from ex international aspiring Irish managers, that they missed a trick when going into management, overlooking the league here, even from the point of view of it being a learning curve. Many want to skip that, and go into the big jobs. I'd say what Duff has done has given many of them food for thought.

Hopefully I don't get accused of wumming again for speaking my mind, or giving a random thought!

CSF

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122204203#Comment_122204203

He did look after underage teams at the club, but I’ve never heard anything about him not taking a salary or giving it away.

Randomfriend

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122204346#Comment_122204346

I think we'll see more of it as time passes. We have less players at the absolute top, and far more guys will have come through the underage system here, they'll have affinities to clubs and maybe home is where they'll get their first opportunities. Seems to be an enormous amount of people competing for coaching gigs at all times, I doubt it has ever been more competitive.

Richard Dunne did go for the Bohs job last year if I didn't dream that. Steve Staunton has potentially applied for Dundalk in the past, and I think Kenny Cunningham considered trying management here before but went for media in the end. I'd love to see more of our stars come home and contribute, they can afford to work for peanuts for a couple of years and have so much to share.

On the other hand, you also still want LOI lads to get their shot. We just don't have a proper industry here yet, it's very tough out there.

chopperbyrne

Last year was at a community games chess tournament. Duffer was there with his kids who were both competing. Parents were asked to stay behind the centre dividing line of the basketball court, while the children played their games on the tables set up on the other side.

He treated that rule exactly like the technical area one, and was over it, doing that lean forward that every manager appear to have perfected, and wincing whenever one of his children lost a piece. The man is just intense at all times.

CSF

It’s Duff’s world and we’re all just living in it.

DvB

Personally, I'm always a little concerned for people who seem to live their lives fuelled on that level of intensity, like where's the downtime to balance that? By all accounts that's the way he's made & is pretty much always in 'intense' mode.

I've worked with people that that over the years and each & every one of them burnt out at some point, usually catastrophically too & wasn't pleasant to see. I genuinely hope he's ultimately happy inside and manages his mental energy to ensure he doesn't blow out as he's been a great boost to the league and its perception, even if I don't buy a lot of his media stuff.

Dunmoreroader

https://waterfordfc.ie/2024/05/30/club-statement-change-of-ownership/

Bit of housekeeping by the Pilley family to avoid the awkward ownership questions. Does this provide a firewall if Pilley Snr. has assets seized following his conviction for his company B.E.S. Ltd.'s fraudulent trading?

Most Blues fans won't give a sh1t either way, once the Fleetwood Town investment continues but it is all a bit sordid.

Gonna hold our noses and hope for 3 points tonight against Bohs! 😳

artanevilla

How much is a pint in Waterford these days?

esker72

Listened to the Duff podcast with Sadlier and it's hard to figure out who the real Duff is - he even doesn't seem to know himself. Duff as a player was parodied as being this sleepy character and now suddenly as a manager he's developed a completely different personality. Was paying a little bit of attention to him at the recent Pat's game and can't help but think he's borrowing a huge number of behavioural traits from Mourinho and creating the "us against the world" mentality. At the Pat's game he was constantly at boiling point and lost it completely at the end when they got the winner, prompting all his staff to do the same which was a bit over the top resulting in a red card for one of the coaches. It's obviously working really well for him at the moment but the only problem might be that this type of management has a limited shelf life at one club. Mourinho could never keep it going at a club for more than a couple of years as players start to realise that maybe they aren't the best player in the world or not everybody's against them or just get fed up of the intensity and unpredictability of the manager.

Shels may actually win the League this year, due to everyone else imploding, but it will likely be with the lowest points total in years and probably not something that can be repeated without some serious improvement and investment.

topmanamillion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122205855#Comment_122205855

If it's that straight forward to defraud average people out of millions and hang on to the proceeds of crime, it's a poor indictment of the legal system in the UK. I presume what they're trying to do is put as many rungs between them and Piley snr as possible to make it more complex.

Oat23

Does the son actually have any independent wealth? Fleetwood burns through money, and I doubt Waterford are profitable either. How does the son intend to cover the losses?

Patrick2010

Duff is certainly very Mourinho like,

https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/league-of-ireland/if-youre-not-going-to-celebrate-things-you-might-as-well-not-leave-your-house-damien-duff-plays-down-richmond-park-melee/a336573017.html

Damien Duff admitted there was a ‘melee’ in Richmond Park after
Shelbourne’s dramatic injury-time winner last night but claimed that he
missed it because he was already in the dressing room preparing for
Friday’s trip to face Shamrock Rovers.

Unfortunately the camera says otherwise

adaminho

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122206744#Comment_122206744

Buckets!

trashcan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122204346#Comment_122204346

Yeah, it might be nice to see some high profile ex internationals tip their toe into the league here management wise, but for every Damien Duff you’ll probably have two or three Jeff Kenna’s. An absolute disaster at Pats, (bar an admittedly good run in Europe, to be fair) and the only manager I’ve ever been desperate to see us get rid of. Richard Dunne, for example, has never convinced me. Much easier to spout guff on the TV than to actually try to prove yourself in management

trashcan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122207103#Comment_122207103

I was sitting behind the away dug out. Didn’t see what happened, I was concentrating on the pitch, but the Pats crowd in that section reacted very badly to something said or done by one of the Shels back room staff. I read afterwards that he was making some kind of shooting up “junkie” gestures at the Pats fans. Not conduct you’d expect from a club employee. No problem with the opposition bench celebrating such a late winner, even if it is hard to take when you’re on the receiving end, but if that is what the Shels employee did then it’s letting himself and his club down.

Ferris_Bueller

Usually a fan of Sadliers podcasts and have enjoyed numerous ones where I had never even heard of the guests. But I didn't enjoy the one with Duffer as much as I thought I would.

I love the man and he's been a fantastic addition to the LOI, think he is doing a great job etc. but it just felt like an hour long version of the shorter interviews he does with off the ball etc. I obviously wasn't the only one who thought straight away that he seems to be taking a leaf from Mourinho's book with the "us against the world stuff". I can see why he does it, it seems to create a real drive in the dressing room and motivates thr players as well as probably shielding them as most tend to talk about the manager as opposed to the players, but I don't think it's true that most people hate Shels or certainly not Duffer himself.

Also agree with Golden Miller about what some of the other ex internationals think about it. Surely they must be looking on thinking they want a slice of that. It would be great if we did become a real option for our players to turn to management - having a few like O'Shea, Coleman or whoever would be brilliant for the league if they were as up for it as Duff.

CSF

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122206272#Comment_122206272

I would be extremely confused if he wasn’t going nuts after a 96th minute (in a game with 6 minutes injury time) winner away in a Dublin derby.

How would that be anything other than pandemonium?

I understand why Duff as a character is far more of a conversation topic, and the fact that he’s done a recent podcast (although I doubt people listen to that pod so much when it’s not Duff either) will have only made that topic more current. But some of the conversations about Duff the man, and his personality are a bit out there.

Could you imagine someone drawing significant conclusions about Keith Long overcelebrating a Waterford goal, and drawing actual conclusions on his personality from that?

topmanamillion

Duff has been tremendous for the league. Any sports pages I read there's invariably an article about Duff front and center and that's great advertising for the league. There'll be a sizeable proportion of people in Tolka tonight who will have wandered in mainly to see Duff.

I do think he knows what he's doing and he's very media savvy. Alot of it is creating a caracture of himself because I've seen him do plenty of interviews as a player and later as a pundit and he was nothing like the way he currently behaves. He'll have learnt alot of that stuff from Mourinho and the other top managers he worked under. There's undoubtedly an ego there as well and I think he reveals in being a box office attraction in the league.

topmanamillion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122206744#Comment_122206744

It's all Piley Snrs wealth. Piley jnr "bought" Fleetwood in the past couple of days too. Although he seems to have originally just tried to take over the holding company by claiming he's the executor of his father's estate while he's eating porridge. The football league didn't agree and gave him a 3 month suspended ban as a company director. Hence the club announcements of a sale from Fleetwood and Waterford.

Oat23

Second season in a row where we've had 4 injuries at CB and have had to put Niall Morahan at center half. I don't know if it's just bad luck or what but Jesus Christ.

1-0 up but I'd snap your hand off for a point.

ratracer

Fair play to the ref in Inchicore….

Made it all about him

Made sure to protect the child on the pitch!

ben.schlomo

Somebody call the Gardai, there was a robbery in Inchicore tonight. How we lost that game I'll never know! Far better team overall, bar a 15 minute spell before half time I thought Pats were fairly poor. We had enough chances to win let alone draw. I'll have to make do with another good performance.

Oat23

Can't believe we went to Tolka without a centre forward and 1 fit centre half and beat the future champions. Unbelievable.

NIMAN

We were awful again. Dundalk should have won comfortably.

Same old, same old. The fact we are still 2nd shows you how crap the league is.