Weekend Thursday 23rd to Saturday 25th

[sbgawa]

Premier Division

Thursday 23rd 19:45

Waterford v Drogheda

Friday 24th

Galway v Dundalk 19:45
Bohemians v St Pats 19:45
Derry v Sligo 19:45
Shamrock Rovers v Shelbourne 20:00

First Division

Friday 24th (All 19:45)

Wexford v Bray
Kerry v Finn Harps
Cork v Treaty
Athlone v UCD

Saturday 25th

Longford v Cobh 19:30

[sbgawa]

So TV Thursday and Waterford and Drogs get to kick off the weekend, hopefully with a few goals and a decent audience live and on TV.
Can Stephen Kenny make it 3 losses in a row and contimnue his Ireland manger form and luck or will Bohs do the right thing and let him have a first one (it would be the socilist thing to do to be fair).
Rovers with a win over Shels can drag ourselves back into being within a win of top spot and its vital imo. With Europe coming we have to be top and a bit of a leed at that.
Duff will be up for this big time and knows he could strike a potentially fatel blow with a win to go nine points clear.....hopefully our supporters will deign to show up , Mondays crowd of 4041 versus Derry was dissapointing

Atlone v UCD the pick of the matches in division 1, UCD need to be winning these types of matches if theyh are going to challengeCork although even that looks like a lost cause with them 10 clear already

[wonder88]

Good to see Thursday night games back. UCD and Dundalk used to play at this time for a good few seasons, worth a try again perhaps.

[Nesta99]

Reasons Dundalk used to play Thursdays was that the Lilywhite Lounge would have had an extra night busy use eg 21st birthday parties on a Friday, Saturday, regular Sunday crowd and then a match night also which added up to significant income over a season, mostly PT those days. Fridays were also regular nights at Dundalk Stadium, dogs, horses or both. Little GAA on a Thursday bar training maybe. It did occasionally mean a lazy Friday morning at work. Mostly during the old winter season so under the floodlights which I always loved, I was regularly there in the old school uniform so going back a while, Not sure exactly which season became a regular Friday but I think it was a league wide decision with Sligo opting for Saturday evenings after the switch to Summer footy. Thursdays did impact on away crowds but not sure if it was that much tbh on balance with key fixtures sometimes moved to Sunday afternoons. While it'd be novel to be at a game on crisp Thursday night again there are enough midweek games to fill the gap. At the time other slots other than Thursdays saw lower gates, and now I think slots other than Fridays see a fall off in gates, exceptions being say family days v UCD for example...well you wouldnt have a family day in Oriel for a top of table clash with Rovers, Bohs, or even a relegation v Drogs these days.

[sbgawa]

So much for the new manager bounce in Pats. Not even a dead cat bounce at that.. you'd have to think kelliher will bail Kenny out in july anyway in terms of building a squad for a title tilt in 2025. Certainly under no pressure from the owner but another loss to bohs and some of the shine will be going off the appointment

[holidaysong]

Reasons Dundalk used to play Thursdays was that the Lilywhite Lounge would have had an extra night busy use eg 21st birthday parties on a Friday, Saturday, regular Sunday crowd and then a match night also which added up to significant income over a season, mostly PT those days. Fridays were also regular nights at Dundalk Stadium, dogs, horses or both. Little GAA on a Thursday bar training maybe. It did occasionally mean a lazy Friday morning at work. Mostly during the old winter season so under the floodlights which I always loved, I was regularly there in the old school uniform so going back a while, Not sure exactly which season became a regular Friday but I think it was a league wide decision with Sligo opting for Saturday evenings after the switch to Summer footy. Thursdays did impact on away crowds but not sure if it was that much tbh on balance with key fixtures sometimes moved to Sunday afternoons. While it'd be novel to be at a game on crisp Thursday night again there are enough midweek games to fill the gap. At the time other slots other than Thursdays saw lower gates, and now I think slots other than Fridays see a fall off in gates, exceptions being say family days v UCD for example...well you wouldnt have a family day in Oriel for a top of table clash with Rovers, Bohs, or even a relegation v Drogs these days.

We switched to Friday at the start of the 2009 season after getting promoted. I recall at the time that the FAI had put pressure on for us to change.

[TonyD]

So much for the new manager bounce in Pats. Not even a dead cat bounce at that.. you'd have to think kelliher will bail Kenny out in july anyway in terms of building a squad for a title tilt in 2025. Certainly under no pressure from the owner but another loss to bohs and some of the shine will be going off the appointment

Two difficult games for him in fairness, with little time to prepare. Way too soon to be making any judgments on SK. We did ok in parts of both games, but obviously big improvements needed. Ironically we were very good out in Tallaght in the first game post Jon Daly, and I think the same team should have been kept. Aaron Bolger in particular can feel hard done by not to keep his place. I think we need him and Lennon in the middle for some solidity.

[Another Bohemia]

Two difficult games for him in fairness, with little time to prepare. Way too soon to be making any judgments on SK. We did ok in parts of both games, but obviously big improvements needed. Ironically we were very good out in Tallaght in the first game post Jon Daly, and I think the same team should have been kept. Aaron Bolger in particular can feel hard done by not to keep his place. I think we need him and Lennon in the middle for some solidity.

I think you're going to see a lot of chopping and changing in the next few weeks as Kenny tries to figure out the squad and his long term plans. Reynolds is doing/has done the same for Bohs recently and I fully expect to see a few players out the door for Bohs come July. It's one of those things that us fans will have opinions on players based on the games played so far but the change in tactics, role, responsibility, fitness requirement etc will mean some players who played well may not be a fit moving forward or Kenny already has Bolger in his plans and wants to see what's behind him for depth. I think it's an important part of the process but really messes with results early on.

[D24Saint]

Two difficult games for him in fairness, with little time to prepare. Way too soon to be making any judgments on SK. We did ok in parts of both games, but obviously big improvements needed. Ironically we were very good out in Tallaght in the first game post Jon Daly, and I think the same team should have been kept. Aaron Bolger in particular can feel hard done by not to keep his place. I think we need him and Lennon in the middle for some solidity.

There should no judgement on SK until next season imo. He has inherited a badly balanced cobbled together squad. Hopefully he can shift a few out and get some in during the window. Its looking like there could be no European football next season which would be a big blow. The priority for us is a decent right back and a striker. The right back position has been a disaster this year as we have one that's made of glass and two that aren't up to standard.

[Nesta99]

We switched to Friday at the start of the 2009 season after getting promoted. I recall at the time that the FAI had put pressure on for us to change.

As late as 2009?! I really have blocked out a good chunk of 1st Division days rather than joking about it!!

[JC_GUFC]

I think you're going to see a lot of chopping and changing in the next few weeks as Kenny tries to figure out the squad and his long term plans. Reynolds is doing/has done the same for Bohs recently and I fully expect to see a few players out the door for Bohs come July. It's one of those things that us fans will have opinions on players based on the games played so far but the change in tactics, role, responsibility, fitness requirement etc will mean some players who played well may not be a fit moving forward or Kenny already has Bolger in his plans and wants to see what's behind him for depth. I think it's an important part of the process but really messes with results early on.

One problem with the "multi-year contracts" is what happens when you can't find a suitor for one of the lads you expect to be out the door?

You can't just stop paying lads (which would have been the tactic 30 years ago), so need to find a solution that works for both, otherwise they're just being paid for not even sitting on the bench!

[pineapple stu]

There should no judgement on SK until next season imo. He has inherited a badly balanced cobbled together squad. Hopefully he can shift a few out and get some in during the window.

This seems a common view among Pat's fans, and I've no real reason to doubt it. But how did it come about in the first place? Is part of Mathews' role not player recruitment (or am I mixing his role with Fenlon's at Bohs)?

Probably Kenny has a better eye for a player than most in the LoI - I think he's shown that down the years - but as ever when a manager gets sacked, you have to wonder if it was solely the manager's fault or if there's some wider issues too.

[Another Bohemia]

One problem with the "multi-year contracts" is what happens when you can't find a suitor for one of the lads you expect to be out the door?

You can't just stop paying lads (which would have been the tactic 30 years ago), so need to find a solution that works for both, otherwise they're just being paid for not even sitting on the bench!

Absolutely. It's a double edged sword. I know Bohs have used the optional years clause to mitigate that in some deal but there are always going to be players who want concrete deals for x number of years. You can't blame them for that either as football is a job after all and you don't know what contract is going to be your last.

[Another Bohemia]

This seems a common view among Pat's fans, and I've no real reason to doubt it. But how did it come about in the first place? Is part of Mathews' role not player recruitment (or am I mixing his role with Fenlon's at Bohs)?

Probably Kenny has a better eye for a player than most in the LoI - I think he's shown that down the years - but as ever when a manager gets sacked, you have to wonder if it was solely the manager's fault or if there's some wider issues too.

They also have Ger O'Brien as a director of football. I'd imagine signings were a bit of a committee between Matthews, O'Brien and Daly. Whether SK will want it to be different is still to be seen.

Fenlon certainly has a hand in recruitment at Bohs but from what I've heard he's not the be all and end all. The manager also has a say in who comes and goes. The hope for Bohs is that since Reynolds and Fenlon have worked in this dynamic before they can settle in quickly and sign from the same hymn sheet which would be in stark contrast to how Devine and Fenlon worked.

[pineapple stu]

Fenlon certainly has a hand in recruitment at Bohs but from what I've heard he's not the be all and end all. The manager also has a say in who comes and goes.

Yeah, Fenlon (or O'Brien if he's DoF at Pat's as you say) wouldn't be the be all and end all - but I guess the idea in theory is two or three heads should be better than one and should allow you double-check a potential signing and not end up with the criticisms that seem to be aimed at the current Pat's squad.

But evidently that's not happened, for whatever reason.

[2 Year Contract]

This seems a common view among Pat's fans, and I've no real reason to doubt it. But how did it come about in the first place? Is part of Mathews' role not player recruitment (or am I mixing his role with Fenlon's at Bohs)?

Probably Kenny has a better eye for a player than most in the LoI - I think he's shown that down the years - but as ever when a manager gets sacked, you have to wonder if it was solely the manager's fault or if there's some wider issues too.

No Matthews isn’t involved in identifying players for recruitment. Right back in particular has been the main pain point in Daly’s recruitment. He signed 3 for this season, McLaughlin (crocked and can barely play more than 2 games without getting injured), Freeman (also had injury problems but to be honest he’d probably help the side by being injured more often, hopeless footballer who I have no idea how he played so many games at SPL level) and Sjöberg (probably the best of the 3 but the most crocked of all, can barely finish a game without coming off injured since he signed last year).

All of this while there hasn’t been a second choice natural left back for the last few years. Luck has meant Breslin has been virtually every present up to now but that seems to have now run out with him having to go off at half time on Monday and may be out for Friday now.

The amount of players that have either started at RB/RWB or moved there during games this season is truly mental. You’ve McLaughlin, Sjöberg, Freeman, Bolger, Lennon, Turner, Redmond, as well as Deans and Pettifer in LSC games. Absolutely mad stuff that is massively hampering the team not just defensively but also none of those names have much threat going forward so it’s been easy for teams to nullify a threat from that side. Night and day stuff really from the levels Sam Curtis was showing last season

[Another Bohemia]

Yeah, Fenlon (or O'Brien if he's DoF at Pat's as you say) wouldn't be the be all and end all - but I guess the idea in theory is two or three heads should be better than one and should allow you double-check a potential signing and not end up with the criticisms that seem to be aimed at the current Pat's squad.

But evidently that's not happened, for whatever reason.

Just for clarity it's not me saying it it's mentioned here in the article announcing Stephen Elliot as head of academy

https://m.independent.ie/sport/socce...991540254.html

Weirdly I couldn't find an article announcing his promotion to that position but It could just be an oversight.

[pineapple stu]

Ah I'll trust you're not just making random stuff up!

[TonyD]

They also have Ger O'Brien as a director of football. I'd imagine signings were a bit of a committee between Matthews, O'Brien and Daly. Whether SK will want it to be different is still to be seen.

Fenlon certainly has a hand in recruitment at Bohs but from what I've heard he's not the be all and end all. The manager also has a say in who comes and goes. The hope for Bohs is that since Reynolds and Fenlon have worked in this dynamic before they can settle in quickly and sign from the same hymn sheet which would be in stark contrast to how Devine and Fenlon worked.

Get O’Brien was head of the Academy until recently when Stephen Elliot came in, so I doubt he had a hand in player recruitment. I’d take an old fashioned view there. A manager has to be given a completely free hand to identify and bring in the players he wants. Then he lives and dies by those choices. On paper Joh Daly seemed to have signed pretty well in the off season, but it just shows you never can tell. Agree about the right back. Sjoberg looks good, but can’t stay injury free. Similar with McLaughlin, and Freeman just looks like a poor signing.

[D24Saint]

This seems a common view among Pat's fans, and I've no real reason to doubt it. But how did it come about in the first place? Is part of Mathews' role not player recruitment (or am I mixing his role with Fenlon's at Bohs)?

Probably Kenny has a better eye for a player than most in the LoI - I think he's shown that down the years - but as ever when a manager gets sacked, you have to wonder if it was solely the manager's fault or if there's some wider issues too.

AFAIK even if it was others jobs to bring recommendations to the previous head coach he had the right to ignore suggestions and did. He had the right to sign who he liked.