Ireland Eircom Leagues: 7/8th March

[kompressaur]

Premier

Cork City - Bray Wanderers	6	1.44	3.66	6.53	07.03.2008 - 20:45
Galway United - Bohemians Dublin	6	2.79	3.10	2.26	07.03.2008 - 20:45
St. Patrick's Athletic - Sligo Rovers	5	1.57	3.41	4.91	07.03.2008 - 20:45
UCD Dublin - Derry City	6	2.83	3.10	2.25	07.03.2008 - 20:45
Finn Harps - Cobh	7	2.04	3.14	3.17	07.03.2008 - 21:00
Drogheda United - Shamrock Rovers	5	1.61	3.08	4.19	08.03.2008 - 18:30

[kompressaur]

Div One
Shelbourne Dublin FC - Dundalk FC Fri 07-03-2008 - 20:45 5 2.40 3.20 3.00
Wexford Youths - Waterford United Fri 07-03-2008 - 21:00 5 4.33 3.25 2.10
Monaghan Utd. - Limerick FC Fri 07-03-2008 - 21:00 5 2.65 3.10 3.00
Athlone Town - Kildare County Sat 08-03-2008 - 20:00 5 2.10 3.20 3.35
Longford Town - Sporting Fingal Sat 08-03-2008 - 20:30 5 2.25 3.20 3.35

[kompressaur]

In the first of eleven-a-side.com’s previews of the new eircom League of Ireland season, we mull over the chances of Bohemians, Bray Wanderers, Cobh Ramblers and Cork City.

BOHEMIANS
With a new manager in three-time title-winning Pat Fenlon, and a new striker in League of Ireland goalscoring legend Jason Byrne, hopes are high that Bohemians can challenge for outright honours this season.

There is no doubt that the pedigree is there: before Dave Mooney’s 19 goals for Longford Town last season, Byrne and Glen Crowe had shared top scorer honours for the previous SEVEN seasons.

It remains to be seen, though, whether the pair can rediscover their best form in 2008. Crowe turned 30 on Christmas Day; Byrne followed him to that milestone two weeks ago; and Neale Fenn is a third member of the thirtysomething striker club at Dalymount Park.

Darren Mansaram, at 23, is the youngest of the quartet and has shown plenty of promise with Sligo Rovers and Bohs over the past two seasons. But the lanky Englishman needs a run of games in the side to be seen at his best, and with competition for starting places coming from a few big names – and injury concerns of his own in any case – he is far from certain to get them.

The other new faces at Bohs for 2008 are former Derry City pair Ken Oman, back at Dalymount after a fine spell at the Brandywell, and Killian Brennan.

The Gypsies have lost Stephen Rice, who was one of their better performers for much of last season, to Dublin rivals Shamrock Rovers, but in the experienced Kevin Hunt, as well as young trio Chris Turner, John Paul Kelly and Stephen O’Donnell, they should have the manpower to cope.

Bohs had the best defensive record in the league last season, with Barry Murphy enjoying a stunning season in goal. With Oman added to the mix, the sector should be effective once more.

If Fenlon can get the best out his talented forward line, Bohs look to have one of the strongest units in the League at their disposal. But everything will have to go right for the title to land in Phibsboro for the first time in five years.

Title odds: 4/1

BRAY WANDERERS
Bray manager Eddie Gormley has made some astute transfer signings during the winter months – on and off the field. Where Kevin Doherty, Gavin Whelan and Andy Myler will strengthen defence, midfield and attack respectively in 2008, former St Patrick’s Athletic under-21 coach and Saints legend Paul Osam will add two decades of League of Ireland experience to the backroom team.

Talented winger Jay O’Shea has left for Galway United but the arrivals should compensate. Whelan, in particular, has looked a real star in pre-season and while not too much should be read into friendly performances, the former Drogheda United man has plenty of ability and the hunger to prove himself in the green and white stripes this season.

Up front, the nomadic Myler comes to the Carlisle Grounds on the back of a 10-goal turn for Shamrock Rovers last season, while Ger Rowe has also signed from Rovers to supplement the attack.

With three sides to be relegated this year to facilitate the return to a 10-team Premier Division in 2009, the bottom-of-the-table battle will be more keenly fought than ever this time around. But Bray should have enough quality to extricate themselves from the mix.

Title odds: 200/1

COBH RAMBLERS
Despite an admirable First Division championship win last season, Cobh will be seen as many people’s idea of relegation material.

Ramblers will be seeking to emulate the two previous winners of the First Division - Shamrock Rovers and Sligo Rovers - by posting a top half finish in their first season back in the Premier, but manager Stephen Henderson would surely be happy with fourth from bottom and a chance to consolidate in the top flight.

One thing definitely in their favour is continuity: Henderson will work with virtually the same squad as that which garnered promotion last season, in which Graham Cummins, Davin O’Neill and Kieran O’Reilly provided the goals, with the experienced Alan Carey in good form at the back - as well as a real danger from set-pieces.

St Colman’s Park will be key. Ramblers won 14 of their 18 home games in the First Division last season, and they will need to make the most of home advantage once more this time around.

However, with three teams to be relegated, it is likely to be a difficult season. The step-up in grade could be a step too far for the Cork men.

Title odds: 250/1

CORK CITY
A new era at Turners Cross turned this winter, with Damien Richardson replaced as manager despite leading the Leesiders to League and FAI Cup triumphs in three seasons in charge.

As such, the pressure on Alan Mathews to deliver immediate returns is likely to be immense, but many Cork fans will be confident that a squad capable of challenging for all honours has been assembled.

Dave Mooney, having scored 19 league goals for relegated Longford Town last season, could become the ideal replacement for Roy O’Donovan, whose absence was sorely felt by City in the second half of 2007.

George O’Callaghan is back on Leeside after a year at Ipswich, and his class was there for all to see when he weighed in with both goals on his debut against Dungannon Swifts last week. With Colin Healy, Gareth Farrelly, Joe Gamble and Dave Mulcahy all available, Mathews has an embarrassment of midfield riches at his disposal.

While midfield and attack reveals championship-winning class, defence must improve after a season in which City had a defensive record which was considerably worse than all their rivals in the top five.

The return of Danny Murphy, another of the 2005 title-winning heroes, from Motherwell and Pat Sullivan should help, but a long-term partner for skipper Dan Murray at centre half has yet to be found. All in all, though, it would be a surprise if City are not punching it out for silverware by the autumn.

Title odds: 4/1

eleven-a-side.com | Blog | eircom League preview #1

[kompressaur]

Eircom League preview
Wednesday March 05 2008

The ins, outs and prospects for all the Premier Division clubs ahead of the big kick-off this Friday

Bohemians
Manager: Pat Fenlon.

Players in: Ken Oman (Derry C), Jason Byrne (Cardiff C), Killian Brennan (Derry C), Glenn Cronin (Chester C), Chris Konopka (Kansas City Wizards), Brian McCarthy (Athlone T).

Players out: Davitt Walsh (Ballymena U), Dessie Byrne (St Pat's), Dean Pooley (Ballymena U), Chris Kingsberry (Lisburn Distillery), Ryan McCann (Queen Of The South), Mark O'Brien (Shelbourne), Stephen Rice (Shamrock Rvs), Alan Blayney (Released), Dean Richardson (Released), Fergal Harkin (Retired), Alan Lynch (Longford Town).

Last Year: 3rd.

Odds: 4/1.

Prospects: Without a League title in seven years, Bohemians fans will be encouraged by Pat Fenlon's arrival, despite his numerous achievements occurring with rivals Shelbourne. A likely Jason Byrne-Glen Crowe partnership and the best defence in the League last year further bolstered, but will their lightweight midfield options cut it with Cork and Drogheda?

Cork City

Manager: Alan Mathews.

Players in: Dave Mooney (Longford Town), George O'Callaghan (Ipswich Town), Dave Mulcahy (Waterford United), Pat Sullivan (Longford Town), Tim Kiely (Kilkenny City), Danny Murphy (Motherwell), Alan O'Connor (Rockmount), John Tierney (Limerick 37).

Players out: Brian O'Callaghan (Released), Leon McSweeney (Stockport), Shane Guthrie (Cobh R), Cathal Lordan (Released), Ray Lally (Cobh R).

Last Year: 4th

Odds: 5/1

Prospects: Was Alan Mathews the best manager in the market this pre-season, snapping up George O'Callaghan, Danny Murphy and Dave Mooney amongst others? Two Irish Internationals in Colin Healy and Gareth Farrelly, arguably the best player in the League in Joe Gamble, and now their very own "Georgie"; if midfields alone won Leagues, the rest would count their chips and disperse.

Derry City

Manager: Stephen Kenny.

Players in: Connor Sammon (UCD), Aaron Callaghan (Ballymena United), Gerard Doherty (TNS), Niall McGinn (Dungannon Swifts), Darren Quigley (UCD), Steven Gray (Drogheda United), Clive Delaney (Bray Wanderers).

Players out: Killian Brennan (Bohemians), Alan Moore (Sligo Rovers), Gary Beckett (Finn Harps), Neil McCafferty (Grays Athletic), Ken Oman (Bohemians), Peter Hynes (Released), Dave McEwan (Released), Pat Jennings (Sligo Rovers -- loan), Ola Tidman (Kongsvinger -- loan).

Last Year: 7th

Odds: 7/1

Prospects: Stephen Kenny has worked magic before, but surely it would take some sort of miracle to mark his return by putting the Candystripes back in the shake-up at the top? Killian Brennan and Ken Oman were big losses and the new signings are unlikely to compensate but a big improvement on last year is surely in sight under Kenny.

Drogheda U

Manager: Paul Doolin.

Players in: Shaun Maher

(Bournemouth), Adam Hughes (Sligo Rovers), Sean Prunty (Longford Town), Joe Kendrick (Darlington), Jamie Ewings (Albion Rovers), Ibrahima Thiam Iyane (UR Namur).

Players out: Stephen Bradley (Falkirk), Mark Leech (Galway United), Gavin Whelan (Bray Wanderers), Stephen Gray (Derry City), Damian Lynch (St Pat's), James Keddy (Shelbourne), Charlie Treacy (Kildare County), Simon Webb (Retired), Shaun Williams (Finn Harps -- loan).

Last Year: 1st

Odds: 9/4

Prospects: They say the real challenge is defending a title. Things haven't exactly gone swimmingly in pre-season but a glance at their seemingly endless squad list would dispel any worries along the Boyne. Top-of-the-table clashes against their improved title challengers will be decisive this season but the League is undoubtedly theirs to lose.

Finn Harps

Manager: Paul Hegarty.

Players in: Aaron Labonte (Dunfermline Athletic), Gary Beckett (Derry City), Gerry Gill (Moville), Stuart Malcolm (Shelbourne), Marc Mukendi (Free Agent), Shaun Williams (Drogheda United -- loan).

Players out: Paddy McLaughlin (Coleraine), Declan Divin (Institute), Seamus Brown (Crusaders), John O'Loughlin (Institute), Eloka Asokuh (Released), Neil Lloyd (Released).

Last Year: 2nd (Division 1)

Odds: 150/1

Prospects: Back in the top-flight via the play-off thanks to a comprehensive victory against Waterford United, the 2008/09 season is not an ideal one to be promoted into, with three teams going back down. The Donegal side, however, are surprisingly not regarded as one of the favourites in the bookies to do so and Paul Hegarty's side will be reliant on their form at the daunting Ballybofey to win the year-long battle to stay up.

Galway Utd

Manager: Tony Cousins.

Players in: James O'Shea (Bray Wanderers), Gary Deegan (Longford Town), Mark Leech (Drogheda United), Marc McCullough (Shelbourne), Alvin Rouse (Monaghan United), Oliver Fenn (Ipswich Town).

Players out: Alan Murphy, Liam McKenna, Barry Moran, David Cooke, Shaun Fagan, Phillip Reilly, Iarflaith Davoren (All Released), Greg O'Halloran (Shelbourne -- loan).

Last Year: 8th

Odds: 100/1

Prospects: Tony Cousins' revival of Galway United looks well on course and his side showed a few glimpses of real quality in their first season back last term. Derek Glynn could become a massive player this season, while recently-signed James O'Shea is an exciting prospect on the wing.

This year, they will be contented with not having to look over their shoulder at relegation places.

St Pat's Ath

Manager: John McDonnell.

Players in: Joe O'Cearuill (Barnet), Jamie Harris (Dunfermline), David Partridge (Brentford), Dessie Byrne (Bohemians), Bobby Ryan (Dunfermline), Damian Lynch (Drogheda), Gary Dempsey (Yeovil).

Players out: Michael Foley (Waterford), Anthony Murphy (Sligo), Billy Gibson (Clyde), Gavin McInerney (Bray), Darragh Maguire (S Rovers), Barry Slattery (Kildare Co), Luke Fitzpatrick (Waterford), Sean O'Connor (S Rovers), Derek Foran (Bray), Michael Macek (end of loan), Keith Barker (Northwich V), Colm Foley (retired), Barry Slattery (Kildare Co), Kevin Cornwall (Shels), Paul Murphy (Wexford Y).

Last Year: 2nd

Title Odds: (best) 13-2 (Betdirect, Stan James)

Prospects: All change at Richmond Park with seven new signings for the Inchicore club. Johnny McDonnell and Brian Kerr have made a few noted signings since falling just short after a fine start last year and with their squad they will be looking for a similar challenge this year.

Shamrock R

Manager: Pat Scully.

Players in: Darragh Maguire (St Pat's), Dessie Baker (Longford), Stephen Rice (Bohemians), Pat Flynn (Waterford), Darren Stapleton (Kildare Co), Sean O'Connor (St Pat's), Alan Murphy (Galway).

Players out: Paul Shiels (Dundalk), Robbie Clarke (Waterford), Derek Pender (Bray), Ian Ryan (Dundalk), David McGill (Shels), Andy Myler (Bray), Jamie Duffy (Dundalk), David Cassidy (Dundalk), John McGuinness (Shels), Dave O'Connor (Dundalk), Ger Rowe (Bray), Alan Reynolds (retired).

Last Year: 5th

Title Odds:16-1 (Ladbrokes, Paddy Power)

Prospects: Pat Scully has been more than a little shrewd in his transfer dealings having brought in experienced heads like Darragh Maguire and Dessie Baker.

Under normal circumstances that would be enough to see them improve on last year but their part-time status will work against them and they may have to settle for more of the same this year.

Bray Wds

Manager: Eddie Gormley.

Players in: Andy Myler (Shamrock Rovers), Gavin Whelan (Drogheda), Matt Gregg (UCD), Gavin McInerney (St Pat's), Derek Pender (Shamrock Rovers), Kevin Doherty (Longford), Derek Foran (St Pat's), Ger Rowe (Shamrock Rovers), Paddy Mahon (Bohemians), John Flood (unattached).

Players out: Clive Delaney (Derry City), Steve Williams (Sporting Fingal), James O'Shea (Galway United), Chris Deans (S Fingal), Paul Caffrey (S Fingal), Derek Tyrell (S Fingal), David O'Sullivan (S Fingal), Stephen Gough (Released), Ross Zambra (Released), Keith Kelch (Longford), Jay O'Shea (Galway), Stephen Fox (retired).

Last Year: 9th

Title Odds: 200-1 (Ladbrokes, William Hill)

Prospects: Bray are heading into their fourth consecutive season in the top flight but have suffered badly during the close season with the loss of Clive Delaney and Stephen Fox. On the plus side, the signing of Ger Rowe is something of a coup for Wanderers.

UCD

Manager: Pete Mahon.

Players in: John Reilly (Longford Town)

Players out: Connor Sammon (Derry City), Shane McFaul (Brighton), Conan Byrne (Sporting Fingal), Paul Crowley (Dundalk), Darren Quigley (Derry City), Tony McDonnell (retired), Peter Hynes (end of loan), Paul Murphy (end of loan)

Last Year: 10th

Title Odds: 250-1 (Paddy Power, Ladbrokes)

Prospects: As is often the case for the Students, they have been forced to let some of their better players go in the shape of Sammon and McFaul. Mr UCD Tony McDonnell has also hung up his boots and they are sure to miss his experience.

Not for the first time, the college side are most people's tip for the drop and it looks like a difficult season ahead for the Belfield side. However, it is a situation in which the club have become accustomed to and they are guaranteed to provide a banana-skin for one of the 'bigger' clubs this season

Cobh R

Manager: Stephen Henderson.

Players in: Shane Guthrie (Cork City), Alan Kearney (Waterford United), Ray Lally (Cork City), Anthony Fennelly (Waterford United)

Players out: Willie Bruton (Limerick 37)

Last Year: First Division champions

Title Odds: 250-1 (Paddy Power, Ladbrokes)

Prospects: Prophecies of doom surround Cobh Ramblers' return to the Premier Division after the Cork side put together a fabulous late run to whip the First Division title out from under the noses of early-season pace-setters Finn Harps and Dundalk.

They managed that feat on a shoestring budget and find themselves in the big time again.

Stephen Henderson has largely kept faith with the same group of players for his first season as a manager in the country's top flight and if they start next season in the same division as this it will go down as a good year.

Sligo Rvs

Manager: Paul Cook.

Players in: Anthony Murphy (St Pat's), Mauro Almeida (Accrington Stanley), Alan Moore (Derry City), Chris Butler (Barrow AFC), Sean Doherty (Royal Antwerp), Steve Feeney (Free), Romauld Boco (Accrington Stanley), Pat Jennings (Derry City -- loan).

Players out: Adam Hughes (Drogheda), Mark Boyd (Barrow AFC), James Meredith (Shrewsbury), Stephen Manson (Cowdenbeath), Tomislav Arcaba (Released).

Last Year: 6th

Title Odds: 50-1 (Stan James, Ladbrokes)

Prospects: Paul Cook has made some interesting acquisitions as the Sligo club continue to fly the flag for the west in the top division. The capture of Benin national captain Romauld Boco made people sit up and take notice while they also managed to hang on to Fahrudin Kuduzovic. They are another outfit who have consolidated since going full- time but the spending of other clubs may find them struggling to fight for honours.

Eircom League preview - eircom League, Soccer - Independent.ie

[kompressaur]

If anyone wants to run a prediction league for either of these leagues or both then they are very welcome to let me know here
http://www.thedailypunt.com/forum/prediction-leagues/

and i'll set it up as you ask and make you admin for the league. It really does take less than 5 minutes a week to admin and if you need help when you dissappeared for weeks then folks will help. Anyhow let us know if your interested. Be handy for those in Ireland and maybe can have some minio leagues between work mates and friends etc

[Ceirtlis]

I havent been able to have a look at this weeks round of matches because the internet in my house has decided to stop working. I have had a few antepost bets on though.

In the Premier Division there are 5 teams who look like they have a chance of winning it.

Cork have brought back alot of the players who won them the league in 2005. They had a strange season last season with there two main signings of the summer not allowed to play at the start of the season because of fifas three club rule. They also were taken over bizarrely taken over by a private equity firm(they dont own their ground and the eircom league is the best way to lose money known to man) and the situation was abit like what you have at Liverpool this year.They have a new manager after the PE crowd shafted Damien Richardson in the summer. They managed to win the cup and there is optimism surrounding the team again this year. I think they should be challenging and I have backed them as a saver @4/1 to my antepost selection for this year St.Patrick's Athletic@13/2.

St Pats have benefited from a wealthy backer coming on board last season when they managed to finish second. They led the league for the first 10 or 15 games and looked like they could push on and win it. They had a terrible mid season though before going on a fairly strong run towards the end of the season again. I think they have signed well with Gary Dempsey coming from Yeovil and Joe O'Cearuil coming from Barnet. If they had signed a decent striker in the summer i would be all over them but I think with Brian Kerr(former Ireland manager) working in the background and the money man garrett kellegher if they are in the shake up mid season they will get someone. They are my bet for the league as I said above,13/2@Stanjames.

Bohemians are another challenger who have plenty of money. They are selling their ground two miles from the centre of Dublin for something like 40 million euro and they are getting a new ground built 4 or 5 miles away(it will be a few years before they move) thrown into the bargain so by eircom league standards they are absolutely rolling in it. They have signed Jason Byrne after he had a pish year at Cardiff. He was el top scorer for 4 years before that. He will be partnered up front by Glenn Crowe but they were both together at Shelbourne a few years ago and it didnt work that well and I dont expect it work now that they are 30 and Crowe is getting fatter. They finished the league strongly last year but I just think they have what it takes to win it.

Drogheda are the champions and are a best price 2/1 and its far from value imo. Teams in the league find it hard to gain dominance over a long period and it is usually teams that pump in money who challenge for the league. Im not that impressed with their signings either. Dont get me wrong they will be challenging but 2/1 is horrible value.

Derry have Stephen Kenny back from Scotland. Before he went he had Derry challenging on all fronts before all his good work was undone in about 2 months by Pat Fenlon(new manager of Bohemians, former manager of Shelbourne where he won titles with a chequebook). It remains to be seen how they will do but i would expect them to be better than last season when they didnt look interested their season and when on an awful run towards the end.

As for Galway United who I support i think we will finish around 7th behind the 5 already mentioned but we should be able to avoid getting dragged into the relegation scrap. 3 teams are getting relegated this season so that the league can be reduced to 10 teams next year.

[Ceirtlis]

In the first division I have gone with Shelbourne @9/2. Their season last year was a right off before it even started, it looked for a while like they might not even have a team in it. They have had a proper pre season now, have signed a few new players and they are optimistic after preseason. The first division is not that strong this year imo and that is why i have gone with Shels. Sporting Fingal are a new club and have signed some players who have been succesful in the past. They could challenge but i dont think they will go all the way this year.

[kompressaur]

Cracking stuff Ceir thanks. Let me go and have a look at the antepost prices myself.

St Patricks at 13/2 with Stan James and Betdirect (1-2-3 1/5th odds) As low as 4/1 with Coral. Ah it's the old weathly backer syndrome. Interesting. I will read more about them and their signings. I always like seeing how these sort of teams perform. The last i remember St Pats they were a dour 0-0 team that PTDSEI supported.

Cork best priced 5/1 with coral (1-2-3 1/5th) As low as 7/2 in places. Bohemians 4/1 generally. Ladbrokes going 9/4 on Drogheda 6/4 in places.

All in your St pats sound interesting to me that 13/2 at stan James and betdirect Ceirtlis.

Other markets with Paddy Power are-

Top Dublin Club
Bohemians 5 - 4
St Patrick's Athletic 11 - 8
Shamrock Rovers 3 - 1
UCD 50 - 1

Top Connacht/Ulster Club
Derry City 4 - 9
Sligo Rovers 4 - 1
Galway United 9 - 2
Finn Harps 14 - 1

In the first the best prices available are-

Dundalk 9/4 Boylesports
Waterford Utd 3/1 Stan James
Shelbourne 9/2 Stan James
Sporting Fingal 10/1 Bet 365
Limerick 37 18/1 Paddy Power

Here's to a good season of irish football and betting Ceirtlis :cheers

[PTDSEI]

Regarding the top duvlin club bet..You may aswell rule out Shamrock and UCD, so your left with Bohs and Pats. Nice little long term arb there :-D

[Chief77]

Wahey Irish soccer is back! I'm quite excited.

Premier Division:
Theres only three teams that are in with a realistic chance of winning the title I reckon. Current champions Drogheda, Cork City and St Pats. Don't really fancy Bohs to make the step up this year. Fenlons first year in the job and it'll take him a season or two to get things sorted I reckon. I'm gonna give St Pats a miss as well. They've brought a lot of new faces in but I reckon it may take time for the manager to work out his best team.

Drogheda won the title pretty handily last season and will have more or less the same squad this time round. Declan O Brien missed almost the whole of last season and his return this year will be like a brand new signing for them. He's a cracking player.

I have a sneaky fancy for Cork to go all the way this year. They were in a bit of a mess last year financially and lost 3 of their best players to English clubs yet still finished a respectable 3rd. They've got George O Callaghan back (One of the best players in the league) and Colin Healy has started to look like the player he was before his leg break. They've also brought in last years League top scorer Dave Mooney and he could prove a very shrewd purchase.

Another thing in Corks favour is the amount of Dublin/ North East derbies in th eleague. These games are usually tight passionate affairs where the poorer teams often up their game to beat their rivals. Cork won't be involved in any of that and could benefit from the Dubs taking points off each other.

Down at the other end I reckon UCD and Cobh are certs to go down. UCD have lost 7 of their 1st 11 from last season and Pete Mahon hasn't replaced any of them. He's taking a chance by promoting a lot of his U21's. Its a big ask for the young lads to keep them up. Cobh haven't bought anybody in either and looked doomed. Think Finn Harps might have enough to stay up so I reckon Galway and Bray will be scrapping it out to avoid the final relegation place

Heres how I see the League Table finishing out

Cork
Drogheda
St Pats
Bohemians
Derry
Sligo
Shamrock Rovers
Finn Harps
Galway
Bray
UCD
Cobh

[Chief77]

1st Division:

I'm very keen on Dundalks chances this season. They had a storming start last season and looks certs for promotion until a very poor run of results in July saw them overtaken in the finishing straight by both Finn Harps and Cobh. They eventually lost to Cobh in a playoff.

In the close season John Gill has got rid of a lot of deadwood and has bought well. He has brought in 7 of the Shamrock Rovers team. Thats the Shamrock Rovers team who won this division at a stroll the season before last. Cassidy played almost the whole of last season for Rovers in the Premier League and is a cracking player. He'll defo be one of the best players in the league this season.

Shels, Waterford and Sporting Fingal are the other contenders and I see Waterford as being the main threat to Dundalk. They haven't lost too many players from last season and should do ok this season. Shels will be a threat also but they could struggle for goals I reckon.

Anto Flood is overrated and I think he'll be found out this season. Their other striker Philly Hughes was bought from Dundalk who got rid of him for being too fat and lazy.

Sporting Fingal are a brand new team in the league and are a bit of an unknown quantity. Their squad looks decent so it'll be interesting to see how they get on. Limerick 37 did well last year and I reckon they could be this years dark horses. Probably not good enough to win the league but wouldn't surprise me if they finish top 3.

Heres how I think they'll finish

Dundalk
Waterford
Limerick
Shelbourne
Sporting Fingal
Longford
Kildare
Monaghan
Wexford Youths
Athlone

[Chief77]

So heres my seasons bets:
Cork City outright @7/2
Declan O'Brien top goalscorer @13/2
St Pats top Dublin club @11/8
UCD to be relegated @1/2(Big bet on this, its a cert I reckon)
Dundalk outright(1st) @15/8

[Chief77]

Not having too many bets in the 1st set of fixtures. Probably best to wait and see how the teams get on in the opening couple of fixtures before steaming in.

I will however play Cork City HT-FT @13/10 against Bray. Cork already have a competitive match under their belt having outclassed Dungannon 2-0 away from home last week in the Setanta Cup. The last 3 meetings between Cork and Bray in Turners Cross have ended up 2-2, 3-0 and 6-0.

UCD V Derry @6/5: As I said above I think UCD will struggle this year and they look certs for relegation. A slight worry here is if Derry are good enough to take advantage of UCD's young team but all in all at that price I think its worth chancing.

Verdict:
Cork City HT-FT @13/10
Derry City @6/5

[kompressaur]

Sweet Chief. Lets see all your ante post bets folks and we'll archive this thread for inspection at the end of the season. If anyone you know wants to admin a prediction league for either or leagues Chief then let me know and i'll sort them out. A wee bit of fun as the season progresses. Yes im only after Irish football fans i will make no bones about it.

http://www.thedailypunt.com/sports_p...p?cmd=matchres

Good to see you PTD and im glad that youve got something to shout on this season with your team. Hopefully not another season of 0-0 draws.

I wont get on your seasonal selections Chief due to cashflow problems but Go n'eiri an t-adh leat

[Chief77]

Originally Posted by PTDSEI

Regarding the top duvlin club bet..You may aswell rule out Shamrock and UCD, so your left with Bohs and Pats. Nice little long term arb there :-D

Good call PTDSEI. Would defo agree with that.