Interesting round of fixtures to get things underway. With apologies to Bandage, I couldn’t find a Division 1 preview 
http://www.bohemians.ie/index.php/features/seamus.htm
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Suddenly, with a new season upon us, the stakes have risen in Irish football. Our betting pundit and all-round soccer sage Samus casts a cold eye over the coming year’s contest, and gets the opinions of his tipster buddies. You won’t find a more authoritative assessment of prospects for 2008 anywhere else…
As the 2007 season came to a close, with Drogheda United as league champions and Cork City as FAI Cup champions, the benefits of a large, full-time squad were obvious – especially for clubs involved in European action. Now the 2008 season beckons, and more clubs are taking the gamble that a full-time setup from top to bottom is sustainable.
The race for the league title promises to be the most closely fought in years.
Along with ourselves, at least three other teams can claim genuine expectations of being in the mix come November. And even at that, we are ignoring the claims of Derry City, where Stephen Kenny will no doubt go about his business with the kind of quiet, hardworking professionalism that was there for all to see in the 2006 season.
They say you should never go back though, and the Candystripes don’t quite look to be playing in the same ballpark as these big boys…
THE ELITE…
Despite the rivalry, there’s no doubt that Drogheda have earned genuine respect for what they’ve achieved. An FAI Cup, followed by a Setanta Cup and a league title makes them stand out as the best team on the island over the past couple of years, and it’s impossible to make any calculations as to what the league table might look like in November without including them in your thoughts.
Their 3-2 win against Cliftonville in the Setanta opener served notice that Doolin’s team have lost none of their ability to win tight football matches.
Perhaps the scoreline itself signals a willingness to take more chances in a footballing sense. A midfield including Ollie Cahill and Richie Baker, despite being packed with experience, might hint that some of this team might be past their best. But with Paul Keegan running tirelessly and battering the opposition into submission before calling on the likes of Shane Robinson to create a match-winning move, there is no doubt that the ability is still there for this team to stay the course over the season.
Player of the year Brian Shelley and centre-back Graham Gartland, together with new recruit Shaun Maher, will ensure that 1-0 will quite often be the only result that will beat this team. Ex-Bohs striker Tony Grant may have cornered a starting place, while the sharpshooting of Guy Bates towards the business end of last season marks him out as a menace to all. A fit Declan O’Brien and a confident Eamon Zayed complete something of an embarrassment of attacking riches.
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Things are changing in that strange area of the island known as Cork. Damien Richardson is no doubt in possession of a fine footballing brain, but he was clearly at odds with the club’s owners, a vehicle called the Arkaga Fund.
In has come Alan Matthews, and he arrives with a keen appreciation of what this squad has in its locker.
As Longford manager, he masterminded Cork’s elimination from the FAI Cup in 2006, but was
unable to repeat the feat in last year’s final. That day belonged to City, and like so many other games, it had the quiet, undeniable strength and class of Joe Gamble stamped all over it.
If Gamble signs a new deal taking him beyond this December, it will probably be the best signing of the year by any team, and Matthews has also stocked up on talent in other areas. Last season’s top scorer, Dave Mooney, has arrived from Longford, and he should be capable of scoring even more this season with the arrival of the enigmatic George O’Callaghan from Ipswich.
O’Callaghan, as well as being in the business of assists, will weigh in with goals of his own, as his Setanta Cup brace at Dungannon confirms.
Danny Murphy returns from Scotland as a member of the top bracket of full-backs in the league, while Mulcahy and Sullivan are two more solid signings. Add to these the likes of Behan, Kearney, and O’Flynn, and what you have is, when all are fit, a squad simply bursting with talent.
If Matthews can organize and harness this talent, we are probably looking at the 2008 league champions. Quite simply, nobody will be able to live with them when fit and on their game both physically and mentally.
Despite all the obvious attacking talent, the player to watch is Gamble. He might not be playing in this league for much longer, but, while he is, his ambitions go well beyond FAI Cup final wins against Longford.
And what of the Dublin challenge? Here in Dublin 7, we now have a squad that should be capable of challenging for the title. No, is capable of challenging for the title.
Despite our fine defensive record last season, we relied upon the heroics of our goalkeeper at times. So we have strengthened in the shape of seasoned centre-back Ken Oman. We struggled to kill tight games by scoring important match-winning goals, so in comes one of the league’s all-time top goalscorers, Jason Byrne.
The pressure to create that may have been weighing on JP Kelly’s shoulders will surely be eased by the arrival of the lively Killian Brennan from Derry City. Either way, Pat Fenlon will know he has had a satisfactory season if he wins the double, collects nine points off Rovers, qualifies for the UEFA Cup via the Intertoto Cup. And if he manages world peace we’ll call it a “successful season”.
Seriously, Pat and all the players have our support, and we all hope that the new-look Bohemians team can click from the beginning.
If it doesn’t, our nearest Dublin challengers will be in the familiar shape of Johnny McDonnell’s St Pat’s Athletic. Professionalism is the buzzword there, although Brian Kerr is at pains to convince all that the money being spent is realistic.
Either way, useful signings such as Gary Dempsey and Joe O’Cearruill will, as at so many other clubs, bring expectations of a serious title tilt, and few can argue that it’s beyond them.
Pat Fenlon will know he has had a satisfactory season if he wins the double, collects nine points off Rovers, and qualifies for the UEFA Cup via the Intertoto Cup. And if he manages world peace we’ll call it a ‘successful season’!
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THE PRETENDERS…
The great unknown is probably Derry City under Stephen Kenny. Stephen Grey will add renewed steel at the back, Conor Sammon will bag goals, but a genuine shot at the top table may just too soon for this team. As usual though, beating them will require a lot of patience, especially in the Brandywell, where Kenny will hope to make a fortress, as it was during his previous tenure up north.
Another team who will frustrate as well as playing some decent football are our old foes, Shamrock Rovers. If it can be said that their young team were clearly tiring towards the end of last season, Pat Scully will be hoping that new boys Stephen Rice, Darragh Maguire, and Dessie Baker can add stamina.
We may just be looking at a team who over-achieved for part of last season, though, and, even with the three signings mentioned, the quality necessary to stake a realistic claim of a top three finish doesn’t seem to be there.
Galway United and Sligo Rovers are the other teams who will be hoping to make a significant breakthrough, and both possess players worth paying to see. Fahrudin Kudozovic will again be a threat for any team visiting the Showgrounds, while African Cup of Nations campaigner Romauld Boco of Benin will definitely be of interest. Mark Leech, if given a run in the Galway United team, should be a reliable outlet for goals.
THE BOTTOM…
With three teams to be relegated, it’s going to be all-out war at the bottom. In recent seasons it’s been typical for one team to be cut adrift quite early on, and it’s anyone’s guess who, if anyone, it could be this season.
Finn Harps and Cobh Ramblers will surely find the step up in class from the First Division incredibly difficult. Despite some useful signings, Bray Wanderers may find life hard yet again, while it might be just a season too far for Pete Mahon at UCD.
It will be of key importance for all these teams – rather like the battle at the top, you feel – to get points on the board early. Even draws may not be enough, and if one of these four teams is going to pull away from the rest, they will have to prove capable of scoring wins against the other three, as well as nicking unexpected points from the top teams.
The utterly heroic manner in which Longford pulled away last season, and, mathematically speaking, survived, is unlikely to be repeated, unless the regrettable dynamic of points deduction comes into play in any shape or form.
One only hopes that, as well as the trophy being won on the pitch, the nerve-racking scrap down the bottom plays itself out in a similar manner. If so, there is little doubt we are in for a season to remember.
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THE EXPERT VIEW…
Who will finish first, second, and third?
Johnny Ward (Irish football tipster, The Racing Post): Cork City, Drogheda United, St Pat’s Athletic. Obviously it’s hard to keep Bohs out of the top three, but it may take Fenlon some time. Cork have a brilliant squad, as do Drogheda.
Julian Canny (Irish football odds compiler, Paddy Power): Drogheda United, Cork City, Bohemians. I still think Drogheda are the ones to beat this season. They pretty much cantered the league last season and have added a few decent signings to their already huge squad.
Daniel McDonnell (Irish Independent): Cork City, Drogheda United, Bohemians.
Neil O’Riordan (Irish Sun): Drogheda United, Bohemians, Cork City
Aidan Fitzmaurice (Evening Herald): Drogheda United, Bohemians, St Pat’s Athletic
Who will be the league’s top goalscorer?
JW: Eamon Zayed
JC: Eamon Zayed
DMcD: Dave Mooney
NO’R: Jason Byrne
AF: Conor Sammon
Players to watch?
JW: Romauld Boco (Sligo Rovers)
JC: Conor Gethins (Finn Harps), Matthew Judge (Sligo Rovers)
DMcD: Seamus Coleman (Sligo Rovers)
NO’R: Romauld Boco
AF: Glenn Cronin (Bohemians), Davin O’Neill (Cobh Ramblers), Aaron Callaghan (Derry City), Romauld Boco
SAMUS’S VERDICT:
League champions: Cork City
Runners-Up: Bohemians
Third: Drogheda United
Top goalscorer: Jason Byrne (Bohemians)
Players to watch: Jason Byrne (Bohemians), Gavin Whelan (Bray Wanderers), Davin O’Neill (Cobh Ramblers), Joe Gamble (Cork City), Conor Sammon (Derry City), Eamon Zayed (Drogheda United), Gary Beckett (Finn Harps), Mark Leech (Galway United), Gary Dempsey (St Pat’s Athletic), Alan Murphy (Shamrock Rovers), Romauld Boco (Sligo Rovers), Timmy Purcell (UCD)
Betting selections:
Cork City to win the league (5/1, Coral)
George O’Callaghan league top scorer (20/1 each way, Paddy Power)
Darren Mansaram league top scorer (33/1 each way, Paddy Power)