Baffling schedule mystifies Fenlon
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Pat Fenlon stretched his legs on the Terryland surface just after 6pm following a long bus journey west yesterday, and was joined by a number of his squad members who quickly darted for the safety of the dugouts when met by a howling wind and sheets of rain.
The Bohemians' squad had been relatively fortunate in that their 270-mile round trip was somewhat less than those that had to be made by Bray(280), Derry(300), and Drogheda(380). Chocolate, free admission, and U12s Go Free were some of the promotional offers rolled out as clubs desperately looked to attract punters through the gates.
As Fenlon perused the surface and gauged the influence of the weather, this issue was furthest from his mind; instead focusing on selection issues that would be framed by the elements.
When asked about the benching of Joseph Ndo, Fenlon admitted the inclement conditions had played a part. "It was a factor alright, we did look at it. Even the three games in a week probably affected it. We left Jason out of the game on Friday night and that probably backfired a little bit, that's probably my fault. We thought with the three strikers, with Joseph, Jason (Byrne), and Glen (Crowe), that the three games issue was going to be important.
"So we had a look at the conditions and the weather and thought that Joseph maybe would have more of an effect later on in the game."
On the subject of travelling long distance mid-week, Fenlon was quick to praise the support who had braved the long trip. "Our away support has been fantastic. I don't see the wisdom in playing matches tonight, with Champions League football on the telly."
"Why couldn't they have played Pat's and us tonight, Galway against Sligo or something like that. I don't know, it baffles me to see the fixture list. Derry City travelling to Dublin on a Tuesday night with Manchester Utd on the telly, but that's the FAI, so....."
The next set of mid-week League fixtures, the return legs of last night's encounters, is set for the first week in June.
The Bohemians' squad had been relatively fortunate in that their 270-mile round trip was somewhat less than those that had to be made by Bray(280), Derry(300), and Drogheda(380). Chocolate, free admission, and U12s Go Free were some of the promotional offers rolled out as clubs desperately looked to attract punters through the gates.
As Fenlon perused the surface and gauged the influence of the weather, this issue was furthest from his mind; instead focusing on selection issues that would be framed by the elements.
When asked about the benching of Joseph Ndo, Fenlon admitted the inclement conditions had played a part. "It was a factor alright, we did look at it. Even the three games in a week probably affected it. We left Jason out of the game on Friday night and that probably backfired a little bit, that's probably my fault. We thought with the three strikers, with Joseph, Jason (Byrne), and Glen (Crowe), that the three games issue was going to be important.
"So we had a look at the conditions and the weather and thought that Joseph maybe would have more of an effect later on in the game."
On the subject of travelling long distance mid-week, Fenlon was quick to praise the support who had braved the long trip. "Our away support has been fantastic. I don't see the wisdom in playing matches tonight, with Champions League football on the telly."
"Why couldn't they have played Pat's and us tonight, Galway against Sligo or something like that. I don't know, it baffles me to see the fixture list. Derry City travelling to Dublin on a Tuesday night with Manchester Utd on the telly, but that's the FAI, so....."
The next set of mid-week League fixtures, the return legs of last night's encounters, is set for the first week in June.
About Alan Dooley
is one of Extratime's longest serving contributors. Based in County Galway, Alan has been following the League of Ireland since the mid-1980s. His first memory of the drama of domestic football was Vinny Arkins, then … View Full Profile