Season Preview 2008: Monaghan United

THE CLUB

A couple of brief excursions to the Premier Division either side of the Millennium notwithstanding, each season has been much like the one before for Monaghan United since the Gortakeegan club first entered the league in 1985. Sparse attendances, low expectations and a team drawn as if by magnetism to the bottom end of the First Division table are par for the course in one of the eircom League's most remote outposts. Nonetheless, the club has kept its head above water with relative comfort and could even be said to thrive in its own small way; the Mons' underage system is healthy and burgeoning, its close co-operation with local junior outfits an example to many of the league's heavy hitters. Equally, the club's administrative and public relations apparatus is above reproach.

The business of a football club, however, is football, and recent seasons have provided little for the smattering of Monaghan United diehards to enthuse over. 2007 followed the usual template at Kingspan Century Park; 8th place in the league (ahead of a newly-formed amateur club and one not long for this world) and elimination at the first hurdle of both cup competitions. Some small measure of consolation was derived from a 4-0 trouncing of (nominal League champions) Shelbourne in March, as well as the form of Robbie Farrell, rescued from a largely fruitless circuit of the Irish League which involved a sojourn at Glenavon sandwiched by two spells at Newry City. Farrell, a former Dublin City and Longford striker whose salad days appeared irretrievably behind him, was reinvigorated at Monaghan, netting eleven times in the league campaign.

Farrell's subsequent departure to Dundalk on a free transfer exemplified the invidious, no-win nature of Monaghan's transfer policy; with few senior players of the requisite standard available locally, Monaghan are often compelled to take a chance on the detritus of the Dublin player pool. For many of these players, Monaghan is the terminus to an inexorable slide down the table; for those who make the most of this final opportunity (Keith Foy and Robbie Farrell being two examples), bigger, better and more lucrative prospects await. Others simply coast along with ever-expanding waistlines and ever-diminishing returns, contributing little.

With little leverage in the transfer market, the club can hardly be held culpable for this state of affairs, and the crop of 2008 looks a little more promising. Former favourite Graham Doyle (another exception to the rule in his playing days) has returned as assistant to Mick Cooke after a spell in charge of LSL club Moyle Park. The club continues to make strides off the field with plans for a Regional Development Centre well advanced and a major upgrade of club facilities already complete. Infrastructural improvements aside, however, 2008 looks like being another long, hard slog against unequal odds for the Mons.

THE MANAGER

With managerial life expectancy at an all-time low in the eircom League, Mick Cooke is practically part of the furniture at Monaghan United. A former assistant boss at Shamrock Rovers, Cooke succeeded Bobby Browne as Monaghan manager in September 2003. One of the few managers in recent eircom League history with national team experience (albeit in the form of a stint in charge of the Irish ladies' side), Cooke has demonstrated a canny eye for player acquisition, although not all of his gambles have proved fruitful. A popular figure at Monaghan, the former Ballyfermot United coach will hope to improve on last season's eighth position; if the established players and the new arrivals coalesce quickly, he may have some justification for that hope.

THE SQUAD

Last season's standout performers have both been enticed away - Robbie Farrell will jostle for a position in the Dundalk attack this term, while Barbados international goalkeeper Alvin Rouse is elevated to Premier Division status at Galway United. Despite the embarrassing premature announcement of several signings which never transpired, Cooke has quietly achieved a series of minor transfer coups during the off-season. Former St. Patrick's Athletic striker Philip Sheppard is back for another tilt at the eircom League after scoring freely in Intermediate football. He will be joined in a youthful attack by the ex-Shelbourne starlet Darren Hanaphy, signed from Kildare County, and - perhaps most tantalisingly of all - the former Dublin City forward Robbie Collins. Collins was once counted among the most glittering prospects of the eircom League, but hasn't played any serious football for almost two years due to a serious knee injury. If he can find the form he demonstrated during his previous, goal-laden spell with the Mons, Cooke may well have pulled off one of the shrewdest transfers of the season.

The midfield department should be greatly strengthened by the arrival of James Hand, a local lad nurtured through the Monaghan United youth system before flying the nest to Huddersfield United and international recognition at Under-21 level. Hand joins after a brief stopover at Dundalk last season. Veteran Dom Tierney is another prominent newcomer, although it remains to be seen how the former Drogheda and Dublin City midfielder's hiatus from the senior game will have affected his sharpness and stamina. The combative Steve McCrossan, a small but tenacious midfielder with an eye for a pass, has migrated north from Kildare County and should prove a valuable asset in First Division dogfights. Brian Gartland (Shelbourne) and Ian Malone (Kildare County) are solid if inexperienced additions to the Monaghan defensive line. Goalkeeper Brendan Kennedy is another experienced campaigner, albeit one whose form is almost unrecognisable from that which characterised his heyday with Dublin City.

PROSPECTS

On paper, there's no conspicuous reason why Monaghan shouldn't ensconce themselves just below the serious challengers for promotion. Previous history, however, indicates otherwise. With no shortage of firepower, Monaghan should be capable of discommoding even the division's strongest defences, but an inexperienced back four and a squad which could be stretched to (and beyond) breaking point by injuries, suspensions and other vicissitudes will militate against further progress. In recent years, the club's squad has been found wanting in the fitness stakes; that, at First Division level, is a critical deficiency. Ninth place is their natural level; anything higher will constitute an achievement.