Season Preview 2008: Shamrock Rovers

With five weeks and seven games to go last season Rovers were on a great run, in second place in the league and still closing in on long time leaders Drogheda. Then disaster struck. In a game they were expected to win against Bray, they had two sent off and ended up on the wrong side on a three zero scoreline. That was a game in hand for Rovers and defeat meant they had passed up the chance to shorten Drogheda's lead even further. The following six games were poor to say the least. They went into free fall and picked up just three points. They went on to end the season in a very credible fifth place - however, after getting on so well prior to that game at the Carlisle Grounds, there was a mood of what could have been for the players and management.

It's important to remember Rovers are a part time club - a fact that makes last seasons displays all the more impressive. Since the end of Rovers' first season back in the top flight manager, Pat Scully has released eleven players and brought in seven new faces. A number of Under 21's will be more involved this season with the senior squad and both Dean Lawrence and Ciaran Kilduff have been sent on loan to first division clubs so that they can get some game time under their belts.

Barry Murphy is probably the leagues best keeper and without doubt earned Rovers at least 9 or 10 points last season with his displays between the posts - particularly in the earlier part of the season. Up until Rovers slipped away in the last seven games they had the league's tightest defence. They finished the season with just twenty six goals conceded - a number bettered only by champions Drogheda and third placed Bohs. Karl Coleman appears to be the back up keeper for this season however other options are John Perkins and Stephen O'Brien.

Success last season was built on a very tight, competitive back four. The centre backs were commanding in the air and for the most part didn't allow attackers time to turn. The full backs pushed up and got tight to the oppositions widemen. As a unit they held a good line and regularly looked to the assistants for a raised flag. Ger O'Brien, Danny O'Connor and Barry Ferguson more or less played whenever they were available and the same is expected this season. A number of players featured at left back, including the departed Robbie Clarke and Derek Pender. Darren Stapleton has been brought in from Kildare and chances are he will be a regular on the left hand side of defence. Both Ferguson and O'Connor missed a lot of games last year through suspension. Its hard to see mature, established players change their ways so we can probably expect them to miss at least two games each again this season for the same reason. Maybe partly with this in mind Scully moved quickly to secure the services of another top rated centre back - Darragh Maguire from St Pats. Maguire had been a fans favourite in Inchicore for some time and on his Hoops début against Longford impressed all. He will be pushing for a regular place in the starting eleven and his inclusion would free Danny O'Connor up for a midfield role. Young defenders Glen Walsh and Mark Langtry filled in when required last season and didn't look one bit out of place. Pat Flynn has joined from Waterford. Scully is on the record as being impressed with his performances last season against Rovers however unless other defenders suffer from a loss of form its hard to see him being a regular - but at the very least he will offer good cover across the back four. Club captain Aidan Price is still sidelined through injury but the club are hopeful he can make a return by the end of April.

Last seasons midfield broke up a lot of play and generally made life difficult for the opposition whenever and wherever possible. Scully tended to go with someone sitting in front of the back four (McGill, O'Connor, Ryan, Sheils etc) and another slightly more advanced, but nonetheless he was still fully expected to get tackles in and get behind the ball when not in possession. The full width of the pitch was utilised whenever possible. Wingers tucked in when defending or not in possession but once the ball was won back moved away from the centre and looked to create an angle for a pass and stretch the opposition Two players were added to the midfield roster for the 2008 season - Stephen Rice has joined from Bohs and Sean O'Connor comes from Pats. Rice has already captained the side in pre-season while O'Connor has featured just once so far -while the team where away in Spain. He is a left winger and will face stiff competition from Chris Mulhall and David Tyrell. Tyrell has played most his football on the left wing or at left back, however Scully seems to fancy him in the middle of the field. He played there at least twice towards the end of last season and during preseason featured there against Dundalk and Longford. Winger John Martin initially picked up an injury last season after signing from Longford but as he recovered and the season drew to a close he showed just how useful he can be. Already he has provided two assists during preseason. Eric McGill spent most of last season on the sidelines but Scully has shown belief in him and rewarded his performances at the tail end of the season with a new contract. A common feeling among many Rovers fans is that they will miss David Cassidy's presence and in particular his creativeness. Former Under 21 player Robbie Creevy will hope to see as much match action as possible and has featured regularly in preseason.

The scorers of twenty of last seasons league goals are either no longer at the club (Myler, Kelleher, Cassidy) or very unlikely to play for the club again (Rowe). Also, top scorer with twelve goals,Tadgh Purcell, may well miss the beginning of the season through injury. Alan Murphy and Dessie Baker have been brought in. Murphy can also operate in midfield and scored on his debut in Dundalk with a well taken free kick from a few yards outside the box. Baker brings a wealth of experience. He was injured for a lot of last season but when he did return it coincided with Longford's improved displays and results that nearly saved them from the drop. Neither are what could be described as out and out goalscorers but they both bring a bit of guile and should be capable of hitting six to eight goals each - as well as creating plenty more for others Eoin Doyle is another with an eye for goal -he has two excellent preseason goals to his name. He started five games last season, featured as a substitute in another five and may well find himself involved more often than not this season. He works hard, runs all day and seems sharp in front of goal. Padraig Amond has returned from his loan spell at Kildare and he too will be looking to get amongst the goals as well as nailing down a regular starting place.

Its probably fair to say that as a part time side Rovers are always going to find the going tough against full time outfits and that may well go some of the way towards explaining why they finished last season so poorly. Challenging for the title was always an outside possibility until that defeat in Bray and perhaps after that, when it was well and truly out of reach, the players started to let up a bit and eased off. The players were also beginning to look tired. Injuries and suspensions didnt help and in relative terms the squad probably lacked depth and quality.

Many commentators have been talking about second season syndrome in relation to Rovers and thats obviously possible - however it looks like a long shot and its hard to see them struggling. On top of that its worth considering that Sligo and Galway, and in particular Derry, will all be looking to finish with much improved point hauls. Despite the surprise with the amount of players released at the end of the season its hard to argue that those brought in since, on paper at least, make Rovers a stronger looking proposition. Scully has more options this time round, in practically all departments, and they should be better able to cope with injuries and suspensions. The recent win in the courts regarding the Tallaght stadium should also ensure the whole club has a feel good factor, while the Ger Rowe situation doesn't appear to have had any destabilising repercussions. Not putting the ball in the back of the net with enough regularity may well hamper any real title challenge but if they can keep things tight at the back and keep fighting for every ball until the final whistle, there is no reason why they cant at least consolidate their status as a top five club.

In:
Stephen Rice (Bohemians)
Darragh Maguire (St Patrick's Ath)
Sean O'Connor (St Patrick's Ath)
Darren Stapleton (Kildare County)
Dessie Baker (Longford Town)
Pat Flynn (Waterford Utd)
Alan Murphy (Galway Utd)

Out:
Dave O'Connor (Dundalk)
Andy Myler (Bray Wanderers)
Ian Ryan (Dundalk)
Robbie Clarke (Waterford Utd)
John McGuinness (Released)
David Cassidy (Dundalk)
Jamie Duffy (Dundalk)
David McGill (Shelbourne)
Derek Pender (Bray Wanderers)
Alan Reynolds (Retired)
Paul Shiels (Dundalk)
Ciaran Kilduff (Kildare County)
Dean Lawrence (Shelbourne)