Sligo Rovers
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Since Raffaele Cretaro placed Sligo Rovers' fourth penalty past Shelbourne goalkeeper Dean Delany on November 6th to give Rovers their second FAI Cup success in as many years, Paul Cook has set out on bringing further success to the Showgrounds.
Despite finishing the 2010 season as top scorers in the League of Ireland, the Bit o' Red's lack of fire power in the first round of games came back to haunt them.
Disappointing results against Shamrock Rovers, Bohemians, Dundalk and UCD in the first round of games came back to haunt them at the money end of the campaign as the other Rovers eventually took the title.
Apart from a 2-1 defeat in the UCD Bowl in late April, the poor results in these games were not down to poor defending or beggarly form. They were down to a lack of a clinical finisher in the squad. Eoin Doyle, who had an amazing season considering he was still settling in to life as a striker, finished the season as the club's top scorer in all competitions with 25 goals.
But 'Gingerito' took eight games to score his first goal of the league campaign and only scored once in the first round of league games against Bohemians in late April. Rovers, since gaining promotion in 2005, traditionally have had a slow start and this is where Paul Cook needed to act and acted he has.
The signature of proven League of Ireland goal scorers Danny North and Mark Quigley are the perfect remedy. North scored 19 goals in all competitions last year and is expected to be the star at the top of Paul Cook's 4-5-1 tree. He will also bring that bit of physicality needed at the front line of the team while Quigley will probably sit in behind North along with Aaron Greene who recently re-signed with the club.
Quigley is, in my opinion the most exciting player in the league and although he may not have had the most successful season with an under-performing Dundalk side last year, he still managed to bag 15 goals. These two additions along with a few more signings will certainly boost our chances for the 2012 title.
As far as retaining players from last year's squad, the first move was always going to be the signatures of our back four. So thankfully, we have signed four out of four with Alan Keane, Jason McGuinness and Gavin Peers putting pen to paper. Iarfhlaith Davoren has signed a new deal for next season after returning from an unsuccessful trial period at Pat Fenlon's Hibernian. 'Dav' has been the most improved player over the past two seasons and has cemented and deserved his place as first choice left back for Rovers. Joey Ndo and Raf Cretaro both re-signing before Christmas was also a great boost to the team.
As for the rest of our back-line, Conor Powell, Derek Foran and goalkeeper Brendan Clarke recently travelled to Norway to take part in the FAI's FIFPro squad. Powell confirmed recently that he was offered terms by the club, but wanted to keep his options open after a disappointing few months in the Northwest. Clarke impressed in every game last year but was rumoured not be offered a deal for this year and subsequently signed for St. Pat's, while Foran has always performed when called upon, but may look elsewhere for his football. Eoin Doyle has also departed the club after agreeing an 18-month deal with Pat Fenlon's Hibs.
The Johns, Russell and Dillon are thought to be seeking employment away from Ireland.
- David Goulden, Sligo Rovers' fan.
