Season Preview 2008: Sligo Rovers

Last season turned out to be not so bad after all for Sligo. They started last season without a manager following Rob McDonalds departure after only a short period in charge. The first two months of the season brought five defeats - including a couple of embarrassing displays. Ex-manager Sean OConnor, who left the club at the end of the previous season, had been appointed manager at Bohs and a couple of important players followed him to the capital. The club brought in some replacements however most of them didnt look good enough, and many of them were to soon to be on their way.

Paul Cook was appointed manager at the end of April and it finally looked as if things were moving in the right direction for the North West club. Results didnt improve instantly but on May 12th Sligo defeated Cork by four goals to one at the Showgrounds. While Cork were certainly a little bit off form on the day, nothing should be taken away from Sligo - as they were simply awesome at times, playing attractive football, moving the ball around quickly and giving Cork no time to settle on the ball. The crowd at the Showgrounds that day also played their part. That game was closely followed by a win over former manager OConnor and his new side Bohs, and a rich vein of form thereafter meant that Sligo were in contention for a European spot. As soon as a place in the top four or five looked like a realistic possibility their form slipped and towards the end of the season it nosedived. Sligo ended the season picking up just six points from their last eleven games - a run that included seven defeats. Despite the poor end to the season Sligo ended up in a very credible sixth position - however its important to note that seventh placed Derry also ended the season very poorly, as did fifth placed Shamrock Rovers.

For a club that supposedly were under serious financial strain its somewhat surprising that manager Cooke has been able to bring in eight new players. Admittedly seven have left the club, however its certain that the total wage bill is now considerably higher. Pat Jennings has joined on loan from Derry. He has featured during preseason and will provide serious competition for Richard Brush. Defence is no doubt an area that Sligo need to improve. Last season they conceded a huge forty five goals in total and only one team conceded more goals at home. With that in mind Cooke has brought in four players who have had experience playing at the back. Chris Butler comes in from Barrow. Butler is a left back and was very impressive on his debut against Athlone, his subsequent pre season performances may not have stood out as much, but he would certainly appear an improvement on the options open to Cooke prior to his arrival. Mauro Almeida has also joined, another player with an Accrington Stanley background. Almeida is a centre back who at previous clubs was often error prone. He is a no nonsense type defender who concentrates on the basics - if he can eradicate the mistakes he can become a regular starter alongside captain Gavin Peers. Steve Feeney has returned to his home town club - he can play in central defence or centre midfield. Anto Murphy , disillusioned by the way St Pats were treating him, has gone down the full time route and can be a big player for Sligo. He has lots of experience on the right wing or at right back, and should be a regular starter.

Sligos midfield this season shall have to cope with the loss of last years captain Adam Hughes after he made the move to Drogheda. Conor Grady remains however and he doesnt get near enough credit for the job he does for the team. Along with Feeney and Murphy mentioned above, Cooke has added further to midfield options and cover by bringing in Sean Doherty, Alan Moore, and of course Romo Boco. Doherty is a left winger who also has a good right foot. He was poor in the friendly away in Athlone and his goal against Harps masked another so so performance. He does show nice touches and potentially can link up very well with Judge and Kuduvovic - but so far also has a tendency to give the ball away far too much. . He needs to improve to become a regular starter. Alan Moore hasnt played much football over the last two seasons. When he did at Shelbourne one could see the class he had - the questions now are, firstly can he stay clear of injury and, secondly can he still perform at this level. If he can regain some level of form he will be a huge asset to Sligo. Romo Boco is yet another player with a Stanley backgound. The Benin captain has impressed no end so far and the Sligo faithful are expecting big things from him. In general more goals from midfield are a must this season for Sligo

Upfront Matthew Judge and Faz Kudozovic scored nineteen league goals between them - Adam Hughes weighed in with another five and Chris Turner hit four. Those four were the only players to score more than one goal, so with Hughes and Turner departed there is an even bigger responsibility on Judge and Kudozovic this term. It should also be noted that Kudozovic wanted a move away from Sligo this preseason. Judge on the other hand is the laziest player many a fan or observer has ever seen . Sligo have no other out and out strikers so injury to either of those two would be a disaster. Boco can play up top also but his scoring history with previous clubs doesnt suggest he is prolific enough. He is still only 22 so there is time for lots of improvement.

At times last season Sligo were awesome, as good as and better than any side in the league. Unfortunately that didnt happen with near enough frequency. Also when they didnt perform to that level they tended to be very poor - there wasnt much middle ground.The fact that they drew fewer games than any other side in the division would seem to back this up. Sligo will need to add some consistency to their top performances and learn how to play poorly and avoid defeat if they are to have any hope of improving on last seasons position. Regardless of the fact that they have no doubt strengthened their squad its going to be extremely difficult for them to finish as high as sixth again, never mind any higher. Last season fifth placed Shamrock Rovers, the side that finished directly above them in the league, ended the season with ten points more than Sligo. Success in a cup competition is something that is very much within their capabilities.