City begin long haul in defence of the realm
It’s probably too much to expect the Vikings - even with fresh playing blood on board and gnarled veteran Dermot Keely at the helm - to be contesting things at the business end of the table come next November, but, rest assured, they will be only the first of many visitors to the Cross determined to lift the biggest scalp in Irish football.
That’s the price champions have to pay. Winning the league is hard, but retaining it is harder still. Cork City, who last year lifted their first championship since 1993, are set to learn all about that.
Can they do it? Yes, but only, you suspect, if they avoid damaging injuries and otherwise enjoy the helping of luck that forms a part of any winning formula. While their main rivals - Shelbourne, Derry and Drogheda - have been busy on the transfer front, City go into this campaign looking thinner in terms of personnel than last time around.
The departure of flying winger Liam Kearney to Shels could hurt Cork as much as it lifts the Dubliners, although it’s worth noting that without him the champs have so far given a decent account of themselves in the Setanta Cup.
Manager Damien Richardson is happy he still has enough formidable talent at his disposal to mount a successful campaign, and certainly few would argue that, in the likes of George O’Callaghan, Joe Gamble, John O’Flynn, Roy O’Donovan, Danny Murphy and Michael Devine, the Leesiders can call on some of the best players in the league.
Remember, too, that, last season, they showed they could cope with the loss of a perceived key man, going on to win the title and reach the final of the FAI Cup despite the mid-season departure to current Championship leaders Reading of new Ireland striker Kevin Doyle.
Still, the gnawing concern of the Turner’s Cross faithful is that a long season - in which the Champions’ League will also feature prominently - could take its toll in terms of injury and fatigue.
What’s certain is that the manager’s attention to detail means his players will be as fit as possible for the fray starting out, and it’s also in his own competitive nature to ensure that the long-awaited and thoroughly deserved success of last year, won’t diminish the collective appetite as Cork go in search of back-to-back titles and, like Shelbourne before them, aim to make waves in Europe’s premier club competition.
And it’s Shelbourne who look best-placed to stop the Leesiders making it two on the spin. At this point last season, the self-styled Real Reds were odds-on win the league, but the high-profile arrival of Glen Crowe, Bobby Ryan and Colin Hawkins failed to live up to expectation. Crowe took a long time to gel with Jason Byrne, and Shels were also infected with a rash of defensive injuries, so that by the time they began to hit something like their stride, they had left themselves with too much to do to catch Cork and Derry.
Smarting from a third-place finish last season, Shels can be expected to hit the ground running this time, meaning that tonight could be an uncomfortable 90 minutes for Pat Devlin’s Bray Wanderers at the Carlisle Grounds.
Shels face into this season without their gifted magician Wes Hoolahan, now plying his trade with struggling Livingston in Scotland. But there is compensation not only at Tolka Park - where Kearney will lead on the left - but also up in The Brandywell, where the gifted Paddy McCourt is once again set to bedazzle Candystripers and neutrals alike.
A top-of-his-game McCourt is also essential if Derry are to go one better this season.. In Stephen Kenny, they have a manager who will leave no stone unturned in getting his charges up for it match after match, and with Ken Oman adding strength at the back and Finn Harps hotshot Kevin McHugh set to complement Mark Farren up front, the Foylesiders have an even more finished look about them this time around.
Tonight, they open their campaign with a home game against UCD.
An FAI Cup triumph made last year a memorable one for Drogheda United, befitting the ambitions of a progressive club who will this time be looking to improve on their fourth-place league finish last season. The signing of Longford Town’s Shane Barrett adds firepower to Paul Doolin’s team but it may be that the Boynesiders will once again have to settle for a berth outside the top three.
Of the rest, Bohemians could make the most progress, although the cup competitions may ultimately provide the best route to success for Gareth Farrelly’s men. Ditto for Longford, St Pat’s, Waterford, Bray and UCD.
With, sadly, one Rovers gone from the Premier Division, it’s good to be able to welcome back another. And following a season in which the balance of power shifted from the capital to the provinces, the return of Sligo and their passionate supporters will provide another vibrant hotspot on the map of top level football in Ireland.
At various times last season we saw it in Cork, and Derry and Waterford - hugely atmospheric games, brimming with good football and laced with incident. That’s what makes the faithful go through the turnstiles and provides the proverbial good advertisement for the game when the action is screened on tv.
And if we get a conclusion half as dramatic as last year’s, we will have little enough cause for complaint.
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