The 2019 League of Ireland season starts tomorrow. Most of you probably don't know or care much about the LOI, so I've compiled some answers from Reddit's finest fans in the hopes that you might know or care a bit more when you've finished reading this.
Premier Division
Bohemians
Founded: 1890
Ground: Dalymount Park (3,640)
2018 finish: 6th
How did last season go? Last season was a bit of a mixed bag. It took us about half a season to actually get into the swing of things and we spent a lot of it just hovering above the relegation zone. We hit a really great vein of form coming into the end of the season and finished mid-table and were unlucky not to reach the FAI Cup Final.
How do you think you'll do this season? Where do you think you'll finish? It's hard to tell, really. Our talismanic goalie Shane Supple retired early due to a recurring hip injury over the break and we've lost some quality players who were breaking into the team (Ali Reghba to Leicester, Dan Kelly to Dundalk). Our manager is an absolute magician at rebuilding teams and working on a shoestring budget so it all depends on how the new lads settle into the squad and if we can hit the ground running. Would love to be challenging for Europe but realistically can see us finishing 6/7th.
Who will be your star player? Dinny Corcoran. He's been our top scorer for the past few seasons and will be the key man up front.
What makes your club unique? Lots of things but
soccer probably knows us best for the
Bob Marley jersey that never actually got made.
We were founded in 1890, joined the League of Ireland in 1921 and since then have never been relegated. We're only three seasons away from joining the likes of Inter Milan, Ajax and Boca Juniors in having a century of uninterrupted top flight football.
Copa90 did a great video about our history and rivalry with Shamrock Rovers. My favourite thing about the club is how charitable and left leaning it is, we're kind of like an Irish St Pauli. Alongside Cork City, we are a part of the More Than A Club initiative which aims to give back to the local community. Some of the activities we're involved in include:
- Proceeds from our away jersey are being donated to charity
- Visiting local schools and offering coaching to kids
- An amputee team
- Walking football for over 50s
- Fundraisers for local Alzheimer’s charities throughout the season
- Prisoner reintegration schemes which included coaching from former Ireland internationals.
- u/zerokanada
Cork City
Founded: 1984
Ground: Turners Cross (7,485)
2018 finish: 2nd
How did last season go? Last season was a disappointment. As a Cork City fan we always have aspirations of winning the league, and of course defending the title, so even though we finished 2nd by a solid margin we were still 10 points behind Dundalk at the end of the season.
Sean Maguire leaving was obviously a massive blow for us in 2017 and although there were some stand out players last year, such as Kieran Sadlier (who's moved to Doncaster now), but he just wasn't on the same level as Seani.
How do you think you'll do this season? Where do you think you'll finish?
Finishing runners up to Dundalk again in the FAI cup final and in the league is obviously something we'll try to put right this year.
Dundalk were deserved winners in the end last year but it will be interesting to see how they do without their talisman manager. We have some young talent and I think this year the title race will be very close. My prediction is 1st place and cup winners.
Who will be your star player? Sean McLoughlin is a young player (22) and looks very solid at the back. I expect great things for him.
What makes your club unique? Cork City probably have the most impressive point of any team in the league when we drew 1-1 with Bayern Munich in 1991 at Musgrave Park courtesy of
a goal by Dave Barry. We unfortunately lost the return leg 2:0.
Derry City*
Founded: 1928
Ground: Brandywell Stadium (2,900)
2018 finish: 8th
Dundalk*
Founded: 1903
Ground: Oriel Park (3,100)
2018 finish: 1st
Finn Harps
Founded: 1954
Ground: Finn Park (400)
2018 finish: 2nd (First Division)
How did last season go? Last season ended up great! After a sluggish start, to close out the season we went unbeaten in our last 15/16 games bar losing to Dundalk in the cup, culminating in a playoff win over Limerick to promote us to the Premier Division once again.
How do you think you'll do this season? Where do you think you'll finish? Quietly confident this season. I think our squad in the second half last year would have been good enough to compete in the Premier Division. Going off current signings and state of squads, I think we've more talent than UCD, Sligo and maybe Derry so I'd be hopeful of a lower mid table finish, around 7th. Although to be honest I'd nearly take your hand off for 9th!
Who will be your star player? Hard to say. Easy answer would have been Paddy McCourt over the past couple of seasons. With him moved on, the role is up for grabs. I'd look at midfielder Jacob Borg, who was a revelation when he signed during the Summer and had many offers but chose to come back to Harps. Going forward the likes of Cretaro and McAleer have bags of talent and creativity, so a big season from either of them would also be a massive boost.
What makes your club unique? Probably the dedication and hard work going on behind the scenes. Club finances are always a talking point in the LOI, but not many operate in a shoestring anywhere near the level of Harps. We're also located in a town of only 5,000, easily the smallest population base of any LOI side.
Shamrock Rovers
Founded: 1899
Ground: Tallaght Stadium (6,000)
2018 finish: 3rd
How did last season go? Poor season overall, knocked out in the first round of both cups to first division opposition. Not good enough for a club of our size. Conceded way too many goals in the league in the first half of the season because of our goalkeeper situation, fixed that by playing Gavin Bazunu and signing Alan Mannus. Got better results and many more clean sheets towards the end. Overall, not good enough because we were still nowhere close to Dundalk.
How do you think you'll do this season? Where do you think you'll finish? Honestly think we’ll do a lot better, I’d say a good run in the league cup (even a win). Not going to say anything about the FAI because I don’t believe we’re ever going to win that again hahaha.
Top 3 in the league I’d say even pushing the 2nd spot, I reckon cork will fall down the league and Pats will get top 4 or even top 3. Dundalk to win it.
Who will be your star player? Trevor Clarke after a long year of injury last season will shine again.
What makes your club unique? Hated and obsessed over by everyone.
u/Caffo11 Sligo Rovers*
Founded: 1928
Ground: Showgrounds (4,000)
2018 finish: 7th
St Patrick’s Athletic
Founded: 1929
Ground: Richmond Park (2,800)
2018 finish: 5th
How did last season go? Thankfully a lot better than the season before. Although I thought we dropped points too often, and weren't clinical enough all season. Happy to have improved from the previous season, but still think we should've finished closer to the top 3.
How do you think you'll do this season? Where do you think you'll finish? I'm confident we'll do better than last season, the club has been ambitious with the movement to full time training, and has also made some decent signings. I think 3rd or 4th is a realistic, if slightly hopeful prediction.
Who will be your star player? If Chris Forrester has the form and ability he had when he left the club, I think it has to be him. Other than that, I think Darragh Markey could have a really fantastic season, and I know Ian Bermingham will be a key part of our squad for every game, as usual.
What makes your club unique? I think it has to be the people that have been at the club through the years the likes of Brian Kerr, Paul McGrath, and Paul Osam to name a few.
UCD
Founded: 1895
Ground: UCD Bowl (1,500)
2018 finish: 1st (First Division)
How did last season go? Last season was very successful. Although, we have been up and down the leagues, winning the league outright was a big achievement for us. Also the way in which we were playing was incredibly impressive. We have had the core of this group for 3-4 years and it's shown the great work we do from a development point of view.
How do you think you'll do this season? Where do you think you'll finish? I think we will be down there in the bottom three with Finn Harps etc. Losing Daire O' Connor and Georgie Kelly is huge. Yoyo Mahdy is a brilliant player but lacks goals. And one of the only things that will differentiate those clubs is goals. Similarly, COnor Davis came back from England and joined us and he is doing really well, but again lacks goals.
Who will be your star player? Our start player I reckon will either be Liam Scales or Gary O'Neill. Scales might struggle given the amount of defending we will be doing but I would imagine we will get a lot of possession in the middle third and this will suit O'Neill. Conor Kearns is also a fantastic keeper abnd given the amoutn of action he is likely to get this year could do really well.
What makes your club unique? We are the only club in the league who will have more away fans at our games than home fans :). But on a more positive note we are the only club who never struggles financially and has some stability.
Waterford
Founded: 1930
Ground: Waterford Regional Sports Centre (3,100)
2018 finish: 4th
How did last season go? Last season was fantastic. We were newly promoted after spending big in the first division and there was already talk of us performing well, but managing to qualify for Europe by finishing 4th after a battle for 3rd with Shamrock Rovers was unbelievable. Our season last year was very similar to Wolves this year in the Premier League.
How do you think you’ll do this season? Where do you think you’ll finish? I think we’re in for a tough battle for Europe this year. St. Pat’s have bought fantastically well with Forrester, Drennan and Miele etc. Rovers have strengthened too, and look ready for a title challenge. Overall I see us battling for Europe and maybe just missing out. I see the top 4 as Dundalk, Rovers, Cork and Pats, with us just missing out in 5th.
Who will be your star player? Bastian Héry. No question. Our player of the year last season and easily in the conversation for best player in the league for me. He just never seems to lose the ball and you can tell why he made his way through the PSG academy with the likes of Mamadou Sakho. We done well to get him signed up for another year half way through last season, but we need to enjoy him while we can. I reckon he’ll be snapped up by a bigger club at the end of the season.
What makes your club unique? We had a massive period of dominance in the late 60’s/early 70’s, winning 6 leagues in 8 years between 1965 and 1973. Players like Peter Thomas, Alfie Hale, Johnny Matthews and Paddy Coad are League of Ireland legends. We also played the newly crowned European Champions Manchester United under Matt Busby in 1968. Losing 3-1 in Lansdowne Road to a Denis Law hat-trick before losing 7-1 in Old Trafford. Oh, and Bobby Charlton played 3 games for us in 1976, 3 years after leaving Manchester United.
First Division
Bray Wanderers
Founded: 1942
Ground: Carlisle Grounds (3,185)
2018 finish: 10th (Premier Division)
How did last season go? Where do I begin. Our first win in any competition including friendlies came at the 16th time of asking. We were playing horrendous football. Then in early July the shambolic financial situation was revealed: injured players had to pay for their treatment, players weren't paid for months (and eventually they voted to go on strike), the list goes on. Many fans deserted the club (at one game we had an attendance of 271 in a stadium that can hold a few thousand). Most people doubted Bray Wanderers would even exist by the start of next season. Eventually we found a saviour in Niall O'Driscoll, who bought the club and has since been a fantastic chairman. Despite that, results failed to improve as most of our top players had left during the crisis. We were relegated with a goal difference of -72. And despite all this, we were delighted as we still had our club.
How do you think you'll do this season? Where do you think you'll finish? We've been signing some quality players, but it's shaping up to be a very competitive season. I think we'll finish 2nd. It's amazing that I'm able to make this prediction, considering that six months ago we were hurling towards dissolution.
Who will be your star player? Everyone was shocked when we signed Dylan McGlade from Longford, as he had a superb 2018 season - my money's on him. Honourable mentions include Joe Doyle (who scored twice in a recent 3-2 win over Shamrock Rovers in a friendly) and Hugh Douglas (a fan favourite, although he'll be sidelined due to injury for the first few months of the season).
What makes your club unique? The town of Bray is fantastic: There's a lot to do and see, and on warm SummeAutumn evenings the seaside is just gorgeous. Lots of away supporters I've spoken with spend the whole day in Bray rather then doing the usual catching a bus down just before and going home straight after. Basically what I'm saying is that you get to experience so much more by going to a Wanderers match than you do with any other club.
Limerick
Founded: 1937
Ground: Markets Field (1,710)
2018 finish: 9th (Premier Division)
How did last season go? 2018 was an awful year for Limerick, a season in which they finished in the relegation playoff spot and would go on to lose said playoff comprehensively to a Finn Harps side featuring Paddy McCourt in the final games of his career.
Warning signs were there from the very beginning as manager Neil McDonald left his post to take up the role of assistant manager at Swindon Town on the first day of pre-season. Tommy Barrett, who was Limerick's Under-19's manager at the time, was then drafted into the role despite his inexperience.
Outside of relegation, the darkest moments included Limerick's players going unpaid for a period (leading to many of the side’s best players being allowed to leave) and the High Court issuing a winding up order for the club which would eventually be struck out. On field, an 8-0 loss away to Dundalk was very grim while the brighter moments included two fantastic wins over provincial rivals Waterford, a well-earned point against rivals Cork City and managing to get 4 wins from 4 against bottom side Bray Wanderers.
How do you think you'll do this season? Where do you think you'll finish? Despite bookmakers tipping Limerick to be in the First Division's top four, there aren't many Limerick natives who could say the same.
Finance was an issue last year and has continued this year with the senior side being amateur, as well as having to rely on youth and local amateurs from the Limerick & District League (one of the strongest in Ireland) to replace the outgoing players. What experience that has been signed up comes in the form of former players, notably Robbie Williams (I shit you not that is his actual name), Jason Hughes and Sean Russell, while Shaun Kelly enters his 9th season with the club and is tipped to skipper the side. Limerick are fortunate to have two decent keepers in Tommy Holland and Jack Brady with the former being named on the Republic of Ireland Under-21 home based squad standby list.
Earning a 4th place playoff spot would be a huge achievement for the Super Blues, but it looks unlikely. It's looking like a lower half finish and I predict it to be 7th.
Who will be your star player? William Fitzgerald and Karl O'Sullivan are undoubtedly the stars for Limerick. The two kids were just recently selected for the Republic of Ireland Under-21 home based squad for some upcoming friendlies and are the only players from the First Division on the squad.
Interestingly, both play on left and right of midfield respectively and are more than capable of switching sides. Will earned the love and adoration of the fans last year in his first season with the Senior team through his speed, ability to beat several men with the ball at his feet, his terrier-like work rate and his signature long throws.
Karl O'Sullivan had to fight for a spot in the team and was aided by the aforementioned departures following wages not being paid. He possesses many of the same traits as Will only he is lethal when running at defenders, he’s just too fast.
What makes your club unique? Limerick is unique in the sense that with everything that has gone on through all the years, there has always been a Limerick side in the league (albeit sometimes under different aliases) since its inception in 1937, something that a lot of clubs can't say. In a relatively big city with a population close to 200K, senior football has struggled with Junior (amateur) football reigning supreme, meaning that fans are quite tight-knit. The club’s ultras, The Blue Army, are among the wildest in the league and travel through rain, sleet and snow to follow the team.
Shelbourne
Founded: 1895
Ground: Tolka Park (9,681)
2018 finish: 3rd
How did last season go? We had a very positive season. Had a lot of disappointing results where we could have won but our defence was fairly solid. We missed out a place in the playoffs after bottling against Drogheda in the second leg where we had an advantage after winning the first leg in Drogheda; we got two men sent off and we went out on penalties .
How do you think you'll do this season? Where do you think you'll finish? We got a few positive signings and a new manager so hopefully it will go well. People say we are favourites to get promoted so I’m feeling very good and I do think we will go up.
Who will be your star player? Hopefully Conan Byrne will do bits.
What makes your club unique? The fact that we drew 0-0 against the reigning European Champions Deportivo La Coruna in 2004 is probably our best ever result and is a very unique fact since we are a semi pro team from Drumcondra, Dublin.
*I was unfortunately unable to find fans to write about a few Premier Division clubs,
here's a good article that talks a bit about them if you're interested.
Many thanks to everybody who helped with this!
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