Limerick FC....All good challenges come in two's

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OhhhRickieLambert

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Limerick FC....The Road To European Glory



I could think of no better challenge than to get little Limerick into the upper echelons of European Football to start my FMBase thread career!


Starting in the Irish Premier League is a huge advantage compared to last season and gives me a real chance to make a mark on Europe a season early.




January 2013 - Winter Transfer Window


Wanting to play a 4-3-3-0 with shadow strikers I knew I was low in the DMC and AMC areas in particular but could have also done with strengthening a rather small first team squad.

Transfer History


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A lot of signings coming in but with league and cup games coming thick and fast it was important to have decent quality squad players. Big mentions to Behan, Flood, Elebert, Kelly, Maher and Stewart who look the goods at this level.


Starting XI and Squad

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Fairly solid squad now that should cope with the high amount of fixtures. Only worrying sign early on is our capabilities with these tactics set out. May take a while for these players to gel.

Up next March Fixtures​
 
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Limerick FC....All good challenges come in two's

So Sky Bet don't rate us in terms of a Premier League triumph this season putting us in 8th place in the odds.

Our final season ticket figure stands at 725, hopefully our performances on the park will put more bums on seats!

February/March Fixtures


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An indifferent start to pre season which can be put down to a bunch of players settling into a new club and new tactics.
A good start to the season with a 3-2 win over fierce rivals Cork City on their patch followed by a morale boosting hammering of Drogheda. We were brought back down to earth with poor results against contenders Bohemians and Sligo Rovers.
Goalscoring has been shared around at the moment purely because the players fitness hasnt allowed me to put out the same side two games in a row with 8 or 9 changes coming every game.

Up next April​
 
Interesting. To be honest mate i thought you might start in the Irish League but as someone different? Also to sign several of the same players when you were asking on my thread about it i assumed you just meant on your save not for your own story
 
I had a look at other clubs but I chose Limerick for two reasons. 1. Their facilities are better than most of the other teams ie 26,500 capacity stadium and above average youth recruitment and 2. because picking some of the other team eg Shamrock, Sligo, Bohemians etc there is a greater expectation to finish near the top and not as much of a challenge as Limerick.

Also mate I never asked on your thread about players, merely commented that I had signed a couple of the same players. I sent my scouts out with certain filters for certain positions and they came back with the players I ended up signing. Lets be honest there isnt a great deal of quality free agents in Ireland so no matter who I was the signings would have been pretty much the same.

I never looked specifically at who you signed at the start but merely skim read it. Wasnt interested in this until your third or fourth season and your Champs League exploits.
 
OhhhRickieLambert said:
I had a look at other clubs but I chose Limerick for two reasons. 1. Their facilities are better than most of the other teams ie 26,500 capacity stadium and above average youth recruitment and 2. because picking some of the other team eg Shamrock, Sligo, Bohemians etc there is a greater expectation to finish near the top and not as much of a challenge as Limerick.

Also mate I never asked on your thread about players, merely commented that I had signed a couple of the same players. I sent my scouts out with certain filters for certain positions and they came back with the players I ended up signing. Lets be honest there isnt a great deal of quality free agents in Ireland so no matter who I was the signings would have been pretty much the same.

I never looked specifically at who you signed at the start but merely skim read it. Wasnt interested in this until your third or fourth season and your Champs League exploits.
Click to expand...
Hey you do what you want to do i just think when theres two stories of the same small club it seems a little weird considering all the other clubs, I didnt actually realise Limerick were that good with their facilities as when i did the save last season they were in the 1st division. Good luck
 
Limerick FC

April Fixtures


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Wins in the league against Bray, U.C.D and Shelbourne barely make up for losing to early leaders St Pat's late on.
Munster Senior Cup action against Cobh and Rockmount didnt set the world on fire with extra time required in the 1st round and two late goals in the 2nd finishing off Rockmount. The only positive with the Rockmount game is I played an entire 'B' team and managed to get a result. Once again time will be required to gel this team.


League Standings/Player Stats


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A solid start in equal second but still feel we should be closer to the top than what we are. Need to keep in touch with St Pat's over the next month or so or else we will be in danger of losing out on the title and that all important Champs League spot.
As you can see Curran and Behan having a good start to the season and new signing Kelly laying on a few goals early. Everythings been shared so far because of the sweeping changes required due to fitness.


New Signing


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Bought this promising young lad in on a free after being let go by Sligo Rovers. Scored on his league debut and will add some competition for places in attacking areas.

Next: May Madness​
 
Limerick FC


May Madness

April Board Confidence


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Not sure why they're unhappy about Maher. Sure he hasnt played the best but to single him out would be to deny half a dozen other guys who have played just as bad if not worse. Has the potential to be a class player at this level if given time. Financial situation is looking gloomy so the prize money from european football is crucial.

Injuries


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A poor month for injuries with key men Williams and Behan out for a few weeks and Long and Kelly sidelined for months.

New Signing


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On a brighter note we were able to capture young Barry on a free. He will join us in July and with any lucky will develop into a very good player for us.

New Tactics


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Not happy with the way we started our season, I tweaked our tactics slightly halfway through the month to give us a bit more of a defensive edge. As we werent killing teams in attack I felt we had to be more responsible down back.

May Fixtures


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May madness (named so because of the 8 games in 28 days) started off with us reaching the semi's of the Munster Senior Cup after seeing off Waterford 2-1. McGarry continuing his goal scoring start with his 2nd in as many games. We were terrible in front of the TV cameras at Derry and should have been beaten by more. Our inconsistent form continued with a solid win against Dundalk and another poor performance at home to rivals Cork.
That game sparked the tactics change and we dominated Bohemians, a team on the same amount of points as us in 2nd without putting it on the scoreboard. Encouraging wins against lower sides in the cups were balanced with a frustrating loss away to Bray.

League Standings/Player Stats


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We lose further ground to St Pats but keep a three point buffer to the two sides directly below us after they both lost. I feel that our inconsistent performances mean we may be too far behind St Pats by the time we've gelled to mount a serious challenge.
Poor ratings this month have seen our players drop off the individual leader boards but Stewart and Galbraith finished off the month well so hopefully they can kick on.​
 
Limerick FC


Doom and Gloom in June

May Board Confidence


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Board right to be unhappy with Burns. Has been poor since he was signed is now dead weight in this squad. Glad I only signed him for the season.


New Signings


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Murray was signed to replace Burns in the squad and Toland is further cover at LB as Tracy and Williams spend more time in the physio's room than the pitch. Patton will add competition to the number one spot as Ryan currently is playing poor but I have no other options to drop him.


June Fixtures


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Only four games this month, all away from home but they were damaging none the less. Letting a two goal lead slip against Sligo was blood boiling and worse was the drubbing at the hands of Drogheda who I beat comfortably earlier in the season. Following that was a knockout in the League Cup Qtr Final against Bohemians and it seems my tactical change hasnt had the desired effect away from home so far.


League Standings/Player Stats


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Losing another two points to St Pats and Bohemians gaining three points and overtaking us hurt this month. Kelly, Flood and Stewart are our equal top scorers in the league with 3 a piece and Stewart has 8 in all competitions. All we can do is keep plugging away and hope to fly high in July.​
 
Limerick FC


July 2013

July Board Confidence


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A really poor month both on and off the pitch has seen my position at the club become at risk. The board has singled out Burns for his poor performances and attitude for the the reason my job is insecure. Need to turn this around quickly.


New Signings


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Veteran NI striker Andy Kirk comes in on loan for the remainder of the season to help bag some goals to save our season. Youngster Barry completes his signing at the start of the month.


July Fixtures


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A poor month going down to U.C.D, Derry City, Dundalk and drawing at home against Rovers in the league. Gutted to lose the Munster Senior Cup in ET after fighting back from 2-1 down to take a 3-2 lead with 30 mins to go after a quickfire McGarry double.


Sub-Limerick!


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After the Derry loss I tweaked the instructions a bit (with some outside help) and came up with an astounding 7-0 away win against Shelbourne, in the process breaking the club and league records for biggest ever win and most goals in a match to Flood. Even though it was against the bottom side, our morale within the squad had become low and we had no confidence going into the match so to put them away like we did after having such a poor run away from home especially was brilliant.
The Dundalk game that followed was a bit of a farce as Flood turned from hero to villain after getting a second booking for arguing with the referee after a clear cut penalty was denied. Then Dundalk scored a 90th min winner and Leahy proceeded to argue with the referee for offside and got a second booking as well.


League Standings/Player Stats


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We spiral down 4 places this month showing not only how poor we have been but how close the middle 6 or 7 teams are. Strangely we are still 16 points off St Pat's so they also had a poor month. If we had of been able to kick on we might be up there fighting for top spot instead of trying to catch the pack.​
 
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Limerick FC


August 2013

August Board Confidence


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A turnaround in fortunes has seen my job security change to secure. It was only a month ago i was called in to the chairmans office to discuss my future. What a difference small changes can make to your season.


August Fixtures


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Encouraging victories in the league away from home especially has seen us turn an average season into the possibility of something great again. Progression in the Senior Challenge Cup and emphatic wins against top sides Bohemians and St Pat's has given us confidence of pushing on for the last six games. The only blotch was the two home games at the end to Bray and Sligo where we were impotent both in attack and defence. Where as before my home form was excellent and away form poor, this month has turned all that around. If we can have one consistent month I will be very happy!


League Standings/Player Stats


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After being as high as second in the league those two losses to finish the month have bought us back down to our current spot of fifth. There are quite a few teams capable of pushing for those top few spots so it'll be down to who can be more consistent over the last two months of the season.
Anto Flood has shot to the top of the average rating leaderboard after notching an impressive four goals this month to go along with the four he got last month against Shelbourne.


Player/Manager of the Month Accolades


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Galbraith's hat trick against Bohemians and his fine form has been rewarded with player of the month for August. He is one player who is really starting to buy into the tactics set out this season and his new positional change.

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It's always nice to be recognised for good form, especially after our situation a month ago. This will mean nothing if we cant kick on next month and challenge for those European places!​
 
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Limerick FC


September 2013

September Board Confidence


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Much the same this month again after a strong showing has consolidated the faith the board has in me


2013 Youth Intake


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No particularly special players which is disappointing. McGinn was the only one I kept hold of but big competition for places in his preferred AMC position will make it hard for him to get early game time to develop.


September Fixtures


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Good solid month for us, probably the happiest ive been since ive taken over. The Senior Challenge Cup quarter final going to a replay wasnt ideal and I felt a bit aggrieved to draw with Shamrock who have had a poor season but a couple of months ago we would have lost that one.


League Standings/Player Stats


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Sitting in a pretty safe 5th at the moment; shouldnt get caught by Sligo from here. Still have a chance of making the top four and European football next season. If not I have the Challenge Cup semi coming up in the next few days against Cork (Again!) with a final against Derry to follow.


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Limerick FC


No Board Confidence for the month of October for some reason. Job security is still stable and they're only unhappy about the Challenge Cup result to Cork City.


October Fixtures


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Getting beaten by Cork again in another Cup competition hurts deep, considering we dominated them in the league on their patch only a few weeks ago. Seems we dont have enough big game players at the club yet but I expect that to change along with the maturity of those that stay on. In the league wins over Derry and Shelbourne put us one point behind second place Dundalk and even points with Bohemians with a far superior goal difference. It came down to the last game against Dundalk for second place, another Cup Final if you will. We were once again outplayed when it really counted and with results going against us finished the season in fourth place.


Shelbourne: 7th Heaven Again!


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So two games in a row against Shelbourne we put 7 past them, this time conceding 2 fairly late on. That secured us the record of highest scoring game in the league and club to go along with the records for biggest win and most individual goals in a match.
The remarkable feat in this game was the fact that we had Tracy sent off after 16 mins when we were 2-0 up! Next minute we went up the other end and scored to make it three then scored another three before they got one back. Impressive even though they finished bottom comfortably. No other team managed to put that many past them all season, we did it twice!


League Standings/Player Stats
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As I mentioned previously a 4th place finish for the season is a decent result but I feel if it wasnt for those horror months in the middle of the season we might have had a chance at winning it. Flood finishes second in the Highest Average Rating for the season. Slow start for him but he really came into his own once settled.


Next up will be the End of Season Summary, Stats and Awards.
​
 
Limerick FC


End of Season Summary


End of Season Confidence Review


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Squad In Order of Appearances


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Ryan obviously played in goal all season with no competition whatsover. You can see after the first 10 or so names there is a lot of guys to play similar amounts of games. This was due to early season congestion coupled with a lack of fitness, a mkistake that wont be made again next year. Disappointed in players such as Curran, Behan, Burns and Elebert as I thought they had the quality to succeed at this level. Will be on the periphery of next seasons squad and will need to prove a point to have any chance of being around the club in the foreseeable future.


Fan's Player of the Season


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Best XI


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Final Positions to Media Predictions


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With us and Bohemians exceeding expectations this season it's hard to be upset with how it all played out for us. Unhappy with our cup runs but at the end of the day I'm focused more on the Premier League than being a cup winning team. Some may argue that its an easy way to achieve European football but I would rather be there on league performances. Thats not to say we wont be trying to win every game!


Irish Premier League Team Stats


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So we finished the season with the second best form, best away form and most goals scored thanks to our two bags of seven against Shelbourne. Big problem is our no show on the least conceded page, will need to change that next season.


Irish Premier League Player Stats


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So a few players make the leaderboards here. Ryan for most appearances, Flood 2nd for highest average rating, Feeney 5th for assists and 2nd for PoM awards. Finally Stewart and Galbraith 1st and 3rd respectively for Shots on Target Ratio.


Goal of the Season


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Maher finishes 3rd with a deftly executed finish. He only scored 3 goals all season but all of them were class. He showed glimpses of his ability, hopefully he can kick on next season along with a few others.


Goalkeeper of the Year


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Ryan finishes 3rd in the Keeper of the Year award. Deserves it as he had way too much to do for a team that finished 4th.


Irish U21 Player of the Year


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Feeney gets a very commendable 3rd in this award. If only I had of trusted in his abilities earlier in the season things might have turned out differently. Wont happen again next season!


Irish Premier League Season Review


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Biggest overachievers! Good to see we have been acknowledged for our season.
​
 
Limerick FC


December Board Confidence


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January 2014 Pre Season


January Board Confidence


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2014 Fixture List


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A tough start to the campaign with our first six games against Bohemians, Dundalk, Sligo, St Pat's, Shamrock and Derry. Will know fairly early on where we stand in terms of challenging for the League.


All Ireland Cup Draw


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New Signings


Shaun Patton GK


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Fergal Forker


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Danny Fitzpatrick AMC


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Shane Dempsey DMC


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Gavin Kavanagh DRC


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A good mixture of youth and experience there, hopefully they will make the squad stronger as there was next to no increase in the wage budget.​
 
Limerick FC


February 2014


Sky Bet Title Odds


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So Sky Bet have us finishing mid table at best. 6th favourite shows an expectation increase of two places from last season even though we finished 4th. I would be very unhappy if we didnt better last years position. St Pat's are installed as favourites after they took the title last year. I dont think they'll win it though because their second half of last season was very poor and it was only the incredible start they had that won them the title.


Season Ticket Sales


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Stays the same as last year with 750. We averaged a touch over 1200 fans per game last season so I'm hoping to increase that figure this year with some good football and encourage people to come along which will hopefully lead to increased season ticket sales next season.


February Board Confidence


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Player Injury


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Unfortunately will miss a fair chunk of football after his impressive run of form since coming into the side late last season.


Pre Season and February Fixtures


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Good pre season form didnt morph into All Ireland Cup form. Not terribly bothered though, still had training on very high fitness and match prep at tactics only so the lack of cohension and finishing wasnt a big worry. Was gearing more towards the opening day of the league season and it paid dividends! A hard fought 3-2 win over Bohemians after going 1-0 then being pegged back to 2-2 I was delighted with RB Shaun Kelly's contribution off the bench with the all important late equalizer. With a tough month coming up it's important to come to places like this and get points.


League Standings/Player Stats


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Not much to report here as only one round played this month. Surprise result though with newly promoted Athlone Town beating Derry City 2-0

So an important early month coming up with games against Dundalk [H], Sligo Rovers [A], St Pat's [H] and Shamrock Rovers [H]​
 
Not sure if I'm going to continue this challenge. Not getting any love out there and it seems ive rubbed a few people the wrong way judging by the hateful private messages ive been receiving. Not sure what it is ive done wrong exactly, thought this was supposed to be a bit of fun?
 
Ah, mate. Keep it going. It is nice to see a different approach to such a save. Champions League w/ an Irish team is no joke in this game
 
Don't stop mate, just because there is another limerick story, doesnt mean yours should stop. Some people need to get a life and leave you to do what you want. As long as you are not hurting anyone else, they should mind their own business.
 
OhhhRickieLambert said:
Not sure if I'm going to continue this challenge. Not getting any love out there and it seems ive rubbed a few people the wrong way judging by the hateful private messages ive been receiving. Not sure what it is ive done wrong exactly, thought this was supposed to be a bit of fun?
Click to expand...

Have you really had hate messages! ****** **** who from?
 
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