Road to Glory : The Manager

[CantGetEnoughOfJelavic]

After the loss at Dundalk our only chance at silverware comes in our second final out of a possible 3 this season in the League Cup - the one I didn't care for. If I would be leaving this year I guess it would be good to take a League Cup with me.

Dundalk's synthetic pitch awaited us.. days after our 5-5 classic. We would see Hanrahan moved out wide as Ikpeazu and Agus both start for the first time in a long while.

Kavanagh would slip to the bench after a shocker against Dundalk, while the defense remains the same, Cregg and Fahey remain in the 2 centrail midfielder positions after several strong performances together. McCabe finds himself warming the bench despite recent form as I try to find Hanrahan again and my 2 loanee strikers play up top with fiery Kaikai picking up the left sided position. Fagan, of St Pats, has been on fire recently and has not failed to score against us this season.


St Pats turned into Barcelona for a minute and a long strike found Flatt making 1.. 2 saves before a third strike was too much. 1-0. We responded with our own couple of passes and the ball came wide and a great overlap from Cornwall found a ball being played across the back of St Pats' four and Agus was on the end of it. 1-1.

Cornwall again links down the right and a great ball to the back post finds Agus! 2-1 with 20 to go.

The match fizzled out and Flatt made a couple of easy saves. League Cup Champions.

 

[Yeti01]

Congrats mate on the silverware!!

 

[PatrickLFC]

Well deserved silverware at last!

 

[CantGetEnoughOfJelavic]

Well deserved silverware at last!

Yeah, good to finally win something I guess. Had a chance in all competitions but Dundalk knocked me out the other 2 and are seemingly going to beat me to the league title!

 

[CantGetEnoughOfJelavic]

With the possible excitement of a title race now over with only a few games to go, it became clear that these couple of results meant we had to cling on to our spot in the top 3 - and ultimately a spot in European competition. We would face off in a massive Europa League fight with St. Pats Athletic who were hot on our tail.

We had no real issues, the players played well. Hanrahan found himself scoring again as both him and Agus chase the Young Player of the Year award, as well as the top goalscorer award.

Professional display, goal before half time came after a short flurry of pressure and St. Pats had an awful five minutes in the second half where Agus scored a very nice goal, ***** got sent off and the subsequent free kick found Madden at the back post.

Young keeper Jonathon Flatt found himself making some big saves throughout the game, another clean sheet well-deserved as he made a couple of double saves while looking competent with crosses. He was backed up with a strong defensive display from the likes of POM and captain - Simon Madden.

News also came through post-match that Dundalk lost their game, it would open the title race up ONCE AGAIN, despite me feeling we were down and out. It would be 3 points between us and first, Sligo Rovers were also above us though.

Dundalk's run-in is relatively easy, however the two away ties against the in-form Shelbourne and relegation fighting Bohemians could be tough.

Sligo Rovers will find themselves will play an extra game due to the cup commitments. They also play Shelbourne on the final day while meeting a strong Galway United squad and ourselves..

We would play Sligo Rovers, Galway United and Cobh Ramblers. Tough. ​

 

[Disclaimer89]

Well done on winning the silverware! Keep it up

 

[CantGetEnoughOfJelavic]

TITLE RACE

The race for the League of Ireland Championship was out of our hands and we were lucky to be back in with a shout as things begin to look dodgy for Dundalk as ourselves and Sligo Rovers pursue. The month started with ourselves getting a boost.

Our strong month of two 3-0's, a 4-0 and then a crazy 5-5 with leaders Dundalk saw myself picking up the September Award. The League Cup victory came in the same month, lets just keep this up to keep pressure on the top 2.

Cobh Ramblers would be no pushovers, they were after safety and would be desperate to pick up points against ourselves. We'd have a nice break prior to the game, allowing players to fully rest and be fully fit for the big game.

We continued our lethal form in front of goal as Agus continued his nice form.

It was 4-1 at half time and we didn't push anything too hard to keep players fresh and injury free while Ramblers just couldn't get anything going, they forced Flatt into a few saves but nothing too hardworking.

Solid performance from Kaikai, setting up a goal from out wide while getting his own goal as he cut inside to get on the end of a Cregg ball to score in a filling box.

Sligo Rovers also played in a tough tie against Galway United away from home.

________________________________________________________________________

An international break would potentially hurt our momentum so we would set up a tie against Shamrock Rovers B, to give the lads who aren't away (all but Kaikai and Kavanagh, who is pretty much the Irish Bale) a run out while keeping their fitness and match sharpness up.

Dundalk also played on the Friday after our 4-1 and drew 3-3 in a thriller with Shelbourne.

TWO GAMES TO GO - 2 POINTS SLIPPING THE TOP 3.

All European places have been confirmed but who gets the glamorous Champions League and a League of Ireland winners medal?

________________________________________________________________________

Sligo Rovers would be next for us in the league away, the pressure is on and the nerves!! We had a 4-4 in our game at Sligo earlier and at home they smacked us 8-2 with 6 goals dropping in the last 20 minutes.

Loser loses the title, while the winner doesn't even win it as Dundalk are still in the advantageous position of having a points advantage and an easier run-in on paper.

Centre back Dennehy would be out injured after cementing his place in the team with several strong performances, the man he replaced - Memery - would return to the side to partner Madden. Apart from that, no changes. Ikpeazu remains on the bench despite poor performances again from Hanrahan.

Dundalk play Cork City at home. Surely a victory?

MISS - After a scrappy few passes through the midfield, Hanrahan had a chance but hit it straight to the keeper.

SAVE - Sligo put on some pressure and a shot from the edge of the box is saved onto the post before being cleared by Memery.

GOAL!!!!
42 Minutes.
A nice few passes between the likes of Hanrahan, Cregg and full back Cornwall after a corner allowed for a swinging ball to enter box from Cornwall and Kaikai could be spotted at the back post!

SAVE - An instant response? NO! Mehmet links with partner Rory Patterson off the restart but a huge one-on-one save from Flatt keeps our lead as we edge closer to half time.

HALF TIME
45 Minutes.
The half way point arrives as we lead Sligo Rovers 1-0 in Sligo after a superb cross from Cornwall and a well-placed Kaikai. Kavanagh was struggling from a knock while on International duty and he would be replaced at half time by Luke Byrne. No other changes as we keep our 4-2-3-1, a change from 4-4-2 that was decided 20 minutes into the tie.

SECOND HALF

MISS - Hanrahan AGAIN, with a huge opportunity but he can't beat the keeper from within the 6 yard box.

SAVE - After Byrne is dispossessed we manage to win the ball back and a long ball finds Agus through before getting cut off - he still got the shot away but one save quickly lead to a second! Huge double save from The Reds' Logan.

MISS - The Memery / Madden partnership is clearly rusty as holes open in the defence, Keatings finds himself through but can only hit the post. Total let off.

GOAL 1-1
60 Minutes
The corner swings in to the front post where Nolan is, his header comes off the bar and ends in the back of the net.

GOAL!!!
61 Minutes
A massive save from Flatt leads to a Sligo corner, the resultant corner forced another Flatt save who quickly played the ball high and long. Agus was through again and had no issues finishing this time off the underside of the bar.

GOAL!!! 3-1
66 Minutes.
AGUS AGAIN! The throw in wide found Kaikai and Byrne link up before a dangerous ball found the head of Agus who beat Logan.

GOAL 3-2
82 Minutes.
Poor defensive communication found Mehmet through and he was happy to finish.

GOAL 3-3
84 Minutes.
Again Keating is through despite calls of offside and scores.

Heartbreak as we throw away the win and what would have been first place as Dundalk drew 1-1.

1 TO GO - 1 POINT SEPARATES


​

 

[AndySams10]

Just read through the he whole of this mate, superb read. Will be following and hope to see in next update you've won the league. Good luck.

 

[CantGetEnoughOfJelavic]

Just read through the he whole of this mate, superb read. Will be following and hope to see in next update you've won the league. Good luck.

Means a lot, cheers! Updating soon. Fingers crossed!

 

[CantGetEnoughOfJelavic]

"Hallo?! Boss man? The league, have you won it yet?" It was Monday, once again bellowing down the phone. I hadn't heard from him since he got angry at me offering him a shot at the B's Manager Job in the Irish First Division.

"Hey, Mr Magadla! No, we are yet to win the league. Game isn't for a week yet!"

"Hmm, I see. I do. Santos are struggling but progress, no?"

"Yeah, sounds good. Any reason for the call?" I asked back.

"Pressure on current boss, you come back? Chairman would want you for sure."

"A move back to Santos, it doesn't excite me too much buddy. Sorry, why don't you go for the post? You had similar ideas to me?" And then he hung up? He has a weird thing about managing clubs. Anyway, we had to focus on our tie against Galway United. It wouldn't be easy and we relied on us bettering the result of Dundalk who had been poor as of late.

We play a strong Galway United team who have nothing to pay for as their position is certain.

Bohemians would play host to Dundalk, Bohemians will be desperate to pick up something to save them from a relegation play off.

Sligo Rovers find themselves in a similar position to us as they play Shelbourne, in-form but nothing to really play for. Sligo Rovers do require to better the results of ourselves and Dundalk.

Agus, Keating and Hanrahan will all also be competing for the top goalscorer aware as well as the title, Chris Fagan is in there too despite a slow start to the season.



__________________________________________________________________

Darren Dennehy remains injured, Hanrahan is dropped as Ikpeazu comes in.

Bad start.

GOAL - GALWAY UNITED! - 2 MINUTES
Again, the defensive partnership lets me down. Dennehly is a real miss.

GOAL - SHAMROCK ROVERS! - 40 MINUTES
A few passes in between Agus and Ikpeazu ends in an Ikpeazu finish.

HALF TIME

Half time arrives as we are drawing 1-1 with Galway United, been the weaker side but nothing has really happened.

Dundalk are still 0-0 with Bohemians while Shelbourne now lead Sligo Rovers 2-0.

AS IT STANDS

GOAL - SHAMROCK ROVERS! - 58 MINUTES
Agus received the ball wide and his ball across the front post met the head of Ikpeazu!!

AS IT STANDS

PENALTY - SHAMROCK ROVERS - 72 MINUTES
Foul by Jack Byrne on pacey winger Kaikai

GOAL - SHAMROCK ROVERS - 73 MINUTES
Kaikai converts the penalty. Giving us a 2 goal cushion as Bohemians continues to hold Dundalk.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL - BOHEMIANS - 84 MINUTES
BUCKLEY PENOOOOOOOO!

TEN MINUTES TO GO AS THE NEWS FILTERS THROUGH TO THE TALLAGHT STADIUM, SCENES MATE!

GOAL - SHAMROCK ROVERS - 90 MINUTES
DRENNAN COMES ON TO SCORE IN WHAT MAY BE HIS LAST IN A SHAMROCK ROVERS SHIRT AS WE SET UP FOR THE TITLE!

For us to win the title
Dundalk lose / draw [CHECK MATE]
Hoops to draw / win [SUPER CHECK]

 

[AndySams10]

Excellent mate, well done.

 

[Yeti01]

Wow! Congratulations on the win! What a fantastic comeback in the league!!

 

[CantGetEnoughOfJelavic]

REVIEW & PLANS

Honestly cannot believe we managed to pick up the league title, so many times I felt like we had dropped out of contention then a few wins here and there put us back into the race late on.

Dundalk completely threw it..

Look at their form compared to ours since the 5-5 too..

-

Crazy! Prior to the final day the club offered me a meeting to talk about my contract however I declined. Hoping to wait to see what would happen - and I had it in my head I would stay if we won the title but really I want to reach the top and I've done everything I really can in Ireland? Got Shamrock Rovers their league title back in doing the double - the Champions League qualifiers would be fun but would just be humped early on. Who knows?

Very neat wage budget that could easily be used to defend the League of Ireland Title, I have a wee while to consider my options but I don't want to wait like 4 months for the league to start again when the majority of other leagues are about to really kick on..

However, thinking back on this year I may as well review it in a sense.

The biggest thought and competition was the League. Shamrock Rovers had been struggling for some time in getting going and after a poor 5th last season I was brought in to help put things back in place. The league was priority as the Champions League brought the club some decent money - something the club are desperate of.

Of course, we went on to win the league despite several times I had it in my mind we wouldn't win the league but things went in our favour and we hit great form when it mattered.

It was close but certain performances from players made things very possible.

League top goalscorer and probably best player, loanee Glen Agus hit some great numbers for us which helped propel us to glory.

Irish-born, contracted, Ben Hanrahan had an awful end to the season but prior to that he kept us going with some big goals and performances.

Kaikai, the Palace winger, who be brought in on loan went big when it mattered and played a big part in our season.

Keith Fahey, Simon Madden, Greg Kavanagh and keeper Flatt also get mentions.

The Senior Challenge Cup is the biggest of the cups in Ireland and we didn't really do great.

We won the League Cup though, while finishing second to Dundalk in the All-Ireland Cup.

​

 

[CantGetEnoughOfJelavic]

Excellent mate, well done.

Cheers, couldn't believe it. Thought we were gonna throw it when Galway took the lead and then even when we were sailing I was so worried Dundalk scored because a goal for them won them the league then Bohemians did it for me!

Wow! Congratulations on the win! What a fantastic comeback in the league!!

I know, thought we were down and out so many times!!

 

[CantGetEnoughOfJelavic]

​

 

[Lippo255]

A good year in all mate, interesting to see where you end up. Assuming you don't go round again with Shamrock of course.

 

[CantGetEnoughOfJelavic]

AWARDS NIGHT
HOSTED AT THE TALLAGHT STADIUM

The Irish brought the awards to our home as Champions to announce who won what, the first, and probably biggest award was the League of Ireland's Player of the Year.

".. Shamrock Rovers' Glenn Agus"

A massive 18 goals in 28 games in the league, with 10 assists. Overall he hit 32 goals in 35 starts. Massive performances and if Tottenham themselves don't include him in some football I assume a Championship side would be interested in his services.

"And of course, Glenn Agus also picks up the Golden Boot award, ahead of Ruari Keating and Chris Fagan due to playing time and his 18 goals!"

Another award to add to Agus' name!

Another very prestigious award was the Young Player of the Season for the League of Ireland and it was a surprise that shocked a few of us. While I expected the award to come to Shamrock Rovers I didn't expect...

"And this time, The Hoops' Sullay Kaikai! Congratulations.."

Now, he had been good but the award was supposed to be either Agus, again or Hanrahan according to the media. Well-deserved though. 13 goals from wide in 29 games and 7 assists.

Now the next one was for the Keeper and this was outrageous!

"Sligo Rovers' Conrad Logan!"

Now, he had less clean sheets, less games and less POM awards than 3rd-placed Flatt! Awful decision.

Simon Madden, our captain, went on to pick up the Irish Personality of the Year award while I picked up the Manager of the Year award.

​

 

[CantGetEnoughOfJelavic]

After the awards were handed out and drinks were being hard, Roche, the clubs chairman approached me. I knew it would be the same "well done.. stay" rubbish and it was kind of.

"Congratulations on the awards tonight, James." He said as he tapped my shoulder. "Really well done." He added.

"Yeah, thanks." I responded and tried to change direction and pick up conversation with someone else.

"Crewe." He said, and I turned back to him.

"What about them?" I responded.

"They were impressed with you, all the contract details are up stairs. We are literally getting peanuts for you because of your contract coming to a close. Well done and good luck. Either leave now and sort it or see you at 7AM tomorrow." He turned away. And I decided to gather what players made it, which was everyone bar a few unhappy ones and I would say my good byes.

"Boys, I want to say thank you for everything this year. It's been a good one, I've learned a lot about myself and have made a lot of friends here. As you know my contract is up in a matter of weeks and I've been linked with Crewe. That link is a reality now and I have an opportunity to go.."

"But boss.." I was cut short.

"We could do something here?" Hanrahan pleaded.

"We could, but so could you. You are all good players. You're in a great position to win the league again and you all have a few Champions League ties to look forward to. As well as a long break over Christmas. Thanks guys. You have my number if you have anything to say."​

 

[CantGetEnoughOfJelavic]

"Crewe Alexandra would like to today announce that Scottish manager James McKenzie will takeover as Manager. We have had a little while without Gareth Ainsworth as he left for an opportunity with Bradford. James McKenzie has all the boards confidence and both he and the club look forward to what he may be able to achieve with us."

Crewe, Crewe, Crewe.

​

 

[Yeti01]

Might be in the Championship next year mate! Good luck!