Limerick FC 2017 season.

osarusan

Right, starting this out of boredom.

After cruising to victory in the First Division last season, Limerick are back in the Premier division.

Squad
At the moment, this is the squad for the coming season:

GK:
Freddy Hall
Brendan Clarke

Def:
Robbie Williams
David O'Connor
Shane Tracey
Shaun Kelly
Tony Whitehead

Mid:
Shane Duggan
Paul O'Connor
Lee Jay Lynch
Ian Turner
Stephen Kenny
Bastien Hery
Chiedozie Ogbene


FW:
Chris Mullhall
Garbhan Coughlan
Dean Clarke
John O'Flynn
Rodrigo Tosi

Fixtures
We have already beaten Cobh Ramblers 2-0 away in a pre-season friendly, and we have another friendly away to Galway on Feb 13th.

We start our league campaign at home to Sligo Rovers on Saturday Feb 25th, and are away to Derry the following Sunday. You can find a complete list of fixtures here on the club website: http://www.limerickfc.ie/fixtures-and-results/fixtures-results-2017

Tickets
You can get information on tickets (matchday tickets or season tickets) here: http://www.limerickfc.ie/club-shop/match-prices

Tickets can be bought outside the ground on matchday.

Support
You can follow the club and developments through their website, and also through the facebook page, and on twitter.

As a supporter, you can also get involved with the Official Supporters' Club, the Blue Army, or the Limerick Independent Football Trust (LIFT)

For away games, both the Official supporters' club and the Blue Army try to organise buses as much as possible, and being a member of those groups increases your chances of getting a seat.

Sponsorship
For those of you who have money to burn, the club would love if you sent it their way, and there are a range of ways to sponsor the club, which you can find here: http://www.limerickfc.ie/commercial/sponsorship

osarusan

Lads if there's anything that should be in that opening post, tell me and I'll add it in.

Paddico

Good job Osa, looking forward to the season ahead

johnnyryan89

The away game against Derry has been moved from the Sunday afternoon to Friday night as far as I know.

Friendly away to Galway on Feb 13th.

Jofspring

Opening game seems to be moved to the Sunday and word that the Cork City home game will also be moved.

johnnyryan89

Jofspring wrote: »

Opening game seems to be moved to the Sunday and word that the Cork City home game will also be moved.

Makes sense when you've also got the Munster match against Toulouse on the Saturday evening.

Charlie George

I think Ross Mann has re-signed.

osarusan

4-0 win away to Ballinamallard tonight.

Ogbene in the first half, then O'Connor, Kenny, and Clarke in the second half.

I wasn't there but sounds like a very comfortable win.

johnnyryan89

Ballinamallard are 10th in the NI Premiership which is midway through the season so be good to know what kind of team they put out against Limerick.

Copper_pipe

https://twitter.com/LimerickFCie/status/827597113567674368

Copper_pipe

https://twitter.com/LimerickFCie/status/827596415270518784

Killergreene

Lads what do you get with the corporate tickets ?
Is there grub or alcohol in the corporate suite? Is there seats in there to view the match ?

johnnyryan89

Killergreene wrote: »

Lads what do you get with the corporate tickets ?
Is there grub or alcohol in the corporate suite? Is there seats in there to view the match ?

Sandwiches and tea/coffee, no alcohol as you need a licence for that and yes there's seats.

I'd save your money and just buy a stand ticket and a bag of chips after the match.

osarusan

Looks like the first game of the season at home to Sligo has moved from Saturday 25th Feb to Friday 24th at 7.45pm.

Some other games that are moving are the Cork home game (from Sat April 1st to Fri March 31st at 7.45) and the Finn Harps home game (from 6.30pm to 2pm on Sat March 18th).

A_Sober_Paddy

osarusan wrote: »

Looks like the first game of the season at home to Sligo has moved from Saturday 25th Feb to Friday 24th at 7.45pm.

Some other games that are moving are the Cork home game (from Sat April 1st to Fri March 31st at 7.45) and the Finn Harps home game (from 6.30pm to 2pm on Sat March 18th).

Why the heck do they do this, I'm gonna miss the cork and harps game due to work

Jofspring

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

Why the heck do they do this, I'm gonna miss the cork and harps game due to work

Moving due to Rugby.

Cork clashes with Munster vs Toulouse in the Heineken Cup Quarter Final. Harps game would have clashed with Ireland vs England in the final game of the six nations and Limerick vs Sligo was clashing with Ireland vs France.

A_Sober_Paddy

Jofspring wrote: »

Moving due to Rugby.

Cork clashes with Munster vs Toulouse in the Heineken Cup Quarter Final. Harps game would have clashed with Ireland vs England in the final game of the six nations and Limerick vs Sligo was clashing with Ireland vs France.

Ridiculous, its only rugby, is the crowd going to be that much smaller if they clashed really?

johnnyryan89

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

Ridiculous, its only rugby, is the crowd going to be that much smaller if they clashed really?

Unfortunately yes, Harps game should have been moved to a Sunday though as 2pm Saturday afternoon is a terrible time for a match.

Cookiemunster

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

Ridiculous, its only rugby, is the crowd going to be that much smaller if they clashed really?

Obviously seeing as they they've move the matches Limerick think that the answer is yes.
There'll be 27000 people at the Munster v Toulouse match which is also being televised. Most of those attanding will be from Limerick and Cork and plenty others from both cities will watch a European quarter final over a league game.

Jofspring

With the 2pm kick off some people (me) will make a day of it. Limerick match at 2 then to the pub for Ireland vs England.

johnnyryan89

Jofspring wrote: »

With the 2pm kick off some people (me) will make a day of it. Limerick match at 2 then to the pub for Ireland vs England.

With the 2pm kick off alot of people will already be busy with schoolboy games that take place on Saturday mornings and afternoons. Wouldn't put it past the ldsl either to make sure majority of games clash with the Limerick game.

Finished 1-1 tonight in United Park with Ogbene getting on the scoresheet again. Tosi is meant to have a good game going by updates from some at the game.

osarusan

Drogheda 1-1 Limerick

(Ogbene)

Friendly away to Drogheda tonight. We took the lead when Tosi did well to set up Ogbene, they equalised just a couple of minutes later.

Jofspring

It's Paddy's Weekend so chances are thee will be no schoolboy games.

Edit: Tosi seems to be setting up a lot of our goals.

johnnyryan89

One nil at half time, Ogbene with a cool as you like finish and set up by that man again Rodrigo Tosi.

johnnyryan89

Finishes 2-1 to Galway, Limerick could do with them extra couple of defenders before the season starts otherwise they'll need to score three every game.

civis_liberalis

Alonso77

Pre season or not the defending for those goals was diabolical.

Need to get some quality defenders in if possible

Killergreene

Any news on paudie

Jofspring

Killergreene wrote: »

Any news on paudie

Not a peep. Not training with the team and turned down an offer a few months ago.

Friendly tomorrow night in the Markets Field. Last chance to see thevteam before the season kicks off. A few more trialists expected to play also.

johnnyryan89

Going by tonights Q&A there is supposedly two left fulls in training with the squad and another centre back.

Jofspring

johnnyryan89 wrote: »

Going by tonights Q&A there is supposedly two left fulls in training with the squad and another centre back.

I hope they are decent because by what Mike Aherne said they are trialists the club want to have a look at. We were given the impression they were quality signings that the club were bringing in at the start of the week.

johnnyryan89

Jofspring wrote: »

I hope they are decent because by what Mike Aherne said they are trialists the club want to have a look at. We were given the impression they were quality signings that the club were bringing in at the start of the week.

Think at this stage any left full will do. Going into the season with your number one right full playing left full is a recipe for disaster especially with Derry and Dundalk away in the first three matches.

Was nothing mentioned about how long Shane Tracy could be out for but club are hopeful that Dave O'Conner could be back shortly if they can get a cast on his hand which allows him to play.

Jofspring

From Dave O'Connors interview I reckon he could be back soon alright. It's more of a break in his finger rather than hand so I'd imagine a smaller cast/splint could be accomadted after a few weeks.

johnnyryan89

Jofspring wrote: »

From Dave O'Connors interview I reckon he could be back soon alright. It's more of a break in his finger rather than hand so I'd imagine a smaller cast/splint could be accomadted after a few weeks.

Problem with his knuckle Russell said last night at the Q&A. Hopefully he's back in time, wouldn't fancy Robbie and Tony starting together against the top four or five teams.

Killergreene

Trialists look very dodgey. Completely off the pace. They wouldn't get on a poor local junior side. Not sure where they were pulled from

Russel trying to pull rabbits out of a hat.

Shame if paudi doesn't resign. Club gave him a chance he wouldn't have got at another side. We need him now it's time to give something back to the club.

johnnyryan89

Killergreene wrote: »

Trialists look very dodgey. Completely off the pace. They wouldn't get on a poor local junior side. Not sure where they were pulled from

Russel trying to pull rabbits out of a hat.

Shame if paudi doesn't resign. Club gave him a chance he wouldn't have got at another side. We need him now it's time to give something back to the club.

The left full looks alright and with some extra game time could turn out to be decent. Very hard for a trialist to stand out a week before the season starts and with only a weeks training but they need to tell Patrick Kanyuka to get lost though, looks like he's never saw a ball before in his life.

osarusan

Limerick 3-1 Waterford

(Clarke, Tosi, Mulhall)

Limerick finished off the pre-season with what was, in the end, a comfortable win over first division title favourites Waterford.

We started with 2 triallists in the back 4, and it was a very disjointed first half from us. Waterford went ahead when their striker was able to head pretty much unchallenged into the top corner, and we didn't offer much in the first half. Neither triallist was particularly impressive. Up front Tosi looks composed and Ogbene was full of energy.

It was a different story in the second half, with lots of replacements. Dean Clarke added more pace, and both he and Turner were getting balls into the box. We equalised when Robbie Williams headed a corner toards goal and Clarke glanced the ball as it went past him, diverting it past the keeper.

We took the lead when Turner sent in a perfect cross and Tosi expertly headed low into the near corner, and when Turner sent in another cross to the back post with Clarke, two Waterford defenders and their goalkeeper all going for it. The ball broke for Mulhall to tap into an empty net from about 4 yards out.

Waterford were tired and we saw out the game comfortably. 3 more triallists in the second half, a left full, a centre back, and a right full. The left full back (n the second half) looked the best of the lot to me.

Next Friday is the first game of the season, home to Sligo at 7.45pm.

Jofspring

Thought LB in first half was ok. The CB was shocking.

The LB and RB in the second half did ok but not too much to do and the CB that came on only had around two touches so couldn't tell much about him.

Was impressed with Hery when he came on. He is not fully fit but you could definitely see his quality. He made a massive difference in the second half. Turner and Clarke excellent also.

Killergreene

Left back in the first half was shockingly bad I thought. Overweight and had a donkey's first touch.

Right back in second half looked lively.

Hery looked skilful. How much is he being paid.

Turner the rat with a lovely cross. King rat Clarke looked alright too.

We are ****ed at the back though. Someone needs to have a word with POC. If he wants to move to UK sign a short term deals here and get in the shop window in the top division. He'd be mauled in the UK at the moment. The size of him he's like a bag of sticks covered in skin.

What is wrong with tracey. Saw him at the game walking around fine.

johnnyryan89

Less said about the first half the better, things improved a lot in the second half once Patrick Kanyuka and Paul O'Connor were replaced at half time.

Think O'Connor will find it hard to get game time this season, was poor tonight and didn't impress up in Galway either. Hery looked good when he came on at half time, looking to always get on the ball and passing it about nicely. Would have liked to seen Kainz get a game in midfield, has played the last two games at right full and done alright but is a midfielder by trade I think.

The two left full done alright, the lad in the first half looked lively but the poor team performance made a few lads look worse than they were and the chap in the second half hadn't much to do. Neither looked like world beaters but one of them may need to be signed unless the club can find someone within the league to even take on loan. The centre back in the second half literally had nothing to do so hard to judge his performance and Patrick Kanyuka was so bad I hope somebody showed him the exit at half time with directions to Colbert station and some bus fare.

Left Back on the Bench

What is kanyuka doing back? We can't be that stuck?

johnnyryan89

Left Back on the Bench wrote: »

What is kanyuka doing back? We can't be that stuck?

It's not really him haha. The trialist who played centre back looked like him, was worse than him and nobody knows his name so just called him Kanyuka.

Left Back on the Bench

johnnyryan89 wrote:

It's not really him haha. The trialist who played centre back looked like him, was worse than him and nobody knows his name so just called him Kanyuka.

Oh right, thank God

osarusan

Not sure if it will work, but I think this is a link to the highlights video.

Our 2nd goal was actually a really good passing move.

johnnyryan89

Second goal was a good goal and great delivery from Turner, gonna be some battle for the wing positions this season.

Iang87

johnnyryan89 wrote: »

Less said about the first half the better, things improved a lot in the second half once Patrick Kanyuka and Paul O'Connor were replaced at half time.

Think O'Connor will find it hard to get game time this season, was poor tonight and didn't impress up in Galway either. Hery looked good when he came on at half time, looking to always get on the ball and passing it about nicely. Would have liked to seen Kainz get a game in midfield, has played the last two games at right full and done alright but is a midfielder by trade I think.

The two left full done alright, the lad in the first half looked lively but the poor team performance made a few lads look worse than they were and the chap in the second half hadn't much to do. Neither looked like world beaters but one of them may need to be signed unless the club can find someone within the league to even take on loan. The centre back in the second half literally had nothing to do so hard to judge his performance and Patrick Kanyuka was so bad I hope somebody showed him the exit at half time with directions to Colbert station and some bus fare.

Genuinely **** myself when I saw this. I assumed he is buried in a Donegal bog never to be seen or heard from again.

Can we not make jokes like this in the thread. The sheer panic.

johnnyryan89

Limerick complete the loan signing of Sunderlands 21 year old left full Tommy Robson, plays mainly with the reserves and has one senior appearance with the club.

Could be a good move for both parties, the club get a player on the cheap, the kid gets first team football and if it works out well for him then it helps the clubs chances of more loan signings like this in the future or picking up players they might release.

johnnyryan89

Thibaut Molinatti signs for Limerick, that's two new left fulls brought in for the start of the season. Hopefully another centre half and roll on Friday night.

osarusan

johnnyryan89 wrote: »

Thibaut Molinatti signs for Limerick, that's two new left fulls brought in for the start of the season. Hopefully another centre half and roll on Friday night.

He was the LB triallist in the first half against Waterford.

johnnyryan89

osarusan wrote: »

He was the LB triallist in the first half against Waterford.

Yeah that's him, pity Tobias Kainz wasn't signed as he looked solid in his two games against Galway and Waterford.

banjobongo

lads can you buy tickets at MarketFields, either today, or this evening just before kick off?