Emmet Malonelooks at the prospects of the 10 Airticity League Premier Division contenders.
BOHEMIANS
Having had the strongest squad last year, Pat Fenlon has managed to add depth over the close season despite losing a couple of important players. There certainly looks to be more goals in the team this time and it would be astonishing if they are not right up there come the end of the season.
Prospects:Favourites.
BRAY WANDERERS
The last minute restoration of the club’s top flight status has left Eddie Gormley with a daunting challenge to overcome. The priority at the club has been to stay within budget and so the manager has had less scope to strengthen during the past week than he would have liked, leaving the team short on experience and, in particular, firepower.
Prospects:Strugglers.
DROGHEDA UTD
United are in a somewhat stronger position than this time last year in so far as Alan Mathews didn’t have to assemble a squad quite so frantically. The preparations for this year have scarcely been ideal either, however, and while the team should be stronger than in 2009, the aim will simply be to stay up, and preferably to avoid the play-offs.
Prospects:Strugglers.
DUNDALK
Ian Foster’s squad has come together fairly swiftly over the last couple of weeks and he has ended up making some high profile signings, particularly up front where the likes of Neale Fenn and Fahrudin Kuduzovic bring plenty of experience. If things go well, a crack at a top three finish seems plausible, otherwise safety should be achieved with relative ease.
Prospects:Mid-table.
GALWAY UTD
Since arriving at Terryland Park, Sean Connor has strengthened the spine of Galway’s side with the addition of players like Thomas Heary and, particularly, Stephen O’Donnell. The Northerner has a knack for making his teams hard to beat and United should have enough about them to stay clear of real trouble.
Prospects:Mid-table.
ST PATRICK’S ATH
The club retained a few of the team that kicked off the 2008 campaign with such high hopes but Pete Mahon made it clear last week that a fairly solid league season coupled with perhaps a genuine assault on one of the cups would be viewed as success this season. Ian Bermingham, Dave Mulcahy and Alex Williams could all prove to be good signings.
Prospects:Mid-table.
SHAMROCK ROVERS
The Dubliners did remarkably well to push Bohemians so close in Michael O’Neill’s first season in charge and clearly the aim now will be to press on and leapfrog their cross city rivals. Dan Murray and Danny Murphy will add steel and experience at the back, while James Chambers should chip in with some goals from midfield.
Prospects:Title contenders.
SLIGO ROVERS
The beaten cup finalists have, like last year, the makings of a decent first team but not, one suspects, nearly as much strong cover as manager Paul Cook would like. The loss of Raffaele Cretaro and Romuald Boco will be a major blow to the Showgrounds outfit but if everyone else stays reasonably fit this time around they should be in with a shout of a top three finish.
Prospects:Top four.
SPORTING FINGAL
The rise and rise of Liam Buckley’s side is something of a fairytale and an indictment of the league which they entered a couple of years back. Now operating off a bigger budget than almost any of their Premier Division rivals and employing more full-time players too, the FAI Cup winners should adapt to life in the top flight pretty quickly.
Prospects:Top four.
UCD
The speed with which UCD have returned to the top flight under Martin Russell and the manner in which they achieved promotion surprised just about everybody outside of Belfield. A few of last year’s brighter lights have moved on though, and the club is aiming to replace them from within. Goals, however, have traditionally been a problem at this level.
Prospects:Strugglers.
