THERE ARE PLENTY of good sides in Division 2 of the Allianz Football League set to battle it out with promotion to the top flight at stake.
Andy McEntee made no secret of Meath’s desire to finish in the top two last year and they’ll be gunning for promotion once again this year, while new Cork manager Ronan McCarthy will be keen to secure top flight football for the Rebels in 2019.
Cavan and Roscommon will be seeking an immediate return to life in Division 1 having dropping into the second tier, while Louth and Tipperary have nothing to fear after coming up from Division 3 .
Down, Cavan and Clare complete the eight-team division, making for what should be a very competitive spring campaign.
Just one point separated the bottom four teams in Division 2 last season and another tight battle for the drop looks likely with all eight teams on a fairly level playing field.
We want to know who you think will win Division 2 outright. Let us know.
Poll Results:
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The best Irish performance in two years. Good young players wanting the ball and looking for someone to pass it to. Good signs for the future.
i agree.played with a lot more energy & attacking spirit.i thought forde was impressive in goals as well.
Will hold judgement on this performance until after the Austrian game. Just hope Trap still has the confidence to let the team attack next week and not revert to his usual bull.
When we get rid of Delaney I will go back to following our team,340,000 euro what planet are the FAI on.
Why should the chief executive of the FAI being paid a ridiculous sum of money stop you supporting your country , that is just a cop out support the players and the sacrifice they make or will you just jump on the bandwagon if we qualify for RIO ?
Once again the media use their machine and mechanics to create poisonous vile against Trapattoni, based on anything they can use or find. Team selection nonsense. The man picked the right team, got his tactics spot on – and he’s 74 years old. Journalists who couldn’t tell their arse from their elbow as per usual only can resort to mediocrity and criticism to gain interest and popularity.
Ireland have a limited assortment of players to choose from. Trapattoni has brought through a lot of young players, but crucially disciplined them to play cautiously and responsibly. We’re not Brazil. We’re not Spain. We’re not Germany. We are Ireland and we play to our strengths, and we try to avoid our weaknesses. Trapattoni has provided us with many good memories.
Tonight we didn’t lack determination or organisation. Everybody worked hard for the full ninety minutes, and individuals rose above their abilities to make themselves heroes and leaders.
We did however lack creativity. This is because we are Ireland. We are a football nation who are limited due to the mentality of the nation as a whole. We work hard, but we aren’t creative. Why? Because we pander to the common denominator, often spun by the media. Think about it.
We’ll go and draw against Austria on Tuesday and the eagles will circle Trapattoni once again. But tonight we can feel proud – and that’s what matters.
Very nice. But given the game that was, we should have won. No amount of talking ourselves down can change the fact that we missed an opportunity tonight.
jesus john i was watching a different game i thought we had more creativity tonight than we have had for a long time
Trap 1. people who think the know something about football 0
More like: Trap wasn’t able to choose his starting 11 due to injuries, and the changes he was forced to make actually made a great performance. Robbie Keane is still over the hill, and Irish fans still see a 0-0 away from home as a tremendous achievement.
Trap = got lucky.
Far from lucky and its not viewed as a tremendous achievement. In general, it exceeds expectations that we had going into the game. However, there is a mild opportunity missed tonight to get all three points – that was obvious from the players reaction afterwards that a draw was their goal.
Traps been lucky all his life ????
It’s all about playing for your country. You should be proud to pull on the Irish jersey. Robby might be getting on a bit but no one can question his commitment to Ireland. I think he has a lot to offer to the young players as captain.
Theo = toss face
I’d rather fight with a luck general than a good one.
lucky
Trap and Delaney are mugs! Total change in the FAI please! One is an ageing Italian with no national pride but his pay cheque and the other is the highest paid association boss in the world (i think) and dosen’t want to change to save his ass. FACT: Sligo rovers won the league last year and recieved 100k, Delaney gets 400k a year, for what????????
I suppose ,that’s how he’s became to be one of the most successful football managers of all time !!
@dermot
he is, as rafa would say, a poxbottle, but there were some young players with good technical ability out there tonight and they could have nicked it, i will be well pissed off though if he doesn’t continue in the same vein
italian legend or not
and he is a legend there is no doubting that
LEGEND …. Come on JUVE
Well he was lucky Whelan was injured, otherwise the man of the match wouldn’t be on the pitch.
If you really believe his first choice would have done as well, I think you need to take those tinted glasses off
Yea he got it spot in against Germany and in the euros.
Fool
Great game McLean,forde,McCarthy,Wilson and Coleman were all brill then houlhan came on and was brill! Best Irish game since France 09! Still think trap is nuts with his selections tho and dropping Doyle but great draw!
Trap 1 he guys 0
@Michael O’Farrell, u took the words out my mouth, were a tiny nation, that can’t be expected to do big things! everybody needs to get behind the boys in green and stop moaning like little bitches! @ John McDermott no need to write a bloody essay!
Hardly tiny. Same population as Croatia and a huge pool of players who qualify under the granny rule. Stop being happy with scraps and aim big.
We should of won tonight it was big opportunity missed Sweden were awful tonight and I think any other team similar to the Irish team would have beat them
We will struggle to beat Austria, draw.
Robbie Keane has been one of the best footballers to play on the Irish team, but i feel that his best days are behind him as a player . He has intimated that he would like to take on the role as the Ireland manager at some future date.
I hope we win on Tuesday but if we don’t I want us to play like tonight with passion and pride. Like John said we are not Brazil or Spain but we are Ireland and we are a proud nation and we need our fans behind us. If the players can give there all then we should all get behind them and wish them the best on Tuesday.
Some good youngsters around, mccarthy, coleman and pilkington would make the england team too! Don’t be fooled by result, expect negative tactics against Austria this week. Trap out as soon as possible!
They are good solid prem league players but wouldnt be near they English team no disrespect to them. You cant compare james McCarthy to some like Jack Wilshere.
One of the great managers in the world works in a country with the most negative journalists. Unfortunately most “fans” follow the journalists.
John Delaney + trap + keane = muppet show