CHARLIE FROM THE STANDS: Season in review - Rovers bounce back as Derry City miss a golden opportunity

The hits and misses of 2023: What defines a successful season?

Here, I will look at each club and determine how they performed during the 2023 season. Taking into account absolutely everything from league position, Europe, cup exploits, attendances, budgets, infrastructure improvements and the revenue performance of the clubs, I will attempt to grade each of the clubs’ campaigns.

So let’s kick-off from top to bottom…

Shamrock Rovers: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Credit where credit is due - after a horrendous start to the season, Stephen Bradley’s machine went on to win their fourth league title in a row and winning, even with a couple of games to spare. Finishing seven points less off from last season, this must be construed as a missed opportunity for the chasing pack.

For me, the season was won during the period between 6 August and 3 November, when the Hoops went unbeaten, with seven wins and four draws – all of which without the influential Jack Byrne. The key result was the draw at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, secured with that controversial penalty. However, the massive negative was the abysmal results in Europe and the FAI Cup.

With the Rovers board projecting a massive €2million windfall from Europe, they had to settle for €800,000 in revenue and a sequence of results that yielded zero wins and was followed by a cup exit to Dundalk. All the while having the largest budget in the league at €1.9m.

Player of the Year: Roberto Lopes – sets and demands high standards.

Yearly Attendance: 109,946

Shamrock Rovers won their fourth title in succession.

Derry City: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Derry City's season can be described as a season of ‘what if's’. Crying out for a 20-goal striker all season, many will forget how the club helped one of the hottest properties in League of Ireland – Colm Whelan - back to fitness before managing only 70 minutes on the pitch before suffering another long-term injury. A devastating blow for both the kid and the club. This was an indication of what was to come, with injuries to Michael Duffy, Cameron Dummigan, Patrick McEleney and Mark Connolly following throughout the season. With Connolly and Dummigan only starting 12 games, and McEleney only starting 10 games, those three only featured together in the league twice – astonishing and undoubtedly frustrating for Ruaidhri Higgins. Not to mention, club captain Ciaron Harkin didn't kick a ball all season.

The highlight of the season was the European run and it comes as no coincidence that in Europe, Patrick, Mark, Michael and Cameron all played a huge number of games which resulted in Derry’s best performances. Another positive was the announcement of a new stand which will increase the capacity of the Brandywell to 6,242. Things moving in the right direction for Derry, slowly but surely.

Player of the Year: Ben Doherty - Mr Consistency. His level of performance never dropped. Mix in his goals and assists, he really has been a stand-out.

Yearly Attendance: 59,832

St Pats ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Having to change their manager so early in the season, proved to be a masterstroke by the St Pat’s Chairman, choosing the then-number two, Jon Daly to take the hotseat in Inchicore. The response from the players has been impressive. In his first permanent role as a manager, Daly amassed a decent number of points as well as guiding the club to this weekend’s FAI Cup Final.

The number of tickets being sold is creeping towards 40,000 for this year’s final, which gives you an idea of the connection between the club and the fans. No doubt, St Pat’s budget was hefty this year and from what I hear they are already speaking to some of best players at other clubs for next season. If they are able to back Daly next season and secure some of these players, they could be putting themselves in the mix with Rovers and Derry.

Player of the Year: Chris Forrester – a class act with both goals and assists to his game again this year. An honourable mention to the departing Sam Curtis.

Yearly attendance: 76,170

Shelbourne FC: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The only team for me that would deserve five stars. The reasoning for this starts from the FAI Cup final in 2022, where Shels didn't turn up and got embarrassed by Derry City.

You would be forgiven for thinking that such a poor performance could have had a detrimental effect that would have creeped into the start of this season. All sorts of psychological thoughts could have been running through the football club - are we good enough? Would we get another chance like that? But kudos to Damien Duff - after only one win in the first five matches, they stormed to a fourth place finish.

Damien Duff led Shelbourne to a fourth place finish.

Another thing that has to be considered a success was the much-muted takeover, one that seems seamless from the outside, and allowed the club to bring in two players (Jarvis and Wood) that helped their fortunes instantly - very impressive. You insert two quality players into any team, it helps massively.

Player of the Year: Jack Moylan - The standout player in the league, and a player that will definitely be in the running for the Player of the Year gong this season. He’ll be plying his trade at Lincoln City from January.

Yearly Attendance: 61,195

Dundalk - ⭐⭐⭐

Such an up and down season, from the start to finish. The biggest warning sign for me was at the beginning the season, Dundalk struggled to get players in the door. It appeared unclear as to whether Stephen O’Donnell was being helped by the owners (StatSports), and at one point he even pleaded for investment prior to the season opening. This was followed by 7 players signing on short-term loan deals, which was not ideal.

In my eyes, if you are looking to build a team you should only have 2-3 loan players and the rest as contracted players for the season. The real low was the battering from Galway United in the FAI Cup, in a game that was over at half-time. Then came the news that players’ contracts were not being renewed, which included their talisman and club record scorer with 150 goals, Pat Hoban – who has since stated that he has played his last game for the club.

Also muted was the idea of going back part-time football, a disastrous drop considering the highs the club has experienced in the last 10 years. Add that to the fact that Dundalk have the worst infrastructure in the league, and it’s a real crossroads time for the Lilywhites. An interesting season lays ahead.

It has been a miserable season for Dundalk.

Player of the Year: Archie Davis - the best right-back in the league, and one who I am looking forward to seeing where he will be playing next year.

Yearly Attendance: 47,526

Bohemians ⭐⭐⭐ (upgraded to three and a half should they win the cup)

Now, I will start with saying that Bohemians have improved from last season, increasing their points tally by 12 from last season, and having reached the FAI Cup final. On the negative, after winning six of the first seven games, a sixth-place finish indicates a worrying decline. The decision to go full-time this year with a young, supremely talented squad would have set expectations of a higher finish than sixth for the Board, fans and players.

Add in the fact that should they not win the Cup, there will be no European football at Dalymount next year. One positive is the news that planning permission has been granted for a new 8,500 seater state of the art stadium. Knowing Bohemians’ fan base, they will fill this every week. Imagine the revenue of 18 games at full capacity - approximately 1,870,000. Exciting times lay ahead in Phibsborough.

Player of the Year: Jonathan Afolabi – their top scorer and a real astute piece of business. But will Bohemians hold on to him?

Drogheda United ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I had predicted Drogheda to get to the FAI Cup final, having been drawn a home tie against their rivals Bohemians, and I feel that this missed opportunity will be the only blotch in Kevin Doherty’s notebook. A strong season from the Louth club, and another exemplifying their excellent recruitment. Picking up Emmanuel Adeboyega from Dundalk for nothing, then turning him into a Norwick City player is impressive.

Adeboyega and Conor Keeley, a centre-half signed from Ballymena United in the Irish League formed a strong partnership, with Conor Keeley a player who is now being pursued by Notts County. For me, another rising star is the goalkeeper Andrew Wogan - another real prospect who broke into the team this year. No doubt Kevin Doherty is overachieving with a part-time team and very little full-time support off the field, but the big question is: how will the 100% takeover by the American investment firm play out? Personally, I don't like the 100% takeover. Drogheda should have held on to some share for identity and a local voice within the club.

The track record of wealthy owners within the league is plagued by poor governance and financial instability. The other issue is the infrastructure at Drogheda - it's up there with Dundalk, possibly worse.

Player of the Year: Conor Keeley: Commanding centre-half and one who will be hard to keep hold of.

Yearly Attendance: 34,486

Sligo Rovers FC ⭐⭐

Sligo Rovers are getting two stars but were dealt a number of heavy blows throughout the season, with the first on the eve of the campaign, losing their leading goalscorer from last season, Aidan Keena to Cheltenham. Sligo then handed Max Mata the number 9 jersey, and he obliged by scoring a bagful, before being sold to Shrewsbury.

The one thing I will say is that the Sligo faithful never got discouraged and kept coming out - 45,991 throughout the year, supporting their young manager John Russell, who this week has been handed the reins for next year. There is a bit of a rebuild required at the Showgrounds, but we have seen this before. Should Russell get it right, Sligo Rovers could turn their fortunes around.

Player of the Year: Honestly, this is tough. Max Mata only played half a season so I can't give it to him, so the versatile Niall Morahan gets my pick. Having played right back and centre-midfield, the academy graduate has become an ever-present.

Yearly Attendance: 45,991

Cork City FC ⭐⭐ (downgraded to ⭐ should they get relegated)

The one word that springs to mind is turmoil. After Colin Healy got Cork back into the Premier Division, it looked as if they were destined for a solid mid-table season.

The appointment of Liam Buckley as Director of Football saw a fall-out between Buckley and Healy, leading to Healy’s departure and Richie Holland was appointed as interim manager. The plot thickens -Buckley then stepped in as manager, only to step aside and put Richie Holland back in the seat as first team manager - what a pantomime. Look at the infrastructure that Cork has - great stadium, decent structure off the pitch and a huge, loyal fan base – amassing a total attendance of 65,992 across 18 home games.

Cork City had the fourth largest attendance this season, above Shelbourne, Derry and Dundalk, all despite the mess on the pitch. Cork is a team I want to see in the Premier Division, but Waterford will have something to say about that.

Player of the Year: Ruairi Keating – a massive 13 goals in the league. Should Cork go down, he will have his fair share of suitors.

UCD: ⭐⭐

The less said the better. Poor season for the students but little was expected considering they lost the influential Colm Whelan, Liam Kerrigan, Tommy Lonergan, Evan Caffery and Dylan Duffy prior to the start of it, and their centre-back Sam Todd halfway through it.

Ronan Finn making the decision to go back to UCD will give William O'Connor a timely boost ahead of his first year in management. Holding on to players like Sean Brennan and Jack Keaney will be top of their list of things to do.

Player of the Year: Jack Keaney - the central midfielder was a shining light throughout a tough season.

Yearly Attendance: 14,683