NFL DIV3

[mattockranger]

Quite a competitive Division consiting of:

Louth- O'byrne cup winners could be a false dawn
Down- alot of pressure on management to succeed
Cavan - new manager and good forwards could see them as div3 winners
Limerick - tough away draw for any team can they build on last years shampionship promise
Roscommon-FBD league runners up and under new man o'donnell could be dark horses
Offaly - new manager and lacking quality could cause a scalp here and there...
Longford - if they don't get their house in order glen ryan's debut season could be disatrous
Tipperary - favourite for the drop after suprise promotion last year

A bad start could be fatal

I predict cavan to win it outright with louth down and roscommon pushing them close
with offaly and tipp getting relegated

[Maguire01]

Louth- O'byrne cup winners could be a false dawn
O'Byrne Cup means less than the McKenna Cup - didn't Dublin put out their U-21s? Means nothing.

Down- alot of pressure on management to succeed
Winners (or at least promoted) - anything else would be a disaster

Cavan - new manager and good forwards could see them as div3 winners
Mid-table - promotion unlikely

Limerick - tough away draw for any team can they build on last years shampionship promise
Hard to call - probably mid-table, but will be looking to build up for a possible Munster final this year

Roscommon-FBD league runners up and under new man o'donnell could be dark horses
As with Louth, pre-season means nothing. Unless there's a vast improvement from last year, they could struggle here too.

Offaly - new manager and lacking quality could cause a scalp here and there...
Should be there or thereabouts along with Down.

Longford - if they don't get their house in order glen ryan's debut season could be disatrous
Mid-table - will do enough to survive

Tipperary - favourite for the drop after suprise promotion last year
Likely to face the drop - potential whipping boys

[Rudi]

Down - will do well to finish in second spot.4th
Cavan - Tommy Carr - another false dawn for both. 6th
Louth - my fancy to do well.  3rd
Limerick- should do very well also. 1st
Roscommon - very good panel with an outstanding manager. 2nd
Offaly - good team, something not just right 5th
Longford - Going back the ways 7th
Tipp - 8th

Expect Rossies to win all home games, lose to Limerick & Louth. Beat Cavan away. (we were in dire straits last year & still managed to beat these)

[Billys Boots]

Louth
Looked decent in Longford, forwards appear to be going well so far, but it's only January. 4th.

Down
Should have the class to make it out of this division, but they've done so before too and failed. 1st.

Cavan
Usually poor in the League, might put better effort in with new management.  2nd.

Limerick
Hard to beat, but not great travellers. 5th.

Roscommon
The great unfathomables, about time for those minors to be making the grade soon. 3rd.

Offaly
Poor, and getting worse, but still Biffos deep down. 6th.

Longford
A bad year in the offing.  7th.

Tipperary
Last, and least.  8th.

[BallyhaiseMan]

With the exception of Tipperary who are a bit weaker than the rest,theres no much between all 7 of the other teams.

Louth
Absolutely flying in the O Byrne Cup, they will be fast starters in the league i think they will end up 2nd

Down
I think Ross Carr/DJ Kane/Paddy Tally have turned the corner with this talented bunch of players, 1st

Cavan
I expect us to do well,but we might just miss out on promotion, i wouldnt be desperately disappointed at finishing 3rd

Roscommon
Big Improvement this year from the Rossies,they will be challenging for promotion aswell i feel,but maybe a year too soon. 4th

Offaly
They were in disarray last year,despite terrific footballers like McNamee and McManus, i just dont fancy them to contend at all. 6th

Limerick
overhyped team,freak performance against Meath last year,they were very poor against Kildare.
dont fancy them to challenge at all 5th

Tipperary
an ever improving team,but i think they will find the going tough,Might catch a team or two at home,but i see relegation to Division 4 in ther future.
8th.

Longford
no way i would have longford in this position only their panel is a mere shadow of its predecessors of the last few years,
no team can afford lose Key Players like Brian Kavanagh Liam Keenan especially not a county with a small pick like Longford.
Im afraid to say i fancy them to finish 7th

[Rossfan]

Our first priority is to keep out of Div 4.
My hope is for 4 victories. Anything else would be a bonus.
Down/Louth/Limerick have to be the top 3 at this stage but there's many a ball to be kicked yet.

[Lone Shark]

Down and Limerick are the two best teams in the division for me, with Down probably edging out the Munster boys a wee bit - but they'd be my call for one and two - though both sides have got a raw deal with home games. Not only have they each got three home games and four away, they've got a lot of the counties close to them at home while they have to travel long distances to some of their away games.

Louth have been great so far this year but the O'Byrne Cup is often a bit of a false dawn. I've good respect for them and I'd expect them to maybe slot in third, but I'd say they might start to burn away towards the end.

Cavan and Ros for fourth and fifth - really hard to seperate these. Both have a lot more talent in the county than we've seen for years, big fanbase there if they get any momentum going and a few nice forwards which is hard to match. Gut feeling is that the Rossies have a bit further to go, so Cavan fourth and Ros fifth.

Ourselves, Longford and Tipp all have a variety of problems. We're at nothing while McNamee is in Australia, while Tipp were a bit fortunate to have stayed up last year - they'd need to improve by three or four points to get any results at all. Longford are missing key men too, but on the strength of Glen Ryan appearing to be a good manager, I'd give them the nod for sixth. Offaly seventh after scraping by Tipp and Tipp eighth.

Not a pleasant vista, but hard to see it any other way unfortunately.

[charlie stubbs]

would think be between down/louth/limerick.  think promotion 4 down important to make them more competitive over next few years

[mylestheslasher]

upon what is everybody so sure Down will get promoted?

I think Louth will start strong as they seem very fit early on and have some players showing form.
I think Cavan have a good chance
Limerick going backwards so not so sure of them
Longford by accounts on this board are in Bad shape
Tipp will struggle to stay up
Ross should give promotion a rattle by may miss out.

I'm going to go for Cavan and Louth to get promoted.

[neilthemac]

Tipp and Cavan to be relegated

outside that, haven't a clue

[cavan4ever]

Tipp and cavan  to be relegated

outside that, haven't a clue

 

[pedro]

Rigt I'll put my neck on the line and predict two from Louth, Down and Cavan to progress. Maybe that's because I would have links to all three counties and would alway read their boards, ask around on their progress etc. I just think that these three counties have players of that calibre that can really win tight games.

On the other hand, I think it will be a battle between Longford, Offaly and Tipp with Longford propping up the group. We have beaten them well in the last two years and, with their injury list, I think they wll really struggle. I'll go for Tipp to stay up.

My predictions, and final league positions.

I think Louth's momentum will enable them to beat Limerick at home in the first game, with the second (away to Down) being a real crunch one. Should set them up nicely if they get four points there.
Down will be disappointed in not gettin promotion last years so I would expect them to make a big push.
Cavan, I suppose, are prennial underachievers. Alway had a grá for some of their players and, under a new management, I would expect players to be trying to impress.
Limerick, I think, were one of the worst team we played in Div 3 last year (although they beat us) and had some fierce unfit players by all accounts. Hopefully that will be the case on Sunday!
Rosscommon I think could either push close for promotion or be in the middle pack. Again, a new manager, can often bring a fresh enthusiasm and it really couldn't have been worse than last year!
Tipp. Louth have always had it tough against Tipp in recent seasons and, if they still have those giants in the middle, they will win their fair share of ball which could swing tight games their way. I wouldn't write them off like a lot here.
Offaly. Don't know much about this years team and the sounds coming from down there do not appear to be great. Always have a few decent players, although mcNamee will be a loss.
Longford. I really think they will have a hard time getting a win in this league. have heard of the extent of their injury list and, without the Barden's, Liam Keenan, possibly Kavangh (?), they do not have the strength in depth to compete.

I'm already prepared to eat my hat 

[AZOffaly]

We are a shambles at the moment. the appaling lack of heart and desire on display against Down appears to have carried over. Our players are too small in physique, and not playing a skillful fast moving type of game to compensate.

We will be missing big hitters for a while, although I think the Rhode lads will be back at some stage in the league, but wintering in Australia is bound to have an effect.

All in all we look abysmal, so I'd expect us to win the Division

[heineken_on_tap]

Will many of ye travel to the Hyde on Sunday AZ? Expecting a win? Looking forward to it myself but no idea how it will go. Should be a big turnout from Ros supporters.

[mylestheslasher]

Martin Brehonys take on Div 3 from the Indo


   
Independent.ie  WebSearch  By Martin Breheny


Wednesday January 28 2009

OF the all groups in the Allianz Football League, Division Three is the one where the contrast between promotion and relegation is at its deepest and most unforgiving.

And if any of the eight counties who go to the starting blocks next Sunday doubt that, they should check with Sligo.

Sligo headed confidently into the 2008 League as Connacht champions and second favourites behind Down to win promotion to Division Two. By the end of the campaign they had hurtled into Division Four after finishing bottom of the table. In the space of three months the grand, upwardly-mobile plan had crumbled and suddenly they were looking at life in the basement. Quite a drop for provincial champions.

To compound matters, their Division Four status meant that having lost a Connacht semi-final to Mayo, they weren't even eligible to compete in the All-Ireland qualifiers.

Sligo's dismal experience -- they won just one of seven games -- was a chilling reminder of how a campaign can run away from any county if everything isn't fitted securely into place. Down were most fancied of all for promotion from Division Three but lost four of seven games and were left way behind Fermanagh and Wexford.

Leitrim joined Sligo through the exit door to Division Four and were replaced by Offaly and Tipperary. Meanwhile, at the other end, Fermanagh and Wexford moved up to Division Two with Roscommon and Cavan dropping down.

That exchange will prove quite significant to the Division Three campaign this year because, on the basis of their respective Championship performances last season, Wexford and Fermanagh are better than Roscommon and Cavan. That increases the chances of several teams joining in the promotion race.

There were 11 points between Fermanagh (13) and Sligo (two) on last year's table, a differential that's most unlikely to apply this time. Indeed, 10 points could be enough to win a promotion place while six may be required to avoid relegation. Tipperary, who ran an excellent campaign to win promotion from Division Four last year, may find the pace a little too much but the other seven will fancy their prospects of a promotion race.

Four new bosses, Richie Connor (Offaly), Glenn Ryan (Longford), Tom Carr (Cavan) and Fergal O'Donnell (Roscommon) will be testing their cases in new surrounds, although in the case of Connor and Carr ,they have previous senior managerial experience, while Ryan and O'Donnell did well at underage level.

By coincidence, they will be pitted against each other in the opening round next Sunday when Roscommon play Offaly and Longford host Cavan.

.

CAVAN

Manager: Tom Carr (1st season)

2008 NFL: P7, W1, L6 (Bottom Div 2 -- relegated).

2009: Home (3): Tipperary, Limerick, Roscommon; Away (4): Longford, Down, Offaly, Louth.

Ladbrokes odds: 5/1

First game: This Sunday, home to Longford

PROSPECTS: They never got into last year's Division Two campaign and dropped meekly through the relegation trap-door. Carr's appointment as manager was a good call but he needs time to make his imprint.

Patience is a scarce commodity everywhere nowadays and especially in a county like Cavan, who have seen so many of their Ulster neighbours prosper this decade. However, Cavan must accept that they are ranked eighth of nine in Ulster right now (only Antrim are behind them) so Carr needs time to work on that. With four away games, they will need to take every available break to win promotion.

DOWN

Manager: Ross Carr (3rd season)

2008 NFL: P7, W4, L3 (3rd Div 3)

2009: Home (3): Louth, Cavan, Offaly; Away (4): Tipperary, Longford, Limerick, Roscommon

Ladbrokes odds: 5/2

First game: Sunday, away to Tipperary

PROSPECTS: Down don't regard themselves as a Division Three team but they have to face reality. They finished third in the group last year but were a long way adrift of Fermanagh and Wexford. They later beat Tyrone in the Championship and also made good progress in the qualifiers until they ran aground against Wexford. They have four away games but have been installed as favourites to top the table. But then they were well fancied last year too but lost three of seven games. Still, the group doesn't look quite as strong this time so Down should make it through one of the promotion gates.

LIMERICK

Manager: Mickey Ned O'Sullivan (4th season)

2008 NFL: P7, W2, D1, L4 (6th Div 3)

2009: Home (3): Roscommon, Tipperary, Down; Away (4): Louth, Cavan, Longford, Offaly.

Ladbrokes odds: 9/2

First game: Sunday, away to Louth

PROSPECTS: Lucky to survive in Division Three last year after beating Leitrim by a point in the relegation-deciding final game, but then put together some fine Championship performances. They were unfortunate to lose to Cork in the Munster semi-final before beating Meath and losing to Kildare in the All-Ireland qualifiers. O'Sullivan, who is doing a good job, will be looking to build on their Championship form which, if achieved, will leave them as promotion contenders. However, with four away games, it will be a tough campaign.

LONGFORD

Manager: Glenn Ryan (1st season)

2008 NFL: P7, W3, L4 (5th Div 3)

2009: Home (3): Cavan, Down, Limerick; Away (4): Offaly, Roscommon, Louth, Tipperary.

Ladbrokes odds: 15/2

First game: Sunday, home to Cavan

PROSPECTS: A mid-table finish looks the best they can hope for, especially since they have four away games. This will be very much a 'getting-to-know-you' season for Ryan and his squad.

Louth hammered an experimental Longford side by 19 points in the O'Byrne Cup which suggests that once Ryan moved below the top tier, the back-up forces aren't all that strong.

LOUTH

Manager: Eamonn McEneaney (4th season)

2008 NFL: P7, W3, L4 (4th Div 3)

2009: Home (4): Limerick, Roscommon, Longford, Cavan; Away (3): Down, Offaly, Tipperary.

Ladbrokes odds: 6/1

First game: Sunday, home to Limerick

PROSPECTS: Having dropped from Division One to Division Three when the League structure was altered at the end of 2007, Louth were expected to be serious promotion contenders last year but failed to come anywhere close after losing four of seven games. They will probably do better this time and could even get in among the promotion candidates over the final two games.

The O'Byrne Cup success was encouraging but, as Longford discovered last year (they lost to Dublin in the final), a good January counted for nothing in the League.

OFFALY

Manager: Richie Connor (1st season)

2008 NFL: P 9, W7, D1, L 1 (Div 4 champions -- promoted)

2009: Home (4): Longford, Louth, Cavan, Limerick; Away (3): Roscommon, Tipperary, Down

Ladbrokes betting: 4/1

First game: Sunday, away to Roscommon

PROSPECTS: Offaly are second favourites for promotion which seems odd, given their woeful form in the O'Byrne Cup, where they lost to a Dublin development team and Carlow -- both in Tullamore too. And then there's the memory of that embarrassing demolition by Down (also in Tullamore) in last year's qualifiers when they conceded 5-19. Still, there's more to Offaly than those performances but they need to start showing it.

Next Sunday's clash with Roscommon in Dr Hyde Park is crucial because if they win there, they will have bagged two points and still have four 'home' games to come.

ROSCOMMON

Manager: Fergal O'Donnell (1st season)

2008 NFL: P7, W1, D1, L5 (7th Div 2 -- relegated)

2009: Home (4): Offaly, Longford, Tipperary, Down; Away (3): Limerick, Louth, Cavan.

Ladbrokes betting: 12/1

First game: Sunday, home to Offaly

PROSPECTS: Patience and stability are the two commodities which Roscommon need more than anything else to give a new-look team a chance to settle in. They have had a whole series of managerial upheavals since John Tobin steered them to a Connacht title in 2001 and have now turned to the man who led their minors to All-Ireland success in 2006. The indications in the FBD League were encouraging. The League fixture list is set up nicely for them so a top-four finish is possible.

TIPPERARY

Manager: John Evans (2nd season)

2008 NFL: P 9, W6, L3 (2nd Div 4 -- promoted)

2009 NFL: Home (4): Down, Offaly, Louth, Longford; Away (3): Cavan, Limerick, Roscommon.

Ladbrokes betting: 33/1

First game: Sunday, home to Down

PROSPECTS: Tipped to make the drop after being promoted last year but with four home games, they will fancy their prospects of survival. They ran an excellent campaign in Division Four last year but this is quite a step up in class. However, they pushed Limerick close in last year's Munster championship, which they will see as a positive reference point to launch themselves into the new challenge and more difficult challenge. Still, they will need a lot of luck to avoid the drop.

- Martin Breheny