Season Preview 2016 - St Patrick's Athletic

Manager: Liam Buckley

Stadium: Richmond Park

Players in: Keith Treacy (Drogheda United), David Cawley (Sligo Rovers), Mark Timlin (Derry City), Graham Kelly (Bray Wanderers), Billy Dennehy (Cork City), Dinny Corcoran (Sligo Rovers), Dylan McGlade (Shelbourne), Darren Dennehy (Cork City), Michael Barker (Bray Wanderers).

Players out: Killian Brennan (Shamrock Rovers), Kenny Browne (Cork City), Greg Bolger (Cork City), James Chambers (Bethlehem Steel), Aaron Greene (Limerick), Cyril Guedje (Released), Paul Rooney (Shamrock Rovers), Morgan Langley (Released), Ian Molloy (Released).

Extratime.ie Key Man: Christy Fagan

Last season saw St Pats' star striker play a role in only 16 of their 45 competitive games due to conssistent ankle and hamstring injuries, meaning he only scored seven goals compared to his haul of 20 in the FAI Cup-winning season previous. Liam Buckley dabbled with the prospect of a new formation, playing Fagan in a front two alongside new signing Ciaran Kilduff in order to challenge Dundalk for the title, but ultimately that was never given the chance to be as all of Kilduff, Cyril Guedje, Aaron Greene and Jamie McGrath filled in at centre forward to try and replace Fagan. However it was a doomed task and ultimately Pats paid the price with a lack of presence up front and goals on the scoreboard. With key senior players in Killian Brennan, Kenny Browne, James Chambers, Greg Bolger and Chris Forrester all leaving in the past six months, Pats will be more reliant than ever on Fagan. The player’s form will be in no doubt, but his fitness does not hold the same certainty.

Extratime.ie One to Watch: Darragh Markey

St. Patrick’s Athletic have boasted an array of supreme young talent at their disposal in the last couple of years with consistent performance from Sean Hoare, Lee Desmond and Conor O’Malley establishing them as recognised prospects for the near future. However not much is known about St. Pats young prospect Darragh Markey aside from the fact that he is indeed a bewildering talent at only 18-years-old, standing a slight frame and miniscule height in comparison to those larger centre-halves of the League of Ireland. He possess rapid instincts and an evident willingness to drive at opposition defenders, lending a modest and intelligent touch of the ball to good vision and innate dribbling skills. He appeared against Cork City in the EA Sports Cup quarter-final at Turner’s Cross as well as against Dundalk, Limerick, Shamrock Rovers and Cork City in the league,and made headlines when he made a goalscoring impression while on trial at Celtic over Christmas. While there exists a big chance of him departing for bigger prospects throughout the league campaign, one would be wise to keep an eye out for St. Pats number 21 in the months ahead.

How they did last season:

The beginning of 2015 offered much hope for St. Patrick’s Athletic. Riding the crest of the wave of a delirious FAI Cup victory that ended the clubs 53-year wait for the trophy the club signed well, bringing in Jason McGuinness, Ciaran Kilduff, Conor O’Malley and Lee Desmond. O'Malley and Desmond would use 2015 to establish themselves major players in Liam Buckley’s side as the reality of key injuries proved costly – Brendan Clarke and Christy Fagan in particular suffering throughout the year.

Many tipped St. Pats as a serious title challenger to Stephen Kenny’s Dundalk side, but ultimately the season got away from them. Positives came in the flourishing of Chris Forrester in a deep-lying midfield role that saw him earn a move to League One side Peterborough United, as well as an EA Sports Cup run that ended in victory against Galway United in the final week of September. They failed to defend their proud FAI Cup title, but benefits from a stroke of luck Dundalk and Cork City made the final of the FAI Cup, meaning the Saint’s fourth place finish allowed them to compete in this summer’s Europa League qualifiers.

League: 4^th

Pats flirted with the idea of being a title-contender but stray losses routinely put the idea to bed. A nine-game winning streak propelled them to within reach of Stephen Kenny’s Dundalk before a 4-1 home loss put the notion firmly to rest. Five losses in their final eight league games looked possible to relinquish their hold on a European spot but a final-day win versus Galway United saved blushes.

FAI Cup: Quarter-finals

2014 was the year St. Pats put the hoo-doo to bed, but even the burning desire of the club’s support to reign home the title in successive years fell short in a deflating 4-0 loss to Cork City at Turner’s Cross following a heated 2-1 win against rivals Shamrock Rovers in the second round.

EA Sports Cup: Winners

The highlight of 2015 for Liam Buckley’s side came in filing away the EA Sports Cup to complete the side’s full domestic trophy cabinet under the manager’s tenure. A 4-1 win against scheduled home side Crumlin United played at Richmond Park was followed by a penalty shoot-out win over Cork City at Turner’s Cross.

The competition took on new meaning when John Caulfield’s side knocked the Saints out of the FAI Cup meaning their second consecutive penalty shoot-out win against Pat Fenlon’s Shamrock Rovers away in a gusty Tallaght Stadium was even more keenly celebrated. The Penalty Sports Cup was completed with another round of spot-kicks at Eamonn Deacy Park which saw Conor O’Malley’s final save produce the single most anti-climactic set of celebrations from the St. Patrick’s Athletic players who had not realised the save had won them the cup.

Europe: Europa League first qualifying round

Pats fans dared to dream when Aaron Greene’s stunning goal to take the lead in Latvia against Skonto Riga put the Saints ahead in their Europa League first qualifying round first-leg, however a 2-1 comeback win courtesy of goals from Arturs Karasausks and Vladislavs Gutkovskis meant a strong result was required at Richmond Park in the second leg.

The excitement and prospect at hand from a 1-0 home win or better bringing Liam Buckley’s team into the next round was undercut by a crushing 2-0 loss in Inchicore. The result was disappointing on its own merit but as the summer would see UCD storm through one round of qualifying as well as Shamrock Rovers’ 3-0 aggregate beating of Progres Niederkorn on top of Dundalk’s admirable performances against BATE Borisov, St. Pats would feel themselves even more disheartened at their own European result.

What to expect this season:

The loss of senior club figures James Chambers, Greg Bolger, Kenny Browne and Killian Brennan will have a major impact both in the dressing room and on the pitch for St. Pats this season. They go into 2016 with a much younger, inexperienced squad of players to compete with Dundalk, Cork City and Shamrock Rovers sides that have all strengthened. The potential to exploit the losses of Richie Towell and Billy Dennehy to the top two of the Premier Division is a possibility but a title chase has seemed more and more unlikely since the Saints last won the Premier Division in 2013.

Excitement has grown unlike in recent years in terms of players signed – with the three outstanding signings in Billy Dennehy, Dinny Corcoran and former Republic of Ireland international Keith Treacy, not to take away from the prospects of Graham Kelly and David Cawley who will have a major task in replacing the midfield presence of Bolger and Chambers. When one looks at the midfield that guided St. Patrick’s Athletic into the 2014 FAI Cup final – featuring Keith Fahey, Killian Brennan, Chris Forrester as well as Greg Bolger and James Chambers – they begin to realise how much of a player transition the side has undergone in just fifteen months.

The prospect of Dinny Corcoran and Christy Fagan combining together up front is a scary afterthought for Premier Division defenders but the key for success in 2016 for St. Pats will come in Liam Buckley’s task of re-moulding a side he has done well to rebuild, into a revitalised model that has seen them bring home every domestic honour in the last three seasons. The disappointment of the club’s league campaign in 2015 called for fresh faces and a new squad built to compete. This season will tell if Buckley’s reworking will pay its dividends.

Title Odds: 9/1

First game: Galway United (Richmond Park), Friday 4^th March, 7.45pm