Claremorris United Season 16 Preview

Another relative newcomer to the management world is Claremorris boss David Reilly. Reilly took control of the club during the first half of season 15 in Division 5.8 where Claremorris were languishing in mid-table obscurity. He quickly turned the clubs fortunes around and a strong run of games saw them soar up the table into 2^nd place, missing out on the title by a mere 3 points, the controversial champions Manchester City Blues just clinging on. So an impressive and very solid start, but how will the squad deal with the step up in quality a promotion brings?

Goalkeeper

29 year old Moroccan keeper Bilal Hamdaoui was brought in late in Season 15 when promotion was all but secured. The 10 million spent was a good price for a decent keeper who immediately claimed the number spot. He is a marginal step up in quality but 22 year old Irish keeper Nathan Clarke will be desperate to get back to being first choice and should push Hamdaoui hard. Either way, Claremorris will be in safe hands.

Defence

An aging but solid defence should be tough to break down this season. Reilly took a huge gamble last season selling off the rock that was Darragh McArdle to Australian Divison 1 side The Snakes. The 50 million received was a fair price but a player of his experience would’ve been the backbone of the team this season. At 31 years of age he wasn’t adding to the long term future of the squad so perhaps Reilly made the right move cashing in. At only 24 Robert Hegarty looks like being a solid enough long term option at the heart of defence but Reilly will more than likely be forced to build a new back four in the next few seasons.

Midfield  

In stark contrast, Claremorris have a host of young talent available in midfield. Set piece expert Kevin Moore and hotshot Sam O’Hehir  are the picks of the bunch, providing quality down the flanks. Last season young Tomas Murphy was crowned Division 5 U-21 player of the year and he too looks more than capable of stepping up to the challenge of D4. Solid players across the park, a mix of experience and gifted youth, the Claremorris midfield will cause more than a few problems for teams this season.

Attack

A little thin up top, Reilly spent 21 million bringing in Jinan Idris to spearhead their attack. He looks like a very solid buy but his age means Claremorris will more than likely be back in the market for an FC before long. While they have very capable players available, Charlie McGrath for example, they will more than likely have to rely on the strong midfield to chip in with some goals if they are to challenge this year. A young, quality FC must surely be top of Reilly’s wish list for this year.

Claremorris have a mixed bag available at their disposal. Some good, some not so good! The real quality shines through though and it’s these players that will carry them this year. Life will be tough for them in a difficult D4 group. Last season they battled their way to the top with dogged determination and I expect Reilly will be able to drag more of the same from them this time around. They don’t have the quality to lift the title just yet but they won’t be far away this season.   

Prediction – 5^th place