Two thirds of the way through we take a look at how teams are performing against pre-season expectations and where they can expect to be after the final series of games.

Dundalk:

Current Position: 1st

Pre-Season Target: Champions

Stephen Kenny’s side cannot have too many complaints about their position in the league sitting 4 points clear at the top with the best goal difference in the league. One areas of weakness that could have been pointed out was a lack of proven strikers. The Lilywhites have seen to this issue by adding Ciaran Kilduff and former West Ham striker Seán Maguire. Most people expect Dundalk to win the league with games to spare but it should be pointed out that the gap is less than it was at this stage last year yet Cork City entered the final series of games ahead of Dundalk.

Grade: A- Classy football and dominance of the top 5 mini-league has put Dundalk in a commanding position on top of the league. However with Cork City improving and The Lilywhites to travel to Turners Cross on the penultimate day of the season they cannot afford to rest on their laurels just yet.

Prediction: 2nd

Cork City:

Current Position: 2nd

Pre-Season Target: Champions

John Caulfield promised attacking attractive football in the pre-season. After only showing their full potential in flashes for the first half of the season an embarrassing exit from Europe against 10-man KR Rekjavik has sparked somewhat of a revolution on Leeside. Topped off by a 4-0 drumming of Bohemians, City have been playing some beautiful football of late and finally put an end to their losing run in Oriel Park. City will look to close the gap on Dundalk and push them all the way to the final match-day as they did last season.

Grade: B More points than this time last year but some caveman football dominated the early part of the season. Signs of life have emerged of late and they remain in the Cup.

Prediction: 1st

St. Patricks Athletic:

Current Position: 3rd

Pre-Season Target: Champions

St. Pat’s arguably play the most attractive brand of football in the league and despite a poor effort in Europe against Skonto Riga Pats have maintained pace with the teams around them in the battle for European places. Knocking Shamrock Rovers out of the cup has been the highlight of their season so far and they bested their South Dublin rivals again last Friday. St. Pat’s would no doubt have been happy with 3rd in the league and a guaranteed European place only a few weeks ago but 8 wins on the trot have them in with an outside chance of winning the title. They also have a match in Turner’s Cross against Cork City in the next round of the cup to look forward too.

Grade: C-Unlikely to win the league or finish outside the top four, a cup double is still possible for the Saints

Prediction: 3rd

Shamrock Rovers:

Current Position: 4th

Pre-Season Target: Champions

Shamrock Rovers fans view themselves as Ireland’s model club but they must be getting fed up negative tactics and baffling selection choices which have caused them to drift of the pace of the title challengers. Out of both cups and essentially out of the league Shamrock Rovers will almost certainly finish fourth and have to hope that one of the top three win the cup so they can enter European competition next summer. Highlights of the season include the goal scoring form of Miele and an opening night win over St. Pats.

Grade: D Fenlon will be starting to feel the pressure as Rovers season is essentially over in August.

Prediction: 4th

Bohemian FC:

Current Position: 5th

Pre-Season Target: Top Half Finish

Bohs were this season’s early surprise package as they kept with the leaders for the first half of the season. Although they have fallen out of European contention they are virtually guaranteed of finishing 5th in what will be deemed a successful season. They also remain in the cup and have a home tie against Bray Wanderers in the next round. The controversial signing of Akinade has proved very successful from a footballing perspective with his strength and size up front a vital fulcrum for the Northsiders. The highlight of the season is of course the 3-1 home win against arch-rivals Shamrock Rovers in front of RTE camera and more importantly covered excellently by YouTube channel Copa 90.

Grade B: Not quite the surprise package of previous seasons such as Dundalk 2013 or Drogheda 2012 but Keith Long has enjoyed a successful first term and European football through winning the cup is still possible.

Prediction: 5th

Bray Wanderers:

Current Position: 6th

Pre-Season Target: 10th

Given the somewhat confusing ownership battle that is ongoing at the club Bray have performed admirably on the pitch all season with little or no help for the club. The leadership shown by the senior players has been phenomenal as the Seasiders find themselves sitting in the top half of the table. Although they suffered some heavy defeats along the way they have also managed some memorable victories including a 1-0 home win over title challengers St Pats

Grade: B Tough start but have shot up the table of late despite the tough background conditions.

Prediction: 9th

Longford Town:

Current Position: 7th

Pre-Season Target: Mid-Table

Last year’s Fist Division champions would have been very happy with the start they made to the season sitting in the top half of the table for long periods of time. However injuries have exposed the limited nature of the squad and they have endured a poor run of form of late despite an impressive away draw against champions Dundalk last time out. Lonford play Limerick, Bray and Galway in the coming weeks and good results in these fixtures will prevent them from being drawn into the relegation picture. The highlight of their season was an away win against Bohs who at the time were flying high in the league.

Grade: C+ Have played well throughout the season despite a drop in form through injuries. Should have enough to stay out of a relegation battle.

Prediction: 7th

Derry City:

Current Position: 8th

Pre-Season Target: Top Half

Derry City are one of the biggest clubs in the country beyond a shadow of a doubt. They have however endured a torrid season in 2015. LOI teams used to dread the trip to the Brandywell but the Candystrips have lost 6 times at home this term. Peter Hutton is no doubt dealing with a reduced budget and this season will be view as one of transition but Derry supporters will not be used to looking up from the bottom half of the table. Recent form has improved with 4-0 and 3-0 wins over Galway and Longford respectively. If they can maintain this form they will surely avoid a relegation battle and may even go on a decent cup run.

Grade: D Sitting in eight place can only be deemed a failure for a club of Derry’s stature

Prediction: 6th

Drogheda United:

Current Position: 9th

Pre-Season Target: Mid-Table

Another side whose form has been mixed Drogheda’s recent form has seen them fall into the relegation picture. Heavily reliant on the talents of Thornton and Kavanagh Drogheda look like relation fodder in their absence. They face four crucial matches in a row now against the teams surrounding them. If they do not pick up points in these games they will be in serious trouble. Up next is a crucial tie against 11th placed Sligo Rovers. Drogheda remain in the cup and will relish their trip to Oriel Park in the league to disrupt their rivals title challenge.

Grade: C- Still enjoy relative safety but a loss to Sligo on Friday will drag them into a serious relegation battle.

Prediction: 11th

Galway United:

Current Position: 10th

Pre-Season Target: 10th

Tommy Dunne’s side were promoted through the play-off against UCD last season and have enjoyed their first season back in the top-flight which has been capped off by getting to the League Cup final against St. Pats even beating champions Dundalk in the semi-final. They will however need to re-focus on the league in the coming weeks to insure their stay in the top-flight is extended. They will start with a crucial fixture against Drogheda United in two weeks’ time, should they be victorious in that fixture they may avoid being in the relegation picture in the final weeks.

Grade: C A shaky defence will cause worries for Dunne as his side desperately need points in the final round of fixtures to avoid the dreaded playoff.

Prediction: 9th

Sligo Rovers:

Current Position: 11th

Pre-Season Target: Top-Half

What a torrid time Sligo Rovers have endured since the departure of Ian Barraclough. Optimism was high at the start of the season with exciting new signings like former Chelsea player Morton Nielson. The Bit o’ Red nearly beat title challengers Cork City on their opening fixture only denied by a last minute goal from former player Ross Gaynor. A torrid run of results including heavy defeat to Shamrock Rovers and St. Pats was topped off by defeat to basement club Limerick who have sense managed to close the gap at the bottom to 4 points. Sligo need to recover and quickly before the threat of automatic relegation becomes very real indeed.

Grade: F No superlative exists to describe how poor Sligo Rovers have been this season.

Prediction: 10th

Limerick FC:

Current Position: 12th

Pre-Season Target: Survival

Working with a much reduced budget Limerick were always likely to struggle this season. And struggle they did failing to win in their first 19 attempts. But much like the Argentinian rugby team is was 20th time lucky for the Shannonsiders as the meeting of the bottom two clubs in Markets Field ended in a 3-2 home victory. Amazingly they managed to follow this victory with another in a=n epic encounter against Bohs were 10-man Limerick finished triumphant on a score line of 4-3. The addition of Lee Lynch has been crucial in this resurgence in form and Limerick will believe that the great escape is on:

Grade: D- would have been F two weeks ago but Limerick are suddenly starting to play football. They do however face a daunting trip to Turners Cross on Friday where they lost 5-0 at the beginning of the season.

Prediction: 12th

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Sean Murphy, Pundit Arena

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