League of Ireland 2013 - Preview

So here we are, the first day of the Airtricity League 2013. As promised, way back in November, I am going to preview the season that lies ahead, with a large emphasis given over to UCD. Can UCD push on, following two seasons of lower mid-table battling, or will 2013 be the season that they leave themselves too much to do? Can Sligo Rovers defend their title with a depleted squad? How will Shamrock Rovers fare, with the club having settled down after a highly disrupted 2012 season? Who are the teams likely to be battling to avoid relegation?

UCD's 2012 season was a footballing cliché, of sorts, in that the team's results were poor in the first half of the season, but nearly the best in the league in the second half of the season. The squad has lost some players in the off season. Danny Ledwith joined Shamrock Rovers, Ciaran Nangle and Chris Lyons joined Bohs, while Drogheda signed two of UCD's best performers of the last two seasons, Graham Rusk, and potentially more damagingly, Paul O'Conor.

It wasn't all doom and gloom for The Students however, as they re-signed the core of last season's squad, including club captain Mick Leahy and Dave McMillan, a scoring threat after he signed for UCD from Olympic FC in the 2012 mid-season. Additionally, College have also signed Dinny Corcoran, who last season played with Bohs, and Craig Walsh, last season with Longford, and previously involved with Sky One's 'Football's Next Star.'

Corcoran is capable of goals at this level, while Walsh is a developing player who will fit in well with the ethos of UCD, namely developing young talent. It would appear that these two players are replacements for the Drogheda bound players.

The view of UCD, with its ethos of developing players, has improved in recent seasons. This has been complimented by Martin Russell's propensity to have his teams keep the ball on the deck. Previews for this season are talking about UCD being in a similar position to last year. Brian Fitzgerald, writing for extratime.ie, claimed that UCD will play as a team, and are capable of mixing it with the big boys. He says the really important games for UCD will be those against teams in the lower half of the table. RTÉ's Ed Leahy believed UCD are the "purveyors of the beautiful game", going on to suggest that UCD won't be battling to avoid relegation. Oisín Gregorian, of goal.com, wrote that it would be "tough" for Russell to keep his team playing in the Division in 2014 but predicted that UCD would finish 11th.

The previews are realistic, in that they don't predict that UCD will be winning the League, but are suggest that UCD are too good to go down. Martin Russell's pre-season sentiments echo this somewhat. He told UCDSoccer.com that, "as ever we have ambitions to play football in the right way and finish as high up the table as we can." This was Russell re-affirming that the team will be playing attractive football, but that they are merely hopeful, rather than confident, of doing better than last season.

I feel that the players lost are better than the players that have come in, and that 10th place is a realistic position for UCD. I don't expect them to be dragged down, and they could easily push on further up the table. What Russell must attempt to change is the team's slow start to the season, which has left them having to produce excellent form to pull out of the relegation zone later, for the last two seasons. UCD can't afford to fall as far behind as they have over the last two seasons, in an even more competitive League.

Outside of Belfield, I think defending champions Sligo might find it tough to reach the heights of last season. They have lost two big players, in Jason McGuinness (PFAI Player of the Year Nominee) and Mark Quigley (the PFAI Player of the Year), both to Shamrock Rovers. I expect that the League trophy will be residing in Tallaght again come November.

In terms of relegation, I think Dundalk and Bray will be down there. UCD will be just above them, and could be dragged down there.

Hopefully, Irish teams can perform in Europe. In terms of the League being taken more seriously, European progress is of paramount importance. Unfortunately, as has happened on numerous occasions over the last decade, the League champions are without their best players heading into their Champions League campaign.

Champions: Shamrock Rovers

Relegation play-off: Bray Wanderers

Relegation: Dundalk

UCD: 10th