Navenny Street Bingo Club

You know when you have that feeling?
It's like your sixth sense.
There's absolutely no reason for it, but you just know that it's going to happen.
Like last season, Tunde gets brought down by a clumsy James Brown challenge late in the first home game against Drogheda. Does he get a penalty? No.
Does James Brown burst through our midfield and win a last gasp free kick on the edge of the box? Yes. 
Did you know when Dane Massey swung his left foot at the ball where it would end up?

We've already lost a game to the weather this season, so my draft has been revised, but here you have it. 
Welcome to Harpin On's Navenny Street Bingo!

Ollie to be sent off.

Now I know what you're thinking, that's obviously going to happen!
Ollie's reputation at this point precedes him and you can bet that any slight grumblings towards the fourth Official will be passed on to the ref.
I'm not saying the cards aren't justified, but many a referee seem to go straight for the pocket with Ollie when other managers would maybe get the benefit of the doubt.

But maybe this year will be different, granted he only has 35 games to worry about considering he is banned from the dugout for the opening game of the season!

One of the players that left last season to score against us.

So this one would be painful.
Having lost four of our biggest goal threats in Tunde, Foley, Boyd and O'Sullivan to other League of Ireland clubs, there is a pretty big chance that one of them could come back to bite the hand that once fed it.
Throw Hawkins, Coyle and McEleney in there and this one has a bit more than an outside chance of landing.
But hopefully not!

A last minute winner.

So for the last three seasons in a row, Harps have won a game with a goal in the 90th minute. 
Hilariously, all three were actually against Waterford, who unfortunately for the sake of this prediction, will not be in the league this year.
So will Harps manage a last gasp win against another side this year? Fingers crossed!

One of the players who left last season to re-join in the summer.

Unlikely I know, given that most of the players that moved ended up getting better contracts.
But based off of pre-season and the opening round of fixtures, many of them might not get the game time they would be looking for and would have had at Finn Park. 
We know that Ollie has said they wanted to keep all the players that did move on, and as much as you can take that with a pinch of salt, this could be one to keep an eye on.

The Dugout to go further into the stand.

We're well used to it now, all the usual complaints that come with teams playing away at Finn Park. "The pitch is a disgrace, we couldn't play our usual game" etc...
Last year the pitch was in fantastic condition throughout the season, but still the moans were heard.
But one post match interview that really stood out for me was Vinny Perth's after our 2-2 draw with Dundalk. To paraphrase, "This stadium should be knocked down and Aldi extended into it....". I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure it was something along those lines anyway.
But yes, on a serious note, he bizarrely claimed that the away dugout had been strategically moved further back into the stand.
It was certainly more imaginative than the "long drive up here" lament. 
Will we get an excuse about the ever moving dugout again this season?

An Unannounced signing to be named in the starting eleven.

Throw your mind back to the fourth match of last season.
 Finn Harps had started the season really well and had a settled squad with some good depth.
So when the team to play Waterford was posted on the various social media platforms, the name, "Dunleavy" stood out like a sore thumb.
Because, the fans at this point were unaware that he even played for the club. The buzz around the team at the time was something else, we were winning games and signing local boys that were League of Ireland winning captains. 
The transfer window is now closed as far as I am aware but rumours are rife of a player that has signed but there's been no confirmation from the club.
The summer window also presents an opportunity for this repeat performance.

Harps to beat every team this season at least once.

Wouldn't this be quite the achievement. In theory it would probably guarantee that we wouldn't finish bottom of the league and would go a long way to ensuring that we stay up. 
Last year, Harps managed to beat every team in the league bar Drogheda. Usually when you're down around the bottom of the table, it's the teams around you that you aim to take points off of. But in fact, Harps managed to beat everyone bar the team that finished on the same points as us.


So there you have it, our slightly random predictions for this year. We'd love to hear any that you may have along with any rational. 
Here's hoping after the false start last weekend that the lads get the season on the way with a good performance on Friday. 

Cheers for reading, see you for post-match thoughts and player ratings after Friday!


 

February 23, 2022

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