A feast of sport to look forward to
Paul Cassidy on Thursday • Published 12 Jan 2012 09:30
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Cass predicts a good year for Ballinamallard with Premiership football coming to Fermanagh for the first time ever.
As the New Year kicks in, it's a time for resolutions and predictions.
Across the water we had some amazing results over the Christmas period with both Manchester clubs having surprising league defeats. United's defeat to Blackburn can be put down to two Irish men, Gibson and Evans taking Wayne Rooney out on the town which led to Rooney being left out of the squad.
This reminded me of Whiteside and McGrath having a similar influence on Bryan Robson many years ago and both players were finally shown the door. City's defeat to Sunderland can also be put down to another man from these parts, Martin O'Neill. Everywhere he goes he seems to have the ability to inspire great performances from average teams. Hopefully some day we will see him take charge of one of the top clubs which brings even greater pressure to produce, but I am quite sure he is well capable of rising to this challenge.
The FA Cup clash forced United to bring Paul Scholes out of retirement which doesn't say much for the current crop of United midfielders. Rumour has it that Bobby Charlton is back in training which should spell the end for Michael Carrick. I can only see the two Manchester clubs battling it out for the title as Spurs have some very difficult away trips to come. Ultimately I would have to opt for City to nick their first ever Premiership title, given their much superior squad and now they have no real cup distractions.
Locally, if Ballinamallard can stay injury free and with Whitey Anderson adding to their squad then we should see Premiership football in Fermanagh next season, which would be a massive boost for local sport. Initially the club may have to ground share but it would be fitting reward for a massive club effort if ultimately premiership football arrived at Ferney Park.
The local Mercer League title should boil down to a fight between rivals Enniskillen Town and reigning champions Lisbellaw. Tummery are having a wonderful season but I think they may struggle to maintain their challenge over an entire season. Amazingly Lisbellaw have only played two league games at home in the league and ultimately this should tip the odds in their favour.
All GAA fans will be eager to see how Peter Canavan's Fermanagh progress after last Sunday's impressive opener against Antrim. Renewed enthusiasm and a squad keen to impress their new mentor meant there is a fresh, feel-good factor in the county.
The McKenna Cup is generally used to experiment with different players and establish the final squad for the National League campaign ahead, so it is still early days for the revival but the away fixture to Tyrone next week could prove to be an interesting affair and should be a reliable indicator as to how much work is needed. Ultimately I think Fermanagh should definitely be good enough to gain promotion from Division 4 which in turn should leave them in a confident frame of mind for the Championship clash against Down in Enniskillen, June 3. With the winners due to face either Monaghan or Antrim in the semi-final, well who knows what could happen?
All in all 2012 will bring a feast of sport, video technology to soccer at some level, a Fermanagh resurgence and no doubt its fair share of surprises.
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