Transfers In's and Out's

Post all rumours or confirmed arrivals/departures here

x-town player des hope has apparently re-signed for longford

ah who needs him with out millions we can have whoever we want haha heres for dreaming

john terry and anton ferdinand at the centre of defence .... evra on the left with suarez just in front of him!!

i cant confirm this and don't even know where i heard it but big mac is supposed to be considering returning to athlone

hopefully its true

heard that too about big mac, and garvan broughal... all very quiet last few weeks though

mintyblue wrote:

heard that too about big mac, and garvan broughal... all very quiet last few weeks though

i asked garvan and hes waiting to see whats happening in limrick... would be good to see a few more familiar faces in the squad

but garv couldnt get a game when he was here really so why bother? need to stop bringing back former players and get some new faces in. we seem to be happy to just get by and finish bottom 3 or 4 every year

i heard afew of the peters and willow lads are interested in coming down for the pre season.

Talking to Mike Kerley the other day he was saying he had 6 or 7 new lads lined up to come in but cant do anything about it he seemed very annoyed about the whole thing.

Heard he ahd approached 3 or 4 lads in Limerick about signing and Brian McCarthy but nothing can be sorted.

LimFC wrote:

Talking to Mike Kerley the other day he was saying he had 6 or 7 new lads lined up to come in but cant do anything about it he seemed very annoyed about the whole thing.

Heard he ahd approached 3 or 4 lads in Limerick about signing and Brian McCarthy but nothing can be sorted.

Unbefeckinglievable that this is happening

another week at its end and still no news on manager or players!!

so now that kerley has been re-appointed let the rumours begin

at least he has extra time this off-season to get a squad together, so no excuses , apart from small budget, anyone hear how much it is?

gary higgins and davy ryan gone to junior football in limerick. rumours williamson and mark walshe have been linked to other 1st div clubs, though i believe kevin wants to stay , kerley set to begin talks in next few days with last seasons squad. the budget is the same as last season, so there wont be any big money signings!! mons keeper has left for drogheda so this COULD open the door for schlinger to go there as was rumoured for large parts of last season? would be a huge loss!!!

ah no more money means same shit football to look forward too. another year in the bottom 3-4

schlinger gone to mons!!! along with bennion

great start

big mac has been spoken to about coming back, at least 12 expected to stay on from last seasons squad, 75% of 2012 squad expected to be local...... who could we sign as keeper? any ideas? i thought shannahan was good apart from one bad game, and then place wouldnt play him again!! though he didnt get on too well at longford either, apparently we tried to sign bennion again, doubt we couldve paid for him though

i really cant understand why this mystery investor paid off stadium debt and wouldnt invest in the football club. how is this benefiting ATFC?
now were stuck with no money again and a team that wont compete anywhere near the top 3 once again

Admin wrote:

i really cant understand why this mystery investor paid off stadium debt and wouldnt invest in the football club. how is this benefiting ATFC?
now were stuck with no money again and a team that wont compete anywhere near the top 3 once again

would you invest in that commitee?? after the thousands they squandered in 2007 on a bunch o mercenarys and a shit manager!!!

the stadium debt wouldve eventually stopped ATFC from using the ground, what then? at least with the stadium paid for ATFC will always have a home,

big mac harney and broughal all linked with us in paper today, seems the struggle to find a keeper is ongoing!! word has it colopy may be returning!! scotty is better to be honest, badly need an experienced keeper, seems they all want big money though...

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Published: Wednesday, 4th January, 2012 5:30pm
Kerley hopes local trio will join Athlone Town

Profile by Kevin O'Neill

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ATHLONE Town manager Mike Kerley is hoping to finalise deals for potential new signings Garvan Broughall, Neil Harney and Brian McCarthy over the next few days.

Since his reappointment as Athlone manager for the 2012 season some weeks ago, Kerley made no secret of a wish to bring the local trio back to their home town club.

Both Broughall and McCarthy spent last season with promotion chasing Limerick, while Harney has been with Premier Division St Patrick's Athletic for the past couple of campaigns.

Though Kerley remains largely tight-lipped about new signings, admitting Athlone are currently being outbid for some new players, the Limerick native believes the aforementioned trio could become Athlone players very soon.

"I spoke to the three lads before the Christmas period. They had exams coming up at the time, and it was only right to allow them concentrate on exams. But I hope to meet them and get something sorted in the next few days. From the impressions I get, they seem keen to join Athlone, and want to play for their home town team," Kerley said late last week.

Kerley sees their acquisitions as a potentially big boost to Athlone's playing squad, and appears very keen to enlist their talents.

Broughall made a handful of appearances for Athlone towards the end of the end 2010 league season. He spent the majority of his early playing career in centre midfield or at centre-back, but was utilised at right-back by Pat Scully's Limerick last season. However, Broughall largely found first-team chances at a premium at Limerick, and could see a return to Athlone as a chance to re-ignite his League of Ireland career.

McCarthy was more or less a regular starter for Limerick last season, as the Munster men finished fourth in the First Division. However, with the arrival of Shane Guthrie at Jackman Park, McCarthy's services were deemed surplus to requirements. McCarthy has previously had two spells with Athlone, firstly making his debut in 2006, and has also represented Longford Town and Bohemians. He once underwent a trial period at Atletico Madrid, and his towering presence and experience, despite still being only 23, would assist Athlone's back-line.

Harney was a regular squad member with St Pat's over recent years, but found first-team chances limited at Inchicore.

However, Harney will have garnered much knowledge and experience of important matches while at St Pat's, and was involved in some of the Dublin side's European outings during the course of last season.

Comfortable at right-back, or in the centre of defence, Harney's addition would also be seen as a massive fillip to Athlone.

Before the end of the week, Kerley also hopes to confirm that several of last season's squad are staying put.

He's already had positive indications from Mark Walshe and Kevin Williamson about staying, while Limerick-based trio, Tommy Barrett, Paul Danaher and Jason Hughes, have also intimated a desire to remain at Lissywollen.

Kerley has been in contact with most of last season's squad in relation to remaining at the club, but chose to wait until after Christmas to get solid answers from them.

"That part of it (re-signing players from last season's squad) will hopefully be done this week," said Kerley.

The Town boss has also spoken to "five or six" goalkeepers about filling the void left by Micheál Schlingermann's recent departure to Monaghan Utd.

"I spoke to five or six different 'keepers, but it largely comes down to what we can offer them financially, and to be honest, that's not a great deal at the moment," said Kerley.

Kerley admitted to speaking with Limerick reserve goalkeeper Dave Ryan about signing, but he's been offered a new contract by Limerick and at this moment in time looks unlikely to join Athlone.

Another Limerick native, Brian Collopy, provided back-up to Schlingermann after signing in July, and actually managed to dislodge Schlingermann from his position between the posts for a number of weeks. However, a couple of injuries, including a nasty shoulder knock, ruled Collopy out of the last couple of months of the last campaign. Kerley though, has not ruled out a return for Collopy.

"Basically, I'm looking for an experienced goalkeeper, but we can't rule out anyone because we might not be able to entice a more experienced goalkeeper. A more experienced 'keeper would probably help us in terms of organising the defence a bit better, and I felt there were times last season when we just needed a bit more experience at the back and in goal. Brian Collopy remains an option, but he has to prove he's fit over the coming month or two," said Kerley.

"We have a long list of potential new signings, but just last week were outbid by Finn Harps for a player I thought we definitely had," he continued.

"I've spoken to lots of players, but ultimately it comes down to finance, in most cases, and we're obviously working off a very limited budget," added Kerley.

Neil Harney has signed for Bohs

wouldve been a good one to have!!!