State of Play

While the Blues have been stuck in eighth place for two months, they are still just eight points off the top four with two games in hand on most of the teams above them. It may be a stretch to reach Europe this year, but Waterford are closer to it than either St Pat’s or Drogheda were last year with the FAI Cup another avenue for qualification. At the same time, there is also an eight-point gap to Sligo Rovers in the relegation playoff place so the club’s fate is in the balance with a crucial transfer window opening today.

Waterford faced a similar crossroads last summer and went in the wrong direction. Every other club strengthened while the Blues weakened, and their form collapsed with nine losses from the final thirteen league games and an ignominious exit from the cup. Two-thirds of the season being played before the transfer window opens is an anomaly that surely needs to be fixed and it puts even more pressure on this July window for every club. New signings must be primed and ready to make an immediate impact. The stakes are extremely high and clubs are forced to gamble, often against their better judgement. 

This window will have featured heavily in the discussions that led to John Coleman’s appointment at the beginning of May. His and assistant Danny Ventre’s recent roles in scouting could give Waterford a key advantage and signings will be decided in conjunction with the Fleetwood group. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the current state of play of this year’s squad.

 

Northern Ireland goalkeeper Stephen McMullan tops the division for saves made

 

Stephen McMullan has played all 22 league games to date. There have been outstanding saves mixed with a few costly blunders. While the Northern Ireland Under 21 international has only kept two clean sheets, conceding 35 goals, it would be inaccurate to put too much of the blame on him. McMullan currently tops the Premier Division table for saves made which, while a testament to his shot-stopping ability, is also a clear indication of how open the Waterford defence has been and how many shots he has had to face. 

Unfortunately, his loan status was always likely to lessen fans’ patience with any mistakes. If it was the club’s own 20-year-old goalkeeper, fans may feel that errors were forgivable as part of the process – all lessons as part of developing a number one for years to come. The youngster will most likely return to Fleetwood Town a better keeper by the end of the season, but the Blues will be back to square one. 

Back-up goalkeepers Brad Wade and Jason Healy have only played one Munster Senior Cup game each this season, while Healy has also played a handful of Under 20s games where he has shared duties with Oisin Aldred and Igor Bacela. Fans have speculated about whether new manager John Coleman might favour an experienced stopper, but there has been no indication of bringing one to the RSC and the Blues suffered from the introduction of a new goalkeeper last summer so might be inclined to stick with what they have. 

 

Jesse Dempsey's inclusion has been a masterstroke by Coleman (Callum O'Brien)

 

In defence, Kacper Radkowski’s absence for the foreseeable future with a broken ankle means that an already-light backline inarguably needs to be strengthened. Coleman has emphasised the lack of height at the back and that will be addressed with a new signing due to be announced this week. Andy Boyle’s recovery from injury is a timely boost while Grant Horton, Darragh Leahy and Ryan Burke have started almost every game and each has played well – yet the collective (all eleven players) has failed to deliver clean sheets. 

Jesse Dempsey’s inclusion has been a masterstroke by Coleman through the month of June with the 20-year-old adding pace, energy and impressive discipline. Seán Keane made his debut in Sligo and did everything that was asked of him, while Adam Queally and Ronan Mansfield have returned from injury and a loan spell in Fleetwood respectively. Meanwhile, the signing of Navajo Bakboord just hasn’t worked out and he may well return to the Netherlands this month. 

The centre midfield spots are contested by numerous talented, young players. James Olayinka’s star has shone the brightest in recent months while Sam Glenfield gives bite and drive. Rowan McDonald has alternated between defence and being the closest to a ‘number six’ that the Blues have and Kyle White’s deceptive ball-carrying skills have seen chances created in every game he plays. Minutes have been limited for both Dean McMenamy and Ben McCormack while Calum Costello’s spell with Bray Wanderers was cut short in order to facilitate another loan move to Fleetwood. 

 

Maarten Pouwels has been a disappointment and a new striker will be added (Stephen McCarthy)

 

Shelbourne’s equaliser last week was the perfect illustration of what’s missing. Having taken the lead, Waterford conceded a simple goal mere seconds later. Mark Coyle was allowed to stride right through the centre of the park without a challenge and, moments later, the match was all-square. An experienced leader, conscious that teams can be vulnerable immediately after scoring, would surely warn young teammates not to switch off and would have stopped Coyle’s run by any means necessary long before he reached the penalty area. 

There was a notable lack of balance in the midfield options assembled by Waterford this year and it will be interesting to see if Coleman looks to change it now or has to wait until the end of the season. We have seen the influence of Paul Keegan and Robbie Weir in that role in recent years and both were tremendous help to the young players around them. 

The glaring answer is Coleman’s long-time captain at Accrington Stanley, Seamus Conneely, who still has not signed for anyone since his release in May. Turning 37 next week, the Irishman wouldn’t be a long-term solution and, unlike Pádraig Amond, his family are settled in England with young children in school and his wife’s career there. Asked about Conneely recently by Ray Scott for WLR, Coleman played down any possibility, saying “he wants to stay in England…..and I think there’s a couple more years left in Seamus.” Conneely was also linked with rejoining his old club Galway United, but reports from a Q&A with John Caulfield two weeks ago were that the veteran “will join Waterford”. Could an accommodation be made for him to fill a short-term void like Alex Baptiste did in 2022 and travel back and forth from the UK? 

 

The July window presents a challenge and opportunity for John Coleman (David O'Sullivan)

 

Further up the field, the trio of Amond, Tommy Lonergan and Conan Noonan have been in exceptional form and are locks in the starting eleven each week. Depth has been the issue with a lack of positive game-changers off the bench. Trae Coyle’s season has been severely disrupted by two injuries so we are yet to really see what he has to offer with less than three hundred minutes played. Hopes were renewed for Matty Smith in May with talk of him being back in the fold after the midseason break, but that didn’t come to pass and it now looks more likely that we may never see him in a blue jersey again. 

Another disappointment has been the form of Maarten Pouwels with the 6’7” striker failing to endear himself to the Blues faithful. Whether or not an exit is on the cards this month, it is unlikely that he will see much game time and it is expected that a new striker will be confirmed in the coming days. Loanee Liam Roberts, drafted in at the last minute due to those injuries, went back to Fleetwood in April (opening up a fourth loan spot in this window) and Zak O’Sullivan, a regular in the first team squad this year, has joined him in Matt Lawlor’s development squad. 

Waterford have done remarkably well over the past two months given the obvious deficiencies in the squad which have been compounded by numerous injury problems. There is a strong core there and some exciting young talents so it wouldn’t take major reconstruction to make this into a squad that can really challenge where the rewards are lucrative. For this to happen, any signings need to be ready to hit the ground running at this level. Bedding players in from the sixth and seventh tiers of English football just won’t cut the mustard for a serious European challenge and would most likely see the Blues looking over their shoulders just to stay up safely. Quality is needed to make up for some of the mistakes of last winter, but if it comes, then the rewards could be immense.