The Anchor Leg

August has arrived and the League of Ireland enters its final stages with trophies, triumphs and the trapdoor all to be decided as autumn descends. All ten top flight clubs still have hopes alive in both league and cup and all hope their summer transfer business will help them thrive, consolidate or pull off miracles. 

Waterford entered July with squatter’s rights on eighth position, eight points above the playoff spot and eight points off the top four. They leave it having risen to sixth place, but now just seven points above the playoff position and only five below that crucial top four. Business has been difficult in the transfer window, but the Blues have held on to their assets and added a player in each line of the field. The three newcomers, all Scousers, bear the hallmark of being Coleman’s own signings and all have signed for 2026 too. 

The four league and cup matches played last month saw Waterford scoring thirteen goals and conceding ten as the Blues showed character after a humiliating loss by winning three times in succession. The front three of Amond, Noonan and Lonergan have been on fire. They have scored 21 of Waterford’s last 27 goals between them. Providing that trio can stay fit, all that’s really needed is a little quality on the bench. If Trae Coyle and Josh Miles can contribute when called upon, then goalscoring should continue to be a strength of this team.

 

Fans enjoyed a first away win against Galway in 18 years (INPHO/James Lawlor)

 

Goals came thick and fast in the second half in Eamon Deacy Park last week with the Blues always threatening to add more than even their excellent return of four. It will have irked Coleman, however, to concede within two minutes of going 3-1 up. It’s an old story in football that teams are at their most vulnerable straight after scoring, but the hope will be that a fully match-fit Jordan Rossiter will help cut lapses like that out with the nous he brings to midfield. It will take a game or two more for the 28-year-old to get to peak level, but he showed promising signs in what was a mature and intelligent performance by the whole team in Galway.

There’s no doubt that the manager wanted, and still wants, more. Recruiting a tall central defender was a priority for July and that hasn’t been accomplished yet. There is still the possibility of signing a player, or two, on loan over the coming days as that window has been extended temporarily. Attempts were made to sign several high-quality players over the course of the month. Seamus Conneely preferred to stay in England with Accrington Stanley, while Pat Hoban said “Waterford were interested (in signing him), but I didn’t want to go there”. It appears that Shamrock Rovers were also approached with a proposal to make Conan Noonan’s deal permanent, but that Stephen Bradley wasn’t willing to leave one of his top prospects go. 

 

Amond again - his twelfth league goal of the season (INPHO/James Lawlor)

 

A similar move was made with Tommy Lonergan as his loan deal was cancelled in favour of a permanent contract. That was probably the most important signing of the summer as the 21-year-old looks ready to really flourish here. He already has eight league and cup goals and has developed a better partnership with Amond in recent months. Also this summer, Jesse Dempsey and Seán Keane have signed their first professional contracts with the club while Ronan Mansfield has been given an improved deal as Coleman aims to rectify Keith Long’s mistake of excluding any locals from the team. 

The fact that Maarten Pouwels has departed today without another club lined up suggests that a deal has been made to settle a large part of his contract. His generous wages were a drain on the budget, especially given his lack of playing time, and his move was a costly mistake for Waterford this season. The giant striker totalled 199 minutes of league football for the Blues (90 coming in his sole start in Galway last March) in thirteen appearances. His last was as an 88th minute substitute against Drogheda United at the RSC in May when his unnecessary loss of possession gave the visitors the opportunity to salvage a late 2-2 draw. Pouwels was named on the bench three more times - remaining unused on each occasion – but couldn’t even get a place in the squad for the last three games with Coleman selecting Under-17s player Orion Cala ahead of him.

Navajo Bakboord, another high-earner, is still with the club for now, but doesn’t appear to be part of the plans having last played eleven weeks ago. Matty Smith remains on the books and on the proverbial treatment bench. Three players were sent out on loan last month – Ben McCormack to Wexford, Calum Costello and Zak O’Sullivan to Fleetwood. Costello has impressed sufficiently in preseason to earn a squad number ahead of Town’s League Two campaign which begins in Barnet tomorrow. 

 

Maarten Pouwels has departed by mutual consent (Alan Robinson Photography)

 

The jury is out on whether the summer’s business will be enough to mount a strong challenge for a European place. The Blues remain eight points off the top three and every Premier Division club is still alive in the cup. Waterford can qualify by breaking into the top three, by winning the cup or by finishing fourth if the cup is won by one of the top three teams in the league. It’s a tall order for a team that still has many of the same issues in defence as have been apparent all season. 

That old Samuel Johnson quotation that “when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully” seems apt for Waterford and Sligo Rovers as the only teams to have won their last two games each. Just when it seemed that they would be battling each other to avoid the relegation playoff, both teams are now surging. Waterford have climbed to sixth place and could well be in the top half by Sunday evening. Beating St Pat’s this week, and perhaps strengthening with a loan signing or two, would go a long way towards refocusing fans’ eyes on the top, rather than the bottom, of the table for the rest of the year.

Players available and on first team contracts as of the 1st of August:
Stephen McMullan, Brad Wade, Jason Healy, Andy Boyle, Darragh Leahy, Grant Horton, Ryan Burke, Finlay Armstrong, Jesse Dempsey, Ronan Mansfield, Adam Queally, Seán Keane, Navajo Bakboord, Kacper Radkowksi (long-term injury), Jordan Rossiter, Rowan McDonald, Sam Glenfield, James Olayinka, Kyle White, Dean McMenamy, Conan Noonan, Trae Coyle, Josh Miles, Matty Smith (long-term injury), Pádraig Amond, Tommy Lonergan.