What’s next for Bohemians?
After a 1-1 draw against Galway United, the curtain came down on an awful season for Bohemians which saw them finish in eighth, their worst league finish since 2013.
A loss against Sligo Rovers at the end of October ensured that they will be staying in the Premier Division and avoided being relegated for the first time ever. While this is undoubtedly a positive, there are serious questions as to how they ended up in a situation where relegation was a serious concern for them.
Since replacing Declan Devine as manager in March, Alan Reynolds has done very little to win over the fans.
For months, supporters have been calling for the board to make a decision and sack Reynolds as performances have not improved since his arrival.
Even after ensuring survival, most of the comments on Bohs’ social media pages were calling to write off this season and start fresh next season with a new manager.
Fans streamed out of the Jodi stand 15 minutes before full time as Bohs went 3-0 down to St Patrick’s Athletic.
one fan in the Jodi Stand took the chance to make his feelings known to the board, shouting up at their section to tell them that the situation Bohs are in is their responsibility.
The only response he was met with was one board member sarcastically praising him for speaking his mind.
“They have to get rid of the manager, simple as that. He’s telling them to play like that, there’s no way anyone can want to play such awful football,” said Paul, who has been a Bohs fan for over 20 years.
“Under previous managers they weren’t as bad, even last season they were top of the league for so long and got to the cup final. You can say what you want about the players but he’s trying to play in a way that they clearly can’t do and just refuses to change it and he’s dragged us into a relegation battle.”
Many fans are calling for Director of Football Pat Fenlon to be removed from his role along with Reynolds.
Out of all the signings the club made before the start of the season, only goalkeeper Kacper Chorazka and Dayle Rooney have shown their worth. Signings like Sten Reinkort and Michael Lillander have already left the club after failing to impress. Bohs also made seven signings mid-season, of which only Ross Tierney and Dawson Devoy could be considered as good signings.
One of the biggest problems this season has been in the goals department, as Bohs had the league’s third lowest goal tally.
After failing to adequately replace Jonathan Afolabi, they have lacked a focal point up top with the struggles of Sten Reinkort and inconsistency of Filip Piszczek, James Akintunde and Alex Grieve.
They have mostly relied on players in a purple patch like Akintunde or Tierney to carry them through games with individual moments of quality, and you have to wonder where they would be without these moments.
Obviously, there are a lot of areas where improvement is needed for next season. Most fans would expect to be going into next season with a new manager in the dugout and would hope to see a lot of new players coming in and some going out.
A major clear out of the squad may be needed, and the club may need to be more ruthless in letting go of players who have been at the club for a while and failed to deliver consistently.
Bohs have not won the league since 2009, and with the major redevelopment of Dalymount Park fast approaching, the fans would love nothing more than to see the team win the league one last time in the ground that has been their home since 1901.
However, they look very far away from that at the moment, and unless big changes are seen soon, it is unlikely they will be returning to the top any time in the near future.
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