On Friday night, Turner’s Cross will host League of Ireland football which is an achievement in itself considering the slow, painful and drawn-out death of Cork City Football Club. But, almost as inevitable as that club’s demise, was that a new club would spring up in its place.

And, sure enough, Cork City Foras Co-op played their first competitive fixture when they travelled to The Brandywell last Friday night to take on Derry City. The sooner they buy the former club’s name from the receiver the better because their current moniker is a bit of a handful. More of a surprise was the fact that Cork proved to be something of a handful themselves.

I would confidently venture that I was not alone in losing money by Derry’s failure to defeat Tommy Dunne’s side. Derry have retained much of the team which was good enough to finish fourth in the Premier Division so being held at home by a side which was literally thrown together at the last minute does not augur well for the season ahead. Still, I’m prepared to put it down to opening-day nerves.

Adrenaline may have helped Cork through that game but that can only carry them so far and there was a blow during the week when they were told they could not register three of their new signings. And, while there may be a carnival atmosphere at the Cross among supporters who now hold the fortunes of the city’s senior club in their hands, Waterford United are more than capable of spoiling that.

Waterford were a well-oiled machine last year which finished just three points off the play-offs as well as reaching the final of the EA Sports Cup and the last four of the FAI Cup. A 3-0 win over Wexford Youths last week suggests that, despite losing some key players in the close-season, they are a force to be reckoned with. It’s rare for a visitor to Cork to be favourites but Waterford are probably accurately priced at 11/10.

Derry, meanwhile, are also on the road and it remains to be seen how they react to the unglamorous surrounds of Jackman Park where they will face Limerick and they haven’t won on their last two visits there, both in 2003. Still, I fancy them at evens and am going to put €20 on a double which would yield €84. I’m also going to include them in a €5 accumulator along with Monaghan United to beat Longford Town and Finn Harps to defeat Salthill Devon where the potential return is €63.

Elsewhere, I’ m relying heavily on Bohemians to bring me in a profit. I’m backing them to beat both Glentoran in the Setanta Sports Cup on Saturday and UCD in the League on Tuesday as part of a treble which also includes a Galway United win over Bray Wanderers on Friday. A stake of €25 would bring a return of €95.64.

We are well aware of players who have left the League of Ireland and have gone on to have successful careers across the water but it seems as though it is more difficult for managers to make the same transition. Of the 92 English League clubs, only three have bosses who have managed in the League of Ireland: Blacburn Rovers’ Sam Allardyce, Jim Gannon of Peterborough United and Notts County’s Steve Cotterill, although Burton Albion’s Paul Pescholsolido did have a stint as Jeff Kenna’s assistant at St Patrick’s Athletic.

The fact that all of the above had previously played in England is no coincidence. Clubs there tend to prefer to employ managers who know there way around the League and there is certainly something to be said for familiarity, even if sometimes the argument for broadening your horizons is stronger. Gannon is the only Irishman among the three and on Tuesday night he continues with what looks like a mission impossible to steer Peterborough clear of relegation when they host Sheffield United.

Gannon’s managerial career to date has been nothing if not interesting and in taking over at strugglers Peterborough he made it clear he would not shirk a challenge. The Dubliner cut his managerial teeth with Dundalk in June 2004. He got off to a bad start, losing 6-0 to Bray Wanderers, and things could only get better from there. They did but only to a point and by the time he had left he had won 21, drew 16 and lost 23 of his 60 league games in charge. Not a particularly bad record but not a particularly good one either.

He quickly fell on his feet by landing the job at his former club Stockport County where he really came to prominence. In the space of two years, he turned them from League Two strugglers into promotion challengers in League One. Then the wheels came off when the club went into administration. Next he was off to Motherwell where there was another bad start, losing 1-0 to Llanelli in the UEFA Cup. Things did improve, they lost just once in their opening 13 SPL games but, by the time he was sacked on December 28, there had been a steady decline.

But, publicly at least, the club said the decision was taken because of his refusal to commit to the club rather than results. Five weeks later he was back in work with Championship strugglers Peterborough. Six points from as many games is a better return than what went before but it won’t be enough to keep them in the division. In terms of this game, they have taken something from 10 of their 17 home games while Sheffield United have taken nothing in 10 of their 17 away matches. With that in mind, I’m going to back the double chance of a home win and draw with €30 at 1.56, even if a positive result will only delay the inevitable. With my remaining €20, I’m going to back a treble of Crystal Palace to beat Bristol City, QPR to defeat Plymouth and Dunfermline to win away to Airdrie United for a pay-out of €125.91.