by Mark Cummins
The fourth Setanta Sports Cup campaign looks to be potentially as entertaining as the previous three and the new-look two-part series of games shouldn't cause too much disruption with plenty of interesting group games to whet the appetite in the autumn.
The organising committee have opted to change the format this year due to worries from the Carnegie Irish League teams.
They would normally have played nearly three-quarters of their season by the time the competition started but the eircom League of Ireland teams were coming into it fresh-legged having enjoyed a two-and-a-half month break - but having played few competitive friendlies.
It could even be argued that this change may benefit the League of Ireland clubs.
One of the reasons for introducing summer soccer was that our European competitors would have had plenty of league action ahead of their European exploits.
Now they will have six months of action before the second series of group games. We'll have to wait and see how the changes work, or don't.
To many, the new format looks fairly cumbersome and prolonged. At the competition's launch, competition organising committee member Milo Corcoran put a positive spin on it by calling it a 'Champions League' style format.
Maybe there will be no really fair format until all competing clubs are playing a summer season or a winter season, or playing in the same league. But we won't even go their just yet.
So who are this year's runners and riders? Let's take a look.
Group 1
Cliftonville
Cork City
Drogheda United
Dungannon Swifts
Drogheda United can rightly claim to be Setanta Sports Cup kings having won the last two titles. The reigning eircom League champions arguably have the best squad in the League of Ireland and manager Paul Doolin has added wisely to it with the acquisitions of quality players like Sean Prunty and Adam Hughes.
The draw has been kind to them with home ties against Dungannon Swifts and Cork City in the second series of games. Their final tie is away at Solitude against Cliftonville but they could very easily have the group won by that time.
The loss of Simon Webb from Drogs' squad will prove to be a major downer, while Damian Lynch, James Keddy, Stephen Grey and Gavin Whelan are also gone from last year's double winning campaign.
Drogs were actually paired with City and Swifts (along with Portadown) in 2006's group 1 and finished in second place, six points behind City but went on to beat them in the final at Tolka Park.
City are under the stewardship of Alan Mathews as they enter their fourth competition - the only eLoI side to do so.
Mathews managed Longford Town in 2005's inaugural contest and finished a creditable second in a group containing Linfield and Glentoran.
It's difficult to predict how City will do this time out as you never know what team will turn up.
The return of George O'Callaghan along with the arrival of last season's top league scorer, Dave Mooney, are fantastic for all on Leeside, but Mathews has lost two classy players in the shape of Leon McSweeney and Brian O'Callaghan, who have both gone to England.
The nucleus of Damien Richardson's side is there - Gamble, Devine, Woods, Behan, etc. - and they can be excellent on their day but disappointing in equal measure. City could also do with a fully fit John O'Flynn.
The City fans can be very demanding and Mathews will need to deliver from the start. He'll certainly need to as he faces trips to Drogs and Clifts in September, while also chasing that eLoI title he craves so much.
Dungannon are entering their third SS Cup campaign and have made many friends in the south.
They have finished third out of four in their previous two group campaigns and they know all too well about the threat of Drogs and City having met them in 2006, while they were in the same group with City last year.
Swifts have plenty of players who have seen SSC action including Mark McAllister but they've just sold Shea Campbell to Cliftonville.
However, their chances have been badly hit with the news that captain Rodney McAree is out for the rest of the season with a fractured cheekbone.
They are a threat of sorts but will need to dig deep to come out of this group.
It's a case of the old and the new with Cliftonville. They are the oldest club on the island of Ireland and the newest to this competition.
They've been on fire this season in the Carnegie IPL, topping the table several times this season.
Dangermen in Eddie Patterson's side include Chris Scannell, Mark Holland and Francis Murphy., while Barry Holland, who featured in Northern Ireland's recent U-23 defeat to Belgium, will also be one to watch. He could very well feature against Pat Fenlon's U-23 side later this year.
The Reds face Drogs and City away in the first batch of games and welcome those two at home in September. Decent away performances from the start, along with that summer break may suit them and Patterson's side could just be this season's surprise package.
Prediction
1 Drogheda United
2 Cliftonville
Group 2
Derry City
Glentoran
Linfield
St Patrick's Athletic
For the fourth year running, Belfast's big two of Linfield and Glentoran have been paired together, and for the third year running, Derry City will join them. For St Pat's, SS Cup introductions are needed as they were in a group with Cork, Swifts and Portadown last year.
Derry welcome back Stephen Kenny as manager with high hopes of doing well in this competition.
It'll be a new look Candystripes team with former UCD men Darren Quigley and Connor Sammon moving to the Brandywell along with Stephen Grey. On the debit side, Killian Brennan, Ken Oman and fans' favourite Gary Beckett are all gone.
The return of Kenny has been a little too positive for comfort. The expectations seem to be very high for a club that did little last season apart from that League Cup win and finished way down the league table.
While it is vital to remember that Kenny didn't exactly cover himself in glory over at Dunfermline, he knows this team and city inside out and could get the good times rolling straight away.
Kenny may or may not be a miracle worker.
Pat's boss Johnny McDonnell could claim to be just that, having taken the Saints on a rollercoaster ride in this competition last season which saw his side top group 2 and eventually go out to winners Drogs in the semi-finals.
As the capital city's only representative for the second year in a row, a lot rests on their shoulders.
McDonnell must do without long serving defenders Colm Foley and Darragh Maguire. Foley has retired, while Maguire has moved to Shamrock Rovers having opted not to take up a full-time contract, as did Anthony Murphy, who has gone to Sligo Rovers.
Dessie Byrne returns from Bohs to add some much needed metal to the back four, while Bobby Ryan also comes in. The big surprise arrival is Republic of Ireland international Joe O'Cearuill on a three-year deal and he's just what Pat's need.
Those aside, the team will pick itself with Barry Ryan, Dave Rogers, Mark Quigley, Gary O'Neill et al slotting in.
Linfield will be looking for revenge this year having lost last year's final, at home, to Drogheda.
Manager David Jeffrey has a huge squad, most of whom have been at Windsor Park since their first, successful, SSC campaign in 2005.
The squad certainly contains some of the best players in the Irish League: Kris Lindsay, Alan Mannus, Tim Mouncey, Jamie Mulgrew, Thomas Stewart, Peter Thompson. The list goes on.
It also includes 500-goals man Glenn Ferguson, who hit and surpassed that glorious mark in last month's CIS Cup final last-gasp victory over Crusaders.
Mannus and Thompson were in the Northern Ireland squad for the recent game with Bulgaria, while Stewart and Mulgrew were in the Northern Under-21 squad for the match in Israel.
The Blues have been on the go since last June and will have played 40 games when they meet Derry in their SSC opener.
They met Glens in their traditional St Stephen's Day fixture last December and were beaten 1-0.
Glens themselves will also have played well over 40 games when they meet Pat's in their opening game - taking into account their European, friendly, IPL, County Antrim Shield and CIS Cup games.
They've had a torrid time of it in the SSC, finishing bottom of their group each time.
It's surprising considering the talent they have in their squad, which includes Paul Leeman, Michael Halliday, Mark Glendinning and our own Willo McDonagh.
With that summer break, this might be their year to put that bad form right but whether they can come out of this so called 'Group of Death' is another question.
Prediction
1 Linfield
2 St Patrick's Athletic
