The 2011 Airtricity league of Ireland kicks off this Friday (4th March). It was sad to see Sporting Fingal having to pull out of the league due to financial troubles. Bohemiens, Drogheda United and Galway United have struggled over the past few weeks but the will take part in the league this year. It is extremely troubling to see every year adifferentteam struggling.Shamrock Thomas Vanek Jersey Rovers manger, Gary O Neill, has put together a strong side that he hopes will be able to retain the league and challenge for a place in the group stages of the Europa League. Some critics are saying he signed too many players and that it will take some time to find his best XI. But it is a talented side and they should do a back-to-back. If he finds the perfect team it will be catch up for the other teams in the league from an early stage. They kick their campaign against Dundalk at Tallaght Stadium.Sligo Rovers won two cups last year and will be looking to challenge for the top spot. Nobody will forget that day in November when Ciaran Kelly saved four Shamrock Rovers penalties in front of 36,000 people in the Aviva Stadium. He will be one to watch out for this season. Paul Cooks main target for the season will be to win the league. Jason McGuinne s, Raffaele Cretaro and Aaron Greene will had some more quality to the side. They have a much smaller panel then the champions and time will tell if their serious title contenders.Sporting Fingals demise has helped other clubs to strengthen their sides. Shamrock Rovers have profited the most, while Pats and the lillywhites have also built up their squad.You can never discount a team managed by Pete Mahon. The Saints bo s is hard-working, pa sionate and will have his team believing they can finish this year with a trophy. They ran out of steam in 2010 but the new squad looks a bit stronger.There is a concern over where the goals will come from. Danny North will contribute a fair share and David McMillan should also do reasonably well. However, they are unlikely to produce a spectacular return.Mahon will look to keep a consistency in his defence and midfield. If he finds it, then Pats will be near the top come November.Dundalk have made some big-name signings, with Ian Foster looking to combine youth and experience at Oriel Park.They look strong in certain departments, particularly in attack Ryan Suter Jersey . The talented po se sed by Jason Byrne and Mark Quigley is undoubted. However, one wonders how much desire remains after recent disappointments at Bohemians.Quigley is a brilliant player who has never delivered on a consistent basis. He should be looking at being the top striker in the country this season. It is a fresh start for 25-year-old and, with time still on his side, anything is po sible.Foster will look to get the best out of the former St Patricks Athletic man and if he does, he will lauded for making the signing of the season.In defence, theyve brought in Colin Hawkins. It is a risky move, considering how injury-prone the former Sporting Fingal man is.Shane Guthrie has also joined on loan from St Patricks Athletic, which is another worthwhile signing. Keith Ward and Greg Bolger Darcy Kuemper Jersey were excellent for UCD last season and should settle in well at Oriel Park.It is easy to forget Foster is still a very young manager. This season should bring about an improvement and a push at major honours.Derry make a welcome return to the top flight and unsurprisingly look reasonably strong. Gareth McGlynn, Ruadhri Higgins and Eamon Zayed are their big name signings and they will aim to lead a young team that did so well in the First Division in 2010.Patrick and Shane McEleney will be very exciting players and ones to keep an eye on over the year. With some of the old guard like Kevin Deery still on board, who knows how far Derry can go?Stephen Kenny will enjoy this season. The Premier Division is where Derry belong and it is a brilliant league to compete in. Even if the Candystripes dont get involved in the title race, they have a very bright future and will definitely claim some notable scalps over the coming months.There were times when it looked as though Bohemians would not survive the off-season. It has taken some incredible work by their fans and other stakeholders to get this far.Included in that is the patience of several (now former) players who went weeks without wages. It was a disgraceful situation and Bohs are lucky to be lining out against Bray Wanderers on Friday.Pat Fenlon has stuck around and put together a decent team. The Gypsies will not be challenging for the title but they will be competitive and could finish in the top half.Fenlon has not yet finished in the transfer market. Chris Stewart Jersey At the time of writing it looks as though they will be strong at the back, with Ger OBrien, Aidan Price and Owen Heary committing to the club.Ollie Cahill and Anto Flood are some other familiar names who have been brought on board.Bray Wanderers have done something absolutely crazy in Airtricity League terms. They have re-signed the vast majority of their squad!There are also a few new additions to the panel, with Graham Kelly and Stephen Last arriving from clubs in Britain.The likes of Jake Kelly and Shane ONeill are really exciting young players who will benefit from another season of Airtricity League football.Wanderers will try to avoid the battle at the bottom. That is never easy in the Premier Division and theyll certainly need a good start to this campaign.Fortunately for Pat Devlin and his colleagues, they face much-weakened rivals. You have to fear for Galway United, UCD and Drogheda United this year.Galway struggled to obtain a Premier Division licence. They only achieved it through appeal and it has left them in a bad situation for the 2011 season.It was a culmination of years of poor decision-making by the clubs board. Jason Pominville Jersey Galway United is now in the hands of the Supporters Trust and, consequently, a newly-formed Management Committee.They have a long-term plan for succe s at Terryland Park but there is no escaping the task they face with a very small and weak squad this year.On any given match night at the UCD Bowl, the away team usually carries at least one former Student. It must be incredibly frustrating for UCD managers to see their talented players leave after finishing at the college and that is the reality facing Martin Ru sell this season.UCD were fantastic in 2010. It wasnt just about their league finish. The football they produced was a joy to watch and the Bowl was always a great place to visit if you wanted to see a decent game of football.Bolger, Ciaran Kilduff and Evan and David McMillan are just some of the players that have departed. No disrespect to the likes of new signings Dean Marshall and Darren Meenan, but its a ma sive step back for College. It will be a much harder year.Finally, there is Drogheda and their new manager Mick Cooke. Bobby Browne proceeded to put a squad together at United Park and the