El league membership

event

this is revealed today, around about now

have heard unconfirmed reports that Dundalk have been denied entry

anyone know who has got in?

SectionF

Saw elsewhere that UCD may be in trouble. Have to say, I'd prefer Dundalk or Galway or Waterford to be in...

edit: Dundalk are still 1st div. Rough justice.

event

galway and bray have got in

joke

super_furry

event wrote:

galway and bray have got in

joke

Why is it a joke?

gimmick

Its a joke because Dundalk won the play off, and took 10 points of Galway this season. Still prefer to see Galway in anyways.

Waterford and UCD are up for the last spot.

event

super_furry wrote:

Why is it a joke?

dundalk finished above them above them and won the play off

super_furry

It was never going to be on league placing alone, everyone knew that. Galway have a better set-up, better infrastructure, better potential and a bigger cachement.

Anyway, sod all that because....back by popular demand - WE ARE THE SRFC, THE S R F C!!!!

We're back baby!

gimmick

Going down going down going down!

Hope Waterford get the last spot.

EDIT: UCD got the last spot

kraggy

where did ye see this?

checked fai.ie and rte but can't see them...

super_furry

Shame, I would have had Waterford over the non-entity that is UCD but you can't argue with their results.

gimmick

tempers are fraying out Cityweat direction by the sounds of it. Both Waterford and Dundalk officials are not pleased.

Screw the lot of them, they all knew AND agreed to the criteria involved. They didnt get their houses in order, so cheerio.

Big Ears

Harsh on Dundalk but at least the situation should be a once off . UCD would have done fairly well in the off the pitch stuff aswell as on the field , that's why they are still there(and with their league position it was deserved) .

MonkeyTennis

gimmick wrote:

tempers are fraying out Cityweat direction by the sounds of it. Both Waterford and Dundalk officials are not pleased.

Screw the lot of them, they all knew AND agreed to the criteria involved. They didnt get their houses in order, so cheerio.

Dundalk have been shafted. End of. What was that farce of a playoff about.

super_furry

MonkeyTennis wrote:

Dundalk have been shafted. End of. What was that farce of a playoff about.

How have they been shafted? They went into that game knowing it meant nothing, they agreed to be bound by the decision of the AIG and they knew results on the pitch would not be the be all and end all.

gustavo

Its all a bit of a waste of time though isnt it if Dundalk get promoted and Galway get relegated next year

gimmick

MonkeyTennis wrote:

Dundalk have been shafted. End of. What was that farce of a playoff about.

IMO the play off was for Waterford purposes, not Dundalks. If Waterford won, they would still be up at UCDs expense. If they lost, they go down, as has been seen today. Still a silly reason for a play off though.

I would have prefered see Waterford stay up, simpy as know there is only one Munster club in the Prem. Our closest match is Galway.

John_C

super_furry wrote:

It was never going to be on league placing alone, everyone knew that. Galway have a better set-up, better infrastructure, better potential and a bigger cachement.

Everyone can know about a joke and it's still a joke.

This is supposed to be a sporting competition but we have clubs promoted and relegated on the basis of who's chairman is good at public speaking.

I have a lot of sympathy for Dundalk and its fans.

MonkeyTennis

the whole thing is an embarrassment. Imagine playing in a league and not knowing what your reward will be. Anyone who cant see this as anything but a joke doesnt know football. Im disgusted.

event

gimmick wrote:

tempers are fraying out Cityweat direction by the sounds of it. Both Waterford and Dundalk officials are not pleased.

Screw the lot of them, they all knew AND agreed to the criteria involved. They didnt get their houses in order, so cheerio.

get their houses in order?

if thats the case, why are shels still there?
how many weeks is it now since players have been payed?

super_furry wrote:

How have they been shafted? They went into that game knowing it meant nothing, they agreed to be bound by the decision of the AIG and they knew results on the pitch would not be the be all and end all.

they didnt know actually, as the FAI wouldnt tell them.
and they agreed as what other choice had they?

typical FAI ****e

Kingp35

Im just happy Bray have managed to stay in the top division. Looked very dodgy for alot of last season but can finally get down to work on sorting this team out.

Jonny Arson

This whole eL manufacturing process stank from day one. Football should be primarily about what's done on the pitch and not your ''marketability'' or whatever other crap the FAI came up with. Dundalk are hardly out of their depth on all factors. Just because the clubs agreed to the process doesn't make it immune from the shambles that it is. Dundalk were promoted on footballing merit and should be in the top flight, they have been royally screwed. I feel for the club and their fans.

super_furry

Dundalk were not promoted on footballing merit. They weren't ever promoted - the league in which they finished second was disbanded and a new League has been formed - they haven't been invited to join the top flight of this league. If they had any misgivings about the process, they shouldn't have signed up to it.

MonkeyTennis

the fai were making up the rules as they went along. Dundalk fans knew they were going to shafted, it was no surprise. If you make up the rules you can angle the way things happen any way you bloody want. I would have understood not going up but the fact that they put Galway up is a farce.


The players and fans of Dundalk did not sign up to get shagged over

Ronan|Raven

Um yes they did sign up to the new format and should learn to deal with it.

FatherTed

super_furry wrote:

Dundalk were not promoted on footballing merit. They weren't ever promoted - the league in which they finished second was disbanded and a new League has been formed - they haven't been invited to join the top flight of this league. If they had any misgivings about the process, they shouldn't have signed up to it.

Exactly.

What I don't understand is why so many people on here can't get that into their thick skull.

bottlerocket

FatherTed wrote:

What I don't understand is why so many people on here can't get that into their thick skull.

You're right. People should accept that your business plan is what counts in sport, not what you've done on the field.

gimmick

People have been complaining for years that the powers that be in Irish football have done nothing to help the domestic game, now they do, and all of a sudden they are the worst in the world.

The new division is about right, though I would replace UCD with Waterford, as Waterford have a better support base, better potential, better ground (the first time I have ever said anything resembling a compliment to the dump that is the RSC).

Dundalk are no loss/would be no addition to the division. I say that based on their 'fans' who I have had the mispleasure of meeting. Very angry people.

super_furry

gimmick wrote:

Dundalk are no loss/would be no addition to the division. I say that based on their 'fans' who I have had the mispleasure of meeting. Very angry people.

I'd certainly take an away trip to Galway over Dundalk any day of the week. Never again......

galwayrush

obviously i'm very happy Galway are in. I do feel sorry for Dundalk, they certainly have more to offer the Premiership than UCD.But, like was mentioned already, all clubs signed up at the start of the season knowing what was required. Here in Galway, we had two plans ready, depending on which division we were going to end up in. we were prepared for either, as should all other clubs.

Pighead

super_furry wrote:

It was never going to be on league placing alone, everyone knew that. Galway have a better set-up, better infrastructure, better potential and a bigger cachement

What a load of crap. Dundalk have one of the best pitches in the league(Newly put in synthetic pitch that has been given a glowing reference by UEFA). They also have by far the best support in the division and would probably be only behind 2 or 3 clubs in the premier division. Off the field the financial situation has improved immeasurably and the set-up is top class.

Make no mistake about it, the only area where Dundalk fall short is their 5 year record. Galway are being rewarded for a team that played well 4-5 years ago, which barely has any members playing for the current Galway team.

And Gimmick would you ever grow up. "Oh I met a Dundalk man and he was horrible, they're obviously all barbarians" Yeah well in that case, you're Eddie Hobbs, you fcuking wreck my head.

Terrible decision.

Aquos76

John Delaney took a bit of a hammering in a recorded interview broadcast on WLRFM this evening. He refused to go on the sports show live, because he did not want to take question. Judging by the amount of text messages sent into the show, he would have been bombarded with abuse.

Ray Scott and Gareth Cronin also took part in the interview. Gareth mentioned that he had been in discussions with 9 players before this decision was announced. So far 3 have committed to joining on hearing the outcome. He was very confident for the coming season, and made reference to the fact that when he was assistant at Dublin city, they had no players on the books and they still managed to get promoted at the first attempt.

Zebra3

event wrote:

galway and bray have got in

joke

No, it's a joke that Shamrock Rovers got in. They got in due to their results over the last four years, two and half of which were gained with income they never had. Huge debts never paid and never will be. Absolute disgrace.

super_furry wrote:

I'd certainly take an away trip to Galway over Dundalk any day of the week. Never again......

:rolleyes: Well, who could forget our last away trip to Shamrock Rovers? Attacked by their fans throwing bottles at us as we were leaving the ground.

cournioni

Absolute joke. I can't honestly see how Dundalk's set up can be much worse than that of Galway United. The decision should have been a simple one, a footballing decision. Dundalk are one of the biggest clubs in Ireland, with one of the best histories. They have been royally fúked over.

gimmick and super furry, as Pighead said grow up. This decision should have been a footballing one at the end of the day, not about the fans or size of the town blah blah blah. Galways infrastructure cannot be that much better than that of Dundalk.

Ronan|Raven

They signed up to the new format where it would not just be decided on footballing merit. This was the risk many clubs took. How many times has this to be said.

_blank_

Some of the people on here are bordering on the really thick.

The 21 clubs signed up for this, they signed up for a 50/50 split between On- and Off-The-Field criteria.

They knew the stipulations.

They could have vetoed it.

They didn't.

Now stop the fúcking whinging and get on with it.

edit: Who the hell is Eddy Hobbs?

Pighead

seansouth wrote:

Some of the people on here are bordering on the really thick.

The 21 clubs signed up for this, they signed up for a 50/50 split between On- and Off-The-Field criteria.

They knew the stipulations.

They could have vetoed it.

They didn't

And what exactly would have happened if any club vetoed it? I'm sure that would have had the FAI quaking in their boots. The options for the club vetoing the deal were varied and numerous weren't they?

Eircom League Team: We're vetoing your ridiculous proposal you meddling swines.

FAI: Ah yeah fair enough lads, its been emotional. See ya now.

Eircom League Team: No no no you don't understand, we're gona form a breakaway league with the Aran Islands and a couple of pub teams in Monaghan. Are you sure you won't change your minds?

FAI: Get out of my fcuking office.

seansouth wrote:

edit: Who the hell is Eddy Hobbs?

Hes an annoying Cork cnut who gives people advice on how to handle their money. Maybe Ollie Byrne should try and get hold of his number.

_blank_

If he had any money he might.

OK, so a veto may have done no good, but the fact remains that the clubs were well aware of what they had signed up to, and crying about it after the fact is absolutely useless.

I can understand some of the bitterness for sure, but when it comes down to it it won't change anything.

If Dundalk are as great a club as you seem to think, they'll get promoted next season, and everything will be green in the garden again.

Galway United are there because they scored more than any Premier Division club on the Off-The-Field criteria.

Shamrock Rovers are there because, as I see it, "the league would suffer without them" - the same crap I have seen spouted on the Shelbourne forum this past few weeks about us.

Pighead

seansouth wrote:

If Dundalk are as great a club as you seem to think, they'll get promoted next season, and everything will be green in the garden again.

Easier said then done, especially when our leading scorer (21 goals last season) is almost sure to be leaving for a premier division club. He may not be the only one either.

seansouth wrote:

Galway United are there because they scored more than any Premier Division club on the Off-The-Field criteria.

Dundalk done really well in this criteria aso beating among others Shels and Drogheda. As I said the only area the club fell down was our 5 year record. Why was the 5 year record so bad? Because we were getting our house in order and cutting costs to give ourselves a chance of getting into the top league in 5 years time. Catch 22 situation really.

_blank_

Here's the breakdown of points awarded.

How the teams rated in race for top flight

Tuesday December 12th 2006

Derry City

On The Field: 460. Off The Field: 370. Total: 830 (Premier Div))

Bohemians

On The Field: 420. Off The Field: 371. Total: 791 (Premier Div))

Shelbourne

On The Field: 493. Off The Field: 278. Total: 771 (Premier Div)

UCD

On The Field: 370. Off The Field: 374. Total: 744 (Premier Div)

Drogheda United

On The Field: 437. Off The Field: 300. Total: 737 (Premier Div)

Shamrock Rovers

On The Field: 380. Off The Field: 346. Total: 726 (Premier Div)

Sligo Rovers

On The Field: 340. Off The Field: 360. Total: 700 (Premier Div)

Bray Wanderers

On The Field: 333. Off The Field: 351. Total: 684 (Premier Div)

Galway

On The Field: 260. Off The Field: 389. Total: 649 (Premier Div)

Waterford

On The Field: 337. Off The Field: 295. Total: 632 (First Div)

Dundalk

On The Field: 247. Off The Field: 348. Total: 595 (First Div)

Cork City

On The Field: 460. Off The Field: N/A. (Premier Div)

Longford Town

On The Field: 430. Off The Field: N/A. (Premier Div)

St Patrick's Athletic

On The Field: 410. Off The Field: N/A. (Premier Div)

jank

Hes an annoying Cork cnut who gives people advice on how to handle their money

Bye bye Pighead

_blank_

Pighead wrote:

Why was the 5 year record so bad? Because we were getting our house in order and cutting costs to give ourselves a chance of getting into the top league in 5 years time. Catch 22 situation really.

Same could be said for Galway United I suppose. They obviously performed better over the criteria though.

I'd just like to make something plain at this juncture.

I'm in no way Anti-Dundalk, or the other clubs who didn't make it, far from it.

I also feel the FAI have handled this in the very wrong way.

Pighead

jank wrote:

Bye bye Pighead

Where are you going jank? Somewhere sunny I hope. Send me a postcard buddy.xxx

Aquos76

seansouth wrote:

Galway United are there because they scored more than any Premier Division club on the Off-The-Field criteria.

And due to the fact that their President is Deputy Michael D. Higgins, who no doubt had a word in the ear of the 4 man committee.

I do however accept that off the field, Galway are currently making great shapes. I guess only time will tell whether or not its the right decision.

Pighead

seansouth wrote:

Same could be said for Galway United I suppose. They obviously performed better over the criteria though.

I'd just like to make something plain at this juncture.

I'm in no way Anti-Dundalk, or the other clubs who didn't make it, far from it.

I also feel the FAI have handled this in the very wrong way.

My main beef here is that so many points were awarded for the past 5 years. Its a joke. Dundalk played Galway 3 times last season, beat them twice and drew once. In all 3 games we brought more supporters. Surely a league that claims to have the best teams in the country should consist of the best teams in the country now.

Of course the off the field criteria is important as we don't want any more Dublin City type fiascos but to fall down because of results 5 years ago leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

And by the way, you keep saying to stop fcuking whingeing. Is this not a discussion board. In future if I see anybody complain about anything soccer related I'll expect you to use the same sentence to them.

_blank_

Pighead wrote:

And by the way, you keep saying to stop fcuking whingeing. Is this not a discussion board. In future if I see anybody complain about anything soccer related I'll expect you to use the same sentence to them.

I said it once?

And OK then.

Pighead

seansouth wrote:

I said it once?

And OK then.

Cheers

bottlerocket

From todays independent:

"After (IAG Chairman, Des) Casey opened what turned out to be a stormy affair by stating the process was 'fair, equitable and transparent,' by the end he was stressing the need for 'confidentiality' about the findings that had been offered to the clubs who had no idea how they had fared compared to their rivals."

Why the secrecy Des? Why don't clubs have a right to know how they compared?

it gets worse....

"We can't be out here telling everyone what clubs got in the sporting and non sporting areas," said Delaney.

So we have a process thats open but it's not open. (Keep it quiet lads, we don't want the meeja on our backs again.) Once again the FAI make a balls of everything. It'd make you finish following the game.
And as it appears, if some people here genuinely believe that the marketing side of things is more important than the playing side then catch yourselves on. Yes, we don't want any basket case clubs but this is sport, not Businessman of the Year. Good luck to Galway, but its a sad day for sport when your achievements on the pitch count for nothing.

Mr Magnolia

Farcical IMHO.

All FAI threads might be better suited in Humour, most of their decisions are fcuking jokes anyway.

Pighead

bottlerocket wrote:

From todays independent:

"After (IAG Chairman, Des) Casey opened what turned out to be a stormy affair by stating the process was 'fair, equitable and transparent,' by the end he was stressing the need for 'confidentiality' about the findings that had been offered to the clubs who had no idea how they had fared compared to their rivals."

Why the secrecy Des? Why don't clubs have a right to know how they compared?

it gets worse....

"We can't be out here telling everyone what clubs got in the sporting and non sporting areas," said Delaney.

So we have a process thats open but it's not open. (Keep it quiet lads, we don't want the meeja on our backs again.) Once again the FAI make a balls of everything. It'd make you finish following the game.
And as it appears, if some people here genuinely believe that the marketing side of things is more important than the playing side then catch yourselves on. Yes, we don't want any basket case clubs but this is sport, not Businessman of the Year. Good luck to Galway, but its a sad day for sport when your achievements on the pitch count for nothing.

seansouth have a word with this whinger will ya?

Jivin Turkey

The FAI lay down rules in order to improve the standard of the game domestically both on and off the field, and some clubs fall short despite ample time to get themselves together and this is a farcical decision by the FAI?

Get a grip lads. Damned if you do, damned if you don't springs to mind.

Pighead

Jivin Turkey wrote:

The FAI lay down rules in order to improve the standard of the game domestically both on and off the field, and some clubs fall short despite ample time to get themselves together and this is a farcical decision by the FAI?

Get a grip lads. Damned if you do, damned if you don't springs to mind.

So just for the record, are you saying you agree wholeheartedly with the way the FAI have handled this whole affair and that they are 100% completely blameless for any confusion ambiguity or bad feeling that has occured this season?