GUST apply for first division licence

[Mr Maroon]

Slightly down but not much still good considering the season in it. Also there was 4 games where away fans would be around the 300 mark. (just saying)
http://foot.ie/threads/148138-2011-attendances?p=1546985&viewfull=1#post1546985

If Galway don't get a licence that shouldn't mean the end. It will give them a year to get youth structures in place and work on building up support in the community again they can come back with a stronger bid next year. It was well known that the chances of GUST getting a licence were extremely slim so I'm sure there is a back up plan to contuine to club in some form if the rumours are true.

Our attendance figure for the season just gone is wrong on that thread. It was higher than the season before.

[pineapple stu]

All the figures on that are what were posted as official on the thread, presumably from the PA announcement during the game.

[gufcfan]

But those two don't fulfill the criteria. Their grounds fall far short of what's required. If this is true it's a disgraceful decision. Presumably it'll be appealed.
Mervue had to put in turnstiles to take money, whereas in Drom, three or four times last season you got in for free because they didn't have any stewards to collect money on the way in to the ground, not to mention the fact that the "fence" around the pitch in Drom is to mark the division between the pitches rather than keep anybody out.

[sullanefc]

they sold 600 season tickets - thats different to saying one game is free

My point was that just because something is cheap, doesn't mean that a lot more people will buy it. There is a limited interest in LOI in this country. Plus, whether they sold a lot of season tickets or not, to get people in the gate to watch their team play abysmally and get hammered every week is an achievement.

[gufc2000]

it had nothing to do with the 100 euro season tickets no?
Some people will always find fault no matter what. GUST offered this initiative and saw it as an incentive to get bums on seats. It worked. The season ticket would have lost value/paid for itself after 9/10 games, but people still turned up and thats encouraging.

What GUST have done is created a hell of a lot of goodwill towards the club again, and have made some serious inroads in building the bridges that were so badly damaged in the previous regime.

If Mervue and Salthill believe that there will be an upturn in attendances as a result of our demise, then they're greatly mistaken.

[gufcfan]

If Mervue and Salthill believe that there will be an upturn in attendances as a result of our demise, then they're greatly mistaken.
They're not stupid, just jealous and spiteful. It may be hard for people outside of Galway to see anything other than infighting within the city, but you can take it as fact that GUST have never done anything to harm either club, or any club for that matter. Certain people within those clubs are working furiously behind the scenes, attempting to influence the decision of the licensing committee in their favour and against the well-being of football in the city and county of Galway.

Far more could be said about that, but I'll keep my mouth shut about it until there is official word from one party or the other.

[Longfordian]

I've a good friend who played at a low enough level in Galway junior football and even he was telling me Mervue in particular actually hate(d) Galway United and there was no prospect of cooperation. Sad state of affairs.

[gufcfan]

I've a good friend who played at a low enough level in Galway junior football and even he was telling me Mervue in particular actually hate(d) Galway United and there was no prospect of cooperation. Sad state of affairs.
In relation to this, the prospect of cooperation comes up every so often here on foot.ie, on the United forum or even in the local media in Galway. People aren't to know, especially those not from Galway, but United supporters come across as lunatics when we rubbish the idea. It simply isn't feasible. It really is genuine hatred. There's nothing wrong with a healthy rivalry, even though the clubs are not in competition with each other, whatever they may think themselves, but the energy they put into this lunacy just beggars belief.

Edit: What I said about rivalry sounds like a dig, but what I mean is that the football supporters of Galway City and County do not and will not ever indentify with teams they associate with housing estates. A friend with a passing interest in Irish football was shocked when I told him that Mervue were allowed compete in the LOI using Fahy's Field as a "stadium". The gist of what he said to me was that, he knows a lot of people knock the LOI and that it's a big joke to some, but can you really blame them when teams are playing on a field with a fence around it, without even a wall to stand against for cover.

[bullit]

Honest question here: If there is so much rivalry and hatred between the Galway sides then how come that we dont see it here or on other football forums ??? I have never seen a MervueU Or SalthillDevon fan on this forum.

[Longfordian]

Without being dismissive as far as I can tell they don't actually have active fanbases that would have any interest in whipping up tensions online. It happens all over the country, junior clubs develop a pretty much one sided rivalry with the local senior club.

[gufcfan]

Honest question here: If there is so much rivalry and hatred between the Galway sides then how come that we dont see it here or on other football forums ??? I have never seen a MervueU Or SalthillDevon fan on this forum.
They just have very few fans. Their published attendance figures are inflated by a huge percentage. Mervue natives will vouch for that.

A number of people that I would know in Mervue United for example that are fans wouldn't be posting on internet forums and have more sense than us probably. They seem to be content with an online presence consisting of a club website and a P.R.O. that writes for extratime who at times isn't far off adding a zero onto the end of their actual attendance figures. There's a few people here that would go to see Mervue, but they are Galway United fans first and foremost and probably go up there for something to do when United are away to be honest. They would be a significant % of their actual attendances.

[Terry]

Honest question here: If there is so much rivalry and hatred between the Galway sides then how come that we dont see it here or on other football forums ??? I have never seen a MervueU Or SalthillDevon fan on this forum.

Thats because is there no real supporter groups of these clubs, just players past and present and family members. Im a mervue resident myself and I wouldn't go and watch them because of the disgraceful behaviour of one or two of their members towards all levels of football across the entire Galway DL never mind Galway United.
People would never believe these things (and I didn't myself at first) until you experience them first hand.


They just have very few fans. Their published attendance figures are inflated by a huge percentage. Mervue natives will vouch for that.

A number of people that I would know in Mervue United for example that are fans wouldn't be posting on internet forums and have more sense than us probably. They seem to be content with an online presence consisting of a club website and a P.R.O. that writes for extratime who at times isn't far off adding a zero onto the end of their actual attendance figures. There's a few people here that would go to see Mervue, but they are Galway United fans first and foremost and probably go up there for something to do when United are away to be honest. They would be a significant % of their actual attendances.

The attendance figures are laughable at best. Each one would have to be halved to give a more accurate figure.

Im not having a go at them as they earned there place in the league through the structure that was put in place at the time and they are a good footballing side with a good history at underage and junior levels, but when it comes to off the field antics it has to be said that the goings on are an absolute disgrace. GUST did offer the 2 clubs an olive branch to come to some arrangement which would strengthen Galway football in the forseeable future, but they were told where they could stick it. Thankfully there are other excellent football clubs across the district league (at least 90% of them) who are looking into forming agreements with GUST to give their players and clubs a new stepping stone when it comes to player, structural and financial development. These talks will continue to progress with Corrib rangers the first to link up.

[Charlie Darwin]

It would be interesting to see what would happen to Mervue or Salthill's attendances if they were ever to reach the Premier Division (unlikely as it is).

[gufcfan]

It would be interesting to see what would happen to Mervue or Salthill's attendances if they were ever to reach the Premier Division (unlikely as it is).
They would treble due to away fans. I'm not joking when I say their attendance figures are massively overstated.

[Terry]

I wouldn't be exactly sure Spudulika so I wont comment, but it involved a lot of what the FAI were requesting for the clubs to consider when John Delaney was last in town. A GUST member would be able to say better than myself. A merger wasn't far off the books a good few years ago when Salthill Devon were actually running Galway United when the old board left (Gerry Grey CEO, Eamonn Naughton and one or two others now working up in abbotstown). There was a lot of talk back then that GUFC were changing there name to Galway Devon (actual statement from a salthill devon board member) but that board had a lot of internal bickering going on and the 2 clubs went there own way with board members leaving salthill to stay with united, this all occured during the time that the supporters abandoned being GUISA (Galway United Independent Supporters Association) and formed GUST in its place.

[Spudulika]

I wouldn't be exactly sure Spudulika so I wont comment, but it involved a lot of what the FAI were requesting for the clubs to consider when John Delaney was last in town. A GUST member would be able to say better than myself. A merger wasn't far off the books a good few years ago when Salthill Devon were actually running Galway United when the old board left (Gerry Grey CEO, Eamonn Naughton and one or two others now working up in abbotstown). There was a lot of talk back then that GUFC were changing there name to Galway Devon (actual statement from a salthill devon board member) but that board had a lot of internal bickering going on and the 2 clubs went there own way with board members leaving salthill to stay with united, this all occured during the time that the supporters abandoned being GUISA (Galway United Independent Supporters Association) and formed GUST in its place.

Thanks a million for that Terry and this illuminates a little of the bitterness that exists. It would be great to see co-operation between clubs though in a limited market for players and resources there is always going to be a battle. I hope GUST get a club into the league and begin building from the ground up. There is a good season in prospect for local derbies that will prove competitive with decent crowds, plus Athlone and Longford are close enough to have a 5 team battle royale. Hope springs eternal!

[Terry]

exactly Spudulika, If GUSTFC were to get a licence, mervue and salthill would get gates of what GUFC were getting last season seeing as the GUFC supporters wouldn't even have to travel outside of the city or county. With as you said, athlone and longford only up the road, and not forgetting Limerick also, there is a great opporunity of an increase in gates across many clubs and not just the galway team

[Spudulika]

I forgot Limerick (for no reason other than having made a couple of trips from Limerick to Galway 4-5 years ago I'd have thought them further away). Gates for the 2 other sides in Galway would be terrific with GUST in play, and I am certain with some joined up thinking there would be a real sponsorship boost. Though this is where football in Ireland traditionally falls down. A Sligo friend told me that Galway usually get a decent away group with them, surely the FAI will take this into account.

[gufcfan]

I forgot Limerick (for no reason other than having made a couple of trips from Limerick to Galway 4-5 years ago I'd have thought them further away).
It's motorway the whole way there pretty much, so it's quite a handy drive.


A Sligo friend told me that Galway usually get a decent away group with them, surely the FAI will take this into account.
Sligo doesn't take all that long to get to, going up the N17. A lot of people who wouldn't tend to go to away matches make and effort to go to the derby match. Funnily enough, I was in the north for a couple of the pre-season games last year, but I haven't been to a game in Sligo for years.

[Spudulika]

Thanks gufcfan, that's a handy couple of matches for fans (Sligo and Limerick), it'd be great (in a way) if there was one big league put in place with 20 clubs playing 38 matches - you'd have some decent turnouts for the Sligo-Athlone-Longford-Salthill-Mervue-GUST-Limerick set of matches. Can never see it happening though, but nice to suppose it.

What's the rivalry like with Athlone and Longford?

[Longfordian]

Fairly harmless now that neither of us are doing spectacularly well! When we were winning things there was a fair bit of resentment over there, and probably vice versa when they were winning things though I'm too young to remember that...

[compo]

They just have very few fans. Their published attendance figures are inflated by a huge percentage. Mervue natives will vouch for that.

A number of people that I would know in Mervue United for example that are fans wouldn't be posting on internet forums and have more sense than us probably. They seem to be content with an online presence consisting of a club website and a P.R.O. that writes for extratime who at times isn't far off adding a zero onto the end of their actual attendance figures. There's a few people here that would go to see Mervue, but they are Galway United fans first and foremost and probably go up there for something to do when United are away to be honest. They would be a significant % of their actual attendances.

They don't have ANY fans! Twice I went to Drom Park (aka Mount Wilderness!) for Cork City matches. It's no lie to say that there were less than a dozen home supporters each time. For one of those, the attendance was given as 210.That included 190 City fans!

[El-Pietro]

Some people will always find fault no matter what. GUST offered this initiative and saw it as an incentive to get bums on seats. It worked. The season ticket would have lost value/paid for itself after 9/10 games, but people still turned up and thats encouraging.

What GUST have done is created a hell of a lot of goodwill towards the club again, and have made some serious inroads in building the bridges that were so badly damaged in the previous regime.

If Mervue and Salthill believe that there will be an upturn in attendances as a result of our demise, then they're greatly mistaken.
not finding fault, im just putting your crowds in context

[El-Pietro]

My point was that just because something is cheap, doesn't mean that a lot more people will buy it. There is a limited interest in LOI in this country. Plus, whether they sold a lot of season tickets or not, to get people in the gate to watch their team play abysmally and get hammered every week is an achievement.
my point is that yes they had reasonable crowds, but that had a lot to do with selling the 600 season tickets before everyone knew how rubbish they were.

once someone has paid for the ticket they are far more likely to go then they would otherwise - even if the event is free

[gufc2000]

Back on topic, badly need clarification on this. Its up to the FAI to land the first blow and deliver a statement. Clinging to the hope that no statement so far means the GUST lads working tirelessly to rescue the cause.

[Guitd]

whatever about mervue/salthill been delighted to see galway united not supposable getting a licence as has been said on this forum ;;the FAI are forgetting about the boost it will give connacht rugby and Gaa in Galway as alot of the pepole who attended Terryland will now make there way to the sportsground on a friday night instead ,fans lost to the Beauthful game forever .

[gufcfan]

They don't have ANY fans!
True, but it wouldn't be believed coming from us.

[Sean South]

It's motorway the whole way there pretty much, so it's quite a handy drive.


Sligo doesn't take all that long to get to, going up the N17. A lot of people who wouldn't tend to go to away matches make and effort to go to the derby match. Funnily enough, I was in the north for a couple of the pre-season games last year, but I haven't been to a game in Sligo for years.

This is another myth created by GUST. Even when Galway were decent you never brought more then 50 away fans to Sligo in the past ten years expect on a handful of occasions. This year was exceptionally low for obvious reasons but 2010 it was only around the 30 mark. The year Leeson came in I remember counting 7 Galway fans on the Railway End. The constant snide remarks towards Mervue and Salthill isn't helping GUST claims of uniting Galway football either. I don't mean to be kicking you when you're down and I hope GUFC gets back in the league but there is some awful rubbish coming from the Galway camp the past few months.

[Spudulika]

Sean South I have to say I do remember well in excess of 50 fans at a Rovers match in Tolka Park (when Pat Scully roared at the "home" crowd for acting the maggot with the ball and Jeff Kenna kept his players in the changing room for almost 30minutes after the match). There were a fair few Galway fans scattered around the place as well as the travelling group.

[Sean South]

Sean South I have to say I do remember well in excess of 50 fans at a Rovers match in Tolka Park (when Pat Scully roared at the "home" crowd for acting the maggot with the ball and Jeff Kenna kept his players in the changing room for almost 30minutes after the match). There were a fair few Galway fans scattered around the place as well as the travelling group.
Was that the season Galway were promoted? In fairness they brought good crowds that year but rapidly dropped off.

[gufc2000]

Was that the season Galway were promoted? In fairness they brought good crowds that year but rapidly dropped off.
I was up in the Showgrounds in 07, 08 and 09, each time a respectable crowd was brought. The 08 one in particular saw circa 250 United fans travel. 07 and 09 were in and around the 100 mark

[Lim till i die]

Wow. Just WOW. :D

This thread jumped the shark about five pages ago and is now easily my favourite non adult themed thing on the internet.

A few random thoughts without going into too much detail. (it's kinda late)


Dual registration is not going to happen in the short to medium term at least. The junior clubs don't want it and they have far more clout than the senior clubs. The thirty quid a game suggestion is beyond silly. If the senior league wasn't such a shambles it wouldn't be an issue anyway.
The crowds Galway would have brought argument is nonsense.
The LoI has a LOT to learn from the GAA about youth development (among other things), it's childish to suggest otherwise. A lot of the GAA talk in this thread smacks, as usual, of sour grapes.
The sniping at Salthill, and Mervue in particular, is really childish.
Licencing will never be enforced seriously. It's not in anyones interest. Especially the FAI's.

Carry On. :)

[gufcfan]

The sniping at Salthill, and Mervue in particular, is really childish.
Everything that was said is true. Mervue and Devon are excellent clubs with top notch youth setups. I've said it 20 times in the last week, that no matter what they have done, it does not excuse their behaviour. The people who put in the real work building up those clubs are not the ones out to destroy Galway football.

[Mr A]

Bit of coverage in Connacht Sentinel: http://www.galwaynews.ie/23623-united-supporters-lose-hope

[sadloserkid]

They just have very few fans. Their published attendance figures are inflated by a huge percentage. Mervue natives will vouch for that.

They don't hate ye enough to shun your old methods then...


It would be interesting to see what would happen to Mervue or Salthill's attendances if they were ever to reach the Premier Division (unlikely as it is).

I honestly presume (from my admited position of ignorance down the road) that while the old GUFC hardcore will never cross the divide both clubs would pick up a marginal increase even in the first division should GUST fail in their endeavour. EVERY area has casual football fans who just sort of drift along to maybe 6-10 games a season. It's reasonable to believe that some few of them might make a couple of trips to Mervue and/or Salthill if they become to the peak of the city's football pyramid.


I forgot Limerick (for no reason other than having made a couple of trips from Limerick to Galway 4-5 years ago I'd have thought them further away).


It's motorway the whole way there pretty much, so it's quite a handy drive.

As gufcfan says it's a handy, handy journey now and should GUST take a place in the first division I'd presume the needle of yesteryear between the clubs would return once more.


whatever about mervue/salthill been delighted to see galway united not supposable getting a licence as has been said on this forum ;;the FAI are forgetting about the boost it will give connacht rugby and Gaa in Galway as alot of the pepole who attended Terryland will now make there way to the sportsground on a friday night instead ,fans lost to the Beauthful game forever .

Lost forever? On Connacht's current form (and I was a regular attendee myself for a coupla years there when involved with them in some capacity so I'm quite sympathetic) I wouldn't worry about that!

I think that Mervue and Salthill have an obligation and responsibility to Mervue and Salthill respectively long before they have one to 'Galway football' in just the same way that junior club's are perfectly entitled to grouse about losing players to senior clubs. It won't hurt Mervue or Salthill to be the top clubs in the region. Nobody in this thread has made any observation these so called tiny, junior clubs have managed to stay solvent and secure in senior football while GUFC failed manifestly to do so (excluding Terry's rumblings of Mervue's impending financial explosion obviously). Mervue and Salthill (miniscule fanbases and all) showed ambition to join senior football and should be left alone (as they clearly wish to be) to develop in their own way at their own pace. Any notion that they should merge with or otherwise embrace GUST is way off the mark. gufcfan's previous post is a much more measured one tbf to him and a better representation of the overall feeling in the GUST camp I would hope.

That being said why have GUST been overlooked by the FAI? What's the alleged failing in their application? All I've read here (bar the GAA tangent) is lots of idle speculation and mudslinging. Entertaining stuff as someone else observed but not particularly substantive either.

Are GUST appealing the decision? And if so, on what grounds?

[Mr A]

I think the big issue is that the GUST application missed the deadline, therefore it's entirely up to the FAI whether they consider it or not. In Derry's case it didn't matter, in this case they seem to be minded not to consider it.

[pineapple stu]

GAA stuff split. (http://foot.ie/threads/161154-LoI-GAA-discussion)

[sadloserkid]

I think the big issue is that the GUST application missed the deadline, therefore it's entirely up to the FAI whether they consider it or not. In Derry's case it didn't matter, in this case they seem to be minded not to consider it.

That does seem to be quite outrageous then.

[Terry]

That being said why have GUST been overlooked by the FAI? What's the alleged failing in their application? All I've read here (bar the GAA tangent) is lots of idle speculation and mudslinging. Entertaining stuff as someone else observed but not particularly substantive either.

Are GUST appealing the decision? And if so, on what grounds?

I have been talking to representatives of GUST and they are reluctant to say anything at all until an official statement has been released by both parties.

[SMorgan]

Was that the season Galway were promoted? In fairness they brought good crowds that year but rapidly dropped off.

The problem started because they were never promoted. It was bad enough that the FAI believed them, but they appear to have made the fatal mistake of believing their own propaganda... No sympathy for them whatsoever.

[gufct]

Limeerick fans have short memories

The FAI's decision effectively disenfranchised the incumbent Limerick F.C. and its chairman Danny Drew, although the organisation remained receptive to the continued participation of Limerick within senior football. To this end, FAI chief executive John Delaney openly solicited approaches from other interested parties within the city of Limerick even as he announced the rejection of Limerick F.C.'s appeal: "We want a healthy Limerick based club in the new Eircom League of Ireland and if interested entities seek a licence, we would assess them carefully for their suitability to meet the criteria required to play in the league."[8] On January 3, 2007, the FAI confirmed that its appeal for Limerick-based applicants to the league had garnered interest from a number of parties, one of which identified itself as Soccer Limerick, a consortium purporting to represent the entire spectrum of Limerick football, from schoolboy to Junior (amateur) level, and operating under the auspices of the Limerick Sports Partnership.[9]

Eight days later, Soccer Limerick confirmed that its constituent committees had approved the submission of a formal application for a UEFA club license, with a view to gaining entry to the First Division of the National League for the 2007 season. Soccer Limerick spokesman Ger Finnan confirmed that Limerick 37 planned to stage home fixtures at Jackman Park, headquarters of the LDMC, and would announce the appointment of a first-team manager on Monday January 15, 2007.[10] Paul McGee was subsequently appointed manager of Limerick 37, and signed 11 players before the start of the season.[11]

With McGee's results and style of play not going down well with the home fans, the club opted to replace him with former player and manager Mike Kerley, who brought abput mid-table respectability, as well as a remarkable end of season run which saw Limerick end Waterford's promotion hopes with a 5-1 win in Limerick, a 1-0 away defeat of eventual division winners Dundalk, and most memorably, a 1-1 draw away to shelbourne, with Colin Scanlan's late equaliser denying Shelbourne the title and promotion in the 2008 season.

[gufc2000]

Open meeting - this evening, Claddagh Hall, 9.00pm

Galway United Supporters Trust will hold an open meeting this evening, Wednesday January 18th, to update our members, supporters and the public on developments over the two weeks regarding our application for the 2012 Airtricity League First Division.

The meeting will be held at the Claddagh Hall at 9.00pm. GUST apologise for the short notice, we hope to see you at the Claddagh Hall later on.

[A face]

The meeting will be held at the Claddagh Hall at 9.00pm. GUST apologise for the short notice, we hope to see you at the Claddagh Hall later on.

Hope this went ok

[WoodquayBoy]

2 proposals put to members:
1. An alliance with Salthill Devon to play as SD Galway in Terryland, wearing maroon and white at home, blue and white away. Team to remain part of Devon, not a separate entity, and a place for 2 members on a LOI sub-committee in Devon.
2. An alliance with Mervue (verbal proposal only) to play as Galway & Mervue United, in Terryland, in maroon and white, with both crests on the jersey, and the offer of up to 3 places on the Mervue board.
Further discussions taking place today, John Delaney travelling down for them

[adamd164]

Both crests on the jersey is a bit of a silly offer; but the Mervue option does seem the more viable. Salthill seem to have basically offered two meaningless positions since those 2 representatives of GUST would ultimately be answerable to the board.

[WoodquayBoy]

It is certainly a more 'generous' offer - someone said last night the Devon one seems to be nothing more than getting GUST to put a fundraising committee together. I can see why Mervue are offering the 2 crests thing, it is about asthetics and if the GUST crest is there, at least it gives the impression of a little bit of ownership, which as I am sure all will appreciate, is hugely important to us United fans

[derm]

Seeing as Mervue's crest consists of quadrants with water, a tree, a football and 1960 any merger would mean the 1960 would no longer apply and the football is superfluous*. Therefore just add the ship to the left hand side and have a new halved crest (?) I know it's not top priority but it's just a suggestion.

Incidentally does GUFC own rights to the crest? I'd presume not due to the similarity of it with the Galway County crest, but if they do any new entity could not use it. It could be rejigged a little though, the reason City changed our crest was because the city council owned the copyright to the coat of arms on the original crest and Coughlan owned the rights to the "new" crest.


* The football in the crest before some smart-**se replies ;)

[Sam_Heggy]

"FC Real Sporting County Of Galway Leopards" has a great ring to it imo.

[jebus]

I've been out of the LoI loop for about a year now, but I still follow it in the comedy pages of the nationals and so I have to ask.

What position are GUST in to offer any sort of merger with anyone? I realise you could add a few fans to their gate, but what if they say no? They hold all the aces and GUST basically have a carrot and a sorry look on it's face to counter.

Why not, for example, just start supporting Mervue? The Galway United you all supported is dead and buried at this stage, this Galway & Mervue United lark seems to be brought about by pig-headed pride on GUST's part to not accept that. Seems a bit odd to want to end another club's existence just to accommodate your egos.

[Mr A]

Don't agree with that analysis. I would doubt that Mervue or Salthill can make a go of it in the LOI in the long term without a merger, at some point the other elements of the clubs will get sick of subsidising the LOI team. What GUST bring is a reasonable amount of support and fundraising ability- something that would be massively useful to either of those clubs.