Independent Assessment Group

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11/12/2017, 10:02 PM
bluemovie

Independent Assessment Group

Eleven years ago today the Independent Assessment Group decided to put Galway in the Premier Division based on this video and led to Maxi's pyromania in Merrion Square. The geniuses decided that a club in the hands of the most notorious white collar criminal in the world (two years before the bailout) was the best club in the country off the pitch. After all, they had access to Salthill Devon's gym and Leeson's gambling of billions had only bankrupted one bank. Galway were ranked first in the country for off-field structures ahead of UCD and Bohs in second and third. The ridiculously skewed on-field marks meant that they scored healthily there too despite having been a so-so First Division team throughout the relevant years. The later Shelegation meant that 13th placed Waterford United got a last minute reprieve for the Premier Division while Dundalk had to wait two more years to go up and Galway lasted nearly five whole years before the best-run club in the country went bust.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuwsOYVTsXQ
12/12/2017, 10:00 AM
EatYerGreens

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluemovie

Eleven years ago today the Independent Assessment Group decided to put Galway in the Premier Division based on this video and led to Maxi's pyromania in Merrion Square. The geniuses decided that a club in the hands of the most notorious white collar criminal in the world (two years before the bailout) was the best club in the country off the pitch. After all, they had access to Salthill Devon's gym and Leeson's gambling of billions had only bankrupted one bank. Galway were ranked first in the country for off-field structures ahead of UCD and Bohs in second and third. The ridiculously skewed on-field marks meant that they scored healthily there too despite having been a so-so First Division team throughout the relevant years. The later Shelegation meant that 13th placed Waterford United got a last minute reprieve for the Premier Division while Dundalk had to wait two more years to go up and Galway lasted nearly five whole years before the best-run club in the country went bust.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuwsOYVTsXQ

That video looks like it was done for a college project. I bet they didn't pay Fatboy Slim to use his music either !

#MaxiWasRight
12/12/2017, 11:56 AM
CorribsideSteve

I see that the passing of time has been kind to Dundalk fans. No hint of holding muti-decadal grudges whatsoever.
12/12/2017, 11:57 AM
Guitd

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluemovie

Eleven years ago today the Independent Assessment Group decided to put Galway in the Premier Division based on this video and led to Maxi's pyromania in Merrion Square. The geniuses decided that a club in the hands of the most notorious white collar criminal in the world (two years before the bailout) was the best club in the country off the pitch. After all, they had access to Salthill Devon's gym and Leeson's gambling of billions had only bankrupted one bank. Galway were ranked first in the country for off-field structures ahead of UCD and Bohs in second and third. The ridiculously skewed on-field marks meant that they scored healthily there too despite having been a so-so First Division team throughout the relevant years. The later Shelegation meant that 13th placed Waterford United got a last minute reprieve for the Premier Division while Dundalk had to wait two more years to go up and Galway lasted nearly five whole years before the best-run club in the country went bust.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuwsOYVTsXQ

and your reason or point on bring this up ??..........................................
12/12/2017, 5:52 PM
Nesta99

Never did actually see the DVD in question. Its easy with hindsight not to have a pop these days. If we were still in the 1st division or premier division strugglers well then of course it would have entirely been Galway United and the DVD's fault!!!
12/12/2017, 6:21 PM
bluemovie

Not a Dundalk fan...."blue"movie being a Blues fan who was well and truly p***ed off that day. Reason I brought it up was because I happened to see it was that date yesterday. I just remember it ruining Christmas even though we got the late reprieve. That whole process was incredible nonsense. How they possibly decided that Galway was the number one club in the country for structures and fanbase was astonishing, but I had more of an issue with how ridiculously skewed the marks were for onfield rankings. This could even have been added to the Most League of Ireland Moment Ever thread. They were blown away by that video and Leeson's guff! You'd have to look back now and say placing Galway ahead of Dundalk in particular was crazy. Waterford's facilities and fanbase were ranked lower than Monaghan and Cobh by the way. To paraphrase Maxi, the whole process was "a faaaaaaarce"
12/12/2017, 7:11 PM
Nesta99

Quote:

Originally Posted by CorribsideSteve

I see that the passing of time has been kind to Dundalk fans. No hint of holding muti-decadal grudges whatsoever.

Football fans have long memories - If I were a Waterford fan id still grumble at any mention of Jeff McNamara!! and that wasnt anything like the farce of that IAG!
The 2000's were a mess with being denied a promotion play-off in 2000 after Kilkenny got deducted points returned I think 2 or 3 days before the last game of the season. We were relegated after finishing 3rd last in 2002 due to restructuring, the season pervious we'd have been ok not unlike Galways this season. Then being denied promotion by the IAG when the league table was esentially binned. In general there was the attempted break away league led by Drogheda, obviously not including Dundalk who were still getting bigger attendances.
Pats and the Paul Marney mess, St Francis, Dublin City, Rovers and Tallaght recievership and relegation and the submitting of old accounts, Kilkenny pulling out of the league, Limerick name changes, Kildare County experiment, Cobh refused a licence, 3 clubs in Galway, expunged points, Derry's double contracts. Arkaga, Tom Coghlan, Drogheda's one season wonder before land deals fell apart, Bohs and their land dealings, Galway as the visionary club going, Monaghan pulling out mid season, Shels demise - most under IAG and licencing....Recent Athlone stuff, Bray and North Korea is all relatively quiet in LoI terms. Maybe IAG licencing did bring a lot of stuff to a head quicker so in some way worked.....
12/12/2017, 9:49 PM
CorribsideSteve

I don't disagree with any of that.I remember many of the incidents you've listed. Your point on the IAG bringing things to ahead quicker, despite Athlone and Bray's recent messes is a good one. Things are more or less much better than they were when I got into LOI back around '98.2006 was a strange time. It was essentially peak Celtic Tiger era, when sanity and logical decision making was at an all-time low nationally, and everyone of a certain age become intoxicated with a tsunami of seemingly never-ending money. This DVD ad the overall IAG fiasco is almost an archetype of that.
The fruits of that DVD for Galway were going defunct, but not before conceding over 100 goals in the final season. Waterford are back at the top table, have a nice stadium down there and are out of the graveyard, Dundalk are gunning for all titles on offer, possible progress in Europe etc and the phoenix Galway are back in the 1st division after a handful of seasons at the lower end of the Premier. I do understand that Galway essentially fudged their way to being number 1 in that infamous assessment ranking, but it's not like they ended up subsequently going on to scoop up a string of successive titles and European adventures. If they had done so, maybe there would be a more of a legitimate ground for any number of clubs, and fans to have a grudge; football fans do indeed have long memories. As it stands, its just a sad reminder of how ham-fisted and incompetent things can get as a League.
13/12/2017, 7:21 AM
Mr A

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nesta99

In general there was the attempted break away league led by Drogheda, obviously not including Dundalk who were still getting bigger attendances.

Something to remember now the on field situation is reversed- just because you're up there doesn't mean it will be always thus, and just because clubs are struggling at any given time doesn't mean they can't come back and be major players. Not aimed at Dundalk particularly, but there's always a tendency in this league for whoever is doing well to demand the league is aligned to suit their needs and to look down on clubs that aren't doing so well, attributing too much of this to their own genius rather than the cyclical and unstable history of our league.

Oh, and Dundalk voted in favour of the overall process that later screwed them. Galway did what they needed to do under a crazy system, Leeson did plenty of awful things but that wasn't one of them.
13/12/2017, 8:26 AM
oriel

Not forgetting the ridiculous decision of the League or the FAI to allow the 2 legged play off to take place between Dundalk and Waterford (won by Dlk) that later turned out to be a meaningless as the decision had already been made before this, to select the PD line up for the following season.

Those were fairly depressing seasons ok, Dundalk spent almost every year of the 00's in the FD, in a bizarre decade still won the FAI Cup in 2002 (v Bohs managed by Kenny), then almost went bust (again) and finally reached the PD for the 2009 season, for a rollercoaster season under Sean Conor, finished 5th from 10 teams, then made Europe as Derry and Cork were relegated / removed / not given a PD licence. Then Conor's contract was not renewed.

That's actually a good question, there can't have been too many managers who's first season in charge for any club also had a European spot to look forward to (Ian Foster being one example)

Dermot Keely probably another after McLaughlin left Rovers to go to Derry, around 1986. Maybe Keely again involved with Shels when he was sick and Fenlon took over?

Seriously off topic again with this.
13/12/2017, 12:44 PM
pineapple stu

The play off was idiotic, but it was never meaningless. It decided about 10 points in the overall standings, and this was known well before it was played; even before it was known which two teams would be in it.
13/12/2017, 2:30 PM
Nesta99

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr A

Something to remember now the on field situation is reversed- just because you're up there doesn't mean it will be always thus, and just because clubs are struggling at any given time doesn't mean they can't come back and be major players. Not aimed at Dundalk particularly, but there's always a tendency in this league for whoever is doing well to demand the league is aligned to suit their needs and to look down on clubs that aren't doing so well, attributing too much of this to their own genius rather than the cyclical and unstable history of our league.

Oh, and Dundalk voted in favour of the overall process that later screwed them. Galway did what they needed to do under a crazy system, Leeson did plenty of awful things but that wasn't one of them.

I agree, and said as much during the 'this is lowest standard the league has been at (when my team are not winning it)' type conversations. The issue with Drogheda in this case is that their was a genuine contempt and wish to stand on Dundalk FCs neck at the time. This isnt opinion, I had direct work related dealings with United Park at the time and they said as much. Whenever roles have been reversed Dundalk FC have been supportive of DUFC and I dont think I have ever seen a Cosmo type lash out from Dundalk supporters against Drogheda with the general feeling that there is are mutual benefits to both clubs being ship shape. Dundalk did vote in favour of the restructure as did any club that could see that the status quo was not pretty. The issue was that the IAG took things like planning applications for new grounds, for example, in to consideration. If Dundalk wanted a few more points to get in to the mix, sure just put together a 40k stadium plan with retractable roof and heated seats - it was the way criteria were applied that were daft really not the intended purpose of the IAG. Its not simply about any clubs exclusion at the time, its that some clubs inclusion didnt make sense in how the IAG took plans or proposals as if such structures existed. So basically Dundalk were naive with their application and not flashy enough.
13/12/2017, 10:41 PM
bluemovie

Quote:

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

The play off was idiotic, but it was never meaningless. It decided about 10 points in the overall standings, and this was known well before it was played; even before it was known which two teams would be in it.

That was weird alright. Everyone in Waterford knew it was worth 10 out of a thousand marks so we even left players go on holiday, but word didn't seem to reach Dundalk - especially Maxi and the Minister for Foreign Affairs! For the record, I don't hold any of this against Galway - it was the FAI's decision. Wasn't one of the IAG experts the former Dublin Corpo manager? Someone who'd have been glorified during the Celtic Tiger years for approving Priory Hall type building.
13/12/2017, 10:43 PM
bluemovie

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nesta99

Football fans have long memories - If I were a Waterford fan id still grumble at any mention of Jeff McNamara!! and that wasnt anything like the farce of that IAG!
The 2000's were a mess with being denied a promotion play-off in 2000 after Kilkenny got deducted points returned I think 2 or 3 days before the last game of the season. We were relegated after finishing 3rd last in 2002 due to restructuring, the season pervious we'd have been ok not unlike Galways this season. Then being denied promotion by the IAG when the league table was esentially binned. In general there was the attempted break away league led by Drogheda, obviously not including Dundalk who were still getting bigger attendances.
Pats and the Paul Marney mess, St Francis, Dublin City, Rovers and Tallaght recievership and relegation and the submitting of old accounts, Kilkenny pulling out of the league, Limerick name changes, Kildare County experiment, Cobh refused a licence, 3 clubs in Galway, expunged points, Derry's double contracts. Arkaga, Tom Coghlan, Drogheda's one season wonder before land deals fell apart, Bohs and their land dealings, Galway as the visionary club going, Monaghan pulling out mid season, Shels demise - most under IAG and licencing....Recent Athlone stuff, Bray and North Korea is all relatively quiet in LoI terms. Maybe IAG licencing did bring a lot of stuff to a head quicker so in some way worked.....

Great list of debacles. Only one you missed was Sporting Fingal's Celtic Tiger white elephant - promotion, a cup win and a couple of years in Europe funded by Anglo Irish bailout debt.
14/12/2017, 2:44 AM
Charlie Darwin

Quote:

Originally Posted by oriel

That's actually a good question, there can't have been too many managers who's first season in charge for any club also had a European spot to look forward to (Ian Foster being one example)

Stephen Kenny!
14/12/2017, 9:01 PM
ToberonaTornado

A good bit of bitterness from Dundalk fans regarding 2006 against Galway and referencing IAG was seen following Dundalk's 4-3 win in the final game of the league season which sent Galway down.
Not from me btw ;)
16/12/2017, 8:25 AM
Nesta99

I know we were the hardest fans in the country to please but we must be the most bitter too with hanging on to old battles lost. Tbf was it 9 of ten season in the first division at that time with 3 times either not being promoted or relegated by people sitting in an office in Merrion Square, and watching Trevor Anderson's teams...it would drive the most placid fan in to a complete rage!!