Dundalk up the Ante

Following their play off win at the weekend, Dundalk have begun to get things moving with loads of airtime on RTE Radio 1 yesterday lunch time and evening.

It was a fairly skillful lobby with a very simple message. We did it on the pitch. How can you deny us a seat at the top table?
I don't want to rehash all the arguments about who signed up for what. I'm simply pointing out that they are very skillfully (and reasonably too) putting pressure on the powers that be as the clock ticks down to December 11th.

You could argue that they are trying to move the goalposts very late in the day. But most soccer fans would have sympathy for a team that let their football do the talking and got the results on the pitch.

Not everyone will like this tactic, but I know I'd expect our Board to do exactly the same if we were play off winners.

There's more on this in the Eircom League forum (Dundalk win play off) if ye're interested.

John Gill has been whinging all year but the powers that be in Oriel know that they are snookered by their four year form and other licencing issues and they have told me they dont expect to go up.

As your so privy to what goes on in Oriel Park what other licensing issues are there

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Originally Posted by marley

As your so privy to what goes on in Oriel Park what other licensing issues are there

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I'd say that being small-minded and playing your games on Thursday nights because "you make more money renting out the bar on Fridays" probably is not the professional approach John Delaney is after for the Premier.

As it stands now Dundalk are ranked above Waterford in this season's league table and appear likely to drop out of the top 12. If neither of us go up it should be a very interesting 1st Division next season.

wouldnt it be funny if we just scrapped in ahead of say waterford because dundalk beat them in the play offs :D

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Originally Posted by Terry

wouldnt it be funny if we just scrapped in ahead of say waterford because dundalk beat them in the play offs :D

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NO!! :eek: :p

Hell Limerick could get in if all the dubland clubs got screwed over because of there debts problems over the past few years!!! I have decided to look at everything about this whole invite process as laughable from now on as there is no clear way of doing it by the book

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Originally Posted by Terry

Hell Limerick could get in if all the dubland clubs got screwed over because of there debts problems over the past few years!!! I have decided to look at everything about this whole invite process as laughable from now on as there is no clear way of doing it by the book

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I see the 12 team Premier now:

Limerick
Galway
Athlone
Cork
Waterford
Cobh
Sligo
Longford
Finn Harps
Monaghan
Derry City
and The East Coast Eagles (TM incase your fuppin reading Delaney), an imalgimated club formed to finally settle the problem of too many Dublin clubs fighting for scraps :ball:

when did wimbledon change there name to "the east coast eagles" ?? :D

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Originally Posted by Terry

when did wimbledon change there name to "the east coast eagles" ?? :D

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Do you not like it??

It was Eamon Dunphys idea :)

Thats the thing, he says they did it on the pitch but still
doesn't realise that there was nothing to play for apart from
extra ranking points.

Calling it a playoff is where all the confusion lies as it is not a
promotion/relegation playoff on account of the entire league
being scrapped and clubs asked to reapply.

Do they deserve the extra ranking points ... Yes, as they won the game
Do they deserve to be in the new Premier Division ... If their overall score
from playing record and other licensing issues aren't good enough, then No

By even having a playoff game the FAI have opened up a can of worms. Surely with all the thought that went into how points were to be allocated there shouldn't have been any need for a playoff. Now we have a situation where Dundalk will feel hard done by when they dont go up, this could have been avoided by keeping the system simple and not confusing people with pointless playoffs.
I am sick and tired of thinking about what the FAI are going to do. When I first heard about this new league I was optimistic but now I'm not so sure.
At the risk of being fined by the FAI I'd say next season will be just as much of a shambles as usual.

Spot on Ash as ive said before if clubs have worked their asses off to get their house in order why should teams who mortgaged their futures be rewarded.


On another point i still feel a properly adminisitered 16 team premier is the only way to go. Athlones new stand and ground are a credit to ye and miles ahead of most other premier teams facilities.

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Originally Posted by Ash

Calling it a playoff is where all the confusion lies as it is not a
promotion/relegation playoff on account of the entire league
being scrapped and clubs asked to reapply.

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But it was a promotion/relegation playoff. Dundalk got promoted, Waterford got relegated.

Now the old league has been totally scrapped, there is no-one in the premier division, and it will be populated according to FAI criteria.

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Originally Posted by noby

But it was a promotion/relegation playoff. Dundalk got promoted, Waterford got relegated.

Now the old league has been totally scrapped, there is no-one in the premier division, and it will be populated according to FAI criteria.

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But there was never going to be a League for them to get promoted to
as the current League ceases to exist. You cant get promoted to something
thats not there.

If they apply to be in the new Premier and fail then thats exactly what it is,
a failed/rejected application due to a points ranking outside the top 12.

Same as Waterford, they weren't relegated into anything and so when they
apply to the new League if they are accepted it will be an accepted application
and if not its rejected, but accepted for the new First Division.

Surely, for a split second after the final whistle, they got promoted, before the league was dissolved.

I do agree with your second line, btw.

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Originally Posted by Lim till i die

The East Coast Eagles

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Ha ha ... brilliant.

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Originally Posted by noby

Surely, for a split second after the final whistle, they got promoted, before the league was dissolved.

I do agree with your second line, btw.

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As the final whistle blew the League disappeared in a puff of smoke :D

Probably a silly question and may have been asked elsewhere, but as this
is a new League ... will clubs previous League honours be looked on totally separately as they are from the old league?

Ash, you're buying too much into Delaney's rhetoric. It's a load of nonsense backwards engineered from him wanting to have certain clubs in the new league.

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Originally Posted by Poor Student

Ash, you're buying too much into Delaney's rhetoric.

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In that case so is every Club who voted for it.

Clubs signed up to this new application process based on points criteria so
theres no point in p!ssing and moaning about promotion and relegation now, IMHO :)

At the end of the day, we're not going to be in it so I don't care how Delaney
carves up the rest of the places.

Although it would amuse me to see John Gill stuck in the 2nd tier for as long as he lives