Shelbourne FC Demoted to First Division - All Purpose Thread

Waterford United has not been informed of any change in its league status following the decision of the First Instance Committee to withdraw a Premier License from Shelbourne FC according to a statement just issued

It goes on to say that "While it may be a sad day for Irish football, it also underscores the credibility of the club licensing system. Waterford United committed itself to the IAG selection process last season and accepted the decisions of this committee in December. Now that there has been a change of circumstances in the premier division, it is Waterford United’s view that given the ranking by the IAG, the club is next in line for a place in the new FAI eircom league Premier Division.



The club will be seeking immediate clarification of its options in the wake of this evening’s decision by the First Instance Committee and will consider such options as soon as possible. In the meantime the club‘s management and players will continue to prepare for the new season as normal".

waterford united deserve to go up,
they did everything by the book and stuck with the rules.

infact they deserve to be there ahead of rovers and galway who bought their way back into the premier.


UP THE BLUES:D

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Yes, you're right.

Still, a lot of people - especially on the Shels board - are acting almost as this is the end of all their troubles. I can see things going downhill further from here...

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I know :rolleyes: alot think we'll easily win the first and then back in Europe in no time :rolleyes:

Just gonna merge this with the massive general thread on this whole issue

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Originally Posted by A face

But what about the playoffs :p

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EDIT: Whole tranche of a rant on how play-offs counted towards IAG positions only and not actual elevation to the Premier

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Originally Posted by The Man Himself

waterford united deserve to go up,
they did everything by the book and stuck with the rules.

infact they deserve to be there ahead of rovers and galway who bought their way back into the premier.


UP THE BLUES:D

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Waaaaaaterford didn't even put on a pretence of an effort last year as they thought their boy in Dublin would sort them out. Another shambles if they go up instead of Dundalk tbh :ball:

The IAG pole should rule supreme. That is what everyone agreed on. This means Waterford are the natural selection (at this late stage I can't see much delight at joining the Premier when you have focused all your energy towards the First Division)

The next nightmare is the fixtures, with appeals and the like how long more do we have to wait. You never know the flippin High Court might just line out for a second time. Oh Lord me thinks another disaster is looming.

Role on March 9th (we'll probably get fixtures by midnight March 8th)

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Originally Posted by Guitd

EDIT: Whole tranche of a rant on how play-offs counted towards IAG positions only and not actual elevation to the Premier

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He was being sarcastic to be honest :D

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Originally Posted by The Man Himself

infact they deserve to be there ahead of rovers and galway who bought their way back into the premier.

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Back that statement up with facts - or withdraw it

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Waterford United has not been informed of any change in its league status following the decision of the First Instance Committee to withdraw a Premier License from Shelbourne FC according to a statement just issued

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St Francis..... let me say it 1 more time I know for an absolute fact even though Waterford United have said that there is no change in there situation at the moment that they HAVE been offered a place in the Premier League next season... I have heard it from 3 Management Committee members now.. they are only trying to keep things quiet here for the time being while they decide what to do.

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Originally Posted by BlueAsItGoes

St Francis..... let me say it 1 more time I know for an absolute fact even though Waterford United have said that there is no change in there situation at the moment that they HAVE been offered a place in the Premier League next season... I have heard it from 3 Management Committee members now.. they are only trying to keep things quiet here for the time being while they decide what to do.

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Would you really want to go up? I dont want Dundalk to go up as its too late we've signed players to try and win the first division and all preparations have been made for that. I think its too late for us to go up now as we could struggle in the premier.

up the blues.

to all you begrugers out there" live with it, the blues are back.

I think the FAI have finally made a decent decision. There was no way they could be in the PL with only 4 players at the moment and some debts, I think a points penalty aswell should have been imposed, to make it hard for them to get into the PL, to teach them a lesson about getting into this mess.

PS: I think Derry would have done better in Europe anyway of last seasons squads.

Yes I would like to go up... I think the Management committee should take the chance they have been given.....

May I object to the title of the thread? Shels haven't been relegated, they've simply been not invited to participate in a league which they were provisionally invited to participate in, based on a set of criteria agreed in advance by all parties.

There's no faaaaaaaaaaaaaaarce here.

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Originally Posted by Student Mullet

May I object to the title of the thread? Shels haven't been relegated, they've simply been not invited to participate in a league which they were provisionally invited to participate in, based on a set of criteria agreed in advance by all parties.

There's no faaaaaaaaaaaaaaarce here.

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Title revised

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Originally Posted by Réiteoir

Title revised

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For the record, I was joking.

And you actually did have a point - it's like saying that Shamrock Rovers and Galway were "promoted" - they weren't - they were invited.

As is here - no relegation - but a demotion, yes.

It appears that alot of shels mb posters want the decision appealed. can't see how they can complain:

They submitted their application, committee wasn't happy so they asked for explantions & only then when they felt their explanations didn't add up did they decide to relegate them. Personally I would have included a points penalty as well.

Also the last thing the league needs is to be dragged through the courts again & shels are in no position to go splashing out on court fees

The Blues and Dundalk may well have planned for the first division, but i think either of them would easily hold there own in the premier next season. Along with a few other current first division teams. They have been busy building squads while other prem teams have been falling apart!!

Relief...of a sort. I left for work having read the worrying rumours of Shels inexplicitly remaining in the Premier but a semblance of sense. I genuinely hope Shels can get it together now though, like Pineapple Stu, I reckon this could be only the beginning. Sorry First Division but i'm glad whatever drama is yet to play out at Tolka won't be sodomising the already traumatised Premier.

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Originally Posted by Poor Student

I'm sad to see Waterford get away with resting on their laurels after all. It'll be interesting to see how their planned squad fits into the Premier Division.

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It's not Waterford's fault that Shels screwed themselves up.

Shels would be better off taking their medicine, and go about building some form of squad, and coach before the season starts, as they don't have a hope of winning any appeals. I'm sure they'll enjoy the trips to Finn Harps, Cobh, Wexford, and Kilkenny over the next 9 months. It's called "The Hangover". :D

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Originally Posted by Poor Student

I'm sad to see Waterford get away with resting on their laurels after all. Their second deus ex machina. It'll be interesting to see how their planned squad fits into the Premier Division. Surely they can't overbudget and have cash flow problems this season.

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Still a keen interest in our affairs, I see. People seem to be mistaking our utter crapness last year with resting on our laurels, because we we're 'guaranteed' a premier spot. We were useless all year, for various reasons. Towards the end of the year a rumour came out that we were tipped off about our future. Do people really believe that last march we decided not to try as we were safe anyway?

I would hate to see the club turn down a premier invite, but it does leave us in an awkward spot. Budgets, sponsorship, ticket prices etc. have all been done with the first division in mind, so there may be a frantic couple of weeks to get things sorted for the new season.

The squad, while is geared for a first division title, is probably stronger and more stable than last year's.

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Originally Posted by delboy

It will be one hell of a fight for the BLUES to get out of the 1st division this year with Dundalk, Athlone, Finn Harps and even Monaghan looking to have good squads pre-season. However, I think we have a very good 1st division squad more than capable of winning the 1st division title and gaining promotion many of our players have already been through several promotion campaigns and our younger players have the experience of last years fiasco.

I'll bet money if we do get to play in the premier we will finish above at least 4clubs: Galway, Sligo (last year wasa one off you got a 1st season back in the premier bounce and your squad is mch weaker than last years), Longford, Rovers and maybe UCD.

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regardless of it probably being a one off we still finished 5th in the league. alot of people being saying similar on these boards about it being a false position blah blah blah. sligo rovers finished 5th while your lot bounced around the bottom two.

of course our squad is weaker than last year. that team was built over a year , got promoted and went from strength to strength. alot of those players are gone with the old manger. so we have to build again. and doing so in the prem is much tougher indeed. objective is to consolidate in the prem. we're not naive enough to suggest we'll come 5th again. but in this league best of the rest is 5th so who know's who'll finish there behind the likes of bohs, cork, derry and drogehda . i'd settle for staying well away from a relegation scrap.

i think galway cud do well this season. UCD are always decent (esp against us :( ). i'll put money against urs that you'll be relegated....AGAIN !!

Having seen what Sligo & Galway have to offer in the pre-season, Waterford will not have to worry about relegation.

will there "appeal" be successful?

Just heard about this. Delighted! The FAI have done the right thing. And who would have thought id ever include 'right thing' and 'FAI' in the same sentence!

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Originally Posted by Magicme

Having seen what Sligo & Galway have to offer in the pre-season, Waterford will not have to worry about relegation.

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Pre-season is just that , pre - season


Just like to say that I hope this is a new dawn for Shelbourne and they can get back to being a football club

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Originally Posted by PAURO 7

Just heard about this. Delighted! The FAI have done the right thing. And who would have thought id ever include 'right thing' and 'FAI' in the same sentence!

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I'll side track my current cautious ecstacy to note the following exception to the above mentioned rule:

"Drowning Stan and the rest of the F*ckwits at FAI before the would seem to me to be the right thing to do to help our chances of qualification."

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Originally Posted by Sniffer

The season hasn't even started yet. I've had to design a special close season asterisk

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January 30th?!

This could have done with a new thread to be honest- it's one of the biggest decision in the history of Irish football and it's a bit of a pain having to sort through to find the last place you read.

Anyway- interesting times in the eL. I'm starting to think that the close season is more exciting than the actual football!

one john delaney
theres only one john delaney:D

a waterford man true and true

hes the one that fixed it for the blues by dumping shels out.:rolleyes:

and if you beleve all that then you must be a shels fan:eek:

As a side-point, this season and next may turn-out to be a bit of a golden era for the First Division.

They had bigger than usual crowds throughout the division in 2006 with Rovers down there, and now with Shels in the First they're probably likely to attract bigger than usual crowds again across 2007. Add in the fact that Sligo generated good crowds towards the end of the 2005 season, and the high level of competition for Promotion we've had over the last few years, and this will probably be the best supported era for the First since City were there in 1985-87.

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Originally Posted by wexfordned

It appears that alot of shels mb posters want the decision appealed. can't see how they can complain:

They submitted their application, committee wasn't happy so they asked for explantions & only then when they felt their explanations didn't add up did they decide to relegate them. Personally I would have included a points penalty as well.

Also the last thing the league needs is to be dragged through the courts again & shels are in no position to go splashing out on court fees

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What is the prospect of an appeal succeeding? Would it be too naive to ask that they take their medicine, accept the decision, and let everyone get on with some bloody football. Or are they morally bankrupt too?

If Shels cannot get a Premier licence then it is illogical that they would get a Uefa licence. This would normally mean that next in line gets the place although I have heard there is a rule that only the league Champion can take the CL in leagues such as the eL.

This decision will be good for the FAI, government, Bohs & Pats as will surely mean Shels eventually move to Tallaght to share the stadium. Rovers probably won't be worried either as will have big head start on Shels to build a successful base.

It is staggering that Ollie spent 12-15m & only has game versus Deportivo to show for & a few league wins. I hope we don't hear the same crap heard after DC collpase that Ollies heart was in the right place. :rolleyes:

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If Shels cannot get a Premier licence then it is illogical that they would get a Uefa licence.

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Actually it's also pretty illogical that they can be awarded a D1 license, as most of the financial criteria are exactly the same.

However, I do think the right decision was made in not kicking them out completely.

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Originally Posted by BohDiddley

What is the prospect of an appeal succeeding? Would it be too naive to ask that they take their medicine, accept the decision, and let everyone get on with some bloody football. Or are they morally bankrupt too?

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You mean you had to ask ??:eek:

I couldn't see an appeal against the demotion being successful especially as the 1st division licence was granted WITH conditions. Some of the conditions may be successfuly appealed though.

The good news probably is that Shels are unlikely to have suffecient funds to mount a High Court challange.:D :D

OK, here's my (conspiracy) theory

FAI tell Shels they're going to revoke the license at First Instance Committee, therefore appearing to be stamping down on this sort of thing. But inform Shels they can appeal. Effectively giving Shels another week to pay the wages. In the meantime Ollie signs deal with Kilkenny et al, clears the offending players wages debt and obtains premier license.

FAI are seen to be "serious about licensing" but still giving Shels every change to sort themselves out. I expect that next Monday Shels will be confirmed for premier division with Waterford in the first.

The European license is another story altogether

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Originally Posted by Dodge

OK, here's my (conspiracy) theory

FAI tell Shels they're going to revoke the license at First Instance Committee, therefore appearing to be stamping down on this sort of thing. But inform Shels they can appeal. Effectively giving Shels another week to pay the wages. In the meantime Ollie signs deal with Kilkenny et al, clears the offending players wages debt and obtains premier license.

FAI are seen to be "serious about licensing" but still giving Shels every change to sort themselves out. I expect that next Monday Shels will be confirmed for premier division with Waterford in the first.

The European license is another story altogether

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I like your thinking :cool: :D

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Originally Posted by Dodge

OK, here's my (conspiracy) theory

FAI tell Shels they're going to revoke the license at First Instance Committee, therefore appearing to be stamping down on this sort of thing. But inform Shels they can appeal. Effectively giving Shels another week to pay the wages. In the meantime Ollie signs deal with Kilkenny et al, clears the offending players wages debt and obtains premier license.

FAI are seen to be "serious about licensing" but still giving Shels every change to sort themselves out. I expect that next Monday Shels will be confirmed for premier division with Waterford in the first.

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That would be an utter sham. And therefore sounds perfectly plausible, if not probable.

I'm uncomfortable with the current situation where the FAI looks to have done something remotely approaching the right thing. Doesn't bode well.

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Originally Posted by Dodge

OK, here's my (conspiracy) theory

FAI tell Shels they're going to revoke the license at First Instance Committee, therefore appearing to be stamping down on this sort of thing. But inform Shels they can appeal. Effectively giving Shels another week to pay the wages. In the meantime Ollie signs deal with Kilkenny et al, clears the offending players wages debt and obtains premier license.

FAI are seen to be "serious about licensing" but still giving Shels every change to sort themselves out. I expect that next Monday Shels will be confirmed for premier division with Waterford in the first.

The European license is another story altogether

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My thoughts exactly.

And if it is sorted by next week then the UEFA license will sort itself out.

IN any case I have zero confidence that the FAI's basis for their decision is anything other than riddled with holes and the usual threat of the High Court will force a climb down.