I have heard that the 2009 competition does not start until August.
Fed up of Linfield and Glentoran, would prefer Cliftonville and Bohs this time around.
Go lí cúnna ifrinn do thóin bheagmhaitheasach
The SFAI are the governing body for grassroots football in Ireland, not the FAI. Its success or the lack of is all down to them.
Well they bitched when the competition started in March when the LOI season started, saying the LOI teams would be alot fresher. They bitched when it was divided so that 3 games are played when the LOI starts in March and the IL starts in April, now its changed again so they are played when IL season stats. Dont see any bitching from LOI clubs.
It's 'rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic' stuff people.
IL teams will still be outclassed in the Setanta, with the honourable exception of at most one team every year, no matter when it's played. Becaiuse there is a gulf in standards.
Though it will be interesting to see if the financial problems in the EL cause that gap to narrow at all in the coming seasons.
I would think that it'll be more competitive this year, due to that fact.Though it will be interesting to see if the financial problems in the EL cause that gap to narrow at all in the coming seasons.
Blues
C'raine
Sligo
Bohs
Glens
Pats
Derry
Cork
Reds
That would do. Ta.![]()
Linfield Football Club - Hatchets & Hammers - You Can Only Envy Us
A Blue 52
From today's (well, yesterday's at this stage) Irish Sun:
EXCLUSIVE NEIL O'RIORDAN
THE Setanta Sports Cup has been shelved until autumn, SunSport has learned.
The competition's organisers are awaiting approval from sponsors Setanta for the opening games to take place at the end of August with the final in May 2010.
That will be a full EIGHTEEN MONTHS after the most recent decider, which saw Cork City defeat Glentoran at Turner's Cross.
And it will mean Irish League clubs will be kicking off a competition which they qualified for at least 15 months previously -as its representatives gain entry from their exploits in the 2007/08 season.
It had already been decided that the number of participating clubs would be increased to nine, with Bohemians and Coleraine competing for the first time.
It is now being proposed that the semi-finals will be played on a home and away basis.
It is yet another revamp for the tournament which began in 2005, 25 years after the most recent cross-border competition was staged.
But Milo Corcoran, chairman of the Setanta Sports Cup organising committee, insists the latest changes will enhance rather than damage its reputation.
Corcoran said: "We have submitted provisional dates to Setanta for their approval and we are expecting them to come back to us before the end of the month.
We are looking to run it between August of this year and May 2010.
"We figure that this will be suitable for both the FAI and IFA clubs.
We think the format is a good one because in our submission we have suggested some weekend dates to give it a bigger profile.
In previous years, the schedule has been a bit rushed and there was no leeway to refix games but there would be a little more room for manoeuvre this way."
The competition is likely to be split in two so it is not played in the League of Ireland close-season between November and March.
With the League of Ireland operating off a summer season and the Irish League played over a traditional winter season, scheduling has been a problem from the start.
Northern clubs were seen to have an advantage in the opening games as their southern counterparts did not have any competitive action under their belts.
But by the time it reached the knockout stages, it was seen as interfering with the Irish League season climax.
The organisers moved to ease fixture congestion last year with the competition broken up between spring and autumn, but it was felt that the five-month gap in between meant it lost its momentum.
And the Glens were furious that Cork had home advantage for the decider.
While the final venue alternates between the two associations where possible, the east Belfast club could not understand why a Dublin stadium was not used. Their annoyance was worsened by the fact that the St Anne's Road end of Turner's Cross could not be used because of a delay in the construction of a roof.
That left hundreds of Glentoran fans unable to attend, prompting club chairman Aubry Ralph to call for Corcoran and fellow committee member Michael Hayes to resign.
Both Glentoran and Linfield threatened to withdraw from the competition if their concerns were not listened to.
Since then, Ralph has replaced Portadown director Bobby Jameson as the Irish League's representative on the committee.
CLUBS PARTICIPATING IN 2009/10 SETANTA SPORTS CUP: Cork City (holders); Bohemians (League of Ireland champions); St Patrick's Athletic (League of Ireland runners-up); Derry City (League of Ireland third-placed side); Sligo Rovers (League of Ireland fourth-placed side (as FAI Cup finalists Bohs and Derry had already qualified); Linfield (Irish League champions); Glentoran (Irish League runners-up); Cliftonville (Irish League third-placed team); Coleraine (Irish Cup runners-up).
n.o'riordan@the-sun.ie
What a joke...
be surprised if It goes ahead...
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