Are you saying you think there is no connection between the FAI wanting to improve their own ground and the fact that these improvements will probably allow Drogheda to get a licence for the premier division?
If you do think there is a connection, don't you think it is unfair for the FAI to be actively helping a club to get the licence?
It's a possibility alright. But we still have the issue that the FAI have publicly said that they can't help clubs with licences (Cobh incident) and they have to help clubs with licences (Drogheda incident). If they couldn't afford to bail Cobh out, just say so. There'd have been no sympathy for them.
Its definitely what they should have been done but for them to come out and state such a thing in public would have caused a big media circus. On the other hand, they're telling an e.l club it's to do with licensing. Much less bad publicity and it wouldn't even register as news for most on a national scale. They took the easy way out and i can understand that. It was wrong but it's understandable.
54,321 sold - wws will never die - ***
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Getting very boring now tbh.
Sure aren't the FAI also financially helping out derry with their new stadium? (aswel as helping varoious clubs secure grants off the government over the last few years!!)
Yawn![]()
DAN CONNOR HATES CITY, HE HATES LANGERS
See where you're coming from, but I don't really agree.
FAI tell Cobh they can't afford to bail them out - newspapers go mad saying the new Lansdowne is in doubt and Delaney should go. Fair enough; that's to be avoided.
But FAI tell stupid club to sod off and work out their own problems; no media uproar. FAI then tell Drogheda the same thing - still no uproar (primarily because the Irish media are ultimately sopy and pasters with regards the league). There's consistency there, which is all people want.
Completely understand that. It's what everyone wants. I think the Fai really do want to help the clubs though. Maybe thats me being naive now but i reckon thats why they didn't tell drogheda to sod off. They'll help when they can afford to but not when it costs them near half a million.
I think they had misguided intentions and were badly advised in their handling of both situations. Particularly the excuse given to cobh. Cobh should make no mistake about it though, i really doubt it was anything to do with licensing, more the fact that the fai, like the country, is hard up for cash! At the end of the day, they should have just been straight with the cobh board and said as much, even if it was out of the public arena and spun the other story for the press. They wouldn't have dug any deeper because they don't care. Keep everyone happy, bar the fans of course but when are fans ever happy!
no point argueing about it, there was more than licensing involved in our proposal being rejected, that was more or less a cop out, but the FAI should really stand by there statement, the fact there installing seats would insinuate there planing on doing something with united park, otherwise there just helping drogs with there licence, and why allow drogs play premier football for so long with an substandard stadium, only to ungrade it during a recession,
odd decision,
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
I'll agree that in principle a team so badly run shouldnt be let off so lightly. Surely the Shelbourne precedent means they should be relegated atleast.
On the otherhand i'll put out the view that it is not the fans who made this mess, but Vincent Hoey (now gone) and the fans should not be punished by their club being let slip into oblivion while the FAI who supposedly work for the wellbeing of all irish soccer stand idley by. It is right that a good club like Drogheda is not left to drown and given a hand to pick it up when its down rather than be spat on further. THAT would be working for the wellbeing of irish soccer. Relegation, loss of a few points with strict terms applied should be enough. If that doesn't happen, then i would not be too upset as i think the amazing efforts of the fans more than merit their place in the premier division as reward. Fans being the essence of any club, do drogheda fans deserve to be in the first division and ucd fans in the premier division? Punish the bankers, not the bankees!
"Football's not a matter of life and death... its much more important than that"
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If Drogheda gets relegated because of examinership or fails to get a licence because of the state of their ground, then yes. If UCD fulfil all the licencing criteria, then yes. But as UCD got relegated, then no.
Every club has die-hard fans who do work for the club, and support the club financially. Some clubs, obviously, have more than others. You can't decide a club's punishment based on the efforts the fans have made to rectify the mess the club got itself into.
in my opinion the fai must set their stall out this season. they must let it be known the penalty of examinership and stick to it. teams who seek examinership should know the penalty. its all up in the sky at the minute. there needs to be a set list of punishments for infringements.
if you go into examinership it should be automatic relegation...end of. no bending the rules for any team. if you cant run your club right then you shouldnt be allowed in the league, the sooner that that point gets across to clubs the sooner we can get things back to down to a sense of normality, there is just too much dramatics in the League of Ireland and it's doing no good.
It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.
Muhammad Ali
ya sure we didnt run our club properly and are now gonna be relegated to the A league, while drogs and city run up hugh debths and only pay off a percent of them and remain prem, debth free, what a joke
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
Neale Fenn on retiring: 'I think once you finish you might as well finish rather than making all sorts of comebacks.'
........... Finally, I would like on Drogheda United�s behalf to thank the F.A.I. for their support during our difficult times and the Club Licensing Committee for their fair an even-handed operation of their own procedures. Club Licensing has been the best thing to happen in the League of Ireland for a long time and we as a club have always seen the process a positive and fair way for league Clubs to progress and prosper.
http://www.droghedaunited.ie/news/single/id/1540
A transient, horrible, fantastic dream,
Wherein is nothing yet all things do seem:
From which we're wakened by a friendly nudge
Of our bedfellow Death, and cry: "O fudge!"
Ambrose Bierce
Bring on the Louth derby.
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