Cork City denied a licence; club to be wound up; FORAS to enter First Division

[WoodquayBoy]

You didn't top the table. You finished 12th in the table, and as individual marks for each section were not released to clubs (nor a detailed bbreakdown of how points could be awarded) , the accusations of favouritism can absolutely be levelled at the FAI and Galway

I should have been cleraer, in the mini-league of us, Dundalk and Waterford, we topped the table

[sligoman]

If we get the fair play spot (i'm sure same for Galway), it will pay several weeks wages.

Depends who you're playing. No regionalisation anymore, could end up in Kazakhstan. That plus ye might have to rent Dalymount?...won't be much profit unless ye get through to next round.

[Celdrog]

Even with a charter, accomodation and renting Dalyer we would still make a profit. We'd get 3,000+ at home at €20 a pop. Pay most of the expenses. Same for Galway and Dundalk. We could also go up North or to Wales and have bugger all costs

[jan molby]

How dare Dundalk come out with this crap, If you are reading this Mr FAI man dont give that bunch of rebels Corks European spot, Give it to Pats we have been such good boys

fair play to Dundalk .they have said what i think all league of ireland fans are thinking. a bray fan

[El-Pietro]

was sitting at the back of the room and thought it was slightly over 2 to 1 in favour.

i was on the other side of the room, thought it was a bit closer than that

[The Lilywhites]

Dundalk eye Cork's place in Europe

AS THE process of trying to establish the full extent of Cork City’s debts continued yesterday, the first signs of dissatisfaction with the amount of leniency shown to the southerners by the FAI’s licensing committee began to show with Dundalk claiming they should get City’s place in next year’s Europa League.

City’s place in Europe may well come up for grabs in the event the takeover of the club by a new consortium fails to go through. It’s fate was still far from certain last night amid speculation the ongoing due diligence was producing a larger than expected list of creditors.

At a club board meeting on Monday night, however, Dundalk officials decided they should stake a claim to the Europa Cup spot before the matter of City’s licence is formally resolved and the club has written to the FAI to argue it should be nominated to represent the league in Europe.

“We appreciate the FAI is in a difficult situation here,” said Dundalk’s Colm Crosson yesterday, “and we can understand why the association is keen to keep City in the Premier Division but we feel it’s clear that they did not have a tax clearance certificate on the stated date and we don’t want to appear shy about claiming what we believe to be rightfully ours.

“The impression I get at the moment,” he added, “is that it’s the independent licensing committee’s intention to grant City a licence for next year and if they can find a basis for doing that then it doesn’t seem likely that they are likely to impose sanctions of any sort. We are just saying we want even-handedness towards those clubs, like ourselves, who did comply with the various conditions and deadlines laid out in the licensing documentation when we were supposed to.”

One problem to be overcome by Cork in relation to Europe, even if the club is saved by the new consortium, is the fact Roddy Collins does not have the appropriate coaching qualifications to manage a club in European competition. But neither, as it happens, does Dundalk manager Ian Foster. “That’s a separate issue,” insists Crosson, “and for the time being, it’s an irrelevancy.”

The attempt to skip City in the queue for European football later this year should make for a frosty atmosphere in the directors’ box at Turner’s Cross on March 5th as Dundalk are due to start their league campaign in Cork in the event City do survive intact.

The fact City’s fate will not be clear until at least next Monday, however, means the league will today publish provisional fixture lists for both of its top divisions with Bray, who will travel to Derry in a fortnight in the event things proceed as planned, also watching developments and waiting to see if City’s downfall will mean a last-minute reprieve for them.

“There’s nothing we can do about any of it so we’ll just wait and see what happens,” says Wanderers chairman Eddie Slevin.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...264629396.html

[Nedser]

It seems to me that one of the big flaws in the system is that the deadlines are so far after the end of the season, or more importantly so close to the start of the new season. Even without yesterday's shambles, even if everything had been confirmed "on schedule", it's ridiculous to only announe who is in what division so close to the season starting. The full fixture list should have been released long before now, never mind who is playing in what division. Why can't all deadlines be the end of November, with licensing decisions confirmed before Christmas, and no exceptions?

I know the leagues in Britain don't have licensing as such, but there are minimum criteria that teams must meet to qualify for the various divisions. Teams have been prevented from entering the English League (Stevenage?) and SPL because their grounds weren't up to scratch, even though they theoretically won promotion . As far as I can tell, the deadlines for meeting those criteria in England in Scotland are before the previous season ends, i.e. you have to meet the criteria at the time when you gain promotion on the field. Similarly, if a club wants to play in the LOI Premier next season, they should have to comply with all criteria at the end of this season.

Does anyone know why the decision on licensing has to be put off til mid Feb? Scheduling it like this encourages clubs to do whatever they like during the season and then spend the close season trying to sort out the mess they've created. Clubs should have to comply continuously, and if that was the case, there would be no reason why the decision on licensing can't be made as soon as the previous season finishes.

[Buile Shuibhne]

CORK CITY last night claimed that the six-figure tax bill which has threatened the club’s future has been ‘cleared’.

But there is still no indication that a proposed takeover has moved any closer to being realised.

The club’s representatives are now reportedly attempting to bring forward the deferred High Court hearing aimed at winding-up the club in order to speed up the proposed takeover being facilitated by the Quintas Group on behalf of Peter Gray, Michael O’Connell and FORAS, the Cork City Supporters Trust.

With the consortium determined to ensure that a Premier Division license is in place before any deal is possible, the Independent Club Licensing Committee granted City a week’s grace on Monday to allow the Leesiders clear their €107,653 tax bill.

But, contrary to reports yesterday, there was still no deal last night. The impasse is believed to be a consequence of ongoing concerns about the full scale of the club’s indebtedness, now believed to be in the region of €800,000.

.........................................

http://www.examiner.ie/sport/tax-bil...ce-112390.html

[jinxy lilywhite]

Complaining about a decision after it is annouced would be way too late.

Of course it is trying to exert influence - on the Europa League place which Dundalk believe is their entitlement.

The alternative of course is to trust the FAI to reach the morally correct decision themselves

But the decision hasn't been announced has it. Ezeikial you know more about the licensing process than me and imo i think we have jumped the gun too early because the true position of CCFC is yet to be determined and I am pretty sure there is a term in the T&C of the process about other clubs making public criticisms of the process. A rash judgement like the Dave Rogers debacle does come back to mind.

If you follow your logic if Dundalk win the league or cup or otherwise finish in the top three in 2010 would you advocate declining the Euro spot?

In any case there comes a time when you must stand up and be counted, irrespective of whether some feathers get ruffled

No i wouldn't I would want us to have our european spot but I don't see the point of us having to play a european game in Dublin with the added expenses of pitch rentals and a lower attendence than we'd have in Oriel and haveing to travel to the back arse of nowhere and waste any prize money on travel expenses to which will be of no benefit to the club.
Anyway if we do get into europe this season it will only be by default and not because we deserved it.

[Dodge]

No i wouldn't I would want us to have our european spot but I don't see the point of us having to play a european game in Dublin with the added expenses of pitch rentals and a lower attendence than we'd have in Oriel and haveing to travel to the back arse of nowhere and waste any prize money on travel expenses to which will be of no benefit to the club.
Anyway if we do get into europe this season it will only be by default and not because we deserved it.

Every club wants europe, and they all make money on it.

[derm]

Some of the newly uncovered debts relate to the examinership period. TNB took over the club, agreed to pay a percentage of the debts and they're still an issue. I can't count the times I've had a feeling of pure disgust caused by that man. No doubt these are the debts relating to the previous regime that he was always harping on about, I thought they were only the deferred player wages

[Mr A]

Bray also voice annoyance over the issue.

Bray Wanderers manager Eddie Gormley last night labelled the latest development "ridiculous", saying it was a missed chance for the league's organising body to restore some much-needed credibility.

"The reality is we have to wait until next Monday to discover what division we're in and the transfer window closes next Monday," said the 41-year-old former St Patrick's Athletic midfielder.

"It's a ridiculous situation we're in, and we (the League of Ireland) are a bit of a laughing stock at this stage.

"I have to be careful with what I say, but if you were to ask me, would Bray have had the same decision if we were in the same position (as Cork), I'd say definitely not.

Strict

"If this committee is independent and if there are strict rules in place, there could only have been one decision yesterday, even if it would have been a difficult one.

"So it begs the question, are the rules there and are they the same for each club?"

[disgruntled]

It seems to me that one of the big flaws in the system is that the deadlines are so far after the end of the season, or more importantly so close to the start of the new season. Even without yesterday's shambles, even if everything had been confirmed "on schedule", it's ridiculous to only announe who is in what division so close to the season starting. The full fixture list should have been released long before now, never mind who is playing in what division. Why can't all deadlines be the end of November, with licensing decisions confirmed before Christmas, and no exceptions?

If the decision on licensing was taken earlier only a handful of clubs would make it.Since licensing came in this has been going on. The FAI have been bending over backwards to try & get clubs through the process.You should either meet the criteria or not & if not you don't get a license,end of story. I think if this attitude was taken you would be surprised how quickly clubs would catch on. Like the old saying "Give them an inch & they'll take a mile"

Bray also voice annoyance over the issue.

"So it begs the question, are the rules there and are they the same for each club?"

What gave you that idea Of course the rules aren't the same for everyone & everyone knows it. Although within the rules the reason for the FAI's stance with Cork stinks to high heaven.
I can understand where Bray are coming from but I have to laugh as well. Last season Bray got two chances to stay up because of what happened to Derry & they still couldn't manage it.

[White Horse]

I can understand where Bray are coming from but I have to laugh as well. Last season Bray got two chances to stay up because of what happened to Derry & they still couldn't manage it.

The issue is that they were working within the rules. The rules are there for a reason.

What you are saying is that two teams can play a match and the offside rule only applies to one team.

[OneRedArmy]

Even with a charter, accomodation and renting Dalyer we would still make a profit. We'd get 3,000+ at home at €20 a pop. Pay most of the expenses. Same for Galway and Dundalk. We could also go up North or to Wales and have bugger all costs

That wouldn't even pay for the plane...

Even accounting for the UEFA prize money Europe doesn't pay in the early rounds.

[seand]

That wouldn't even pay for the plane...

Even accounting for the UEFA prize money Europe doesn't pay in the early rounds.

Maybe not if you're paying your players on double contracts.

[pineapple stu]

Even accounting for the UEFA prize money Europe doesn't pay in the early rounds.

Does it not?

E90k for an away trip is E3k a head, give or take - 18 players, manager, assistant manager, physio, couple of officials, injured players; a party of 30 all told, say. Does it really cost E3k a head for a three-day holiday? How much does chartering a plane cost?

[tonydaly]

If Cork broke the rules then of course they should be punished but so must every other club who broke rules as well but that will not happen because the FAI fudge every time when the hard decision must be taken. The FAI excuse is that the clubs deserve a chance to be able to change their ways of operating but you & I know that will never happen.
Of course Bray were within the rules last season but that was not the reason they were relegated. If what has happened to Cork had happened to some other clubs they would be out on their ear but for geographical reasons the rules are being bent a little.Of course just because its within the rules doesn't make it right.

[derm]

Of course Bray were within the rules last season but that was not the reason they were relegated. If what has happened to Cork had happened to some other clubs they would be out on their ear but for geographical reasons the rules are being bent a little.Of course just because its within the rules doesn't make it right.

I haven't read the licensing manual, but I'd be confident that the rules would be adhered to whether or not Bray were in Cork City's situation. However, I would also be confident that the different breaches that City have committed can be punished by different methods up to denial of the license. I won't speculate on whether these penalties would be more or less severe on one club over another ...

[tippex]

Some of the newly uncovered debts relate to the examinership period. TNB took over the club, agreed to pay a percentage of the debts and they're still an issue. I can't count the times I've had a feeling of pure disgust caused by that man. No doubt these are the debts relating to the previous regime that he was always harping on about, I thought they were only the deferred player wages

Derm this newly uncovered debt when was this uncovered?
I thought Due dilligence had previously been performed?