QuoteGood article,its not just the club officals who want action taken its many fans too.You feel sorry for Bray,Sligo,Dundalk,Pats amoung others who have kept to tight budgets.
.....Cork 'farce' leaves bitter taste among rival clubs
By SEN RYAN
Sunday October 25 2009
BARRING a calamitous collapse in their last two games, Cork City's players appear to have secured a place in next year's Europa League for the club, but not everybody in League of Ireland circles is happy with this development.
For Cork City to be in Europe next year, according to St Patrick's Athletic CEO Richard Sadlier, "would be absolutely farcical". And Sadlier is merely expressing a view which has general currency within the League.
As Bray Wanderers' official Eddie Cox put it: "Nobody wishes Cork City any harm, but there has been obvious mis-management, the FAI brought in rules and they don't appear to be abiding by them. The general consensus is that if it wasn't Cork, the FAI wouldn't be helping them to the extent they have been. I doubt very much that they would do the same for us."
In the past number of months, Cork City have been in the news for all the wrong reasons. A short list reveals:
* Twice they have, at the last minute, avoided winding-up orders in the High Court
* They have been repeatedly late in paying the players' wages
* Twice they have averted a players' strike within hours of having to forfeit matches
* Settlements to former staff dismissed by the present owners have not been paid
Every week, there seems to be another bad news story emanating from the Leeside club, but the low point was reached, according to Cox and Sadlier, when a photograph appeared in national newspapers of players in a car boot thumbing for a lift before their trip to play St Patrick's Athletic on September 25 last. The bus company hired to transport them refused to travel until a bank draft for monies owed had been secured.
"That set us back years in terms of credibility, not only with football people but also with those on the periphery who we are trying to interest in the League," said Sadlier. "Those stories are so, so damaging."
Despite this, the FAI appear to have gone out of their way to keep Cork City afloat, mindful, perhaps, that a winding-up order would result in the matches they played this season being expunged from the records and thus causing chaos.
This doesn't go down well with other clubs who have cut their cloth according to their measure, and find themselves at a disadvantage.
"We feel very aggrieved," said Cox. "The FAI brought in club licensing, we have abided by the regulations and Cork haven't, yet it would appear that the FAI have helped to bail them out and we think that is unfair.
"We cut our budget by 60 per cent to meet their requirements, and we send in monthly accounts, but if Cork City did the same -- as they are supposed to do -- how did they end up owing the Revenue €400,000?"
What bothers Sadlier is that, at the end of last season, the clubs had a frank discussion with FAI officials and were told there would be harsh penalties for clubs failing to adhere to the regulations.
"The feeling was that a line was drawn," he says, "and that they would come down heavily on those guilty of doing X, Y and Z. Yet Cork are being treated the same way as Bray and Sligo who have done everything right. The tough decisions we (at St Pat's) made at the start of the season were to avoid the situation that Cork find themselves in, and that made us less competitive.
"It's a repeat of last season. Then Pete Mahon felt that UCD didn't overspend and got relegated. Drogheda and Cork ran into trouble and weren't relegated. So what's the advantage of acting in a correct manner? If you run up a huge list of creditors you can't pay, what are the consequences? We felt the FAI would come down hard on anyone getting into that situation, but there is no evidence that is the case.
"I'd be disappointed if a club the size of Cork dropped a division or went out of business, but there is a responsibility on those who run the League to see that the clubs who abide by the rules are protected. It shouldn't be of benefit to clubs to operate an over-spending regime."
There have been suggestions that if Cork are not relegated for their misdemeanours, one of the clubs who go down might take the FAI to court, but Cox says it won't be Bray: "We haven't the money for a court case, so we are waiting to see what the FAI are going to do."
The Cork City saga is unlikely to have a happy ending, and Sadlier says: "I don't envy the FAI, as it's a difficult issue to address. I assume there is a lot going on behind the scenes, but there has been no communication from them."
To ensure the bad news is kept to a minimum next season, the FAI may have no option but to make an example of Cork City. If that means dropping down a division, going part-time or even amateur, as former manager Dave Barry suggested, then so be it. At least the FAI will have made their point.
- SEN RYAN
Sunday Independent
Good article,its not just the club officals who want action taken its many fans too.You feel sorry for Bray,Sligo,Dundalk,Pats amoung others who have kept to tight budgets.
If it wasn't two clubs that could possibly get the chop then i'd say something. I'm not saying they are wrong, its just it could be taken with a pinch of salt considering the two clubs involved.
Bray are gone, and this could definitely be seen as a last ditch attempt to stay up.
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.
Bray stuck to rules which the clubs were told about at that meeting at the start of the season.They then took the FAI at their word that clubs would be punished and made sure their own house was in order to avoid any punishments.Cork clearly havent their house in order nor did they make any real attempt to(a mass cull of their squad etc) and are NOT being punished.Bray and other clubs have every right to be angry.
Just to clarify, never mind Bohs hitting 65%, Cork must be miles away from it right?
Lets redefine what it means to heal
Pinch of salt my hole, they're absolutely spot on.Originally Posted by A face
Cork City: Making 'Dream Team' seem realistic since 2007.
You're way off beam here.
Of course the views of Bray and St Pats are highly relevant here, precisely because they "could possibly get the chop". Any club that has played by the rules and faces the ultimate penalty of relegation as a consequence of that (and others not complying) has every right to be mighty agrieved about the prospects of a FAI fudge.
It is also natural for the journalist to seek the views of those who potentially face relegation (in the circumstances Drogheda would probably not have a lot to say publically), but Bray, St Pats, Sligo, and Galway certainly would have every right to be asking the questions of the FAI.
Similarly Shamrock Rovers (league title) and to a lesser extend Dundalk (Europa qualification) all have a vested interest in the FAI living up to there stated intentions regarding sanctions and licensing.
But above all else there is the moral imperative - if the FAI fudge this they lose all credibility as a regulatory body
The thing is if Cork and Derry had cut their cloth to fit their measure, their squads wouldn't be as strong and it is conceivable that we (and Pats) would've got more points off them this season had they had weaker squads.
I'm not going to go on and on about it because Bray did something similar last year. We had to cut both the wages and the budget last season in September/October, after bringing in players in July and, arguably, strengthening the squad when we should have been trimming it as we couldn't afford it. In the end, we stayed up ahead of UCD even though they stuck to their budget. Had we been punished for overspending (be it a points deduction or a transfer embargo in July that year), we might've gone down instead of UCD.
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Why???
Both clubs were in examinership last year. We both got a big points deduction.
Then one club continued to act the maggot, the other club took stock, learned the hard lessons, went part time, pared costs back to the bone and have done nothing wrong this season (like signing players in the summer and asking them to take a pay cut a few weeks later).
Going by your logic, Shelbourne should keep quiet, and they suffered more than anyone, by dropping down a division and giving up European and Setanta football.
You are assuming they have some credibility.
if you pick through the licensing manual half the clubs should not have a licence, never mind a premier one, including us.
Portadown submitted their application an hour late last year and the IFA relegated them - that's maybe extreme but its also proper regulation.
Last edited by Celdrog; 25/10/2009 at 3:43 PM.
Hunky Dorys Park - could be worse, we could be going to Old Trafford every other week
For clarification. The IFA did not relegate them. The application Portadown submitted was not for their Domestic Licence but a one off application to join the new league. They were 29 minutes late with their application.
Perhaps I was incorrectly giving the Drogheda board credit for having the smarts to let other clubs do the complaining, while still getting the benefit of any impact of that pressure on the FAI. By complaining themselves about the FAI not enforcing proper sanctions, this could be seen by many as being extremely hypocritical (as you appear to recognise in relation to Drogheda being granted a license this season)
But if you are suggesting that Drogheda are not that astute, I'll take you at your word.
I guess this is a weak wumming attempt. In the unlikely event that it is not, you can get clarification on the specifics here -... the other club took stock, learned the hard lessons, went part time, pared costs back to the bone and have done nothing wrong this season (like signing players in the summer and asking them to take a pay cut a few weeks later
http://blackandwhitetown.squarespace...interview.html
Any chance you all could put your wee willies back in your pants and take the wee county wee-wee contest somewhere else?
Cork City: Making 'Dream Team' seem realistic since 2007.
You are right Tiktok - lets get back to the langer bashing
Do you think TNB should be sanctioned by the FAI and at what level?
Hunky Dorys Park - could be worse, we could be going to Old Trafford every other week
Personally I think public execution would be fair but Id settle for them ensuring he does not run a club in the league next year.You are right Tiktok - lets get back to the langer bashing
Do you think TNB should be sanctioned by the FAI and at what level?
Under no circumstances should he receive a licence, while I obviously want Cork City to stay in the premier I fully expect that we won't be, possibly the 65% rule will do it, but IMO there's a variety of ways the FAI could relegate us if they have the balls.You are right Tiktok - lets get back to the langer bashing
Do you think TNB should be sanctioned by the FAI and at what level?
Cork City: Making 'Dream Team' seem realistic since 2007.
Which we already know they don't. Its a win-win situation for the FAI, they know that the typical LOI fan already knows what they're like, and can do nothing. And they know the LOI outsiders remain blissfully ignorant about licensing, so they can really do what they want, and do.
Lets redefine what it means to heal
True, but if they give Tom Coughlan a license next season ive no doubt there will be a widespread boycott of the club and the club wont reach the end of the season meaning theyl have a Dublin City-esque mess to clean up midseason.
They avoided that this season, just. Im sure they dont want that happening next year.
The club will be run by someone other than Coughlan next year, but will still be granted a Premier licence next year, which will be nothing short of a complete disgrace.
Lets redefine what it means to heal
Can I ask what your basing this on?
They might be, but its not like i'm going to admit it am i
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.
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