Rovers docked 8 points

[Slash/ED]

I don't know, it's fair to say that the current board did nothing and so it's harsh on them but in fairness I'm sure there were some people calling for them to be kicked out altogether, I think a points deduction is fair enough really. You could argue the Wrexham fans did nothing to deserve their points deduction and as a result relegation too. Anyway unless Harps pick up it wont even relegate them.

[Dr.Nightdub]

I'm a bit in two minds over this.

Despite the fact that Maguire and Boyle (the two responsible for the fake accounts) have since resigned, what they did was in the name of Shamrock Rovers and any punishment dished out by the FAI should apply to Shamrock Rovers (on top of whatever legal punishment is due to the pair for filing fake accounts with the Companies Office).

However, from talking to Hooped mates, I believe the 400 Club alerted the FAI to the dodgy accounts before the licences were even granted. Which means the FAI decided to turn a blind eye and both sides would've got away with the cover-up if it hadn't been for the examinership process.

If you thought the registration fiasco was bad, watch this space. I think this has the potential to be much worse.

[chippie0001]

I'm a bit in two minds over this.
If you thought the registration fiasco was bad, watch this space. I think this has the potential to be much worse.

Can't se how as the examiner is running the club and he has stated that they except the deduction. I reckon, just a hunch, that a deal was done, as if Rovers appeal well they could lose their licence and be kicked out. 8 points gives them a chance of staying.

My view is the fans of any club rarely do anything wrong but they suffer for the actions of their boards. To me examinership is more of a reason why Rovers should be punished as that actually puts other teams at a disadvantage. From my understanding of the licence all you had to do was submit accounts and even if they submitted the right ones, they would have got a licence. I also tend to agree that the entire process is flawed in this country and if you audited all the submissions you would find flaws.

[Gerrit]

at what point did I mock with Rovers ? We sang a song about Rovers being homeless yeah, so ? That's teasing in a friendly way, we even didn't sing "homeless scum" like some others do...

I did say it is a shame for their loyal support and that it would be a pity if such a traditional club would disappear. So at what stage did I insult or laugh at Rovers ?!
I did say Rovers did seek their problems themselves, the board did at least. Is that laughing at them ?? I'd say it's just naming facts.

Which club is more famous in Belgium is no matter here. BTW, I think the average Belgian football fan knows neither Rovers nor Shels because the Belgians tend to see the Irish competition as crap (I strongly disagree with this, but some Belgian clubs are all about ambition and growing as big as possible - something that's starting at my favourites Ostend as well and which I strongly regret)

[Dodge]

Rovers simply had to be punished. If they weren't and are then taken over through the examinership, the previous board could've run up debts of €2.3Mill and got a license through fraud and the "new" Rovers would've started fresh with a minimal debt...

Oh and after watching them last night, they are in big, big relegation trouble

[sligoman]

Just heard over the radio, they've been docked 8 points over this double accounts madness.

Great News!

[Colm]

Their fans alone, with their travelling support

What travelling support??
It's probably better than a lot of teams but when did Rovers ever bring more than 70 or 80 fans to the Cross for what is one of their few trips out of Dublin?!
If the Rebel Army can bring 200-300 to Dublin every second week there's no excuse why Rovers or any other Dublin club can't have similar travelling support.

btw, I think the 8 point deduction is too leniant but I wouldn't have expected the FAI to show a bit of backbone so I'm not surprised!

[Aberdonian Stu]

Just wondering, is this the first points deduction in el history that doesn't look like it'll take all season to sort out with appeals etc?

[GavinZac]

Its simply not true to say they add nothing to the league Gav. Their fans alone, with their travelling support and colour and noise are a huge boost to the league. The atmosphere Shams create when they come to cork is second to none, I wouldn't fancy losing that

but you wont lose that because, bar roddy making an even worse job of it than last season, they wont finish below finn harps.

[Éanna]

What travelling support??
It's probably better than a lot of teams but when did Rovers ever bring more than 70 or 80 fans to the Cross for what is one of their few trips out of Dublin?!

Rovers have the best travelling support down to the cross on a consistent basis since I started supporting city. They're always loud and always colourful. Thats why I said it. Never said it was as good as ours, which we all know is the best in the league.

[Speranza]

I am undecided about this, its unfair to further burden the honest members of the 400 club but the surely criminal behaviour of the crooks of the past could not go unpunished.

Never said it was as good as ours, which we all know is the best in the league.

No we don't all know, you and the other delusional Corkies on here think it but I'm sure the majority wouldn't agree.

[Éanna]

No we don't all know, you and the other delusional Corkies on here think it but I'm sure the majority wouldn't agree.

Not deluded at all. Our travelling support 3 years ago was pathetic- a lot has changed since then. We bring more to nearly every away game than other teams bring to the cross. hence me saying it

[Slash/ED]

You have the under stated advantage of having alot of Dublin based fans though.

[Éanna]

You have the under stated advantage of having alot of Dublin based fans however.

even allowing for that. I reckon our Dublin based support is around 50, at times, i.e. big games that might swell to about 100 (say the game in Tolka last year). But so far this season, we've had at least 100 travel from Cork for every game bar longford on a thursday night. Its rare for an away team to bring more than 50 to the cross, very rare to see over 100. Anyways, most non-Dub teams would have a support base in Dublin I'd imagine, so its hardly the point- the reverse side of that is that these people have to make the long journey for home games! Hardly a really important factor- an away support, is an away support. I could start pointing out that Shels should have a bigger away support at Bohs than at Pats because its closer etc etc- not much point in that IMO

[mypost]

Very harsh decision IMO. The clowns who got rovers in this mess should be the ones taking the heat for this, and with that ***** maguire gone, rovers in their current guise should not have been penalised so harshly at all.

I agree with you for once. We've picked up 4 points from 2 games since Maguire resigned. 9-4 =5 points. That's how many we should have been docked, because they were the amount of points we got while the previous board, who made a blatant error, were in charge. And it was a first offence, so the punishment was very severe. If they had docked only 5 points, we would have had 4 now, and would have a decent chance to get out of the drop zone. But with 8 points taken off, it will be difficult for us to avoid relegation.

However, regarding travelling fans, I have to disagree with you. Would you bring the same amount of fans to away games, if you were a struggling club? If you were in Rovers' position, would you bring so many fans to away games? As most fans of NL clubs are fair-weather fans, who only go when their team are doing well, I wouldn't think so. The classic example of course, are Derry, who used to bring thousands to every away game when they came into the league. Then the team struggled, and their attendances, both at home and away, shrank. Now, less than 100 Derry fans travel regularly to away games. It's easy to bring large numbers to away games when you are doing well, but it's a lot harder when your team struggles to win a game.

[Macy]

So any sign of Maguire and Boyle getting any kind of ban from football administration? Or are the FAI keeping their seats warm - next to Kilcoyne?

[GavinZac]

As most fans of NL clubs are fair-weather fans, who only go when their team are doing well, I wouldn't think so..

where did this myth of rovers fans being such brilliant, loyal supporters come from? was it in between disgracing ye'rselves and ye'r club (who've been doinga good job of that themselves)?

this coming from someone who thinks having the ball in play and not trying to score with it should be a foul, im inclined to have my doubts.

[Éanna]

where did this myth of rovers fans being such brilliant, loyal supporters come from?

Its a fact Gav. Anyone who looks at the situation rationally would see that

[WeAreRovers]

[QUOTE=GavinZac]where did this myth of rovers fans being such brilliant, loyal supporters come from?
[QUOTE]

Raising €250,000 in week? Trying to save the club from extinction? Still being around after 18 years of homelessness? Bringing 400 fans to Sweden even though the tie was effectively over? Do you want me to go on?

Anyone with even a passing interest in Irish football knows how brilliant the Rovers fans have been. To say otherwise is just bitterness.

KOH

[Roo69]

I don't know how Rovers still have fans after everything they have endured over the last 20 years ! they are true supporters and have gone through every type of pain and emontion for their club. They should be respected for that no matter what. They along with the Derry tavelling support are by far the most noisest and colourful.

But, in saying all that they did deserve a points deduction for what they did, don't know hoe they came up with 8 points but they did need to be punished. Yeah maguire filled the accounts etc.... but he was doing it to try and benifit Rovers. Thankfully he has gone now so Rovers can finally try and start to build there once great club.