Promotion/Relegation after 2006 season

[Risteard]

Ramblers Pro in the echo the other day said that their priority for next year is getting their house in order with regards to redevelopment of St. Colmans etc. He said that next season there's going to be a comittee sitting after the season deciding who'll be promoted and that it could be 2, 3 or even 4 teams.

I don't have a clue what he was referring to as this was the first i'd heard of it. Can only guess that he was referring to getting a Premier Uefa license and clubs being kicked out of the premier for not getting one.
Can anyone shed any light on this committee charade?
Do Sligo and Dublin City have administrative stuff to do to secure their place in the premier?

[rerun]

I read an article in a paper last week, think it was either the Irish Independent or The Irish Times, that said there was a meeting in the next month of all the big wigs from all the teams in the first and premier divisions and league officials. I think the agenda was to agree a format for the league next year and that was to include promotion/relegation. I think there was even mention that a 22 team league was proposed with a split mid season. Although how that would work regarding the UEFA licensing I don't know.

[LFC in Exile]

IMO this has to do with the Elite League recommended by Genesis. For the 2007 season they want a 16 team premier and 2 regional 10 team firsts. The premier wil be decided by UEFA licensing I suppose (thus the committee). So clubs finishing top of the first next season may not be promoted based on where they finish in the league but rather by whether they get a premier license (I presume this also applied to clubs in the premier).

This could mean a radical overhaul of membership of the divisions.

The proposal for a 22 team league is for the 2006 season (the interim season). The 22 team league would get rid of the promotion/relegation issue so clubs could concentrate on facilities. I suppose also it would provide first division clubs with revenue from the visit of bigger, successful clubs. It would also mean of course that Shamrock Rovers won't have to go down.

[Risteard]

I think you would need to ask a lot of Premier Division clubs that question as well ! We have always been run as Premier Division club even though we palyed in the First Division !

Fair enough but i'd presume they'd only be doing maintenance rather than anything drastic if they have their licenses already. A lot of the criteria seems like bull to me though.
Painting gates a certain colour etc.

Dunno how access to the Cross is gonna change seen as the main turnstiles is gonna be a building site.

[NY Hoop]

IMO this has to do with the Elite League recommended by Genesis. For the 2007 season they want a 16 team premier and 2 regional 10 team firsts. The premier wil be decided by UEFA licensing I suppose (thus the committee). So clubs finishing top of the first next season may not be promoted based on where they finish in the league but rather by whether they get a premier license (I presume this also applied to clubs in the premier).

This could mean a radical overhaul of membership of the divisions.

The proposal for a 22 team league is for the 2006 season (the interim season). The 22 team league would get rid of the promotion/relegation issue so clubs could concentrate on facilities. I suppose also it would provide first division clubs with revenue from the visit of bigger, successful clubs. It would also mean of course that Shamrock Rovers won't have to go down.

Well considering they havent even decided on the format for next season we could still be safe!

Its actually a 10 team premier for 2007 that they are after. Bringing in more clubs is a no no though.

KOH

[LFC in Exile]

Really? So the only change will be a 10 team premier and 12 team first. I'm not sure the country is ready for such monumental and drastic change. They'll definitely need 2 years to organise that.

[junkie]

2004 - 10 team Premier, 12 team 1st division
2005 - 12 team Premier, 10 team 1st division
2006 - ?

This ''musical chairs'' over our league format is a joke. It's absolutely ridiculous that they haven't decidied on a format for 2006 just 4 months before the season starts. Format changes should be discussed at least 18 months before a proposed change.

[A face]

2004 - 10 team Premier, 12 team 1st division
Pat Devlin whinging the loudest !!
2005 - 12 team Premier, 10 team 1st division
2006 - ?

[thejollyrodger]

a ten team super league. 12 teams in the first division and another 10 in the league below that.

I hope the EL clubs follow the Genesis report. 12 teams in the Super league would be ok but anymore wouldnt be acceptable becaue of the standard on show.

Besides , if the Geneis report is sucessful and everything gets implmented we will have a really strong league which the northern clubs will want to join. say 4 of them. that would give us 14-16 clubs in a super league which is enough.