post on the pats mb says its provisionally set for the 14th jan but that mite change....
Seemingly it has been put back to January, according to a post on the CCFC forum.
They say what about the meek?
I say theyve got a bloody cheek
From the Belfast Telegraph today...
Setanta split
Major change in All-Ireland competition
Friday, December 07, 2007
By Stuart McKinley
The Setanta Sports Cup is to undergo a major overhaul ahead of next year's competition.
And at the heart of the matter is the sponsor's struggle to come up with suitable fixture dates for the all-Ireland tournament because of the busier than ever schedule on their subscription channel.
An original proposal to condense the competition into a six-week period at the end of May has been scrapped after objections from Carnegie Premier League clubs and that has thrown plans into chaos.
Organisers are now suggesting that the tournament be split, playing half of it in the spring, when Irish League sides are coming to the end of their season and the teams south of the border are beginning theirs.
After a summer break for European games, the Setanta Sports Cup will then kick-off again in August - shortly after the Irish League campaign starts - with the final being played towards the end of September.
Previously games have been televised live mostly on Mondays - with a few Tuesday games.
Monday nights are now ruled out though as that is one of the slots Setanta uses to show live Barclays Premier League games under it's new multi-million pound agreement with the FA and it is the sponsor's competition that will suffer most.
With both leagues playing at different times of the year and live television slots now at a premium there is little room for manoeuvre and clubs may have to accept the changes if they are to compete.
In addition to the changes clubs are asking for a bigger share of the pot when it comes to being live on television.
Next year is the final season of the original sponsorship deal, signed in 2004 and when the extra revenue is pumped into the competition in 2009 the teams whose games are screened live want a bigger share.
Seven of Linfield's eight games last year were shown live, but they received no extra cash and losing semi-finalists also want a reward for getting out of the group.
The competing clubs for the 2008 competition are now known, with the Irish League being represented by Cliftonville, Dungannon Swifts, Glentoran and Linfield, who will be up against Bohemians, Cork City, Derry City and holders Drogheda United.
The winners of tomorrow's CIS Insurance Cup final between Crusaders and Linfield will qualify for the 2009 competition.
Invitational competition
Time to scrap both league cup and combine them into an all-Ireland cup competition methinks. Top 16 from each league, first round guarantees a North V South tie, open draw after that.
#NeverStopNotGivingUp
CAn someone confirm that Boh's being mentioned above is a mis-print or are we actually in this thing this year?
54,321 sold - wws will never die - ***
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New blog if anyone's interested - http://loihistory.wordpress.com/
LOI section on balls.ie - http://balls.ie/league-of-ireland/
God Damn it Dodge I'm serious are pat's in it or what
There's always hope Block G......!
I wonder if the messing around with Setanta draw is related to the Indo story ?
If there's an all-island announcement due in January, the Setanta Cup may either change format to act as a precursor to that or, if Setanta aren't involved, disappear totally.
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