One Professional League Please

**John83** · 28/09/2006, 6:28 PM

A couple of eircom League fans [disclaimer: includes me] have written an article on the messy non-football incidents that have plagued the league all season.

The eircom League has been in a poor state recently. We have seen one club go bankrupt, two more receive winding up orders from the Revenue this season (one of those twice), and numerous points deductions threatened. It’s not easy for fans to follow all of this, so we’ve decided to try to hack together a summary.
The authors hope to
1. Inform league fans of the recent non-football events in the league in a fairly brief manner.
2. Generate some discussion on how to improve the administration of both the leagues and clubs.

Read on.

**Poor Student** · 28/09/2006, 6:44 PM

Good read. Succinct and to the point. Sad that even a straightforward list of all the problems this year is still that long. Sadly there's also some way to go before the season ends. This list could get longer. The issues are clearly laid out which need to be addressed and looked at, yet you can't help but feel they won't be examined by the relevaant people.

**John83** · 28/09/2006, 6:49 PM

What really gets my goat is how simple some of them are. Really pathetic breakdowns in communication are causing no end of hassle. It's not that hard to make sure that people know that a player is suspended. It's not unreasonable that a player's transfer of registration be acknowledged with a notice of any outstanding diciplinary issues relating to him. It's just awful management.

**steno** · 28/09/2006, 6:53 PM

Well done to all involved.

Interesting article and to the point, shows how poorly run the league is as a whole

**Dodge** · 28/09/2006, 7:03 PM

Might rob some of those references for the Wikipediaa page I keep up to date (ish) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footbal...nd_2006_season

**John83** · 28/09/2006, 7:08 PM

Originally Posted by Dodge

Might rob some of those references for the Wikipediaa page I keep up to date (ish) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footbal...nd_2006_season

Fire ahead.

**BohDiddley** · 28/09/2006, 8:40 PM

Good stuff. And I might steal the Bohs bit for Bohsnews.
Oh heck, I have already.

**Sniffer** · 29/09/2006, 1:20 PM

Good work lads, but revisiting all that crap has brought my headache back

**pete** · 29/09/2006, 1:27 PM

Should this not be in the UCD section?

If the licencing was enforced then would be no need for rules for clubs going bankrupt in mid season as it could not happen. Isn't there a 65% wage cap on turnover next season? Surely this will stop some clubs spending too much money?

I feel the undertone of this thread is that is the rules applied more strictly UCD can stay in the Pernmier division. We need less clubs not more.

**Schumi** · 29/09/2006, 1:32 PM

Originally Posted by pete

Should this not be in the UCD section?

Stop WUMming Pete, UCD aren't even mentioned in the article.

**John83** · 29/09/2006, 5:11 PM

Originally Posted by pete

Should this not be in the UCD section?

No. It's about the league, not one club.

If the licencing was enforced then would be no need for rules for clubs going bankrupt in mid season as it could not happen. Isn't there a 65% wage cap on turnover next season? Surely this will stop some clubs spending too much money?

No, not true. The financial stipulations in the licencing are, IMO, a joke. There's a reference to the relevent section of the manual in the article, and a link to it in the references if you want to look it up.

I feel the undertone of this thread is that is the rules applied more strictly UCD can stay in the Pernmier division. We need less clubs not more.

I think you read this thread with a serious bias based on who the authors of the article were. We set out to write something from a neutral eL fan's point of view. I think you're really stretching here.

**Sheridan** · 29/09/2006, 5:22 PM

It has been suggested that Dublin City had secured a licence by budgeting for an average home gate of 1,500 this season, though I cannot find a reference for this.. This is approximately three times their actual gate, if it is true, it is shocking that such a blatant fabrication would go unchallenged by the licensing committee.

If it's not true it's a blatant libel. If you can't find a reference what's it doing there?

**pete** · 29/09/2006, 5:42 PM

Originally Posted by Sheridan

If it's not true it's a blatant libel. If you can't find a reference what's it doing there?

How did DC budget to balance the books? How could they ever have even come close to matching revenues with expenses? Did DC budget to lose so much money?

Ronan Seery is an embarishment to irish football & should have a ban on involvement with the eL for letting his club fold in the middle of the season.

**Poor Student** · 29/09/2006, 6:50 PM

Originally Posted by Sheridan

If it's not true it's a blatant libel. If you can't find a reference what's it doing there?

Not being smart, but I don't think there can be libel involved where the deceased are concerned.

**Sheridan** · 29/09/2006, 7:07 PM

You're right, you're not being smart.

**Poor Student** · 29/09/2006, 8:16 PM

Originally Posted by Sheridan

You're right, you're not being smart.

I'm just repeating what a journalist friend recently told me. I must have misinterpreted him if that's the case. However, no need to give a proper response where a smart arsed answer will do. Thanks.

**John83** · 29/09/2006, 9:14 PM

Originally Posted by Sheridan

If it's not true it's a blatant libel. If you can't find a reference what's it doing there?

The requirements for a licence include a budget that wouldn't have seen DC go bankrupt mid season, though naturally I'm paraphrasing. I think that it's quite plausable.

If anyone wants to supply me with the DC licencing application, or if someone currently in an official capacity with the licencing committee wants to state that it's untrue, I'll happily print a retraction.

**Billy Lord** · 30/09/2006, 9:14 AM

FYI: Shamrock Rovers' licence application for 2005 was clearly fraudulent, but when 400 Club reps pointed this out to Delaney he got all defensive, saying the FAI would take a dim view of it if it were true. Then the muppets invented an eight-point deduction etc. Add in the Dublin City fiasco, Shels and Cork's Revenue problems, and it's obvious that the process is a joke. Invent a few figures and away you go . . . football for all, eh?
Ronan Seery - along with the likes of Tony Maguire - should, as a matter of course, be banned from EL involvement for life. Anyone who thinks otherwise is an idiot. Or an FAI official.
Now, off to Athlone.