It’s D-Day, no, it’s not a cup final, nor a crucial league game. For this team D-Day is licence day. With the ghosts of 2008 settled in already the club now faces the most important decision on the season, even before a ball is kicked. Today Cork City will know whether they have earned the coveted ‘A’ licence. The club failed to back pay all their players for the lost 80% by the deadline, and now that failure might rob Ireland’s most supported football club from playing in the premier league. But after signing key player’s contracts and assigning the new manager maybe the licensing committee will vote in out favour. The UEFA ‘A’ licence is needed for a club to play in the top league of their country, and without it City would be cast to the depths of the First Division. We’re not the only club in this peculiar situation, Drogheda United are currently undergoing the painful period of examinership and their players have also taken a pay cut, it’s now up the authorities to judge whether City and United (Not the Manchester variety) are able to sustain their setup through the season and guarantee the back pay of players wages. Come this summer I hope to be in Derry, rather than Wexford, in the Tallaght Stadium, rather than the Morton Stadium. With less than 2 months to go to the start of the season, nobody knows either who nor when they will play and it just goes to show you when it comes to this league, anything can, has and probably will happen.
Every day this club surprises me, they sack the most successful and then the most professional manager in a row, the first took compensation and the next still could very well do and now, we’ve managed somehow to sign one of the biggest managers in the domestic game. After public submissions, help from the League Managers Association and dozens of names thrown about former Drogheda United manager Paul Doolin has been appointed the 16th manager of Cork City in their 25 year history. Doolin had a 22 year playing career, winning 5 league titles with Shamrock Rovers, Shelbourne and Derry City as well as 5 FAI Cups and a League Cup trophy with Derry. He also played a year in Northern Ireland and won a league and Cup title with Co. Armagh side Portadown. The Dublin native also awarded the PFAI Player of the year on two occasions (1985-86, 1988-89) His first managing job was also as a player, Doolin spent 2 seasons as player-manager of UCD and after a fruitless term he took over newly promoted Drogheda United which was to be a turning point in his career in the dugout, he guided Drogheda to their first FAI Cup success in 2005, beating us in a wet and windy Lansdowne Road. He then beat the Rebel Army in the second final in 5 months and captured the Setanta Sports Cup in it’s second year. He retained the trophy the following year in a dramatic penalty shootout against Linfield at Windsor Park.
Cork City were once again the cannon fodder when Guy Bates struck a 25 yard strike to hand Drogs their first ever Premier Division title. 2008 for Drogheda went the way of a number of other teams getting into financial difficulties which all but ended Drogheda’s chance of retaining their league trophy, the Boynesiders started badly and the season didn’t get any better, Doolin finished his last season with the Claret and Blue outfit after financial cutbacks and after 3 months of unemployment baldy will take the reigns at Cork City, hoping to restore some stability back to the club, don’t expect to see many new faces though!!
Well, the first post eh!! At least I can say that I started anyway, in my infinite wisdom I've decided to document the 2009, and if it goes well other seasons following and shouting aimlessly for Cork City. Finally almost given the freedom to travel on the away buses, as well as attening all the home games it will be a long season, but no doubt no matter how we get on I'll be back for more in 2010For those of you who have stumbled across this fine blog you're probably wondering 'Who the fuck are Cork City?' prepare to be enlightened my friends.Cork City are a professional football team playing in the city of Cork (You probably guessed that anyway) Cork is a city of about 350,000 people situated in cold, wet and scenic Southern Ireland. The club plays in the League of Ireland (As opposed the Irish League, which is the Northern Irish league) alongside 9 others in the year of 2009. Turners Cross is the 'Rebel Army's' home stadium, one of the most impressive in the league it's an all-seater, soon to be all covered cosy ground that can hold around 8,500 maximum. The league has been, to say the least, in hot water during the 2009 season. Half of last year's teams were in financial trouble, and still now there are 2 or 3 teams in the setup that have the possibility of going under. Many teams have switched from full-time back to part-time and at the end of the year we even had our own mini-Italian betting scandal, when Gary Dempsey of St. Patrick's Athletic placed a join €10 bet against his team!
This year it's all about rescuing the league back from the depths of despair and putting it back on the slightly raised podium it deserves. There were some good notes in 2008 though when it came to European competition, Drogheda United came within a goal-line of knocking out Ukrainian giants Dinamo Kiev, and St. Patrick's Athletic were unlucky not to get a result out of Bundesliga outfit Hertha Berlin.
As for Cork City, the season of 2008 was one of the worst off the pitch, investiment company Arkaga took over the club at the end of the 2007 season and immediatly sacked league and cup winning manager Damien Richardson, the board were keping their cards close to their chest and refused to comment for their actions. Fans were split between hope, suspiciosnous, and dislike. The London based company gave Aidan Tynan the control of the club and he signed the Longford manager Alan Matthews, Matthews was just after leading Longford to the drop from the Premier Division and his last game before
the appointment was a 1-0 loss to City in the FAI Cup final. Still though, he would have survived if it wasn't for a points deduction and he did lead the side to 2 previous FAI Cup triumphs. He was given money to spend and soon enough, former City player Danny Murphy joined with former Longford players Pat Sullivan and Dave Mooney. Fans favourite George O' Callaghan was signed on a 3 year deal before Matthews came in and so City completed their biggest ever transfer spending spree.
Fans hoped for the best, Danny Murphy was a proven left back at LOI level and Pat Sullivan was also more than competant in the back 4, Dave Mooney was incredibly the top scorer in 2007 and posessed a deadly right boot.
O' Callaghan was by fat the highest profile signing though. A home grown hero, O' Callaghan led CCFC to multiple succesfull European campaigns and a league title in 2005. But in 2006 O' Callaghan had a spat with then manager Richardson, and left for England to play with Ipswich. O' Callaghan promptly got himself sent off in his first game, an FA Cup 5th round tie against Watford and after 11 appearences and 1 goal he moved to the Withdean Stadium. He played 14 games in the blue and white of Brighton and Hove Albion before he moved back to Turners Cross. .
The fans staged a protest against the situation and refused to back down. FORAS (Friends of Rebel Army Society) were a fund set up to aid the club on a day-to-day running and had hopes to take over the club long term. 'The Club is in the wrong hands' was rung out fiercefully during Cork City's 3-0 home win over Bray Wanderers, and this sparked a revival in the club.
But there was good news from the season. After progressing from their group City beat Derry City in the Setanta (All-Ireland) Cup with a header from youth team player Tim Kiely and in front of a sell-out crowd the Leesiders came back to beat Belfast side Glentoran in the final, winning 2-1 with goals from County Cork native Liam Kearney, and English captain Dan Murray.
Since the club has lost the services of Kearney and midfielder Darren Murphy, but bought in form striker Davin O' Neill from Cobh Ramblers.
So this is where we start the journey, another month and a half to the start of the season and already I can't wait
