Bohs' Bailout Is Not Right

Apologies for my recent silence but I've been very busy.  Despite that, I can't let one very, very annoying story rumble on past without comment.

The story comes from the world of Irish football and concerns Bohemians FC.  For our foreign readers, or for those of you seemingly unaware that association football is, in fact, played here, Bohemians are one of Ireland's most successful clubs.  This decade alone, Bohs have won three League of Ireland titles and two FAI Cups.  They've also been moderately successful in Europe - the win over Aberdeen in 2000 was probably their highlight.  All in all, they're one of our finest.

Like all clubs, Bohs have been hit hard by this recession you may have heard about, but then again who hasn't?  And Bohs' appearance in the Champions League this season, not to mention prize money from last season's League and Cup wins, as well as appearance money in the Setanta Sports Cup, should mean that they're able to stomach the downturn.  Unfortunately, no.  This week it was revealed that Bohs were bailed out by the FAI to the tune of €100,000 earlier this season.  The cash was not a gift, nor a loan, but (according to the FAI) an advance on monys paid to Bohs by UEFA for their brief appearance in the Champions League.

This is a disgrace.  In a year when Cork City were on the brink and when clubs like Galway United, Sligo Rovers and Drogheda have all struggled, why do Bohemians deserve money?  The FAI say that the nature of this money isn't a loan and thus means that they're not contributing to the club's operational costs, but so what?  A loan is a loan and by all accounts this money was given to Bohs to ensure their financial stability.  So why them?  Why not any other struggling League of Ireland club?

When it comes to sport, favouratism cannot be allowed from any figures of authority.  Not from a referee, not from officials and certainly not from the body charged with running the game.  The FAI say that what they have done is not unusual, and even say that they've done similar favours for other clubs but that's not good enough either.  Clubs should live within their budgets, even in times like this when all clubs are struggling financially.  Bailouts shouldn't be given, to anyone.

All any fan wants is fairness.  We want our lot to win, sure, but more important than that is the knowledge that the playing field is level.  A mere suggestion of bias towards one side or another comprimises the integrity of the game and in an instance such as this happens.  Fans of other clubs can now argue that 'the FAI love Bohs 'cos they gave them all that cash' and while that may not be the case, this bailout is enough to plant seeds of doubt into the fans of other clubs, including your's truly. 

This money, though well intentioned, was an own goal.

Cork City RIP

It seems that the League of Ireland club, Cork City F.C., are no more. This afternoon (Friday) the High Court said it couldn't compel the Revenue Commissioners to accept a compromise offer from the club on moneys outstanding to them. The club have just over one hour to lodge an appeal with the Supreme Court (4: p.m.) but as of yet it's unclear whether they will do this, or whether their scheduled game againt Bray Wanderers tonight goes ahead.

This is a piece I wrote, initially for Extra Time, on the wider impact of their demise.

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There’s really only been one story in the League of Ireland this week, and unfortunately it is again a solemn one. If we didn’t have such a passion for the sport here, than I wonder whether these knocks would test our resolve and love of League of Ireland football. One shudders to think how many casual fans have been lost with each scandal that hits our sport. We give out about the number of English Premier League jerseys seen on our streets, yet at the same time even the most hardcore League of Ireland fan has to grudgingly admit that stories such as the collapse of Dublin City, the impending death of Cork City, the implosion of Shels and the rumours surrounding the likes of Bohs and Galway United have all given the League here a dubious reputation.

Sometimes, when sport makes the jump from the back pages to the front, it’s brilliant. Obviously, this week was not one of those times. I despaired when the news came down in work on Monday (I’ve do some work as a newsreader so was one of the first to learn of the judgement in the High Court). Though I’m a Galway United fan, this is the sort of news you hate to hear about for the reasons I’ve outlined above. The loss of Cork will hurt us all.

The news was everywhere; Newstalk led with it in their main bulletin, as did other national stations. Again, it was all over the papers the next morning. I don’t want to go into the reasons for the collapse here, that’s for someone more qualified than I. I will, however, recommend that you check out Con Murphy’s latest blog on RTE.ie. That’s telling. It’s just a shame that the wins of Derry and Pats in the Europa League last week didn’t get the same coverage.



I hope that you’re going to forgive me some self-praise for this week’s Media Watch, but I feel that I have to point out Alan Smith’s excellent piece right here on Extra Time on the demise of Cork City F.C. Most media outlets have focussed on the bare facts of the piece, and rightly so. All bar the most in-depth sports shows/publications don’t have the time or space to truly encapsulate what the potential demise of Cork City F.C. would mean. And for all those that have tried to sum this up, none have done so as well as Alan. It sums up, simply and honestly, what it would mean to the Rebel Army if they fail to find the needed miracle. The clock is ticking, but we’re all behind you lads.



EDIT: Cork have announced that they will lodge an appeal with the Supreme Court

EDIT to the edit: Things are looking good!

Media Watch: The League of Ireland and the Recession

A glum week here on the media watch, given the unsurprising yet nonetheless sad demise of Setanta Sports in the UK. While Setanta Ireland is still on air (at the time of typing), thus meaning that we should still see League football from over here, this week has seen the indefinite postponement of the Setanta Sports Cup. Though never, I felt, the most cherished of competitions, there’s no denying that the loss of its substantial prize money will hurt the finances the League of Ireland clubs you and I adore.

Setanta’s demise comes on a week in which the finances of those same clubs have been under the spotlight. Limerick F.C’s case was widely reported after a public meeting was held in the city on Sunday night. A not-so-sexy 69 people showed up (exactly 500 less than were at Limerick’s 1-0 loss to Shels on Friday) but while the attendance was not the best, the media did their bit to save the Super Blues. By Monday, there were stark headlines in the local press that the club could go out of business this weekend unless €70,000 was found. Right now, again at the time of typing, it looks like the club will stave off the Grim Reaper thanks to a kind offer from a local businessman and the club have the media to thank, in part, for bringing awareness to Limerick’s issues.

While this is one positive way in which the financial woes of a League of Ireland club have been reported, it is in the minority. Also on Monday, the Irish Independent previewed the draws for the Qualifying Rounds of the Champions League and UEFA Cup Light a.k.a. the Europa League, focussing on Bohemians and explaining how a long European run was just what the bank manager, and not hte doctor, had ordered for the Gypsies. Alongside the article was a ‘helpful’ table which detailed the financial situations of the four clubs in the pot. Derry’s was the most positive even though, depressingly, the paper detailed vague rumours about their finances. The less said about Cork, Bohs and Sligo, the better. Was this really necessary? Could the Indo not have examined our improved European performances in recent years and wondered if this was the year that we would see a breakthrough for an Irish club?

Limerick and the European 4 aren’t the only clubs in trouble, of course. There have been problems at my own Galway United and at Drogheda also. We’ve heard all their stories, all topped with bleak headlines, particularly in the national press. While we hate to read or hear about these problems, the case in Limerick this week shows that on a local level at least, there is a groundswell of public will that wants to see our clubs survive these tough times. No League of Ireland club has yet gone to ground during this recession and long may that statement remain factually correct. We have a vibrant league, we have teams who play good football and we have players who are very, very talented. We’re just not told about them.

The League of Ireland needs an injection of positivity. The media can and should do its bit.

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This was originally posted over on http://www.extratime.ie

Cork's Week Of Woe

Many in the media thought that Friday night’s soccer action was headlined by Ireland’s game against Nigeria in London. Yet, for a competitive game of football, the best place to be was surely Turners’ Cross. Cork v Bohs for the top of the table – League of Ireland football at its finest. As we all know, Bohs went home with all three points and that was a blow that the City fans didn’t need. It began a week they’ll certainly want to forget.

The 5,500+ attendance will have helped with the club’s financial issues, but the home crowd were no doubt left with a ‘Byrne-ing’ feeling after Bohs snatched all three points. ‘Bohs On Top Of The World’ screamed The Star on Saturday, obviously deciding that the League of Ireland Premier Division table was now a barometer for the globe as a whole. Bet let’s think of the Turners’ faithful here. The defeat came on the day that the famed Beamish brewery on South Main Street shut and it’s probably ironic that City are sponsored by the makers of the Other Black Stuff; no doubt many of the Rebels will have needed a drink after their loss to Bohs. And about ten drinks after Tuesday.

Drogheda’s 2-1 win over City is like the Leaving Cert, in that it involved events in Louth that angered a lot of people. However, we should have seen it coming. Cork’s former boss Alan Matthews left City in acrimonious circumstances and there’s some Corkonians who aren’t sorry to see the back of him. Judging by the horrible picture of him holding up his index finger in the game’s preview in the Cork Irish Examiner Matthews was either ready to declare himself as a number one of something or he was snapped just as he was getting set to pick his nose. Either way, flattering it was not.

The 2-1 win for Drogheda didn’t surprise Roddy Collins either. Speaking on Newstalk on Wednesday night, Steve’s brother said he wasn’t shocked by the result. Not that he saw the game, oh no. Roddy is on his holidays this week, and was working on his tan as presenter Eoin McDevitt told us. Repeatedly. We had to wait until McDevitt asked Collins about his tan three times before an answer was forthcoming. Either there was a problem with the pre-recorded segment that the Off The Ball team were trying to play us, or Roddy has gone somewhere very odd for a sunny break. Not that it would be the first time Roddy’s summer holidays would have caused a problem. Just ask Bohs.

Newstalk’s piece with Roddy and Daniel McDonnell of the Indo finishes up with both pundits predicting the forthcoming week’s matches. Speaking of Cork, Daniel predicted that they’ll draw against Shamrock Rovers while the ever-ballsy Roddy said predicted that ‘Cork will win...possibly.’ We’ll forgive Roddy his ambivalence; he is after all on holidays. And for the sake of the Rebels, let’s hope that his right, or else they’ll have to console themselves with a pint of Beamish. That just won’t taste the same, not if it’s not out of South Main Street.