The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
There was good news, bad news and ugly news for Irish
soccer in the last week. Firstly there was the news of
two go-aheads for the revamping and building of soccer
stadiums in Dublin. Then the bad news - the draw for
the European Championship qualifying rounds in 2000.
Derry City's transfer antics provide the ugly.
Shamrock Rovers, the lost souls and wanderers of Irish
soccer, have finally been given the go-ahead to build a
new stadium in Tallaght on the southside of the city.
All Irish soccer fans, I'm sure, welcome the move as a
boost for the domestic game in general. For eleven
years Rovers have been forced to share such venues as
Tolka Park, the RDS and at Dalymount Park with arch
rivals Bohemians. It can only be good for Irish soccer
to see one of Ireland's premier clubs finally put down
some roots after the disgraceful deeds of eleven years
ago by Kilcoyne and Co, which saw one of the country's
finest pitches lost forever. It is now a yuppie housing
estate. The only setback is the limiting of the
capacity of the new ground to 6,000 by the planning
authorities. This limitation, I'm sure, can be
increased in time.
On the northside of the city Rovers' long-time rivals
Bohemians got the green light for the rebuilding of the
`home of Irish soccer', Dalymount Park. An 8,000 seater
state of the art stadium built to the finest standards
of any European ground is planned for the old ground.
Work is to begin at the end of next season. Where was
the FAI in all these plans? Probably nowhere.
On the uglier note, to the carry-on of Derry City FC. A
row has developed between Derry and three other clubs
over transfers. Derry has signed three players from
Sligo Rovers, Dundalk and UCD. Derry has refused to pay
transfer fees to the clubs, claiming that under the
Bosman Ruling, they don't have to.
Marc Bosman was a Belgian player who successfully
claimed that under European Law he was free to move
from one playing jurisdiction to another without his
club being allowed a transfer fee.
Derry City claim to be in the `United Kingdom', even
though they play in the 26 Counties' National League.
What Derry have done is used partition for their own
ends and looked for the best of both worlds. It was
while playing in the Six-County League in the `United
Kingdom' that they were forced to quit senior football
in the early `70s. Derry were a breath of fresh of air
when they joined the National League in the mid-'80s,
becoming highly successful. They would be one of the
few league clubs to be also have a few bob. Derry fans,
and I know a couple, wouldn't be too happy to see their
club say they are based in the so-called United Kingdom
in order to get out of paying a transfer fee.
Tough group for Irish
There won't be too many happy fans after the draw for
the 2000 European Championships was made in Ghent,
Belgium. The Irish soccer team has drawn some tough
opposition. Their opponents in Group 8 include
Yugoslavia and Croatia, both of whom are in this year's
World Cup Finals in France.
Mick McCarthy and the lads will have their work cut out
getting out of this group, as only one team is sure of
qualifying.
Macedonia (the lads who destroyed our French Final
hopes) and minnows Malta are also in the group. Fingers
and legs crossed and hope for the best. And at least
you can be sure the Orange Six-County team won't be
qualifying with the mighty Germans in their five-team
group.
BY CIARAN HEAPHEY
Hail!, Hail!, the Celts are Here - Young Bhoys and
Ghirls pose in West Belfast last week with the Coca
Cola League Cup, won by Celtic last November.
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