CCFC: The End

24th Feb 2010

Cork City FC: The End

Be it GAA, soccer, rugby, basketball or even kerbs* Corkonians are notoriously sport mad. This is most likely the result of a legacy of escapism that allows Rebels to get away from the oppression the Dublin political estate inflicts upon its unfortunate subjects.

No bobs. No club.

Unlike watching sport on telly, attending a sporting event allows you to forget your woes and get caught up in the heat of the action. That's why so many hot-headed fans lose the rag when things don't go their way. Their anger and frustration is often rooted somewhere far from the field of play.

Loyal fans (or perhaps 'patrons' would be more apt a term because of the money they forked out every season to attend games) of Cork City FC have been hugely let down by those running the club. The embarrassment of having the city's name dragged around the courts of The Pale and watching the administration stagger from deadline to deadline has been painful to watch.

The diplomacy at local level among the media, interested parties and fans has been intense and because of the everyone-knows-everyone nature of the city people are slow to voice their true feelings.

It suffices to say that the owner's actions fell considerably short of fans' reasonable expectations resulting in the current farce where the there is no club in the Premier Division south of Dublin. They might as well rechristen it the League of Dublin.

How far is the saga going to go before all options are exhausted?

Will Tom Coughlan be seen walking hurriedly from the European Court of Human Rights waving a piece of paper giving him another two hours to find money to pay the club's debts? Or trying to convince the panel on Dragon's Den to hand over a few bob?

One assumes there isn't much sympathy for Cork at the FAI headquarters in Dublin. They probably sniggered as they wolfed down their prawn sandwiches and listened to the judgement forcing Cork City FC to be wound up on Tuesday after the FAI refused them a premier division license.

Coughlan may go on Dragons Den show in another attempt to produce money out of thin air to save the club.

Dubliners have (over)run that organisation for decades and have never enjoyed the grovelling from Corkonians that they receive from other subservient regions. The very mention of the names Roy Keane and Stephen Ireland send shivers up the seam of every FAI blazer. Rebels don't bow down to anyone not worth their salt.

There have been a plethora of unforced errors at administration level at CCFC that have undeniably compounded the club's well being over the last five years and the Dubs at the FAI, instead of helping quench them, have impassively thrown fuel on the fire.

The prospects for soccer in Cork are extremely bleak but current aspirations for a local club owned by fans is an exciting one and should be vigorously pursued - even if it won't bear fruit for some time yet.

Prospective sugar-daddies that emerge smiling from the upturn in the economy can be vetted by down-to-earth fans: outrageous promises and bling-bling proposals will be interrogated by those who really know the game. Fans have heard all the bullshit and disingenuous PR before and have seen the shocking reality that follows all too close.

In a city of 200,000 people a soccer club that represents Cork (preferably county as well as city) is surely viable. FORAS are a ray of hope and anyone who casts doubt on their commitment should ask themselves what they are doing for their club or their city before they sling mud. Apathy is our biggest enemy.

We have to believe that a better more stable club will emerge from the ashes of the current club - but only with the determination, hard work and the policing eye of locals will Cork triumph over Ireland once again.

* game played mainly on Northside of the city where opponents try to bounce a ball off their opponents' kerb back into their hands until they reach a certain number of successful rebounds.