It's win or bust for First Division clubs
Cobh Ramblers manager Stephen Henderson was not privy to those discussions but, as an articulate and outspoken opponent of the decision to scrap the play-offs — which means three teams will be relegated and only one promoted at the end of this season to facilitate a reversion to two divisions of 10 in 2018 — his views on how First Division clubs have been forced into this corner carry considerable punch.
“I think it’s really sad that that’s something we’ve come up with,” he says. “It’s sad that we’ve got to a stage where we put forward the scenario that a team works extremely hard over the whole season to finish on top, and then the best we can come up with is that they have to win a one-off match to win the league. I don’t think it’s in keeping with the fairness of the game. It’s silly, to be honest with you, and it just shows where we are in the First Division that we’re basically grasping at straws to come up with such a naïve scenario.”
Only last season, Henderson was experiencing first-hand the value of the promotion-relegation play-offs as, after a fine run in the league campaign, his third-placed Cobh side were narrowly beaten by Drogheda United over two legs before the latter went on to reclaim their Premier Division status by seeing off Wexford Youths.
“The play-offs are the lifeblood for First Division clubs, everybody knows that,” Henderson says.
“Last year the fact that we were on the brink of those play-offs meant our crowds were increasing steadily over the year and that was generating finance to pay off bills and raise standards in the club, make it a better place for supporters and help fund the underage teams. That’s what the play-offs do for First Division clubs: They give you an opportunity to get in with the big boy. And it’s just been dismissed. And, unfortunately, it leaves us in a situation where we’re coming up with airy-fairy ideas which would take away a fantastic achievement for one club.”
First Division clubs had no input into the decision to revamp the structure of the League of Ireland — which, instigated by the Conroy Report, came out of controversial discussions between Premier Division clubs and the FAI.
Against that backdrop, Henderson is entirely resigned to the new season going ahead as planned.
And that reality, he suggests, is one which threatens to leave second tier clubs between a rock and a hard place.
“We’ve accepted it’s a done deal,” he says. “There’s nothing we can do. We can get as upset as we want to. I’m very upset about it, not just for me and the players but for the people who work very hard for this football club and other football clubs.
“Now, if you throw money at it and you win the league there’s a chance your club will go bust.
“If you don’t throw money at it and you’re not competing, there’s a chance you’re going to go bust.
“At Cobh, we have a genuine strategic plan to grow the club and part of that is dependent on gate money. If we’re out of the title race after two or three months, our gates are going right back down. And we’re not going to get that money back.”
All of which means that, more than ever, there will be pressure on Henderson and Cobh — as on all the other First Division clubs — to deliver on the field of play.
“What we always try to do at Cobh Ramblers is improve the players year on year,” he says.
“We had 50 points last year so our motivation is, can we beat that this year? We got to the quarter-finals of the FAI Cup. Can we go on another run like that?
“Same with the Munster Senior Cup — which we won — and the EA Sports Cup. Our goals and objectives are to try to be the best that we can be. We’re a young side and we’re very focused on the development of young players.”
Henderson fully appreciates, however, that with no play-offs and only one going up, the stakes could hardly be higher for First Division clubs this season.
But, as ever in football, hope springs eternal before a ball is kicked.
“What we’re really going to do is go out and try to win this league,” he says defiantly.
“Finance and budgets will nearly always dictate that but sometimes there’s a little surprise around the corner. We’ve a group of young Cork lads, and we have the blood and the bandage ethos that’s part of our culture. So let’s work hard and see where the quality takes us.
“Sometimes I do get dismayed that, potentially, we have a fantastic league to offer here in this country, and there’s just this constant breakdown in communication that keeps knocking us back every time we go forward. And it just tires you out, basically.
“But there’s no defeatist attitude here. Because this isn’t the players’ fault. The players are here to compete and enjoy themselves. That’s what I’m here for too.”
And, of course, there’s always the inspirational example of what happened in England in 2016…
“Well, Leicester, yeah, everybody uses the example of Leicester. And I’m no different. Let’s be Leicester! That’s what it’s all about.”
