Harping On V Limerick

July 1, 2006

These are, to say the very least, tough times to be a Harps fan. We're firmly in mid-table in the football wasteland and the crowds have collapsed completely. It seems to me that cutbacks are inevitable as the club is struggling to fork a very high wage budget while the gate money has gone through the floor to an unprecedented extent- down 80% on the corresponding fixtures the last time we were in the first division. That so few people want to watch the team is to some extent understandable as after a very depressing year last year things haven't really improved this season at all. We continue to leak goals all over the place, while missing a depressing number of chances at the other end. The people of the Northwest just don't want to watch a team struggling in the nether regions of Irish senior football and I shudder to think what the gate will be tonight with the world cup match between France and Brazil on TV. While I can understand while people might want to throw their hat at it and just not bother any more it remains absolutely vital that they don't- the faith must be kept! For one thing the club needs support more than ever before as we face the very real risk of undoing all the good work financially of recent years as our biggest single source of income fails completely to meet what were reasonable expectations. The darkest hour comes before the dawn, and a change in form could still see us with a decent finish, and with the vagaries of the FAI system for next season we could actually still find ourselves promoted despite all the current doom and gloom.

The FAI rules on how the 200 out of a total 1000 points place quite a weighting on cup competition and if we can make more progress in the league cup and FAI cup then we may be able to compensate for not finishing in the top 2. The rules are as follows “ FIFA system is used as a template. Total points gained across all competitions are used to rank clubs from 1 – 22. Scoring points are assigned against rank from 200 for the club ranked no. 1 to 60 to the club ranked no. 22 after points accumulated across all competitions are tallied.

League: Premier Division League winners receive 22 points, runners-up 21 points to 1 point for bottom place in the 1st Division. FAI Cup: Winners - 10 points Runners-up - 8 points Semi-Finalists - 6 points Quarter-Finalists - 3 points 3rd round losers - 2 points 2nd round losers - 1 point. (Note eircom League clubs enter at the Second Round stage).
League Cup: Winners - 8 points Runners-up - 6 points Semi-Finalists - 4 points Quarter-Finalists - 2 points 1st & 2nd round losers - 1 point. Europe - 1 point for a win. 0.5 points for a draw (single leg results) .”

The document goes on to note that in the event that teams have the same number of ranking points that they will be judged on league position. Now, we've already gained 2 points in each of the cups for certain, and progressing just one round further in each would guarantee another 3 points. In that case we could then finish a whole four places behind Galway United in the league but still be ranked ahead of them as they went out at the first stage of both competitions. Now, most of the clubs near the top of the first are also still in cup contention. Rovers and Limerick meet in the league cup meaning that one is guaranteed to make the semis, while Cobh are also still in there. On the other hand Rovers look to be virtually guaranteed promotion anyway due to their 4-year record and Limerick despite their superb season so far look doomed by their recent seasons. In the FAI cup most of the teams above us also remain in the competition so to gain an advantage there we will have to make progress beyond the next round, and hopefully the draw will have been kind to us when you read this.

So basically promotion isn't actually as unthinkable as it seems at the moment, but there is no question that on the pitch performances must improve- and dramatically. As a club we're paying out big bucks to a squad of players that are failing to deliver a return on the very considerable investment. If we can't get the crowds back up and soon, a good few may have to seek new employers in July. I can't help feeling badly let down by what we've seen this year so far, but I remain hopeful that Anthony Gorman can bring the necessary ruthlessness and guile to redeem the situation.