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Cork City F.C.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cork City | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Cork City Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | "City", "Rebel Army" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1984 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Turners Cross, Cork, County Cork (Capacity 9,000) |
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| Chairman |  Brian Lennox |
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| Manager | Damien Richardson |
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| League | Eircom Premier League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | 4th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cork City F.C. is an Irish football (soccer) club playing in the Football League of Ireland. Founded and elected to the league in 1984 to continue the long tradition of Association Football in Cork, its traditional colours are green and white with red trim. It was one of the first clubs in Ireland to field a team of professional footballers and certainly the first in Cork. With the progression of professionalism at the club, continued development of the Turner's Cross stadium and at a specialised training facility for the club on the banks of the River Lee, the club has seen increases in fan-base and following in recent years.
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The current Cork City F.C. is the second club from Cork to use the name. The first Cork City played in the League of Ireland for just one season, 1938-39. They also won the Munster Senior Cup in 1939. This club evolved from the earlier Cork clubs Fordsons F.C. and Cork F.C.. They subsequently became Cork United F.C. and then Cork Athletic F.C.. They eventually disappeared in 1958.
In 1984, two years after the demise of Cork United, senior football returned to Leeside when Cork City FC was founded by officials from several Cork clubs (including Cork United and Avondale United), and the new club was elected to the League of Ireland. Former Chelsea and Cork Celtic hero Bobby Tambling was the first manager appointed to the club, but he was replaced by Tony 'Tucker' Allen after only 13 games.
In its first and second seasons, the young club barely averted relegation to the new First Division - failing to win a single game at home in Flower Lodge and avoiding relegation only on goal difference. The FAI Cup offered some respite, however Shamrock Rovers knocked City out in the semi-finals - in the last match played at the Lodge.
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In 1986 the club moved to a new home at Turners Cross, where new manager Noel O’Mahony brought Cork to a midtable finish. The following year the club strived to inject a degree of professionalism, and former Ireland striker Eamon O'Keefe arrived as manager, delivering the Munster Cup, and the League Cup (the club’s first national silverware).
Poor form and attendances cast doubts over O’Keefe’s tenure and there was an acrimonious parting of the ways in 1988. With Noel O’Mahony re-installed the side finished eighth in the league, and a loss to champions Derry City in the FAI Cup final earned the club its first European ticket.
The experienced gained in a 0-6 on aggregate defeat against the Russian side Torpedo Moscow inspired a fifth-place finish in the Premier Division, and the Munster Senior Cup was reclaimed.
The early 1990s was a positive period for the club, with lengthy unbeaten league runs, high league positions, retention of the Munster Senior Cup through 4 years, and good performances in Europe. The most notable European game was a gallant UEFA Cup joust with Bayern Munich, which saw City hold the German giants 1:1 at Musgrave Park before falling 0:2 to late goals in Bavaria. 1993 saw Cork City land the Premier Division title for the first time, after a complicated three team play-off. O'Mahoney resigned and the club moved to a new stadium in Bishopstown at the end of the season.
Damien Richardson took the helm and the 1993/94 season began with City coming from three goals down to beat Welsh side Cwmbran Town in the UEFA Champions League. Their reward was a trip to Istanbul and odd-goal defeats both home and away to Galatasaray. City ended up finishing in runners up position in the league.
1994/95 was a tumultuous season for Cork City. After a bright start to the season, financial pressures forced Richardson to resign and with Bishopstown not being developed to plan, games were switched to Cobh, Turners Cross, and even an enforced trip to Tolka Park. O'Mahony was re-appointed as manager but the title challenge collapsed and neither Munster or League Cup successes could ease the sense of foreboding.
At the start of the 1995/96 season Rob Hindmarch took the reins, but the club was in trouble. With the stadium dragging it under, the receiver was called in and the club left homeless. Efforts to save the situation saw a new Board installed and a move back to Turners Cross. Penniless, Hindmarch had skimmed along but relegation still threatened, and a Cup exit saw Dave Barry appointed. The team scrambled to ninth in the league, and for the first time in five years City lost the Munster Cup - to junior side Waterford Glass.
1996/97 saw City finish fourth place. The club narrowly lost out on League Cup glory with an unexpected loss to First Division Galway United. Crowds began to increase, and the Munster Cup was recaptured. The following season Cork performed admirably in the InterToto Cup and the team improved to third in the league. Dave Barry's reign reached its high point in that year, when City won the 1998 FAI Cup, beating Shelbourne 1-0 in a replayed final at Dalymount Park. Cork began the following season with eight straight wins but in the end had to settle for second place, as three defeats to champions St Patrick’s Athletic cost them dearly. After finishing runner up for the second season in a row in 1999/2000, Barry resigned to be replaced by Colin Murphy.
Murphy stayed for one FAI Super Cup game before departing to Leicester City just days before a crucial UEFA Cup game, though it was not to be the last of Murphy and Leicester's involvement with City. His replacement, Derek Mountfield, lasted less than a season and was sacked after a poor run of results and losing the confidence of the players. Former player Liam Murphy took over and the team embarked on a 13-game unbeaten run that brought an Intertoto ticket and a tenth Munster Cup success.
In 2001, Colin Murphy returned to the headlines in Cork when a controversial link-up between City, English Premier League side Leicester City and local outfit Mayfield United was proposed. Fans protested the idea and it never materialised. After a poor season, the board of directors stepped down and local businessman Brian Lennox assumed full control of the club. Lennox was to lead the club to a new professional era.
2002 was most notable as a time of transition as older players, the mainstay of the team in the 1990s, left the club or joined the coach staff, replaced by younger players such as new signings George O'Callaghan, John O'Flynn and Dan Murray. As midfielder,striker and defender respectively, these players were to represent the new backbone of the team for several successful years.
In February 2003 ex-St. Patrick's Athletic manager Pat Dolan was unveiled as the new boss and he led them to third place in the new summer season. Dolan's second season as City manager proved successful, both on a European and domestic level. City surpassed Malmö FF and NEC Nijmegen in the Intertoto Cup and second place in the league was secured.
Dolan was controversially sacked in pre-season 2005 and replaced by former manager Damien Richardson. He would lead Cork City to their second league championship. winning the league on the final day of the season with a 2-0 victory over second place Derry City. Cork City finished runners-up in the FAI Cup, losing to Drogheda United in the final at Lansdowne Road.
The 2006 season saw further work begin on the upgrading of Turners Cross, and performances in the UEFA Champions League against Apollon Limassol, and Red Star Belgrade, who would put them out of the competition. The club lost to Drogheda United in the Setanta Cup Final, finished 4th in the league, and (owing to Derry City's F.A.I. Cup final win) secured a place in the Intertoto and Setanta Cup.
The 2007 season started with some controversy, as new signings Colin Healy and Gareth Farrelly were deemed ineligible for play by F.I.F.A. in a controversial dispute. This contributed to an inconsistent season start, with elimination from the Setanta Cup by Linfield, a home win against St. Pat's and a record-equaling 4-1 defeat to Sligo Rovers. In August 2007, star striker Roy O'Donovan joined FA Premiership side Sunderland for an eircom League record fee of €500,000. 2007 also saw the club's ownership change hands, not uncontroversially, from Chairman Brian Lennox to venture capital firm Arkaga, appointing Arkaga's Aidan Tynan (formerly of Bord na gCon) as General Manager. A mixed season was topped however by an FAI Cup win over Longford Town at the RDS.
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In 2007 Liam Kearney returned to his hometown club, and was joined by Darren Murphy for a fee of €20,000. Sean Kelly also completed his transfer from Arsenal F.C. after a 2006 trial period. Darragh Ryan completed the defensive signings, replacing Motherwell-bound Danny Murphy as a left back. The highest profile signings of the pre-season were Republic of Ireland internationals Colin Healy and Gareth Farrelly. However, due to mistakes made by their previous clubs in registering the transfers, both were denied the right to start immediately because of FIFA regulations. Following several appeals and an investigation by the Court of Arbitration for Sports, the players were not released to play before July 1, 2007. While the CAS were powerless to change FIFA's decision, they backed Cork's position and waived the legal costs for Cork City's challenge as a result. FIFA are reportedly considering adjusting the relevant rule (with consideration to season overlaps across countries) to avoid similar complications in future.
- For further detail on the FIFA dispute, see "The F.I.F.A. 2"
| Title | Year/s |
|---|---|
| League of Ireland | 1992-93, 2005 |
| FAI Cup | 1998, 2007 |
| FAI League Cup | 1987-88, 1994-95, 1998-99 |
| Munster Senior Cup | 1987-88, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05 |
| General | |
|---|---|
| Record league victory | (a) v Limerick 7-1, September 26, 1993 |
| Record league defeat | (a) v Derry City 2-7, August 27, 1987 |
| Longest unbeaten run | 24, April 1, 1990 - January 13, 1991 |
| Most Successive wins | 8, August 30, 1998 - October 18, 1998 |
| Appearances | |
| Most appearances | John Caulfield - 455 |
| Most starts | John Caulfield - 376 |
| Most consecutive starts | Michael Devine - 118 |
| Most substitute appearances | John Caulfield - 79 |
| League Goals | |
| Aggregate | John Caulfield - 129, Pat Morley - 129 |
| Season | Pat Morley - 20 (Twice) |
| Game | No Cork City player has scored more than 3 goals in a game. John O'Flynn (3 times), Ollie Cahill (2 times), John Caulfield (2 times), Kelvin Flanagan, Pat Morley, Roy O'Donovan (2 times) Denis Behan and Colin O'Brien have all scored a hat trick |
| Clean Sheets | Phil Harrington - 112 |
The Cork City Official Supporters Club Hall of Fame was inaugurated in 2006 to celebrate the rich heritage of football provided by famous past Cork City F.C. players, following a charity match between the OSC and a "Legends" selection of past Cork City players. In the inital year two players were inducted to the Hall of Fame, but in normal circumstances one player per year will be inducted.
| Year | Inductee |
|---|---|
| 2006 | Dave Barry |
| 2006 | Patsy Freyne |
| 2007 | Declan Daly |
| 2007 | Phil Harrington |
| Season | Points Total | Position | Season | Points Total | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984/85 | 28 | 9th | 1996/97 | 54 | 4th |
| 1985/86 | 13 | 10th | 1997/98 | 53 | 3rd |
| 1986/87 | 18 | 7th | 1998/99 | 70 | 2nd |
| 1987/88 | 34 | 7th | 1999/00 | 58 | 2nd |
| 1988/89 | 26 | 8th | 2000/01 | 56 | 3rd |
| 1989/90 | 37 | 5th | 2001/02 | 49 | 6th |
| 1990/91 | 50 | 2nd | 2002/03 | 39 | 4th |
| 1991/92 | 43 | 3rd | 2003 | 53 | 3rd |
| 1992/93 | 48 | 1st | 2004 | 65 | 2nd |
| 1993/94 | 59 | 2nd | 2005 | 74 | 1st |
| 1994/95 | 49 | 7th | 2006 | 56 | 4th |
| 1995/96 | 41 | 9th | 2007 | 55 | 4th |
Correct as of 9 July, 2007
| Competition | Played | Win | Draw | Lost | For | Against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Champions League/European Cup | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| UEFA Cup | 14 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 20 |
| UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
| UEFA Intertoto Cup | 16 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 13 |
| Total | 42 | 9 | 10 | 23 | 26 | 54 |
| Year | Competition | Opponents |
|---|---|---|
| 1989-90 | Cup Winners' Cup |  Torpedo Moscow |
| 1991-92 | UEFA Cup |  Bayern Munich |
| 1993-94 | European Cup |  Cwmbran Town |
| 1993-94 | European Cup |  Galatasaray |
| 1994-95 | UEFA Cup |  Slavia Prague |
| 1997-98 | Intertoto Cup |  Standard Liège |
| 1997-98 | Intertoto Cup |  Maccabi Petah Tikva |
| 1997-98 | Intertoto Cup | FC Cologne |
| 1997-98 | Intertoto Cup |  FC Aarau |
| 1998-99 | Cup Winners' Cup |  CSKA Kyiv |
| 1999-00 | UEFA Cup |  IFK Gothenburg |
| 2000-01 | UEFA Cup | Lausanne-Sports |
| 2001-02 | Intertoto Cup |  FHK Liepājas Metalurgs |
| 2004-05 | Intertoto Cup | Malmö FF |
| 2004-05 | Intertoto Cup |  NEC Nijmegen |
| 2004-05 | Intertoto Cup |  FC Nantes Atlantique |
| 2005-06 | UEFA Cup |  Ekranas Panevezys |
| 2005-06 | UEFA Cup | Djurgårdens IF |
| 2005-06 | UEFA Cup | Slavia Praha |
| 2006-07 | Champions League |  Apollon Limassol |
| 2006-07 | Champions League |  Crvena Zvezda |
| 2007-08 | Intertoto Cup |  Valur |
| 2007-08 | Intertoto Cup | Hammarby |
| Year/s | Manager |
|---|---|
| 1984 |  Bobby Tambling |
| 1984-85 | Tony Allen |
| 1986 | Noel O'Mahoney |
| 1987 | Eamon O'Keefe |
| 1988-1992 | Noel O'Mahoney |
| 1992-93 | Damien Richardson |
| 1993-94 | Noel O'Mahoney |
| 1994-95 | Rob Hindmarch |
| 1995-2000 | Dave Barry |
| 2000 | Colin Murphy |
| 2000 | Derek Mountfield |
| 2000-2003 | Liam Murphy |
| 2003-2004 | Pat Dolan |
| 2005- | Damien Richardson |
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The club's colours reflect the traditional colours of association football in Cork, green and white featuring heavily. Since the club's inception in 1984, the kits have also featured a red trim, influenced in part by the traditional G.A.A. colours of County Cork, red and white. Over the years, the colours have been worn in many different combinations, originally green and white hoops, changed in 1989 to white shirts with green and red trim with green shorts. Other designs worn have been green, white and red stripes with green shorts, all green with red and white trim, and green shirts with red and white trim, and white shorts, as worn in the 2005 title-winning season.[3]
![[3]](http://www.corkcityfc.ie/images/kits.gif){kind=link}
In 1997, the club broke with tradition to use a red and white kit reminiscent of the popular Cork County G.A.A. hurling and gaelic football kits. These G.A.A. teams were both popular and successful at this time and some saw this as a marketing move to closer associate soccer with other sports in County Cork. Subsequently, the club reverted to the green and white theme in 2002, initially with white sidings rather than stripes, but eventually returning to green white and red stipes.
Since 1984, the team has only worn a kit with a single solid colour once, and at that not by choice. In 2004, when visiting Intertoto cup opponents NEC Nijmegen, the referee deemed both City's kits to clash with both of NEC's, and the club was forced to hurriedly source a viable alternative while en route to the Netherlands. The team wore all-white with a makeshift crest and sponsorship. The match was also notable for the "second debut" of former City youth player Joe Gamble on his return from the English league, and as one of the League of Ireland's most credible results in European football to date; a hard fought draw away from home allowed City to progress to the third round after the home leg. This was the first time any Irish club had progressed to the third round of a UEFA competition.
There has been a recurring theme of black away kits, often with yellow trim, in reflection of former Cork football clubs. In 2004 a Cork XI selection featuring many City players faced Bolton Wanderers, wearing yellow and black.
At the last home match of 2006, long-running fanzine FourFiveOne announced that it was discontinuing, leaving "I was out there once! "IWOTO and "Spreadin' the Dirt" as the remaining fanzine offerings. In the 2007 season a new fanzine, Going Commando was launched.
Commandos84 are the club's ultras group. Founded in 2005 the group has organized many displays in the Shed End of Turners Cross. The group's logo shows a dragon wrapped around the initials "C84". Commandos 84 also provides Cork City with travelling support around Ireland and Europe.
City also have a support network outside of the Cork area, and City Exiles were formed in 2003 to organise transport to away games, meet for televised games, source merchandise and tickets for non-Cork based fans, and also to sponsor players and contribute to distributing fanzines. Mainly Based in Leinster, there are also groups in New York and London.