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Drogheda United F.C.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Drogheda United | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Drogheda United Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | The Drogs or The Boynesiders | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1919 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | United Park, Drogheda, County Louth (Capacity 5,400 (400 seats)) |
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| Chairman | Vincent Hoey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager | Paul Doolin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Eircom Premier League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | 1st | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Drogheda United F.C. is an Irish football club currently playing in the FAI Premier Division in the Republic of Ireland. The club hails from Drogheda, Ireland and, since 1976, play their home matches at United Park. Prior to then, they played at Lourdes Stadium.[1] Club colours are claret and blue and their current manager is Paul Doolin.
The current club is the amalgamation of two former Drogheda area clubs, Drogheda United founded in 1919 and Drogheda F.C. founded in 1962. The clubs merged their operations to form the current club in 1975. They won the 2007 Eircom League title on 18th October, beating Cork City 2-1.
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Founded in 1919 the original Drogheda United were a non-league club for all of their early years of existence but in 1963 another Drogheda Club - Drogheda F.C. (founded in 1962) were elected to the League of Ireland when the league was expanded to include twelve teams rather than ten. In their first season there they finished tenth and also in each of the next three seasons finished in the bottom three. In the 1967-68 season they achieved a respectable fifth place finish and the following season finished in sixth place. When the league expanded to include fourteen teams the club dropped down the table again finishing in the bottom five in each of the next six seasons and also recording their heaviest league defeat 8-1 to Cork Hibernians in the 1970-71 season. They did, however, get to FAI Cup Final that season where they were beaten 3-0 by Limerick F.C..
In 1975 Drogheda F.C. amalgamated with Drogheda United to form Drogheda United F.C. and the 1975-76 season saw an improvement in fortunes on the field as they finished sixth in the league and they also reached the FAI Cup Final for the second time, this time losing 1-0 to Bohemians. For the next three seasons, quite the opposite at what had happened before, they finished in third place. During these seasons Drogheda United also achieved two club records - their biggest league victory (7-1 v Finn Harps) and Cathal Muckian scoring 21 league goals in a season. The club then endured another tough spell in the league finishing in the bottom half for the next five seasons bar the 1982-83 season when they managed to achieve their highest ever league placing of second place finishing sixteen points behind Athlone Town. They did win their first ever trophy during these seasons also, the League Cup in the 1983-84 season.
The 1984-85 season saw the introduction of the FAI First Division to begin the following season with Drogheda United among the four clubs who were relegated from the Premier Division but in this season also Drogheda United entered European Competition for the first time where they were destroyed against Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Cup First Round 14-0 on aggregate. They remained in the First Division until the 1988-89 season when they went up as First Division Champions. Their joy was short-lived, however, as the following season they were relegated although this time they achieved promotion at the first time of asking. In the next two seasons Drogheda battled bravely against relegation surviving by one point and on goal difference in the respective seasons. However, they were relegated for the third time in the 1993-94 season.
Drogheda United were very much becoming a yo-yo club, swapping divisions every season between the 1993-94 and 2000-01 seasons when in 2000-01 they finished a disappointing ninth in the ten-team First Division. The following season they did achieve promotion back to the Premier Division and have remained there ever since and in recent seasons have achieved some success. They won their first FAI Cup in 2005 and won back-to-back Setanta Cups in 2006 and 2007. They also qualified for the UEFA Cup for the 2006-2007 season thanks to their 2005 FAI Cup success. They fared better this time than in their first foray into Europe as they defeated HJK Helsinki 4-2 on aggregate in the First Qualifying Round and were just eliminated on penalties in the next round against I.K. Start of Norway. They were also in the UEFA Cup Qualifying stages for the 2007-2008 campaign, losing to Helsingborgs in the second round. They finally won the League Of Ireland for the first time in 2007. They will now be competing in the Champions League Qualifiers for the first time in their history in the summer of 2008.
The crest of Drogheda United is an adaptation of the crest of Drogheda town's coat of arms, which feature the heraldic symbols of a star and crescent over a shield depicting St. Lawrence's Gate, three lions and a ship. The three lions represent England - as Drogheda lay within the Pale and was a garrison town - and the ship represents the town's port. The star and cresent are the royal seal of King John, presented the town with its charter in 1194.[2]
While Drogheda United share the same symbols and colours as Trabzonspor, in Turkey - both recently declared to be sister teams - this has nothing to do with the Sultan of Turkey's attempted relief of the Irish during the Great Famine of the nineteenth century, as the town coat of arms predates the Great Famine by almost eight hundred years.
| Appearances | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 22 |
| Season | Competition | Country | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983/84 | UEFA Cup Round 1 |  |
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. | 0-14 agg. |
| 2006/07 | UEFA Cup Qual. Round 1 |  |
HJK Helsinki | 4-2 agg. |
| 2006/07 | UEFA Cup Qual. Round 2 |  |
I.K. Start | 1-1 agg. 10-11 (pen.) |
| 2007/08 | UEFA Cup Qual. Round 1 |  |
A.C. Libertas | 4-1 agg. |
| 2007/08 | UEFA Cup Qual. Round 2 |  |
Helsingborgs | 1-4 agg. |
Nationality given from place of birth
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Tommy Breen- Ray Treacy
- Tony Macken
- Mick Meagan
- Mick Leech
- Cathal Muckian
- Jerome Clarke
- Frank "Dusty" Flanagan
- Gerry Martin
- Phil Murphy(footballer)
- FAI Cup:
- Winners: 2005
- Runner Up: 1971, 1976
- FAI League of Ireland:
- Winners: 2007
- League of Ireland:
- Champions: 2007
- Runner Up: 1982/83
- League of Ireland 1st Division:
- Champions: 1988/89, 90/91, 98/99, 01/02
- Runner Up: 1994/95, 1996/97
- League Cup:
- Winners: 1983/84
- League of Ireland First Division Shield:
- Winners: 1991
- Setanta Sports Cup:
- Winners: 2006, 2007
- FAI Junior Cup:
- Runner Up: 1939/1940, 1941/42, 1943/44, 1950/51
- Leinster Senior Cup:
- Runner Up: 1982/83, 1985/86
- Tyler Cup:
- Runner Up: 1979/80
- Presidents Cup:
- Runner Up: 1970/71
- FAI Youth Cup:
- Winners: 1971/72, 1972/73, 1996/97
- League Victory: 7-1 v Finn Harps, 24 April 1977, 6-0 v Kilkenny City, 16 December 1994
- League Defeat: 1-8 v Cork Hibernians, 30 January 1972, 0-7 v Shamrock Rovers, 8 January 1984
- Most Points in a Season: 64 in 1998-99
- Most League Goals in a Season: 21, Cathal Muckian, 1977-78
- Most League Goals: 52, Gerry Martin, 1973-89
Drogs is a nickname for fans or supporters of Drogheda United Football Club who play in the Eircom League of Ireland in the Republic of Ireland.
The most vocal supporters stand on "the shed side" of United Park. Many Drogs attend every home match while a smaller group travel around the country to support the team at away matches. They sing football/Drogheda United chants, wear club colours (claret and blue), wave banners and flags and generally try to help lift the team and demonstrate fervent support[citation needed]. The Drogs create a vivacious atmosphere during Drogheda United matches reminiscent of the activities of European Ultras[citation needed].
Drogheda United Supporters Club (DUSC) was formed more than two years ago. Its main aim is to promote Drogheda United F.C. throughout the community. The supporters club works hand-in-hand with the football club in various ways including contributing to the match day programme, organising fund raising nights like quizzes and race nights and by organising buses to away matches.[3]
- Drogheda United Website
- Drogs on FAI.ie
- Unofficial Drogheda United Website - Reservoir Drogs
- Past League Tables on FAI.ie
- Drogheda United on eircomloi.ie