2006 League of Ireland Premier Division

The 2006 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 22nd season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division was made up of 12 teams. Shelbourne were champions while Derry City finished as runners-up. However Shelbourne were subsequently demoted to the First Division and had to withdraw from the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League and 2007 Setanta Sports Cup because of their financial difficulties.

League of Ireland Premier Division
Season2006
ChampionsShelbourne
RelegatedShelbourne
Dublin City
UEFA Champions LeagueDerry City
UEFA CupSt Patrick's Athletic
Drogheda United
UEFA Intertoto CupCork City
Setanta Sports CupCork City
Derry City
Drogheda United
St Patrick's Athletic
Top goalscorerJason Byrne: 15
(Shelbourne)[1]
Highest attendance6,080[2] Derry City 1–0 Cork City
Total attendance257,745[note 1]
Average attendance1,562
← 2005
2007 →

Club information
Team Manager Main sponsor Kit supplier Stadium Capacity
Bohemians Gareth FarrellyDes Kelly CarpetsO'NeillsDalymount Park8,500
Bray Wanderers Eddie GormleySlevin GroupAdidasCarlisle Grounds7,000
Cork City Damien RichardsonNissanO'NeillsTurners Cross8,000
Derry City Stephen KennyMeteorElectrical.comUmbroThe Brandywell7,700
Drogheda United Paul DoolinMurphy EnvironmentalJakoUnited Park5,400
Dublin City Dermot Keely Carroll's Irish Gift StoresUmbroDalymount Park8,500
Longford Town Alan MathewsFlancareUmbroFlancare Park4,500
Shelbourne Pat FenlonJW HireUmbroTolka Park10,100
Sligo Rovers Sean ConnorToher'sJakoThe Showgrounds5,500
St Patrick's Athletic John McDonnellSmart TelecomUmbroRichmond Park5,500
UCD Pete MahonBudweiserO'NeillsBelfield Park1,900
Waterford United Gareth CroninThermoFrameDiadoraWaterford Regional Sports Centre8,000

Overview

The Premier Division season kicked off on 10 March and concluded on 17 November. The season saw several clubs face financial difficulties. The Revenue Commissioners took High Court action and threatened to have Shelbourne wound up after it failed to pay more than €104,000 in outstanding taxes.[3][4] Shelbourne also struggled to pay its players during the season. In July Dublin City also went out of business and withdrew from the league, unable to complete the season. Their results were expunged from the record which benefited both Cork and Derry who had dropped points to them. [5] However Shelbourne's off field problems did not prevent them from winning the title. Mark Farren's stoppage-time winner for Derry City away to Waterford United on 13 November ensured that for the third successive year the title would be decided on the final day of the season. Shelbourne clinched the title with a 2–1 win over Bohemians at Tolka Park. Jason Byrne and Glen Crowe scored the vital goals. However Shelbourne's celebrations were cut short when the league decided to demote them to the First Division. They also withdrew from the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League and 2007 Setanta Sports Cup because of their financial difficulties.[6][7]

Final table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Shelbourne (C, R) 30 18 8 4 60 27 +33 62 Demotion to League of Ireland First Division[lower-alpha 1]
2 Derry City 30 18 8 4 46 20 +26 62 Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round
3 Drogheda United 30 16 10 4 37 23 +14 58 Qualification to UEFA Cup first qualifying round
4 Cork City 30 15 11 4 37 15 +22 56 Qualification to Intertoto Cup first round
5 Sligo Rovers 30 11 7 12 33 42 −9 40
6 UCD 30 9 11 10 26 26 0 38
7 St Patrick's Athletic 30 9 10 11 32 29 +3 37 Qualification to UEFA Cup first qualifying round[lower-alpha 2]
8 Longford Town 30 8 10 12 23 27 −4 34
9 Bohemians[lower-alpha 3] 30 9 5 16 29 34 −5 29
10 Bray Wanderers 30 3 8 19 22 64 −42 17
11 Waterford United[lower-alpha 4] 30 2 6 22 20 58 −38 12 Qualification to Relegation play-off
12 Dublin City 17 4 3 10 11 24 −13 15 Withdrew from league[lower-alpha 5]
Source: [6][7]
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. Shelbourne were demoted to the First Division for financial irregularities.
  2. St Patrick's Athletic qualified for the UEFA Cup first qualifying round after reaching the 2006 FAI Cup Final.
  3. Bohemians were deducted three points for fielding Jason McGuinness while he was suspended.
  4. Waterford United lost promotion/relegation play-off but subsequently replaced Shelbourne for the 2007 season.
  5. Dublin City withdrew from league on 18 July. All their results were expunged.

Promotion/Relegation Play-off

Dundalk who finished second in the 2006 League of Ireland First Division played off against Waterford United who finished eleventh in Premier Division.

1st Leg
22 November 2006 Dundalk 1–1 Waterford United
2nd Leg
25 November 2006 Waterford United 1–2 Dundalk

Dundalk won 3–2 on aggregate but did not meet the criteria set out by the FAI's Independent Assessment Group and were not promoted.[7][8][9]

Independent Assessment Group

In March 2006 it was announced that the League of Ireland and the FAI would be merging. As part of this arrangement the league would be restructured and membership of the 2007 Premier Division and 2007 First Division would be decided by an Independent Assessment Group established by John Delaney and chaired by a former FAI honorary secretary, Des Casey. Former Republic of Ireland international footballer, Niall Quinn was originally a member of the group. However he later withdrew because of his growing commitments to Sunderland A.F.C.. He was replaced by Richard Collins, a former chairman of and current director of Charlton Athletic. Other members of the group included John Fitzgerald, the former city manager of Dublin City Council and Pat O'Neill, a former chairman of the Irish Sports Council. The IAG effectively performed a financial stress test on the League of Ireland member clubs. Clubs were assessed on their past five season record in the league. Crucially though, clubs would also be graded on off-field criteria, including attendance, infrastructure, governance, strategic planning, finance, youth development and marketing. The IAG announced their results in December 2006. However the final outcome of the IAG decision was further complicated by the financial difficulties of Shelbourne who, despite initially passing the stress test, were subsequently relegated to the First Division. This provided a reprieve for Waterford United, ranked at thirteen by the IAG, who were selected to replace them.[7][9][10][11]

IAG Table
Pos Team Off field On field Total
1 Derry City 370 460 830
2 Cork City 348 460 808
3 Bohemians 372 423 795
4 Shelbourne [note 2] 278 493 771 Relegated to First Division
5 St Patrick's Athletic 364 407 771
6 UCD 374 370 744
7 Drogheda United 300 437 737
8 Shamrock Rovers 346 377 723 Promoted to Premier Division
9 Longford Town 284 430 714
10 Sligo Rovers 360 343 703
11 Bray Wanderers 351 333 684
12 Galway United [note 3] 389 267 656 Promoted to Premier Division
13 Waterford United [note 4] 296 340 636 Remained in Premier Division
14 Dundalk [note 5] 348 247 595 Remained in First Division
15 Finn Harps 310 283 593
16 Cobh Ramblers 315 240 555
17 Monaghan United 331 173 504
18 Kildare County 265 230 495
19 Athlone Town 305 177 482
20 Kilkenny City 266 177 443
21 Limerick - 243 243
22 Dublin City [note 6] - - - Withdrew from league

Source: [7][11][9]

Notes
  1. Figures do not inclue results from matches played against Dublin City F.C. who withdrew midway through the season https://www.researchgate.net/figure/League-of-Ireland-Premier-Division-Attendance_tbl1_286919999
  2. Shelbourne were relegated to the First Division for financial irregularities.
  3. Galway United were promoted after passing the criteria set out by the FAI's Independent Assessment Group.
  4. Waterford United lost promotion/relegation play-off but subsequently replaced Shelbourne for the 2007 season.
  5. Dundalk's 'on field' results from the previous five seasons dropped their position from eighth to 14th in the IAG table and, as a result, they were not promoted - despite winning the promotion/relegation play-off.
  6. Dublin City withdrew from league on 18 July. All their results were expunged.

UEFA coefficient

The League of Ireland Premier Division's UEFA coefficient accumulated to a total value of 6.498 for the 2006–07 European season.

League's 2006 UEFA ranking

Source:[12]

Top-scorers
Player Club League goals Cup goals Total
Jason Byrne Shelbourne 15 8 23
Mark Farren Derry City 9 8 17
Glen Crowe Shelbourne 12 4 16
Ciarán Martyn Derry City 8 7 15
Declan O'Brien Drogheda United 11 3 14

Source:[1][7]

Awards

SWAI eircom League Player of the Month award

Month Winner Club
March Paul Keegan Drogheda United
April Jason Gavin Drogheda United
May Pat McCourt Derry City
June Paul McTiernan Sligo Rovers
July Joseph Ndo Shelbourne
August Kevin Deery Derry City
September Darren Kelly Derry City
October Philip Hughes Dundalk
November Roy O'Donovan Cork City

PFAI eircom League Player of the Year award

PFAI eircom League Young Player of the Year award

TV3's Goal of the Season award

Attendances

Premier Division games had an average attendance of 1,539 people. Derry City's average home attendance of 3,127 was the highest of any league team for the season. The record for the highest attendance in the Premier Division was also set in the Brandywell Stadium on the last night of the season when Derry City met Cork City. 6,080 attended the game.

  • The clubs that competed in the 2006 League of Ireland.

See also

References
  1. "Ireland - List of Topscorers". www.rsssf.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  2. "DERRY'S GAME WITH CORK BEST ATTENDED". tribune.ie. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  3. "Shelbourne given time to settle tax debt". www.rte.ie. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  4. "Shelbourne clear tax debt". www.rte.ie. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  5. "Dublin City FC bow out of eircom League". 19 July 2006 – via www.rte.ie. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. "(Republic of) Ireland League Tables". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  7. "Ireland 2006". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  8. "(Republic of) Ireland League Tables - Second Level". www.rsssf.com. Archived from the original on 3 June 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  9. "Rovers and Galway promoted". www.irishtimes.com. 12 December 2006. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  10. "Quinn leaves assessment group". www.irishtimes.com. 26 July 2006. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  11. "FAI name the 12 clubs who will participate in the Premier Division". FAI.ie. 11 December 2006. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 20 October 2007.
  12. "UEFA Country Ranking 2007". www.xs4all.nl/~kassiesa/bert.
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