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| Full name | Shelbourne Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Shels/The Reds | ||
| Founded | 1895 | ||
| Ground | Tolka Park, Drumcondra, Dublin | ||
| Capacity | 9,681 | ||
| Manager |  Pat Fenlon | ||
| League | Eircom Premier Division | ||
| 2005 | 3rd | ||
| |||
Shelbourne F.C. is an Irish football club playing in the Football League of Ireland. Founded in Dublin in 1895, the club joined the Irish Football League in 1904, which was then an all Ireland competition, before becoming founder members of the Football League of Ireland in 1921. Shelbourne have 12 league titles to their name and are one of two clubs to win both the IFA Cup and the FAI Cup (the other is Derry City FC, who remained in the Irish Football League and did not join the Football League of Ireland until 1986). The club colours are primarily red and white, with home jersies being predominantly red. The club currently play their home matches at Tolka Park, in the Dublin suburb of Drumcondra. 'Shels' is the clubs most common nickname, an abbreviation of Shelbourne.
Shelbourne have recently gained a lot of international exposure due to their performances in European competition and Jason Byrne gaining caps for the Republic of Ireland. Shelbourne are the most successful team in the League of Ireland in recent years, having won 4 titles since 2000. The club is managed by former player Pat Fenlon who guided Shels to 2nd in his first year in charge, in a player/manager capacity. Pat then hung up his boots to concentrate solely on managing the club, and guided Shels to winning the league in both the following seasons. Last year, in his third season solely as manager, Fenlon guided Shels to 3rd place.
History
The Early Years: 1895-1921
Shelbourne FC came into existence in 1895, founded in Ringsend (the correct postal address is actually Sandymount] by a group of seven individuals, including James Rowan (St Margaret Place) and two Wall brothers Felix and Michael (Bath Avenue Place). But for the toss of a coin under the current DART bridge on Bath Avenue, Shelbourne FC might be known as 'Bath FC' today. Shelbourne registered with the Leinster Football Association, and initially played their home games on a waste patch of land (M'Lady's Field) close to Lansdowne Road.
Having initially played in and won the Leinster Junior League and subsequently the Leinster Senior League, Shels joined the Irish Football League (then an all-Ireland competition) in 1904 and were the first professional club in Ireland having turned pro in 1904. The first player to sign pro was James Wall, brother of two of the founder members and he was paid £0-0-06d per week. During Shels twelve seasons in the Irish Football League (the league was suspended during the First World War and the club played in the Leinster Senior League in that time), they won three Irish Cups and achieved second place in the league in 1907 making them the most successful Dublin club of the time as well as having five players capped at full international level. During the 1913/14 season Shels established Shelbourne Park in Ringsend, as their home ground.
After The Split: 1921-1929
In 1921 following the partition of Ireland, the Football Association of the Irish Free State took control of football in what is now the Republic of Ireland, and Shels left the Irish Football League to become founder members of the new Free State League (now the Football League of Ireland).
In the first season of the Football League of Ireland in 1922, Shels won the League of Ireland Shield. The trophy was retained the following season, but there was disaster in the Free State Cup Final (now the FAI Cup) as Shels lost to a junior team from Belfast, Alton United. However success did eventually arrive in the League as Shels were crowned league champions for the first time in 1926 (as well as winning the Shield that year) and recorded a second success in 1929.
The Thirties: 1930-1939
Having failed to retain the title in 1930, Shels won their third title in 1931. In 1934 the club got into a dispute with the Football Association of Ireland when they looked for compensation when the FAI arranged a match for the same day as Shelbourne had a match scheduled. In the row that followed, Shels resigned from the League and were then suspended from football for a year by the FAI. The club played no football during the 1934/35 season and spent the 1935/36 season in the Athletic Union League before being re-admitted to the League of Ireland for the start of the 1936/37 season. During the 1935/36 season a team called Reds United, made up of a number of Shels players and backed by Shels personnel, competed in the League of Ireland and finished a respectable fourth. At the end of the season, they resigned from the League to make way for Shels return.
The decade had a happy ending though as success in the FAI Cup finally arrived (many fans had started to believe the club was suffering from a curse). It was in 1939 that the supposed curse was broken. Sligo Rovers who boasted Dixie Dean, the goalscoring legend of the Football League, were eventually beaten after a replay thanks to a long-range goal from 'Sacky' Glen. After so many attempts, the blue riband of Irish football made its way to Shelbourne Park for the first time. Official figures put the attendances at 30,000 and 25,000 for the first final and the replay respectively.
The Forties: 1940-1949
As the euphoria of the first FAI Cup success wore off, the forties started slowly enough for the Reds, and it wasn't until 1944 that the league championship was won again-for a fourth time, along with the Shield. The title was clinched after an epic 5-3 win over local rivals Shamrock Rovers. Luck was reversed though in the FAI Cup Final as Rovers stopped the Reds winning the treble. Shels went down 3-2, but felt aggrieved that the referee award them a penalty when it seemed a Rovers defender had handled the ball after it went over the goalline. The subsequent penalty was missed.
Another league title however was wrapped up on the last day in 1947 and was again secured against Shamrock Rovers.
The closing of the decade marked the end of an era. In April 1949, Shels drew 2-2 against Waterford in what was the club's final competitive game at Shelbourne Park. The plan was that Shels would build a new stadium up the road in nearby Irishtown. The 1948/49 season also saw Shels win their seventh Shield.
The Fifties: 1950-1959
In 1951, Shels made it to the FAI Cup final where they met Cork Athletic who had already wrapped up the league. Tommy Carberry had scored in every round for the Reds and did so again in the final, played in front of over 38,900 fans, but it was only good enough to earn a replay which Athletic won. A sixth league title was won in 1953, and then in 1955/56 Shels played their only season in Irishtown Stadium. The ground however was far from complete despite a huge amount of voluntary work being carried out by supporters, and offered no shelter for the fans from the elements. Unsurprisinghly Shels were tenants at Tolka Park the following season.
During that season Gerry Doyle was appointed manager and a new era was being ushered in for the Reds. The FAI Youth Cup was won in 1959 and Doyle was true to his word, 'if they're good enough, they're old enough' and six of the Youth Cup winning team became first team regulars. Amongst them Tony Dunne who would be later transferred to Manchester United with who he would pick up a European Cup winners medal in 1968.
The Sixties: 1960-1969
The early years of the sixties went great for the Reds. Three goal wins over Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk put Shels in the 1960 FAI Cup Final where they beat Cork Hibernians 2-0 to get their hands on the trophy for only the second time. Cork Celtic were beaten by a Ben Hannigan goal in a play-off for the league in 1962 and only illness to three key players as a result of vaccinations taken on a League of Ireland representative trip to Italy cost Shels the FAI Cup and a first double as they went down to Shamrock Rovers in the final despite being red-hot favourites. The FAI Cup was however won the following year and it was a repeat of the 1960 final. A 2-0 win over Cork Hibs.
With this success came the excitement of European club football (see below). In 1964 the club finally sold their last interest im Irishtown Stadium. In the years that followed, televised highlights of English football began to be broadcast into Ireland and the crowds around most of the league grounds plummeted. Clubs in the league came under huge financial pressure, players left for England at a younger age, grounds decame derelict, and media coverage almost disappeared.
The Seventies & Eighties: 1970-1989
There was a bright enough start to the seventies as Athlone Town were beaten in the Shield final second replay, a win that would see the Reds enter the new UEFA Cup the following season. However, it was to be the last trophy the club would win for some time. Cork Hibs beat Shels in the replay of the 1973 FAI Cup Final in Flower Lodge-the only time the final was ever played outside Dublin. Two years later Shels were shocked in the Cup final by amateurs Home Farm. In 1978, Jimmy Johnstone, a European Cup winner with Celtic in 1967 signed briefly for the club.
In 1984, Shels lost out to Shamrock Rovers in the FAI Cup semi-final replay. As the league was to expand to two divisions in the summer of 1985, the bottom four clubs at the end of the 1984/85 season were to be relegated. Needing a win on the last day of the season, Shels found themselves two down at half-time away to Galway United. However a heroic comeback ensued and Shels got the three goals to take the points and avoid the drop. But the reprieve only lasted twelve months. Shels stay in the First Division was short-lived as they came back up straight away with Derry City. After two decades and more in the doldrums, the grey skies were clearing. Tony Donnelly took over the club in 1989 and started to invest heavily. Shels were out of the derelict Harold's Cross Stadium and taking over Tolka Park. Former international Pat Byrne was installed as player-mananger, and a plethora of new players arrived shortly after to bring back the glory days.
The Nineties: 1990-1999
The heavy investment in the club by the Donnelly family gave an almost instant return as Shels captured their eighth league title, the first for thrity years, when they won away to outgoing champions Dundalk 3-1. Despite only needing a draw, Brian Flood sealed the win with a spectacular goal from thirty-five yards. Although the league title was lost the following season after two series of play-offs involving Cork City and Bohemians, the FAI Cup was won, again after a thirty year wait, when a Greg Costello header was enough to defeat Dundalk in Lansdowne Road.
Both the League Cup and the FAI Cup were won in sensational circumstances in 1996 under Damien Richardson. The League Cup was won, for the first time, in a penalty shoot-out against Sligo Rovers after Shels had come from two down late on. In the FAI Cup Final against St. Patrick's, Shels were reduced early on to ten men as keeper Alan Gough was sent off, and with no sub keeper, midfielder Brian Flood played seventy minutes in goal. Despite trailing 1-0, Tony Sheridan equalised with a stunning lob in the last couple of minutes to force a replay. With Alan Gough back in goal for the rematch, Shels won the trophy after Gough saved a late penalty and Stephen Geogeghan scored an even later winner. Shels became only the third club to retain the FAI Cup when they defeated Derry City 2-0 in the 1997 final.
The 1997/98 season however brought heartbreak. Shels lost the League Cup Final to Sligo Rovers, the FAI Cup Final to Cork City after a replay, and worst of all, missed out on the league title on the last day of the season. Richardson departed after this failure, and in stepped the uncompromising Dermot Keeley.
Beyond 2000: 2000-
After a medicore first season, Dermot Keely brought Shels a historic first ever League and FAI Cup double in 1999/2000. Having secured the league with a 2-0 win in Waterford which saw Shels lose just once before then, the double was claimed thanks to a Pat Fenlon goal in the cup final replay away in Dalymount Park against Bohemians. The following season though saw Shels again let the league title slip away on the last day. The 2001/02 season was dogged in controversy as title challengers St Patrick's Athletic were docked nine points for fielding an unregistered player in accordance with the league's rules before having them restored. The league eventually docked them fifteen points when it emerged a second unregistered player had played five games. This all lead to Shels claiming their tenth league title.
Under new manager Pat Fenlon the title was missed out on in 2002/03, but for the first time ever Shels won back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004 as the league changed to a summer season. Having just failed to make the group stages of the Champions League in 2004, Shels brought in big name players for the 2005 season, but only finished third in the league and lost to Linfield in the first ever Setanta Cup Final.
Current Squad
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Players Out On Loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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International Players
Several of Shelbourne's current squad have represented their respective countries at senior level:
(21) Joseph Ndo
(8) Alan Moore- (2) Jason Byrne
- (2) Glen Crowe
Template:FnbOf these only Byrne has won any caps while playing for Shelbourne.
European Football
Shelbourne have a long, illustrious history in European competitions, taking on teams such as Sporting Lisbon, Barcelona, Panathinaikos, Rangers, Rosenborg, Deportivo, Lille, Steaua Bucharest, Atlético Madrid, Brøndby, and Odense,
Early European Appearances: 1962-1971
Shels first European appearance was a brief unsuccessful one, losing 5-1 away and 2-0 at home to Sporting Lisbon in the 1962/63 European Cup. In the 1963/64 Cup-Winners' Cup, Shelbourne faced Barcelona and despite battling bravely were beaten 2-0 and 3-1 (having taken the lead in the latter). Then in the following season's Fairs Cup, Shelbourne faced Portuguese side Belenenses and after two drawn games won the replay 2-1. Facing Atlético Madrid in the second round, they were beaten 1-0 in both legs.
In 1971/72, Shels played Hungarian side Vasas SC in the UEFA Cup but lost 1-0 away and drew 1-1 at home. Following this, Shels next European appearance would be over 20 years later.
Relatively Recent Past: 1992-2003
In the European Cup of 1992/93, despite dominating the home leg, Shels could only draw 0-0 with Ukrainian champions Tavria Simferopol, and lost the away leg 2-1. The following season Shels extracted revenge on Ukrainian football by knocking out Karpaty Lviv 3-2 on aggregate in the Cup Winners Cup. The home leg which Shels won 3-1, saw Brian Mooney score a stunning 35 yarder on a glorious night for the Reds. Shels then lost to Panathinaikos 5-1 on aggregate in the next round.
In 1995 and 1996 Shels suffered disappointing defeats home and away to Akranes of Iceland in the UEFA Cup and Norwegian side Brann in the Cup Winners' Cup