Wild Rovers long for return

By Aidan Fitzmaurice

Rovers by name and rovers by nature – that is the sad plight of Shamrock Rovers FC. The most successful club in the Republic of Ireland will have used four different 'home' grounds before the end of the season in November.

Nomadic existence
The Dublin club – who have won 15 league titles and 24 Irish Cups, and were the country’s first European Champion Clubs’ Cup representatives in 1957/58 - have been searching for a permanent home since their much-loved ground, Milltown, was controversially sold to property developers in 1987.

Low point
The Hoops have faltered on the pitch as they have moved from ground to ground – the 1994 Irish title has been their only success since leaving Milltown. A low point came in late September when they played their home game against Cork City FC in Cork, 250 kilometres away from Dublin, because no stadium was available for rent in the Irish capital.

Crowd trouble
Their latest change in venue came about because of crowd trouble. Rovers had been using Dublin's Richmond Park, owned by Saint Patrick's Athletic FC, for their home games, but local residents complained about trouble from some Rovers supporters at the end of the derby game against Bohemian FC at the start of September.

New agreement
That forced St Patrick's to withdraw the offer of facilities to Rovers, though the club have since come to an agreement with Shelbourne FC which will allow them play the remaining matches of the 2003 season at another Dublin stadium - Tolka Park.

Tallaght stadium
The tragedy for the club, founded in 1901, is that they have a stadium of their own on the way - a purpose-built, 6,000 all-seater ground in the Dublin suburb of Tallaght. Some 15 kilometres from the centre of Dublin, Tallaght has a population of 100,000 and a great footballing tradition - Irish internationals Robbie Keane and Richard Dunne are from the area. But seven years after the Tallaght plan was announced, the team are still wandering as a lack of finance has seen building work on the project stop.

Investment plan
This month the Rovers board of directors are trying to seal a deal with an unnamed investor which will see €5m pumped into the club. This will allow them to get the builders back on site and resume work, with a view to the team beginning the 2004 season in their own stadium.

Maguire's promise
"It's not easy at the moment, but I am very confident about the future," said chairman Tony Maguire. "I know that the fans have been promised things which haven't materialised before, and I know that until it actually happens it's all speculation. But I am convinced we will be starting the new season in our own ground."

Rash promise
Hoops fans, however, will be wary of such confidence. They have been disappointed before. Former chairman Alan McGrath claimed that the team could be in the new stadium for the 1997/98 season, but planning permission was only secured in 1999.

Renewed momentum
Once they can complete the move to Tallaght, Maguire is confident that the club will really take off, as he says they would immediately pocket €300,000 from sponsorship, advertising and naming-rights for the stadium. He said: "Our gate would improve dramatically if we moved to Tallaght. Everything would be under our own control - security, sponsorship, catering, bars. That would make a huge difference to the club's situation."

Irish rovers
Until that happens, however, Rovers will continue to drift and success looks likely to remain elusive.