Cobh Ramblers F.C.
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| Cobh Ramblers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Cobh Ramblers Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | "Ramblers" or "The Rams" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1922 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | St. Colman's Park, Cobh, County Cork (Capacity 5,000) |
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| Manager | Stephen Henderson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | FAI Premier Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | First Division Champions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cobh Ramblers Football Club (CRFC) (Irish: Cumann Peile Chóstóirí Chóbh) is an Irish football club playing in the Football League of Ireland. The club, founded in 1922 and elected to the league in 1985, hails from Cobh, County Cork and play their home matches at St. Colman's Park. The club's colours are claret and blue. The current manager is Stephen Henderson who guided them to the First Division title for the first time on the 10th of November 2007.
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[edit] History
CRFC was originally a field hockey club but until the British withdrawal from Ireland many club members played football with the soldiers who were stationed at Cobh, leading to the Ramblers' eventual re-formation as a football club.
Until the 2008 season, the Ramblers played in the First Division. Because of this they rarely get to play their local rivals Cork City, a Premier Division team, with the two usually only being able to match up in pre-season friendlies and the occasional cup match, Cobh being the minnows in terms of League of Ireland experience.
Cobh Ramblers joined the League of Ireland in 1984, after many successful years as a Munster Senior League side. One of the most successful of those teams was the team of 1983, who got to the semi final of the FAI Cup humbling many senior clubs on the way. They met Sligo Rovers in the semi-final that year and captured the imagination of the Irish footballing public, drawing crowds of over 2000 to Flower Lodge for the home games as St Colmans Park was too small. There were 3 replays until Sligo finally won 3-2 and went on to win the Cup.
In recent years, fan numbers have not been as high as they were during the glory days when Ramblers were in the top flight of Irish football and playing glamorous pre-season matches against the likes of Celtic and Arsenal. Though even with its lower attendance at home matches (usually about 600 or so), the fans in attendance are loyal and take part in club fund-raisers and events as well as watching the match. It is hoped though that with a new younger generation becoming interested in the Football League of Ireland, due to promotion of the league and sport as a whole, that attendance and the fortunes of the club might improve.
Ramblers appeared on live television for the first time on Friday the 10th of November 2006 in an away fixture at Galway United where they lost 0-1.
On the 10th of November 2007 Cobh Ramblers beat Athlone Town 1-0 in Lissywoollen in what was a tense and nervous display. This victory gave Cobh Ramblers their first piece of Senior Silverware and crowned them First Division Champions. During the 2007 season, with their young squad they recorded a 27 game unbeaten run, keeping 22 clean sheets. Their points tally of 77 points was also a record for the league.
The Ramblers most noted past player is former Irish international and Manchester United star Roy Keane while Stephen Ireland who is currently playing for Manchester City is a product of the Youth System.
[edit] Stadium
In recent years Ramblers' home ground St. Colman's Park has seen large redevelopment. Construction on new changing rooms and toilets was completed in 2006 along with new floodlights. A 900-seater stand is under construction, replacing the old shed. The east stand, too has seen improvement with 450 new seats being installed. Planning permission is being sought by Ramblers for another 900-seater stand on the north side of the ground. The final stage will be a large stand at the western end of the ground. This stand looks set to include a new clubhouse, a bar and offices and will have a seated capacity of around 2000. This will allow the club to accommodate over 4000 seated spectators and many more standing spectators.
[edit] Honours
- First Division title: 1
- 2007
[edit] Current squad
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[edit] Notable Former Players
Roy Keane- Stephen Ireland. (He never actually played with the senior team but is a product of the Youth System.)
[edit] Notable Former Managers
[edit] External links
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FAI First Division 2008
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