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Galway United F.C. (Irish: Cumann Peile Ghaillimh Aontaithe) was founded as Galway Rovers in 1937. They are a football club currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top tier of the Irish football.

Galway first joined the League of Ireland in 1977, having been invited to participate in the League Cup in the previous year.

Galway Rovers made its League of Ireland debut in Terryland Park, Galway, against St. Patricks Athletic on the August 28 of that year.^[1]

The club's CEO is Nick Leeson, an ex-derivatives trader. His unsupervised unauthorized speculative trading caused the collapse of Barings Bank, the United Kingdom's oldest investment bank.

History

Foundation and league membership

"The Tribesmen" as Galway United F.C. are known was founded as Galway Rovers in the Claddagh district of Galway in 1937. The club achieved great success at junior level and had their first shot at senior football when they competed in the League Cup in 1976. In 1977, the club was invited to join the then League of Ireland and made its debut in Terryland Park against St. Patricks Athletic on the 28th August of that year. The club found it difficult to make an impact in the League Of Ireland at first but gradually improved and reached its first major final in 1981, losing the League Cup final on penalties to Dundalk in Oriel Park.It was then decided to change the name of the club to Galway United.

New name, new decade, new frontiers

Success was soon to follow. United finished in sixth position in the League in 1985 and, under the stewardship of Tom Lally and Tony Mannion, qualified for the FAI Cup final. Shamrock Rovers F.C. were the victors in Dalymount Park on 28th April 1985. As Shamrock Rovers had already secured European qualification through their league title triumph, the place reserved in Europe for the FAI Cup winners fell to the runners-up. This enabled Galway United to qualify for a historic first appearance in Europe, in the European Cup Winners Cup. The team distinguished themselves in the National Stadium in Copenhagen, when despite finishing with ten men, held Lyngby to a 1-0 victory. A packed Galway Sportsgrounds on the 2nd October saw the Danes hold on for a 4-2 aggregate victory.

Galway United continued their impressive form in the League of Ireland and incredibly remained unbeaten until March 1986 - a club Premier Division record of 16 games. At this stage they were leading the table, ahead of the great Shamrock Rovers side of that era, who went on to win four league titles in a row. On the 2nd March 1986, the two title contenders went head to head in Terryland in a match which would ultimately decide the title. Three goals in the first 35 minutes handed the game to Rovers, who went on to win the game 3-1 and ultimately, the league. Galway

United finished runners up and again qualified for Europe as Ireland's UEFA Cup representatives. Meanwhile, on 15th January 1986, United won their first senior trophy as they beat Dundalk 2-0 in the League Cup final. Denis Bonner (brother of Packie) scored for United, along with Paul McGee (17 times capped for Ireland). Galway United's opponents in the UEFA Cup were FC Groningen, who at the time were one of the top sides in the Netherlands. They went on to win 8-2, with the home tie memorable for the fact that it was held in the Gaeltacht area of Carraroe, on a pitch that usually hosted the local Gaelic football team, An Cheathrú Rua.

The 1990's

Fast forward five years and Galway United had consolidated their position in the Premier Division under new manager Joey Malone. In the FAI Cup, United again reached the final, this time held in Lansdowne Road. Old rivals, Shamrock Rovers were the opposition and were seeking their 25th victory in the competition. With five minutes to go on the clock, Johnny Glynn tapped home a late goal, which was enough to win Galway United the FAI Cup and also send them back into Europe. United were drawn against Danish side Odense BK in the European Cup Winners Cup. The first leg was held in the Galway village of Ballinderreen in front of a 6,000 crowd. Odense were much too strong for United, who had lost both Keane and Glynn in the summer, and they went on to win the tie 7-0 on aggregate.

The following season proved to be traumatic for the club, as they were relegated to the First Division for the first time in their history. Tony Mannion returned as manager and Galway United returned to the top flight in style, winning the First Division at the first attempt and also winning the First Division shield. Terryland Park was being redeveloped and the club moved to Crowley Park, the home of local rugby side Galwegians, for one season. The side surpassed all expectations by finishing third in the Premier Division behind Shamrock Rovers and Cork City.

Galway United returned to Terryland Park on the 9th October 1994, beating Sligo Rovers. Two weeks later a record Terryland crowd of 7,000 saw United defeat Cork City 2-1, as the floodlit football came to Galway. United remained in the Premier Division until 1996. The cloud of relegation had a silver lining, however, as United won two trophies - the First Division Shield and also the League Cup, both for the second time.

The end of the 90's and the new millennium

Don O'Riordan was the next person to take the helm at Terryland Park and won promotion to the Premier Division in 1999. His reign as manager Terryland is generally remembered for two FAI Cup campaigns, in which the club reached successive semi-finals in 1999 and 2000. Unfortunately, the club lost both games. The first to Finn Harps and the second to Shelbourne. The 1999 semi-final was the first football match to be televised live from Terryland Park on national television. Tony Mannion returned for his third spell as manager in 2001 but Galway United found themselves relegated to the First Division for the third time, by the start of the 2002/2003 campaign.

At the start of the 2005 season, club hero Stephen Lally took over as club manager, but he tendered his resignation from his post just ten games into the 2006 campaign. Tony Cousins was appointed manager of the club on June 14th 2006. Galway United finished 3rd in the 2006 league campaign and were invited to take part in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland for the 2007 season^[2].

In July 2007, the new 1,500 seater stand at Terryland Park was opened, increasing the seated capacity to 2,900.^[3]That season saw the club involved in a relegation fight for most of the season but avoided the drop and finished 7th^[4].

The following season saw a poor start costing Cousins his job in April 2008. Jeff Kenna took over in a player-manager capacity. Rumours of financial troubles and the selling of the players within the squad, most notably Derek O'Brien, coupled with the club sitting bottom of the League, relegation loomed on the horizon. However, a surge of great form which saw the United reach the FAI Cup semi-finals gave the club a fighting chance of survival. A 3-0 victory over Finn Harps in the penultimate game of the season put survival in United's own hands and their victory the following away to U.C.D week ensured that Galway United will be playing in the top division in 2009.

Following the departure of Jeff Kenna to St Patrick's Athletic on the 14th of January 2009, Ian Foster was promoted from his role as assistant manager, signing a 2 year contract to take over the reigns at the club. Foster succeeded in helping the club avoid the relegation play-offs in 2009, albeit due to Derry City's expulsion from the LOI Premier Division^[5].

Following the departure of Sean Connor from his post at Dundalk FC, a mere 24 hours after the final game of the season ^[6], Ian Foster sought permission from Galway United CEO, Nick Leeson, to speak with Dundalk FC, but was denied. He subsequently resigned his position and was appointed team manager at Dundalk on the 4th of December 2009^[7]. Foster cited alleged payment problems during the season as justification for his contact with Dundalk and his subsequent appointment there.^[8]

2010 and beyond

On the the 10th of January 2010, Sean Connor was appointed as team manager by Galway United^[9]. Between the end of 2009 and the start of the 2010 season, Galway United and Dundalk FC effectively swapped team managers, as Ian Foster moved in the opposite direction to Dundalk.

Players

Provisional squad 2010

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

* Nationalities given from place of birth
* Squad numbers not yet allocated

Managers

Personnel

• President
  • Michael D. Higgins TD
• Chairman
  • John McCormick
• Vice-chairman
  • Colm Feeney
• Chief Executive Officer
  • Nick Leeson
• First team Manager
  • Sean Connor
• First team Assistant Manager
  • Gareth Gorman
• Goalkeeping Coach
  • Position vacant
• 'A' Team Manager
  • Position vacant
• U20 Manager
  • Billy Clery
• Physio
  • Position vacant
• Kit Manager
  • John Devlin
• Team Doctor
  • Dr Dan Murphy

Season by season

Recent seasons

Honours

• League of Ireland

Runners-up (1): 1985-86

• FAI Cup

Winners (1): 1991

Runners-up (1): 1985

• League of Ireland Cup

Winners (2): 1985-86, 1996-97

Runners-up (1): 1979-80

• League of Ireland First Division

Winners (1): 1992-93

Runners-up (1): 1998-99

• Connacht Senior Cup

Winners (1): 2008

• League of Ireland First Division Shield

Winners (2): 1992-93, 1996-97

Records & milestones

All-time

• All-time League Record (All Divisions)
  • P 948 W 299 D 267 L 382 F 1166 A 1399 Pts 1046

• All-time League Record (Prem or other Top Division)
  • P 671 W 178 D 181 L 312 F 746 A 1080 Pts 613

• All-time League Record (First Division)
  • P 277 W 121 D 86 L 70 F 420 A 319 Pts 433

• Record League Victory
  • 8-0 v Monaghan United, Home, October 26, 2001

• Record League Defeat
  • 1-9 v Derry City, Away, October 8, 1989

• Most Points in a Season
  • 64 in 1998-99

• Most League Goals in a Season
  • 21, Alan Murphy, 2003

• Most League Goals
  • 74, Paul McGee, 1985-90, 1992-93

• Players capped at full international level whilst with club
  • Eric Lavine
  • Wesley Charles
  • Alvin Rouse
  • Regillio Nooitmeer

• Players capped at Irish U21 international level whilst with club
  • Seamus Conneely
  • Jay O'Shea

European appearances

Galway United have played in UEFA competitions on three occasions, losing their first game on each occasion.Galway United have conceded 19 goals in Europe and scored 4

Statistics are correct up to 20/11/2007

Noted former players

• Eamon Deacy
• Paul McGee
• Frank Worthington
• Seamus McDonagh

References

External links

Official Website

• Official Website

General fan sites

• Galway United Fans Forum

Video content

• Extended match highlights

News sites

• Galway United on RTE Monday Night Soccer
• Galway United at FAI Eircom League of Ireland website
• Watch a Galway United 3-0 victory over Finn Harps courtesy of rte.ie