April 20 to May 30, 1997
Blues chairman Bertie Rogers says the club may take legal action.
Waterford and their solicitors gave their side of the story through two points...
(1) McNamara was not an amateur player because amateurs can not go on loan to other clubs - only players on a contract can do this, and as the player himself said he was contracted to Linfield, he therefore could not be an amateur...
(2) McNamara was signed by Dundalk on April 30th - no other league in Europe has a system where players can be signed before the last two games of the season, and still be elligible to play. Waterford tried, and failed, to sign somebody else in similar circumstances a couple of weeks beforehand, but found that they were not allowed to.
The hearing began at 1:30, concluding at 3:30. Waterford United Chairman Bertie Rogers was in upbeat mood afterwards, and felt that the Blues had stated their case well. He added that if the Blues' appeal is turned down, then they will seek a tribunal.
A decision is expected in the coming days.
one of those thought to be on his way to the RSC is Kilkenny City keeper Ashley Stephenson. Should the Cats keeper be attracted back to Waterford, it would be an astonishing coup.
Stephenson was voted "Player of the Year" by the Cats supporters at the end of a landmark season in which they won the First Division title and clinched promotion for the very first time. The prospect of facing the big guns every week for the next two seasons in the top flight would have suggested that the six-foot South African would be content to stay in the Marble City.
However, if lcoal murmurs are proved correct, Stephenson instead wants to help Waterford into the top flight having played here for two seasons as reserve keeper to Scott Garlick.
No further announcement is expected for at least a week, though it seems unlikely now that the Waterford United manager will be departing for another club during the summer.
The rest of today's news
Waterford's John Power wil miss the opening game of next season (or unlikely as it sounds the first leg of a rematch with Dundalk?) after receiving a one match suspension from the National League for exceeding 20 disciplinary points.
Meanwhile, the FAI Harp Lager National League is inviting applications from clubs interested in seeking membership of the Reserve Division for next season.
Waterford United saw their Reserve side folded during the 1995/96 campaign.
Applications, giving full club details, should be submitted to Paul Walsh, Executive Secretary of the FAI Harp Lager National League.
Applications should be received not later than Wednesday June 11.
Tommy is still a firm fan's favourite at Shrewsbury, where a current on-line poll has him as the supporters' choice to take over at Gay Meadow. Currently in the middle of contract negotiations at the end of what has turned out to be a frustrating season, the Blues player/manager would obviously be tempted if he was offered the Shrews hot seat.
At the same time, the Limerick man would also love to fulfil his goal of taking Waterford United into the top flight. An appeal is before the National League concerning the Jeff McNamara affair, and it's likely this won't be cleared up for another couple of weeks.
In an article in the Shropshire Star, reproduced here, Tommy Lynch states how much he enjoyed his time at Gay Meadow, and how much satisfaction his time at Waterford United has given him.
Rumours have also circulated in the past fortnight linking him with Galway United and Drogheda, though any move to these clubs should be considered unlikely.
There's no doubting that the Blues fans hold Tommy in great esteem, following Waterford United's best season in five years. Should the Blues subsequently go up as a result of their appeal, maybe the prospect of facing Derry City, Bohemians, St. Patricks Athletic, Shelbourne, Cork City and Shamrock Rovers week in week out would be too appealing for him to move. Time will definitely tell.
Note Because of the importance of the story, we're making sure you will get the latest news FIRST, so here's a link to the Shrewsbury Town news page, which includes the latest happenings hot off the presses (and modem) of the Shropshire Star.
Waterford United say they will appeal and will continue to fight their case.
An appeal to the FAI Council now appears to be the next move.
Talking Point...
This wouldn't happen anywhere else. In what other league in the world could you sign up a useful striker playing in another country's league and play him in a crucial promotion play-off. To say that Jeff McNamara made little or no difference to the end result simply isn't true - he scored twice in a 3-1 aggregate win. Without McNamara's contribution, the two legs would have produced a 1-1 draw.
By playing McNamara from the start in the second leg, Dundalk showed their confidence that they wouldn't be found guilty of possessing any irregular players, this despite all the controversy that had arisen because of him.
Waterford United had some fine legal minds within the game representing them, yet when it came to the crunch, the National League stated that the Blues could not back up their case that Jeff McNamara should not have been playng for Dundalk.
This despite the fact that McNamara scored 13 goals for Linfield last season - not bad for an amateur! And that's what it all boils down to, officially according to the National League, McNamara is an amateur, which means that he was elligible to be signed after the February 1st transfer deadline.
But even if Dundalk acted within the letter of the law, their actions were against the spirit of the law. By signing McNamara the day before the first leg of the play-offs, Dundalk pulled a fast one. Don't expect Jeff McNamara to be playing in the Premier Division of the Harp Lager League next season.
McNamara was signed on loan for two games from Linfield the day before the first leg, which the Blues say is against National League rules. They have also called for tomorrow's second leg to be postponed.
While the FAI have stated that they will probe McNamara's signing, the second leg must go ahead regardless. Should they decide there were no irregularities obviously there would be no need of the matches being played again, though if the signing of McNamara is deemed illegal, then both matches will have to be replayed.
May says: "All those great games those years back fall into insignificance. This match against Waterford United is the most important in the club's history."
In a bid to get as much home supoprt as possible for tonight, Dundalk have swamped local primary schools with free tickets, hoping for the best atmosphere at the ground in quite some time, particularly as the last six home gates have been particularly disappointng.
For Blues boss Tommy Lynch, tonight sees a chance for Waterford to return to the top flight in the same manner as they slipped out in 1993 - via the play-offs.
With both himself and midfielder Alan Reynolds back after suspension, Lynch says: "At the start of the season, we were coming from nothing. Then a place in the FAI Cup Semi-Finals and then a play-off for promotion against Dundalk. Nobody would have expected that."
He continues:"We know all about Dundalk's tradition and their achievements but they haven't put too many goals in or kept too many out. We might just surprise them."
Either a win for Waterford or a draw tongiht would see the possibility of more record crowds being seen at the RSC this Bank Holiday Monday for the second leg.
All fixtures this weekend are being played parallel with each other so as not to give any one side an unfair advantage. All games get underway this Sunday at 3:15.
| Pld | Pts | Max | |
| Kilkenny City | 25 | 51 | 57 |
| Drogheda United | 26 | 41 | 44 |
| Waterford United | 25 | 40 | 46 |
Tommy Lynch's campaign to get the Blues into the top flight can be followed live this afternoon - WLR's coverage is being relayed live on the Voyager site. WLR's live coverage on 95.1 and 97.5 FM begins at 2:15. There are also live reports throughout the day on Radio Ireland, South East Radio and RTE Radio One.