| 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[1]) |
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| League | A Championship | ||
| 2010 | 2nd (Group 2) | ||
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Cobh Ramblers Football Club .(CRFC) (Irish: Cumann Peile Chóstóirí Chóbh) is an Irish football club playing in the A Championship, the third tier of Irish football. 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.
Stephen Henderson guided them to the First Division title for the first time on the 10th of November 2007 which saw Cobh promoted to the top flight for the first time in 12 years.
Henderson resigned at the end of the 2008 season after Ramblers were relegated from the Premier Division where the battle went down to the last day which saw UCD, Ramblers and Finn Harps relegated. They subsequently failed to gain a license for the League of Ireland First Division and thus now play in the A Championship.
On the 19th January 2009 it was revealed that Dave Hill would return to the club to replace Henderson as manager.
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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.
Cobh Ramblers joined the League of Ireland in 1985, 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 20,000 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.
Cobh won promotion to the Premier Division in 1988, after finishing First Division runners-up to Athlone Town. Lasting just one season in the top flight, they won promotion again at the end of the 1992-93 season, this time as runners-up to Galway United. A play-off win over Finn Harps saw Ramblers retain their Premier Division status at the end of the 1993-94 season, but the club were relegated in second-last place the following year.
With Ramblers having played all but four of their League of Ireland campaigns in the First Division, 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.
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, over 1000 for the 2008 season), 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 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 1-0.
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.
However, after suffering relegation from the League of Ireland Premier Division, Ramblers subsequently failed to obtain a license for the First Division due to financial constrainst and so compete in the Newstalk A Championship (Ireland's third tier).
In 2010 Ramblers missed out on gaining promotion back to the League of Ireland losing to Salthill Devon in a play off [1].
The Ramblers most noted past player is former Irish international and Manchester United star Roy Keane while Stephen Ireland who is currently playing for Aston Villa F.C. is a product of the Youth System. Westlife singer Nicky Byrne, also a talented footballer who was on the books at Leeds United, had a spell with the club too.
St Colman's Park was largely redeveloped during the mid 2000s. Construction on new changing rooms and toilets was completed in 2006 along with new floodlights and a 900-seater stand replacing the old shed. The east stand, too has seen improvement with 450 new seats being installed.
As of June 2011 Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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