Bohemian F.C.

Bohemians

Full name	Bohemian Football Club
Nickname(s)	Bohs The Gypsies
Founded	1890
Ground	Dalymount Park, Phibsborough, Dublin 7
Ground Capacity	4,300
President	Matt Devaney
Manager	Owen Heary
League	League of Ireland (Premier Division)
2013	10th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Bohemian F.C. (Irish: Cumann Peile Bóithéamaigh), more commonly referred to as Bohemians, is a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. Bohemians compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland, and are the oldest Irish league club in continuous existence. Bohs are the third most successful club in League of Ireland football history, having won the League of Ireland title 11 times, the FAI Cup 7 times, the League of Ireland Shield 6 times and the League of Ireland Cup 3 times. Prior to the establishment of the Football Association of Ireland and League of Ireland, Bohemians competed in the Irish Football League and Irish Cup, which were at the time all-Ireland competitions. During that period they won the Irish Cup once and finished runners up 5 times. They share the record for most wins in European competition with arch rivals Shamrock Rovers and hold the record for Leinster Senior Cup wins with 31 cups claimed.

Bohemians were founded on 6 September 1890 in the Phoenix Park Gate Lodge beside the North Circular Road entrance and played its first games in the Park's Polo Grounds. One of the founding members of the League of Ireland in 1921, after their withdrawal from the Irish Football League. They established themselves as a major force within the first 15 years of the League of Ireland, winning 5 league titles, 2 FAI Cups and 4 Shields, but struggled for decades after that, largely due to their strict amateur status, going 34 seasons without winning a major trophy. Bohemians dropped their amateur ethos in 1969 and proceeded to win 2 League titles, 2 FAI Cups and 2 League cups during the 1970s. They suffered a further decline throughout the 1980s and most of the 1990s before claiming League and Cup doubles in 2001 and 2008, alongside the 2003 and most recently 2009 title wins.

Bohemians play their home matches at Dalymount Park in the Northside neighbourhood of Phibsborough. They are owned 100% by the members of the club. Their club colours are red and black, which they adopted at the 4th AGM in October 1893. Bohemians supporters often refer to their club by a number of nicknames including 'Bohs' and 'The Gypsies, and provide one half of a bitter rivalry with Southside club, Shamrock Rovers.

History

Additional reading: Bohemian F.C. Seasons

Bohemians were founded on 6 September 1890. They were members of the Irish Football League from 1902 to 1911 and from 1912 to 1920. During this time the club's greatest success was winning the Irish Cup in 1908.

Bohemians were founded on 6 September 1890 at the gate lodge leading onto the North Circular Road in the Phoenix Park. A commemorative plaque honours this.

It was a founding member of the League of Ireland in 1921, and it is one of only two clubs to have been members of the League of Ireland since its inception (the other being Shelbourne), and it is the only club to have been ever-present in the top division of the league. In its first season it finished second in the league, just two points behind St. James Gate. The club won its first league title in 1924. In 1928 the club won its second league title and completed a double that season by winning its first FAI Cup also. The club was one of the major forces in the early years of the league, going on to win another three league titles and another FAI Cup in the next eight seasons.

After this success the club began to struggle, often finishing at the foot of the league and rarely mounting a title challenge, largely because of an inability to attract or keep top players due to its strict amateur status, which had been a fundamental part of the club since its formation. The club went 34 seasons without winning a major trophy. In 1969 the club ended its amateur status, and the first player to sign professional terms was Tony O'Connell, who signed on 11 March 1969.

The club then went on to win two league titles, two FAI Cups and two league cups in the 1970s, more trophies than any other club that decade. In 1970 the club entered European competition for the first time where it was beaten in the first qualifying round of the European Cup Winners' Cup (see below). The club went through another trophy-less spell after its 1979 league cup victory, which was not broken until the club won its fifth FAI Cup in 1992. It was not until 2001 that it regained the league title, also winning the FAI Cup that season to complete its second double. After adding another league title in 2003, Bohemians triumphed once again in 2008, under Pat Fenlon, winning the double of both the league for the tenth time with four league games still to play,^[1] and the FAI cup in a penalty shoot-out.^[2] In September 2009, Bohemians claimed the League Cup for the third time in the club's history with a 3–1 win over Waterford United in the final.^[3]

On 6 November 2009, Bohemians retained the title after a 1–1 draw against Bray Wanderers.^[4] They were already assured of the league title before the final round of matches as they held a three point lead and 16-goal difference advantage over their nearest rivals Shamrock Rovers. Captain Owen Heary collected the Premier Division trophy for the club’s first back-to-back league win.^[5] Bohs narrowly missed out on a hat trick of league titles on goal difference in 2010 in a season which also seen them suffer European disappointment at the hands of Welsh club TNS.

Stadia

Bohemians' first permanent home ground was on the Polo Ground in Phoenix Park. Goal posts and other equipment were kept at Gate Lodge on North Circular Road (Dublin). They remained there until the 1893/94 season when they obtained a private ground on Jones Road now known as Croke Park, the headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The space then took in the ground now occupied by the Old Belvedere, and for the first time it was possible for the club to build up some sort of finances, since a charge for admission was made at all important home matches.

One of the entrances to Dalymount Park, 2012

They moved to a new home at Whitehall Farm, Glasnevin, in time for the start of the 1895/96 season but in those days, the area was out of the way and without public transport so the Bohemian committee continued to look for a new home ground. Their search came to an end when they moved to Dalymount Park which was officially opened on 7 September 1901.

In 2006 the club's members decided to sell Dalymount Park to developer Liam Carroll in a reported €65,000,000 deal, although then board members refused to allow members to see the details of the deal. The deal included the development of a new 10,000-seater stadium in Harristown near Dublin Airport.^[6] On 7 November 2008, Bohemians lost a court case versus Albion Ltd, when it was discovered that the board, led by Gerry Cuffe and Gerry Conway, had attempted to re-sell part of the ground which the club no longer owned, which has had the effect of putting the move on hold long enough for the property market to collapse and the deal to be all but dead.^[7]

European record

Although they did not make their first appearance in European competition until 1970, they have, like all Irish clubs, found the going tough in Europe, but they have had some famous successes too. Their finest hour came when they eliminated Scottish Premier League club (and former Cup Winners' Cup and European Super Cup champions) Aberdeen from the UEFA Cup in August 2000. That triumph was set up by a dramatic 2–1 victory away from home, in which Bohs scored 2 late goals to overturn a 1–0 deficit. That was the first time an Irish club defeated British opposition away from home in European competition. Other notable results include wins against Rangers and Kaiserslautern (away) and draws against Rangers, Newcastle United, Sporting Lisbon, Dundee United (away) and Aberdeen. In all, they have beaten a total of 11 different teams, from 9 countries (Denmark, Cyprus, Scotland, Germany, Estonia, Belarus, Belgium, Wales and Latvia). Bohs bowed out of the 2008 Intertoto Cup on away goals to Latvian side FK Riga despite winning the second leg 2–1. Earlier in that campaign they recorded their biggest single leg (5–1) and aggregate (9–3) wins in Europe (against Welsh Premier League club Rhyl).

Panoramic view of inside Dalymount Park

Bohemians started their 2009–2010 UEFA Champions League campaign away to Austrian Bundesliga champions Red Bull Salzburg on 16 July 2009 with a 1–1 draw in Salzburg.^[8] In the second leg on 22 July 2009, Bohemians held out until an 87th minute goal by Patrik Ježek for Red Bull Salzburg gave them a one nill victory on the night and two one win on aggregate.^[9] After retaining the league title in 2009, Bohs entered the Champions League again in 2010–2011. They were drawn against Welsh side The New Saints in the Second Qualifying Round, and won the first leg 1–0 at Dalymount Park on 13 July 2010.^[10] They lost the second leg 4–0 and were eliminated 4–1 on aggregate.^[11] Bohs manager Pat Fenlon later labelled the performance as 'disgraceful' and said 'the players let the club, league and country down'.^[12] The result was labelled by others as the worst result in Bohs' 40-year European history.^[13]

Record by competition

European Cup/UEFA Champions League:

UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League:

Cup Winners Cup:

Intertoto Cup:

Overall:

Past opponents

Season	Competition	Country	Team	Score
1970–71	Cup Winners' Cup Preliminary Round		TJ Gottwaldov	1–2, 2–2 (3–4 agg.)
1972–73	UEFA Cup Round 1		1. FC Köln	1–2, 0–3 (1–5 agg.)
1974–75	UEFA Cup Round 1		Hamburger SV	0–3, 0–1 (0–4 agg.)
1975–76	European Cup Round 1		Rangers	1–4, 1–1 (2–5 agg.)
1976–77	Cup Winners' Cup Round 1		Esbjerg fB	2–1, 1–0 (3–1 agg.)
	Cup Winners' Cup Round 2		Śląsk Wrocław	0–3, 0–1 (0–4 agg.)
1977–78	UEFA Cup Round 1		Newcastle United	0–0, 0–4 (0–4 agg.)
1978–79	European Cup Round 1		AC Omonia	1–2, 1–0 (2–2 agg.)
	European Cup Round 2		Dynamo Dresden	0–0, 0–6 (0–6 agg.)
1979–80	UEFA Cup Round 1		Sporting CP	0–2, 0–0 (0–2 agg.)
1984–85	UEFA Cup Round 1		Rangers	3–2, 0–2 (3–4 agg.)
1985–86	UEFA Cup Round 1		Dundee United	2–5, 2–2 (4–7 agg.)
1987–88	UEFA Cup Round 1		Aberdeen	0–0, 0–1 (0–1 agg.)
1992–93	Cup Winners' Cup Qual. Round		Steaua Bucureşti	0–4, 0–0 (0–4 agg.)
1993–94	UEFA Cup Round 1		Girondins de Bordeaux	0–1, 0–5 (0–6 agg.)
1995	Intertoto Cup Round 1		Odense BK	0–2
	Intertoto Cup Round 1		HJK	2–3
	Intertoto Cup Round 1		Girondins de Bordeaux	0–2
	Intertoto Cup Round 1		IFK Norrköping	0–5
1996–97	UEFA Cup Qual. Round 1		Dinamo Minsk	1–1, 0–0 (1–1 agg.)
1997–98	UEFA Cup Preliminary Round		Ferencvárosi TC	0–1, 0–5 (0–6 agg.)
2000–01	UEFA Cup Qualifying Round		Aberdeen	2–1, 0–1 (2–2 agg.)
	UEFA Cup Round 1		1. FC Kaiserslautern	1–3, 1–0 (2–3 agg.)
2001–02	Champions League Qual. Round 1		FC Levadia Maardu	3–0, 0–0 (3–0 agg.)
	Champions League Qual. Round 2		Halmstads BK	1–2, 0–2 (1–4 agg.)
2003–04	Champions League Qual. Round 1		FC BATE	0–1, 3–0 (3–1 agg.)
	Champions League Qual. Round 2		Rosenborg BK	0–1, 0–4 (0–5 agg.)
2004–05	UEFA Cup Round 1		FC Levadia Tallinn	0–0, 1–3 (1–3 agg.)
2005	Intertoto Cup Round 1		KAA Gent	1–0, 1–3 (2–3 agg.)
2008	Intertoto Cup Round 1		Rhyl	5–1, 4–2 (9–3 agg.)
	Intertoto Cup Round 2		FK Rīga	0–1, 2–1 (2–2 agg.)
2009–10	Champions League Qual. Round 2		Red Bull Salzburg	1–1, 0–1 (1–2 agg.)
2010–11	Champions League Qual. Round 2		The New Saints	1–0, 0–4 (1–4 agg.)
2011–12	Europa League Qual. Round 2		Olimpija Ljubljana	0–2, 1–1 (1–3 agg.)
2012–13	Europa League Qual. Round 1		Þór Akureyri	1–5, 0–0 (1–5 agg.)

Supporters and rivalries

Bohs' fan base is mainly drawn from the northside of Dublin and their supporters share a bitter rivalry with Southside club, Shamrock Rovers. However, the club has many fans from other parts of the city, across Ireland and worldwide. The club shares a rivalry with Shelbourne largely because of geographical proximity as both clubs are now located roughly just 1 mile apart, and also because they featured prominently in the early days of Dublin football, when nationwide football was still based around Belfast. Shelbourne and Bohs were often featured in the Belfast-centered Irish Football League before partition and the rivalry was kept on-off after they formed the new Irish Free State league with Shamrock Rovers and other clubs.

During 2006, a number of Bohemians fans formed an ultra group in an effort to create a more interesting atmosphere at home games. Ironically named The Notorious Boo-Boys (or NBB, a term used by journalists to disparage the patience of Bohs fans), the group bought flags and organised displays during games to lift the atmosphere of the home of Irish football Dalymount Park.^[14]

The club boasts some well known supporters such as Johnny Logan, Samuel L. Jackson, Aslan's Christy Dignam, alternative band Royseven, as well as musicians Brush Shiels and Rob Smith.^{[citation needed]}

U19 Team

The Bohemians U19 team competes in the FAI U19 League.The team is currently managed by Bobby Browne (footballer born 1962)Bobby Browne for the 2013-14 season.

Bohemians Youth

Bohemians youth section has about 250 players from the ages of 8 to 17. The club runs 15 teams who play in the DDSL. The youth director is Paddy Murray who, along with the support of Bohemians, announced a 5 year partnership with DCU to national media coverage. This partnership will see Bohemians' youth teams training in and using DCU facilities, "learning the game like the first team do". The partnership also included a scholarship system which will see Bohs players being offered scholarships to DCU. Since 2011 this partnership has ended and Bohemians are now currently training in Royal College of Surgeons close to the airport. The main aim of the youth section is to produce players who are good enough to play for the first team.^[15] The youth teams have made a solid start to the DDSL season with the Under 15s, Under 17s, and Under 18s all battling for honours.

Current squad

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

No. Position Player TBA GK Dean Delany TBA GK Lee Murphy TBA DF Derek Pender TBA DF Roberto Lopes TBA DF Aidan Price TBA DF Jack Memery TBA DF Anthony Murphy TBA MF Dave Mulcahy TBA MF Darragh Reynor TBA MF Keith Buckley

No. Position Player TBA MF Daniel Byrne TBA MF Craig Walsh TBA MF Ryan McEvoy TBA MF Karl Moore TBA MF Stephen Traynor TBA MF Patrick Kavanagh TBA MF Andy Mulligan TBA FW Kevin Devaney TBA FW Daniel Corcoran TBA FW Jason Byrne

Notable players

Honours

• League of Ireland: 11
  • 1923–24, 1927–28, 1929–30, 1933–34, 1935–36, 1974–75, 1977–78, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2008,
    2009
• FAI Cups: 7
  • 1928, 1935, 1970, 1976, 1992, 2001, 2008
• IFA Cups: 1
  • 1908
• League of Ireland Cups: 3
  • 1975, 1979, 2009
• League of Ireland Shields: 6
  • 1924, 1928, 1929, 1934, 1939, 1940
• Setanta Sports Cup: 1
  • 2010
• Dublin City Cups: 1
  • 1936
• Inter-City Cups: 1
  • 1945
• Top Four Cups: 1
  • 1972
• Leinster Senior Cups: 31, 1894–1998 (record)
• LFA President's Cups: 12
• Acieries D'Angeleur: 1
  • 1929

Records

Bohs' previous crest

• League victory: 8–0 v Olympia, 18 November 1922 and v Home Farm, 5 February 1978
• Victory: 11–0 v Grangegorman, Leinster Senior Cup Final, 26 December 1946
• League defeat: 0–7 v Shamrock Rovers, 5 February 1955
• Most points in a season: 85 in 2008 (record total and 19 points record margin)
• Most league goals in a season (player): 25, Glen Crowe in 2000–01
• Most league goals (player): 133, Glen Crowe
• Most appearances (player): 575, Tommy Kelly

Top goalscorer : Joeseph Paul McNulty : 597 goals ]]

• Oldest player: 40, Gary Matthews
• First goalscorer: Joseph Whelan v Britannia, 1 November 1890

Managers

References

External links

• Bohemian FC official website
• Bohemian F.C. on Twitter
• TheBohs.com: The main Bohs independent website, including a vibrant supporters' forum
• Youth section at the Bohemian FC official website
• Gypsies Trust launched, news on the launch of the The Gypsies Supporters Trust
• Dublin & District Schoolboys League