It can only be good for Irish soccer to see one of Ireland's premier clubs finally put down some roots after the disgraceful deeds of eleven years ago by Kilcoyne and Co, which saw one of the country's finest pitches lost forever. It is now a yuppie housing estate. The only setback is the limiting of the capacity of the new ground to 6,000 by the planning authorities. This limitation, I'm sure, can be increased in time. An 8,000 seater state of the art stadium built to the finest standards of any European ground is planned for the old ground.
Work is to begin at the end of next season.
A row has developed between Derry and three other clubs over transfers. Derry has refused to pay transfer fees to the clubs, claiming that under the Bosman Ruling, they don't have to. Marc Bosman was a Belgian player who successfully claimed that under European Law he was free to move from one playing jurisdiction to another without his club being allowed a transfer fee. What Derry have done is used partition for their own ends and looked for the best of both worlds. Derry were a breath of fresh of air when they joined the National League in the mid-'80s, becoming highly successful.