Despite attempts to put a brave face on the things yesterday in Merrion Square the weariness in the air at the Football Association of Ireland's headquarters was unmistakable as interim chief executive John Delaney and Bob Breen, Club licensing manager, presented the results of this year's first round of licensing applications.
In a development alarmingly reminiscent of the scheme's turbulent debut a year ago, the pair revealed all 22 of its Eircom League clubs have failed to acquire the permit they require to compete in the coming season's Premier or first divisions.
The news comes as another blow to the credibility of both the scheme and the league and, once again, casts serious doubt on the ability of the league's administrators to proceed with the 2005 league campaign on the anticipated basis of premier and first divisions comprised of 12 and 10 teams, respectively.
All, as both men emphasised yesterday, is not lost yet. It is hard to forget the fortuitous way in which even the most forlorn of clubs found salvation a year ago in an appeals panel that appeared to display a remarkable generosity of spirit as it dealt with its unexpectedly heavy workload.
In the wake of what was perceived as a dramatic piece of backtracking aimed at allowing the league season to proceed last year, the administrators of the system now find themselves in a particularly tight corner.
If, on the one hand, all 22 clubs again emerge happy from the appeals process then the integrity of the process, for all Breen's admirable efforts to administer it without undue cruelty or compromise, will look tarnished.
If, on the other, clubs fail to obtain their required licence for the campaign ahead then there is potential for chaos, some courtroom action and/or another embarrassing climbdown between now and the middle of March.
If there is any small consolation that can be drawn by clubs and officials up and down the country in the current situation it will be from the fact that at least this year there is no single club, as there was 12 months ago in the form of Derry City, to rub their rivals' noses in it.
It is not, however, much of an upside and the fact every single one of the league's clubs must now launch into the scheme's appeals process over the next five working days leaves the threat of turmoil hanging over the start of the new campaign which is scheduled to start in a little over seven weeks.
Breen insisted yesterday several of the clubs that have failed at this first stage have done so only on the basis of what are considered technicalities. Some, he said, has submitted photocopied documents where originals should have been provided while others have sent in unsigned paperwork.
"We've been on the phone to them in the last 12 hours," he said, "and in a number of cases there's no doubt that we could have the problems sorted out within a matter of days."
Others are rumoured to have fallen more dramatically short of the required standards and these are said to include a number of the country's most prominent clubs with Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick's Athletic reported to be amongst those with more than mere clerical oversights to address.
Still, none seems to come have out of the process with a great deal of credit. The scheme was established, in conjunction with UEFA, in order to oblige clubs to raise the overall standard of their operations in a wide range of areas. Significant progress has been made on a number of fronts. However, the fact some clubs have failed to meet the required standards in relation to issues like financial and legal affairs by some distance, and others can't complete an application process that, in theory at least, determines whether they can compete in the league this year, with the right paperwork, suggests serious shortcomings across the board.
Asked about his view on the seriousness of the situation Delaney said he prefers to await the outcome of the appeals process before making any major pronouncements on what should be done during the months ahead.
"The fact is that it's half-time in the procedure at the moment and we have to see what's going to happen over the next couple of weeks."
He made clear, however, he favours clubs who fail to meet the required standards under the scheme being excluded from the share-out of €3 million Government funds associated with licensing.
"Licensing is overseen by the FAI but what happens at the end of the process is a decision for the league, we don't have jurisdiction over that. What we do have some authority over, though, is the allocation of grants and I believe that clubs who fail to obtain licences should be excluded from this money leaving more to be shared out amongst those who have achieved the required standard."
