Cobh Ramblers: Stability is takeaway from season despite bitter end 

When FC32 exploded onto the scene with eye-catching investment into Cobh Ramblers, there was immediate talk of a promotion push at St Colman’s Park.

Twelve months on and things are very different after the club lost the play-off semi-final to Treaty United, with the decisive second leg finishing as a crushing defeat in extra time on the Great Island.

In between, the ownership group imploded and there was another takeover, in addition to manager Mick McDermott departing after the final game of the regular season.

The question now is, how does one review the last year and decide if everything was a success or a failure? That is how sport operates. There’s no middle ground. It’s all or nothing. 

A club could start the season with 10 consecutive wins and finish the year with the same number of losses, and be labelled as a failure. Another team could experience the exact opposite and be seen as a work in progress, with more to come after targeted signings over the break.

It goes back to the old sentiment that nobody remembers who finished second, that the narratives are dictated by the winners.

When it comes to Cobh Ramblers, the cold reality is that the club’s push for the league title disintegrated in a matter of weeks with defeats to Wexford and Longford Town.

This conclusion was a long way from supporters' minds as they chased down a six-point deficit at one point, following a start to the season that included a victory over Rockmount in the Munster Senior Cup final. The Rams were also entertaining to watch through this, with goals galore in the panel assembled by McDermott last winter.

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Barry Coffey topped the scoring charts with 26 knocked in, and Cian Murphy finished just behind the midfielder after hitting the back of the net 10 times. Cian Bargary got the most assists with nine racked up, while Shane W Griffin chased him down after registering seven before injuries curtailed his season. 

This group started the year with a nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions, which ran from the early weeks of January until the end of March. Then came the eruption in the FC32 towers and the entire operation at St Colman’s Park was placed in jeopardy.

Alexander Jarvis, who oversaw the investors arrival over the summer through his organisation Blackbridge Sport LLC, gave an insight into the situation during an interview with The Echo.

“The house was on fire – and Bill and the board knew that they had been putting out fires for months,” he said and later added, “That’s how bad it was. Very close to administration bad, weeks maybe days.” 

Digital Athlete Ventures was the life raft and with that came the run-in that ended with the defeat to Treaty United.

It was a stinging loss, made worse by the fact that the club had home advantage in the second leg and there were enough chances to get it done. By this logic, there’s no happy ending and the season was a failure according to the language of football.

But, there is still a club there following a flirt with administration and a fanatic search for fresh investment.

This can never be stated enough in the League of Ireland, where there is a history of examinership and extinction. 

The spectre has haunted the country’s structures since the birth of the current FAI, with Cork City and Dundalk almost falling victim to its scythe over the last five years. Ramblers survived which is the important thing, and are now building towards 2026 with the appointment of Fran Rockett as manager. 

Luka Le Bervet has also been brought back on a two-year deal, which only heightens the good mood around St Colman’s Park as supporters look at potential incomings over the offseason.

These are all positives, while the recent history show the potential of the club and what can happen if everyone pulls in the right direction.

This is the perfect mix for any League of Ireland side, from Finn Harps at the top of the island in Donegal to Cobh Ramblers on the Great Island. The question now is can that be used and turned into a team that competes every season?

If this is a positive to take away from a campaign that could have ended in the worst way possible, then there is a silver lining after the Treaty United defeat.