Waterford United accepts Resignation of Gareth Cronin

Waterford United regrets to announce that following discussions over the past few days, the club has reluctantly accepted the resignation of manager Gareth Cronin.

Gareth, who has been in charge on Suirside since August 2006, has issued the following statement:

“It is with deep regret that I have decided to resign my post as Manager of Waterford United Football club with immediate effect. I would like to thank the Board of the club, the players and staff I have worked with and the loyal true Waterford United fans who have supported me over the last two and a half years.

I would like to wish the club every success in the future both on and off the field.”

The club would like to thank Gareth for his commitment and effort since his appointment and wishes him well in his football management career.

Waterford United will commence the process of recruiting a new manager immediately.

Also, Behan gave his jersey and shorts away

Paddy Power hit for €30k in suspected betting 'sting'

By JOHNNY WARD
Sunday Independent; November 02 2008
EXCLUSIVE

Paddy Power Bookmakers was hit by a loss of close to €30,000 when a wholesale gamble was landed in an apparently insignificant eircom League first division match on Friday night.

Monaghan United trounced Longford Town 5-1, costing bookmakers in Ireland and England a considerable some of money after what are being viewed in the industry as suspicious betting patterns.

United, who prior to the match had scored 27 goals in their 32 league games, were slashed from 6/5 into odds-on by all bookmakers, with Paddy Power eventually forced to suspend betting in the hour before kick-off.

The bookmaker's spokesman, Paddy Power, estimated that the match attracted approximately 20 times the turnover he would normally expect for a low-grade first division game in the eircom League.

"It's a very low-profile game and you tend to take a handful of bets on it but the fact that there was a widespread gamble would certainly raise a few eyebrows.

"When we priced it up, we thought we might lay Longford at 15/8 -- they've been playing quite well -- but in fact it was all Monaghan. And rather than one big bet, it was a spread of bets on Thursday in our north Dublin shops. It just looked like a well-organised sting.

"We literally didn't take one bet on Longford. In that type of game, you'd be amazed if you even took one bet in the north Dublin shops involved and you'd expect a handful across the country.

"The thing that makes it look suspicious was that it was people putting on small bets to stay under the radar. Bets of €500 at 6/5 wouldn't raise many eyebrows."

Successful punters who backed winners Monaghan with Paddy Powers had to wait until yesterday to be paid out, and were informed by the bookmaker that the delay was due to the match being "under investigation due to irregular betting patterns".

Betting exchange giants Betfair, who have in place a memorandum of understanding with the FAI which allows the association to investigate betting movements on matches under its jurisdiction if requested, also reported that there was a higher-than normal level of trading on the match.

Contacted by the Sunday Independent yesterday, a spokesman for the FAI confirmed it would be looking into the matter.

"The FAI takes any such claims very seriously," he said. "We will be contacting the bookmakers concerned to look into whether there is any substance to these claims and will investigate further if appropriate."