Their abysmal start to the season - which triggered the resignation of then boss Charlie McGeever - set the tone for what was ahead for Harps. By week 8, they had suffered five weeks bottom of the pack, without a win to their name.
Finn Harps Season Review 1999-2000
League: 8th.
FAI Cup: Quarter finals.
League Cup: Quarter finals.
Finn Harps finished 4th in the 1998-'9 season and they reached the FAI Cup final.
In that light, their finishing place of 8th this time round was poor, and indeed
it was. The Donegal side's story this term was of very frequent flirtations
with the dreaded relegation zone, and Harps spent a considerable amount of their
time in the bottom three.
Their abysmal start to the season - which triggered the resignation of then
boss Charlie McGeever - set the tone for what was ahead for Harps. By week 8,
they had suffered five weeks bottom of the pack, without a win to their name.
McGeever bid farewell and Gavin Dykes, at first in a caretaker capacity, assumed
the role of player/manager. Seen as an uncompromising character, the Sligo native
led his troops to 8th in the table around mid-season.
Yet, befitting their tag that they are a "form team", the Northwesterners
slipped into a terrible run of form again. They said hello to the relegation
zone again and but for a marked improvement in their form - due in no small
part to the ephimeral stay of Mike Turner - they secured their Premier Division
status with one game to go. Dykes has accepted the job on a full-time basis,
and he accepts responsibility with player/coach Jonathan Speake.
The Donegal men bowed out of both cup competitions at the Quarter final stage.
Both exits were witnessed in Finn Park and on each occasion, confidence was
low due to a bad run of form.
The good:
• Harps' home form was decent. They only lost 6 games at the mudheap known as
Finn Park.
• The cleverness of the club in their acquisition of Mike Turner. His goals
and displays saved the side from the drop.
The bad:
• The willingness of Harps to slip into a poor run. Their form at the start
of the term was woeful, and at a stage when they appeared to have quenched the
threat of relegation, another poor run of form triggered their re-acquaintance
with the drop zone.
• Finn Park. The club need to put enormous efforts into the surface of the ground,
which was embarrasingly shambolic for much of the season.
(Nloi site 2000©)