News - Views 'n' Gossip Archieves from Inver Park

August 26, 97 is a date Lyn Kernohan will never forget. On that day she gave birth to baby Rhianna and also became the first female secretary in the Irish League with Larne. "Yes, I was elected the same night that I had Rhianna," Lyn said today. "It was a double celebration although I was in no fit state to do any celebrating." Lyn replaced Bob Orr as secretary of the Inver Park club and is eagerly looking forward to her new post. "I'm very pleased to be secretary of Larne because I have been a supporter all my life," she said. "I think my father wanted a little boy when I was born to take to the matches with him, but since I was about three years of age he started taking me anyway and I was glad he did. "The connection did not end there either because I married a Larne player Harry Kernohan. "Harry played for nine years at Inver and now we take our sons to the games as well. "Our nine-year old boy loves his football and although he loves Manchester United, he likes Larne too. "Our four year old isn't into football that much at the moment and then of course there is Rhianna whom I'm sure will become a big supporter." The management team of Kel McDermott and now Frankie Parks are two football addicts and Lyn says she hopes to have an excellent working relationship with them. "I'm sure we will get on fine. It does not matter really if a secretary is male or female. The main thing is that the person can do the job." Early on this season Larne were involved in controversy when they were thrown out of the Wilkinson Sword League Cup for fielding an ineligible player. No doubt Lyn will be hoping such events do not occur during her time in office. She's already made a pretty eventful start. And as well as be a female first, she can always say she was the first person to have a baby and be appointed a football club secretary on the same night.

Johneen Black quits the club, Bob Orr is co-opted to the committee and Lynn Kernohan is appointed club secretary and the club become a limited company as they launch their new fundraising initiative - just another boring old week at Larne Football Club! News of Black's resignation from the post of chief executive will come as a shock to many people, though those of us in the know will appreciate that it has been coming for some time. "Due to pressure of business commitments, Johneen has stepped down. He feels he no longer has the time to devote to the club" stated club chairman Sam McCreadie. The chairman was reluctant to elaborate but confirmed also that Black connections are totally severed as he is no longer even on the committee. But welcomed back is former club secretary Orr. He was co-opted at Tuesday night's special general meeting. He had resigned his officer's position last month and his experience is clearly seen as an important asset. Kernohan had replaced Orr in a temporary capacity but she will now fill the role on a more permanent basis, the chairman admitting that there was a slight misunderstanding over her membership position in the club. "It's not even a story, really. There was a new family category introduced and we believed she was covered as a full member by that. But it was discovered in the last week or so that it did not. But she has now become a full member," McCreadie is thrilled at the prospect of the new era hoisting the Larne club away from it's debt-ridden past. "Since the AGM, we have considerably reduced the debt of Larne Football Club and I have no doubt we are on the right tracks with the new initiative. I hope now that the people of the district will get behind us" he said. Outlining the proposals was treasurer Jimmy Roberts. "The idea is to attract new investment into the football club. It will make no material difference to the man on the terrace but it will affect members" he explained. "We are creating new shareholder-style members. Initially we are offering shares in the club to existing life members and providing ordinary members with the opportunity to become life members by paying ?20 per month for 30 months. They will then be able to buy shares as well. "At a later date shares will be open to anybody and everybody agreed at a price to be agreed. That, in a nutshell is what this is all about" stated Roberts. Exciting times ahead at Inver Park then and the local community, especially in the business sector, is urged to get behind them. As chairman McCreadie continually points out, it's not just Larne Football Club - it's Larne's football club.

Editors note: A just reward to Mr Orr and his infamous exploits. One wonders what he may cost the club next. Why not give a new club other than Linfield, the chance to nick our best players or throw away another grand by misunderstanding the rules for fielding illegible players. Sometimes I think it'd be easier to support Bucna United- sigh.

Larne received a down payment of  10,000stg for teenage defender Gordon Simms who is on his way to Wolves. Meanwhile midfielder Darren Finlay has been placed on the transfer list at Glentoran. Coleraine have secured the services of midfielder Conor McKeever until the new millennium. The 21-year-old has signed a new four-year deal with the Bannsiders.

LARNE will today be thrown out of this season's Wilkinson Sword League Cup and fined  1,000 stg for fielding an ineligible player in the first round against Cookstown. The fact that they were beaten 5-1 by Linfield at Windsor Park in the second round last night is irrelevant because they were going to be expelled anyway. The Irish Football League today convened an emergency meeting to discuss the punishment and the implications of the administrative error. The domino effect from this is that Cookstown will now have to be reinstated in the competition - and that Linfield will have to play their second round tie all over again. As one would expect, the Blues are livid at having to play a fixture they should not be involved in, but if they refuse to play Cookstown they too will be ejected from the competition. It has been suggested that the game take place tomorrow night at Windsor Park, although Linfield will not agree to such a solution because it is only two days before they start their league campaign at Ards - and today work started on the international ground for next week's World Cup qualifier between Northern Ireland and Germany. Playing the match as soon as possible at a neutral ground is another possibility but surely the common sense option is to play the tie at Windsor on a free date after the international. The saddest thing about this fiasco is that it was Harry McConkey - Larne's player- coach - who was not registered to play in Saturday's victory over Cookstown. McConkey, 38 next month, was desperate to play last night because he thought it would be his last match at the international stadium. Indeed, he was stripped off and ready for action when he was told he could not turn out - because Larne would face another  1,000stg fine on top of the  1,000stg penalty they already face. "I could not believe it and was absolutely gutted when Iwas told about it. I was thinking this was my last chance to play on the hallowed turf and to be informed I couldn't was earth shattering," said McConkey today. "I had my jersey on and even offered to resign in although that won't happen now."

It is believed the authorities knew before the match about the situation - but decided to go ahead with the game for fear of irritating supporters who had travelledlong distances.

Incidently Linfield won the replayed Cookstown game by 3 goals to nil.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have signed Larne's exciting 17 year old defender Gordon Simms. The deal is worth 40,000stg to the cash-strapped Inver Park club, who have benefitted from a 10,000stg down payment. Other stipulations in the deal include appearances for the Molineux team and an international call-up for the player. Simms is a schoolboy and youth international and turned out for Northern Ireland's U16 side in the Milk Cup last month.

Councillor Concerned over Football Club Comments - 17 July 97