FAI to save Ireland's oldest football club:

Far fall from Bohemians' League winning days

          The oldest football club in Ireland: Bohemians FC look to have been saved from the  prospect of being wound up in court and are expected to pay the outstanding wages owed to players Brian Shelley and Steven Gray this afternoon.

The club are understood to be close to reaching agreement with their contracted players after a weekend of intensive negotiations between the club, the PFAI and the FAI.

The board of the Phibsboro club met last night to discuss the deal which would see the remaining contracted players accept a settlement in exchange for the club cancelling their contracts. The players have not been paid since November, but will receive their unpaid wages as part of the deal.

Gray and Shelley had taken the club to court with a winding up order. The pair were due to be backed by their team-mates at a press conference in Abbotstown last week, but FAI boss John Delaney intervened at the last minute.

Where to look next for FAI Chief Executive Delaney?

It is believed that the FAI contributed some money towards the settlement and, while it is as yet uncertain how much of their 2011 wages the players will receive as part of the agreement, the majority of players have told the club they will accept the 13 weeks’ pay severance agreement offered.