The winter of 2009/10 was not a fun time to be a Cork City fan. Tom Coughlan's continued mismanagement had resulted in another winding-up order, but this had not stopped him from appointing Roddy Collins - never the most popular on Leeside - as manager. Despite a transfer embargo having been placed on the club, Collinsmade George O'Callaghan his captain even though he had not officially signed. Businessmen Michael O'Connell and Peter Gray were in talks to buy the club from Coughlan, however, and FORAS had, after consultation with the FAI, lodged an application for a licence for a Division 1 side for 2010, but there was hope that the supporters' trust could work with the prospective new owners. When City's application for a Premier Division licence was rejected, it meant that O'Connell and Gray pulled out and the holding company was wound up, meaning an entity known as Cork City FORAS Co-op (retaining the CCFC initials) would compete in the second tier.

The one consolation, however, was that the new organisation would be run by the fans, hopefully ensuring that previous mistakes, by numerous owners, would not be repeated. Tommy Dunne, who had been Paul Doolin's assistant, was appointed as manager, with less than two weeks to build a squad ahead of the league opener with Derry City, who found themselves in a similar positiom to the Rebel Army. The first game under the FORAS Co-op banner was a 7-0 win against Crosshaven, though with no kit ready the club were able to avail of the generosity of Adrian Ryan of Sports Gear Direct, who provided a plain black Hummel kit (above left). By the time of the Derry game, a proper deal had been agreed with the Danish company, providing some continuity, and with a new bespoke kit in the works, a green catalogue effort (above right) was worn in a 1-1 draw, Davin O'Neill getting the first goal of the club's new life. The following week, 4,401 fans made their way to Turner's Cross and the Beamish and RedFM logos had been added (top right), further underlining the fact that this was the same club that had been there since 1984. A 2-0 home defeat was only a slight dampener on a night of celebration, as the first steps had been taken. League patches appeared later again (right).

Instant success was never a realistic propostion, and nor should it have been, with consolidation the main objective, and this was achieved. There were understandably some teething problems and a high player turnover as many found it difficult to combine playing with holding down full-time jobs, though a good run of results in August and September gave hope that an unlikely promotion tilt could become reality. By this stage, the new strips were being worn, the home a smart design with shadow stripes (left) while the away was an identical design in red with white (right), a pattern that would be repeated over the coming few years. Of the five league games played in the season's final month, October, four were defeats, with only the match against Monaghan United a victory. Though City finished in sixth of 12 teams, they were just 10 points off third spot, which would have meant a play-off spot. It would have been nice to have been in the mix, but overall it was far more important that the club still existed and, more importantly, was owned by those who cared about it.