It should have been a match made in heaven. A great but, of late, homeless football club and a secondary school in the heart of an area that has become the country's centre of production for young footballing talent. Even now most observers have trouble sorting out just how the proposed marriage of Shamrock Rovers and Old Bawn Community School has gone so terribly wrong.

When South Dublin County Council meets this afternoon to decide whether to finally make the two of them neighbours, however, some of the 26 voting members may still be a hazy on the finer detail involved in the motion before them, but none will be under any illusions about the attitudes of the two main parties. The school authorities are desperate to avoid what they see as a shotgun wedding. The club have reached the stage where they reckon that if all hope of romance is dead, a shotgun wedding is just what's required.

On the face of it Rovers look to have the numbers, but neither side is counting chickens. Rovers chairman Joe Colwell describes the reaction he has received from councillors over the past few weeks as "extremely positive". His opponents, on the other hand, led by Old Bawn Community school principal Frank McCarthy and Sean Hennessy of the Sean Walsh Park Action Group, describe the situation as "50-50".

The battle over what is now to be a 6,000-seat home for Rovers has been raging for close on four years. Since an even earlier plan for a development by the council itself was shelved in favour of one promoted by a National League club, the school's authorities have been doing their best to scupper the whole scheme.

The objections are many and varied. Large crowds, excessive noise, nuisance car parking and intrusive buildings are all close to the top of the list. In an attempt to win approval for the project, Rovers have conceded considerable ground in terms of what was originally sought. But the concessions made have had little effect on the determination of their opponents.

One key concern which the school has repeatedly expressed - that it will lose access to a number of playing fields as a result of the development - has actually been exacerbated by the fact that An Bord Pleanala reacted favourably to the argument that not nearly enough car parking was being provided by the club. Now a stadium with a capacity of 6,000 will have some 800 car parking spaces, a ratio unmatched at any other major sports venue in this country.

The downside of this victory for the Action Group is that the provision of the additional parking - the issue at the heart of this afternoon's council vote - will mean the loss of a further two of the pitches currently used by the school's students.

The school's difficulties in this area date back to its establishment in the 1970s. The money made available by the government to purchase land at the time was only enough for eight acres, five short of the minimum recommended by the Department, and the necessary permission was only granted for the purchase to go ahead on the basis that a deal could be worked out with the then Dublin County Council for permanent access to the surrounding parklands for students. The school was built and access granted, but a deal formalising the arrangement was never hammered out. Over the years sporadic attempts to resolve the situation were made.

A letter received from a senior manager in the Parks Department at South Dublin Country Council in March 1997 (and seen by The Irish Times) certainly indicates that, irrespective of any development, the school's access to playing fields would be unchanged. But that clearly hasn't happened.

The council has promised to provide some new pitches for those that will be lost, while Rovers have offered access to their practice pitch on the site, as well as to their schoolboy pitches at nearby Kiltipper.

But with McCarthy claiming to have been deliberately misled by council officials on this and other points relating to the nature of the planned development, relations deteriorated and a dispute over the actual school site came to the boil.

Now the school authorities and council's officials disagree so fundamentally that there is a two-acre discrepancy in their respective estimates of the size of the school's current site.

McCarthy says it is with the council rather than the football club that his problems lie. "I would love to welcome Shamrock Rovers to Tallaght," he says, "but the fact is that the site which the council is attempting to give them is entirely unsuitable. Ours is a disadvantaged school, it's officially recognised as such, but here we are being further disadvantaged by our council and even by our elected representatives."

Still, he and the stadium's other opponents repeatedly imply that there is more to the project than meets the eye. The term "big business" is bandied about, generally in reference to the company Mulden International. This is the shelf company which will take on the lease for the 20-acre site, initially at a nominal rent, though later on a basis which guarantees the council a percentage of all profits made.

The grounds will be made available to Rovers on, insists Mulden director Brian Kearney, "whatever terms are most favourable to the club". The company says it has no purpose other than to lease the land involved. Kearney says the arrangement is merely a vehicle to enable the deal to be done while protecting the club.

Other concerns regarding the financing of the project are dismissed by club manager Damien Richardson, who says that grants, sponsorship and donations will provide sufficient funds for the early phases of the development. "Coming up with two, three even four million pounds isn't a problem, because everybody sees the potential of what we are doing here."

Colwell insists the site will be used for nothing other than football and, with evident frustration, remarks that "I've told people that a hundred times and I'll put it in writing for anybody who asks for it. What we want is a home for Shamrock Rovers, nothing more, and the support we have received from all over the community in Tallaght has been tremendous, it just appears that some people will not be convinced."

It appears he is right. McCarthy, for instance, still feels that there will be parking problems. While planning permission is required to hold a concert at the grounds, Hennessy believes that the An Bord Pleanala ruling only applies to "pop concerts".

It is time for the elected officials to resolve the situation. After hectic canvassing from both sides, and after receiving legal advice that they may be liable for damages if the deal doesn't go ahead and Rovers sue, they will do so this afternoon.

But be prepared as even if a decision is taken today, this saga may simply rumble on.