Drogheda not able to pay their players [Archive] - Page 4

dcfcsteve

10/10/2008, 2:22 PM

What's with the no tradition of football? GAA in Louth is terrible and for the smallest county in Ireland to have 2 League of Ireland teams is remarkable considering other places that you would expect to have one.

What constitutes a football tradition? There has been football in Drogheda since 1919, and the town has produced Irish internationals like Gary Kelly, Ian Harte, Nicky Colgan and to a lesser extent footballer Sean Thornton. Other players like Gary Tallon who was with Blackburn the year after they won the Premier League would have made it but only for a serious injury. That's more players playing for Ireland or whoever there than some other areas put together!

Get over yourself Steve, for a Derry City fan you really are full of more sh*t than I originally thought.

I'm not giving opinion here - the results speak for themselves.

There are towns and cities in Ireland where football has been pretty much the major sport for years : Athlone, Dundalk, Sligo, Waterford, Belfast, Derry (ironically, mostly garrison towns). Those are towns with a tradition of football - where the game has ben bigger than rugby or GAA since pretty much Day 1. Unsurprisingly, teams from those areas have had periods of success in Irish football over the years, and they've been able to attract big crowds when they are doing well.

Other clubs in the league have been from areas where football is not the main sport - which combines with a small population to make the appeal of those clubs relatively limited. Those clubs rarely get big crowds - even during periods when they are doing well. Think Monaghan, Kilkenny, Kildare, Thurles, Newcastle West etc. There are obviously exceptions to this : Longford had a degree of success, but with hindsight that blip was primarily due to good management. Drogs have just finished a relative period of success, but that blip was due to being financed beyond their income.

The only team I can think of from a small town without a footballing tradition who have had much success in the LOI is Finn Harps. And that success amounted to one FAI Cup and three runners up slots in the league.

The long-term results clubs have in football tend to reflect the potential size of support those clubs have. Two things are key in this : the size of their catchment population, and the appeal of football within that catchment. As with everything in life, there are always exceptions (e.g. Newcastle United in England, who have serial board-room incompetence to blame for their lack of success). But this is a general rule of thumb throughout world football.

To bring this all back to Drogheda - they were competing at a level that nothing bar their artifically inflated bank statements could justify. Hence they were always going to have to return to the relative lack of success they faced for the previous 42 years at some point.

If you don't agree with the above analysis - fine. But give sensible, results-based reasons as to why you believe it is incorrect re Irish football. Telling me to "get over myself.." doesn't alter the history of our league...

dcfcsteve

10/10/2008, 2:24 PM

All perfectly true.
The diametric opposite is also true. The club at that time were too good to stay in the graveyard division so we kept on being promoted.

Very true.

Which medium-to-long term trend suggests that Drogs natural level in the pecking order - pre-artifical cash injection - was somewhere between the 2 leagues. Not at the top of the top one.

brianw82

10/10/2008, 2:30 PM

I don't think it was wrong for Hoey to have a plan. It was a decent plan to make the club self-sufficient.

What was wrong, however, was to gamble on an uncertain outcome, and to pay ridiculous wages, forcing everyone else to up the ante.

Longfordian

10/10/2008, 2:32 PM

There are obviously exceptions to this : Longford had a degree of success, but with hindsight that blip was primarily due to good management.

That and overspending. Still it was fun while it lasted.

WindmillWarrior

10/10/2008, 2:48 PM

I'm not giving opinion here - the results speak for themselves.

There are towns and cities in Ireland where football has been pretty much the major sport for years : Athlone, Dundalk, Sligo, Waterford, Belfast, Derry (ironically, mostly garrison towns). Those are towns with a tradition of football - where the game has ben bigger than rugby or GAA since pretty much Day 1. Unsurprisingly, teams from those areas have had periods of success in Irish football over the years, and they've been able to attract big crowds when they are doing well.

Other clubs in the league have been from areas where football is not the main sport - which combines with a small population to make the appeal of those clubs relatively limited. Those clubs rarely get big crowds - even during periods when they are doing well. Think Monaghan, Kilkenny, Kildare, Thurles, Newcastle West etc. There are obviously exceptions to this : Longford had a degree of success, but with hindsight that blip was primarily due to good management. Drogs have just finished a relative period of success, but that blip was due to being financed beyond their income.

The only team I can think of from a small town without a footballing tradition who have had much success in the LOI is Finn Harps. And that success amounted to one FAI Cup and three runners up slots in the league.

The long-term results clubs have in football tend to reflect the potential size of support those clubs have. Two things are key in this : the size of their catchment population, and the appeal of football within that catchment. As with everything in life, there are always exceptions (e.g. Newcastle United in England, who have serial board-room incompetence to blame for their lack of success). But this is a general rule of thumb throughout world football.

To bring this all back to Drogheda - they were competing at a level that nothing bar their artifically inflated bank statements could justify. Hence they were always going to have to return to the relative lack of success they faced for the previous 42 years at some point.

If you don't agree with the above analysis - fine. But give sensible, results-based reasons as to why you believe it is incorrect re Irish football. Telling me to "get over myself.." doesn't alter the history of our league...

Jaysus Steve, obviously we were punching above our weight. No one is doubting that. We know where our level is, we're not stupid. For us to have a mid table team that has a go at a cup compo every now and again would be magic! Obviously we got too big too quick.
But to say Drogheda is not a footballing town is ridiculous. Its been recognised as being so in Ireland for many years now. Throughout our miserable history Drogheda Utd always had a decent support. As i've already said I think we've had awful awful luck for a long time, luck that maybe might have even allowed us into the prestigious Athlone/Sligo club! Theres f*ck all GAA clubs in Drogheda, a lot less than D*ndalk - the north of the county being the stronghold for GAA in the county.

Anyway, rush post, I'm off to the pub

passerrby

10/10/2008, 2:56 PM

At the moment the directors cannot finance the club for another 4 years due to being let down in the stadium project. The plan C now is to start at the bottom of the ladder again and hopefully get back to full-time status with new stadium in the next 5 years or so.
We can't stay in Utd Park if we want to play Premier Division football, End of. So the club had no alternative to try and get this stadium to develop and put down structures for the future. Because of some stupid planning decisions this hasn't happened so the club has no alternative now to cut costs and start from the bottom of the ladder again.

bloody hell are you really proposing to make the same mistakes all over again

Drogman.

10/10/2008, 3:01 PM

bloody hell are you really proposing to make the same mistakes all over again

The plan is to get a new stadium to make the club self sufficient. The full time status I would imagine would come along after that however I think it is a necessity for fulltime football as you cannot and will not develop or attract a decent quality of player without that structure in place.

mr.untitled

10/10/2008, 3:04 PM

[QUOTE=dcfcsteve;1037315]I'm not giving opinion here - the results speak for themselves.

There are towns and cities in Ireland where football has been pretty much the major sport for years : Athlone, Dundalk, Sligo, Waterford, Belfast, Derry (ironically, mostly garrison towns). Those are towns with a tradition of football - where the game has ben bigger than rugby or GAA since pretty much Day 1. Unsurprisingly, teams from those areas have had periods of success in Irish football over the years, and they've been able to attract big crowds when they are doing well.

I see you are using the word 'irony' in the alanis morrisett sense!
ah yes Rugby and GAA have beed dwarfing football round these parts for years now. the mighty Boyne RFC and then there was that time sam maguire came to town back in 1957. If your so in with DCFC maybee you know some one who has still got C.brennans contact details, give him a bell and ask him to tell you about football culture in drogheda, or maybee ask to speak to his brother about playing for drogheda town in the fai cup. Football has been the number one sport in this (garrison) town for close to a century now.

jinxy lilywhite

10/10/2008, 3:06 PM

- the north of the county being the stronghold for GAA in the county.

Anyway, rush post, I'm off to the pub

Yeah there born with an O'Neills ball in the Cooley peninsula. Mattock won the senior championship against the blues didn't they and the dreadnots won the intermediate and the Nicks won the juniors. Are they not roughly all drogheda teams.:rolleyes:

Drogman.

10/10/2008, 3:09 PM

I'm not giving opinion here - the results speak for themselves.

There are towns and cities in Ireland where football has been pretty much the major sport for years : Athlone, Dundalk, Sligo, Waterford, Belfast, Derry (ironically, mostly garrison towns). Those are towns with a tradition of football - where the game has ben bigger than rugby or GAA since pretty much Day 1. Unsurprisingly, teams from those areas have had periods of success in Irish football over the years, and they've been able to attract big crowds when they are doing well.

Other clubs in the league have been from areas where football is not the main sport - which combines with a small population to make the appeal of those clubs relatively limited. Those clubs rarely get big crowds - even during periods when they are doing well. Think Monaghan, Kilkenny, Kildare, Thurles, Newcastle West etc. There are obviously exceptions to this : Longford had a degree of success, but with hindsight that blip was primarily due to good management. Drogs have just finished a relative period of success, but that blip was due to being financed beyond their income.

The only team I can think of from a small town without a footballing tradition who have had much success in the LOI is Finn Harps. And that success amounted to one FAI Cup and three runners up slots in the league.

The long-term results clubs have in football tend to reflect the potential size of support those clubs have. Two things are key in this : the size of their catchment population, and the appeal of football within that catchment. As with everything in life, there are always exceptions (e.g. Newcastle United in England, who have serial board-room incompetence to blame for their lack of success). But this is a general rule of thumb throughout world football.

To bring this all back to Drogheda - they were competing at a level that nothing bar their artifically inflated bank statements could justify. Hence they were always going to have to return to the relative lack of success they faced for the previous 42 years at some point.

If you don't agree with the above analysis - fine. But give sensible, results-based reasons as to why you believe it is incorrect re Irish football. Telling me to "get over myself.." doesn't alter the history of our league...

In all fairness Steve, your definition of success is pretty poor. Drogheda have had successfull patches throughout their League if Ireland history. The past 4 years of success was down to the money, but sure name one club on this planet who hasn't achieved success without money being spent on them nowadays. It was different back in the day so rubbishing Drogheda success purely on a money basis is a bit silly really.

The support for DUFC has been quite good even during the really bad times. Granted there were times when only a couple of hundred would turn up but lets be honest that's no exactly uncommon in the history of any club in this league.

Seriously I've never read more rubbish in my life. You don't work for Primetime by any chance?

pineapple stu

10/10/2008, 3:42 PM

What the fcuk are you talking about, all i said was it's not unusual for companies to hold off paying bills.

Maybe you should step down of your high horse before coming back and commenting again.

And what content of any of my posts makes you say that 'my knowledge of Derry city seems limited at best'?
You said -

I know of very few companies that pay outstanding bills on their due date
...with the intention of dismissing what others had said about Derry being a bit stuck for cash.

It is very unusual for companies to hold off paying bills unless they're stuck for cash. I work in accounts; I should know.

That's what part of your post indicates to me that your knowledge of DCFC is limited at best. You didn't even know that you owe us money, and now you don't even know how long you owe us money for, yet you still feel qualified to dismiss concerns about Derry's finances.

passerrby

10/10/2008, 3:45 PM

The plan is to get a new stadium to make the club self sufficient. The full time status I would imagine would come along after that however I think it is a necessity for fulltime football as you cannot and will not develop or attract a decent quality of player without that structure in place.

first off a stadium will not make a club self sufficent and it is the rock that most plans sink on and as for attracting decent players ,players will play anywhere as long as some fools are willling to vastly overpay them

holidaysong

10/10/2008, 3:46 PM

Jacqui Hurley was just on 'Seoige' talking about Drogheda's financial woes.. :eek:

EDIT: Gr�inne just ignored that and talked about how great rugby is doing.. :mad:

Dodge

10/10/2008, 3:47 PM

The Drogs stadium came attached witha whole heap of things that would've made money though (in fairness to their board)

Drogman.

10/10/2008, 4:16 PM

first off a stadium will not make a club self sufficent and it is the rock that most plans sink on and as for attracting decent players ,players will play anywhere as long as some fools are willling to vastly overpay them

As Dodge mentioned, this wasn't only going to be a stand alone stadium, it was going to be a sports campus to be used by a number of different sports as well as retail units surrounding it to generate more revenue.

Please go back and read the original plan before commenting any further on something you haven't a clue about.

It was tried and it failed due to whatever reasons. We'll live to fight again.

Dodge

10/10/2008, 4:18 PM

Jacqui Hurley was just on 'Seoige' talking about Drogheda's financial woes.. :eek:

EDIT: Gr�inne just ignored that and talked about how great rugby is doing.. :mad:

Thats a good thing. Less negative publicity the better.

Plus more Grainne, less Jacqui

bad mongo

10/10/2008, 5:19 PM

As Dodge mentioned, this wasn't only going to be a stand alone stadium, it was going to be a sports campus to be used by a number of different sports as well as retail units surrounding it to generate more revenue.

Please go back and read the original plan before commenting any further on something you haven't a clue about.

It was tried and it failed due to whatever reasons. We'll live to fight again.

It failed coz it was planned too close to the M1 junction. Someone needs to answer for that, it's that simple . The minute I saw the aerial photomontage I knew it wasn't a runner and am sure a lot of other people knew the same. Drogs benefactors thought they could push the stadium plan through on a nod and a wink, it's a real pity for the whole scheme to fall down on something so basic

Inside Man

10/10/2008, 5:50 PM

I feel i can speek for most other league of Irleland fans when i say I hane NO sympathy for drogheda.
It was set ups like this that was the head runner for the league's current downfall. Its simple. Take Sligo Rovers for example! We lose Faz and Hughes to drogs. They leave for the money.....[and i think i can speak for all Sligo rovers fans when i say sickened lovely to them, cheeky feckers money grabbing and now look at them, faz would probably would have earned more staying with us to the end of the season(at least he would be getting paid)]
....So that we don't lose more players we must up our currnet players wages. So we can compete at some level.
Just like to add; Drogheda had 42 players at one stage of the season in their full squad. That is just suicidal. And good ridance to them. I'm happy. Yes! Happy:D

But I'm happy. Yes! Happy.

Sheridan

10/10/2008, 5:54 PM

It was set ups like this that was the head runner for the league's current downfall. Its simple. Take Sligo Rovers for example! We lose Faz and Hughes to drogs.
How ****ed would you be if you hadn't? :rolleyes:

sligoman

10/10/2008, 5:55 PM

cheeky feckers money grabbingWhile I'm happy for them, I still can't blame them for leaving. You telling me if you were offered a huge increase in wages you wouldn't feck off too? They have family and other expenses, naturally they'll take as much as is being offered. Drogheda should have set a limit, it's their fault. As it is with any other club who are spending too much.

passerrby

10/10/2008, 7:02 PM

As Dodge mentioned, this wasn't only going to be a stand alone stadium, it was going to be a sports campus to be used by a number of different sports as well as retail units surrounding it to generate more revenue.

Please go back and read the original plan before commenting any further on something you haven't a clue about.

It was tried and it failed due to whatever reasons. We'll live to fight again.

it was tried and failed because it was a silly plan made by silly people who are doomed to repeat thier mistakes .. welcome to the graveyard.
champoins league your having a laugh

Krstic

10/10/2008, 7:14 PM

You said -

...with the intention of dismissing what others had said about Derry being a bit stuck for cash.

It is very unusual for companies to hold off paying bills unless they're stuck for cash. I work in accounts; I should know.That's what part of your post indicates to me that your knowledge of DCFC is limited at best. You didn't even know that you owe us money, and now you don't even know how long you owe us money for, yet you still feel qualified to dismiss concerns about Derry's finances.

Well then tell me ooh knowledgable accounts employee, how much and for what length of time have Derry owed UCD money.

And again, I never in any post claimed to know about Derry's affairs, you did.
I only stated that it was not unusual for a company to withhold payment for various reasons.

My wife and I own a company, we should know.

Rovers1

10/10/2008, 7:26 PM

While I'm happy for them, I still can't blame them for leaving.

:eek:

youve changed your tune totally!

i did have a big speil written, but my internet crashed :(

was pretty much gonna say the same as Sligoman, cant blame Faz and Hughes for leaving. They were great for us, even if it took them a while to settle in, they're just trying to further their careers.:ball:

the-blue-harp

10/10/2008, 8:00 PM

Thats a good thing. Less negative publicity the better.

Plus more Grainne, less Jacqui

i say more sheila!!

the-blue-harp

10/10/2008, 8:04 PM

its a disgrace! its a disgrace, shame on drogheda, at least thats hows harps have been treated... so same should be for cork, drogheda, cobh, galway, sligo rovers. DISGRACE!

The Sheliban

10/10/2008, 8:56 PM

When Shels got their comeuppance, everyone was delighted.
Now, the same thing happens to Drogs and its a terrible thing for the League?

holidaysong

10/10/2008, 10:43 PM

When Shels got their comeuppance, everyone was delighted.
Now, the same thing happens to Drogs and its a terrible thing for the League?

I don't think there is any more or less sympathy out there for Drogheda then there was for Shelbourne. Football fans are going to be jealous if a club reaches beyond their means for glory for which they weren't entitled to..

Both Shels and Drogheda have done this. Personally speaking, I've no sympathy for clubs who do this. You gambled on success by spending beyond your means and at the end of the day it didn't pay off.. I've no sympathy for fans who gloated during the glory days but then when their bubble bursts and they are brought back down to reality!

pineapple stu

11/10/2008, 1:49 AM

Can I genuinely ask why pretty much all Drogs fans are so unanimous in praise of Hoey et al? He's chased what was clearly a dead duck in the new ground, poured millions into an unsustainable set up and has now, quite disgracefully IMO, turned around with five games to go and told his players (not to mention the managerial and admin staff) they won't be getting paid and has racked up debts which could quite easily see the end of the club (how are the club going to pay the half million owed to Revenue in the next 12 months, for example?). Yet despite this, Hoey is revered for living the dream or some such? I'm baffled how someone who has done so much to harm to club can be seen in such a positive light. Everyone else is blamed - the FAI, the MCC, the NRA - despite the fact that blame clearly lies 100% at the feet of Hoey and the NRA were 100% right not to allow a development of the magnitude being proposed (in particular, the 5000 houses, for which I'm quite sure the ground was a mere wedge, and which I don't think ever left the developers' minds, given the roundabouts present in the later planning applications). Meanwhile, Drogs fans shrug their shoulders and say "Ho hum, that was fun" without any sort of move to help save the club? How does any of this make any sense?!

And as for the Drogs fan who reckons going back to part-time isn't worth the bother, it seems he'll soon have the team he deserves. :rolleyes:

I only stated that it was not unusual for a company to withhold payment for various reasons.
If, let's say, you owe money for a player, there's no possible reason to be withholding that money six months later other than the fact that you can't afford to pay it. Quite simple really.

It's very few companies who will withhold money for six months or more, especially in such a clear-cut case as this.

forza rovers

11/10/2008, 6:02 AM

its a disgrace! its a disgrace, shame on drogheda, at least thats hows harps have been treated... so same should be for cork, drogheda, cobh, galway, sligo rovers. DISGRACE!we dont ask our players to take pay cuts we can pay ours!!

ColinR

11/10/2008, 10:28 AM

Can I genuinely ask why pretty much all Drogs fans are so unanimous in praise of Hoey et al? ...........how are the club going to pay the half million owed to Revenue in the next 12 months, for example

i don't know how many times people get told this, yet they still can't seem to understand. drogs fan back vincent becuase without him - the club would have folded on more than one occasion in the past. the last time we were in the **** - it was his own money that saved the club. (and previous occasions too). a supporter who does what he has done for the club deserves the respect and trust of the fans.

if vincent (and chris byrne & eugene o'connor) hadn't stepped in 5 years back, we would have gone to the wall then. it is not like they took over a well run football club and overreached and left it with nothing. they took over a club facing liquidation, gave it its best years of its life, gave people memories that they cherish. and if they walk away - well at the very least they have left the club in no worse a situation than when the found it!

yes - therir spending was unsustainable - but there was never a plan to continue spending that monry whilst the current income streams were maintained - only some idiots on foot.ie seem to believe that.

you can argue about the level of risk involved with the stadium project - the main loser is the three directors - they risked their own money, and lost their own money. the obsene level of 'political' opposition that the plans does create anger - as certain planning projects seem to get more scrutiny than others, and that is why the supporters blame the NRA, politicians etc etc.

if you compare the club's position now compared to when they took over and try and look for losers - the three directors are supposidly �12m down and are the only people left in a worse position compared to 5 years ago. everybody else involved has benefited more than they stand to lose now.

as regards the level of debt in the club - the last time i posted on here - you claimed the directors had passed a whole load of debt onto the club through their overspending. you were wrong then - as i pointed out that it was not in directors loan, as they had been transferred to shares. do you think there may be a possibility of you being wrong yet again - or our your sources certain this time!

Straightstory

11/10/2008, 11:46 AM

they took over a club facing liquidation, gave it its best years of its life, gave people memories that they cherish. and if they walk away - well at the very least they have left the club in no worse a situation than when the found it!

I spent most of my childhood, my teenage years, and almost my entire my adult life dreaming about Drogheda winning either the Cup or League. They finally did both - thanks mostly to Vincent Hoey. My dreams came true.
At the end of the day which memories would I rather have - the glory of winning the Cup and the League - or the thought that my club was well run and didn't spend beyond it's means? Obviously, and without question, it's the joy of winning the two biggest trophies in Irish football - something which for most of my life was unimaginable.

Most likely the club will now go back to what it was like for most of the last forty five years: utilising part time players, hovering between the Premier and First division, and hoping for a good Cup run. Football, like life, has its ups and downs.

Were Vincent Hoey's and the other directors' efforts worth it?

Of course.

pineapple stu

11/10/2008, 12:07 PM

drogs fan back vincent becuase without him - the club would have folded on more than one occasion in the past. the last time we were in the **** - it was his own money that saved the club.
That's all fair enough, but what he's done now is bring the club to its knees again. If you praise him for saving the club in the past, why continue that praise when he kills it again?

I'd argue that the club is in a much worse situation than it was five years ago (and this is speculation obviously).

the obsene level of 'political' opposition that the plans does create anger - as certain planning projects seem to get more scrutiny than others, and that is why the supporters blame the NRA, politicians etc etc.
But you can't go willy nilly building 5000 houses about the place - does no one in Drogheda seem to grasp this concept? Does no-one in Drogheda actually think that maybe the NRA were just doing their job?

as regards the level of debt in the club - the last time i posted on here - you claimed the directors had passed a whole load of debt onto the club through their overspending. you were wrong then - as i pointed out that it was not in directors loan, as they had been transferred to shares. do you think there may be a possibility of you being wrong yet again - or our your sources certain this time!
The money was initially in the form of a directors' loan. You then pointed out that it had been converted into shares, which was correct. The position had changed, so I accepted that fact.

In your last year accounts, for example, you were borderline solvent but owed Revenue E400-E500k. I think the assets in the club were something like the ground or some spurious player contract values; I can't remember. But the bottom line is that without the boys' money, what was a vaguely decent sum of money owed to Revenue is now a monumental sum. Revenue have problems with the league and the way it pays its tax - and rightly so - and won't let you off lightly on that, as Cork have found too. Where are you going to get E500k to pay them? This sum of money (and you can add moneys owed to Bohs, the rumours of moneys owed to Sligo, moneys owed in player wages, etc) is surely far in excess of the debts owed when the boys took over, so I don't know how you can claim the club is in no worse a position than five years ago. In addition, nearly a year has moved on since the last set of accounts - the boys were required to capitalise their loan for licencing last year; now that they don't care, who's to say they won't seek some of the money back?

I genuinely think Hoey is every bit a villian as Ollie Byrne was.

Most likely the club will now go back to what it was like for most of the last forty five years: utilising part time players, hovering between the Premier and First division, and hoping for a good Cup run
Most likely, the club will go to being a debt ridden First Division side with no real prospects of emerging in the near future, ultimately suffering a slow death in the graveyard. Like Shels. I honestly think the worst is yet to come for Drogheda.

Really wonder how any fan can think one league title is worth killing your club for.

the-blue-harp

11/10/2008, 12:51 PM

we dont ask our players to take pay cuts we can pay ours!!

dont even start forza rovers, sligo's finances arent anything to boast about. sure ya can blackmail the people of sligo again next year to pay those inflated wages.

Rovers1

11/10/2008, 2:23 PM

dont even start forza rovers, sligo's finances arent anything to boast about. sure ya can blackmail the people of sligo again next year to pay those inflated wages.

blackmail??? :eek:

is that what they did to me!!!

screw this, im off to to follow Sellthick

SMorgan

11/10/2008, 2:50 PM

... some spurious player contract values; I can't remember. ...

I don't know much about company accounts, but the listing of players contracts as assets did seem very strange to my untrained eye.

Okay, if another club wanted the players concerned or the players wanted to buy out their contracts they would have to pay the club the remaining value of the contract. But contract values appear to me to be a very theoretical asset that could never ever be realised. I'd nearly have put them down as a liability

Celdrog

11/10/2008, 3:06 PM

Was the NRA's objection not based on the fact that the outer orbital route may start at the stadium, some time in the future and require a serious upgrade of the junction and not against a development of 5,000 houses - which isn't even in the planning application.

Or is Stu talking through his hole, as usual.

Mind you his words that the NRA will not permit this development will be a shock for An Bord Pleanala who actually have the final say.

Once again he compares Vincent Hoey to Ollie Byrne. One gambled the only asset his club had on the basis that would get into the CL group stages. every year. The other poured millions of his own money into securing a long term revenue stream that would support the club on an ongoing basis (a bit like having a big college as your mammy to give you enough pocket money to buy your sweets and comics)

And don't you just love how he knows the current liabilites of the Drogs - all based on supposition.

When we are bottom the first division we will still have 10 times the crowds UCD have with only a quarter of the people within a five mile radius as locals.

I'm going down SeanDrogs route and ignoring this gob****e from now on. Best of luck in the future Stu - hope you get relegated.

ColinR - great post, couldn't have explained it better myself.

Poor Student

11/10/2008, 3:18 PM

When we are bottom the first division we will still have 10 times the crowds UCD have with only a quarter of the people within a five mile radius as locals.

You don't even have that now.

higgins

11/10/2008, 3:50 PM

Most likely, the club will go to being a debt ridden First Division side with no real prospects of emerging in the near future, ultimately suffering a slow death in the graveyard. Like Shels.

:eek:

Nice to see you think we're going places..

In 4 weeks time we could both be in different divisions!

Celdrog

11/10/2008, 4:17 PM

You don't even have that now.I'm excluding away fans (hence the five mile radius clarification). You only reach treble figures of paying punters due to away fans.

pineapple stu

11/10/2008, 4:35 PM

Was the NRA's objection not based on the fact that the outer orbital route may start at the stadium, some time in the future and require a serious upgrade of the junction and not against a development of 5,000 houses - which isn't even in the planning application.I remain suspicious of the roundabouts which were, as far as I'm aware, still in the final application.

When we are bottom the first division we will still have 10 times the crowds UCD have with only a quarter of the people within a five mile radius as locals.
Going to quote this for posterity.

Still amazed that people think Hoey's great. Rovers under Maguire had more success than in the past decade - league runners up, Cup semi finallists twice in a year (I think), relative success in Europe (Odra) and yet it ultimately went tits up in the same way youz have just done. Do Rovers fans admire Maguire for this, or do they realise how close he brought the club to extinction and despise him for that?

higgins - let's see how Shels do with no ground, no Rovers rent income and creditors still lodging judgements against the club, eh?

Poor Student

11/10/2008, 9:56 PM

I'm excluding away fans (hence the five mile radius clarification). You only reach treble figures of paying punters due to away fans.

I know what you said and I stand by what I said. There's about 200 UCD regulars and you're not getting average attendances ten times that and you certainly wouldn't have anything approaching it in the first division let alone at the bottom even when you add in your conditions. Your comment is nothing more than petulant hysterical rambling.

higgins

12/10/2008, 1:52 AM

higgins - let's see how Shels do with no ground, no Rovers rent income and creditors still lodging judgements against the club, eh?

We've had no ground for a few years now and are getting by just fine.
Rovers rent will go of course but then you take it out of the budget and of course cut the wages or else find that money from somewhere else. Promotion would be a big help!
Creditors will always go the judgment route. It's nothing major to be honest just a note to say they are owed money. Nobody has ever claimed there were no creditors waiting on cash. In fact I've said on here before that there are and that the list is fairly long and it adds up to millions.
However, that list is NOT growing and the total figure owed is NOT growing.

Slow death ?

You wish!!