Players Meeting?

[SMorgan]

Was there a players meeting today?

If there was, did they accept what was on the table?

[holidaysong]

The players rejected it.

Statement from Drogheda United F.C. Emergency Committee 2nd January 09

The Drogheda United Emergency Committee regrets the decision of the Players, relayed today by the P.F.A.I., to reject the offer from the Drogheda United negotiating team with regard to a full and final settlement of outstanding monies owed.

The Committee recognises the financial hardship experienced by the Players in recent months, but the offer represents the best possible settlement by the Club with regard to the being a position to get out of Examinership.

The Emergency Committee with discuss the situation with the Examiner early next week.


Signed:

Jim MacArdle, Drogheda United Emergency Committee

http://www.droghedaunited.ie/news/single/id/1519

[Dunny]

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/drogheda-on-the-brink-after-players-vote-1591030.html


Drogheda on the brink after players' vote

By Neil Ahern

Saturday January 03 2009

DROGHEDA United club officer Terry Collins fears the club has reached "the end" as a football entity, after their former players sensationally rejected a lump sum pay-off on owed wages yesterday.

The club is today teetering on the brink of liquidation after an offer of €90,000, as a settlement for roughly €300,000 of back-logged payments, was rejected by the squad and Collins expects to meet with the Drogheda United Emergency Committee as well as chairman Vincent Hoey on Monday.

Hoey is in Malta due to a family bereavement but will return to the news that his beloved club, to which he has been attached for four decades, may be about to go under.

Collins, who has been one of the last remaining workers at United Park as the ship steadily sinks despite a huge public effort, fears that he may be organising a press conference in the coming days to announce the liquidation of the Boyneside club.

"I have to say I understand where the players are coming from and I think the club and the fans are all sympathetic with their situation," said Collins.

"We'll have to see if there's a possibility of a resolution but at the moment my own gut feeling is that we're looking at the end of Drogheda United."

The Irish Independent understands that the players in question were very much split on the decision, with roughly half willing to accept the money but the other half wishing to stand their ground on the issue.

The players holding firm are understood to believe that the most recent offer was not sufficient, but Collins insisted that there was "absolutely no way" they could raise any more funds to offer the players.

At the moment, the club is only in possession of around €125,000 but also needs to pay off a list of other creditors, including a Revenue bill of €535,506.

Agreements for payment must also be in place with all creditors, including every single player, if they are to survive.

Examiner Kieran McCarthy predicted that a figure of €554,000 was needed to be presented to the High Court on January 12 if the club was to emerge from examinership, but at the moment with monies promised they are only just touching the €200,000 mark.

The PFAI was unavailable for comment yesterday and no Drogheda United players were willing to comment on the matter.

- Neil Ahern

[prince20]

It may seem like a silly question but if Drogheda go out of football, and i dont think any football fan would not want to see this, what is the situation then as regards monies being owed to players? My understanding is they would then recieve less money than they are currently being offered. Could someone please clarify this? Thanks

[Mr A]

Chances are that if Hinge Trading fold, as now seems likely, the players will get zero. Which is harsh on those that agreed to the deal, but slap it right up the ones that didn't for being so stupid. Mind you the real villains are the ****s who lead DUFC into this mess.

[Louth4sam]

Mind you the real villains are the ****s who lead DUFC into this mess.

Shhhhhhh you can't say that in front of Drogheda fan's they are still heroes down there. It was all the fault of the evil NRA and MCC.

The biggest problem is the three directors remaining in place. They were the ones that agreed the contracts and are now offering only a fraction of what they agreed on. If they had of stepped down when the crisis started then maybe the players might have viewed things differently.

[higgins]

I don't understand why the back wages can't be restructured over a longer time period ?

Offering 90k of the 300k you owe is not on.. They are entitled to their wages and should get the money back. If it's not there at present they should agree to long term deals where the money is paid back over a couple of years even.

It's simply not good enough to pay them less than what they are owed. They should be demoted two divisions if they get away with that as they are gaining a sporting advantage.

[WindmillWarrior]

Shhhhhhh you can't say that in front of Drogheda fan's they are still heroes down there. It was all the fault of the evil NRA and MCC.



F*ck off with that sh*t will ya. Not all Drogs think that way. In fact most of my mates would think quite the opposite.

[bellavistaman]

Players are going to ruin the league i tell ya, every bit of bad news spouted in the media this year was from neil ahern, what a ****in rat!! H single handed done his best to destroy us this year too, well with a little help from his "friends"

[ndrog]

Shhhhhhh you can't say that in front of Drogheda fan's they are still heroes down there. It was all the fault of the evil NRA and MCC.

The biggest problem is the three directors remaining in place. They were the ones that agreed the contracts and are now offering only a fraction of what they agreed on. If they had of stepped down when the crisis started then maybe the players might have viewed things differently.

Go to drogheda forum and you will read lots of differing opinions , so stop trying to make out everyone has there heads in the sand ,WE DONT .And our biggest problem is far from the three directors remaining in place FFS Gimme a break this is fcukin hard enough .

[Nesta99]

F*ck off with that sh*t will ya. Not all Drogs think that way. In fact most of my mates would think quite the opposite.

Ach now Vincent Hoey is my hero...he restored Drogheda Utd to its traditional status as Dundalk B team:p;)

If Drogheda folds do the Directors get sanctioned by being barred from directing another company for x number of years?...cause i sure hope so reckless fools! and i dont believe that collectively they couldnt pay outstanding debts and then pull out of the club

[SMorgan]

I don't understand why the back wages can't be restructured over a longer time period ?


The simple answer is they can, but they won't. They want to come out of this situation debt free which limits my sympathy for them. The club appears to want to come out of this smelling of roses and at an advantage to clubs that paid their way.

[Black and White]

Its not just the club that should be taking all the flack...there are several players that where on ridiculous wages there and obviously the club will never be able to repay ALL the players back and yet some are willing to go to the extremeist of lenghts of seeing a club fold because the club cant afford to pay back these ridiculous wages...I would take what I could get from such a situation and help a club, that gave me the opportunity to play for it, a feckin chance!

Players are milking this situation...Fabio looking for Full time contract somewhere...puts on hold a move to us to see if his American trial or move to the up and coming Darlington gets him more dosh!:mad:

[sligoman]

Its not just the club that should be taking all the flack...there are several players that where on ridiculous wages there and obviously the club will never be able to repay ALL the players back and yet some are willing to go to the extremeist of lenghts of seeing a club fold because the club cant afford to pay back these ridiculous wages...I would take what I could get from such a situation and help a club, that gave me the opportunity to play for it, a feckin chance!Most of the players couldn't give a crap about Drogs. They were given a contract for 'x' amount of money, why shouldn't they hold out for what they were promised in a legally binding contract?

[passerrby]

Players are going to ruin the league i tell ya, every bit of bad news spouted in the media this year was from neil ahern, what a ****in rat!! H single handed done his best to destroy us this year too, well with a little help from his "friends"

very unfair bella players do the best they can for themselves and families its the clubs who stupitily spend money they can ill afford trying to win competitions that bring little reward all to appease the supporters who never seem to say a word when they hear there club has signed some player on stupid money

[ndrog]

very unfair bella players do the best they can for themselves and families its the clubs who stupitily spend money they can ill afford trying to win competitions that bring little reward all to appease the supporters who never seem to say a word when they hear there club has signed some player on stupid money

The self righteous nonsense on here never sesase to amaze me .How the fcuk do you know what supporters thought about the wages players were on ? The players can go and fcuk off , they will get nothing if things continue to go this way , the money they are being offered has come from OUR pockets. Drogs fans are busting our nuts to save our club , we have families and mortgages aswell ! We are trying our best to do right by the players but some of them are being totally unrealistic and whoever thinks the club is trying to get some advantage by not paying its debts ? grow the fcuk up .

[holidaysong]

If the money being donated by Drogheda fans is just going to go straight into the pockets of players and creditors then I think it could be time to just let the club die and start afresh with the funds that they have gotten together.. It'll be hard to say goodbye to a club you love but at the end of the day it'll be twice as hard to start up a new club if these funds disappear in the examinership process.

[Black and White]

Drogheda town fc with Terry Eviston as manager!;)

[higgins]

The players can go and fcuk off , they will get nothing if things continue to go this way , the money they are being offered has come from OUR pockets.

What did the players say to the option of getting 100% of the money over a longer time period ?

[Martinho II]

fair play to garto who waived the wages owed to him from his contract and had his contract cancelled. the rest of the players should have done the same..

[Lim till i die]

fair play to garto who waived the wages owed to him from his contract and had his contract cancelled. the rest of the players should have done the same..

Well for him when he had a club across the water to walk into.


The players can go and fcuk off

You're right they are entitled to walk.

Mainly because your club treated them like dirt.


they will get nothing if things continue to go this way

Not the point.

I wouldn't have accepted that derisory offer either.

But then I'm really, really, self righteous.


the money they are being offered has come from OUR pockets.

Fairplay and all but what's your point?


Drogs fans are busting our nuts to save our club , we have families and mortgages aswell

You also have a vested interest in Drogs survival that the players have no reason to share.


We are trying our best to do right by the players but some of them are being totally unrealistic and whoever thinks the club is trying to get some advantage by not paying its debts ?

Of course you're getting an advantage.

What's to stop Limerick signing 20 pros on 20 grand a week walking the First Division and then turning around at the end of the year and saying "actually can't pay ye, but don't blame us, we're simple folk, with house, and families, and mortgages, and stuff"

Jesus wept.


grow the fcuk up .

Right On.

Hope it all works out for ye. May I humbly suggest:

NOT GIVING VINCENT HOEY ANYMORE MONEY!!!!

[ndrog]

Players were far from treated like dirt i can assure you of that pal, of course its the point , if they continue this they get nothing .The whole issue is about money is it not ? so how can this not be the point :confused: .Of course we have a vested interest in our club thats what being a fan is all about FFS . I dont agree with the way things were done , im screaming blue murder over it here in Drogheda, but what do WE do to try and save our club then ? I want us to start afresh if we survive this ,the current board can fcuk right off as far as im concerned .Dont care if we have to go down to the a leauge , that would be great as long as the club survives . Thats the bottom line here DUFC will die if things continue in this way .This money is coming for our pockets not the directors , i would love them to produce the money but it aint gonna happen , certain players are acting like total idiots because they feel they were mistreated by the club and we as supporters are gonna pay for this by seeing our club destroyed .

[jinxy lilywhite]

Players were far from treated like dirt i can assure you of that pal, of course its the point , if they continue this they get nothing .The whole issue is about money is it not ? so how can this not be the point :confused: .Of course we have a vested interest in our club thats what being a fan is all about FFS . I dont agree with the way things were done , im screaming blue murder over it here in Drogheda, but what do WE do to try and save our club then ? I want us to start afresh if we survive this ,the current board can fcuk right off as far as im concerned .Dont care if we have to go down to the a leauge , that would be great as long as the club survives . Thats the bottom line here DUFC will die if things continue in this way .This money is coming for our pockets not the directors , i would love them to produce the money but it aint gonna happen , certain players are acting like total idiots because they feel they were mistreated by the club and we as supporters are gonna pay for this by seeing our club destroyed .

ndrog i have a great deal of empathy with your plight but unfortuneately empathy or sympathy don't the bills.
The blame completely lies with the board and nobody else. The players at the end of the day are only holding out for what is theres. God knows when they will ever get another contract like it so personally i would hold out for a better offer.
The board are treading a very tight line here because the director of corporate enforcement can look into their other directorships and assess if those companies are linked to Drogheda United if receivership takes place. The players know that board (personally) have the money and they are waiting for a better offer.
The biggest loser here is Drogheda United because nobody is acting in its interest.

[ndrog]

But surely the point is WE as supporters are killing ourselves to raise the money .The board can rot in hell for all i care , but we are just trying to get on with it .What choice do we have .People are coming on here criticising and having a go like that limerick fan just fcuk me off .

[passerrby]

The self righteous nonsense on here never sesase to amaze me .How the fcuk do you know what supporters thought about the wages players were on ? The players can go and fcuk off , they will get nothing if things continue to go this way , the money they are being offered has come from OUR pockets. Drogs fans are busting our nuts to save our club , we have families and mortgages aswell ! We are trying our best to do right by the players but some of them are being totally unrealistic and whoever thinks the club is trying to get some advantage by not paying its debts ? grow the fcuk up .

your club made promises you could not keep so now live with outcome If my employee failed to pay my salery and put my home at risk and then let me go why should i help him in any way.and if i was a player i would take any promises made by the club with a large pinch of salt so i think they are right you fcuked them over so they are now receprocating.
P.s my point is debatable and does not require me to grow the fcuk up

[pete]

The players should have accepted the money as if the club folds they will most likely not receive a cent assuming the fans withdraw their donations. It matters little that contracts were too big or how suddenly the club ran out of money as that is history now.

I still believe Hoey 'n Co should have left months ago.

[ndrog]

your club made promises you could not keep so now live with outcome If my employee failed to pay my salery and put my home at risk and then let me go why should i help him in any way.and if i was a player i would take any promises made by the club with a large pinch of salt so i think they are right you fcuked them over so they are now receprocating.
P.s my point is debatable and does not require me to grow the fcuk up

seriously are you thick in the head or what ? My club made promises " i " could not keep ? How could i keep these promises ? So you think its fine that the players dont accept the only offer thats on the table and that the club dies ? What have i and my fellow supporters done to deserve that ? We are trying deperately to raise as much money as possible in the worst financial state the country has been in for years ! And a bunch of spoiled fcukers are gonna take my football club away from me .I have stated on numerous occasions that the board were totally and utterly wrong in what they did .Thanksfor your support mate.

[jinxy lilywhite]

seriously are you thick in the head or what ? My club made promises " i " could not keep ? How could i keep these promises ? So you think its fine that the players dont accept the only offer thats on the table and that the club dies ? What have i and my fellow supporters done to deserve that ? We are trying deperately to raise as much money as possible in the worst financial state the country has been in for years ! And a bunch of spoiled fcukers are gonna take my football club away from me .I have stated on numerous occasions that the board were totally and utterly wrong in what they did .Thanksfor your support mate.

Ndrog I don't want to get on your back but do you not think that the good people of drogheda are being used and duped by the current board. They are going around (more or less) begging the people of drogheda and its environs for cash that since they put the club in this mess that they are standing back and letting ordinary people who may be struggling as it is, put more strain on themselves by futily trying to bail out the club and then letting themselves off the hook in smug knowledge that they've really cut their costs at the expense of the club you love.

[Macy]

Professional Players play for money - if you want players who put the club first you should've gone amateur rather than fully pro.

This blame the players mantra is very convenient for Hoey and Co on the board - it'll be them that'll kill the club, not players wanting what they've earned fair and square.

[ndrog]

Ndrog I don't want to get on your back but do you not think that the good people of drogheda are being used and duped by the current board. They are going around (more or less) begging the people of drogheda and its environs for cash that since they put the club in this mess that they are standing back and letting ordinary people who may be struggling as it is, put more strain on themselves by futily trying to bail out the club and then letting themselves off the hook in smug knowledge that they've really cut their costs at the expense of the club you love.


We are gonna start going round in circles tbh .The board fcuked up and they left the supporters to carry the can .Whats done is done , we have no choice but to try and pay the debts if we want the club to survive .The blame game has been done to death at this stage . Reality is if the players done take the money on offer we are dead. end of .

[White Horse]

Reality is if the players done take the money on offer we are dead. end of .

What about the other creditors, including the Revenue? Who will pay them?

If the players do accept the money put up by the fans, the club could still go under.

Would the fans get their money back?

[pete]

What about the other creditors, including the Revenue? Who will pay them?

AFAIK employees are always first in line when companies are bankrupt. Revenue would be next in line.

[pineapple stu]

thats exactly it, its not completely the players fault, hoey et al are infinitely more to blame than the players

btw does anyone have a link to the main drogheda MB?
www.irishfootienetwork.com.

Think it's linked in the stickies thread in this forum.

[passerrby]

you still dont get it the players or at least some of them feel ****ed off with the way they have been treated by your club so are now kicking back and cant be bought with a derisory offer i wish more players around the league stood up to these stupidly run clubs and demanded the money they were promised ,my dearest wish is that you go under in the hope it will bring to an end this continued full time dream of the so called super clubs ..go to the A league and learn the rudiments of club management

[DmanDmythDledge]

What about the other creditors, including the Revenue? Who will pay them?

If the players do accept the money put up by the fans, the club could still go under.

Would the fans get their money back?
I thought DUFC need to pay the players to have any chance of getting a license next season. I thought the only way the club could go under was if the revenue issued a winding up order because of non-payment.

[pineapple stu]

If the players accept even 1% of what's owed them in full and final settlement of outstanding wages, they can get a licence.

The club will go under on Monday if the examiner decides they have no viable future. Different to the way Shels/Cork/Limerick potentially went under in 2006 (which was as you described).

[Black and White]

Ndrog...why arnt you attending this BIG meeting...I have contacts in Drogheda and all fans are welcome....stop fighting with others and go save your club!fight with the players at the meeting instead of biting back at opinions from other clubs fans!;)

[Celdrog]

my dearest wish is that you go under
So this is above any wish for Monaghan United to do well or for you and your family to have good health and happiness.

Your dearest wish is for a football club to go under.....

Weird.. Well actually its incredible.

[Drogman.]

If the players accept even 1% of what's owed them in full and final settlement of outstanding wages, they can get a licence.


And that's the stumbling block at the moment. The players can't agree on what to accept. Some players want to go with what the club have offered, while a few others are digging their heels in and looking for the full whack.

There'll be a statement from the club at lunch time today regarding this.

[randomcomment]

Completely objective point of view:

Fair play to Drogs fans for all their efforts, a lot of credit is due to them.

BUT

These players are FULL TIME PROFESSIONALS. They have held up their end of their contract by attending training and playing matches. The club's end of the contract was to pay them the agreed salary. I

If the club could not guarantee payment of this, why enter into the contract in the first place?

Let's put it into context....

Mr X works for company Y.

His contract is for 50,000 euro per year. He only recieves 45000 of this. The company go bust.

Drogheda will go bust and it will be good enough for the idiots running it. I mean what did Hoey and Byrne think was going to happen is Plan A didn't work out?

The angel fcuking Gabriel????


No disrespect intended to the ordinary fans

[Drogman.]

Completely objective point of view:

Fair play to Drogs fans for all their efforts, a lot of credit is due to them.

BUT

These players are FULL TIME PROFESSIONALS. They have held up their end of their contract by attending training and playing matches. The club's end of the contract was to pay them the agreed salary. I

If the club could not guarantee payment of this, why enter into the contract in the first place?

Let's put it into context....

Mr X works for company Y.

His contract is for 50,000 euro per year. He only recieves 45000 of this. The company go bust.

Drogheda will go bust and it will be good enough for the idiots running it. I mean what did Hoey and Byrne think was going to happen is Plan A didn't work out?

The angel fcuking Gabriel????


No disrespect intended to the ordinary fans

That's fair enough, and that opinion has been expressed a number of times by fans, like me, who have been attending the meetings with the club over the past 4/5 weeks.

Now the current board of directors will not be running the club next season if we survive, and that has been made clear to us.

At the moment, we're not concerned about what was done wrong in the past, that'll be for another day to review, we are just concerned about saving the club and then working on building a sound foundation that will last long into the future.

So can everyone who wants to bitch about the board please let it go, as you all sound like a broken record at this stage. The issue has been dealt with and now saving the club is the priority.

[Juanace]

Looks like your close to done.

http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2009/0106/drogheda_athlonetown.html

[ndrog]

more nonsense reporting , there was no squad members at the meeting last night whatsoever :rolleyes:

[OneRedArmy]

Is the money to the Revenue available to be paid?

If you haven't even raised that yet what the players will or won't settle for is immaterial.

Hard to escape the view, as expressed on here by many posters, that you have wasted 4 weeks that could've productively been used to start from scratch again.

[passerrby]

So this is above any wish for Monaghan United to do well or for you and your family to have good health and happiness.

Your dearest wish is for a football club to go under.....

Weird.. Well actually its incredible.

I have many a wish amoung them is peace on earth goodwill to all men Except galway and also that clubs with a puffed up idea of themselves go puff and if you bothered to print the rest of the line you would have undestood me which is bad management will see you club go bust full stop with no get out clauses then and only then will clubs stop spending what the cant afford
i would have thought a football supp would have understood that .. then again maybe not
also seeing a league of Ireland club go under can be seen as a healthy thing and not like wishing the pox on someone ,drogs will return stronger and more wiser or have you not heard of the circle of life ....i think its on dvd

[Drogman.]

Is the money to the Revenue available to be paid?

If you haven't even raised that yet what the players will or won't settle for is immaterial.

Hard to escape the view, as expressed on here by many posters, that you have wasted 4 weeks that could've productively been used to start from scratch again.

Well the money available is what we have at the moment, so a portion of that will go towards paying the revenue among others.

The examimer still has to do his scheme of arrangement based upon what is available, so that is what was happening this morning and what the outcome of that will be, I don't know but I'm not holding my breath.

[Mr A]

Statement:


Statement from The Drogheda United Emergency Committee
on 06 Jan 2009 03:01 by TC
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009.





The Drogheda United Emergency Committee met on Monday January 5th 2009 to discuss the Examinership process involving Drogheda United football Club.



The Committee, having canvassed opinion widely among supporters and contributors to the emergency fund, decided tht they had no option but to again offer the club�s players the previous financial settlement that was rejected on Friday January 2nd 2009.



This decision was arrived at by the Committee based in the knowledge that no other funding is available to the club other than that raised by fans and the people of the town and surrounding areas by general appeal since the Public Meeting held on December 3rd 2008.




The committee representative Dermot Mc Kenna spoke with Stephen Mc Guinness of the PFAI this morning to further explain that this money has come from general fundraising and donations by the fans and friends of Drogheda United. He also stated �it is not possible to increase this offer in any way and to do so would jeopardise the chances of Drogheda United�s future participation in the League of Ireland�.

The Emergency Committee have set a deadline for acceptance of 5pm tomorrow evening and is asking the players to seriously consider the terms of the offer.


Jim McArdle

[higgins]

Can anyone answer me why the option of paying the players what they are owed over a longer timeframe isn't been looked into ?

At Shels we paid all the players back over time.
Players will accept this!! ,,, they have to

[Schumi]

The players are quoted in today's Times as saying that they'd accept the current offer if they got more money over the next year or so. Whether Drogheda will have enough money next season to pay them is another matter.

[higgins]

Well that is Droghedas problem for making silly agreements.

They should be made to pay back everything that is owed over the next few seasons and except the problems that go along with that i.e. your expenditure will be restricted over the coming seasons.

I think it's called tough sh!t...