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A face
20/01/2009, 1:25 PM
Finn Harps chairman hits out at false rumours


Finn Harps chairman Derek Wilkinson has hit out at what he calls false and malicious rumours about the club's fundraising campaign.

Wilkinson says there have been claims circulating locally that the club does not have a financial problem and recent fundraising appeals are only a new way to supplement the side's budget.


Read more at www.breakingnews.ie (http://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/soccer/mhsnojeykfey/)

Mr A
20/01/2009, 1:36 PM
They (the board) dug the hole themselves when the original club statement implied that we wouldn't get a license unless the money was raised and then having to clarify that a license was never likely to be a problem.

There's no doubt we have serious financial problems, but the bad feeling from last year's insanity was always like to remain while the same people stayed in charge at the club.*

*(Note Derek is not included here, having only recently returned to the board)

OneRedArmy
20/01/2009, 2:19 PM
Club vehemently denies it doesn't have financial problems.......


:D

Yet another "only in the League of Ireland".

cestlavie
20/01/2009, 4:51 PM
The Finn Harps board are a joke, they risk getting no funding this year from many die hard FH fans.

Mad Moose
20/01/2009, 8:56 PM
The Finn Harps board are a joke, they risk getting no funding this year from many die hard FH fans.

To be honest I cannot defend the board here and while I have been unhappy with the board of the club for some 5 years and quite vocal on it I never did see the day when things would sink so low and the board would lose just about everyone it is supposed to represent.

It took many many years for the club to find a footing further to the debt accrued from the days of Charlie McKeever's charge and took so much hard work and seasons in the doldrums. You expect a club to learn. You expect a club to breathe a heavy sigh of relief and to thank those who helped them survive. What you don't expect is absolute recklessness as we seen with the budget provided for Paul Hegarty last season. Hegarty would have been better served in emptying that budget to the River Finn than do as he did and squander ridiculous money on absolute tripe. And to think he was allowed to demand a budget for this season. Sad sad days at a club whose fans deserve so much more. The board of the club have always frustrated me. Ego's in a small town such as Ballybofey will always appear much bigger than they ever could be. Unfortunately it appears there is nobody to step in to replace the current incompetents.

Mr A
20/01/2009, 10:21 PM
On a slightly more positive note:

http://www.finnharps.com/LegendsGameManU.htm

Mr Maroon
20/01/2009, 10:43 PM
On a slightly more positive note:

http://www.finnharps.com/LegendsGameManU.htm

I wouldn't be so sure that hosting a "legends game" is a positive thing. It sure wasn't for us!!

cheifo
21/01/2009, 3:02 AM
I wouldn't be so sure that hosting a "legends game" is a positive thing. It sure wasn't for us!!

Last years Liverpool Legends game, despite bad weather was a great crack and nightime function was even better.
From what I gather we made some decent wedge out of it too.

Sam_Heggy
21/01/2009, 9:04 AM
I wouldn't be so sure that hosting a "legends game" is a positive thing. It sure wasn't for us!!

We made €20k on it last year and only for the weather we could have easily got an extra 1000 folk through the gate denying us an extra €15k.

Mr A
21/01/2009, 9:34 AM
I wouldn't be so sure that hosting a "legends game" is a positive thing. It sure wasn't for us!!

I think GUFC made a misjudgement in having a game between Liverpool and Man Utd Legends. This made expenses high and was never likely to enthuse the club's own support base.

By bringing one team and making sure some of the bigger names are involved and giving people a chance to see Harps heroes of yesteryear again this format certainly worked very well for Harps previously and should do so again.

pineapple stu
21/01/2009, 4:26 PM
Didn't Galway just take the whole income from the Legends game and use it to pay off their debts, while neglecting to pay the expenses from the game? That's how I took it at the time anyways.

E20k is a nice bit of money. How did that split between sponsorship and ticket sales?

higgins
21/01/2009, 5:17 PM
You couldnt lose from the man utd liverpool legends deal..
You got a % of the sales without paying any costs!

Battery Rover
21/01/2009, 6:41 PM
You couldnt lose from the man utd liverpool legends deal..
You got a % of the sales without paying any costs!

You could easily lose a lot. I was considering this for Athlone Town and it works out at a considerable sum up front along with a percentage of the ticket sales. The only way to make money from these events is through the after match dinner and in the current climate I wouldn't like to be trying to sell tables of 10 at €1000 a piece

You are probably looking at the first 45k from the match going in expenses and then 50% of the corporate lunch going to fund that.

Mad Moose
21/01/2009, 7:10 PM
Didn't Galway just take the whole income from the Legends game and use it to pay off their debts, while neglecting to pay the expenses from the game? That's how I took it at the time anyways.

E20k is a nice bit of money. How did that split between sponsorship and ticket sales?

I was going to comment on that at the time of it been posted but couldn't remember the exact detail of it. I remember hearing of the legends coming chasing for the money they were owed from the game. This was revealed at the time of Galway Utd's financial woes this season and the release of players.

Mr A
22/01/2009, 9:35 AM
If I remember correctly from our first legends game the gate and sponsorship essentially paid the expenses and the dinner afterwards was all profit. Had the weather on the day been better there would have been a fair bit more profit too. For the second event rather than a Gala dinner for €100 it's a buffet dinner for €25 in a much bigger venue so hopefully it will work out at least as well as the first.

The angle the lads use here is to make it a real family event with lots of activities for kids. It will get a lot of new people into Finn Park, provides excellent PR locally and might just tempt lapsed fans back to see Harpsmen of their time play again- and who knows they might come back again. Plus we make money from the premiership loving brigade.