League in Chaos

[soccerc]

Resignations at Citywest Meeting (http://www.soccercentral.ie/viewstory.asp?id=11870&mainheading=Eircom&viewstory=yes)

[BannsideBoy]

what is it with football on this island, up here its just as farcical and childish, if not worse.

[A face]

Well really, football fans and everyone involved all the way down through the ranks in the system are to blame aswell because by all of us tolerating it, we are saying that it is OK for this to happen.

[Robinski]

I think a full merger with the FAI can only be a good thing. Dillon has done a crap job, time to try something new?

[tiktok]

Eircom clubs spending €20million a year

FAI Chief Executive Fran Rooney stated last night at a 90-minute media briefing in Dublin that he believes eircom League clubs are currently ‘spending close to €20 million per annum’ in order to survive in a domestic football scene that he feels is 'undercapitalised'.

Rooney outlined some of his and the FAI’s plans for the future of the game in Ireland at Jury’s hotel, just hours after the controversial resignation of League chairman Brendan Dillon and General manager Tommy Allen.

According to Rooney, a former manager of the Republic of Ireland ladies side, "the league receives more in development and capital grants than all the other strands of Irish football put together. We cannot run away from the fact that many clubs are struggling on a day to day basis with financial difficulties and this is a real problem. Fundamental to a better eircom League is the need for further investment and incentives."

"That’s why we exist and we need to continually keep our focus on this issue. This brings with it a duty to support the game to the very best of our ability and for the betterment of all who are involved in the game, not just one League. We need to raise the revenue streams significantly across the board by way of a possible Football Trust, increased TV deals, national and local sponsors and by working directly with the clubs," he insisted.

He envisages the setting up of two working groups to include club representatives, a fans’ group, the PFAI, the Irish Sports Council, the SWAI (Soccer Writers’ Assoc. of Ireland) and general sponsors.

Suggestions of a break down in communication between the association and eircom League officials were rubbished by the Chief Executive, who claimed that his “door is always open and communication and discussion are essential.” He also added that a framework to optimise communication within the FAI has received favourably support from the local leagues and affiliates.

"We are working very hard to include all strands of the game in Ireland. One of my ongoing priorities is to include the voices of the grass roots in what we do and how we shape the game into the future.” Eircom League officials are due to reconvene for a meeting later today to discuss an eventful past few days.

from www.rte.ie

he's talking a good game anyway, like the idea of fans being involved. i'm actually starting to like Frano.

[patsh]

He seems to be intent on a dictatorship...
He should be given the chance to do things his way though, he seems to feel he can get clubs better run, more money coming in and the whole thing on a more sound business-like footing.

[Robinski]

I like his style. He's certainly shaking things up in Merrion Square. All his proposals are positive ones.

I don't think he's just mouthing off, if he was you wouldn't have people like Dillon and Allen resigning. I don't know why they are so opposed to changes that need to be implemented.

Dare I say it; do you think that we may have a CEO in the FAI that actually cares about the eircom League?

[pineapple stu]

Originally posted by Robinski
Dillon has done a crap job, time to try something new?

Any reasons? From what he's saying, he's been denied info at every turn and the FAI have been undermining him from the start. Fairly hard to make progress under those circumstances. He was elected unanimously (I think - also think there was someone went up against him late on), so the clubs had confidence in him. He had to resign from the UCD committee after nearly 20 years and almost our entire league history to take up the position, so he obviously wanted the job and knew what he wanted to do with it.

Don't think we're ever going to know exactly what was going on though...

[paudie]

Given Rooney's background in business it was inevitable that he would have his own ideas and try to push them through. After all that's why he was appointed.

I don't know anyting about the guys that resigned but Rooney is full time and is being paid big bucks so I'd say give him his way for a couple of years and see what happens.

He couldn't be any worse than the people there previously.

Heard on the radio this morning that Bohs and shels have backed Rooney in the hope that they'll get big slices of any FAI grants flying around and that will help them out of bother.

I doubt in junior/schoolboy leagues would fancy a lot of FAI money keeping these clubs afloat.

[Robinski]

Originally posted by pineapple stu
Any reasons? From what he's saying, he's been denied info at every turn and the FAI have been undermining him from the start. Fairly hard to make progress under those circumstances. He was elected unanimously (I think - also think there was someone went up against him late on), so the clubs had confidence in him. He had to resign from the UCD committee after nearly 20 years and almost our entire league history to take up the position, so he obviously wanted the job and knew what he wanted to do with it.

Don't think we're ever going to know exactly what was going on though...

I think that goes both ways re the denial of information.

The clash of personalities started when Rooney allowed Bohs and Pat's to appeal the 48 hour rule after the FAI Cup Semi Final replay. Dillon wanted the Friday league games to go ahead and Rooney (rightly so) allowed them to be played at a later date so the teams could rest. That just sounds like common sense to me.

[Macy]

Originally posted by pineapple stu
Any reasons?
How about loading the fixtures for the tail end of the season, rather than getting the midweeks out of the way when the weather was good?

[DruggyDrog]

League in chaos????

Definitely not, this is a blessing in disguise. Time for the league to be run properly, the clubs are trying to become more professional so it is only right that a bit of professionalism is evident in the running of the league.

Whether the FAI are the people to do it, who knows, but one thing for sure is that someone new is needed.

[Robinski]

Originally posted by DruggyDrog
League in chaos????

Definitely not, this is a blessing in disguise. Time for the league to be run properly, the clubs are trying to become more professional so it is only right that a bit of professionalism is evident in the running of the league.

Whether the FAI are the people to do it, who knows, but one thing for sure is that someone new is needed.

I couldn't agree with you more DruggyDrog.

[pineapple stu]

Originally posted by Macy
How about loading the fixtures for the tail end of the season, rather than getting the midweeks out of the way when the weather was good?

Fair enough, if that was his doing. Just hate seeing posts going "He's crap" and not giving any reasons - that's going to tabloid journalism level!

Don't know enough to form an opinion either way, just wanted to get a reason or two for the comments!

[Robinski]

Originally posted by pineapple stu
Fair enough, if that was his doing. Just hate seeing posts going "He's crap" and not giving any reasons - that's going to tabloid journalism level!

Don't know enough to form an opinion either way, just wanted to get a reason or two for the comments!

Reasons:

1. Badly planned fixtures (as previously mentioned above)
2. Trying to force the league matches to go ahead after the FAI Cup Semi Final replay - within 48 hours.
3. Not promoting the league enough.
4. Not promoting the league enough.
5. Not promoting the league enough.

Ok, I'll tell you what I'll do; I take back the 'he's crap' remark and replace it with 'he's gone'. Either way I'm happy.

[tiktok]

Conor Brophy wrote a great piece in the Tribune yesterday on Rooney (Business, pg. 3).

In a nutshell I think (dictator or no) he's good for the FAI, he's a former player and I don't doubt his committment to the EL. He's been good to the fans so far, and seems to want their involvment on a variety of levels.

With so many sponsorship contracts up for renewal (and the stadium fiasco going on) I'm increasingly inclined to believe that he's the man for the job.

[pete]

Dictatorship is what football in this country needs. Few years of executive decision making would be a vast improvement as the buck would stop at 1 desk.

Was amazed to hear recently that eirocm give the league almost €1million a year but is more or less all spent on wages!!! What do those people do?

[dean02]

Lets try to be clear on things...

During the summer, CEO pushed for salary package to be linked to revenue he brings in. Dillon and some others were concerned about this.

CEO threatened to have home games in UK, because FIFA 'Told' him temp seats in Lansdowne not allowed - FIFA never made a decision on this - so why the lie to us the Fans?

Eddie Cox, commercial manager quitely goes away from Merrion Square. Mr. Cox had his name on many commercial deals - whose name is on them now?

Dillon and Allen resign - these guys served Irish football and seemed to be highly respected - why force them out? The eircom league is one of the biggest recipients of funds!

None of this is because CEO cares about the eircom league. CEO cares about the percentage due to him on revenue he brings in,plain and simple - try to see it for what it really is....

His style, (by not telling Mr. Dillon and Mr. Allen about what he was up to effectively kept them in the dark - for the good of Irish Football?) the way he said "his door was always open" sadly conflicts with the reality - Remember Fahy? being locked out at the start?

[dean02]

Good to the fans? Threatening to take home games to the UK? How is that good for the fans? Correct me if I'm wrong but if I have to pay for a ticket for me and my son to see the boys in green play at Lansdowne Road, then thats much cheaper than having to get a plane, boat, accommodation in the UK + plus the price of tickets - purely because Rooney wants more money. FIFA never said that temp seats could NOT be used - this was contrived by Rooney to agressively get his way...

Furthermore, that edition of the Tribune was the only Irish Sunday paper not to cover the fact that Dillon and Allen had resigned when every other paper considered this to be important.

[Robinski]

Wow! dean02, did the CEO do something to you personally?

The salary package is, I think, irrelevant, as long as the man does his job and promotes not only the eL but also the national team. Three high profile home fixtures over the coming months, with a good allocation for eL clubs (not sure what it is yet) is not to be sneered at.

Regarding the 'threat' to play home matches in UK, surely you must have seen that this was just a ploy to scare the government (by loss of revenue) into making a decision re the national stadium, which as we all know is being made today. Good work I say.

The CEO played the domestic game, of course he has a soft spot for it. Who doesn't who has/is involved.

I don't know about you but when I leave work and go on holidays out of the country, I generally clear up my work space and lock everything way. One year I came back and my PC was gone!

[Macy]

Originally posted by dean02
Eddie Cox, commercial manager quitely goes away from Merrion Square. Mr. Cox had his name on many commercial deals - whose name is on them now?

Dillon and Allen resign - these guys served Irish football and seemed to be highly respected - why force them out? The eircom league is one of the biggest recipients of funds!
If the commercial manager was so good, why is the association relatively broke?

What exactly did Dillon and Allen do for the league? Bar manage another fixture fiasco at the end of the season....

The eL fans section at internationals may be a sop, but it's better than what we got previously. More prize money would give more rewards to the league, and if the millon that was spent of wages can be freed up by a merger so be it.

At the moment, the FAI and the eL suffer because there's too many chiefs - if it takes Rooney, whatever his motives, to do change this so be it.

[dean02]

No, CEO has not done anything to me personally!

Just signed up and and am trying to contribute my views. I'm worried but I hope I'm wrong. If Dillon, who I believe is a seasoned football adminstrator expressed concern over the package, then I think it is not irrelevant - where does the money come from?

Agreed, recent football package announced is good, especially looking forward to seeing Brazil. Prices are set to guarantee a full house, but I hear that the Brazil match may only break even. So perhaps thats now to keep the fans happy but what about the all important revenue?

As for scaring the government, I don't think Bertie and the gang are that suseptable. It did scare me however. If FIFA never made such a decision why threaten the fans, who are the bread and butter? This one really hurts.

Point taken, about tidying up work space etc., but one of the rules of the FAI was that when the CEO is away, there needs to be an acting CEO/head man - this makes sense. I believe Fahy was that man at the time, whether good or bad and I believe the door to the office was locked when Fahy went to fulfil his FAI duties. The point I was making was that CEO quoted that he had an open door policy, to me that means he's available for consultation, the tone is inclusive and that there exists an air of transparency - when from what we saw a couple a weeks ago it seems to me he clearly has not been available, inclusive or perhaps Dillon and Allen are telling us pork pies.

As I said, I hope I'm wrong, I really do hope he does a good job. A purge was required and he started that, I just hope that the guy is beyond reproach and holds the office with the utmost integrity.

Remember football belongs to you and me, we're trusting the CEO with future of our game. What I'm reading into the situation is that there may be other usual and old FAI Blazer motives at play, namely money and power. Hopefully he is above that, that he is the saviour of irish football, and that he creates an excellent organisation but if he's not where does that leave us?

By the way which domestic teams did he play for?

[dean02]

Originally posted by Macy
If the commercial manager was so good, why is the association relatively broke?

What exactly did Dillon and Allen do for the league? Bar manage another fixture fiasco at the end of the season....

The eL fans section at internationals may be a sop, but it's better than what we got previously. More prize money would give more rewards to the league, and if the millon that was spent of wages can be freed up by a merger so be it.

At the moment, the FAI and the eL suffer because there's too many chiefs - if it takes Rooney, whatever his motives, to do change this so be it.

You hit the nail on the head. I can only assume the Blazer brigade got the FAI into a relatively broke situation. I don't really know how good the commercial manager was but perhaps there is a limit to the money available to FAI through its commercial relationships? We haven't qualified for Portugal so extra revenues from that are non-existent, who is going to provide more money? If Lansdowne gets the nod the FAI will have to cough up €80 million.

I agree that more rewards to the league would be good but is it really sustainable? Did running the eL cost that much that merging it would allow for it to be run by the FAI and save enough to allow a prizefund of a million a year? Whoever runs the eL, it will still cost probably a similar amount to what was being spent already.

I don't really know about what Dillon has done for the eL (and yeah the fixture thing was a bit of a joke). I did read that he was well respected by the eircom league clubs - so he must have been allright at some stage - anyone out there know more about Dillon?

[Schumi]

Originally posted by dean02
I hear that the Brazil match may only break even. So perhaps thats now to keep the fans happy but what about the all important revenue? Revenue comes from the other two matches having much lower costs and also being sold out due to the way the tickets are being sold.

[dean02]

Originally posted by Schumi
Revenue comes from the other two matches having much lower costs and also being sold out due to the way the tickets are being sold.

Fair enough, any idea on what sort of money are we talking about for each game?

[Robinski]

Originally posted by dean02

By the way which domestic teams did he play for?

Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick's Athletic. Home Farm in the Leinster Senior League.

[dean02]

Originally posted by Robinski
Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick's Athletic. Home Farm in the Leinster Senior League.

Your kidding me! Sounds like he was a seasoned journeyman. At what level? and what era? Any takers? Anyone play with him?

[Robinski]

I think he finished playing in 1998/1999.

[TommyT]

I agree with macy.

And taking into account the views of ''seasoned football administrators'' doesn't wash with me, these cnuts have a culture of incompetance, political play acting and sleaze. **** em all out.

[dean02]

Originally posted by Robinski
I think he finished playing in 1998/1999.

He must be in his fifties? If so, he then finished playing in mid/late forties -from a league of ireland perspective perhaps same era as Noel King (Rovers)?, Dermot Keely (Rovers)? Jameson (Bohs)? - how come we haven't heard of him? Any takers? Rovers Fans? Bohs fans? Home Farm fans?

[Robinski]

Originally posted by dean02
He must be in his fifties? If so, he then finished playing in mid/late forties -from a league of ireland perspective perhaps same era as Noel King (Rovers)?, Dermot Keely (Rovers)? Jameson (Bohs)? - how come we haven't heard of him? Any takers? Rovers Fans? Bohs fans? Home Farm fans?

He's in his late forties, so I guess that means he finished playing in his early forties. I think this was due to his commitments to Baltimore than anything else.

I thought all this was all well documented when his appointment was announced last year.

Is anyone else surprised at this information?

[pineapple stu]

Originally posted by dean02
Anyone out there know more about Dillon?

He's been involved with us for 20 years - I have a programme from Everton-UCD in 1984 where it mentions the students putting in work behind the scenes, and he's one. Ran the Superleague in UCD as well, but had to leave the club to take up his position. He's a solicitor, so I presume he wasn't afraid of having a few arguments with Rooney if the need arose!

[dean02]

Originally posted by Robinski
He's in his late forties, so I guess that means he finished playing in his early forties. I think this was due to his commitments to Baltimore than anything else.

I thought all this was all well documented when his appointment was announced last year.

Is anyone else surprised at this information?

hey Robinski, your badge is a Bohs one, can you not tell me his Bohs history?

[Macy]

Originally posted by dean02
how come we haven't heard of him? Any takers? Rovers Fans? Bohs fans? Home Farm fans?
Never saw him play, but possibly because he wasn't that good?

[dean02]

Originally posted by Macy
Never saw him play, but possibly because he wasn't that good?

Quite Possible - Just don't know, ex Shamrock Rovers, ex Bohs etc sort of has a certain spin to it though? and this is what is worrying me. All the spin!

[drummerboy]

It was before my time but Fran Rooney managed Drumcondra in the 80s for a short time, in the Amateur League.

[Robinski]

He managed the Irish Women’s team for a while too.

He was well before my time in Bohs and I never really bothered to look into it, but if you want more info, come down to Dalymount tonight and ask the man yourself. He's doing a Q&A session down there from 8.30pm this evening and admission is free and open to all.

[pete]

Rooneys threat about playing international matches abroad was a brilliant media campaign to force the governments hand on the stadium issue. IMO he wasn't lying & not really telling the truth either but really embarished the govt into a decision & was about time the FAI used its clout similiar to the GAA.

The eL is a complete shambles, the FAI could hardly do a worse job.

I heard recently the eL gets 1 million or something sponsorship from eircom yet prize money probably 50-100k for the whole league. Anyone want to try list the number of fulltime employees of the league paid for by the sponsorship money? Does the league really need those people? Surely a lot of those roles could be combined with FAI roles?

[dean02]

Originally posted by Robinski
He managed the Irish Women’s team for a while too.

He was well before my time in Bohs and I never really bothered to look into it, but if you want more info, come down to Dalymount tonight and ask the man yourself. He's doing a Q&A session down there from 8.30pm this evening and admission is free and open to all.

Couldn't get there (but thanks for the offer) - how did it go?