Drogheda to become a "Community Club"

[centre mid]

whatever that is http://www.claretandblueclub.com/
Hope it works.

[SeanDrog]

it looks like they r handing over control to the C&B club candb.ie

I will wait for the details before making my judgement

[centre mid]

Is the claret & blue similar to Foras or is it just a name change for the current owners?

[SeanDrog]

a goup of supporters set it up to raise funds for the club - over 200 members at 5/wk at the moment - give discounts in local shops and monthly prizes (check out the website). So not a trust like FORAS - but maybe it is to now become one.

[centre mid]

Sounds like a good idea, theres not a huge amount of detail in the press release but watch this space I suppose.

[fionnsci]

copy, paste anyone?

[White Horse]

I'm not sure whether the recognition that Drogheda United is not a viable commercial operation is good news.

However, I wish the fans the best of luck with running the club.

[centre mid]

Full Statement


Wednesday, 14th October 2009 13:00

The Future is Claret & Blue!

The Board of Drogheda United FC today announced its intention to transform Drogheda United into a community club, owned and directed by the recently formed and successful Claret & Blue Club.

Like many businesses in the region, Drogheda United has been badly affected by the economic downturn. However, despite the challenges both on and off the pitch, the club enjoys massive support in the community, typified by the unprecedented fundraising effort that saved the club from extinction at the turn of the year. Newly appointed General Manager Sean Connolly said that the Board had in recent weeks considered ways to restore the vitality that surrounded the club before it entered examinership. “Various options for running a club successfully were examined and, of those, the community ownership model as exemplified by Shamrock Rovers stood head and shoulders above the rest. Having come to that conclusion, it has been decided to place the club on a non-profit footing with all revenues being vested in the club. A transfer of ownership of Drogheda United to the Claret & Blue Club would give existing and new members a direct say in how the football club is run and would in effect entrust this vital community asset to its supporters. There’s a lot of hard work ahead but the people of Drogheda proved during examinership that they are ready to stand up and be counted”. The Claret & Blue Club was formed in June 2009 as a means of bringing a constant, guaranteed revenue stream into Drogheda United FC. It has rapidly evolved into the most innovative fundraising initiative in the League of Ireland today. With a membership already in excess of 200, a trebling of this number would provide the strong platform needed to smooth the transfer of ownership to the supporters of DUFC. Members currently receive discounts in 35 local
businesses in the Drogheda area, and are entered into a monthly prize draw. As an additional incentive to join, main Claret & Blue Club sponsors Panorama Holidays have also offered the first 500 members a €100 holiday voucher.

Over the coming weeks the club will consult with supporters on how best to manage the transfer of ownership.
Lifelong supporter and major shareholder in Drogheda United Vincent Hoey said, “The club empathises with the many people and businesses who are struggling to cope with the effects of the recession. We intend to show leadership and to work more closely with the business community, the local authority, the Chamber of Commerce and all citizens to the benefit of the club and the region’s economy”. Mr. Hoey added that significant changes to the structure and administration of the club have already been implemented with the recent appointment of General Manager Sean Connolly and Commercial Manager Peter Halpin.

In order to secure the immediate future of the club, a “Legacy” initiative has also today been unveiled under which a number of business leaders will be invited to provide additional financial support and become life guardians of the club. This scheme is targeted at those who recognise that this important community asset is an integral part of the social fabric of the region.
Mr. Connolly said, “The support of local business leaders will be essential in allowing us the time to effect a smooth transition of ownership to the people. I am confident that we can reinvigorate the club over the coming weeks and months so that supporters can look forward to a strong and thriving club achieving further glory for the town and its environs.”

Press release ends.

[placid casual]

Best of luck in your endeavours::ball:
The more teams that are well run and with supporter involvement can only be of benefit to the league in general.

[micls]

Sounds brilliant. wish we had the same chance, best of luck with it.

[Mr A]

Interesting development. I would encourage those involved to think very carefully about the structure and strategy of the new setup right at the start. Harps set up the Co-Op without really detailing any of that adequately and it has been part of the club not achieving its potential.

[blackholesun]

“Various options for running a club successfully were examined and, of those, the community ownership model as exemplified by Shamrock Rovers stood head and shoulders above the rest.

I wish them well but just because you become a members club doesnt mean the whole thing wont end up in a mess, just look at Bohs. But I think its great to see another club trying to do things right. Private ownership has failed Irish football in the past too many times. Hopefully other clubs e.g. Cork and Pats will follow suit in the short to medium term.

bhs

[ClaretnBlue]

There is a false percetion at the moment regarding this development . The Claret and Blue club is a 200 club that puts revenue into the club at the moment. It is not the Supporters club which comes under the heading of DUISC. Supporters representatives have had no formal discussions as yet with the club on this initiative. The directors seemingly have no intention of letting go the reins but want the running of the club under the stewardship of the Claret and Blue. It remains to be seen what role supporters would have in this.

[brianw82]

Best of luck to Drogheda. They seem to have learned their lesson from the financial issues last season. Hopefully this will allow them to get back on a sound footing.

[BohDiddley]

Great initiative. Best of luck to Drogheda with it.

[Nesta99]

Supporters representatives have had no formal discussions as yet with the club on this initiative. The directors seemingly have no intention of letting go the reins but want the running of the club under the stewardship of the Claret and Blue. It remains to be seen what role supporters would have in this.

This is what ive heard myself, and that there is a bit of railroading by the club. If it is true that Drogheda United have revealed these intentions having not discussed it with supporter groups then this opinion stands up. The current Directors hardly plan to sell\hand over the club to supporters, stay in their current role while handing the responsibility and liability to the community??! Why not just be honest and say you lot give us money so you can own the club, but we will keep our jobs and decide where to spend your money - not at all like the Rovers model!

[SMorgan]

Best of luck and hopefully Connolly will show Drogheda fans more respect than he showed Dundalk fans who 'owned' the club when he was the CEO in Oriel Park. I have my doubts about this annoucement. But time will tell.

[sheao]

Sounds great, best of luck to and i hope it will work for Drogheda. It would be something that us all down here in Cork would love .

[tiktok]

There is a false percetion at the moment regarding this development . The Claret and Blue club is a 200 club that puts revenue into the club at the moment. It is not the Supporters club which comes under the heading of DUISC. Supporters representatives have had no formal discussions as yet with the club on this initiative. The directors seemingly have no intention of letting go the reins but want the running of the club under the stewardship of the Claret and Blue. It remains to be seen what role supporters would have in this.

So they want you to do all the work, run the club but they want to retain 100% ownership.
Approach with great caution.

[RoversHead]

Im confused as to what degree of involvement the fans have in this initiative.Is it to be a members club with an elected board?cos anything else wont do ,Drogs fans have a great opportunity here to take total controll and build a good community club,best of luck.

[ndrog]

This has to seen as a positive step and hopefully it will go down the road of a supporters owned and run club . But its the first step but a huge one as far as im concerned .The club has treated supporters like crap for years and even after we saved the club we were still looked upon as paying customers with no valid opinions . Have to say im schocked that the statement has come out at all .Exciting times ahead :D

[Horus]

So they want you to do all the work, run the club but they want to retain 100% ownership.
Approach with great caution.

Tiktok, I can assure you that it is 100% incorrect.

The directors of Drogheda United are willing to relinquish all control of the club on the understanding that the Claret & Blue Club can attract sufficient members and thus generate sufficient revenue to run the club in the Shamrock Rovers style model. The Claret & Blue Club currently comprises 200 members from a cross-section of supporters and is therefore seen as the logical vehicle to take over ownership and administer the club. This of course will only happen if there is a will on behalf of supporters. In effect a very, very small group of people have been doing all the work to date, voluntarily and willingly, but this is not a way to run any organisation in the long term and it is now time for all those interested in maintaining football in Drogheda to play their part in creating a framework within which the club can be run on a self-sustaining basis.

We are in the unique position in Drogheda where the directors are offering their shareholding to a body that it is hoped can, if not immediately, then as soon as is practicable be changed into a supporters trust type body because it already fulfills two of the criteria required i.e. it has a substantial number of members and these members are contributing funds. Put simply in order to do this, people and money are needed to run the club and the Claret & Blue Club already goes some way towards being able to provide both and can be grown if there is a will by the supporters to go this route. The directors will facilitate this in any way that they can. In other words they will stay as long as they are required and will assist with both the legalities of this process and the smooth transition. We have this opportunity now and we must make sure that it is used wisely for the benefit of the club.

[Ezeikial]

I really hope that this is an initiative that works well for Drogheda United, but I would suggest large dollops of caution and maybe even some scepticism from Drogheda supporters.

Phrases like "community club", "restoring vitality", "non-profit basis", "in effect entrust this vital community asset to its supporters", are all positive sound-bytes but it is not apparent that the strategy and detail are in any way clear.

It may be a warning sign that the announcement is made without full discussions and agreements reached: "Over the coming weeks the club will consult with supporters on how best to manage the transfer of ownership"

I can understand how Cork City fans in particular would see this as a positive route given the current circumstances there. Members clubs or co-ops are not automatically the best or only way forward. The devil may be in the detail!

[Dunny]

Best of luck to them with this.

[SkStu]

excellent news for Drogheda, a club and fans i have a lot of time for. Best of luck with it and ignore the begrudgers.

[tiktok]

Tiktok, I don't know where you gleaned that information but I can assure you that it is 100% incorrect.

That was what I read into the post from ClaretNBlue that I quoted, which I took [maybe mistook] as an 'official' Claret and Blue Club comment? If I picked that up wrong I apologise without hesitation.

If the rest of what you say in your post is accurate then it's a fantastic development, and great recognition of the abilities and efforts that the CandB people put in, I won't claim to know them, but from the interactions I've have with a few of them, I can't think of more committed people to the Drogs cause.

This can only be a positive development for Drogs if all parties are truly committed to it.

[Macy]

I'd be very worried about this coming from the directors rather than the supporters - they'll decide when and how they'll hand it over, and in the mean time they'll just take the money and do want they want?

I don't really see how the number of members is all that relevant to be honest, unless there's a lot of subvention going in by the current board. If it's already running based on the income coming into the club, there's nothing to stop it going over as soon as the legalities are sorted.

As for the structure, that should be up to the members of the claret and blue club - if the club aren't 100% hands off that structure and it's funds, it should remove itself immediately. Otherwise I'd be treating this with a large degree of cynicism.

[Horus]

That was what I read into the post from ClaretNBlue that I quoted, which I took [maybe mistook] as an 'official' Claret and Blue Club comment? If I picked that up wrong I apologise without hesitation.

If the rest of what you say in your post is accurate then it's a fantastic development, and great recognition of the abilities and efforts that the CandB people put in, I won't claim to know them, but from the interactions I've have with a few of them, I can't think of more committed people to the Drogs cause.

This can only be a positive development for Drogs if all parties are truly committed to it.

Tiktok - I saw where you got it and already edited my post. Cheers for your support.

Macy - have you the first idea of what is required to run a football club? No. Nor do we. That's why it would be the most insane idea ever to take control of the club now. I believe that what is being put on the table now is an ideal scenario. The current board continue to run the club until such time as we are fully satisfied, have sufficient support and sufficient funds to take it over and run it properly. End of.

[Macy]

Running a football club isn't the rocket science most club boards appear to try and make it!

[Horus]

And maybe it is rocket science, rocket scientists aren't running them and that's why most are in the state they are in :D

[blackholesun]

And maybe it is rocket science, rocket scientists aren't running them and that's why most are in the state they are in :D

I think running a club sensibly isnt hard to do, yes theres lot of hard work involved, but most of it should be just basic common business sense. But alot of clubs business model in terms of catchment area and facilities is crap to begin with and then most people the world over seem to leave their brain at the door and let their ego run away with itself when the get involved in clubs.

The biggest problems at any club (and indeed any business) is going to be setting a realistic budget at the start of the season and then doing your cash flow manangment based on that. Most clubs cant seem to set realistic budgets so the cash flow management if there was any breaks down very soon after. A decent accountant should be able to do both, e.g. looking at fixtures at the start of the season and noticing that there at some point at 3 week gap between homes games, so plan some other fundraiser to bridge the gap. It certainly ain't rocket science.

bhs

[iceman]

Seems to me like the club are trying to offload their debts on the supporters.

[pineapple stu]

What's the position up in Drogheda at the moment? Isn't there a bit of turmoil with a director resigning and money unaccounted for and stuff like that? (Or maybe I'm reading the Drogheda forum wrong, in which case, apologies). Is the club after racking up a loss this year?

[iceman]

What's the position up in Drogheda at the moment? Isn't there a bit of turmoil with a director resigning and money unaccounted for and stuff like that? (Or maybe I'm reading the Drogheda forum wrong, in which case, apologies). Is the club after racking up a loss this year?
Theres all kinds of stories going around.
What is certain though is that the former Commercial Manager left over a weekend having cleared his office completely - never left as much as a blank sheet of paper. The money raised from the Liverpool Legends weekend seems to have fallen into a black hole somewhere and this person was allowed to work away on the project on his own personal laptop completely unmonitored.
There was a considerable sum raised that weekend - different reports on the amount but somewhere between €25000 and €35000.

[Mr_Parker]

Seems to me like the club are trying to offload their debts on the supporters.

My first thought too tbh.

[Cosmo]

Seems to me like the club are trying to offload their debts on the supporters.

Thats a worry I have myself - just hope its not a case of the club being f***** financially and looking for supporters to bail out their f*** ups in the off season.

However, without knowing more details its hard to know. My first thoughts are that a statement like this is a positive step in that it gives us the first step of finally been treated with a bit of respect by the club - and more importantly for me to see accountability in the running of the club, thats all i ever wanted (and never saw why we shouldnt have always had it).

Will wait and see the full details before getting too excited - but hopefully its a step in the right direction :)

What I will say is that there are some very good people involved in CAB at the moment.

[A face]

This sounds well dodgy, and it mightn't be .... the board may have the best of intentions and it could be just an extended handover period. But that said, i mentioned this to a few self proclaimed barstoolers in work and they laughed. Now the same bunch of lads would be naturally sceptical it has to be said but they had a point .... it sounds like a rip off.

With nothing safeguarded legally then the supporters CandB should really be reviewing what they are doing, consider arbitration and other measure to make sure they are not getting done, or enabling themselves to get done, or take responsibility and not leaving the potential/temptation to get done.

No one is saying that something like this shouldn't work, i'd be a complete optimist and love the idea of something like this taking off, but not doing it properly is doing a huge injustice to all parties, all stake holders in fact. And remember fans who aren't members of C&B or the supporters club or anything but are still Drogs fans dont deserve to go through all this stuff again.

Cop on, dont dive in, do it right, the world is your oyster !! :eek:

[John83]

What I will say is that there are some very good people involved in CAB at the moment.
For a moment there, I was startled at the idea that the Criminal Assets Bureau might be looking at Drogs.

[galwayjames]

A good move by Drogheda, it's obvious they are following Rovers.

Don't know if such a thing would work here though, we probably don't have enough fans to financially support a professional football club :(

[MariborKev]

What I will say is that there are some very good people involved in CAB at the moment.

Fans or no fans- their first port of call should be some serious due diligence. Supporters Direct in the UK might be a good call for the outside experts.

[ndrog]

This sounds well dodgy, and it mightn't be .... the board may have the best of intentions and it could be just an extended handover period. But that said, i mentioned this to a few self proclaimed barstoolers in work and they laughed. Now the same bunch of lads would be naturally sceptical it has to be said but they had a point .... it sounds like a rip off.

With nothing safeguarded legally then the supporters CandB should really be reviewing what they are doing, consider arbitration and other measure to make sure they are not getting done, or enabling themselves to get done, or take responsibility and not leaving the potential/temptation to get done.

No one is saying that something like this shouldn't work, i'd be a complete optimist and love the idea of something like this taking off, but not doing it properly is doing a huge injustice to all parties, all stake holders in fact. And remember fans who aren't members of C&B or the supporters club or anything but are still Drogs fans dont deserve to go through all this stuff again.

Cop on, dont dive in, do it right, the world is your oyster !! :eek:

Why should " COP ON " ? Lets get something straight lads the members of cab and the Duisc have the clubs interests at heart at nothing else and wont be taking on club debts and wont be taken for mugs .Everything possible step will be taken to do what is right for the football club ..

[A face]

For a moment there, I was startled at the idea that the Criminal Assets Bureau might be looking at Drogs.

"And please can you all give a big Louth welcome to tonights sponsors, the 'Criminal Assets Bureau' !!!!" :p:D

[A face]

Why should [we] "COP ON"?

Because it seems like you (C&B) need to. And thats not taking a dig or anything. Its just it seems that you are taking things at face value, and not even that (because as i already said, the board may have the best of intentions) you seem to be leaving it wide open for abuse.


Lets get something straight lads the members of cab and the Duisc have the clubs interests at heart and nothing else

Man, thats straight as a dye, i have the message loud and clear, and i love it. Its brilliant to see it, and you club will thrive on this.


and wont be taking on club debts and wont be taken for mugs.

But it seems like you will be taking on their debt. Everything thats been said seems to point at that anyway. Have debts been discussed? I dont know what C&B are getting in return, and thats my issue.

I think you are being taken for mugs, thats why i am posting this. Have you sought legal advice on this? Do you know what you are entering into legally etc.


Everything possible step will be taken to do what is right for the football club ..

I wouldn't doubt it for a second.

And, ndrog ... there is nothing wrong with asking questions, and the more questions that are asked will enable this to be a success. Open and clear discuss and then agreement on what you are signing up to with everything outline with no ambiguity will ensure its the right thing for everyone involved.

[Drogman.]

Lads, without going into too much detail, as this is purely at the proposal stage, noone is being taken for a ride and there is still a bit to go yet before anything is set in stone.

A lot of logistics to be worked out before anything is signed.

We'll (DUISC/C&B club/DUFC) have more news shortly regarding what developments are happening.

[Mr A]

How much debt can there be one year on from examinership? Surely DUFC hasn't screwed it up again that fast?

[redobit]

Lads, without going into too much detail, as this is purely at the proposal stage, noone is being taken for a ride and there is still a bit to go yet before anything is set in stone.

A lot of logistics to be worked out before anything is signed.

We'll (DUISC/C&B club/DUFC) have more news shortly regarding what developments are happening.

This lad is everywhere. Is he one of the Noone's from Donegal.

[A face]

Lads, without going into too much detail, as this is purely at the proposal stage, noone is being taken for a ride and there is still a bit to go yet before anything is set in stone.

A lot of logistics to be worked out before anything is signed.

We'll (DUISC/C&B club/DUFC) have more news shortly regarding what developments are happening.

Ok, that sounds a bit better

[micls]

How much debt can there be one year on from examinership? Surely DUFC hasn't screwed it up again that fast?
Is that a serious question :D

Exhibit 1: Tom coughlan and cork City fc,,,

[Mr A]

It was actually. But all the talk seemed to be of doing it right there this time round, and I haven't heard anything much to the contrary.

If they really are in debt again Hoey and co. should be run out of the place.

[Celdrog]

It was actually. But all the talk seemed to be of doing it right there this time round, and I haven't heard anything much to the contrary.

If they really are in debt again Hoey and co. should be run out of the place.Vincent Hoey (or "and co.") haven't been on the board post examinership. Now they are willing to give all their shares to the fans, for nothing - except membership of the CandB club.
It was also clarified that if the club went to the fans it would only be with no debt.