A Couple of Questions Re Dundalk

[Dodge]

Wasn't Kelleher trying to build apartments around Richmond a couple of years ago? It's all moot now because I don't think anybody would dream of buying Richmond for any kind of residential building nowadays.
No, the idea was that a new stadium on the grounds of St Michaels Flats could be finded by apartments there (and helped by sale of Richmond). it was pretty complicated, and as you say, completely moot now.


Kelleher owns and chairs Pat's through a company called Newtonheath, presumably named after the old Manchester United: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2011/1209/1224308796081.html
Newtonheath has been the company behind Pats since the early 90s. He, and his wife, bought 100% of the shares in Newtownheath.

I know it doesn't make much mterial difference but he bought the company, rather than set up a company to buy Pats (if that makes sense?). The name of the company wasn't his choice (although as everyone can see he has appaling taste in company names so it could've been worse...)

[Dalymountrower]

Dodge, I heard from someone inside SDCC last year that they were to make approaches to Pats about the possibility of becoming tenants in Stade de Robbie Keane, Tallaght.? Hear anything?

[redobit]

Ive heard it said before that our gate account for one-third of our annual budget. Seeing as Pats crowds last season were about 1,200 average and they now have the 3rd largest budget in the league does Kelleher still stump up large amounts of money?

[wonder88]

Have Pats ever been owned by members/fans say like Bohs, Sligo and recently Cork and Shamrocks. Is it better for League of Ireland clubs to be owned by a millionaires who can make decisions quickly rather than having to consult with others who may be just fans ? Both I suppose both types of ownership have advantages and disadvantages

[Dodge]

Pats have nearly always been run/owned by members/volunteers. Last 20 years is different

No approach from SDCC as far as I know

[Dodge]

BTW little throw away line from Kenny Cunnningham on MNS tonight; 'Dundalk's management wage bill must b more than their player bill... he's the 4th different coach to speak to us..."

Or similar

[White Horse]

BTW little throw away line from Kenny Cunnningham on MNS tonight; 'Dundalk's management wage bill must b more than their player bill... he's the 4th different coach to speak to us..."

What would MNS be without snide comments about Dundalk FC. I was wondering how they would cope as we were playing away and they didn't have the pitch to bitch about.

I wonder who the four coaches who have spkken to MNS are? Perhaps Cunningham can enlighten us?

McCaffrey has John Whyte and Darius Kearins as assistants, two good young coaches. Hats off to Johnny Mac, he showed some class in coming to Whites defence after Cunningham's put-down.

What would be the point club investing in young players without having good coaching staff?

[marinobohs]

Dodge, I heard from someone inside SDCC last year that they were to make approaches to Pats about the possibility of becoming tenants in Stade de Robbie Keane, Tallaght.? Hear anything?
I thought that idea was discussed some years back as an alternative to development of St Michaels House ? met with very strong resistence from fans then so could not see it being a runner now (nor would I see any great demand for Richmond as a development site, therefore little need to move Pats). Shels/Bohs (gulp) both likely to be looking for new ground in next few years:eek:

[Nesta99]

I would have said somthing in an mns thread but as there wasnt one i didnt bother but.. After a humiliating 6-0 drubbing McCaffery refused to talk to the media and i can understand why believe me it was that bad!!! It happens - Mike Phealan , David Platt etc have done the media leg work after EPL matches. Darius spoke on behalf of the management but if Con commented once he said it a number of times that McCaffery was out of order and obligated to speak, it irked me so i'm sure McC was peeved even more so. He refuses to entertain MNS as a result the following week and they make an entire analysis out of it (first oppertunity to get a message across to players?? B@llix!)
I doubt McCaffery will be speaking to MNS Friday night either now. Kenny Cunningham's snide comment at the end was unbeffiting of him as the vastly superior pundit since MNS's inception! As WH said, the manager has 2 assistants, Whyte has been a player and subsequently an underage coach at the club for over a decade, Kierans was assistant the previous season and provided some (if little) badly needed continuity. Add Dermot O'Neill as goalkeeping coach and Martin Connolly, who has overseen a lot of underage successes and you have a fairly complete coaching set-up.
5 coachs is not many considering the player footfall at Dundalk FC, the Barry Kehoe School, Emerging talent programme, underage teams, Ladies, and Senior squad, hosting and visiting schools and more!

There wasnt any MNS comment from Roddy so apart from the extratime stuff i wonder why considering the result.

[Charlie Darwin]

I don't think Kenny Cunningham was being snide, he was just making a joke. And it is weird that a manager would be sending an assistant out to do interviews unless he has the hump over something.

[Nesta99]

The 'hump' was losing 6-0 in a completely inept display. We hardly talked on the way home in the car apart from the odd grumble about the gutless performance. Hump 2 was complaining about an assistant conducting the post-match interview. Hump 3 was last nights analysis which may perpetuate the situation. It would be nice if McCaffery was the bigger person (no sniggering) and took the interview on Friday

[Spudulika]

How many times has Keith Long done the post match on behalf of Pat Devlin, I can think of a couple of times last year and once (I think) this. Don't see the fuss in it, however this being the LOI there could be any number of things going on behind the scenes. Having watched KC's aside, I don't think there is a bad element to it, just a joke that was going to pee off any scaldies after the loss.

[Dodge]

What would MNS be without snide comments about Dundalk FC. I was wondering how they would cope as we were playing away and they didn't have the pitch to bitch about.

I wonder who the four coaches who have spkken to MNS are? Perhaps Cunningham can enlighten us?

McCaffrey has John Whyte and Darius Kearins as assistants, two good young coaches. Hats off to Johnny Mac, he showed some class in coming to Whites defence after Cunningham's put-down.

What would be the point club investing in young players without having good coaching staff?
Relax lads (ie all the Dundalk fans who thanked this post) I think Cunningham was just joking. Jeez, there was nothing snide about it

[Nesta99]

Dodge in the context of the previous 'analysis' on McCafferys postmatch disappearing acts, if KC was only joking and not having a pop like others, the exception being PM, well its timing just made him look like he was jumping on Con's bandwagon. Id actually like to know exactly what the contactual obligations referred to are in more detail.

Anyway us worried and stressed DFC fans are likely to be very touchy over the next while - MNS bashing is a great way to vent!

[Dodge]

Dodge in the context of the previous 'analysis' on McCafferys postmatch disappearing acts, if KC was only joking and not having a pop like others, the exception being PM, well its timing just made him look like he was jumping on Con's bandwagon.
You're over thinking it. And yep, Con's an @rse

In today's sun apparently that Dundalk's budget to be cut by 25%, with the majority of cuts at coaches level. haven't read it myself. Anyone know more?

[White Horse]

You're over thinking it. And yep, Con's an @rse

In today's sun apparently that Dundalk's budget to be cut by 25%, with the majority of cuts at coaches level. haven't read it myself. Anyone know more?

It was mentioned yesterday on local radio that 2 players and 2 coaches would be cut. Quite how they can sut contracted players is questionable.

Gerry Matthews has resumed management control (though some fans question whether he ever relinquished it) and said expenditure was starting to get out of control.

Given the squad we have, everyone is scratching their heads as to how we could have over-spent. There is talk that compensation payments were made for some players. If that happened, it was madness.

There is a lot of politics going on between Matthews and the supporters trust after matthew botched rush to sell the club.

There is spin and counter spin going on. God only knows that the truth is.

[marinobohs]

It was mentioned yesterday on local radio that 2 players and 2 coaches would be cut. Quite how they can sut contracted players is questionable.

.

Ahhhhhhh, and to think some people thought FOOT.IE could be on the way out :cool::cool:


has anyone seen the PFAI statement yet ? there must be one, surely ? ...................... sit comfortably and let the games begin.

[Nesta99]

Does anyone know more? Simple answer is nope! Cuts are very likely, why they are necessary is a strange one as our owner is alleged to have been the person to agree the playing budget over the Boards head while he had stepped away from day to day running of the club. People on the board with differing opinions on the direction the club is going dig the heels in on such circumvention and the board is dissolved. GM takes the reigns again ... our lilywhite Knight, our saviour *cough* has stepped into the breach again hmmmmmm?

[mcgonigle]

Does anyone know more? Simple answer is nope! Cuts are very likely, why they are necessary is a strange one as our owner is alleged to have been the person to agree the playing budget over the Boards head while he had stepped away from day to day running of the club. People on the board with differing opinions on the direction the club is going dig the heels in on such circumvention and the board is dissolved. GM takes the reigns again ... our lilywhite Knight, our saviour *cough* has stepped into the breach again hmmmmmm?

This is just rumour posted by somebody on Oriel web who was challenged about it and never responded. TBH if you believe half of what you read on OW for the past 8 months then you're in trouble. There are some people there with serious axes to grind mostly pinning blame on GM for everything and anything and conveniently forgetting the past. I'm not saying mistakes have not been made they clearly have but the blame lies in several corners, Owner, Board, Trust and Fans. Reading OW these days makes you feel ashamed to be a Dundalk fan.

[bullit]

This is just rumour posted by somebody on Oriel web who was challenged about it and never responded. TBH if you believe half of what you read on OW for the past 8 months then you're in trouble. There are some people there with serious axes to grind mostly pinning blame on GM for everything and anything and conveniently forgetting the past. I'm not saying mistakes have not been made they clearly have but the blame lies in several corners, Owner, Board, Trust and Fans. Reading OW these days makes you feel ashamed to be a Dundalk fan.

Orielweb is full of ex-board members and former directors of the club who just want to discredit anything and EVERYTHING that is happening in Oriel Park.

One poster is a former treasurer who screwed the finances of the club up so badly that the club was 24 hours away from meltdown until GM saved his blushes by taking over the club.

Another poster who is constantly on that mb winding people up is a former board member who was part of the group that was trying to take over the club during the summer:rolleyes: Thank fcuk that clown nor his cohorts ever got their way!There are a few more as well.

Thank god i stopped posting over on it a long,long time ago.

[Louth4sam]

You're over thinking it. And yep, Con's an @rse

In today's sun apparently that Dundalk's budget to be cut by 25%, with the majority of cuts at coaches level. haven't read it myself. Anyone know more?

It's bull****. I was at a meeting with Gerry Matthews and Paul Johnston last night. There will be no cuts at playing level but they have asked McCaffery to look at his backroom staff. We have two goalkeeping coaches for example.

[mcgonigle]

Orielweb is full of ex-board members and former directors of the club who just want to discredit anything and EVERYTHING that is happening in Oriel Park.

One poster is a former treasurer who screwed the finances of the club up so badly that the club was 24 hours away from meltdown until GM saved his blushes by taking over the club.

Another poster who is constantly on that mb winding people up is a former board member who was part of the group that was trying to take over the club during the summer:rolleyes: Thank fcuk that clown nor his cohorts ever got their way!There are a few more as well.

Thank god i stopped posting over on it a long,long time ago.

Absolutely built, I know the posters you're talking about also, unbelievable that they would have the guile to even comment given their past records.

It's a sad time really for the club, nobody is pulling in the same direction and every side wants to score points off the other, until the different parties start working together the club will go nowhere :(

[Nesta99]

It is guile that is lacking across the club but i know what yer saying! The reality is that it is likely to be of greater detriment to the club if the 'facts' were to be aired at this time. In fairness i dont see where blame lies with the Trust as they try to keep up with the cloak and dagger act being sublimely performed by others around the club. I agree with what you say about OW as personal agendas dominate. But there are some valid points eg as the Trust had two members on the Board well then they were in a minority position and would have been out voted if they tried to pull in a different direction to the other members - assuming that there were two factions. Now that flies in the face of what GM is suggesting whereby the dysfunction of the Board is due to the inexperience of the Trust members. Problems started long before the Trust were at Board level which cant be denied! Inexperience is also a issue with GM otherwise 50k would not have been paid out for unfair dismissals that he in a arbitrary manner caused - and that the tip of the iceberg really. A simple look at a sequence of events gives insight into the game being played imo.

GM states his intention to sell.
He rejects all potential suitors including a mysterious London based Russian interest(im not kidding, that claim was from the horses mouth).
He agrees in principle to a handover to the Trust over a season to be completed post season 2012.
He leaves day to day running while agreeing to Trust involvement on the Board including equal access to paperwork eg finances hmmm?
Two senior board members approach GM concerned by the looming financial issues.
GM disbands the Board and returns to running the show directly himself and in a 'god love them they have the best of the club at heart and work hard' manner he again imo patronises the efforts of the trust.
Budgets are being cut to take remedial action on decisions made by the dysfunctional Board...and shakespeareanesque tragedy continues to unfold.

So i shall repeat - a minority pairing are being alluded to as being the root of the problem -obvious horsesh*te!
The Trust didnt get within an asses roar of the club finances.
GM/PJ claim at a meeting i that they are not sure where the clubs bank account was at and it would take a few days to suss it out - very strange from a General Manager never mind the owner.

Dont start on the YDC issues. A former cheif negotiator on the N. Ireland peace process failed to mediate to conclusion.
Its a damn mess and i feel that it goes beyond DFC and into other companies involving our owner...

[Dunny]

Joint Statement from Dundalk Football Club and DFC Trust



http://www.dundalkfc.com/joint-dfc-trust-dundalk-fc-statement

[bullit]

Joint Statement from Dundalk Football Club and DFC Trust



http://www.dundalkfc.com/joint-dfc-trust-dundalk-fc-statement

The trust seem to have put some pressure on GM over the last few weeks by withdrawing their free labour(Keith Wallace@media officer & the DFCTV crew to name just two).I wonder if they are also withholding monies that they would also pay into the club from monthly trust funds in an effort to somewhat force his hand into giving over control of the club to them(the Trust) ??Have any of our lot have any opinions on my slant or have i completly lost the run of myself ??

[Guinney]

The trust seem to have put some pressure on GM over the last few weeks by withdrawing their free labour(Keith Wallace@media officer & the DFCTV crew to name just two).I wonder if they are also withholding monies that they would also pay into the club from monthly trust funds in an effort to somewhat force his hand into giving over control of the club to them(the Trust) ??Have any of our lot have any opinions on my slant or have i completly lost the run of myself ??

As as I know Keith left just to pursue other interests and worked for the club as a media officer, it wasn't free labour. Also the DFCTV team just left as they hadn't got the time to commit to the club no more.

[bullit]

As as I know Keith left just to pursue other interests and worked for the club as a media officer, it wasn't free labour. Also the DFCTV team just left as they hadn't got the time to commit to the club no more.

Right,maybe i'm reading too much into it and as i dont realy know any of the lads involved then i would say you are prob right,It just seemed to me that Keith leaving and the DFCTV team leaving at the same time was just too much of a coincidence! ? :(

[Guinney]

Right,maybe i'm reading too much into it and as i dont realy know any of the lads involved then i would say you are prob right,It just seemed to me that Keith leaving and the DFCTV team leaving at the same time was just too much of a coincidence! ? :(

Yeah a bit strange they left at the same time, but don't think there was anything in it. It's a great pity though with Keith we had the best website and programme in the country, they aren't going to remain at the same standard now. Also the DFCTV lads provided us with a great service that will be missed.

[Nesta99]

Keith decided that it was time to move on and further his career. Chris and the DFCTV team were caught where both expenses were cut and personal time constraints kicked in. Chris as a newly married man has a lovely wife to be with rather than a thankless job filming muck on cold Friday nights ;P

[oriel]

Although you never like to see anyone lose their jobs, having THREE coaches (ok one was a GK coach) AND a manager was just madness. Worse was the recruitment of average strikers, and not going for a big name one. All of this lies with the manager and his arrogance, not talking to MNS is just disgraceful and needs to be stopped.

He is the gaffer, what he says goes, the buck stops with him (now who else said that) ;)

[bullit]

.....not talking to MNS is just disgraceful and needs to be stopped. ..


He spoke to mns after the game last night in TC.But sure he couldn't send out the sacked John White to speak for him.Dundalk cant afford to sack McCaff so we have just have to bite the bullet & soldier on as we are :mad:

[bullit]

Things going from bad to worse @ Dundalk right now,we are relying on insurance payouts to keep us afloat now!! :(


The board of Dundalk FC have released a statement regarding an unpaid insurance claim for the astro-turf pitch which was set on fire at Hiney Park last summer.
The statement reads:
‘As has been indicated via many media outlets over the last number of weeks Dundalk FC is currently experiencing severe financial difficulties.
One of the revenue streams that we were depending on was a settlement claim in relation to our 3G Artificial Surface that was maliciously burned.
‘There have been ongoing and intense discussions between all parties involved, Kelleher Insurance, Fulcrum Loss Assessing and Travellers Insurance based in Dublin, in relation to getting a favourable resolution to this matter. We expect to have positive news on this early this week.
‘Given that all other revenue streams are reduced the money from this settlement claim is the most important income coming into the club at present and will allow us to pay players and creditors going forward.
‘We would be very disappointed if there was not a favourable response as this is a claim we have been pursuing and counting on to pay wages for some time now.
‘If there isn’t a favourable response it will be a major blow to the club. This claim coupled with continued reductions in other revenue streams will put the club in a perilous situation where we will have no money to pay players, staff and creditors this coming week and in the weeks ahead.
‘We will keep everyone informed in relation to this matter.’



http://www.dundalkfc.com/dundalk-fc-statement-4

[Dalymountrower]

Presumably the insurance claim relates to pitch rental income foregone due to the fire? Hopefully the claim gets sorted for you.

[Dodge]

Whats the claim for exactly? Dundalk still use and rent out the pitch. Can't be for lost earnings

[Guinney]

Whats the claim for exactly? Dundalk still use and rent out the pitch. Can't be for lost earnings
Not sure but maybe damage to property - i.e. the astro-turf that was burnt. But it's not exactly the best practice to rely on some claim as a main source of income. Attendances and other sources of income have been down this year, but still factoring this 'bonus' income isn't something you'd expect. I'm not even sure how good of a claim we have, the astro-turf that was burnt was lying there for a long while ( 2 years maybe) and was largely unprotected, I think there was a steel fence around it most of it, one of them movable ones, but not exactly hard to get pass.

http://i54.tinypic.com/2w53ck5.jpg

[Lim till i die]

No offence to anyone but that kinda looks like you're claiming for rubbish that you ****ed over your back wall which was then burnt!

On an aside, I've two square foot of Oriel Park out my back from a trip up there a few years back. :)

[dfx-]

as this is a claim we have been pursuing and counting on to pay wages for some time now.

:eek:

[Guinney]

No offence to anyone but that kinda looks like you're claiming for rubbish that you ****ed over your back wall which was then burnt!

Agreed.



On an aside, I've two square foot of Oriel Park out my back from a trip up there a few years back. :)

Beware the club could now be suing you for theft and this could be used as our next source of income.

[Mr A]

This sounds very scary for Dundalk. Not a situation any club wants to be in, and still so early in the season too.

[CrowdedHouse]

LOL - even Nick Leeson didn't think of that one

Ye're f.....

[SkStu]

I miss Ezeikials pontificating about how utterly fantastically run Dundalk are and how every other team needed to do things the Dundalk way.... Lol spoofer.

That said, I wish Dundalk all the best.

[Nesta99]

I miss Ezeikials pontificating about how utterly unfantastically run Dundalk are and how every other team needed not to do things the Dundalk way.... Lol spoofer.

Id like Mr Crossan share his opinions now too! Dr Spin....

[Mr A]

Gavin McLaughlin of Dundalk Democrat reports that the players weren't paid this week: https://twitter.com/#!/McLaughlinGavin The Trust seem to confirm this. https://twitter.com/#!/DundalkFCTrust

Not unexpected given the earlier statement I guess.

[Dodge]

PFAI (McGuinness) having a pop on twitter as usual.

He was asked if he's spoken to the club yet. he didn't reply

[Mr A]

I saw he said two clubs already unable to pay wages. Are Monaghan the other I wonder?

[Battery Rover]

Might get worse with many teams not having a home fixture for the next 3 / 4 weeks

[Dodge]

Pats have no home fixture between 21 may and 22 June, then 3 home games in 8 days

I'll point out that we're playing Crumlin 'away' in Richmond on Sunday, so we got a little lucky.

[HulaHoop]

Id like Mr Crossan share his opinions now too! Dr Spin....

Well this is what he siad at the time of the fire:

http://www.argus.ie/news/mindless-vandalism-sparks-astro-turf-fire-2803159.html


Colm Crossan, Communications Manager at Dundalk F.C, said the club were shocked to see fires had broken out along the stored bales.

' These were actually the surface from the old pitch, which we had lifted about two years ago when a new surface was put down.'

He added that initially there were plans for it to be reused at the Youth Development Centre, but these were scrapped in favour of a different type of surface.

'However, it was being stored there as we hoped to use it again at some stage, which isn't possible now.'


If Dundalk think they are going to get any sort of large insurance claim for an artificial pitch they ripped up and dumped it over a wall two years ago and had no definite plans to use again they are living in dreamland.

Three months into the season and we have a club relying on a fanciful insurance claim to pay the wages. What does this say about the licensing process?

[White Horse]

Three months into the season and we have a club relying on a fanciful insurance claim to pay the wages. What does this say about the licensing process?

I think it says more about attendances falling off a cliff rather than the licensing process.

[Nesta99]

It is indicative of the turmoil within the club as the owner has and continues to 'cut off his nose to spite his face'. The insurance claim has been in for quite a while and was being processed without certainty of a positive conclusion. If i were the insurance company i'd be thinking bunch of chancers. Dundalk was being run well and if the football club had total access to its income streams then there wouldnt be a problem. In addition to falls in attendances due to the issues between supporters and team manager, club money was forked ouut to pay eg unnecessary unfair dismissals... are event costs being billed to Dundalk FC without a return to the club? hmmm!

I hope Fyffes are tied in for a good few years as i'm sure they are delighted with their association with this mess...