Time For Change

[Sonic]

Okay this thread has been coming for a while.Having seen what shelbourne did against Deportivo last night in Landsdowne Road it only makes me feel disgust at how poorly we performed against a disticntly average Liechtenstein team.Irrespective of the RARE win against Waterford we have been dragged into a relegation battle when it is evident that our squad is one of the best in the premier.Unlike other supporters I give every man like the next their fair chance and i been very patient this season.We have played well in patches but the style of football is uniquely defensive(Gerard Houllier would be proud of such a style). Our football has become stale and while our present manager has processed wonderful success last season we have become misguided in our strive for further progress.Either sides of the managerial debate must concede that we are the thick of the relegation battle.With Roddy Collins making four exciting,young and talented signings(and according to himself more to come)even more pressure will be put on the respective clubs involved.A bad result on Saturday night would spell disaster in our quest to escape this awkward situation. As you all know relegation would be a disaster both financially to the club and socially to its fans.Flancare Park would be without its regular BANDWAGON SUPPORT and would be reduced to the same 70 or so fans which were origionally there;instead of playing an exciting team like Shelbourne we would languishing in the abyss of a sea of mediocrity that is the Eircom League First Division.On a different note Alan Matthews has done reasonably well in the league with an excellent finish last season however,our players are no longer responding to the AA Team as they have been known as.I am simply suggesting a new breath of fresh air as there is an awful stench hovering in the air at present...............Please take my comments on board-you know they make sense
Yours faithfully,
An LTFC fan. :ball:

[Maz]

Okay this thread has been coming for a while.Having seen what shelbourne did against Deportivo last night in Landsdowne Road it only makes me feel disgust at how poorly we performed against a disticntly average Liechtenstein team.

yes we played bad against vaduz at home and if we had to play like we did in the last ten mins definately we could have taken them but thats all ifs and buts
were you in vaduz? did you see the game? because i was there, i saw the game and our team did us proud, they played a fantastic game of football and only for dodgy decisions we should have been the ones with the goal lead......again its all ifs and buts.

anyone who has been to even a few games this season, can see we are getting dreadful results in our games, waterford was a long needed win, and hopefully it will be continued against pats on saturday night.

i dont agree with players and managers being booed but the people doin this were the ones stuck up their A$$es after last season and if we do well this season the trend will continue!

[Sonic]

1.No, I wasn't in Vaduz, not all of us can afford such trips.

2.What I saw in Flancare was a disgrace, simple as Maz.

3.I am not a 'boo-boy' and I am not or never will be stuck up anyones ass thank you very much.

4.Despite my enormous relegation worries I shall be still there unlike the sunshine fans that are slow to demand change, and as a result of this lack of action will be nowhere when relegation comes (not suggesting you are a sunshine supporter at all Maz but there are others out there!)

5.It was ifs and buts for UCD last season, for Wolves in England and just about every other team in history that has been relegated and it is great that we now have a ready-made excuse should we go down- Ifs and buts, referees, ifs and buts, referees, ifs and buts, referees, ifs and buts,ifs and buts, referees, ifs and buts, referees, ifs and buts, referees, ifs and buts,ifs and buts, referees, ifs and buts, referees, ifs and buts,ifs and buts, referees, ifs and buts, referees, ifs and buts, referees... are u getting board, i am of hearing this trivial argument. :ball:

[RockofGibraltar]

In fairness Maz, Sonic has a point. Until the Waterford win, I couldn't see the town getting a win from anywhere. There seems to be a distinct lack of drive, determination or motivation within the majority of the squad. Apart from Sean Prunty, Eric Lavine and Digger, the players look like they basically couldn't give a hoot about our form and results. It's not all down to the players however. Surely Alan Matthews, as the manager, should be able to motivate the players, and make them proud to wear the Red n Black of the town. We all saw Pat Fenlon last night. there he is, his team playing against some of the best players in europe, if not the world.However he motivated his players to go out and be proud to represent their club, league and country.
Why can't we do that. Can't Matthews motivate the players to go out and pick up a few points in the league? I feel that we have the players to be competing in the top half of the table, not fighting against relegation. I'm afraid to say it, but I don't think Alan Matthews has the experience or the basic managerial know-how to get Longford out of this little rut we find ourselves stuck in.
A difficult few weeks lie ahead i'm afraid.....unless...

[Enda M]

Here here motivtion is at an all time low maybe a change is needed before our dour run of results get even worse.

[Longfordian]

Well given our last two performances in the league where the referee cheated us against Rovers despite us playing excellent stuff and we beat Waterford pretty comfortably I'd say theres no long term worries. Any time I've been around team and management the spirit's been top notch overall. If we'd taken 40% of our chances this year we wouldnt be in any way worried. I can understand people thinking the players dont give a hoot but from what I can see it was more a chronic lack of confidence that was holding them back..That and Murph not knowing how to take up a right back's position. I genuinely believe we're on an upward climb now. Time will tell but we have to get behind the lads starting Saturday night

[Sonic]

. If we'd taken 40% of our chances this year we wouldnt be in any way worried.
There is that word we love so much on this board IF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :ball:

[Maz]

3.I am not a 'boo-boy' and I am not or never will be stuck up anyones ass thank you very much.

4.Despite my enormous relegation worries I shall be still there unlike the sunshine fans that are slow to demand change, and as a result of this lack of action will be nowhere when relegation comes (not suggesting you are a sunshine supporter at all Maz but there are others out there!)

5.It was ifs and buts for UCD last season, for Wolves in England and just about every other team in history that has been relegated and it is great that we now have a ready-made excuse should we go down- Ifs and buts, referees, ifs and buts, referees, ifs and buts, referees, ifs and buts,ifs and buts, referees, ifs and buts, referees, ifs and buts, referees, ifs and buts,ifs and buts, referees, ifs and buts, referees, ifs and buts,ifs and buts, referees, ifs and buts, referees, ifs and buts, referees... are u getting board, i am of hearing this trivial argument. :ball:

to be fair i never said you were a boo-boy as you say yourself, but they are out there!!

i was there for the last relegation battle and if we happen to get dragged into another....il be there.....please god it wont come to that!

what i meant by the ifs and buts was that its now irrelevant we need to be concentrating on the here and now.....whats the point in winning games that cant secure our premier status! we wont be remembered for it if we get dragged to 1st division

[Longfordian]

What we have is fcuk all money to compete at the business end of the table, if you know of someone with a spare million or three to keep us at the top end of table do please let us know. If it wasnt for the current regime we'd still be at the bottom of the first division with a pitch with damn all facilities and the likes of Mickey O'Connor still in charge.

Fair enough point about the €30k but Lavine wouldnt have gone to Derry anyway so we'd never have got the money for him. What do we have now? a 6,000 seater stadium, a team thats competitive in every match they play and can win national competitions, when have we ever had that before? As for Alan Mathews spending too much time with First Active, well that is his full time job, you try being a bank manger and managing a football team. If you think thats not acceptable based on our finances as I said find an Abramovich and come back..

[Albert]

I couldnt agree more Longfordian, its amazing that we do have such a great club all other things considered, and unless there is a dramatic rise in support then we are lucky to have one at all. We need to be realistic when you look at the amount of counties that cant produce a soccer team of worth at all its amazing that longford with such a small fan base and population can. Im very proud of the club and their achievements. I admire Drogheda goig pro and the difference it made this season but thinking back on other clubs like rovers who tried that and where it left them afterwards i'll reserve judgement for now on whether its a wise move because if you do it and it doesnt work long term then you get really screwed

[Longfordian]

The reason its the same old argument is because its the same old thing we dont have that other teams have which surprise surprise means they finish ahead of us in the league! How did Kenny do better, what did he win with us?Where did he finish in the league?, And the cash wasn't much less from what I hear. The reason in having a 6,000 seater stadium is because you want the best facilities you can have which in a shocking thought may actually attract out more people to your games or would you prefer to be standing in muck. Also it can be used to increase revenue by for example being used for underage and ladies internationals and concerts in the future. The UEFA inspector said he was recommending to the FAI that alot of future underage internationals should be played in Longford, enhancing our profile and giving us rent. Id rather be spending on facilities than frittering it away on short term gambles

P.S. Decent young players, Id call Dillon, Paisley, and Gartland decent young players and they were all signed by Alan Mathews, plus Barry Ferguson who when he signed was only 21

[Longfordian]

I suppose there's no point aiming to have good facilities its not like theres ever a chance we might be able to make some money from big games is there, would the League Cup Final be in Longford in the facilities weren't there? Would you have seen UEFA Cup football in Flancare? No. Im sick of this "wouldnt bother my arse" attitude thats prevalent in Longford, the club has made massive strides and some people refuse to give any credit where its due, even if we were winning the league people would complain we're not winning the treble, its constant moan moan moan. We're a small club, live with it.
We made history last season by being the first Longford team in any code to win a National competition and thats not enough for the Longford people. As for your "if you want to watch internationals away with you to Lansdowne" remark if you read my post you'll see I mentioned we get rent for the ground hence giving us more money to try and have a decent team to try and better ourselves, is that not what you want? Would you prefer to not have big crowds for Cup Semis and Finals? Our having a decent ground shows ambition is that not something else you asked for? Stop contradicting yourself..

[Bonnie]

The Longford ladies won an All-Ireland Junior title a few years back..Doesn't that count for a Longford team winning a national title..That was a remarkable achievement when ladies football was just getting off the ground in the county...

[max power]

mmmmmm ladies football

[Longfordian]

Ok fair enough I forgot about the National League in 1966, shoot me. How many signings are not worth their place in our squad, one or two maybe but come on we've got alot of good players brought in by Alan Mathews, two current Under 21 internationals, an Under 20 international in Gartland, Dessie Baker, Dean Fitzgerald these players all had offers from other clubs but chose to go to Longford, why? Alan Mathews. I feel improving your facilities does show ambition, what was it you said, you cant rest on your laurels? Dont you think if we could afford the very top players we'd be in for them in fairness it doesnt take a genius to spot them ,affording them is the question, every year the club makes signings to improve the squad as best it can while trying to live within what it can afford, by rights we should be finishing second from bottom on our budget.

I never said you couldnt be bothered going to games, its just a general attitude amongst the people of Longford that they couldnt be bothered helping to improve the club, you go on about ambition and drive with no suggestions about how this can be done.

Every other club improves year on year as much if not more than us because they have more money, bigger population and business base to draw sponsorship from, Longford county has a population of 30,000 people why should we have a team capable of doing any more than it is at the moment. Remember youre talking about the best side in the clubs history, in 80 years it was never better. Get behind them and stop complaining. Thats all I have to say on the matter..

[DaithiT]

Agreed Longfordian, Cop On should shift his a$s up to Dublin to Patrick J.
I'd say there related. They were probably Man U fans up untill last season and now their Arsenal fans.... Do what your name says...

[observer]

Therre are two seperate issues here which effect the committee. Firstly there are the facilities, of which any club in the league would be proud. Remember the stadium was built from nothing in a short few years whilst other clubs just had to improve on existing stadia. Well done to Adrian Duncan (whose imagination and confidence kick started the project) to Jim Hanley who has been a tremendous chairman, and indeed to all committee members who have worked week in & week out to keep the show on the road. We never hear of unpaid wage cheques for players unlike many other clubs (which is one of the reasons players will come here). :)

The second issue is regarding the team representing the club and involves the style of play, players bought, and players let go. These points involve the manager to the greatest degree, and the committee in so far as they should be able to influence the manager in areas which have an important bearing on the club. Areas where the club might want to persue a policy with the long term in mind not just one season. For contributors to be critical of this aspect of the club does not mean they are having a crack at Jim Hanley or ignoring the good work that has been done. To say nothing but pretend that everything is rosy in the garden would be stupid.

[Albert]

I thought they were going to put a roof over the section O side of the ground for the UEFA? did we not need to in the end? what other evelopments if any are proposed for the ground?

[Longfordian]

Thats fair enough you're entitled to say that but i still believe we'll be fine. Anyone who isnt reasonably happy with finishing mid table and doing well in the cups is being unrealistic in their expectations. Hoping for better is fine but expecting it isnt facing reality. Its way too harsh to say that theres no ambition being shown when everyone involved in the club is busting their backsides to maintain a Premier Division team, to go any higher with budgets at the moment would jeopardise the entire existence of the club, is that what some people would prefe? you cant say its not about how much money you have when at the end of the day the teams spending the most money finish at the top of the table

The ground side will be roofed if the government/FAI can give a definite commitment that the grant money promised to us will be there.Its on the agenda for the next improvements. The far end is going to have to be moved back eventually to lengthen the pitch

[Albert]

Keep it our secret but I know agood lobbyist in Dublin who might just be able to assist that f they want to employ them :D

[an 'rock']

I tried to start a pressure group when all section O had was a bit of gravel, it didn't catch on but every one approved of the anacronymn!!! :D

[max power]

the team know the result against city was awful ,they said it themselves...some of the squad didn't want to be paid that week ffs !!!

we ARE a small club and being in the league all is amazing seeing as we had to be re elected, getting promotion was amazing, getting to a cup final was amazing, getting to europe was amazing......but last season was a thing of dreams for anyone who went to abbeycarton and saw the team that played there.....

to sum up the above, we are very very lucky to be where we are. 5th in the league with the secong smallest budget is some achievment....i agree about the business men etc, but there is a new marketing committee going into action soon and all going well some more money can be brought into the club.

wallace wanted in on pats but he wasn't given a seat on the board so he walked, he has strong ties in the ballyferrmot/inchicore area and became friendly with dolan at that time so where ever dolan goes his money does too..

the club are forging links in new york at the mo and there is an idea on the table at the mo which could make the club a six figure sum....so there is stuff bveing done behind the scenes, but there is a small number of people involved with the club, majority of which have full time jobs, remember that...

btw if you have any marketing or money making ideas for the club let me know, i am currently doing up a marketing proposal of whcih i hope some of the ideas will be put into pratice in the closed season or for the start of next season.

[max power]

he also has put serious money into the youth of ballyfermott.

[DaithiT]

[QUOTE=Cop on]I am merely stating that we must push out the boundaries and the expectations.
No matter what league you look at there are allways small teams in there and
their no 1 goal is to survive when they get to that level. Take Freiburg in Germany for example they have been up and down two or three times over the past 10 years. Do they moan about the fact that the management etc haven't set their goals higher?, no because they are a realistic bunch. Have
they fired their coach during this period?, again the answer is no beacuse he
gets the max out of the resources he has.

Do you really believe that Longford can set their goals as high as Shelbournes?? We are a village compared to most other teams in the league.
And where are Athlone, Mullingar, and Tullamore in this equation??? They may be the most prosperous towns in the midlands but do they have a team in the first div??? If somebody had told you 8 years ago that the town would win the FAI cup and play european football twice you would have told them to get off the drugs!!!!! Its time to get realistic and enjoy this era because
you might be an "old" moaner when it comes along again.

[Enda M]

Cop on is right.this club has no ambition.last year we were all talking of how we could go for europe and suddenly battle to stay up is all your happy with.we have a good squad of players who are not motivated enough to go each week and consistently perform in the red and black.matthews is not doing his job.shels performance in europe was unbelievable and if they get hammered 8-0 they will still be known as the side that drew in landsdowne against one of europes BEST TEAMS yet longford cannot beat a vaduz squad from liechtwenstein who in 10 years have not won a game before this year and the shocking thing is they beat us twice.vaduz were nothing compared to the bulgarian lovech team we played in 2001.
for longfordian to say what has kenny won is absolute shi*e.i have no doubt in my mind that if matthews was given the job kenny was in 1998 we must certainly would NOT be where we are now.what kenny achieved was nothing short of unbelivable

[Longfordian]

Stephen Kenny did a lot of good things for Longford Town I never denied that but he did pretty well out of us too, then f*cked us over without a second thought. He deserves a lot of credit but it wasnt just down to him, those who took over the club at the time had a big part to play too. Your argument that if Mathews had got the job in 1998 we wouldn't be where we are now is pointless, no-one knows how it would have turned out. A lot of people would feel that if Kenny had stayed we'd be in Division One by now, but its all ifs and buts, we should focus on the here and now and there's still a lot of football to be played this season. Can we please move on from this debate as im getting really tired of it..lets just agree to disagree..

[Flea]

Stephen Kenny did a lot of good things for Longford Town I never denied that but he did pretty well out of us too, then f*cked us over without a second thought. He deserves a lot of credit but it wasnt just down to him, those who took over the club at the time had a big part to play too. Your argument that if Mathews had got the job in 1998 we wouldn't be where we are now is pointless, no-one knows how it would have turned out. A lot of people would feel that if Kenny had stayed we'd be in Division One by now, but its all ifs and buts, we should focus on the here and now and there's still a lot of football to be played this season. Can we please move on from this debate as im getting really tired of it..lets just agree to disagree..

Stephen Kenny did a lot of good things for Longford! It sounds like he was sent out to get the ice-creams for half-time and came back with 11 99's with a flake too. The man got us into the premier with a very very average team but a hugely committed team.. mmm... can I say that about the team now...no its actually the contrary.No-one knows how it would have turned out with Matthews if he was in charge in 1998 but I can rely on the facts, Kenny was a great manager who had far limited resources than today and when a bigger job came along he grabbed it (although not in the best fashion) the man chased success, whats wrong with that and I think he even managed to get free sprinkles on the cones.

[Longfordian]

Just move on ok this thread has been done to death already..

[max power]

Stephen Kenny did a lot of good things for Longford! It sounds like he was sent out to get the ice-creams for half-time and came back with 11 99's with a flake too. The man got us into the premier with a very very average team but a hugely committed team.. mmm... can I say that about the team now...no its actually the contrary.No-one knows how it would have turned out with Matthews if he was in charge in 1998 but I can rely on the facts, Kenny was a great manager who had far limited resources than today and when a bigger job came along he grabbed it (although not in the best fashion) the man chased success, whats wrong with that and I think he even managed to get free sprinkles on the cones.

kenny got his cahnce to put whatever he wanted on his cone at bohs and he got sacked, simple fact.......

alan all the way.

[Albert]

I think that we are missing the point here, of course we all want to see Town challenge for the league, of course thats the ultimate ambition of every fan and I am sure of the management and board too. Anyone who thinks that the fans or management doesnt want to challenge for the title is being incredibly naieve. However while that may be what we want it is ridiculous to spend our time moaning and complaining because we dont win it!! We want more than mere survival but given our tiny base and resources we are grateful for survival and while we may aim for higher goals it would be a danger to the club as a viable entity should we start making such aims a priority while forgetting where we come from or what should realistically be expected from our resources............

[DaithiT]

So Mr Cop it, and if your such an expert in the world of footie then please
try to explain to me why the likes of Spurs, Everton, Man City and a bunch of other teams have failed in their conquest to win the Premier League?? Look
at Liverpool, they have no desire either or what???? We are a small country team that has had a lot of success over the past few years and sure it would be great to win the league but with our Budget etc I cant see it happening. We are the Everton, Spurs in our league and its time you grew up and realised that.
I played against the Town many times when they were a county team
but your way too young to even know that judging by your posts. They have come a long long way since then so no need to start getting greedy. Pity you didn't make it to Vaduz, you may live to regret it.

[Albert]

Cop on, I propose that its time you laid out this great business plan that you seem to have tucked away before us all. You clearly seem to know how to win League titles withoutspending money, which iswonderful news for all town fans and please go ahead and share it with us............

Oh and yes remember that in your world palyers cannot have a dip in form and that if they do you get saced and all your ideas are presumed to be crap. So yes lets rise above all this bull and now that you can talk the talk tell us what needs t be done differently which can GUARANTEE us the league title as thats what you seem to want from everyone else

and sure if you want t be a big club all you have to do is say it and then you know what you magically become one :mad:

[Albert]

thats fair enough but its not all about training heart and determination either. If it was Eircom league clubs would do a lot better in Europe and the ManUs and Real Madrids of this world would win nothing. Look at shels, Bohs, even the drogs going full time has had a huge impact on their league position so unfortunately whether you like it or not, the facts speak for themselves money has a huge bearing.

I agree its not the only factor but I honestly dont believe that no one at the club knows how to train or motivate, how else would we have done so well last year and still be doing reasonably for a bad season this year? Im still waiting to hea your suggestions for training and motivation, tell us what you see that is so wrong, what is done badly behind the scenes that you know about and what would you propose to do if you had the job? Like I said cut the bull, if you have the answer spit it out, if not, the leave the people who are trying it their way to do it

[max power]

Oh Dotty T, you flatter me so ! I would dearly love to be as young as you protest I am. Proud I am to boast that I witnessed the two greatest Town players of all time - the Great Zac and the mighty Heysham - in their prime (and they spawned two gorgeous daughters to boot - proof of true greatness !)
It horrifies me to think we would be as mediocre as Spurs, Everton or Liverpool. We MUST raise the bar. Look at last night. Rovers were absolutely atrocious. Disgraceful. We should have hammered them off the park. With all our talent we should have blown them away. Instead, we labouriously, torturously trawled through 120 mins of football for a result. ENOUGH. We are going backwards. Are you happy to settle for that ? Every other team has improved since last season, but we're no better. In fact, we're arguably worse. I don't accept these jaded arguments of small budget, small town and small minded businessmen. We must raise above this bull$hit. We must strive to get better, otherwise we are going down. But, ah sure, aren't we doing soooo well for such a wee town !

right cop on, i am involved in putting a marketing proposal to the club in the coming weeks, lets have some of your ideas to move the club forward. all i've heard out of you are complaints, but yet no soloution ???

as albert said, training and motivation soloutions as well please.

[DaithiT]

Cop on, stop bull****ing and do something. Go up to Jim Hanly and give him all your super duper solutions how you see and believe that the Town will conquer Ireland within the next 2-4 years and when they do you cant be then fully satisfied or??? Like lets go on and be the Kingpins of Europe within
7-10 years :D

[max power]

well said, cop on jim is at nearly every game and ALL ideas are welcomed by him, not by other mind you, but thats another days work.

[Longfordian]

No manager is going to get on with 100% of his players but the vast majority of them have great respect for him, they wouldn't have showed such heart and determination last night if that wasnt the case. Those on the European trip who spent a good bit of time in the company of the squad and management will tell you the same thing.

That's a valid point about employing someone and I believe that will happen at some stage soon, but as regards looking for a partner club in England, that's easier said than done, and the benefits are dubious. No-one is exactly beating down the door for Longford's best talent, which is what English clubs are usually interested in.
I would like to think this season was about knocking some proper shape into the club off the field and the UEFA A Licence standards had to be met and were met but not without a lot of work. In the off season and next season hopefully there will be room for planning for the future but this season a lot of mistakes from the past are having/had to be dealt with. Nobody is resting on their laurels it just takes time and the longer we're in the Premier Division the further we're progressing as a club. Just have a bit of faith in the club. Thats my view on the subject, now i really think we should move on..all the debating on here really achieves f*ck all..theres more significant ways of putting your views across

[max power]

I told you before - get 100 rich Longford people at home and abroad to give 10,000 yo-yos each and you would have a fantastic basis from which to start. You've got to approach these guys with money to burn. YES, they are out there. Seamus Ross, Albert Reynolds, Dessie Hynes, Jim Reynolds, etc, etc, There's loads of them. Get the diaspora - Australia, America. Start generating goodwill. There's still a lot of bad feeling among SOME folk about the good old bad old days. Invite these rich guys to a corporate gig of some sort. Generate interest. How can the bloody Longford GAAH (a voluntary outfit) organise a massive fundraising gig (the races) EVERY year and they can't win a big match to save their lives (Kerry & Westmeath this year apart);
yet we've won the cup & have got to four cup finals in a few seasons and we can't generate a fraction of that interest. You've got to ask yourself why we can't generate that interest ? Granted it's a malaise across the league in general, but we should have an added advantage over Dublin clubs in that people can relate to the club - small, local, rural. You could put in a section of "soft seats" for corporate contributors. You could have "Friends of LTFC" - silver, gold & platinum - similar to what they've got in the Abbey & Gate theatres - Give them discounts & loads of publicity. Put their names in the programme every week.
Now, that's a start. When you've done all that, come back to me for more.


ok for a start, i mentioned some of those points in previous threads....the comperate event was down for march but moved to november, it was on de town web site.

some of those money men you mentioned wouldn't give you the steam of their pi$$, namely a certain showband family.....

the seats thing might work, but ya know what people in longford are like, look at yur man in the fancy seat.....

there is a large event in the pipeline in new york also, in spring of next year as well.

btw i want to put my name forward for that job :D

[Longfordian]

Right then Max, its paying €5 a day and you have to work 10 hours a day ;) ..Cop on, these are all good ideas but they've been thought of before, I know for a fact that at least three of the people you've mentioned have been sounded out before and aren't interested in giving any kind of serious money, they might buy a table at the corporate lunch but they wouldnt do any more, you underestimate what a GAA hard core background these money men have. They didnt get where they are by being overly generous.. the newly formed New York supporters club is working away quietly with the view to organising a couple of things in the spring which should be of benefit. The idea of the seats has been mentioned before too, a lot of these ideas arent new but would, I think, require a whole committee devoted to nothing but fundraising, if it were to be done right, and as i've said before it will be looked at

[Enda M]

at Liverpool, they have no desire either or what???? We are a small country team that has had a lot of success over the past few years and sure it would be great to win the league but with our Budget etc I cant see it happening. We are the Everton, Spurs in our league and its time you grew up and realised that.
I played against the Town many times when they were a county team
but your way too young to even know that judging by your posts. They have come a long long way since then so no need to start getting greedy. Pity you didn't make it to Vaduz, you may live to regret it.

first we are talking about loi not the champions league and we are a country team with most of OUR PLAYERS FROM DUBLIN.....

[Sonic]

its ok max longfordian daithiT albert yee guys wont be around to pick up the pieces should our club go down. :D

[Albert]

Look I wont even bother replying to sonics comment that I or others wouldnt be around to pick up the pieces because you obviously have no idea. Anyway I see where you are coming rom but I just think you could do with approaching it a bit more constructively, there is no point knocking the manager or back room team or being pi$$ed off because we dont win the league. We can be disappointed this season but there is no point blaming it on everyone and anyone and saying its all a disaster because all things considered(including budget) its not.

Im sure your idea of getting big business men could be a flyer but generally these take a lot of cajoling they must be brought on board gradually, and I would imagine the club are working on this, for such a programme you would need say a 5 year plan, people wont give money overnight. Ithink some people here saying that these guys wouldnt give money is simply giving up before they give them a chance. I think the club will work on this type of corporate thing but again it will take time.

Finally however I would be totally opposed to leting any club in England have anything to do with us. English clubs are only interested in profit and history shows all such asociations have not been good for the Irish clubs, the endorse our seemingly ameteur status in a lot of peoples eyes, make us look inferior, and clubs loose many good players to the english clubs who then never make use of them. Even for training and management itwould be a disaster as English clubs only want to take over they would help us for charity. So sorry but Keep that one I want nothing to do with english clubs.

[Sonic]

Why was Brian Mcgoverns name not on the sponsors page is it official that he is gone

[Longfordian]

Still our player officially as no-one came in for him, he's not being considered for the squad, he has declared himself injured at the moment, but I think the programme editor took it upon themselves to take out his picture, it wasnt an official policy or anything

[max power]

don't ya just love the programme :D

[observer]

I did'nt notice the ommission from the programme at the match.
How childish, petty and unprofessional has the club become. If the player is still officially at the club then he should be in the programme. What about his sponsor? Did the sponsor ask for their name to be removed? Even if they did the photo itself should have been left in. Does it make sense to keep knocking the guy? All these narrowminded sh-t heads are doing is lowering the value of a player the club wants to unload. it might also be borne in mind that not all supporters have jumped on the anti McGovern bandwagon. The upsurge in form of the team has an awful lot more to do with the selection of Eric Lavine, and Dessie Bakers performances, than it has with the dropping and insulting of McGovern. :( :mad:

[max power]

ommiting sponsor and bad mouthing sponsors in the same programme, wow they did well last week, agree with every thing observer said above.

[Longfordian]

As I said already nobody officially decided to exclude McGovern, he's still our player, there's only one person who decided to leave his photo out, you know who it is, no not Alan Mathews, he actually didnt want it taken out because he's still our player. His sponsor was I'd imagine moved to another blank space..It's not official club policy to be running Brian McGovern down and if he hadnt asked for a transfer he'd be in the squad at the moment, it's not like anyone said right we'll airbrush McGovern out of history, he has played his part and is still under contract to us. At the end of the day that was all decided by the programme editor, the club hasn't become petty and unprofessional it was a premature thing to do and should be put right but whether it will be done in time for this programme I dont know, I genuinely dont think there was any bad intentions, he just jumped the gun a bit..The programme is bit of a one man operation, everyone else has more than enough to be doing, editing standards may have been a bit lax but you know who to talk to on that one

[max power]

:D all i'll say is thats two problems with the same issue of the programme.....but sure we all have our off days, well not me obviously :cool: but other do

[observer]

The official club match programme is a window into the club. Nothing that portrays a position or stance on any issue, which is not that of the committee, should be included unless it is done with the disclaimer "this is the editor's/writers personal opinion and does not represent the official viewpoint of the club. No one person can do as they wish just because they or the club deem them to be indispensible. Yes it is childish! yes it is petty! and definitely it is unprofessional. :( :mad: