(Very early) Transfer gossip/squad retention

[prince20]

Yeh i was told Alan Byrne and Schlingernan were coming with Cooke alright. Told Schlingerman is coming even if cooke doesnt come. Starting to think id prefer Cooke to Roddy.

Have to agree with MiniMourinho on Cooke. Obviously the decision makers have no idea as to why Drogheda are not renewing his contract but hopefully they find out before its too late. As for Schlingerman signing without knowing who the manager is??? Did you make this up yourself??

[ATFC-1887]

Yes i made it up as i was typing it :confused:

[KeepersBall]

Mini Mourinho is clearly a Drogs board member, hasn't a good word to say about Cooke.
As a Drogs fan the apparently imminent announcement of Robbie Horgan does not instil me with any great degree of satisfaction, Martin Russel and a former D

[White Horse]

There are a lot of angry people in Drogheda. If Robbie Horgan gets the job, he will need to make a good impression from the beginning. I was talking to a Drogs fan I know through local football. He was one of the people who went door to door in 2008 collecting money to keep the club alive. Now he is talking about a boycott.

[SeanDrog]

There are a lot of angry people in Drogheda. If Robbie Horgan gets the job, he will need to make a good impression from the beginning. I was talking to a Drogs fan I know through local football. He was one of the people who went door to door in 2008 collecting money to keep the club alive. Now he is talking about a boycott.

Interesting position to take - each to their own. For me most haven't a clue what's happened with Cooke (me included) hence it's impossible to say who is at fault - board or Cooke . All we get is rumours from both sides and as I get older I've learned to ignore rumours out of Utd as they are usually propaganda from one side or another.

So I'm not sure how or why a boycott of the club is a constructive action.

Unless he means walking away from the club in disgust (as he sees it) which I can understand (as many are very annoyed). But a boycott?

But if that's their position then they are fully entitled to take whatever (legal lol) action they want.

Very true about Horgan , he will have a lot of pressure on him.

I'm waiting to see how many players he can retain (his first major test).

I actually think he is an interesting option - he knows the players, has been heavily involved in the successes and more of a known entity than an outsider.

Maybe he (as number two) was a major factor in Cooks success and maybe he wasn't, first few games will tell.

Lol assuming he gets the post (but rumours are strongly indicating he will).

Although I fully understand some peoples major annoyance and differing views on the issues, I'm personally looking extremely forward to the new season.

[wandererfan]

At least one things for sure, the league starts on 7th March 2014

[MiniMourinho]

Mini Mourinho is clearly a Drogs board member, hasn't a good word to say about Cooke.
As a Drogs fan the apparently imminent announcement of Robbie Horgan does not instil me with any great degree of satisfaction, Martin Russel and a former D

Clearly!

Funny how I cant have an anti-Mick Cooke opinion without being labelled a board member! Just pathetic! Ive got a very valid reason not to like Cooke, thanks very much.

[sidcon]

Players confirmed so far for Bohemians

" new signing Lee Murphy, the former Shels
goal-keeper.

Re-signed from the past season’s squad are: Dean Delaney, Roberto Lopes,
Dave Mulcahy, Derek Pender, Keith Buckley, Karl Moore, Andy Mulligan,
Stephen Traynor and Dinny Corcoran."

[IrishRossi]

see it on twitter Stephen Rice is gone from rovers

[D24Saint]

see it on twitter Stephen Rice is gone from rovers

be very interesting to see where he ends up there are lack of options in Dublin, Bohs,Bray & $hels broke and I dont think Bucko would touch him and past that dont think Kenny would take him in Dundalk either I think he has had his last big pay day in the LOI.

[IrishRossi]

maybe he will ventre down the country

[Lim till i die]

Surely Limerick will throw him a few quid

Is he any good?

[Jofspring]

Surely Limerick will throw him a few quid

Is he any good?

He'd do a job for us. Would be a good player to have in the middle of the park with a potentially young midfield.

[KeepersBall]

The scenario on the Mick Cooke thing was something like this.
Two former directors have helped oput together a consortium from the UK that hope to buy Hunky Dory Park and help develop it as a regional medical centre with the HSE, it will in effect be a massive medical shopping centre area, right beside the Lourdes Hospital.
The same consortium have agreed to advance money for the development of the new stadium, the opposite side of the town on land donated by Coke, as soon as the whole medical idea gets planning permission, that happened a few weeks back, so things are ready to move.
Cooke was introduced to the consortium as the go to man in the club for football, and the current board didn't like that as they don't want to deal with any of the old directors.
This was augmented by the fact that Robbie Horgan has effectively been touting for Cookes job, he has been drip feeding stuff to the board which led to Mini Mourinho and his mates speaking to Cooke over team selection etc, and while on the first two occasions the manager passed this off, he eventually snapped at the constant interference and told the chairman where to get off.
This came to a head shortly after the board had withdrawn their contract offer, when chairman Jim Agnew and Cooke were seen by fans to be involved ina heated discussion on the Oriel Park pitch after we had lost 1-0 in a league match.
The board who have to be commended for their efforts in sorting out financial matters, have seriously mis managed this whole thing, and if Horgan gets the job, as appears likely, although Martin Russell and possibly ex Drog Sami Ristalia are outsiders,the likelihood of a fans boycott will increase.
In typical Drogheda fashion though it is unlikely to be anything organised, more a case of lads being that disillusioned at the boards actions they will just not bother going.
Things have got extremely messy up there, the kit man the legendary Dave 'Cabbage' Kavangh has departed, and was involved in a bizzarre incident after the cup final, when as is tradition the players kept their shirts as souvenirs, some board members requested Cabbage to get them back as the kit belonged to the club, what he said in response is not fit to be printed here.
The general feeling amongst most Drogs is that whoever managed to engineer a situation in which Mick Cooke departed, and it certainly was NOT Cooke, needs to have his head resting alongside that of St Oliver Plunketts in St Peter Chapel.
Now while all of the above may not be 100% accurate in timescale and as to how things actually played out, the facts are all there.
At least one member of the current board is considering his position, and to give you an indication of how frustrated people have got, have a look at this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy-VTWtSc1E#t=17

That's local; radio football commentator Gerry Kelly, normally the mildest mannered of men telling the board his feelings after the last game of the season against Bohs.
The fans have been saying much the same as well.

[Mr A]

Lots of questions arise from this.

And what sort of record would these former directors have on the whole running Drogheda United / property deals front?

And why would they get in touch with Cooke? Surely they should be dealing with the board and indeed being open with the fans if they want to get this wonder deal for DUFC done? Are we to believe that the people in charge at Drogheda have gone so mad so quickly that they now hold back the club they helped save? How can the old directors have planning on a site they don't own?

[KeepersBall]

Answers in order.

I don't know what sort of record they would have on property deals, although as one of them is a highly respected solicitor I would suggest everything is above board on this.
The reason they got in touch with Cooke was a courtesy gesture to introduce the consortium to the main football man in the club.
Yes it would seem that the people in charge have gone mad quite quickly, there appears to be no other logical explanation as to why they would rule out the possibility of acquiring fresh finance just because of the people who may have arranged it.
At the very least they have a duty of obligation to the fans and club to explore all avenues even if they end up deciding to decline any proposition.
As regards the planning permission I believe it is the HSE that are involved in that and that they have permission to build this medical complex, and the consortium will provide the finance.
I don't know the whole ins and outs of that.
What I do know is the board have cost us arguably our best ever manager.

[MiniMourinho]

The scenario on the Mick Cooke thing was something like this.
Two former directors have helped oput together a consortium from the UK that hope to buy Hunky Dory Park and help develop it as a regional medical centre with the HSE, it will in effect be a massive medical shopping centre area, right beside the Lourdes Hospital.
The same consortium have agreed to advance money for the development of the new stadium, the opposite side of the town on land donated by Coke, as soon as the whole medical idea gets planning permission, that happened a few weeks back, so things are ready to move.
Cooke was introduced to the consortium as the go to man in the club for football, and the current board didn't like that as they don't want to deal with any of the old directors.
This was augmented by the fact that Robbie Horgan has effectively been touting for Cookes job, he has been drip feeding stuff to the board which led to Mini Mourinho and his mates speaking to Cooke over team selection etc, and while on the first two occasions the manager passed this off, he eventually snapped at the constant interference and told the chairman where to get off.
This came to a head shortly after the board had withdrawn their contract offer, when chairman Jim Agnew and Cooke were seen by fans to be involved ina heated discussion on the Oriel Park pitch after we had lost 1-0 in a league match.
The board who have to be commended for their efforts in sorting out financial matters, have seriously mis managed this whole thing, and if Horgan gets the job, as appears likely, although Martin Russell and possibly ex Drog Sami Ristalia are outsiders,the likelihood of a fans boycott will increase.
In typical Drogheda fashion though it is unlikely to be anything organised, more a case of lads being that disillusioned at the boards actions they will just not bother going.
Things have got extremely messy up there, the kit man the legendary Dave 'Cabbage' Kavangh has departed, and was involved in a bizzarre incident after the cup final, when as is tradition the players kept their shirts as souvenirs, some board members requested Cabbage to get them back as the kit belonged to the club, what he said in response is not fit to be printed here.
The general feeling amongst most Drogs is that whoever managed to engineer a situation in which Mick Cooke departed, and it certainly was NOT Cooke, needs to have his head resting alongside that of St Oliver Plunketts in St Peter Chapel.
Now while all of the above may not be 100% accurate in timescale and as to how things actually played out, the facts are all there.
At least one member of the current board is considering his position, and to give you an indication of how frustrated people have got, have a look at this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy-VTWtSc1E#t=17

That's local; radio football commentator Gerry Kelly, normally the mildest mannered of men telling the board his feelings after the last game of the season against Bohs.
The fans have been saying much the same as well.

Honestly dont know where to start with this, so im just not goin to! Your novel belongs in the fantasy section though.

[White Horse]

Honestly dont know where to start with this, so im just not goin to! Your novel belongs in the fantasy section though.

Why have Drogheda United not allowed the facts to emerge?

I speak to a lot of people from Drogheda and there are enough theories about Cooke to write 10 novels. You do realise that in the absence of any authoritive information, people will speculate and this will only fuel the anger and division that is there.

There are ways of getting information in the public without having to issue an official press release. The board have done wonders stabilising the club, something I didn't think was possible in 2008. But they haven't a clue about PR.

[Nailor]

J Chambers, B Dennehy, D Elebert, D Ledwith, C McCormack, K Oman, C Powell, S Rice, T Stewart all released by Rovers.

Whatever about a few of them , but not giving Rice and McCormack a new deal could, and I believe , Will, backfire spectacularly in Trevor's clueless mush.

[MiniMourinho]

Why have Drogheda United not allowed the facts to emerge?

They took legal advice on the issue. The advice in order to best protect the club from any legalities was to say nothing. Have you seen the recent crowd numbers!? Unfortunately in financial terms the club is not well-off enough to protect itself in any legal battle.

Worse so, even though the club made this information public some people have chosen to ignore it and pretend as if they are saying nothing because they have a deep, dark secret to hide. Poor form for people who have nothing better to do with their time.

.......now im off to a board meeting. Chat later!

[Sam_Heggy]

Can't believe Croly got rid of McCormack and Rice, whatever about the rest, those 2 would make most sides in the league comfortably.

I think McCormack is a quality player.

Is it possibly a case of Croly wanting to red out a few who maybe be "big" characters in the dressing room?? Not able to handle them?

[SeanDrog]

.......now im off to a board meeting. Chat later!

Lol that made me laugh out loud :)

[White Horse]

J Chambers, B Dennehy, D Elebert, D Ledwith, C McCormack, K Oman, C Powell, S Rice, T Stewart all released by Rovers.

Whatever about a few of them , but not giving Rice and McCormack a new deal could, and I believe , Will, backfire spectacularly in Trevor's clueless mush.

That is some massacre. The Rovers board are backing Croly to the hilt.

[CityRebel]

No mention of Pat Sullivan

[Charlie Darwin]

This is absolutely baffling. Ricer and McCormack should have been ever-present in midfield this season. Croly releasing his best friend James Chambers is equally strange but merited as he's been murder. I suspect Pats will have an embarrassment of riches in that department should they hang on to their own players and take their pick of those three.

[dejadem]

Cooke was introduced to the consortium as the go to man in the club for football

Great story there. So the consortium of mega bucks men introduce themselves to the first team manger before they put their plans to the club shareholders? Yeah, that's a good start.

[Dodge]

Pats are signing McCormack and Oman. Don't know about any others.

[avvenalaf]

I knew that Oman was being shafted (there's a story there) but letting McCormack go is a mistake.

[Jofspring]

Always going to be a clear out at rovers. They need a fresh start and I'm sure that's how Croly feels.

Any of those players though would be good additions to any team in this league.

[Kiki Balboa]

Going to be very interesting at what happens at Shams, Should Pats and Sligo be worried as I dont think they have most of their squads signed up.

Billy Dennehy will be an excellent signing for someone.

[Dodge]

Going to be very interesting at what happens at Shams, Should Pats and Sligo be worried as I dont think they have most of their squads signed up.


I'm sure they do, but they're not announcing them yet. Pats player of the year do is on Saturday, there's talk of most "announcements" being made then

[Dalymountrower]

This is absolutely baffling. Ricer and McCormack should have been ever-present in midfield this season. Croly releasing his best friend James Chambers is equally strange but merited as he's been murder. I suspect Pats will have an embarrassment of riches in that department should they hang on to their own players and take their pick of those three.

Other than Mc Cormack, who was your stand out player two years ago, not that baffling CD. Trimming the wage bill and the Body Mass Index and looking to go with a younger team to generate a bit of spirit I suppose. How is Shane Robinson kept on there,? that is baffling.

[Dodge]

He's kept on Robinson, Sullivan, Foran and Brush. None of whom would get in the match day 18 for Pats, Sligo and maybe Dundalk

[Quayman]

He's kept on Robinson, Sullivan, Foran and Brush. None of whom would get in the match day 18 for Pats, Sligo and maybe Dundalk

Actually, none would get into our starting 11, we have signed back our entire starting 11 unlike two of the other mentioned clubs.

Forrester showing his ambitions by going on trial to Bristol City!!!

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/12691/9024123/forrester-lands-robins-trial

[Charlie Darwin]

Other than Mc Cormack, who was your stand out player two years ago, not that baffling CD. Trimming the wage bill and the Body Mass Index and looking to go with a younger team to generate a bit of spirit I suppose. How is Shane Robinson kept on there,? that is baffling.
Rice has been the club's best player over the past few seasons. The only reason I can see for letting him go is that he still has a day job which might not fit in with the schedule. Other than that, Ledwith looked a sight better than Powell any time he played and, along with Chambers and Elebert, was a Croly signing.

[cobhlad]

In yesterday's Evening Echo, "Ramblers on verge of getting new sponsorship...... The club are sorting out their budget and if their prospective Bosnian businessman and investor comes on board, the future will be rosy indeed for the harbour town club." Don't know where this is coming from but sounds good!

[Charlie Darwin]

All these Bosnian billionaires are ruining football.

[Dodge]

Actually, none would get into our starting 11, we have signed back our entire starting 11 unlike two of the other mentioned clubs.

Defo wouldn't get in your first 11. Foran might be on your bench. No idea what your sub keeper is like either

[DUFC4life]

They took legal advice on the issue. The advice in order to best protect the club from any legalities was to say nothing. Have you seen the recent crowd numbers!? Unfortunately in financial terms the club is not well-off enough to protect itself in any legal battle.
!
Buts its well-off enough to **** off a huge majority of that tiny crowd? I dont know the ins and outs so not getting into cooke vs board argument, but it has been handled horribly and unless Sami gets the job, there will be nobody at games next year.

[Ezeikial]

Why have Drogheda United not allowed the facts to emerge?



They took legal advice on the issue. The advice in order to best protect the club from any legalities was to say nothing. Have you seen the recent crowd numbers!? Unfortunately in financial terms the club is not well-off enough to protect itself in any legal battle.



The legal advice may have been sound from the perspective of minimising the risk of litigation, but saying nothing creates a vacuum that others will fill.

As White Horse has alluded to, it is a spectacular own goal in PR terms by the Drogheda board. The club can ill afford to further alienate the diminishing band of supporters, well-wishers and local business community.

While a recovery of the position is possible, it appears that for all the good work done to date, the board may now be out of it's depth

[MiniMourinho]

Point taken. Fair enough.

What could they do PR wise when they couldn't say anything related to the reason he was let go? Was it ever going to be a win situation when they were against a manager in cahoots with others who were free to make up and spread whatever they liked in the local media? A media who was only too happy to run with it without questioning anything, purely because controversy sells.

[Mr A]

Bit harsh. As far as we know what they're guilty of is that they didn't renew a manager's contract and did not get involved in a slagging match after this became public.

Felix Healy launched a major and very unfair attack on FHFC when he left the first time and the club responded- and he just threw more mud and it didn't help anything. I can understand why a club wouldn't even attempt to get involved- they can't win no matter what they do.

[bluewhitearmy]

Early look at Athlones squad for the 2014 season http://www.droghedaunited.ie/squad/index.php.

[White Horse]

Point taken. Fair enough.

What could they do PR wise when they couldn't say anything related to the reason he was let go? Was it ever going to be a win situation when they were against a manager in cahoots with others who were free to make up and spread whatever they liked in the local media? A media who was only too happy to run with it without questioning anything, purely because controversy sells.

Unattributed sources, "this newspaper understands" etc etc.

There are many ways of dictating the story line without making official statements and creating legal difficulties.

Cooke has dictated the story and, while it may not have been his objective, he has created trouble for the Board.

[KeepersBall]

Funnily enough the Drogs DID have a board meeting this morning. The new manager was being discussed.
The club may not be well off enough to protect itself in a legal battle, but if it didn't completely screw up on the Cooke issue there wouldn't be anything to worry about in the first place.
What is really annoying a lot of fans is the fact that the board will not just come out and say 'Okay sorry we handled that badly, can we all move on now please', their combined egos won't allow them.

[MiniMourinho]

Funnily enough the Drogs DID have a board meeting this morning.

Ah! I see now. Were you not told to shut up spreading **** by everyone over on the Drogs forum? Decided to come over here now? What pleasure do you get out of spreading endless rumour?

[KeepersBall]

To quote the legendary Joey The Lips, 'I speak the truth brother Rabbitte'

[Strongbow10]

Looks like Roddy has ruled himself out of the race to be Athlone manager.

http://www.westmeathindependent.ie/news/roundup/articles/2013/11/13/4018403-breaking-news-roddy-collins-out-of-town-manager-race/

Both sides have shown alot of fault here in fairness, I think Roddy blew a golden opportunity to rebuild his rep in the premier by asking for silly money off the Athlone board, money which they simply cannot commit to spending in this climate. I still firmly believe that our crowds will seriously dip well below this seasons if we sit in the bottom 2-3 for the majority of the season.

Therefore the board have a huge call to make in terms of how much they are willing to commit in terms of finances. Roddy clearly believes the potential is there but his own ability in the premier is under question aswell.

He should have kept his mouth shut, looked for an increase in the budget but nothing extortionate. There are plenty of fans online slamming the board for letting Roddy go, calling the club a disgrace etc... but you simply cannot commit that kind of money (which if it goes tits up, could bankrupt the club) on the back of a promise.

I don't think Roddy is the man for the premier if the brief is to be cautious and consolidate.

We need 2-3 seasons of consolidation at premier level. Even in terms of crowds, its a pipedream to be even expecting an average of 1500 per home game. its not going to happen when we are struggling for our lives next season, even if we are midtable playing meaningless fixtures.

Lets see what the interest is like. Its all well and good basing it on numbers racked up during a once off successful season like last season was.

The final game of the season told a small story, there was a smaller crowd to see us pick up the trophy against our closest rivals (who brought a good crowd themselves) than there was against Waterford in the previous game (and Waterford brought nobody).

It'll be very interesting to see what attendances are like once the honeymoon period of the first few games finishes.

[Charlie Darwin]

Speaking as a Rovers fan, who has no reason to give Roddy any credit at all, I think it's a bit much to suggest Roddy's ability in the Premier is under question. He is undoubtedly one of the best managers in the country - the issue is that his ambition always outweighs his resources. Not saying Athlone should have given in to his demands - they are dead right to make a budget and stick to it - but he generally makes good on what he's given because he's a talented manager.

[Strongbow10]

Speaking as a Rovers fan, who has no reason to give Roddy any credit at all, I think it's a bit much to suggest Roddy's ability in the Premier is under question. He is undoubtedly one of the best managers in the country - the issue is that his ambition always outweighs his resources. Not saying Athlone should have given in to his demands - they are dead right to make a budget and stick to it - but he generally makes good on what he's given because he's a talented manager.

genuine question not sniping at all, but how would you judge his record at premier level when resources are not competitive with the top sides?

And whats his temperment like at that level when he simply cannot match wages that Rovers, Pats et al will offer?

There has to be some reason he doesn't get a chance to hang around anywhere too long in fairness, is it his temperment i.e throwing his toys out of his pram when being asked to live within his means, or is he the unluckiest manager on the island?

Part of the remit of managing Athlone will be to live within his means and if thats a problem then maybe we are better off looking elsewhere?