Lincol City announce record profits...

[pineapple stu]

£735,000 (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/lincoln_city/4205231.stm)! :eek: About E1m! For an average Division Three team to do that on an average (league) crowd of under 5,000 is incredible - shows how far ahead of the eL even Division Three is in terms of finances. I don't remember Lincoln getting any massive Cup draws or selling and players for big amounts. That profit exceeds the turnover for all bar about four or five eL clubs!

[Gary]

Lincoln, afaik have been getting crowds of 3500-5000. They have been challenging for promotion, albeit, via the play-offs for the last 3 seasons. Plus, their admission price is almost double eL standard admission prices.

Lincoln has a bigger population than most Irish citys, and their stadium (http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/park/yfh45/lincoln.htm) is better than anything in the eL.

Put all those together, and its not all that surprising really.

[Macy]

shows how far ahead of the eL even Division Three is in terms of finances.
Come off it stu, there's plenty of examples of clubs that are in the shít in Division 3 as well, in as bad a state as the worst clubs here....

[pineapple stu]

I know that there are many clubs in dire straits, which is why I'm even more amazed that a Division Three club can record profits of E1m in one year. Most people on this forum will tell you that the eL Premier is better than Div 3, and use that to back up arguments for eL players to get international caps. How true is this? What are the likes of Lincoln doing that our clubs aren't? Gate-wise, they're not much bigger than Cork, and haven't been higher than the Third in nearly 20 years. Add in higher costs (ground maintenance for a better ground, full-time squad beyond most eL clubs, much higher travel costs)...shows how far football clubs have to go in this league.

[CollegeTillIDie]

Lincoln City have a proud tradition of League membership. Back in the 1970's Graham Taylor made his debut as a football manager there, leading them to Fourth Division title in 1975/76. The Red Imps have attracted crowds well into 5 figures at different times in their history. So their recent results should not come as that much of a surprise. By way of comparison.

In the 1975/76 season Shamrock Rovers played to a crowd of less than 50 at Milltown. Admittedly it was played on a Saturday afternoon and they were in the bottom two of the League but nevertheless that was where League of Ireland football's best known brand name was at that self same season. Rovers had to apply for re-election that season for the record.

One question that has always puzzled me about the game in this country.
Bohemians were amateur right up to 1969/70 season. The F.A.I. played all it's senior internationals there until the mid 1970's in front of crowds between 35,000 and 45,000. Why wasn't any money ploughed into developing the ground back then by either outfit?

Bohs have spent a fortune on the ground in recent years past but why did it take so long?

[anto eile]

Add in higher costs....full-time squad beyond most eL clubs, much higher travel costs)...shows how far football clubs have to go in this league.

dont forget that the top EL clubs are paying higher wages thant many div2 and most div3 english clubs. afaik the ave wage in div3 is about stg£350 a week. most EL players, even part-time earn that, here. e.g. Rovers lowest paid player in 2003 (i think) was on part-time wages of E450. some english lower league manager publicly admited a season or two ago that many div2 and div3 clubs cant compete wages-wise with EL clubs

away games they probably just travel on a bus on day-hire (unless they actully own their own one) ,same as in EL. doubt they go flying round the country every second week like english premier clubs

[anto eile]

In the 1975/76 season Shamrock Rovers played to a crowd of less than 50 at Milltown. Admittedly it was played on a Saturday afternoon and they were in the bottom two of the League but nevertheless that was where League of Ireland football's best known brand name was at that self same season. Rovers had to apply for re-election that season for the record.

One question that has always puzzled me about the game in this country.
Bohemians were amateur right up to 1969/70 season. The F.A.I. played all it's senior internationals there until the mid 1970's in front of crowds between 35,000 and 45,000. Why wasn't any money ploughed into developing the ground back then by either outfit?

Bohs have spent a fortune on the ground in recent years past but why did it take so long?

the crowd was somewhere between 69 and 72 afaik. "billy lord" was there and knows the exact figure.

as for dalymount, its not a recent feature of the fai to squander money.
bohs were amateur for 75 years to keep the lower to middle class out of their club btw

[eoinh]

I reckon the reason Lincolns financial results caught your eye is because they actually made a profit. Its so rare for a team in their position that it actually made the headlines.