Has Danny Drew been a good thing for Limerick FC?

[sadloserkid]

Personally I'm hoping this poll will show the club's owners that the majority of us are actually quite thankful they arrived on the scene...

I'm voting yes. Because in terms of structure and layout we're a lot better off than before. A ground with walls and a stand, an U-21's team, a programme (over-priced I'll concede), merchandise. Things have improved. And credit where it's due. So hopefully they'll realise that there's no need for such hostility.

[sadloserkid]

Was gonna give a 'don't know' option but if you don't know don't vote, it's as simple as that! :)

[LFC Blue]

Agree with you 100% SLK. Drews programme notes showed he doesn't lack any passion for the club.

[sadloserkid]

Agree with you 100% SLK. Drews programme notes showed he doesn't lack any passion for the club.

Agreed (isn't all this agreement nice for a change?) :) That said I'd like for DD to realise that the passion the support feels is no less than his own and to react a little better to criticism which is inevitable at times.

And before LFC In Exile reminds us that's there's too much criticism going on and it's understandable that he's frustrated much of the current criticism stems from the manner in which he expresses that frustration so he has effectively caused it by reacting badly to earlier issues that haven't been treated in any form and have thus grown and grown to unconfortable levels. :(

[declan hide]

[QUOTE=sadloserkid]
And before LFC In Exile reminds us that's there's too much criticism going on QUOTE]

:rolleyes:

[Lim till i die]

Despite some teething problems with fan relations ;) I think the answer, when you compare the situation to the past number of years is an undoubted YES :eek: Well, in the short-term anyways, it will be interesting to see if we are still in the first division in four years time with Noel O'Connor still in charge

(So I think you can make that a qualified Yes from me :o )

[patsh]

Lads, I'm only taking the Michael. After almost going out of existence, Drew is to be commended for taking a chance and getting the club in to some sort of decent shape again.

[jebus]

Agree with you 100% SLK. Drews programme notes showed he doesn't lack any passion for the club.

Assuming he wrote them of course, which he apparantly didn't according to what I heard last Friday. I voted no, for the simple reason that I would prefer to properly support a underachieving side that are hanging on financially by a thread very single season than support the kind of side that I'm watching presently. Seriously there's no passion amongst the supporters at games anymore and I put that down to the dislike of many supporters to Danny Drew and Noel O'Connor. A lot of fans I know wouldn;'t exactly mind the team imploding this season just so the pressure would be on the Drew/O'Connor partnership, myself included, which I think everyone can agree on isn't a great state of affairs to have at any club.

[Westside]

Whaaat!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Are you telling us that you would rather spend another season above at The Pike with 40 or 50 supporters , where our squad was so small, our keeper often had to play up front, no money no structure no U21's and no home.No passion!!!!! and we saw loads of that last year didn't we :D Give me a break.............whatever DDrew has done to upset you put it aside, and look at what he has done off the field for one moment, had he not come in this season there would be no Limerick Fc, because the previous regime wouldn't have been able to attain a licence to play at The Pike Rovers Sportsground.I will admit DDrew has made mistakes by getting involved with supporters, If indeed he is Willie John he has learned not to get involved on this forum anymore, which is a start at least, everyone is critical of the club at times on this site, I include myself in that. Noc's team selections of late staggers the imagination and I have voiced my own opinions on that, but I have also said that he needs the season to see how far he has taken this squad.The whole structure has improved enormously since last year, and while results could be better I can't see any reason for your comments other than you having a personal gripe with the DDrew and Noc.

[Kerry Blue]

While I'm still not sure whether NOC has been a good thing for the club considering our recent performances and tactics, I'm in no doubt that Danny Drew has been good for the club. Off the pitch this season is a different planet to last year. We had no ground, no money, no players and no future at the end of last season. Now look it! We may not be heading the right way at the moment on the pitch, but at least off of it things are improving. You have to give credit to Drew for doing what no-one else in the business community in Limerick seemed bothered with, and that was keeping senior football alive in the city.

[4tothefloor]

We're better off now yes, but the only way was up to be honest. That said, the administrative side of things seems to be run well and I've always given Drew credit for that. No one is debating that. That side of things has been brilliantly done, and that's obviously where his strengths lie. (Apart from PR, which is no better than it was under the last crowd). You also have to commend him for sticking his neck out and taking a chance by putting his money into the club, when no one else would.

However, the football side of things leaves a lot to be desired, and that is what we're here for after all, for the football. On the pitch it's putrid stuff, no tactics at all, and the baffling thing is that some quality players have been shipped out\let go, some without having been given a chance. Some of those that are still there are not being utilised in their best positions. But NOC is the manager, so I guess we're going to have to put up with it.

Off the pitch, the treatment of certain players was disgraceful. The attitude of Danny Drew to the fans is shocking. Business acumen yes, running a football club - you've a lot to learn Danny. The paying supporter has a right to express an opinion, and if it's criticism, tough s**t paddy, you're just going to have to learn to take it. The fans of this club have also seen a number of different people take over the club down through the years, and so far, not one of them have delivered. We therefore have every right to be suspicious of Drew and co and what goes on at the club. We have every right to ask questions and every right to express annoyance at things that are blatently wrong. Drew came in last year, all guns blazing, saying he saw us being top of the premier and European football in five years, with a 7,500 all seater ground by 2010. All still possible, but equally, how do we know that it's not a load of hot air? We don't. The whole Willie John thing was laughable, and the saddest thing of all was going around Hogan Park asking people to point him in the direction of posters on here, just because we aired an opinion. "Who is 4tothefloor, who is Nempton, who is jebus?"....etc. :rolleyes: What Drew must understand is that we were here before him, we're here now and we'll still be here long after he is gone, when\if ever that happens.

Put it all together and it's no wonder the fans are deflated. Why was McCarthy made leave? Why is Drew calling the fans "Scumbags"? Why is he seeking out individual supporters (I know of another who was singled out at Hogan Park, doesn't post on here so it's not just foot.ie users). Why can't NOC pick a team properly? :D You're third option SLK should have been 'Yes, but with reservations'. Thats my opinion

[LFC in Exile]

And before LFC In Exile reminds us that's there's too much criticism going on and it's understandable that he's frustrated much of the current criticism stems from the manner in which he expresses that frustration so he has effectively caused it by reacting badly to earlier issues that haven't been treated in any form and have thus grown and grown to unconfortable levels. :(

That's fair enough comment. BTW I don't have a problem with criticism - I think I am one of the most critical if you look at my posts - but its the constant one-sided stuff that gets me. Maybe the problem is that I am just as quick to criticise other posters as the club. This poll shows I think that most of us appreciate the positive developments even when we are unhappy with team performances etc.

I am stunned at the comments of Jebus - was he at the Pike? It was dreadful - I never want Limerick to go back to that. If nothing else happened this year except getting us back to our own ground then it has eben a success. :ball:

[LFC in Exile]

A lot of fans I know wouldn;'t exactly mind the team imploding this season just so the pressure would be on the Drew/O'Connor partnership, myself included, which I think everyone can agree on isn't a great state of affairs to have at any club.

Then I wouldn't call them fans. At that stage your personal dislikes are getting the way of your support for the club and you are guilty of that of which you accuse DD.

[sadloserkid]

. This poll shows I think that most of us appreciate the positive developments even when we are unhappy with team performances etc.

That's why I put it up here.

[Lim till i die]

Seriously there's no passion amongst the supporters at games anymore

Agree with you there I mean, for God sake at the Kilkenny game there were people sitting down :eek: in the middle of the Shed, right behind the goals ;) :D

[LFC in Exile]

there's no passion amongst the supporters at games anymore


A lot of fans I know wouldn;'t exactly mind the team imploding this season

Any connection between the two perhaps? :ball:

[LFC Blue]

The level of chatter in the shed end was quite amusing especially during the first half. It's becoming more of a social event where fellas catch up with their mates at the end of the week. Nobody seemed to notice there was a match going on and to be honest they were better off.

[jebus]

Right better explain myself! Yes Limerick are better off financially now than when we were at Pike, thats obvious to anyone. We have a u21s side that seem to be doing well enough (I don't go to those games because I'm not made of money), yes we have more supporters going to matches, we have a better ground and a better squad than last year, and yes that is due to someone with money coming into the club and investing. All well and good, only that I would much rather have a better chairman at the club than Danny Drew. The man, whilst pumping his money into the club, has taken it upon himself to install himself as lord and master of Limerick Football Club, whatever he says goes and to hell with what the paying customer thinks, they're only scumbags anyway. This type of behaviour, along with the sacking of Kerley, the hiring of O'Brien, the loss of Fyffe, the Willie John affair, the non student pricing policy adopted for a while, the sacking of McCarthy, the covering up of why CP took a sabatical because he's a friend and the whole O'Connor management disaster makes me think he hasn't been a good thing. In a way I should have worded my original post more like 4tothefloor did in his, as in a option of 'yes, but with reservations' would be better, but then again there have been times this season when certain fans have stuck certain heads in the sand over Danny Drew's conduct at this club, (and there are a few more examples which I can't mention), for the simple reason that they don't want to upset him. Said fans have come around to our point of view in regards to O'Connor's appointment, as is shown in the Kerley/O'Connor poll, so how does my opinion on this warrant such a reaction?? Time will tell who is right on this, but I would bank money on Drew uping sticks and leaving Limerick in the lurch in the future (theres already rumours going about about him wanting out) and us returning to the 'old Pike' days, which might I remind people included more than just last season? Fair enough we didn't have as much of a crowd as we should have for the promotion push of 2003, but that has more to do with Limerick City's disgraceful support of football than Danny Drew's influence on the club. I don't want the 3 Amigos back, but I also don't want Danny Drew in charge of this club, so thats why I voted no on this poll.

[Westside]

Fair enough we didn't have as much of a crowd as we should have for the promotion push of 2003, but that has more to do with Limerick City's disgraceful support of football than Danny Drew's influence on the club. I don't want the 3 Amigos back, but I also don't want Danny Drew in charge of this club, so thats why I voted no on this poll.Ok but then how do we have between 400-600 supporters at home games now as opposed to 150-250 in 2003.He must be doing something right.Clubs will always do things to pi$$ people off, jaysus look at Shamrock Rovers, their supporters were paying to keep the club afloat from their own pockets and I'm not just talking about paying to see them play.If anyone in this country should have something to moan about its them. When they did eventually take it over they put the whole squad on the transfer list. Why would supporters do such a thing as get rid of their best players???? because now they have to think as businessmen and not just supporters.
What ever DDrew has done with regard to McCarthy, and all the others that have left, I sure it has been done with the best interests of the club in mind.I agree he has made mistakes but its up to him to learn from them. He is a young man and this venture is all new to him, of course he's going to balls up somethings and loose the head at times, and getting involved with supporters was his biggest mistake, but I can't help feeling that if he did ever pull out, and I hope for the sake of senior soccer in the city he dosen't, it will have been down to the differences that should never have been allowed to escalate to the level we have now.Running any club is difficult let alone running Limerick Fc who if things were done right in the eighties we'd be up there with the likes of Cork City now instead of whinging about off the field matters all the time.The guy has just taken over the club, let him learn to walk before he can run.

[4tothefloor]

I would bank money on Drew uping sticks and leaving Limerick in the lurch in the future
Wouldn't surprise me, his behaviour so far says to me that he doesn't have the head for criticism or the rumour mill that is part and parcel of football, and this is why he has reacted so badly to it. I hope he does learn, and stay on, and the first thing he should do is get rid of his internet connection and stop coming on here, as this is a fans forum. It's the last place a chairman should be coming to. What's he going to do, search out each individual who makes comments that are not to his liking, and accuse them of being 'Poster X' on foot.ie and then ban them from the ground? Not a good idea.


The guy has just taken over the club, let him learn to walk before he can run.
We'll gladly let him learn to walk, but he's going a funny way about it. He's the one challenging fans, not the other way around...Criticising fans initiatives such as the Galway500 for example is not on, it just burns bridges. That was all Drews doing, steming from his bad attitude to the fans. No need for it at all

[LFC in Exile]

These last three posts are all fair enough comments on DD's strengths and weaknesses. He obviously cares about the club - which is shown not least in his reaction to refereeing decisions - he is more vocal than some fans on those. Hopefully he won't go as far as Ollie Byrne. :)

I really hope DD stays on at the club because it is moving in the right direction in terms of being a viable eL club - which is the only thing a chairman should be concerned with. In fact all good chairmen p1ss off the fans. They have different agendas and objectives. If the chairman and fans love each other its time to get worried. Peter Ridsdale anyone?

[jebus]

Ok but then how do we have between 400-600 supporters at home games now as opposed to 150-250 in 2003.

Three words, location, location, location


He must be doing something right.

Well whatever he did right in the start (buses to the games, articles/ads in the local papers) he is undoing right now, as is plainly evident from the falling attendences at the games, and this at a time when we are going for promotion. You can put that down to the brand of football we are playing or the disenchantment with Danny Drew/Noe O'Connor on a football level, but at the end of the day the buck stops with the chairman who hired the current manager and refuses to hear any criticism of him, or indeed his own policies.

As I said in my first post, the level of disinterest in this clubs results is pretty shocking, people still care about the club, but not about the backroom staff, so there is a conflict there. Until that is resolved I don't see attendence levels rising, and since Noel is apparantly signed on for five years then I do see the attendences dropping back to Pike standards within those five years. The old fans feel left out in the cold by Drew, and the new fans won't stick around for long watching the ball being kicked from one end of the pitch to the other. I know a few football fans in Limerick that generally think the Eircom League is a joke, but went along to a Limerick game to check it out, needless to say they won't be back. Why would someone coming to Rathbane for the first time want to watch a throw back to 80s style football?

I said it in the last post, and I'll say it again here, in the long run I will be proven right that Danny won't be a good thing for this club. The only way this won't happen is if Danny reads this at home, throws down his Transformer toys, starts banging his fists on the ground and vows to prove me wrong. :cool:

[Nempton]

I'll vote yes but with a large pinch of salt so until that other option appears rather than just a simple yes, I'll hold back with my vote. There has been a lot of good done in regards off the field and it is good to see the clubs future secure for now, which deserves to be applauded. But I think that Danny has gone backwards in the way he manages the club and really has missed a wonderful opportunity in the long term. I think he would be better to stay in the background rather than turn to the darkside like Ollie Byrne.


Originally by Westside
What ever DDrew has done with regard to McCarthy, and all the others that have left, I sure it has been done with the best interests of the club in mind
Well you would like to think so but alas no...in Derek's case towards the end it was more of a personal thing with NOC. It was great to hear NOC lie on radio about the fact that Derek was the only player who wanted to leave, just like how he left poor Bernie O'Neill out to dry over his programme notes.
But in regards to the others it is clear that Danny was driven by more personal interests instead of the clubs. One point being his paranoia and insecurity and as a result I think Danny missed his calling in history, he really would have loved the 1930's with all the Fascism that emerged and you know Limerick FC do wear the colour blue (something for ye Irish history buffs) so you never know yet. Another apsect to what Danny considers to be in our best interests is making money but I don't believe that offering our best players to other first division clubs is a sign of ambition. If I mentioned whom then there would be a greater uproar than when Derek left. I don't see the point of selling our best player for cash and replacing him with medicore players. Aside from NOC's poor tactics Limerick will never get promoted that way.


Originally by Jebus
the covering up of why CP took a sabatical because he's a friend and the whole O'Connor management disaster makes me think he hasn't been a good thing.
Is that when he missed a drug test and they discovered that CP really wasn't as white as white except for that bit on his nose...sniff
I always said that he would be the stick that NOC gets beaten with and who here said "hanging", thats just too quick. Seriously though to say CP took a sabbatical makes it sound as if he's gone on a religious pilgrim to South America...hopefully not Columbia though.

I better get the umbrella out I can hear the s**t-storm brewing now :eek:

[Lim till i die]

One point being his paranoia and insecurity and as a result I think Danny missed his calling in history, he really would have loved the 1930's with all the Fascism that emerged and you know Limerick FC do wear the colour blue (something for ye Irish history buffs) so you never know yet.


"The Blueshirts On Tour" Anyone? :D (Technically, They weren't a Facist organisation Nempton but I'll leave you off with it ;) )

As for the Best Player Rumour: :eek:

[declan hide]

amazing info there...the plot thickens eh?....the o'brien one...i wanna hear more...can you do the programme notes next home match? :D and to think people got annoyed when i made a throwaway comment of the stolen merchandise. (see the way i didnt put stolen in inverted commas! :D )

this club is unreal. boring at football we are everything else we are not.

[Lim till i die]

this club is unreal. boring at football we are everything else we are not.

Complete Soap Opera, you know it's interesting to note our increase in Attendances came in conjunction with switching to Friday nights and Eastenders becoming absolute crap. Coincidence..... I think not :)

[gael353]

Complete Soap Opera, you know it's interesting to note our increase in Attendances came in conjunction with switching to Friday nights and Eastenders becoming absolute crap. Coincidence..... I think not :)


guys dont watch eastenders, do they? :o i was always a emmerdale man myself for Katie, Chaz and others. :D

[Lim till i die]

guys dont watch eastenders, do they? :o i was always a emmerdale man myself for Chaz :D


:eek: :eek: :eek:

[Nempton]

I think the only success we will have this year, when you think of everything that has gone on is if we produce on broadway 'Butchered - A season with Limerick FC'
Ours truly is a tragic tale something which even Shakespeare couldn't dream up if he was still alive today. Now who could play the part of NOC?

[thelimerick]

When I heard the blues were being taken over by some buisnessman with big ambitions I have to say I was delighted. Finally the club was getting the backing it desperately needed. There is huge potential in the club what with Limericks sporting reputation. If the club was run professionally alongside significant investment then in time LimerickFC would indeed be climbing the Premier table with the crowds turning out in force to back them. Remember the playoffs with UCD in Hogan Park??? Any sniff of positive movement has always been backed by supporters.
However I think everyone would agree that positive steps forward have been taken alongside negative steps backward almost hand in hand. We get in proper coaches only to let them go without replacing them. We build the numbers of the squad only to trim them later. We get in decent players only to let our top-scorer go for nothing. We plead for more support only to then berate supporters.
In my opinion though, Danny Drew HAS been a good thing for this club yet he like all of us has made mistakes. These mistakes have overshadowed the good work that has been done at the club. Importantly though its how he reacts to these mistakes that will leave the biggest impression. Again in my opinion he has made a mistake in appointing NOC. This can be rectified in time. Also he needs to remember that he is the chairman of this club and as such should act accordingly, calling fans scumbags is completely out of order by any standards. His PR problems have been something of a nightmare. I've said before that if he decided to meet the fans and get all of this out in the open, deal with it and move on, we'd be in a much better position. I think the fans would approach this like adults and air their reasonable grievances politely IF Danny Drew approached it in the same way. So Id say YES he's been good for the club but like others Id have slight reservations...

[shelbourne1904]

Assuming he wrote them of course, which he apparantly didn't according to what I heard last Friday. I voted no, for the simple reason that I would prefer to properly support a underachieving side that are hanging on financially by a thread very single season than support the kind of side that I'm watching presently. Seriously there's no passion amongst the supporters at games anymore and I put that down to the dislike of many supporters to Danny Drew and Noel O'Connor. A lot of fans I know wouldn;'t exactly mind the team imploding this season just so the pressure would be on the Drew/O'Connor partnership, myself included, which I think everyone can agree on isn't a great state of affairs to have at any club.
Is this Limericks famous St Muncheons curse raising its ugly head again.?????
Irish football needs Limerick in the Premier.How that happens justifies the means.Think of playing Shels ,Bohs ,Pats ,Cork, Derry, instead of the current visiting stuff with a stand and a big crowd,Come on the Blues

[jebus]

How that happens justifies the means

So if the complete squads of Shels, Bohs, Cork, Derry and Waterford were all killed in a plane crash and finacially were unable to continue and Limerick were chosen to be one of the five replacement teams in the Premier it would be justified? Just using an extreme version of your logic is all :eek:

[LFC in Exile]

So if the complete squads of Shels, Bohs, Cork, Derry and Waterford were all killed in a plane crash and finacially were unable to continue and Limerick were chosen to be one of the five replacement teams in the Premier it would be justified? Just using an extreme version of your logic is all :eek:

Jaysus, don't be giving them ideas! :) :D