Here it is...

[Maz]

Here it is.....

Final home game of the season.

Diggers last home game with Longford Town? I sincerely hope it will be a great occasion for this man but I honestly cannot see a big crowd for this game at all.

[Xlex]

a little birdy told me he might be heading to St. Pat's now....

[Maz]

Twas a very moving moment at the end of the game, with Kirsty McColl "thank you for the days" booming from the speakers. Thank you to Digger for wonderful days!

Also I noticed Barry paying special attention to the fans and hugging the players after the game also (anyone notice tears?) I'd say this confirms he will be leaving also! So a massive Thank you to Barry who captained us to the great success we have achieved

Btw, what a cracker of a goal by Johnny Martin

[RonnieB]

Aye was moving at the end, a good send off to a great man. Barry got a good reception as he walked off and gave us a good applause. Shame that he is leaving and the abuse idiots gave him.

[Bosco]

Noticed dillon paying specail attentiion to the fans also.Heard today that he is infact leaving

[Wiseguy]

Yeah Barry shed some tears alright.It was a sad occasion and it feels like an era is coming to an end.The fact is that Barry didn't want to leave in the first place but was offered a poor contract so he felt that it was a hint that his future wasn't with LTFC.He is absolutely gutted to be leaving and i wish him every success in the future.Sean Dillon does not want to leave either and if he does it will not be his choice but he is also being fcuked around contract wise.He has spoken to two clubs so he is not short of offers.I know things are tight at the club but you can't let players with the ability of Sean Dillon to leave because of a few Euro's.The same happened with Garto no matter what all the rumours may have suggested.With so many players on the way out surely funds could be properly diverted so we hold on to our best players.The squad needs to be trimmed but maybe now is the time to start bringing through a few of the U21 squad.Gary Cassin should now be promoted to Sub keeper.Gary Murphy should be on the bench and 1 or 2 more should be joining him from the U21 squad.IMO this is a very big season for Alan Matthews and he really needs to prove his worth.He needs to stop being such a cautious manager and let the players play with a bit of style and flair so we start getting people through the gates again.I know from talking to numerous people that they have stopped going to games because they are sick of watching this long ball crap.The club are now at a crossroads and the next step is vitally important for the future of the club.I was just thinking that if 3 or 400 people made a donation of €20 each towards the club every few weeks that would amout to €6 to €8000 each time which would go along way towards paying bills.It could be set up as friends of LTFC or something like that.There are loads of people that would help out i'm sure of that.

[Sonic]

The sign at sec o was a little distorted what was it supposed to say. Chant from the stand Section o's dyslexic was hilarious had to join in:D

[Longfordian]

Wouldn't be 100% sure Dillo's going but there's plenty of interest in him. If he wants to go and the other club is willing to go to a tribunal we cant do anything but whether any club is prepared to pay €30,000 or €40,000 compensation at least is another matter. He's being offered a contract to stay as far as I know but we cant say we'll match anything he gets elsewhere but i'm sure he'll be offered some sort of a rise. Talks are taking place this week AFAIK. I don't think Barry was offered a poor contract either. Not as good as the one Bohs came in with seemingly but certainly not a poor one. Apparently he was offered a pay rise from this year. Bear in mind the tax on part time players is often about 50% if you include PRSI. It would be to his advantage to be full time but we can't have a full time squad and I dont know if having one or two full time players is much use. Hopefully Dillo can be kept, he'd be a hard man to replace. BTW Wiseguy, I believe that idea of a few hundred fans contributing in a Supporters Trust or something similar is being considered for next year and was mentioned before, hopefully the numbers would be there for it.

[Wiseguy]

I probably should have worded the Barry thing better and although losing him is a blow we certainly can't afford to lose Dillo so i really hope that some agreement can be reached that suits both parties.I'm actually amazed he is still playing in this league ( with no disrespect to the league ) because he is blessed with footballing talent and the fact that he can play with both feet is a great asset to have.I think that there is enough hardcore fans out there to make some kind of trust work and work well at that.If there was some kind of club like " Friends of LTFC " seperate from the supporters club where. as i suggested that each member would cough up €25 per month and in return would get in free to Cup matches and other benefits which would be at a minimum cost to the club after all it's about raising funds.If something like this could raise €10,000 each month it's surely worth doing.It needs to be thought out well,run properly and be fully transparent so all the funds raised are going towards the bills.Also, the bar licence needs to be sorted pronto.It's being dragging out much to long at this stage and has the potential to raise quite a bit of money.
On a seperate note i thought having Diggers do in John Brownes was bad form.Eddie Valentine is the Pub sponsor and has stubbed up a lot of money in the process.Why this thing couldn't be held in the Spiral tree is beyond me.

[Macy]

I think Xlex took it to the club a few years ago, but it wasn't taken further. We kinda thought of it to use on Capital Projects for the ground, including the bar, and have it safe guarded for capital spending only.

Personally, I think we put far too much money in players pockets in this league as it is. Getting the bar up to licence standard, covering the rest of the ground etc is far more important to the long term future of the club imo. Not sure I'd contribute to one going on player wages tbh, but that's just me. Also, assuming grants are available, the money raised for capital projects has the potential to go far further as you only have to match a percentage. Think the last round was 20% or something, so €200,000 would get you a €1,000,000 capital grant.

I think I lost the spreadsheets, but they're out of date now anyway. Easy enough to do anyway. We'd based it on the 400 club model, where you could get a season ticket and/or membership too (the trust would hand up the money to the club, then distribute tickets), if people wanted it. 50 people, paying a tenner a week, would be €26k a year, €130k over 5 years (gross).

Unfortunately my circumstances have changed since and I really don't have the time, particularly since I'm now more involved in Union work on top of a lot more paid work, to get involved.

[Pauro 76]

The sign at sec o was a little distorted what was it supposed to say. Chant from the stand Section o's dyslexic was hilarious had to join in:D

it was meant to say 'Thank You Digger from Section O', but had to drop the Section O bit. Somehow lost the T so Secon O would have looked crap.. :D

[Xlex]

I think Xlex took it to the club a few years ago, but it wasn't taken further. We kinda thought of it to use on Capital Projects for the ground, including the bar, and have it safe guarded for capital spending only.

I did and didn't get any encouragement to follow it up. Some people just want it done and I felt we needed official support on different levels from within the club...

[Longfordian]

It's definitely a good idea. All I know is that people within the club have been talking about getting it up and running and I'm sure would appreciate any offers of assistance. Maybe mention it to Frank next time you see him if you feel you can help out.