Ollie Byrne Article

[lofty9]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2093-2460087,00.html

I’m not paranoid

Michael Foley
Ollie Byrne has endured a turbulent season at the helm of Shelbourne but he is determined to carry on fighting for the cause

In a portable hut behind the goals at one end of Tolka Park, a day before Shelbourne are crowned Premier Division champions, the club’s chief executive Ollie Byrne works in a world made of paper. A pair of glasses are balanced on the tip of his nose as he pulls a letter from a pile of documents. The end of a long season has left Shelbourne scarred from battle but Byrne is preparing for one more round in the bearpit. Last week his lawyers notified the FAI that Shelbourne would be contesting the decision not to suspend Derry City’s Sean Hargan after a procedural ****-up by the FAI and the Eircom League. They will seek a deduction of nine points that could have a big impact on the Premier Division’s final placings. Hargan was due to serve a suspension, having picked up four yellow cards earlier in the season, but failed to observe his ban, with Derry claiming they hadn’t been informed about the suspension.

[Poor Student]

“Listening to Michael Collins, there were only negative (outcomes) in relation to Bohemians, but there were no positives in relation to the offended club, which has left a can of worms for the League and football in this country. There’s now a decision that says you can play a suspended player and all that’s going to happen is they’ll deduct three points. Hypothetically, if Cork wanted to make sure Derry lose the League, all they’d have to do is play Joe Gamble and Colin O’Brien (both suspended). Cork win the match and all that happens to them is they lose three points. Maybe unlikely, but where’s the defining line between somebody deliberately doing something and somebody innocently doing something?”

I completely agree with Ollie here. However, the league precedent shows that the way it's done here is only to deduct the offending team three points and I don't think we can shift the goalposts in the middle of the season. I'd be fully supportive of a change of the rule in the off season to allow the wronged club a replay as well as punishing the offending club. I really really hope the issues of this season can lead to people sitting down and debating these rules in a rationed way now that it serves no one's interests in particular.

[onceahoop]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2093-2460087_1,00.html

I'd expect a mass exodus after the comments in todays Sunday Times. After bursting a gut to win the while not being paid he questions their loyalty because they threatened to strike. Rocks for brains. Who'd want to play for him after that. BTW the offending bit is on page two of the web edition.

[CollegeTillIDie]

onceahoop

They may already have committed themselves to other clubs, and this might be a passing shot by Ollie.

[lofty9]

Ref the players loyalty - Who are Bohs rumoured to be signing from them? Is Crowe on the wanted list? If I was a Bohs fan I would be disgusted that the board were looking to pay that mercenary after walking out on them. I'm sure players like Kevin Hunt will not be too impressed if these guys walk in and get offered huge sums, whilst his loyalty goes unrewarded in terms of signing on fees etc.

[CollegeTillIDie]

Ollie has rarely been proved wrong when it comes to the rule book.
Derry City , should have said nothing about the Bohs/Shels controversy seeing as they virtually got away with a breach of the rules. The fact remains there have been blatant inconsistencies this season with the implementation on the rules of players who are ineligible to play, being played in certain games.

Shamrock Rovers were dealt with in a very high handed manner and didn't even get an explanation as to why their appeal was turned down. It doesn't cost €5000 to write an explanation ".. your appeal has been unsuccessful because....".

Derry City got away with playing a suspended player. Ollie is correct they probably should have been deducted 9 points in the circumstances.

The Bohs v Shels situation, at least their was some consistency on this one.
UCD had a similar situation in 1995/96 when Cork City played three players from cross channel whose registrations had yet to be cleared, in a match in Belfield which City won 1-0. Cork were deducted three points,but U.C.D. did not benefit .

The same thing has happened this year in the Bohs V Shels situation, and I was not surprised at that, for the very reason , that it had previously happened to U.C.D.

[onceahoop]

onceahoop

They may already have committed themselves to other clubs, and this might be a passing shot by Ollie.

In Nutsy's case that is definitely true and I was going to make that point in my post but had to dash off. A lot of players are out of contract also, but the point I'd make is are there any players out there who'd want to play for Shels with their financial tribulations and a Chairman who can't understand the simple fact that if you can't pay your employees they can walk away.

[Poor Student]

I'm not too sure about the alleged mass exodus on the cards. Dave Rodgers is saying he has total faith in him and Stuart Byrne took a pop at everyone but the club when he had the chance to get internal issues out in the open. Ollie Byrne has a sheer desire for the club he loves to keep going at the top. He might squeeze another season out of this squad. I never thought they'd hold it together like they did all through this season. At the same time, I wouldn't be shocked if the exodus did happen.

[CollegeTillIDie]

Poor Student

Being back in the Champions League qualifier rounds again next season may buy Shels some time with some players. But Fenlon probably won't be there next season, heard a rumour that Rico might be on the way back to Shelbourne.

[1Davy]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2093-2460087_1,00.html

I'd expect a mass exodus after the comments in todays Sunday Times. After bursting a gut to win the while not being paid he questions their loyalty because they threatened to strike. Rocks for brains. Who'd want to play for him after that. BTW the offending bit is on page two of the web edition.


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2093-2460087_1,00.html

I'd expect a mass exodus after the comments in todays Sunday Times. After bursting a gut to win the while not being paid he questions their loyalty because they threatened to strike. Rocks for brains. Who'd want to play for him after that. BTW the offending bit is on page two of the web edition.

That article must have been written by one of his relations.

Ollie is no lovable rogue.

He's a crook. and has no integrity and no morals.

And from the independent....


clubs in trouble with the revenue, clubs delaying payments to players, and clubs threatening High Court action

All of those can be labeled at Ollie

[CollegeTillIDie]

There's very little loyalty among the majority of professional soccer players nowadays, but they are not the only ones.
There's no loyalty among people in general.
The modern Republic of Ireland as a society is a commitment phobic society.

The die-hard EL fan who goes to as many games as possible in society would be an acception in this case. Ollie , to be fair, as been extremely loyal to his club down through the years

[chippie0001]

In fairness to pro players, why should they be loyal? They have a limited shelf life in which to make money and play as high as they can. If clubs are not paying their players, who can blame the players for leaving. If it was you or I in our own jobs we would leave. Also if a club offers more than another then obviously the player will leave. Exact same as most people with their jobs.

[Anto McC]

Glen Crowe said in yesterdays Herald
I hope the squad stays intact,I have 2 years left here and i want to do well with Shels again. I want Pat(Fenlon) to stay,he has done a great job here,winning the league 3 times in 4 years hasn't been matched by anyone in the Eircom League. He's a great manager and has proved himself,though he's still young and hungry,hopefully he'll stay at the club

This thread is making a mountain out of a molehill and onceahoop is scaremongoring. I also think that if the situation was,as Ollie put it,he is right!

[higgins]

If you are to listen to the foot lads, July 28th was our last day in Tolka :)

and not to forget Ndo signed for Drogheda in the last transfer window :eek:

[BohDiddley]

Wouldn't necessarily say no to Crowe, but wouldn't bust a gut to get him either.
Granted, he scored a great goal against us in 'the final' but his performance since leaving Bohs has been patchy. We'll want a sure-fire, top-flight winner for our purposes. I'd be worried that buying him back would be influenced by ego and nostalgia,and by getting back at Shels, and that we might overlook fresher options.
Crowe has made the decision to be a mercenary playing resource rather than a Bohemian heart and soul like Hunt, even though he also had the chance to become a club legend. At the time, that hurt, as it was intended to.
He should be sought back on a similarly mercenary basis, on a short contract in which he will have to earn the loyalty of the fans he so readily shafted. A tall order, but if that doesn't suit him, that's fine with me.

[pete]

The Bohs v Shels situation, at least their was some consistency on this one.
UCD had a similar situation in 1995/96 when Cork City played three players from cross channel whose registrations had yet to be cleared, in a match in Belfield which City won 1-0. Cork were deducted three points,but U.C.D. did not benefit.

The Bohs-Shels game may seem unfair to Shels but it has numerous predents within the league.

Ollie tries to make us beleieve he is protecting the league rule book when he has shown in the past he will bend it any direction to Shels benefit. When Pats were deducted 9 points for registration fiasco did Ollie ask for thos egames to be replayed? Did he request Derry get deducted 9 points this year & have those games replayed?

[pineapple stu]

Four years had passed since the Tolka river burst its banks and swept through Tolka Park, ruining the ground and tearing the heart out of the club.“In one sense it’s been responsible for everything that’s happened.Everything eventually caught up with us this year.”

When that was kicked out this season, everything started to wobble. Of their first 11 matches in the League, only five were played at home. Money was tight.

What a snivelling git. Is he seriously trying to blame a flood four years ago for his inability to make a working budget? And does the article - presumably noting a point said by Byrne during the relevant interview - really attempt to excuse Shels' financial problems on the fact that they only had 5 of their first 11 games at home - i.e. exactly what you would statistically expect?

[pete]

...attempt to excuse Shels' financial problems on the fact that they only had 5 of their first 11 games at home - i.e. exactly what you would statistically expect?

Its Shels so maybe 7? :D

The more articles Ollie does in the press the more he sounds like Ronan Seery. The onlt difference is Shels/Ollie own part of a ground & win games. Take those two away & would be same as Dublin City.

[Gareth]

No one has left yet. Many want to stay and play on for Shels. Fenlon wants to stay as well. These are all sentiments expressed by these people, not a newspaper. You have to remember that, just because a few papers report it, does not necessarily mean its fact. Remember all the Pat to Bohs articles, which had him installed as manager and no doubt whatsoever of it happening? Well all I can say is you never know until it happens!!!

[CollegeTillIDie]

What a snivelling git. Is he seriously trying to blame a flood four years ago for his inability to make a working budget? And does the article - presumably noting a point said by Byrne during the relevant interview - really attempt to excuse Shels' financial problems on the fact that they only had 5 of their first 11 games at home - i.e. exactly what you would statistically expect?

To be fair Cork City were bleating about going weeks without a home game when they were hit with a tax bill in mid season too.

[Sheridan]

Yeah, but Cork never signed Alan Cawley in contentious circumstances. :rolleyes:

[higgins]

When Pats were deducted 9 points for registration fiasco did Ollie ask for thos egames to be replayed?

Pats lost point due to an unregistered player.
McGuinness was suspended...

[lofty9]

Pats lost point due to an unregistered player.
McGuinness was suspended...

and Shaun Hargan wasn't suspended, as no one in the country knew he had been, including Ollie.

[higgins]

lofty what in the name of jaysus are you talking about ?

Im comparing the McGuinness situation to that of Marney. Chalk and cheese and unfair to group them together. All clubs just months previous voted in an automatic 3 point deduction in the case of an unregistered player.

Thats why Pats lost the points...

Not Ollies fault Pat Dolan didnt do his job properly.

[TonyD]

Ollie has rarely been proved wrong when it comes to the rule book.......The Bohs v Shels situation, at least their was some consistency on this one.
UCD had a similar situation in 1995/96 when Cork City played three players from cross channel whose registrations had yet to be cleared, in a match in Belfield which City won 1-0. Cork were deducted three points,but U.C.D. did not benefit .

The same thing has happened this year in the Bohs V Shels situation, and I was not surprised at that, for the very reason , that it had previously happened to U.C.D.

So he was wrong about that then, wasn't he ? The rule was there, the precedent was there, and yet Ollie, as usual screamed blue bloody murder because it suited his cause. He is a hypocrite, and a stain on the league. And I'm sick of people making excuses for him on the basis that "He's Shelbourne through and through... eats, drinks and sleeps Shelbourne.....passionate about his club, etc etc etc. All irrelevant. He is a bully and a thug, that's why people hate him.

[pineapple stu]

To be fair Cork City were bleating about going weeks without a home game when they were hit with a tax bill in mid season too.
To be fair nothing. Cork were equally idiots for doing that. Doesn't take away from Ollie being an idiot for complaining here.

Yeah, but Cork never signed Alan Cawley in contentious circumstances. :rolleyes:
:confused:

Not quite sure where you're going with that?

[OneRedArmy]

Well all I can say is you never know until it happens!!!Too true Gareth, if only because in the one man club that is Shels, none of your fans have a clue what is really going on behind the scenes.

Whilst Ollie may be seen as the saviour by some, his approach to running the club (his way or no way) has resulted in what appears to be a very bleak future.

Who in their right mind would invest in Shels with Ollie at the helm?

[razor]

You go out and offer these guys top money to join your club, well you can't really complain when a bigger sugar daddy comes along with a bigger wallet, of course they are going to jump ship.
And to someone elses point its hard to blame them considering their limited shelf life but it can be soul destroying for the fans.

[pete]

To be fair Cork City were bleating about going weeks without a home game when they were hit with a tax bill in mid season too.

I believe we complained about 5 weeks without a home game. This hits fulltime pro teams harded that part-time clubs. By any reasonable estimation thats 100k overgoings with very little coming in. Clubs can only do some much to budget for that.

[onceahoop]

Glen Crowe said in yesterdays Herald

This thread is making a mountain out of a molehill and onceahoop is scaremongoring. I also think that if the situation was,as Ollie put it,he is right!


Not scaremongering. Just making an obsevation based on what little I know about players. At the end of the day they have the same bills to pay as we do. Players don't want uncertainty. They want to be able to play ball without having to worry about what goes on behind the scenes and where the money's coming from.

If Ollie hadn't got the flood and the fact that they only had 5 home games out of eleven (I thought clubs always played home and away alternatively) to blame, who would he blame.

[LukeO]

Fenlon wants to stay as well.

You actually believe that? :eek:

Talk about delusion. :rolleyes:

He wanted the Bohs job and now he wants the Derry job...

[LeixlipRed]

He wanted the Bohs job and now he wants the Derry job...

And you actually believe that do you? Hilarious the way some people give their opinions on here as if they're facts known to everyone

[LukeO]

Do I know for a FACT that Nutsy wanted the Bohs job? Yes, I do.

Ostrich.

[CollegeTillIDie]

What a snivelling git. Is he seriously trying to blame a flood four years ago for his inability to make a working budget? And does the article - presumably noting a point said by Byrne during the relevant interview - really attempt to excuse Shels' financial problems on the fact that they only had 5 of their first 11 games at home - i.e. exactly what you would statistically expect?


pineapple stu

The flood was not covered by insurance apparently under the Act Of God clause. It cost Shels about €250,000 to put right.I think that would put many organisations into the sh1t financially to be suddenly faced with an extra
€250,000 in overheads. And one of the club offices was flooded which probably contained some financial records etc., a lot of which may well have been washed away. But I agree with you on the home games thing.
You only get 6 games max at home in your first 11 at the best of times.

[fbtn]

Regarding the flooding of Tolka.

"Three seasons ago, he also introduced a pay structure that enabled the playing squad to all go full time.

But despite this, Shels' gate receipts are still only €400,000 a year - enough to cover just a fifth of its annual overheads. Byrne's critics complain that he has badgered and harried the FAI into giving more money to the club.

Byrne possesses a remarkable ability to extract money for the Shels cause. He received a substantial sum from the FAI last year (2003) to pay for the damage caused by a massive flood at Tolka Park last year.

Accolade, one of the companies behind Shelbourne, received €680,000 in 2000 from former Fianna Fail sports minister Jim McDaid to redevelop the West Stand. It is not clear how much money passes through Shelbourne, as Accolade is exempt from filing accounts because it is not trading for members' gain."

From the Sunday Business Post in August 2004.

http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2004/08/15/story323316514.asp

[pete]

Accolade, one of the companies behind Shelbourne, received €680,000 in 2000 from former Fianna Fail sports minister Jim McDaid to redevelop the West Stand. It is not clear how much money passes through Shelbourne, as Accolade is exempt from filing accounts because it is not trading for members' gain."

From the Sunday Business Post in August 2004.

http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2004/08/15/story323316514.asp

Interesting.

With average crowds on only 1,500 & minimum wage bill alone of 1.5m the numbers just don't add up for Shels. can't wait until Shels try to limit wages to 65% of turnover as seems at the moment wages running at conservative 200% of turnover (based on 1m loss from 2005 season). Ronan Seery was just wannabe Ollie Byrne.