Pete Mahon to Shels?

[Student Mullet]

If Ollie gets money he pays the players and tax, we assure ourselves of CL football and Mahon comes in.

That's how I see it too. Whatever your budget, I don't think you'll be above mid table next season but if you keep your club together and avoid relegation you'll be in a very good position to rebuild your club from.

[pineapple stu]

You'd don't seem to see any draw in the name Shelbourne but I'm sure there are many players who would still sign for Shels even after what has happened.

I seriously doubt it. No club in Ireland - bar perhaps Rovers, and even that's on the wane as Milltown becomes a more and more distant memory - has the kind of aura about it that would make players want to play for them regardless of any financial troubles, etc. Shels' reputation now is of a club who don't pay wages, who are cash bankrupt, who lie regularly to keep the wolves at bay and who certainly no full-time player with a mortgage and family would consider joining.

if you keep your club together and avoid relegation you'll be in a very good position to rebuild your club from.

Do you think so? I'm not (in all honesty here!) so sure.

The closest likeness we have to Shels' situation is what happened to Rovers two years ago. Rovers shipped a load of players, got some poorer ones in and wound up relegated, albeit with the aid of a points deduction which would have put them eighth, I think. Their crowds were about Shels' level (c 1500) and their revised budget was, if I recall correctly, not much bigger than ours.

They have, in fairness, regrouped since, won the First Division although it remains to be seen how they fare back in the Premier next year.

However, there are important differences between Shels and Rovers. First, Rovers had all their debts wiped in the examination process. Shels haven't, and with Ollie in charge, it's not going to happen. Servicing those debts is going to take a huge chunk of cash flow. Shels don't have to pay rent, but rent is only cE2k per game (Dublin City paid E30k for a season to Bohs) while Revenue repayments and loan repayments would probably amount to that per month.

Secondly, Shels' debts are far bigger than Rovers. Rovers' were E1.8m, Shels' have been reported at 6.5m, and there's still six weeks before the next cash receipt.

Thirdly, Ollie's still in charge at Shels. I don't for a second believe he's still reformed. Leopards never change their spots and all that. He still holds all the strings and will more than likely continue to overreach as before. Rovers had a change of ownership which brought about an immediate change in business policy, which had the effect of (a) letting the club live within their means and (b) getting breathing space from their creditors. They would have gone into liquidation, not examinership, had Maguire et al still been around. Shels won't be getting the examinership option as long as Ollie's around.

Fourthly, Rovers had the 400 club to save it. The Shels SSDG - while I'm sure it has the greatest intentions for their club - is reported to have only about 50 members, each being asked to pay E20 per week. That's only a grand a week, which simply isn't enough to make any noticeable difference.

Lastly, Rovers managed to keep together a vaguely decent squad - players like McCourt, Murphy and a couple of others, while they brought in experienced players like Kenny and Sheridan. It's yet to be seen whether Shels - with their reputation seriously damaged by repeated and very public failures to pay wages - will be able to attract even this calibre of player.

(On that note, any UCD player bar Tony Mac, Daz Ryan, Al Mahon and Allie Mac would command a transfer fee, which everyone knows Shels can't afford, so it's unlikely we'd get raided).

They do have the parachute payments of the Setanta Cup and - maybe - the Champions' League, although higgins' notion of receiving "hundreds of thousands" are fantasy, especially if they get knocked out in the First Round by Faroese opposition or someone. Come 2008, though, they'll have to tighten their purse again - Europe, 95% of prize money and Setanta Cup all presumably gone - something which Rovers didn't have to do to anywhere near the same extent when they went down.

I honestly think it looks like a very dark few years ahead for Shels, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them turn into something like a Dundalk or even a Limerick in the next few years.

[Poor Student]

Players who Mahon could raid would be:
Tony Mac - obviously not leaving
Alan Mahon - probably would go
Ally Mac - The biggest potential loss
Daz - Doubt he'd go for him
Keith Doyle - Would be a big loss
Paul Crowley - Wouldn't be the end of the world

I'm assuming contracts haven't been renewed. I'd really hate to lose Ally Mac but I'd hope he'd be very sceptical of his chances of being paid properly.

[Poor Student]

Pete says he'll make his decision one way or another by Monday according to the Indo.

[joeSoap]

Pete Mahon....undoubtedly the most pig ignorant man I've had the displeasure of meeting since Pat Devlin....

Shels + Pete Mahon = match made in heaven.

[Poor Student]

Pete Mahon....undoubtedly the most pig ignorant man I've had the displeasure of meeting

Someone else told me that too. I've never met him person to person but you can't deny the upturn in our fortunes during his three and a half year tenure.

[Schumi]

Never had any problems with him, unlike some other managers.

[pineapple stu]

Never had any problems with him, unlike some other managers.

Ditto. Always a sound person to have a talk with, and unlike others, generally tends to keep to himself and not go spouting in the media. Even during Doolin-gate, which is about the only time he actually had negative things to say about someone, he was almost embarrassed afterwards, and was asking me at one stage just to confirm that he actually was right in what he was saying (which, of course, he was).

It's in the Mirror today that he's likely to take the job if Ollie can convince him that the financial problems of this year are a thing of the past. I really don't see how he can do so, to be honest, especially given Ollie's track records of promising things. It also says that the fact Shels will be a full time outfit next year - with a budget down from E1.9m to E900k - will be a major factor. However, Ollie's gone public saying that the team will likely be part-time next year, and you'd be doing well to get full-time players to sign on after the debacle of last year. I'm more confused than ever now!

Pre-season training begins on Monday, so I think we can assume at this stage that all our contracts are sorted out and anyone leaving now would command a fee.

As a replacement (if needed) - Bobby Browne? Seems to want to get back into the league, took Monaghan up on a small budget while playing decent football apparently and is currently with Malahide United, so would have a bit of knowledge about the non-league scene.

[Poor Student]

As a replacement (if needed) - Bobby Browne? Seems to want to get back into the league, took Monaghan up on a small budget while playing decent football apparently and is currently with Malahide United, so would have a bit of knowledge about the non-league scene.

It worked with Mahon. I'd prefer a specific knowledge of the underage scene as opposed to the non-league scene. Mahon's only two recruits from non-league were Kavanagh and Whitmarsh if I recall correctly. I wonder if Wallace would hang around or move on if Mahon went.

[Student Mullet]

The 'Irish' Daily Mail has a piece on this. It quotes Pete as saying he has another meeting with Shels and has given them a list of stuff that'd need to be done before he'll move. As an alternative, he's been offered a stepped up version of Maccer's job on a full time basis by UCD.

[pineapple stu]

Does the stuff sound realistic?

Is this where our E10k from the FAI is going?

Has a raise and a switch to full-time been his aim all along?


Edit - in hindsight, I assume the "stuff" wasn't listed of course...

The other two questions are obvioulsy rhetorical.

[Aberdonian Stu]

It would be a smart play to do that.

[DmanDmythDledge]

As an alternative, he's been offered a stepped up version of Maccer's job on a full time basis by UCD.

What does that mean exactly?

[Poor Student]

So has be been offered a move "upstairs" as it were? Or is this something to supplement his managerial role?

[Student Mullet]

I presume in addition to his management job. Doc O'Neill's old job is what I'm thinking.