Fancy giving Roddy a smack?
He might have his critics on here, but I always thought he was fairly entertaining (even though he talks alot of sh!te, take what he says with a picch of salt).
But credit where its due!! Fair play Roddy!! Will be looking forward to see if Owen Heary wants a go :D
http://www.tribune.ie/sport/soccer/a...-local-heroes/
Backstage with Miguel Delaney - Local heroes
The plight of Drogheda United and Athlone have at least shown the power fans can have.
Fancy hitting Roddy Collins? Well, next Sunday you can. And in the process save one of the League of Ireland's great clubs. Collins, to give him his due, has not just agreed to take over a team of Drogheda United fans against St Patrick's Athletic fans at United Park, but take on all-comers for one minute's boxing – provided the price is right for Drogheda.
It should be the height of an incredibly emotive yet inspiring three weeks. As one Drogheda United fan puts it, "I'm just running on adrenaline now". It's not all he's been running on. There's the marathon on a treadmill to raise cash, the €1,000 from his bank account to the club's fund and the €4,000 loan he's just signed up for. So much even in these times?
"It's going to put a big squeeze on financially but it will be worth it as long as the club survives. We won't be having a European trip next season so this is where I'm going to divert that money. And if the club does survive it will be better than any league win or cup run put together."
Declining to be named so as not to "take any limelight", he points to all the other examples: the two schoolboys who sold their Nintendos; supporter Johnny Hughes who died last week but donated €500 as one of his last acts. A lot of small acts adding up to one huge push. Local defensive hero Graham Gartland, meanwhile, has been bought for so many nights out that at one auction he exclaimed to chairman Vincent Hoey "you're pimping me out!" Then next Sunday, the coup. If as many fans who talk down about Collins step up to him, Drogheda will more than save the club. They'll challenge Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo.
Joking aside, Drogheda hope to have raised almost €300,000 by this day next week. A time of giving but, to a community that has remarkably rallied around the club, that's irrelevant. They'd give anyway and the only time that matters is the January deadline. The amount would still be over €200,000 short of what the Examiner's office is owed and the situation is still imperative. As such, the club have set up a loan scheme with the local bank, and fans – and foes – can donate on the club website. Still achingly short for Drogheda, but all too tantalising for Athlone Town as it's exactly the figure they need. Forced to call an emergency public meeting on Monday night as they couldn't see a way to cope with that debt given the climate, club secretary Chris Enright admits it was looking very bleak until he saw the locals' reaction. "I'm a hell of a lot more positive than before. I never doubted their commitment but they've stepped up." Now, there's a very definite way out.
Quite a week for the Eircom League to end the working year on, with two teams that dominated two different eras battling against oblivion. But also two responses which show just how influential the fans can be. It's fitting because the third big Irish soccer story of the week illustrates how far that can go. Shamrock Rovers, who have been there only for their very supporters to bring them back, appointed the hugely promising Michael O'Neill as manager and are the beacon for those clubs looking where to go next.
It is, of course, fans – or rather attracting more of them and the many ways to do so – that have been one of the main issues over the past few years. The most notorious has been the 'Shelbourne method', attempting to dazzle people with big signings and continental conquest. However, as proved to be the case, it's hard to dazzle new fans when they have the brighter lights of England so close.
Admittedly, this route is not the root of either Athlone's or Drogheda's problems. Although, as much as Drogheda were hit by the rezoning of their stadium land, having seven full-time strikers at one stage hardly helped. The main sticking point for survival now is reportedly satisfying four remaining players over outstanding payments.
Speaking to the Sunday Tribune Hoey said, "there's been a proposal put to me about paying players forward to next year but there's no point agreeing to something that maybe brings the club down a second time. There has to be realism. We've an emergency meeting tomorrow but if there's no agreement we'll just go and do a scheme of arrangement, where we'll offer so much to the parties. It'll go in before the court and we'll just have to take our chances. But the response from the community has been unbelievable. If that hadn't happened there wouldn't be a penny for anybody. There's a great trust based on us to act very responsibly here."
Indeed, the reason Drogheda have sparked such an outstanding local response is not just the pride Hoey's side have given the town but also the significant community ties brokered by promotions officer Terry Collins. As one FAI insider states, "schools were ringing up in the last few weeks asking to return the favour". Not just a sense of identity then but a seam. Links that are hard to break regardless of the Premier League's pull.
Here, Rovers have cornered the market too, as a piece in Wednesday's Irish Times on their links with St Aidan's Community School in Tallaght proved. It's all part of the club's community-based step-by-step approach. Again though, little steps building to significant strides.
Admittedly, when Shamrock Rovers' 400 Club took over in 2005, they had a headstart on any Drogheda or Athlone fans today, having been building a 'war chest' for two years and proving capable of a serious bid when the club went into examinership. But now, after the year the league has had, is the time to start emulating that model. Athlone's three-year plan to be put forward on 5 January mimics it exactly – right to the name; Drogheda fans say "it's the way forward" (although at the minute all the money the fans are pumping will only save the club, not give them a vote). Aiming small, but always hitting and rising, rather than aiming big too soon and crashing and burning.
The hope is Drogheda and Athlone pull through and implement that. And in 2009, whatever about Roddy, Eircom League teams no longer need to hit themselves.
mdelaney@tribune.ie
December 21, 2008
