After all is said and done

I still feel shocked and saddened by what has happened. It will be very hard to go to the Cross filled with enthusiasm and a sense of everyone being on the same side. It saddens me as well to see that people for some reason feel compelled to take sides (i.e. either join the pro-Dolan camp or the pro-Lennox camp), when clearly there was right and wrong on both sides. I would imagine that Pat Dolan is not an easy guy to work with - geniuses usually aren't (so they say) but it is just so disappointing that his relationship with Lennox broke down. I would imagine that Lennox felt backed into a corner after the players going to the newspapers. And yes, that may have been Pat Dolan's fault, either directly or indirectly, maybe we will find out tonight when he is on TV3. But surely it was Lennox's responsibility to sort out proper training facilities / make sure there was funding for same. It will be a poor reflection on Brian Lennox if all of a sudden a solution is found in the next 3 weeks, when it should have been sorted out months ago. And as for that garbage that the players should stop making excuses, well sorry but that's just ridiculous. Something as basic as proper training facilities is surely fundamental to the preparation needed for winning matches. I dunno. I suppose all the support for him here and on the official site is understandable because he is the guy who continues to put his money where his mouth is, to keep the club going, but I think some people have him up on a pedestal and it is hard to understand that, he is as imperfect as the rest of us, he is partly to blame, just as Dolan is partly to blame. My first reaction when I heard the news was that there should be a campaign to try to get Dolan reinstated but clearly that isn't going to happen, and that in itself is a sad state of affairs.
I know once the season gets underway I'll be back up at the Cross but to be completely honest I still feel like I've been kicked in the stomach, this club that I have come to love has pressed the self-destruct button and things just won't be the same again. Thanks for the magical, magical memories of last season Pat. I hope I'm wrong to be pessimistic and that Damien Richardson can bring a different kind of magic to the club. He certainly has never hidden his affection for City over the years so I hope his return works out. But I can safely say this is the worst disappointment I've suffered as a Cork City fan and it will take a good long while to get over it

Suggestion - Use paragraphs in future. Bloody hard to read bunch of text like that.

I support the club. Even if all best were sold i'd still support the club. Everyone will be itching for live football at start of season so won't matter.

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Originally Posted by Gandhi

And as for that garbage that the players should stop making excuses, well sorry but that's just ridiculous. Something as basic as proper training facilities is surely fundamental to the preparation needed for winning matches...
Thanks for the magical, magical memories of last season Pat. ..
But I can safely say this is the worst disappointment I've suffered as a Cork City fan and it will take a good long while to get over it

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Great post. Got to say, Lennox has come across as a guy who does not seem to like his players! Some of his comments have been risqué to say the least, and he risks alienating people like Georgie and Flynny. These two, as seen elsewher on this board, had great friendships with Pat, so I'm not, probably without reason, too optimistic as to their long term futures at CCFC.

Thanks, Pat. I'll never forget your antics, the BS, the catchphrases, the never-ending post-match interviews but most of all, the impromptu speeches. That one at Drogs away will live with me forever. Legend of a guy.

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Originally Posted by Gandhi

Something as basic as proper training facilities is surely fundamental to the preparation needed for winning matches.

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The problem wasn't exactly the quality of training facilities - the team trained in the same facilities during the european games & our late unbeaten run in the league remember. The training facilities mightn't be great but you have to start somewhere, just as long as you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

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Originally Posted by Gandhi

But I can safely say this is the worst disappointment I've suffered as a Cork City fan and it will take a good long while to get over it

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Don't you remember rob hindmarch, Dave tilson scoring to win the fai cup..tom McNulty to win the league....If Dolan leaving is the biggest disappointment for you then You has a fan of a football club (in particular our club city) have a lot of disappointments ahead but they are part and parcel of being a fan(atic)

Pat will be missed but there has been bigger disappointments and problems and the club has pulled through

we neee to take the bad when it comes and deal woith it as that makes the good days even sweeter

As with most things I think the problem between Lennox and Dolan boiled down to money.

Dolan is a risk taker and had great plans regarding training facilities, having a big squad. This would probably have involved taking out loans requiring personal guarantees etc.

Lennox however holds the purse strings and though he does run a successful business isn't ridiculously wealthy and has obviously invested substantially in the club already.

It seems Lennox wasn't willing to take the risks that Dolan wanted. We may complain that there were no signings in the close season but Lennox probably reckons the current wage bill is as much as he's going to cover with the budgeted income for the year.

Dolan's gamble may have paid off but if City went bust again in two years we'd all be complaining about spending money the club didn't have etc.

Neither of them were right or wrong, just two very different ways of planning for the future of the club and a split was inevitable.

Best of luck to Dolan in the future. I hope he stays in the EL.

City have to move on now and make the best of the current situation and Please God some silverware!!!

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Originally Posted by Ozymandias

Don't you remember rob hindmarch, Dave tilson scoring to win the fai cup..tom McNulty to win the league....If Dolan leaving is the biggest disappointment for you then You has a fan of a football club (in particular our club city) have a lot of disappointments ahead but they are part and parcel of being a fan(atic)

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The first (but definitely not the last) City related dissappointment I can remember was back in 86/87 or 87/88 when City had gone through the whole season without winning a home league game at the Lodge. The last home game was against Pats and City led 1-0 for most of the game. It was well into injury time and I was heading for the exit when the inevitable happened and Pats scored. How we weren't relegated with such a bad home record I don't know.

League wins and European ties seemed a million miles away as I walked home that day so we've come a long way and we'll get over this dissappointment too.

My biggest disappointment with City was @ home to Dundalk when the league was up for grabs and we lost 1-0............... christ I've never been so depressed EVER in my life!!!

my memories of supporting city were always a tad depressing and disappointing. standing in the rain in flower lodge or in the cross, pre-shed, with one man and his dog watching ginger healy and the boys hacking the ball around; losing to derry in the fai cup; that miserable game v dundalk. these are the salad days in comparison...yer man should cheer up....

Guys am I wrong in sayin he was costing city a bomb each year-with expenses etc.
To be honest I think city are a better side than what we produced last year, think we shouldve being a much sterner proposition to shels especially at home.
Having said that, really not convinced Richardson will take us forward

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Originally Posted by paudie

The first (but definitely not the last) City related dissappointment I can remember was back in 86/87 or 87/88 when City had gone through the whole season without winning a home league game at the Lodge. The last home game was against Pats and City led 1-0 for most of the game. It was well into injury time and I was heading for the exit when the inevitable happened and Pats scored. How we weren't relegated with such a bad home record I don't know.

League wins and European ties seemed a million miles away as I walked home that day so we've come a long way and we'll get over this dissappointment too.

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Paudie .. I rememmber those days well..The ball would go behind the goal and no one there to throw it back.. it was so bad we thought Anto whelan was a good player...

I used to wonder would we ever be able to compete with rovers, dundalk etc..constantly getting thumped by 3 or 4 goals at home

Now look at us..we have been through the mill and now under rico we have a decent squad of players (thanks pat and Brian) hopefully we will make hay in these heady sunny days

City ABÚ

I suppose its all to do with expectations isn't it. One of the reasons I felt so gutted by the whole thing is mine had gone sky-high. I can totally understand anyone who was at the Cross in the days when the 'crowd' was only three men and a dog (and the dog was only there because he had to be there, he was barred from St Colman's Park) will be able to place recent events in a better overall context i.e. a better understanding of how far the club has come

(New paragraph Pete ;) ) When I was thinking about this afterwards last night I realised another reason for my reaction was that the way City played at times under Dolan was simply sublime. Y'know the way that some people have not bothered their ars* to go an watch their local team, and have used the excuse 'oh the standard is rubbish' - well City were exposing that statement for the complete boll**** that it is, almost every week (I agree, not every week!) Here's a guy who not only refused to kowtow to that attitude, but was able to coach a team to the heights that proved that attitude was wrong (and I'm not saying we didn't play good football at times under other managers, of course we did, but I think people know what I mean.).

Some people move on from setbacks right away. Other people like me spend more time reflecting on it. Each to their own etc etc. It would be boring if we all reacted the same way. There was something magical about being part of Pat Dolan's Rebel Army and I could not let its passing go unremarked. One final note for now - it was great to see Rico on TV3 last night, talking about what coming back to City means to him. A number of people on this forum are obviously sceptical about him but he obviously cares about the club and its future. Personally I think we are very lucky he was available.

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Originally Posted by paudie

As with most things I think the problem between Lennox and Dolan boiled down to money.

Dolan is a risk taker and had great plans regarding training facilities, having a big squad. This would probably have involved taking out loans requiring personal guarantees etc.

Lennox however holds the purse strings and though he does run a successful business isn't ridiculously wealthy and has obviously invested substantially in the club already.

It seems Lennox wasn't willing to take the risks that Dolan wanted. We may complain that there were no signings in the close season but Lennox probably reckons the current wage bill is as much as he's going to cover with the budgeted income for the year.

Dolan's gamble may have paid off but if City went bust again in two years we'd all be complaining about spending money the club didn't have etc.

Neither of them were right or wrong, just two very different ways of planning for the future of the club and a split was inevitable.

Best of luck to Dolan in the future. I hope he stays in the EL.

City have to move on now and make the best of the current situation and Please God some silverware!!!

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great post paudie. As for what you said about taking risks- we all want City to be the biggest and best, but I'm firmly of the opinion that risking the entire club's future on it just ain't worth it.

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Originally Posted by paudie

As with most things I think the problem between Lennox and Dolan boiled down to money.

Dolan is a risk taker and had great plans regarding training facilities, having a big squad. This would probably have involved taking out loans requiring personal guarantees etc.

Lennox however holds the purse strings and though he does run a successful business isn't ridiculously wealthy and has obviously invested substantially in the club already.

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Thats it in a nutshell. Dolans enthuasism is great but the mistake Pats probably made was letting him control over finances.

Lennox is the type of Chairman eL clubs lack. Not willing to gamble a few years of the highlife & then when club broke leave someone else pick up the pieces.

I think now that all the anger has died down, we all realize that Pat simply HAD to go! The money he was costing Lennox was enormous!

I don't know much about Richardson but by what you have all said on this website he seems to be the right choice. So, come Monday, lets all give him a big welcome at The Cross and start afresh.

I'm confident that we'll all move on now and support the players, manager and chairman so they can put in a real strong challenge for the League title.

UP THE REBEL ARMY!!

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Originally Posted by colblimp

So, come Monday, lets all give him a big welcome at The Cross and start afresh.

I'm confident that we'll all move on now and support the players, manager and chairman so they can put in a real strong challenge for the League title.

UP THE REBEL ARMY!!

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I for one, will be giving Rico the biggest possible cheer come monday, dying for a bit of live football.

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Originally Posted by paudie

Best of luck to Dolan in the future. I hope he stays in the EL.

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Agreed. Love him or loathe him, he brought colour and panache to the domestic soccer scene. I for one will stand and applaud him the next time he visits the Cross as manager of another team, hopefully.

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Originally Posted by paudie

As with most things I think the problem between Lennox and Dolan boiled down to money.

Dolan is a risk taker and had great plans regarding training facilities, having a big squad. This would probably have involved taking out loans requiring personal guarantees etc.

Lennox however holds the purse strings and though he does run a successful business isn't ridiculously wealthy and has obviously invested substantially in the club already.

It seems Lennox wasn't willing to take the risks that Dolan wanted. We may complain that there were no signings in the close season but Lennox probably reckons the current wage bill is as much as he's going to cover with the budgeted income for the year.

Dolan's gamble may have paid off but if City went bust again in two years we'd all be complaining about spending money the club didn't have etc.

Neither of them were right or wrong, just two very different ways of planning for the future of the club and a split was inevitable.

Best of luck to Dolan in the future. I hope he stays in the EL.

City have to move on now and make the best of the current situation and Please God some silverware!!!

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Excellent post and about as good a summation of the situation as we have had.

Out of curiosity, anyone listening to RedFM the other day when some guy commented that he's like to see City relegated because of Dolan's sacking? Is this guy supposed to be a fan? I rarely even go to matches and I'd consider myself a bigger fan than that!

adam

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Originally Posted by dahamsta

Out of curiosity, anyone listening to RedFM the other day when some guy commented that he's like to see City relegated because of Dolan's sacking? Is this guy supposed to be a fan? I rarely even go to matches and I'd consider myself a bigger fan than that!

adam

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Pat Fenlon is a bigger City fan than that!