Drogheda under financial cloud

eleven-a-side

Drogheda United’s on-field battle to avoid relegation could prove to be in vain after the club’s board of directors were ordered to lodge Eur100,000 with the FAI by close of business on Thursday in order to be certain of its league status next season.

The club’s outstanding liabilities – excluding taxes, which, according to reports, haven’t been paid for the past seven years – amount to approximately Eur105,000, and the FAI have ordered the club’s new board to stump up the cash within the next three days if it is to be sure of its standing within the eircom League.

The possibility of expelling Drogheda United from the league has been mentioned as a possible sanction against the club, which was plunged into crisis for the second time in two years in November, with players threatening strike action until an agreement was reached regarding their unpaid salaries.

Many observers blaming the club’s decision to embark on a full-time strategy so soon after gaining promotion to the Premier Division for its current plight, and the lack of foresight in deploying such an ambitious policy, with the club already in considerable debt to the Revenue Commissioners, is a particularly damning reflection of the club’s former powers-that-be.

The ongoing situation casts a cloud over the club’s on-pitch activities. Drogheda are in the midst of a fierce battle against relegation, but they maintained their chances of remaining in the top flight by taking victory against Shelbourne on Monday night, taking them half-way to the two wins they need from their last two games to have any chance of avoiding the relegation play-off.