Lads heard a humor that the backers of DUFC are going to pull out is any of this true?
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Lads heard a humor that the backers of DUFC are going to pull out is any of this true?
Its a story that's certainly doing the rounds. Whether its true or not is anyother thing. Much depends on whether they get planning permission for their development and whether the guys with the money are prepared to wait for the decision.
It must be a very worrying time for the Drogs. My own feeling is that the party's over.
Is there anybody in Drogheda working on a Plan B?
Yes, apparently Oliver Plunkett is doing the plan B.
If the NRA bugger off, then we should be strong for years to come. If they don't I would expect us to go back to where we were five years ago, being semi-pro.
However Vincent Hoey is a Drog through and through, always has been and I suspect always will be. This is not a plaything for him (a la Abramovich) or a property deal (a la Sunderland). This is his passion and he will go all the way to keep the club going. There is no fear of us doing a Cork (or Shels).
get the business post tomorrow ...big story on the stadium being printed
Yeah got a DUFC text alert telling people to get Sunday Bus Post for full story on stadium & club and also to listen to LMFM on Mon morning between 9.30 and 10am.
Since this alert is from the club I can only assume its good news.
the post story is much to do about nothing. it appears to me to be moaning by people that didn't get their own way. no good news there.
just read it - planning rows etc but nothing about the NRA or anything about the club etc.
http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/st...569-qqqx=1.asp
Not necessarily good news. I spoke to someone today who knows a bit about this area and thinks if the review goes ahead it could be a few years before Drogheda would get any sort of decision, but his view was based solely on this artile. Either way if I was a Drogheda fan I'd be worried about this because it causes a lot of uncertainty, in uncertain times
This paragraph is particularily worrying for Drogheda fans ......
McEntee believes there has been a pattern of worrying decisions and said the proposed Local Area Plan would scupper ‘‘the chances of Drogheda United building a new 10,000 seater state-of-the-art stadium in east Meath, as planned. What has been going on is a disgrace,’’ McEntee said.
This doesn't make particularly good reading for Drogheda fans. Is it just scare tactics by any chance or is there a very real chance of the club going under?
http://www.drogheda-independent.ie/s...t-1469604.html
No, just look at the last paragraph.
Drogheda United sources say the club investors have spent €12 million in the past four years ‘on the basis that they would have a self supporting stadium by 2008. Time and money are now running out.’ Meanwhile Vincent Hoey is ‘not interested’ in getting involved in a planning controversy. ‘I am trying to repair the damage and save the club,’ he stressed.
They banked completely on getting the stadium. Hoey said before the start of last season that the club would fold if they didn't get it.
this is probably the worst thing that can happen to loi football if we do lose out on the stadium (which we have done, it just needs to be made public ). we could have set a benchmark for other clubs to strive to and if this fails its hard to see a healthy future for domestic football in this country. i know we're all well aware of the issues facing domestic football but the time has come (IMO) where either this country sinks or swims as regards its domestic game
I know about our own financial situation but 12m in 4 years if true is insanity. Why wasn't the stadium pursued without spending massive sums on the pitch? From what I can tell the success on the pitch hasn't really improved the crowds - possibly due to United Park unattractiveness.
:confused:
Doesn't make sense to me either. Presumably they wanted to have built a succesful team by the time the stadium was ready in hope that the support would then be there to support it but they would have been better off doing what Rovers/Athlone are doing and built it in stages.
Will Hoey et al finance enough of the debt for DUFC to survive in the First Division?
Are there any plans for a supporters trust to try and raise some sort of finance?
There will be lots of people saying "I told you so". However, the Drogheda plan could have worked if it went ahead a few years ago. I don't understand why the stadium was delayed so long and why the directors decided to spend money they have not yet earned.
It was a reckless gamble that looks unlikely to pay off. The housing market is dead and the effect is particularly strong in commuter towns like Drogheda. Even if planning permission was granted (which seems unlikely), has the developer the cash to build houses no one wants.
I fear that Hoey is right when he says that he is trying "to save the club".
Maybe it sounded better in the pitch to have a successful club playing European football in Drogheda instead of 400 souls watching a mid-table First Division tie.
I mentioned that on their forum about a year ago; got one person replying saying Drogheda fans weren't really in for that sort of thing. The sentiment has been echoed a few times on their board in the past week. Given that, unlike other clubs (such as us) they have a vaguely decent home support, that's a fairly poor attitude, I would have thought. Rovers' crowds are almost half Drogs', but they managed it.Quote:
Originally Posted by dmandmythdledge
Possibly, but surely he got the club into its current predicament in the first place?Quote:
Originally Posted by white horse
Not in Ireland. It's all or nothing. 24000 against Depor but 1500 for a title winning campaign. That's Ireland for you.
(I'm not disagreeing with you, just saying it as it is...)