nothing as exciting as being part of a multi club model. the beautiful game!
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nothing as exciting as being part of a multi club model. the beautiful game!
We would have all looked down our noses at Home Farm Everton stuff years back. But its only a matter of time before there are more multi-club models than others in small leagues. Without putting a chief club badge on things, Drogs, Waterford, Shels temporarily, Dundalk almost, Cork, oters? Rovers have a major shareholder that also has a major stake in another club, does that count? As long as clubs are still autonomous, not being made take and play players, must use certain tactics etc its probably ok and better a group looking to access a potential talent pool than trying to access European participation money on the cheap. I wouldnt say no to Red Bull Dundalk FC!!
In addition to Bohs, Harps and Sligo, Wexford are still nominally a members owned club. However, based on published comments from our CEO, I'd say we're definitely "in play."
https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/...-41501186.html
John Temple confirming the "SCARP examinership route is inevitable."for Dundalk.....
Also bans issued for former owner Andy Connolly and his brother, ex-Chief Operating Officer Martin Connolly.
Good them 2 Connollys should never be allowed back into Oriel, them and the scumbags they hang about with in the Avenue Inn
Andy Connolly and Statsporta ****ed away 3 million over 3 years and are going around town this months telling everyone it's all someone else's fault
I hope their family member who punched John Temple gets done by the Gardai, and with his previous convictions I'd say he may do time for it
https://open.spotify.com/show/1erDs8P7xwy5Lgtz99jk4O
A sensational interview with the new Dundalk owner
He will either be sued to pieces or he has just told us all the stone wall truth and given his profession I'd imagine he's telling the truth
Some fairly shocking details in there from him,that the money parents paid to Dundalk for the academy was being used in other parts of the club is disgraceful also whoever agreed to pay Louie Annesley a bonus for playing for Gibraltar should be sent to the nearest mental hospital....
Only about a third of the way through but commenting while it's still up (not sure it will remain that way) that it's an incredible listen. All daft football rivalry aside I can only imagine how bewildering a time it must be for fans of the club.
One ex player who is upset as he assumed Ainscough would sell him and his investors the club but he went with Temple
That lad is a gob****e. Claiming things are not true in the interview but refusing to say what bits
Don't know if Temple mentioned this
https://x.com/donalgreene/status/184...689926216?s=19
Seems a terrible time for so much infighting,if I was an ordinary Dundalk fan I wouldn’t be rushing to spend my money on anything being presented at the minute…..
Ah yes, those in the profession of practicing law are notoriously paragons of truth and justice. They would never interpret anything and spin it for their own benefit. I'm not saying he's lying but someone's profession shouldn't be a qualifier of whether someone is or isn't lying.
Knowing both individuals I'd believe him over Donal Greene who is just upset he wasn't the saviour who took over after Ainscough left
Fridays trust meeting in the town hall should be interesting
There is an awful lot going on here. It's odd how publicly all of this is playing out.
Temple has put it out there and opened himself up to being sued.
I'd be inclined to believe him
"[Brian Ainscough] never did a single thing at the club that was bad"
yeah.... this guy ain't it
If the Connollys or anyone else want to dispute his version of events they have the option of suing him for defamation. He'd be a pretty stupid barrister if he was putting out publicly stuff that was factually wrong.
I guess we will see by their reactions, if its just bluster and noise then I'll draw my own conclusions. I'd imagine his moments on ainscough were coloured by what he found when he moved in himself. It'll sure be interesting to see how it plays out.
So I recently learned a little tid bit about defamation because of Enoch Burke, probably one of the few things I'm thankful for with Enoch. He had a defamation case thrown out by the court. He was also ordered to pay costs.
https://www.rte.ie/news/2024/0718/1460689-enoch-burke/
So a paper printed literal lies and because there was no damage to the reputation of the person there was no issue. Now if there are a considerable cohort of Dundalk fans who post online, talk in the town, at work etc calling these lads cheats, thieves and scumbags before this podcast it's reasonable to believe that this doesn't damage their reputation. It's in line with their reputation.Quote:
The judge said while the contents of the article were untrue, they did not injure his reputation.
Law is all about interpretation and what you can prove. Temple may just have to prove that people already thought the former owners were cheats, thieves and scumbags.
About 3/4 of the way through the podcast but I see absolutely no way that anything he said could come back to him.
In relation to pretty much any debt he says it's before his time and on occasion it was also before Ainscoughs time. That would be obvious once the accounts are published and he also doesn't single out any individuals.
On the court cases they would be a matter of public record, Zahibos particularly got a fair few column inches if I remember correctly. Again he highlights that this is before his time which is fair he's only in the door a wet day!
The set up of the academy is odd with it all flowing into the main bank account but is it illegal or malpractice I couldn't say but I would also be surprised if Dundalk were the only club operating this way as I remember plenty of people on here raising that Rovers academy being it's own entity with its own accounts being odd.
At the start he raised the very relevant question of "where's the money gone?" In relation to the euro monies and money from the league winning years etc but later on probably highlights exactly where it's gone. He said that Dundalk operations budget was about 40% more than anyone else in the league. That would very quickly eat into any money left behind by any owners and again is it foolish? Certainly, is it illegal? I doubt it.
Overall it's a well done PR piece. Temple needs people in the town to row in behind him and the club while they try to get through what is going to be a very difficult winter. He's got local journalists onside with this and the digs at national media and the clarity he's giving on how dire the situation is will most certainly help get the town rowing in behind him for the immediate future.
What would worry me is he seems somewhat naive to the costs of running the club. He mentions insurance costs and having multiple policies etc but anyone who owns and operates a public facing business, like a football club, has been bemoaning the cost of insurance for what must be decades at this stage. You also need insurance on players and multiple other things from my understanding so when he said he had to pay money for Dan Pikes injury I initially thought, well yeah but paying that likely offset other significantly higher costs, that's what insurance is for. The electricity bills seemed a shock from the way he said it but your running how many floodlights on a match night? And lighting in the stands, heating the dressing rooms, showers etc. It all adds up pretty quickly. These "hidden" costs are probably accounted for now though.
All in all though he certainly seems like his heart is in the right place. I think now it's a case of doing the redundancy process, which seems like it's started, with those who he is saying are in paid positions that don't exist or aren't paid at other clubs. Cutting any other costs where they can and dealing with creditors as best he can and hoping the town row in behind him.
Donal Greene responds https://dnlgrn.substack.com/p/statem...dRedirect=true
Whatever about his comments about the current financial situation at the club and how it got there being accurate ,he’s being called out by another interested investor for stating falsehoods about the process for future investment into the club,but again who knows what’s really going on here…..
https://dnlgrn.substack.com/p/statem...dRedirect=true
Again, where are the FAI in all of this?
They shouldn't be allowing such a sh!t-show to develop.
When there is next to no information beyond whispers in quiet corridors and a slanging match occurs people will just join the dots and decide on who they prefer. The local saviour Statsports/AC ownership ended in failure ('worse' than P6 but missed by the crystal ballix) rumours of debt was reported and denied along with other stuff. AC as minority owner with Statsports will likely say he was outvoted but he could have walked in protest - my opinion if thats how it gets spun. Annesley was signed under Statsports/AC, Zahibo under P6, both with daft contract clauses, 2 different owners with any pointing the finger at predecessors or laying the blame in previous regimes just deflection, JT gets a newbie pass. Clauses that are obviously contentious and/or disputed.
Its not a good look but there is something cathartic about this, finally someone call out messing irrespective of details. Fans knew there were significant issues and the wool was being pulled. That there were various agendas in Oriel apparent for years and it come to a head. JT is only in the door so legacy issues are not his, first to talk can call the truths. I still would like to know how JT, who has stated he has no financial backing, is planning to fund things generally not including debt - a membership scheme wont cover shorfalls in the short timeframe, renting out YDC or public use of the gym will hardly pay the bills to have them open. Donal Greene has a point just on his claim of club valuation of 2.7m by JT. It is pretty typical that as an additional party, he has questioned some interpretation of events and his character and motives are being snidely questioned. If its thought that Barristers dont lie or at the very least dont use a particular skill in framing the facts as it suits them well its naive.
There have always been personal agendas at OP, what club doesnt? But in more recent times its gone in to overdrive from fans, local poliical groups eg detesting everything and anything American, to personal petty infighting, undermining opponents with stories leaked to media, even to members of the coaching team sniping behand other coach backs. It has been a mess with many holding things together out of loyalty to the club with no love these antics of either, the time to worry is when even these people walk away.
There is plenty to run in all of this. It will be interesting to see how some people react, there are quite a few that itd be no shame if they stay clear of the club, others should be courted to return! But I think we are having the boil lanced, it could be at the ultimate expense of the club but right now its all tiresome not least the absolute inability of people within the fanbase trying to save the day, to put aside their little p1ssing matches!
What was the 'Battle of the Boadroom' Dundalkfc10?
Its probably the whole owners and directors test or lack of when FAI are mentioned. Simply can people back up their finances or not. Whats stopping me from walking up to buy a club just cause I want some attention and hope that I can entice some investors in or leverage borrowing against club assets to pay my own bill. Things could have halted at BA possibly considering he ran out of money. But its a bottomless pit currently. Id like to think the 40% greater runnings costs compared to other clubs was exaggerated but it wouldnt shock to anyone if it was true, Its possible that the comparison figures are taken from the smallest club in LoI to make a point. I cant see running costs at Dundalk being bigger than say Rovers albeit its relative and our floodlights being ancient are costing 100m per year in electricity!
Temple saying he isnt a millionaire is a bit strange (mustnt be that great a barrister :) ) but seriously if he isnt his end game can only be to get other investors in quick and end up with a nice minority share for little or no investment.
I wouldnt begrudge him it to be fair as the club may have gone under without him and if he drains the swamp as such he will have "done the state a service" as CJH so elequntly put it all those years ago
Nesta has it covered largely above. I wasn't talking about the podcast or the very public fallout between two would-be investors in the club.
I'm wondering where the FAI are when it comes to any takeover of any club in Ireland. Have the FAI gave the go-ahead or done any backround checks, or fit and proper ownership tests of any investor in any club in Ireland?
Have the FAI done any checks on Cobh Ramblers new owners, or have they just walked in without any checks?
The whole thing is incredibly dodgy to me. You can't own a club in England without passing FA tests, so why can any random person walk into an Irish club and take on ownership?
Apologies, I got the wrong end of the stick. Not sure if there is a process but I know Drogheda had to jump through a few hoops with the trivela group but I don't think BA or Temple had similar hoops given the speed at which both deals were closed. Either way I agree it all looks like a farce and really poor management from the FAI.
A question not directly related to dundalk going down the plughole, but has the away allocation always been capped at 500 , which is what Rovers received for the game on Sunday?
I could have sworn there was more available in previous games this season/last few seasons.
Thought it was 900 including stand section.
I would have been critical of FAI too for the perceived lack of checks on new owners but what's to stop a lad showing the FAI a bank statement with 100 million on it and then sending it off to some lad or simply deciding, f*ck this i'm not spending any money on this club, it's not that straight forward. The more and more I see horror stories like Dundalk the more I wonder if Bohs and Sligo are right to sacrifice trophies for the benefit of being in control of their own fate.
Listening to LOI Central and I was shocked to hear Stephen McGuinness say he believes Dundalk are looking to stay full time next season in order to bounce straight back up. Utter madness with the debts they’re in, added to the fact that it’s looking like they’ll be getting a points deduction due to Scarp anyways
They won't have debts when they come out of Scarp or very little anyway