From local paper today.
Attachment 2513
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From local paper today.
Attachment 2513
A mysterious investor, a team full of Europeans with a couple of foreign coaches imposed on the manager and no fans turning up. Got to love the LOI.
The Portuguese coach is a guy based in Dublin who coaches futsol 😂😂
Supposedly the investor approached 3 irish clubs in the past year and was ran from them all.
What a joke of a club Athlone Town are.
jeesoos ... this could be interestingQuote:
Originally Posted by ATFC-1887
Am told one of these two could be the coach. https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniom...ter&_mSplash=1 https://www.linkedin.com/in/jose-fer...Fer&_mSplash=1
That Mantero lad looks like a proper spoofer. Hope he gets the gig.
#greatestleagueintheworld
The Ferreira chap linked above and another Portuguese coach called Ricardo Gravo have joined the Athlone coaching staff it appears. I'm sure Ferreira has done wonderful things in his few months with Belmount FC u17s.
Buck me, he's a futsol coach. Athlones keeper from last season has gone to Shels
No one knows what's going on. Not even managers.
https://www.thesun.ie/sport/football...ging-the-team/
With the greatest of respect to Athone what madman would invest In the shambles they currently are???
Plenty of dodgy characters looking for a business to put their money into. I'd be curious to know what kind of questions the FAI asked about this mystery investor.
Even for our league its a bit mad!
Too many Chiefs and not enough Indians.
I'm sure theyl try sign a few IndiansQuote:
Originally Posted by KeepersBall
Some bizarre miscommunication issues there. Real amateurish. Club would be well advised to make a statement on who the manager is sharpish.
https://www.facebook.com/AthloneTown...81617315254458
Quote:
Athlone Town AFC would like to announce changes to the first team coaching set-up.The club is delighted to confirm that respected Portuguese coach Ricardo Monsanto has been appointed as First Team Manager.
Ricardo is the holder of a UEFA A License, awarded to him by the Portuguese Football Association.
Colin Fortune has assumed a new role of Head Coach and will continue to provide the sterling service he has given Athlone Town AFC on and off the field over many years.
Coaches Ricardo Cravo, also from Portugal, and Gavin Drummond are also on board and will play their part as part of the backroom team.
The changes take effect from today (Thursday March 9th) however it is important to note that the coaching staff have been working well together since the start of the season.
To date this coaching structure has greatly aided the blending in of the first team squad’s locally based players with those who have come in from Europe.
The changes have been brought about as part of the club’s on going efforts to improve results and player performance on the field of play.
The Football Association of Ireland have been formally notified of the changes.
The club has no doubt that our senior coaching staff will continue to work both with each other and the players to build on our positive opening to the 2017 First Division season.
The club asks that all genuine fans of Athlone Town AFC give their full support to the management team and playing staff particularly in our upcoming games against neighbours Longford Town.
"GENUINE FANS"
****ing gob****es https://www.facebook.com/images/emoj...1/16/1f603.png:D
What a complete and utter shambles that club is.
I fully expect them to go and win the league now.
The genuine fans bit was totally uncalled for. Most of the genuine diehards are refusing to attend games. I know some are 60 plus years attending games and refusing to do so at the minute.
why? Sure who cares who is running the club. If you get some investor in and is willing to spend some cash the great. We need more of that. Its better than not having a pot to **** in. If it fails then you just go back to not having a pot to **** in. The same one they were using before.Quote:
Originally Posted by Battery Rover
Hypothetically, wouldn't that require Monsanto to give up the manager's job as he doesn't have a pro license? Which I believe Fortune has or is studying for.Quote:
Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954
He's working on a GM licence.Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin
Are you serious? Even as much as I hate athlone I think their fans are dead right to boycott. The way that club is been run is a disgrace. The amount of money they owe is disgraceful and only in Ireland would they get away with not paying itQuote:
Originally Posted by Duggie
how much do they owe? to whoQuote:
Originally Posted by outspoken
They owe a load of players expenses but don't got a license because they are amateurs so it doesn't count. Only in Ireland would clubs get away with itQuote:
Originally Posted by Duggie
Midlands 103 not allowed to ask off field questions last night. Apparently they were lucky to get an interview with the manager at all.
People now asking what do they have to hide.Quote:
Originally Posted by outspoken
I dont get all the negativity around athlones investor. I heard fortune on one of the podcasts saying since they came in athlone had a good preseason with everything laid on. Meals training gear etc etc. Thats a good thing.Whats with all the bad press.
If you can't see the problem then you really don't understandQuote:
Originally Posted by Duggie
Clearly not. This is a club with a few hundred people going to games and not a penny to their name id say. Along comes a portugese guy for whatever reason willing to spend some cash and bring in players and all i see is people questioning it. Id be singing from the rooftop if i was an athlone fan. Its not real madrid were talking here. Sure get rid of him then and go back to been **** poor and shakeing buckets around the streets to survive.Quote:
Originally Posted by outspoken
the Athlone fans must be happy when their boycotts outside the ground stop!Quote:
Originally Posted by Duggie
They have stopped protesting outside the ground but are still boycotting all home games.Quote:
Originally Posted by Martinho II
So I heard. Could get interesting alrightQuote:
Originally Posted by ATFC-1887
As in our old friend * could be added to events or worse bye bye Athlone?
Not bye bye as there is a group ready to step in to run club if / when it implodes.Quote:
Originally Posted by bluewhitearmy
How long are we hearing that tho? What state will the place be in at that stage? This is a real mess no matter what happens now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Battery Rover
Sometimes you have to hit the very bottom before you can rise again.Quote:
Originally Posted by outspoken
It's a bizarre set up. Appoint Colin Fortune, let him sign a mostly local squad then with about two weeks until the season starts bring in a mystery investor, and a load of Portuguese coaches with no track record in any kind of respectable league and a French "Director of First Team Operations" whose employment at a Lithuanian club saw them being beaten 10 and 12 nil in games. Plus a load of Eastern European nobodies. I can only imagine what the dressing room dynamics are like.
How does the 'investment' even work at what is in theory a members club? Have they bought a load of memberships or have the current membership agreed to sign over ownership?
And as for the group ready to step in- what's the story there?
It's the word "investment" when used in a LOI context that always makes me suspicious. It implies that they are looking for some kind of return. And TBH there's easier ways to **** your money away if you really wanted to. There's always another motive.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr A