The LoI clubs are at the whim of the FAI though, and the FAI aren't really dependent on the LoI for Revenue (the interesting debate about prize money v sponsorship aside)
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The LoI clubs are at the whim of the FAI though, and the FAI aren't really dependent on the LoI for Revenue (the interesting debate about prize money v sponsorship aside)
An excellent summary of the Franchise folly:
Quote:
Yet over the past few weeks the sheer lunacy of the venture was laid bare. They had known that Gerry Gannon's money was on a temporary basis from the beginning, yet there's little evidence that any contingency plans were put in place. When Gannon hit the skids last year, the club proceeded on the basis that new investment would appear from somewhere. Anywhere. Last month Liam Buckley was still signing new players. Two weeks ago a commercial director was appointed. What strain of madness had gripped them? While they believed they were close to signing a sponsorship deal with a UK-based firm that would net them €170,000 a year, that would merely have put a small dent in an annual budget believed to be in excess of €750,000. How did they envisage meeting the shortfall? By filling Dalymount Park every home game? Perhaps they fancied a sustained, lucrative run in the Europa League? Over the previous three seasons Gannon had ploughed €2m into the club. Without that money, Sporting Fingal were goosed. The equation was as simple as that.
Why the farce was allowed to continue as long as it did is an indictment not just of those who ran the club, but of the Council that facilitated them. From the evidence of Fingal Council meetings it is clear that the close relationship between the Council and the club was a source of unease to several councillors and questions about it popped up on a regular basis. ............
http://www.independent.ie/sport/socc...?service=Print
It still baffles me why Fingal went with the tried and tested model for failure. With Gannon's money, they had the opportunity to try something different, invest it in training facilities, a tidy stadium at the heart of the community, and a big media campaign to get punters through the gates.
Come to think of it, Gannon's money would have been better invested in a national campaign of hyping up the league before each season, rather than wages for a club which, with the greatest of respect, looks set to disappear with barely a ripple.
You post a lot from the indo dont you. Do you work for them?Quote:
Originally Posted by Buile Shuibhne
The Northside People id say.
Because ultimately the people making the decisions where morons. It became a vanity project and when it was mentioned to them to reduce the playing budget, these suggestions fell on deaf ears. They ruined what could have been a very good club in the long run. They took the original clubs ethos and pi$$ed all over it and now they get to walk away leaving the staff, players and fans without a club. IdiotsQuote:
Originally Posted by peadar1987
It was a great day for Irish football.
The worst day off my life was when Fingal bet us in the Cup final, it made it worse the way their fans ''celebrated'', they didnt give a ****, it was a day out for them and that was hard to take
In a large way you're right, the fans are always seen as some grouping who are in it for the club, though it's not always the case. I agree totally that this arms race effect or MAD always will play out when clubs try to compete, though while the FAI have the authority, I don't know if they are always best placed to provide a solution, not disputing that they're not just a psychological defence mechanism. I still stand by it that fans/supporters do have the power to make a change, if not the whole group, but a substantial number. Then again it might be a bit too pollyanna to look at it this way. It's just frustrating to see the same old situations crop up time and again only in different guises.Quote:
Originally Posted by peadar1987
You're annoyed they didn't fall to their knees and thank the Lord?Quote:
Originally Posted by pauliek
It was a day out for most of your day trippers as well. It made my day when i saw all the sligo cars clamped at the garage because they was too mean to pay €2 in the car park :) You seriously need to get over it at this stage.Quote:
Originally Posted by pauliek
Lep, our day trippers are still around, and will be. But where are ye going to trip to now?
I think this thread is now like Sporting Fingal. Going nowhere.
So are ours :) Where am i going to trip to now? 2 weeks in the sun to start off with followed by a few trips across the water followed by a week in the sun. It sounds good to me ;)
I was going to take in a game or 2 at Richmond but they wont let me ;).
Richmond Park or Richmond Road?
Who plays at richmond road?
You should have been last Thursday.
:rolleyes:
No, that was ment to be at Tolka. Have shells changed the name of the ground?
Please tell me you're having a laugh?
My initial post was a joke and now you're annoying me.
Tolka Park is on Richmond Road. Sheesh.
I know where it is. I would have said Tolka if i ment shells .
Look forward to the thousands who were at Lansdowne for the Cup Final pack into the Showgrounds when we visit then :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Oldred
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Lep
Like most of us would. And in fact I knew you were talking Pats but I thought in the spirit of having a laugh I posted a half jokey/smartarse comment that I expected no reaction to and you singlehandedly have managed to extract almost all of what little humour it from it. So much so that I think I'm going to have to go out now and shoot some rabbits at point blank range to relieve the frustration you've just caused me.
Huzzah sir. Your club may have died but your skill lives on.
I'll post :) next time ;)
Shells and humour doesnt go together :)
Of maybe not at all. It's okay, you don't have to reply to everything.
BTW, why would you go to Pats and not any of your local clubs, Shels, Bohs or Drogheda?
Pats are closer to me and as quick to get to as dalymount plus it would be handy to get to work after the match. Shels, bohs and drogheda are far from being my local sides. I like Drogheda so i might take in a game or 2 of theirs as well. I wont be anyway near Tolka as they over charge.
http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/a...reverAlone.pngQuote:
Originally Posted by The Lep
Why put Drogheda in bold?
You will get the idea when or if you go down there this season. LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by The Lep
Thank you so much for that useful info, you are far better than google.
Chin up old boy !!
Lay off the sherry theres a Jolly lad ;)
What are you on about now bull. ?
This is hilarious. :D
Hilarious? Sad more like.
Lep you're more than welcome to United Park this season for some Premier division football :-)
So will we be starting 2011 with the exact same result as 2010? :D
Nah, reckon you'll beat us by more this season :DQuote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Great post, just hope all ye Final guys - lep and the like- keep with the LOI, keep going to the games and eventually learn to like league of Ireland football again:)Quote:
Originally Posted by born2bwild
Congrats, a friend of mine is a die hard Drogs fan and has been to Fingal's games so it might be nice to repay the gesture ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by WindmillWarrior
Good bit of coverage today in the fingal independent about the plight of Sporting Fingal, seems to be mixed opinions from management and staff about the reasons it all went wrong, some saying it was FCC fault and others saying sponsors, It looks like we won't ever know the full truth to why the club completely folded up! (I don't have a subscription so can't post a link)
still gutted by it and I will continue to support SFFC and pray they reform in some shape or form but think for now i'll head to drogs for some games this year, been bitten by the friday night live football experience and don't want to lose it yet!
How would it be the council's fault? Did they put a gun to Liam Buckley's head and force him to sign Ken Oman?
from the sound of the article, when the council pulled their support for the project it meant that finding a new backer/owner was impossible. it doesn't explain why, hence why i said the truth will never be fully known!
I still laugh every time I think about themQuote:
Originally Posted by The Lep
The council were gung ho at first, then as the election was called they suddenly began to look for reasons to cover their hides. That is a reason, though not the sole reason why the club went under. It was a big loss as any investor would have been coming in with the prospect of Lusk coming on stream for the club, plus the planned stadium up by the airport. So with the FCC effectively winding up the company as they didn't want to be hit with losses or any sort when the next round of cutbacks come in, it snowballed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin
The most important thing of all is that no matter what the club, bringing in a large sponsor or serious investor is nigh on impossible, so when they found out in November that Gannon was gone for good and the FCC were looking to run (the closer it got to an election being called), it was game over.