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There is blame on both sides . Yes the first budget should not have been proposed at all . Then a revised budget was still unrealistic .
The cloth has now been cut to measure regretably at AMs expense and what he promised. But its simple maths and we deal with it or half way through
the season we are gone and for good this time.
The FAI need to put a salary cap on the league so its all part time.
stupid suggestion not even worth explaining to you whats wrong with your thinking that everyone should be part-time.....
Outcome from the meeting tonight , our budget was never refused by the fai because it was never submitted in the first place . Meetings were held with the fai and consultation and advice was given about the proposed budget . AM was given a budget but it has since been reduced in a big way . We are completely tax compliant and debt free but have a tiny budget going forward . 2 players have left in the last 2 days with lots more to follow , AM may also walk . But one thing is for sure the measures are being taken now instead of the middle of the season .We may very well be relegated but at least it will be on the pitch ..
Good to hear Ndrog........Roll on the louth derby!!!!!!!!! Wouldnt have been the same without it....Gaynor signed for us tonight...good playerQuote:
Originally Posted by ndrog
So was the LSC game called off because of this? Also who was the second player that left? I know Kenna signed for us, but who else is gone?
Cheers shep .Not looking forward to getting beaten on more regular basis than even last season but feck it , it least we are alive a cutting our cloth accordingly .gaynor is a good player who will do well for you .Damn it !Quote:
Originally Posted by shep
Quote:
Originally Posted by ndrog
Why was it not submitted?
There was a deadline for submitting budgets as part of the Licence application process.
Have the FAI fudged on another deadline and why were Drogs stalling?
I take it that the bottom line of what you were told at the meeting is that Drogheda will be in a position to get a licence and take their place in the premier division? I really hope that this is the case, for the sake of the supporters in Drogheda, for the wider good of the league, and in our own self-interest as near neighbours - the gate receipts from games against Drogheda are vitally important to us too!Quote:
Originally Posted by ndrog
If that is the case then the detail of what you were told is perhaps not vitally important to "outsiders" - but if your post is an accurate representation of what you were told you have every right to be very sceptical. For example, the claim that no budget was submitted and rejected by the FAI is simply not plausible, or that Alan Matthews was acting in good faith in agreeing deals oblivious to the budgetry problems. Additionally the impression that the players were given that a 10% reduction in wages would adequately solve the budget problem is obviously a nonsense when the reduction in budget may well be more like 30%.
The best strategy for survival for Drogheda United is to tell it straight to those who care most - Drogheda supporters. I hope that it is so.
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PFAI chief Stephen McGuinness has criticised the FAI for issuing official contracts to Drogheda United to sign new players before their budget was sanctioned........................
http://www.independent.ie/sport/socc...-2055634.html?
Good article, but nobody serious is asked any questions (not knocking the PFAI). I hope the FAI can come out strongly in this as I do see why SPC's were issued in advance, but surely if a club then can't afford said contracts they should be null and void. Good luck to DUFC in sorting this out.
Glad to hear that recent mistakes are being correctly early. I would still urge fans to find out why they happened in the first place.Quote:
Originally Posted by ndrog
I wouldn't worry too much about relegation. Any premier club that survives the season will stay in the Premier.
A reply taken from our forumQuote:
Originally Posted by Buile Shuibhne
PFAI chief Stephen McGuinness has criticised the FAI for issuing official contracts (Untrue) to Drogheda United to sign new players before their budget was sanctioned.
Worried recruits now fear they are tied (Untrue, not contracts signed) to the Louth club after they were asked to take a pay cut before a ball has been kicked in the new League of Ireland season.
Drogheda organised an information meeting for fans last night to discuss their plight after their latest budget submission was refused by the FAI (Untrue, no budget was submitted never mind knocked down) . It's understood they are dealing with a deficit in the region of €30,000 and there is some hope that a major sponsor might be willing to help out (Inaccurate).
However, they have angered players by asking them to take a 12.5pc pay cut, although some signings (We dont have any signings) have offered to take part in fundraising initiatives.
Others are aggrieved though, with Drogheda having outbid St Patrick's Athletic and Dundalk to snap up available talent before it emerged they didn't have the money to pay them in full for the entire campaign (No players signed, any agreement was a verbal agreement. All players were free to keep their options open like Conor Kenna did).
Now, the players union have expressed concerns that those who signed the league's Standard Players Contract (SPC) could be bound to an arrangement (Not one contract signed!)-- even though the contracts can't be officially registered until Drogheda's figures get the Abbotstown go-ahead.
One player was at the club's United Park base yesterday in search of a copy of his contract and McGuinness believes that the order of registration is all wrong (Good luck to him finding that piece of imaginary paper). "Until budgets are agreed, the clubs shouldn't be given out SPC's to sign anyone," he said.
Like do they even try to get the facts straight!?
Players were originally offered X amount of money in the original draft budget. However, since the start of the year due to the recession businesses have been pulling sponsorship that was promised. Therefore the club have to keep paring away at the original budget. Until this week, when they have been able to settle on a final budget. That is prudent financial planning for the future. And is nothing but admirable in this League. It is regrettable that the players we had hoped to sign are now being offered less. But would they rather be offered a 50% wage cut after 2 weeks of the league or be given the option to stay or go under no false promises before the league starts and before they put pen to paper on a contract.
This way the agreement between player and Droghed United will be honoured by the club if signed.
And for this 'the best' of the Irish sporting media manages to contrive it into something negative and dishonest. Utter ****e.
_________________
We know why it happened . Original budgets were to high due to sponsorship promised not coming good . Alot like mid way through the season in Dundalk when players had to take a pay cut . Just glad its happened now rather than during the season .Quote:
Originally Posted by White Horse
ndrog, I don't know if you are giving your own independent opinion here, or re-hashing what the club have told DU supporters. Irrespective of which it us, the most important thing is that Drogheda United are able to take their place in the premier and can cut the cloth financially for the season ahead.
I also agree with you that it is positive that Drogheda are taking the necessary steps now rather then be unable to honour commitments during the season. But the claims that no contracts were signed by players and that no budget was submitted to the FAI are dubious. Some players clearer understood that they had accepted offers and had signed up on contractual terms (no idea if it was on SPC documents), and as far as I am aware a submission of a budget proposal for 2010 season was a pre-requisite of the licensing application to be submitted by January 29.
In fairness, while that post does make a good go at refuting the article (granted, based all on hearsay), trying to deny that players have been inconvenienced by the club reneging on verbal contracts does smack a bit of making excuses for the club without being willing to look at the possibility the club is wrong.
Players are entitled to be aggrieved if they turn down (to make up numbers) E400 a week at one club for E600 a week at another only to be told a month later that actually they can't offer that.
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Originally Posted by pineapple stu
You are right there can be no doubt that having to go back on verbally agreed terms is unpalatable for all parties but would the players have rathered that we signed them and then could not afford to pay them. The club has communciated that sponsorship money which was expected resulted in he need for a lower budget and they reacted to this - what else could they have done? If Dundalks budget was hit by a major spnsor pulling out , what should they do differently?
It was an unpalatable situation for everyone and you do have to acknowledge the players situation and you can appreicate them seeing it as being shafted - but again how could it have been avoided.
The public meeting also demonstatred the amount of heresay that was presented by our neighbours on this thread as being factual. (well some of our nighbours not them all tbf)
Some people can keep those arms flapping and maybe just maybe they can keep the fire going :D
Facts as presented show that the club got a hit in the budget and reacted to fix it to ensure finacial statbility for 2010 - how is this a bad thing? Hopefully lessons are learn and some risk mitigations built into future budgets to take account of the current ever chaning ecomonic enviroment in reland which now means that no club can take for granted that sponosrship will be there all season.
From the ouside looking in, it seems to me United's board acted quickly and responsibly to a changing situation. Projected/forcasted income was not afterall going to materialise, they realised this now and decided to act at this moment to safeguard the club and indeed its employees throughout the season. What was the alternative - sit on their hands and hope they magic up some income (not currently forcasted) when in season? That would have inevitably ended in tears. Fair play to them. Yes it leaves a bad taste in the mouth for some players and indeed some rival clubs who were potentially outbid but on the face of it, this action avoids a melt down mid season.
If it was the clubs board that were driving the reduced budget, which I guess we can only take at face value. However, it's only a few weeks ago that we were being told there was a minimum needed to compete and how the budget couldn't be reduced so was going to be made up by extra fundraising.Quote:
Originally Posted by CMcC
Blaming the recession and sponsors pulling out is so Derry City 2009 !
http://www.drogheda-independent.ie/s...k-2056873.html
Drogs on the brink
CLUB HOLDS CRISIS MEETING IN BID TO PREVENT MELTDOWN
By Marcus CAVAROLI
Wednesday February 10 2010
A SMALL but significant cash injection – believed to be from shirt sponsors Hunky Dorys – boosted Drogheda United's survival hopes last night as desperate last-ditch efforts to save the club from extinction continued into the early hours. An unnamed source also pledged a loan to help keep the Drogs afloat, and a public meeting of supporters was hastily arranged at 11am yesterday for last night in the clubhouse in the hopes of generating further funds.
However, it remains to be seen whether the fans have the stomach for another rescue mission, after they raised € 200,000 in two weeks to save the club from going to the wall at the end of 2007.
A straw poll of Claret and Blue Club members by the Drogheda Independent yesterday showed that supporters are divided about whether they would be willing – or able – to pledge more money. They are already paying € 5 a week or more towards United's running costs.
One prominent fan, Brian Whelan, summed up the feelings of many, saying: 'I've been thinking about whether I would be prepared to take out a second subscription [to the Claret and Blue Club].
'It's not to do with the money, it's whether it will make a difference.
'I don't know if it would be possible, but we would have to be shown the books. I want to see what the budget is and where the money is going.
'It's a very worrying situation. Two years ago the club got money in from people who hadn't been to a game in 20 years, but I can't see that happening again.'
Reports that the club couldn't sustain its planned budget for 2010 first surfaced in mid-December, soon after general manager Sean Connolly was sacked, and with no significant investment in the meantime a friendly against a Celtic XI was hastily organised for last Wednesday.
However, the directors' hopes that the game would be a sell-out proved hugely optimistic, as the stadium was only half-full and the disappointing gate receipts exacerbated Drogheda's cash shortfall.
No one from the club was available for comment yesterday as the directors continued the fight to prevent Drogheda United going out of business, but the FAI have been informed of the club's desperate plight and are monitoring the situation closely.
The Independent Licencing Committee is due to meet next Monday to decide on which clubs will receive Premier and First Division licences for the new season, which begins on March 5th, and there must be a possibility that Drogheda will be demoted, even if they survive.
The Leinster Senior Cup match away to St Patrick's – scheduled for tonight ( Wednesday) – has been postponed because of the ongoing crisis.
It's not clear whether the annual Jim Malone Cup match against Dundalk, originally scheduled for next Tuesday at Oriel Park but put back 48 hours until Thursday (7.45pm), will now go ahead. Last weekend's scheduled friendly at home to Monaghan United was called off because United Park was unplayable.
As if Drogheda didn't have enough problems, the clubhouse phone was unobtainable yesterday, although that is not because the club has been disconnected. In fact, a fault on the line was reported on Monday and eircom have stated that it will take four days to repair.
- Marcus CAVAROLI
A huge amount of hot air in that article to be fair. No suggestion of why they're "facing extinction", do they owe players? do they owe the Revenue? Anything that would stop them getting a licence on a reduced budget?. The last paragraph is stupid as well. Not setting out to defend Drogs as such by the way it's just a poor article.
agreed, that is a shocker of an article. The last sentence is just bizarre...
To all the Drogs fans, good luck and hope you can push on from here and keep the club going for the season.
This just seems to prove that the meeja are revelling in every last little bit of news to stick knives into LOI clubs. Of course the clubs are providing many of the knives themselves, but it seems that the only way an Irish club can get into our wonderful sporting mentality is if they're being dragged in front of a judge or on the verge of oblivion.
The media are against the league, but you said it yourself - the clubs keep handing them ammunition, no more than Drogs at the moment. Actually, sorry I forgot there was never any issue with the revenue and sure they hadn't even submitted a budget yet, and wasn't it only the manager and few players screwed - purely a media witch hunt.
As a matter of statistical excercise (which I did with a colleague) go back through any month of news coverage of the LOI and count the number of "positive" and "negative" articles, and on a day by day basis see how many stories are reported. It's 3-2 in favour of negative and the main media (tv and radio) tilt it to 2-1 on their own. Our clubs, their rulers, the league and games rulers don't make it any easier, however in our culture of "bleed to lead" bad news is better than good and it's up to the clubs and the authorities to rectify this as much as is possible.Quote:
Originally Posted by Macy
Hunky Dorys one of their main sponsors actually increased their contribution this week - so they obviously haven't withdrawn their sponsorship.
What sponsors suddenly realised there is now a recession and withdrew sposorship they pledged 3 months ago, on which the 2010 budget was based
Not sure what your problem is exactly ? You want to come clean and let us know , we are telling you exactly what happened . We never owed the revenue money , our budget wasnt refused because it wasnt given in until the deadline . Budgets meetings were held with the fai allright , it had to be reduced twice .Some players werent happy about it and left .Fair play to them if you ask me , AM and other players still might walk and thats there choice . There is a witchhunt in the media about Dufc and some posters on here are intent on not listening to what your being told .Not sure why , not much happening with Longford town or what ?Quote:
Originally Posted by Macy
ndrog, I don't think it's a particular pick on one club, but bad news is sought out and blown up to sell papers, that's how they work. Drogheda were open and discussed with their stakeholders (supporters) what is happening, so it gets twisted into "yet another league club in crisis". There are journos undoubtedly trawling such forums as this to glean extra bits of info to create stories, or defend what they've written. It's the modern media.Quote:
Originally Posted by ndrog
What's the difference between the FAI refusing a budget and it being reduced after meeting with the FAI?Quote:
Originally Posted by ndrog
Who cares?!! The correct action was taken. Thats good enough for me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Schumi
It's quite simple. Drogheda United cheated their way to a title by spending money they didn't have. The taxpayer had to bail them out and people want to make sure it doesn't happen again.Quote:
Originally Posted by ndrog
There is absolutely no doubt that the media (especially the national broadsheets) have an unhealthy appetite to focus on the negatives in LoI- but in truth the recent Cork and Derry sagas in particular have given them loads to feast upon, along with the catastrophes at Shelbourne, Cork and Drogheda in recent seasons - with Bohemians, St Pats, Galway and Dundalk also having various degrees of financial difficulties that were newsworthy.Quote:
Originally Posted by ndrog
When it comes to local media (like the Drogheda Independent and LMFM radio), there is usually a very sympathetic ear and a willingness to present the story broadly along the lines the club wish. I can't help but wonder if this is the case here, and that perhaps it is actually in the clubs best interest to present the situation as the club being "on the brink of extinction" to try to galvanise support. This also can have the effect of supporters being relieved at the club not folding and therefore being more accepting of the reduced budget and possible loss of manager and some players.
All that really matters is that Drogheda United survive, and whether posters here accept what you have posted or not is of little importance in the overall picture. But there is a credibility problem with some of the detail posted here about Drogheda's budget not being subimtted/rejected:
Quote:
Originally Posted by ndrog
Quote:
Originally Posted by ndrog
Many Drogheda supporters I have spoken to are also concerned that the budget was flagged by Roisin Phillips as being a possible €5,000pw before Christmas, yet Daly, Harris and O'Connor were offered deals estimated at about €2,200. There seems to be a real disconnect here, and it is inevitable that unhealthy speculation will continue until licensing reaches its conclusion.
I wish you guys all the best in getting things sorted, and you can be assured of the normal warm welcome in Oriel Park next Thursday night!
There is a very obvious difference ! You want me to spell it out for you - Requested informal meetings were held with representatives of the FAI to ask advice about budget requirements ets , they were advised that the budget they were going with would be refused , it was then revised twice to what the club seen as appropriate with regard to wages , overheads , sponsorship etc . I havent denied for one min that it was handled badly but some of the nonsense in the media is out of order and only makes the situation worse .Quote:
Originally Posted by Schumi
People ? Yeah the media are very concerned with the tax payer allright , get real ffs . The supporters and the people of the town dug seriously deep to save this football club . And we won the title the year before we went bust actually . We are dealing with the situation now before the season starts and people still arent happy . Maybe we should have waited until half way through the season and cut players wages just like you didQuote:
Originally Posted by White Horse
ndrog - calm down ffs.
Calm down me hole! He was well within his rights to reply the way he did, to what was an obvious inflammatory post from White HorseQuote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Don't agree. You can respond to a post without going into hysterics (You want me to spell it out for you?).Quote:
Originally Posted by WindmillWarrior
to be fair rereading ndrogs post, its not exactly "hysterics". He is rising to the bait but not "hysterics (yet :) ). The aim by whitehorse was to insult with the word "cheated" and it was designed to be inflammatory and deserved aslap on the wrist rather than ndrog.
A person can claim we won the league through gross incompetence on the financial side , building the future on a house of cards, idiotic policies but to claim "cheated" is implying a knowing breaking of rules and if this is the case then evidence should be used to support this such as pointing out the rules (chapter and verse" that where broken and evidence that we intentially broke them.
Im very calm stu , just sick of saying the same thing over and over again . Some people just dont want to belive me and would rather post up crap . Lots of people are putting in serious hours of work to make this club work and comments like that of whitehorse are just patheticQuote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
. We aretrying to do the right thing , shock horror mistakes have and will be made . Get over it everyone .