Cork City manager in High Court action
Quote:
Cork City manager in High Court action
Monday, December 17, 2007
Cork City manager Damien Richardson has initiated High Court proceedings to prevent any move by the League of Ireland club to dismiss him.
Richardson from Curraheen, Cork is seeking an injunction to stop Cork City FC Investments Ltd from removing him as manager.
The former Irish international, who has managed teams in both Ireland and England, has been manager of Cork since 2005, when he signed a two year contract.
The court heard today that Richardson feared his employers were about to terminate his employment with the club, which won the FAI Cup earlier this month.
In an affidavit, Richardson claimed there has been "a concerted and deliberate effort" to undermine his position over the past number of months.
He said that if he was sacked without explanation, it would "effectively destroy my career in football management" and that he and his family were under "immense stress and anxiety".
The court heard that on December 1st, the eve of the Irish Cup Final, Richardson had a meeting with the chairman of Cork City Brian Lennox concerning rumours about his future at the club. He said Lennox told him his position at the club was terminated.
Richardson has denied claims in a statement issued by Cork City FC that he had received offers from other clubs.
from http://www.ireland.com/sports/soccer...544088438.html
much the same story in today's Examiner
Quote:
Originally Posted by
pete
Crazy situation. Still waiting to see this professionalism that Arkaga supposed to be bringing.
same here!
from today's Examiner http://www.irishexaminer.ie/irishexa...764-qqqx=1.asp
Quote:
18 December 2007
High Court gives Richardson go-ahead for hearing
By Vivion Kilfeather and Liam Mackey
FAI CUP-WINNING boss Damien Richardson has been given permission by the High Court to bring proceedings aimed at preventing his dismissal as manager of Cork City.
The hearing has been set for Thursday.
Richardson and the club have been at odds since the FAI Cup final win, which was clouded both by player unrest and uncertainty about the manager’s future. In an affidavit to the court yesterday, the Cork City manager claimed that there had been “a concerted and deliberate effort” to undermine his position over the past number of months. He said that if he is sacked without explanation it would “effectively destroy my career in football management.” He further claimed that both he and his family are under “immense stress and anxiety”.
Richardson said that, last August, after a series of negotiations, he agreed a further two year contract with the club he had managed since 2005. He claims it included a new salary and a car allowance that was backdated to January 31 2007. He was furnished with a copy of the new contract on August 31, but the document did not reflect the agreement over the backdating of the salary or the car allowance.
He spoke to the club’s general manager Aidan Tynan about this, came to an agreement over the issues that caused him concern, but was never furnished with the amended contract. Richardson said that in early November he contacted the General Manager, informing him that he wished to sign the new contract, and a meeting was arranged.
However he says that on November 9, at a meeting with two of the club’s directors in Jury’s Hotel, Cork, doubts about the contract arose, and concerns over leaks to the press about the club were raised.
Richardson says that he was advised that the club would revert to him to have the matter considered further. Richardson also said in his affidavit that on Thursday Nov 15 last he was informed at a meeting in Dublin by a club director, that he did not have a long-term future at the club. Richardson said that he informed the director that he did not want to leave. However he says he was informed that the board of club owners Arkaga were unhappy with him because of leaks to the press about the club for which he was being held responsible. Mr Richardson denied that he was responsible for any such leaks.
He says he was also told at the meeting that the club did not intend to give him “a big pay out,” and that he could go with grace by serving out a three or four month period.
Richardson claims that later that day he was advised by a number of players, that a director had asked some, but not all of them, questions about his management style, and had sought their views on former manager Pat Dolan coming back to the club.
He said that on December 1, on the eve of the FAI Cup Final, he had a meeting with Cork City chairman Brian Lennox concerning the rumours about his future.
He said that Lennox told him that his position was terminated. Richardson also denied claims, in a statement subsequently issued by Cork City, that he had received offers from other clubs.
Click here for irishexaminer.com stories before this date
