Crisis at Limerick - unpaid wages and players free to leave

I don't understand why any news concerning Limerick is banned here but this is very important and cannot be just brushed under the carpet. I sincerely hope Limerick FC get out of this. After all, they were the first club to help us out when we went through a similar crisis two seasons ago.

https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/exc...e-max-12636424

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Originally Posted by Partizan

I don't understand why any news concerning Limerick is banned here but this is very important and cannot be just brushed under the carpet. I sincerely hope Limerick FC get out of this. After all, they were the first club to help us out when we went through a similar crisis two seasons ago.

https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/exc...e-max-12636424

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https://mobile.twitter.com/cunneen92?lang=en
https://twitter.com/paulohehir/statu...162006017?s=19

I wonder will anyone ask Fran Gavin if he feels the FAI have created the atmosphere for this to happen?

Jesus wasn't expecting that. Cue chants of are you Athlone in disguise for the rest of their possibly short season, they must have Spunked all their money suing Foot.

https://www.limerickleader.ie/news/s...-to-leave.html

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Limerick FC goalkeeper Brendan Clarke has confirmed that the club owe the entire squad wages for the month of May and that officials insisted they won’t get in the way of players leaving should they receive an offer.

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And check out this beauty from Clarke: “We were assured that we wouldn’t be owed a penny by the club, just that they couldn’t tell us when the money would be there.”

F**king shameful from the club, and to think that the chairman was sitting in the stands bellowing at them, in the aftermath of that.

Oh no, another LOI club not paying it's players, who could have seen this coming? etc.

It's the FAI's fault

Licenses repeatedly awarded to clubs with blatant fake budgets in January/February year after year after year

Can't wait to see Fran Gavin this Monday on his first bi-annual appearance on Soccer Republic to calm the LOI family following this latest unforeseen event

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Originally Posted by osarusan

https://www.limerickleader.ie/news/s...-to-leave.html



And check out this beauty from Clarke: “We were assured that we wouldn’t be owed a penny by the club, just that they couldn’t tell us when the money would be there.”

F**king shameful from the club, and to think that the chairman was sitting in the stands bellowing at them, in the aftermath of that.

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Shocking, credit to the Limerick squad for pulling off any kind of result, all demonstrated alot of character

Is it the FAI's fault that Limerick are overspending?

Limerick have never missed wages before in fairness. Hard for the FAI / Licensing body to deny a license on the basis that the funding might suddenly dry up- because a fair few clubs around the league are in the exact same position.

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Originally Posted by David BOHie

Is it the FAI's fault that Limerick are overspending?

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Is this a serious question? The FAI granted them a licence, and saw the proposed budget. Limerick were having issues before the season started and went in to sign some well experienced and not cheap players. If you feel the FAI have no role to play in overseeing the financial side of clubs, to protect the integrity and image of the league, I'm not sure what you see the point of them or the licencing process as being.

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Originally Posted by Mr A

Limerick have never missed wages before in fairness. Hard for the FAI / Licensing body to deny a license on the basis that the funding might suddenly dry up- because a fair few clubs around the league are in the exact same position.

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Which is why there needs to be something in place to mitigate it. The owners need to be willing to commit to investing the money, based on the budget they've submitted, for the whole season. This literally happens every year, there has to be something done to mitigate it.

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Originally Posted by David BOHie

Is it the FAI's fault that Limerick are overspending?

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From my point of view, first up is obviously that Limerick are overspending, as you say.

But I would certainly blame the FAI for creating an environment in which an LoI team is increasingly unsustainable, by heaping extra costs on them, and providing no real income in return.

The full underage structure is a good idea, but paltry prize money, no TV money, and large league entry fees are absolutely the FAI's fault. The FAI are running the league and have the power to make a lot more money flow around it, but steadfastly refuse to do so. I don't see the harm in blaming them for the bigger picture.

edit: @micls

They signed Conor Clifford a month ago? Is that the FAI's fault too?

It's fundamentally Limerick's problem that they overspend. If the FAI approve the budgets then that's fine. The FAI should look at their licensing system too to ensure prudence but I imagine the FAI don't have the resources to audit every detail of every club's accounts so once they look any way decent they're approved.

What's up with Limerick's crowds? Did they never really develop in the city or have they dwindled? Not many there last night.

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Originally Posted by micls

Which is why there needs to be something in place to mitigate it. The owners need to be willing to commit to investing the money, based on the budget they've submitted, for the whole season. This literally happens every year, there has to be something done to mitigate it.

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I've said it before but there needs to be some sort of fund in place that clubs contribute to in order that wages can be paid when they hit a lean spell. Force clubs to set up rainy day funds.

On Limerick, I hope they can see out the season and survive in the premier. Its a convenient away trip for city fans and it's an enjoyable away trip with the friendliest and most welcoming of stewards.

Any fans group or coop model that are in a position to take over?

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Originally Posted by pineapple stu

From my point of view, first up is obviously that Limerick are overspending, as you say.

But I would certainly blame the FAI for creating an environment in which an LoI team is increasingly unsustainable, by heaping extra costs on them, and providing no real income in return.

The full underage structure is a good idea, but paltry prize money, no TV money, and large league entry fees are absolutely the FAI's fault. The FAI are running the league and have the power to make a lot more money flow around it, but steadfastly refuse to do so. I don't see the harm in blaming them for the bigger picture.

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100% I agree with you. The FAI need to do a lot more as you say and you could go even further. The congestion of fixtures, the 19s etc is a good idea but people have been saying it for years, fines for fans trying to make a bit of atmosphere etc.

But this is a case of Limerick overspending. I like Limerick, the city needs a big club but Barry Maguire, Conor Clifford, Eoin Wearen, Danny Kearns etc could not come cheap and they were not getting the crowds to justify it I imagine

Agree signing players last month is inexcusable by the way.

Did I hear something about fans staying away from games while a certain someone owns the club?

I'm not getting into the nitty gritty because Limerick but just on the crowds.

They're probably gone down by two thirds since last season. Even the bohs fan up there if he was at our first game against them this year there was three times the crowd there.

The reasons are pretty obvious and some of them can't be gone into for legal reasons.

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Originally Posted by Lim till i die

I'm not getting into the nitty gritty because Limerick but just on the crowds.

They're probably gone down by two thirds since last season. Even the bohs fan up there if he was at our first game against them this year there was three times the crowd there.

The reasons are pretty obvious and some of them can't be gone into for legal reasons.

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Understood.

Hopefully a system of fan ownership can save the club. It's worked for Cork, beginning to work for Galway and probably what saved Bohs through our tough times.

I posted this in a different thread if anyone wants a quick catch-up:

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Originally Posted by NeverFeltBetter

Brief and potentially incomplete summation (and in no particular order):

-The lack of funding for the squad.
-The hiring process for the last two managers/general situation with Neil McDonald.
-the general quality of the pitch and the ongoing lack of clarity over who is in charge of its upkeep.
-The pricing policy for tickets, which has backfired given the quality of what's on offer.
-An ongoing dispute between the "Blue Army" section of supporters and club management over a variety of issues.
-The saga of the Bruff training facility which has been "close to opening" for a while now.
-The well-noted issues that have resulted in a restriction on public comment on the club on this forum.
-A serious lack of clarity over whether the current Chairman is selling the club or not.
-Chairman's apparent greater concern for away fans at matches than home fans.
-Concerns that too much has been invested in projects outside of the first team (in two minds on that myself).
-Perceptions of, shall we say, an unhealthy closeness between certain members of the media and club management.

I'm sure others could add more.

And then the actual football side of things: the bad results, the lack of goals, the lack of gumption. When Limerick were promoted a few seasons ago the hope was that the club could push on and secure a prominent place in the League of Ireland. Instead they wobbled around mid-table for two years, were relegated in a disaster cost-cutting season, strolled a poor First Division, and spent last season in another relegation battle. The enormous strides by Waterford in this season and last are also galvinising the negative appraisal of Limerick's last few years. Crowds are down, the mood is pessimistic, the OSC stopped functioning due to a lack of volunteers. Even if the club stays up this season, I think it is fair to say that there's little expectation of progression with the current leadership.

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It's a sad situation. The people in charge of the club were on a wing and a prayer this season, and it's bizarre they were happy to publicly denounce paying supporters for a bit of bad language while they were out of cash to pay players. Pat O'Sullivan has done a lot for the club, but he needs to admit his share of blame in the way things have gone. The FAI certainly deserve some flak, but not as much as some people think.

We just cannot get the crowds in the door consistently. I've lost count of the "great sporting city" op-eds puzzled as to why people won't turn up for Limerick FC when we appeared to be doing everything right, with the promotion and the return to Market's Field and being competitve in the top tier. But ultimately the bandwagon culture among the Irish sport-watching public was alive and well. When we strung a few results together, they showed up. When wer didn't, they vanished. And when they vanished, the club leadership would throw fits at the loudest fans left.

Fair play to the team that agreed to play last night. I wouldn't say a bad word about any that have already packed their bags. I hope the club can go to the end of the season, even as an amateur outfit, just to maintain the integrity of the league table. If they could stay up, it would help attract new investors maybe, but I wont shed a tear if relegation comes, either on the field or because a license if refused. We've made our bed.

Regards the query about fan ownership, there is a trust, that I am a member of myself, and while there have been some positive moves this year regards getting communication going between different groups invested in the club, it, like the club, has always struggled to get subscribers. I don't know if it is in a position to do anything for/with the club.