Hull City owners to take majority stake in Dundalk?

**2 Year Contract** · 09/09/2024, 5:46 PM

Ainscough statement:

There are a lot of reports out there that the club is experiencing financial difficulties. Unfortunately, those reports are true.I was hoping to secure investment in August but, for various reasons, that did not come through.
I am working hard to keep it going but my immediate concern now is that the club can carry on for the remainder of the season.
I am actively seeking investment and I am exploring all possibilities about the ownership of the club to ensure that happens.
I will continue to speak to any interested parties and I remain fully positive that we can secure the injection of cash that we need to keep us going.
Regarding wages, I can confirm that there was a delay in paying the wages last week.
I am aware of the distress that this caused our players and staff and I would like to assure them that this was a temporary issue which will be resolved in the coming days.
I want to thank our players, staff, supporters and the wider community for their support and patience at this time and want to let them know that we are working extremely hard to turn this situation around.
Brian Ainscough

https://www.dundalkfc.com/club-state...ian-ainscough/

Mad stuff really. How can you be so reckless that you take over a club and commit to player and staff contracts knowing full well you will require an investor during the year in order to even honour those contracts just for this year. Mind boggling stuff. Whatever about him wanting to take over the club during the off season, it�s even worse that he was allowed to do so

**D24Saint** · 09/09/2024, 6:29 PM

There has to be real concerns now that they don�t see out the season. It would be a disaster for the league. As for what happens next season to them is another story. If they manage to hang on it�s safe to assume it�s looking like a long rebuilding job will be required.

**nigel-harps1954** · 09/09/2024, 6:31 PM

There has to be questions asked of the FAI and the League executive too. How could they have permitted the purchase of Dundalk FC by Brian Ainscough if he couldn't prove he had the money to see out even one season of football at Oriel Park?

**ger121** · 09/09/2024, 7:02 PM

The FAI is to Governance, as the LOI is to profitability.

**ger121** · 09/09/2024, 7:09 PM

Ages ago I did a quick back of a cigarette pack calculation of how much money Dundalk made in Europe from 2014-2023. I had it down as �15 million.
Crazy (It isn�t really) to think it was all wasted away and the club not only has nothing to show for it in 2024 but is �1.2 million in debt and staring down the barrel of going into Examinership or even worse if they can�t find another sugar daddy.
I feel sorry for the Dundalk supporters and I hope they are looking at what options could be available to them to take control on their club.

**oriel** · 09/09/2024, 7:09 PM

Not even as much as an apology to the staff, players and mgt. Translated 'I've run out of money guys, and willing to sell to the quickest offer, oh and I won't be coming back to Ireland, good luck now'

Chancer

**oriel** · 09/09/2024, 7:15 PM

Originally Posted by ger121

Ages ago I did a quick back of a cigarette pack calculation of how much money Dundalk made in Europe from 2014-2023. I had it down as �15 million.
Crazy (It isn�t really) to think it was all wasted away and the club not only has nothing to show for it in 2024 but is �1.2 million in debt and staring down the barrel of going into Examinership or even worse if they can�t find another sugar daddy.
I feel sorry for the Dundalk supporters and I hope they are looking at what options could be available to them to take control on their club.

2016 winnings paid for a new pitch, Louth CC planning fees, kitting out the YDC, then buying / paying the best players to win 2018 and 2019 leagues, and 2020 cup, got quite close to the league 2017 in the end but Cork and Maguire were much better. 2020 group stages left 2m in the account for StatSports to just run down, not spend a cent of their own money.

Would have been smaller euro monies in between for sure, prob over 1m some seasons, but absolutely nothing else to show for it. Wages, trophies, memories, now debt, that's about it.

Quite depressing really.

**joey B** · 09/09/2024, 7:19 PM

I agree with this aswell,Statsports come out of this looking terrible,you could say they seen Ainsclough coming and couldn�t flog it quick enough to the first eejit willing to take it��

**Jack B** · 09/09/2024, 7:26 PM

This is grim stuff all around. Dundalk were already heading down a dodgy path but the manner in which Ainscough took over just made something like this feel inevitable. Dropping Kerry in the manner he did, stating that his decision to do so and purchase Dundalk only happened over the course of a matter of weeks etc, red flags all over the place.

As much as there's all the room in the world for schadenfreude at other teams' expense the line gets drawn at situations like this where people's actual lives and the league as a whole are and could further suffer for it. Feel for Jon Daly in particular who sacrifices a lot in terms of family life for this line of work that as of right now he's not even being paid for, on top of how precarious the situation is on the pitch. Hopefully in the short term at the very least they can see the season out and have everyone paid properly, anything after that might be a bonus at this rate.

**pineapple stu** · 09/09/2024, 7:29 PM

Originally Posted by ger121

Ages ago I did a quick back of a cigarette pack calculation of how much money Dundalk made in Europe from 2014-2023. I had it down as �15 million.
Crazy (It isn�t really) to think it was all wasted away and the club not only has nothing to show for it in 2024 but is �1.2 million in debt and staring down the barrel of going into Examinership or even worse if they can�t find another sugar daddy.
I feel sorry for the Dundalk supporters and I hope they are looking at what options could be available to them to take control on their club.

I seem to recall a post here after Dundalk reached the groups in 2016 along the lines of "It seems a lot of money to **** away, but we'll give it a go"

Mission accomplished, it would seem.

Also, Ainscough seems to be quite lax with his tenses. "There was a delay in paying the wages [...] which will be resolved in the coming days."?

**Abbeyman** · 09/09/2024, 7:50 PM

Can LOI clubs afford to run professional squads ? Doesn�t look like it - Dundalk got 15million from Europe and are now in danger of going bust �. Reminds me of the water companies in the UK , some peoples just extract all the money out of the club and then shrug their shoulders saying we� re broke ..

**Nesta99** · 09/09/2024, 7:52 PM

Originally Posted by 2 Year Contract

Ainscough statement:

https://www.dundalkfc.com/club-state...ian-ainscough/

Mad stuff really. How can you be so reckless that you take over a club and commit to player and staff contracts knowing full well you will require an investor during the year in order to even honour those contracts just for this year. Mind boggling stuff. Whatever about him wanting to take over the club during the off season, it�s even worse that he was allowed to do so

Wages a temporary issue, resolved, yet questioning the ability to see out the season financially.....did BA read back his 'statememt'?

Also Dan's tweet, a bad look for Statsport, BA but no comment on Andy Connolly as part owner with Statsport, Friend and isource by any chance, no part to play in internal conflict and bad press at the club. No comment on C.O.O. or whatever the most recent title Martin Connolly had with his sudden departure and reasons? All reporting about the club, national and local seems quite selective depending....

**oriel** · 09/09/2024, 7:56 PM

StatSports got away with murder, as said many times on here, they 'took over' with 2.1 M in the bank, and got 550k euro money in year 2, wages were modest to ok, and SOD was hired / duped on the pretence they meant biz. They didn't spent a cent of their own money.

Also it should be noted, it was a SS led takeover, as one of the previous owners had a 1/3 share. When BA came in, seemingly the prev owner didn't want to sell to him, the 2 SS boys wanted to offload, he was out voted.

What a mess, I think regardless of what happens now, there is no way we will get a PD licence for 2025. There could be worse news ahead though if a takeover doesn't happen, as BA clearly doesn't give two fxxxs.

Wages have got to be paid, that has to be no 1 priority though, feel so sorry for the staff, players, mgt, they don't deserve this. I get (to an extent) the online joy a lot of other fans have on this but its not fair on the people who have not been paid.

**D24Saint** · 09/09/2024, 8:04 PM

What are the immediate implications if the wages aren�t paid soon. Are points deductions an option for the FAI and what options do the staff and squad have ? Are they held to their contracts or are they free to walk if they wish.

**pineapple stu** · 09/09/2024, 8:15 PM

Originally Posted by D24Saint

What are the immediate implications if the wages aren�t paid soon.

They're smacked and told not to be naughty, but basically let off?

**BonnieShels** · 09/09/2024, 9:21 PM

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

I seem to recall a post here after Dundalk reached the groups in 2016 along the lines of "It seems a lot of money to **** away, but we'll give it a go"

Mission accomplished, it would seem.

Also, Ainscough seems to be quite lax with his tenses. "There was a delay in paying the wages [...] which will be resolved in the coming days."?

Imagine what his Irish Oral was like.

**BonnieShels** · 09/09/2024, 9:23 PM

Originally Posted by D24Saint

What are the immediate implications if the wages aren�t paid soon. Are points deductions an option for the FAI and what options do the staff and squad have ? Are they held to their contracts or are they free to walk if they wish.

Us losing the league in the event of them emulating Monaghan would be * chef's kiss *

**BonnieShels** · 09/09/2024, 9:26 PM

Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

And the rest of it was paid by selling the ground a second time

I love the classics!

**nigel-harps1954** · 09/09/2024, 10:04 PM

Originally Posted by Abbeyman

Can LOI clubs afford to run professional squads ? Doesn�t look like it - Dundalk got 15million from Europe and are now in danger of going bust �. Reminds me of the water companies in the UK , some peoples just extract all the money out of the club and then shrug their shoulders saying we� re broke ..

To be fair, this wild overspending and mismanagement by Dundalk owners isn't exactly representative of the league as a whole.

Clubs need to live within their means, but there's no reason professional football cannot be sustained in a town like Dundalk, as long as they're not stupid about it.

**Nesta99** · 09/09/2024, 11:56 PM

Originally Posted by BonnieShels

Imagine what his Irish Oral was like.

His modh coinn�ollach was probaby great if it was what he would do with a football club if he bought one! Mine was all about d�fhostta�ocht so could school him on would happen if he bought a club he couldnt afford....

Originally Posted by BonnieShels

I love the classics!

Like a basketcase wasteful bankrupt Dundalk FC still likely to manage to build a new ground before Stranrolar is finished after Harps redesign the redesigned redesign design?