Transfer Rumours

**Sam_Heggy** · 08/01/2009, 8:55 PM

Originally Posted by Philly

"I am hoping to have between 14-16 full time players".
Sean Connor @ todays press conference.

Smells like Finn Harps, Series Two. "Big", "sleeping giant" club gets promoted, goes full-time, over-spends, and it all goes downhill. The difference here is Sean Connor is an absolute wheeler and dealer. Manseram and Singh already back under their old gaffer, what the heck have they been up to the past year? Manseram flopped at Leigh whatdayecallem. Singh is a crock. Having that many players full-time when even clubs like Pats and Bohs are struggling to keep full-time set-ups is just a joke. Some people never learn.

Yup and instead of Gary Sicknote Beckett ye get Fabio. Great signing 5 years ago but not now.

**Flawless** · 08/01/2009, 9:11 PM

Also 12k is not rediculous, our budget last season was up on the 10k mark!

**skipper_12** · 08/01/2009, 9:12 PM

Originally Posted by Louth4sam

12k isn't a lot per week and we will be financially sound paying it.

�1500 per week patron - We have 300 members and �5 is lowest Figure
�7500 per week gate - Average gate of 1500 every two weeks at �10 (lowest price ticket)
�1000 per week Pitch (prob earns a lot more but i dont have figures)
�800 per week bars

Plus you have shirt sponsors, match sponsors, ball sponsors, mascots, merchandise, sweet shop shop, Programs, goaltimes, Fundraisers, tv money, prize money.

Our youth training centre will be complete in the summer with an indoor pitch and Gym which will also generate more revenue for the club.

Where does the maths not work out?

Points taken and that all sounds great and hopefully you can pay 16 full time players and coaching staff. I am not against Dundalk I am just stating the fact that clubs should be really careful as to the wage bill that they take on board. Is there not some rule about the percentage of total revenue that can be spent on wages?? I am not too clued in on it but I think there is some limit. Those figures 9if accurate) get you to up around the 12K bang on. Even with the couple of grand you left out lets say its 80% of total incomme on wages. You also day to day running costs as a club too.

Lets say for example God forbid three of your top full timers get injured. You may have to increase your playing staff while still paying injured lads their wages every week. As stated its not just Dundalk I really hope that all clubs are aware of the pitfalls of spending beyond their means for short term success.

**higgins** · 08/01/2009, 10:12 PM

Originally Posted by Louth4sam

I've heard it is around 12k which would leave us in the top half of spenders. Just hope we can get value for money on the pitch.

Your budget last season was 13k ...

Fair play to you for dropping to 12k this year given the financial mess

**sligoman** · 08/01/2009, 10:14 PM

Originally Posted by Sam_Heggy

Yup and instead of Gary Sicknote Beckett ye get Fabio. Great signing 5 years ago but not now.

Philly's a Kildare County fan.

**Lamper.sffc** · 08/01/2009, 11:15 PM

Its nice to see that things have not changed. A club is doing well (Dundalk).
They have won promotion back to the top flight and are trying to make a go of it. So what do others do. They take the p*ss and try to put down the club for doing what they are doing. They make out that they are not jealous but are only concerned that the club in question are following the same mistakes as other clubs. Give me a break please

Its no skin of your nose if it doesnt work for Dundalk. You are just looking for the argument.

Fair play to Dundalk. Hope it works out for you this season.

'Negativity' the cancer of the eircom league

**gufct** · 08/01/2009, 11:28 PM

Originally Posted by Black and White

I read in one of those local paper articles that Connor spoke to 2 players that where looking for over �2000 a week and he told them to go where the sun doesnt shine!..Fabio is just about on �1000 a week according to a source of mine...all players signed so far have had to reduce their wages to join us so!But both are full time contracts that Connor is handing our! I do believe that we can live within the 12k budget,we have a massive fan base both home and abroad, we have alot of good sponsorships, Lillywhite lounge rakes in money at the weekend, the pitch normally gives us an extra few bob with the factt hat we can rent it out(at the momoent its being renevated, theres also a bit of TV money for the coming season, we got the best part of �50,000 for the 1st Division last year, Patron Scheme is ongoing as well as fundraising events which take place regularly, the list is endless...one thing is for sure people....we nearly went out of business a number of years ago...and there are alot of fans who will not let this ever happen again...Gerry Matthews being one!which is why he bailed us out in the first place!

You will be lucky to keep the playing budget to �12,000 never mind managment and admin which will add another �5,000 utter madness.

**Ezeikial** · 08/01/2009, 11:38 PM

It would be good if the sour grapes / envy / were kept out of the comments (but it would be way less fun)

**Philly** · 09/01/2009, 2:47 AM

Saying fans concerned with another club going full-time and splashing the cash is due to envy is just immature.

I don't know about you, but it's annpying as a LOI fan to see pretty much every club go down the pan lately. And then, you see another newly promoted club follow the same path, the exact same path, that all the other imploding clubs have followed. It gets frustrating. If Dundalk can keep their 16 full-time players, as well as whatever amount of part-time players, and their management team, within a sustainable budget then great.

I do not thing ANY club in this league can do that, however. Are Dundalk a bigger club than Pats, with more revenue opportunites? Derry? Heck no. Sure, a big club for the First Division. Yet, if I remember correctly, a few years ago Dundalk were playing in front of tiny crowds. What happens if the struggle next season? Where will the 1500 every two weeks come from? I know how negative this sounds, and it is. However, if I had a mortgage, I would easily put it on the Dundalk "project" going belly-up within 12 months. Irish clubs are going to have to learn the harsh lessons of the past 12 months. St Pat's, Bohs and Derry are all cutting back on wages. Pat's are even going part-time.

I still think that the LOI has a strong future as a professional league. However, now is a time to take a step back and recover. Set systems in place to build a stronger league. Work on the foundations. Dundalk are just another over-ambitious club who think having 16 full time footballers is feasible for a club based in a regional town in Ireland in a league which will be mostly part-time and in a country that is in a massive economic turmoil. Accuse me of ency, but what Dundalk are at right now is lunacy.

**oriel** · 09/01/2009, 7:46 AM

I partly agree and hear what you are saying, I would have thought no more than 5 full timers with a decent quality of part time players would be ok.

I`ve been around this lge as a fan for over 30 years and I'm a bit worried that we are doing the opposite on all other clubs who are drastically cutting their costs.

**brianw82** · 09/01/2009, 7:51 AM

Seriously, Dundak fans, you should be going to your board and asking what the hell is going on with "14-16 full-time players." Someone needs to keep Connor under control, because you won't be able to sustain this.

**GreenStar** · 09/01/2009, 7:51 AM

Is this now just a thread about dundalk? Where's all the transfer rumours gone? Lots of rumours about Rovers being linked with Ollie Cahill and Stephen Bradley.

**OneRedArmy** · 09/01/2009, 8:32 AM

Originally Posted by Louth4sam

Where does the maths not work out?

Forgetting about the salary cap for one.

Originally Posted by Lamper.sffc

'Negativity' the cancer of the eircom league

Yeah, forget about all that financial mismanagement, its the negativity of the people that go to games every week and post on a fans website what did it...

**DRDoc** · 09/01/2009, 9:45 AM

Dundalks budget will be in excess of 12k - its going to be up at 16 or 17k a week in total

**Dodge** · 09/01/2009, 9:53 AM

For the record, Dundalk are EASILY one of the biggset clubs in the country. For years they were the top spenders in the league and this was at a time when clubs weren't being completely stoopid with money. Absolutely no reason why they shouldn't be among the top spenders. Their board seem to have done everything right (financially) the last couple of years so they should at least get the benefit of the doubt as regards their budget for next season.

As for transfer rumours;
Mark Quigley turned downa trial with Doncastor as he "wasn't in any shape to do myself justice". Derry remain interested (I'd be gutted to see him go). Derry are also intereted in Ryan guy but work permit problems may scupper that deal. Gary Dempsey and Jason Gavin are currently hawking themselves around the league (and elsewhere). Dessie Byrne is hoping to get a deal in England for family reasons (he has a kid there�) Obviously enough, Pats aren't been linked with anyone

**Rovers Maniac** · 09/01/2009, 10:07 AM

If Dundalk think they can afford it then let them go for it as none of us will be cleaning up the mess after. Dundalk won a lot of leagues but bar the great European night i never remember major crowds for domestic league games even with a lot of the games repeated on a sunday night Oriel always looked rather empty. I also never remember them as big spenders but i remember in between Dublin and Belfast they used to attract a lot of players from both cities. I was only ever up the once to be honest and that night there was a really poor crowd it was a 1-1 draw and Dundalk went on to win the league that year (1995).

**OneRedArmy** · 09/01/2009, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by Rovers Maniac

If Dundalk think they can afford it then let them go for it as none of us will be cleaning up the mess after. Dundalk won a lot of leagues but bar the great European night i never remember major crowds for domestic league games even with a lot of the games repeated on a sunday night Oriel always looked rather empty. I also never remember them as big spenders but i remember in between Dublin and Belfast they used to attract a lot of players from both cities. I was only ever up the once to be honest and that night there was a really poor crowd it was a 1-1 draw and Dundalk went on to win the league that year (1995).

If you were only there once and the crowd wasn't big is it any wonder you can't remember there being big crowds?

**villarover** · 09/01/2009, 10:18 AM

It really is funny to hear o connor come up with the same bull over and over again. He a complete bluffer and they are so many in the game right now. He wont be found out until the middle of the summer because people will be caught up with dundalk been "back where they belong". I like Dundalk as a club, very friendly when we went up there but i do worry for ye with that clown in charge. Bringing all his favourite former players to the club, them too wasters singh and manseram.
Just a quite word in danny Ventre or chris butler ear before our games this season will sort them two fancy boys out.

**pineapple stu** · 09/01/2009, 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by Lamper.sffc

Its nice to see that things have not changed. A club is doing well (Dundalk).
They have won promotion back to the top flight and are trying to make a go of it. So what do others do. They take the p*ss and try to put down the club for doing what they are doing. They make out that they are not jealous but are only concerned that the club in question are following the same mistakes as other clubs. Give me a break please

Its no skin of your nose if it doesnt work for Dundalk. You are just looking for the argument.

Fair play to Dundalk. Hope it works out for you this season.

'Negativity' the cancer of the eircom league

Oh dear. And I thought the league was movnig forward and learning from its mistakes...

In fairness to Dundalk, if, as ORA noted, they need E20k a week, that's just over a million on a 52-week season. Harps turned over E830k last year by comparison, and Dundalk are bigger than Harps. (I'd expect them to get another 500 a week at the gate, and then they have the pitch rental and the bar rental). It's doable, although if the crowds don't turn up, they're in trouble.

Think it's important to distinguish between a pro on E800 a week and on E3k a week too.

**Rovers Maniac** · 09/01/2009, 10:38 AM

Originally Posted by OneRedArmy

If you were only there once and the crowd wasn't big is it any wonder you can't remember there being big crowds?

I also said a lot of there games were repeated on the Sunday evening sunday sport show or whatever the name it went under, you should read posts fully before replying.