Some worrying times.

**Xlex** · 13/02/2004, 10:09 AM

Since that last weekend in October I can't help but feel there are some negatives which have surfaced since then.

The fact that Keegan was rumoured to have been signed as a player/assist - manager was welcome news. I felt that Keegans experiance was worth his salary, and it would be complimented by his ability as a player of some note. However, he is 31 and not Assistant Manager and is getting paid a considerable sum to swear his allegence to Longford for two years.

Dessie Baker, or any Baker does not appear to be an suitable player for Longford Town. They're show boaters and Dessie was rumoured to be looking for a formidable compensation package to sign and derry supporters maintain it to be a 52 week full-time contract. I trust Alan Matthews beyond all doubt but I hope a lad who has had considerable injury problems is on an appropiate wage and contract.

Thirdly, we have no suitable replacement for Digger O'Brien. Cassin has one year left on his large contract. If he is to prosper he needs some loan experiance. If Digger goes injured we may well feel the heat. A lack of a quality replacement cost us important points and 3rd place in the league.

Ever since Stewie Byrne walked out the door there has been an absolute need of a quality midfielder. Whilst playing budgets are tight and the need for new, constant revenue streams being required for capital investment is recognised, I can't help but feel that some of the recent additions to the squad could have been scraficed for this quality midfielder.

Club Licencing. Are the media not interested in LTFC. I have heard or read about our failure to win this licence. I never believed that we were ready but letting us know where we fell short would help understand the magnatude of the work required to get the result.

When does the club expect the licence for the club bar and when do the supporters club expect to have the bar finished?

What does the club intend to do in relation to our poor attendances and how does it intend to cash in on the magnificent achievement in winning last years FAI Cup?

Is the recent rumour that the ticketing is going to be set at €10 for the entire ground and is it true that the season ticket will be €200 for the coming season?

Do the club believe that this is the best way to ensure maximum revenue is obtained?

Lots of questions which would be nice to be answered. Alot of issues which are a result of rumour. Gheewizz is involved in the club, he posted here for the first time since God knows when to blow steam about the website. Can some of these questions be answered?

You feel that in Longford, knowledge is power. Other clubs have question nights, the supporters are invited to think outside of the box, 400 clubs and other innovative ways of financing or helping a club. Nothing as such happens with LTFC.

**Longfordian** · 13/02/2004, 1:33 PM

Can i just try and answer some of these points

1. Keegan is going to be doing some coaching and he took a considerable drop to come to Longofrd, he's not 52 weeks either
2 Dessie Baker is a man with something to prove. He's on average enough money even by our standards, not 52 weeks of the year. Alan knows him better than anyone else so i think we should give him the benefit of the doubt
3 Alan is actively looking for a suitable replacement for Digger. He tried to sign Bennion from Shels but he went to Dundalk for more money. Cassin is out of contract and will be offered a junior contract at best. Dempsey had another year left so we couldn't let him go..
4 Agreed we need another midfielder but i've said before that its hard to find someone good enough who'll come for what we can afford
5 We weren't ready for the license but then neither was anyone else. We should be ready by the end of the season if the money is in place for the ground. Off the field theres been seven years of absolute crap to sort out and the club has made alot of progress in that regard, but there is still work to be done. We'll have another year to do it anyway i'd say
6 The licence for the bar can be got at pretty quickly, the guards have said this already. It's not a big deal. The Supporters Club have taken responsibility for the bar being finished and theyre hoping to have it done by the end of March. Dont know if thats feasible but thats what theyre aiming for.
7 The club could be more informative alright but at the end of the day if you want to know something just ask some of the committee and they'll tell you, although some of them couldnt be bothered finding out. The structures are being looked at and could do with a revamp. There are people on the Committee working hard to secure sponsorship and fund raising for Longford Town, but it should be more of them. There are a few things in the pipeline which if they come off will be of great benefit to the club. Im quite optimistic that our future is bright...Just trying to be of some help to ya..

**Wiseguy** · 13/02/2004, 1:35 PM

I would have to agree with you on some of these points.There seems to be a great secrecy about the club.No one knows what's going on half the time and the club never release any statements to either back up or quench rumours.As an avid town supporter i'd like to know what is going on at times, especially with the finacial irregularities.It may have been nothing but at the time i didn't know what to think so you automatically think the worst and off course nothing came from the club about the matter and as far as i am aware still nothing has been said by the club on an official level.As for transfer speculation and salaries ect.. i'm not suprised we hear nothing about that.Any professional does not discuss wages with anyone other than the parties concerned and if he does he's an ass.All this Alan Murphy crap is rediculous.Firstly, he may well have been looking for €900 a week but he isn't going to go around discussing his contract with anyone other than his agent ( if he has one ) because it is in his own interest to keep this matter quiet and only 2 or 3 key people at the club would have known this so treat most things you heard about this matter as rumour only.
The Dessie Baker transfer was common knowledge from about last August so no surprise here and the John Martin transfer was much the same.I personally think that Alan may have a few central midfielders in mind but is keeping hush on the matter as he may not have made up his mind yet on which one he wants or he hasn't a clue where to get one from so why say anything and look stupid.Anyway, the couple of classy central midfielders we chased after and it became public knowledge went tits up.We tried to get Ciaran Martyn a couple of years ago and that went down the swany river and the next guys name should ring a bell with some of you out there.We also tried to sign Tom Mohan ( and came very close to ) only for it to fall apart at the last minute.Now why should we all know this man.I know the man personally and i know everyone says that but i have met, drank with and spoke to this guy on more than one occasion and he would have been an excellent signing but sadly events conspired to stop a great signing taking place.
So after all that Rabbitting on all i can say is that the club should keep it's supporters more informed about what's going on in a lot of cases but understandably some things should be kept quiet until they have run there course.

NOW, HANDS UP WHO KNOWS TOM MOHAN AND WHY ? LTFC FANS NEED ONLY APPLY.

**max power** · 13/02/2004, 1:44 PM

xlex you need a beer man ..........

i'll give your post a good read later and reply, but the digger and midfield issue i agree with in all words.

**Longfordian** · 13/02/2004, 1:45 PM

Tom Mohan quite possibly did the greatest ever deed for Longford Town..Hope he's had better luck with penalties since!..Decent player though, last i saw of him..

**Xlex** · 13/02/2004, 3:26 PM

Cheers Longfordian, always informative, and I know your information is close to the bone... But a member of the club just breezed in to gloat and he didn't answer any questions... I accept your points and I would like to say that I have absolute confidence on our way forward with Alan Matthews.

Max, Carlsberg please....

**Wiseguy** · 13/02/2004, 4:33 PM

Very good Longfordian, top of the class for you.Tom Mohan did indeed contribute very strongly towards LTFC's survival in top flite football with that penalty miss.He is a very good friend of a guy i used to work with, they lived beside one another in Roslea so i met the guy quite a few times before and after that match.Lawlor was trying to sign him and came very close to doing so but then he got sacked so end of that chapter and he really wanted to come to Longford aswell.A good footballer and a nice guy.It's just a shame he's still with Harps.As i said in my earlier post i agree with xlex's points,well most of them.I think we are about 3 players off being a potetial championship winning side.We do need cover for digger.Cassin should be in his second season on loan now in the 1st div.We need another central midfielder with a bit of class and we need a utility player to who can play cetre mid or centre back, a stuart byrne if you will.At the moment i think 4th is about the best we can do,maybe 3rd but that's it.Now it's time to go home.