It didn't take too long for the oull British team s**t to raise it's head. My passport and the GFA says i'm Irish, so get a life.
As for the FAI and their punishment. No one on here predicted we would get thrown out, no one. Yet now we read the same people saying it was deserved. I'm sure over the years there have been clubs who have had irregularities with their contracts, and i'm sure there still some at it, but it looks like we are the one's to be made an example of. They didn't make an example of Shels when they stole the league, they didn't even relegate them, or even fine them. (remember Shels relegated themselves) But it looks like it's easier for them (as they have the same mind-set of us as some on here) to make an example of that British team up North.
It will be very interesting to see what happens to Cork or Bohs. I'm not too sure what will happen with Cork, but i'm damned sure Bohs will escape all punishments because of another fudge regarding the selling of their ground.
However time will tell.
Shels did not decide to be relegated: http://www.rte.ie/sport/2007/0219/shelbourne.html
#NeverStopNotGivingUp
There's been plenty said on this thread I agree with and yes, it's the silence and the lies from our board that I'm most annoyed about. Just on something I wanted to mention:
I personally know plenty of hard-working people who aren't exactly flush with cash at the minute, who have donated money over the past few months, and especially the last few weeks because they were convinced that it would help the club. In the pub a few weeks ago there was a 'lively' debate about it where I said that I wanted to know how much we owed before I'd throw good money after bad, and these fans who had been supporting Derry City since the 1960's, refused to countenance anything other than digging deep to help the team they love regardless of circumstances.
On 30th October we had a campaign for season ticket holders to leave their ticket at home for the final game of the season and pay their way in. A board member "who did not wish to be named" was quoted in the Derry Journal as saying, "I would make a public appeal for anyone with any interest in Derry City Football Club to support tonight's game, our final performance at home this year.
"I would also appeal to our loyal and commitment season ticket holders to leave their season tickets at home and purchase a ticket for the match in an effort to help the club. I would also ask those who attend to support our Programme and Half-Time Draw Committees who continue to work voluntarily in an effort to keep our club afloat." (Derry Journal)
Now think of all of those fans who queued up to pay because it was 'the right thing to do' and because the club had simply asked them to do so. Some gave £10, others £20, others even gave double that. And these aren't rich businessmen we're talking about, but ordinary working class people, people who'd already paid for a season ticket, and a programme, and a shirt; people who in their very enthusiasm, were among the club's best ambassadors and recruiters. People who were happy to give what they could, in the middle of a recession, weeks from Christmas, in an area with sky-high unemployment and equally high job uncertainty.
Fast forward just 5 days and we are told, "It’s thought the club’s current debts could be well in the region of £450,000, with around half of that debt owed to players and staff members." (Belfast Telegraph, among others) How the hell did anyone think that the money that came in at that last home game would make any sort of dent in the debts that we owed? The club's board relied entirely on the goodwill of those fans who put money into the club each and every week and used them to squeeze as much as they could out of them, knowing a certain hardcore fan base would always respond if asked to.
I think the fact that we were kept in the dark for so long about the scale of the situation we were in and the fact that the board continued to lie about our position to be deeply troubling, but the fact that they then continued to solicit money from those they knew would give because of their love for the club and the advantage they took from those people is utterly unforgivable. Good riddance to them.
Last edited by thischarmingman; 08/11/2009 at 9:10 PM.
Spot on thischarmingman....the real Derry City fans are the ones who have been burned here.
I think the FAI are gonna be the ones in trouble here....if they are calling Derry on paying players cash on top of their 'usual salaries' - which obviously meet the 65% rule, then there are gonna be a lot of other clubs in trouble.
Most clubs understate their 'official' attendances at games and pocket the difference and Revenue/FAI don't know about that money. Same as any 'cash' business in Ireland like hotles and bars. There is no doubt that some clubs use this additional money to top-up certain players salaries.
For example I was a LOI ground on Friday night - official attendance just over 1800. Biggest crowd of the season. However there was certainly in excess of 2,000 at the game. On the basis that there are 200 paying adults not accounted for in 'official' records then club has an extra €3k which nobody knows about!
To answer the original point, yes I do feel hard done by. I cannot accept for one minute that my club were the only club to have such contracts (if the FAI are to be believed). I'm sure there are a lot of board members from around the country in panic mode at the minute and shredders will be going full pelt next week and urgent meetings will be called with players and agents.
I think it's about time the FAI launched a full forensic investigation of all clubs finances and contractual arrangements and only then if all clubs are dealt with in a similar fashion will I say that Derry weren't treated harshly as we are all supposed to be equal members of the FAI.
Last edited by Hairy Bowsie; 08/11/2009 at 12:30 PM.
They always cheat, they always lie
**** Delaney and the FAI
Don't feel hard done by the decision at all. It's less than we deserve.
Fingers crossed HMRC kills off Wellvan once and for all.
DCFC
HMRC are bound to be all over these alleged second contracts now.
Well spotted awec.
Nobody has spotted it.
Thats it for me right there. At least in Cork we knew what was happening. It was a long drawn out car crash just waiting to happen narrowly avoiding collisions all the way along. With Derry it seemed to be covered up and not enabling the fans, sponsors, players etc. to do anything about it in time.
That was the biggest downfall, masking the problems and not allowing people a chance to address them in time. For a Cork City fan on the other side of the country i only heard of Derrys troubles about 6 months ago, and even then i wouldn't have thought that they'd end up owing that amount of money.
The SFAI are the governing body for grassroots football in Ireland, not the FAI. Its success or the lack of is all down to them.
The SFAI are the governing body for grassroots football in Ireland, not the FAI. Its success or the lack of is all down to them.
Bookmarks