Sporting Fingal Gone Belly Up

**Olander** · 13/01/2011, 12:37 AM

Originally Posted by White Horse

The Celtic Tiger lives!

Foster pointed to the imminent signing of Greg Bolger by Sporting Fingal as proof of how other club's can outbid Dundalk for players."I wanted to bring Greg here", said Foster. "However his move boils down to finances, pure and simple. We can't compete with Sporting Fingal.
There is a lot being said about their financial demise yet they have offered, and are offering huge contracts to players.
They have ten players signed from last season whose wages exceed my total budget. I would love a demise like that."
http://www.dundalkdemocrat.ie/dundal...?articlepage=2

Does Foster ever shut up whinging about his budget? I mean seriously?!

I think I read somewhere that Dundalks playing budget is €7000 a week. FFS!!! that is probably triple what our/UCD/Bray' budget will be. I never heard the managers of those clubs complaining. They just get on with it and dont constantly have to make references to other clubs dealings.

The way Foster goes on you would swear he could only offer players expenses.

**Charlie Darwin** · 13/01/2011, 12:50 AM

Could it not be Fingal and Dundalk are offering similar wages but Bolger didn't want to leave Dublin?

**peadar1987** · 13/01/2011, 12:52 AM

Originally Posted by Olander

Does Foster ever shut up whinging about his budget? I mean seriously?!

I think I read somewhere that Dundalks playing budget is €7000 a week. FFS!!! that is probably triple what our/UCD/Bray' budget will be. I never heard the managers of those clubs complaining. They just get on with it and dont constantly have to make references to other clubs dealings.

The way Foster goes on you would swear he could only offer players expenses.

To be fair, Dundalk supporters expect and demand more from the team than Bray, UCD, and Galway fans do.

**The Lep** · 13/01/2011, 4:40 AM

[QUOTE=redobit;1440069]Are Fingal in the Red or Black at the moment?

Its white with a bit of green with the away strip being black.

**Spudulika** · 13/01/2011, 5:17 AM

The Democrat, much as I used to like it, is famous for a paper of no record (I'd a nasty experience in this respect back in 2000). This is very disingenuous by Ian Foster, and lies as well. First he had his facts wrong, it was only 8 or 9 players from last season left on contract. Everything is just whinge to get sacked and a big pay off.

**D.24saint** · 13/01/2011, 8:38 AM

Does Foster ever shut up whinging about his budget? I mean seriously?!

cant stand the man he must be the biggest whinger to be ever called a football manager.

**pineapple stu** · 13/01/2011, 8:41 AM

Originally Posted by Olander

Does Foster ever shut up whinging about his budget? I mean seriously?!

In fairness, while Foster is up there with Fenlon in the irritating whinebag stakes, that doesn't necessarily mean that he never has an interesting point to highlight.

**Dodge** · 13/01/2011, 10:38 AM

Not really, the implication is that if Fingal were offering a 'huge wage' and Dundalk were his second choice, then they were offering what he thought was a decent wage.

Ergo, STFU Foster. A manager who has signe d Jason byrne and Mark Quigley this season hasn't a leg to stand on when moaning about wages

If Fingal, have money to spend, good luck to them. If Foster is moaning about their finances based on press reports, then more fool him

**pineapple stu** · 13/01/2011, 10:43 AM

Originally Posted by Dodge

If Fingal, have money to spend

That was the (sole) interesting point though. Just seems to have gotten lost a bit in the Foster-bashing.

**Dodge** · 13/01/2011, 10:48 AM

But when did they now have money to spend? They always said they were OK, and even saying they ave a reduced budget wouldn't preclude them from having enough to pay for Bolger

It seems Foster was believing all reports, and he should know better than that

**pineapple stu** · 13/01/2011, 10:49 AM

In fairness, I tend to take clubs with a ton of salt when they're talking about themselves and how secure they are. This is at least independent confirmation.

**Ezeikial** · 13/01/2011, 11:03 AM

Foster spoke specifically about targeting Greg Bolger to local media before Christmas and therefore created an expectation among Dundalk supporters that this signing would happen. It now looks like he may sign for Sporting Fingal, and naturally the same local journalist asks him why. Foster says it as he sees it.

A few observations:
1) He would have been better off saying nowt in the first place
2) For such an articulate man he says too many things that he should not say.
3) His remarks on the reported "demise" of Sporting Fingal are fair comment

**Dodge** · 13/01/2011, 11:14 AM

The most annoying thing for me is that he complains about Bolger prefering Fingal to Dundalk based on money, while at the same time trying to lure him to oriel on a better deal than he had at UCD

**Ezeikial** · 13/01/2011, 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by Dodge

The most annoying thing for me is that he complains about Bolger prefering Fingal to Dundalk based on money, while at the same time trying to lure him to oriel on a better deal than he had at UCD

You define what he says as a complaint - others might say it is an explanation.

Either way, once he mentioned Bolger as a signing target to local media it was inevitable that he would have to provide some clarity if the signing was not to happen.

**White Horse** · 13/01/2011, 11:48 AM

Originally Posted by Dodge

The most annoying thing for me is that he complains about Bolger prefering Fingal to Dundalk based on money, while at the same time trying to lure him to oriel on a better deal than he had at UCD

I didn't see any criticism of Bolger for getting the best deal for himself. Indeed, there is no criticism of Fingal in his statement. I don't see why you are trying to spin his comments in this direction.

The interesting aspect of his comments were that Fingal are offering more expensive contracts than a club that is being run on a sustainable basis.

Where is Fingal getting the cash to pay these contracts?

**Dodge** · 13/01/2011, 12:03 PM

Fair enough, I think he's moaning, and I think his backhanded chatter about Fingla is misplaced.

Where they get the cash is completely immaterial to me. As long as they pay their way, then good luck to them

**Dillonman** · 13/01/2011, 12:39 PM

I think Foster is referring to the compensation that UCD are entitled to, he said in the Democrat before xmas that the only reason that we didn't go for Kilduff was that UCD are entitled to compensation for him, its the same now with Bolger and Fingal apparently can afford to pay this compensation, something which we definitely cannot afford. So I'd imagine thats what he is "whinging" about.

**Schumi** · 13/01/2011, 12:44 PM

The quote only mentions wages though.

**pineapple stu** · 13/01/2011, 12:44 PM

Originally Posted by Foster

However his move boils down to finances, pure and simple. We can't compete with Sporting Fingal.
There is a lot being said about their financial demise yet they have offered, and are offering huge contracts to players.

That seems to make it clear it's about the wage, not the fee. If ye couldn't afford the fee at all, ye'd have known that from the start and surely not shown an interest in him? Also, the fee is irrelevant to Bolger, but Foster indicates that the choice is Bolger's, which would mean that Foster's giving out about Fingal offering a higher wage.

**Dillonman** · 13/01/2011, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

That seems to make it clear it's about the wage, not the fee. If ye couldn't afford the fee at all, ye'd have known that from the start and surely not shown an interest in him? Also, the fee is irrelevant to Bolger, but Foster indicates that the choice is Bolger's, which would mean that Foster's giving out about Fingal offering a higher wage.

Well then perhaps its the lure of Europe that is persuading Bolger to sign with Fingal. It was a player that will remain un-named that actually let the word slip after the DFC awards night, that we where after Bolger, with word out, Foster said a few weeks later in the local paper that he was persuing Bolger's signature and now its come down to this. I duno but I'd imagine the compensation payment due to UCD is one reason why we havn't signed Bolger and this has frustrated Foster to come out and say that in the paper.