Point taken. Fair enough.
What could they do PR wise when they couldn't say anything related to the reason he was let go? Was it ever going to be a win situation when they were against a manager in cahoots with others who were free to make up and spread whatever they liked in the local media? A media who was only too happy to run with it without questioning anything, purely because controversy sells.
Bit harsh. As far as we know what they're guilty of is that they didn't renew a manager's contract and did not get involved in a slagging match after this became public.
Felix Healy launched a major and very unfair attack on FHFC when he left the first time and the club responded- and he just threw more mud and it didn't help anything. I can understand why a club wouldn't even attempt to get involved- they can't win no matter what they do.
#NeverStopNotGivingUp
Early look at Athlones squad for the 2014 season http://www.droghedaunited.ie/squad/index.php.
Unattributed sources, "this newspaper understands" etc etc.Originally Posted by MiniMourinho
There are many ways of dictating the story line without making official statements and creating legal difficulties.
Cooke has dictated the story and, while it may not have been his objective, he has created trouble for the Board.
Funnily enough the Drogs DID have a board meeting this morning. The new manager was being discussed.
The club may not be well off enough to protect itself in a legal battle, but if it didn't completely screw up on the Cooke issue there wouldn't be anything to worry about in the first place.
What is really annoying a lot of fans is the fact that the board will not just come out and say 'Okay sorry we handled that badly, can we all move on now please', their combined egos won't allow them.
Ah! I see now. Were you not told to shut up spreading **** by everyone over on the Drogs forum? Decided to come over here now? What pleasure do you get out of spreading endless rumour?
To quote the legendary Joey The Lips, 'I speak the truth brother Rabbitte'
Looks like Roddy has ruled himself out of the race to be Athlone manager.
http://www.westmeathindependent.ie/n...-manager-race/
Both sides have shown alot of fault here in fairness, I think Roddy blew a golden opportunity to rebuild his rep in the premier by asking for silly money off the Athlone board, money which they simply cannot commit to spending in this climate. I still firmly believe that our crowds will seriously dip well below this seasons if we sit in the bottom 2-3 for the majority of the season.
Therefore the board have a huge call to make in terms of how much they are willing to commit in terms of finances. Roddy clearly believes the potential is there but his own ability in the premier is under question aswell.
He should have kept his mouth shut, looked for an increase in the budget but nothing extortionate. There are plenty of fans online slamming the board for letting Roddy go, calling the club a disgrace etc... but you simply cannot commit that kind of money (which if it goes tits up, could bankrupt the club) on the back of a promise.
I don't think Roddy is the man for the premier if the brief is to be cautious and consolidate.
We need 2-3 seasons of consolidation at premier level. Even in terms of crowds, its a pipedream to be even expecting an average of 1500 per home game. its not going to happen when we are struggling for our lives next season, even if we are midtable playing meaningless fixtures.
Lets see what the interest is like. Its all well and good basing it on numbers racked up during a once off successful season like last season was.
The final game of the season told a small story, there was a smaller crowd to see us pick up the trophy against our closest rivals (who brought a good crowd themselves) than there was against Waterford in the previous game (and Waterford brought nobody).
It'll be very interesting to see what attendances are like once the honeymoon period of the first few games finishes.
Speaking as a Rovers fan, who has no reason to give Roddy any credit at all, I think it's a bit much to suggest Roddy's ability in the Premier is under question. He is undoubtedly one of the best managers in the country - the issue is that his ambition always outweighs his resources. Not saying Athlone should have given in to his demands - they are dead right to make a budget and stick to it - but he generally makes good on what he's given because he's a talented manager.
genuine question not sniping at all, but how would you judge his record at premier level when resources are not competitive with the top sides?
And whats his temperment like at that level when he simply cannot match wages that Rovers, Pats et al will offer?
There has to be some reason he doesn't get a chance to hang around anywhere too long in fairness, is it his temperment i.e throwing his toys out of his pram when being asked to live within his means, or is he the unluckiest manager on the island?
Part of the remit of managing Athlone will be to live within his means and if thats a problem then maybe we are better off looking elsewhere?
Well that was the point I was making - he demands the world and when he doesn't he departs for somebody who can give it to him. The only time he hasn't had big resources were for spells at Bohs, Rovers and Mons and he did as well as could be expected, but his eyes were always trained on a bigger job. With Mons I really think he did get players getting good results, but we all know how that ended financially.
Roddy is a very good manager, but he wants the absolute best. If he stayed on at Athlone, he'd want to be challenging the top of the league. Athlone can't spend the money required, so he'd get restless. If Athlone had €1 milllion to spend a year, I guarantee Roddy would be challenging for the title, but he doesn't. The difference now is that he's burned so many bridges, he doesn't have many bargaining chips anymore.There has to be some reason he doesn't get a chance to hang around anywhere too long in fairness, is it his temperment i.e throwing his toys out of his pram when being asked to live within his means, or is he the unluckiest manager on the island?
Part of the remit of managing Athlone will be to live within his means and if thats a problem then maybe we are better off looking elsewhere?
There's another way of looking at this.
If Roddy does want the 'absolute best', it' only because he knows that given that he will deliver league titles, his record shows that.
In fact you could argue his record at Bohs,domestically and in Europe, Mons, Athlone, not to mention Carlisle, places hm comfortably ahead of any of his comtemporaries currently or recently managing here.
Put it this way, if you won the lotto and decided to invest in a Airtricity club and aim them for the Champions League group stages, is there any other locally based manager you would employ ahead of him, I honestly think not.
Roddy is the new Drogs manager so. Feel free to quote me on this when it's confirmed.
Only thing that will be confirmed is fans suspicions that Horgan had the job all along
I think Athlone will most likely be relegated or else playoff next season. Big mistake letting Roddy go. He turned ye from a mid table (lower??) side and going nowhere into run away champions in nine months.
I think Drogheda will be down with ye. Letting Mick Cooke go is lunacy too - granted there may be differences but what happens on the pitch has to have some weight too.
That said, in the weird and wonderful world of the League of Ireland it isn't beyond the realms of possibility that Roddy goes to Drogs and Mick Cooke goes to Athlone - despite both managers seemingly leaving due to their ambition and vision being greater than the respective club boards.
If Mick Cooke ends up at Athlone, I would tip them for a top half finish.
Cooke will be desperate to show Drogheda they were wrong to sack him. In addition, he is likely to bring half the Drogheda first team with him.
It's too early to speculate about Drogheda. They appear to be taking the cheap option and promoting their first team coach to be manager. A big and bold move by the Board.
I haven't had a look at the papers for a few days. Have McDonnell or Malone written the article yet about how the Tallaght clearout underlines Croly's credibility and makes Shams clear title favourites?
Cheap option /affordable option.
I've been following Foot.ie for years , but have only recently registered an account. I'm a Drogs fan and have massive respect for LOI Clubs and for the people (Board Members & Fans) whose mammoth voluntary efforts year after year keep the League going.
I'm not here to store the Sh1t ... But I have to take issue with KeepersBall version of the "Mick Cooke Meeting". It is grossly unfair the Keepersball should mention that A "former director" and "Highly Respected Solicitor" was involved in a meeting with cooke behind the backs of the current board.
His description of the man clearly identifies him to 90% of Drogheda fans, all Journalists who cover the league and probably keep an eye on this forum, and to many people involved in the clubs the length and breath of Ireland.
Whatever about the rest of KeepersBalls "Answers in Order" .... I can state with 100% certainty that the "respected solicitor" was not involved in, and had no knowledge of and meeting with Cooke...
These have been difficult times for Drogheda United and it's very unfair that people like "KeepersBall" would give the impression that [COLOR=#333333]he knows all the facts ...but gets such a key part of it so wrong.[/COLOR]
Maybe not top half but certainly wont be relegated.
Sorry I meant to caveat my post by saying if Roddy and Mick Cooke do change positions with each other I think the clubs will be pretty much as they would have been.
Mick Cooke, imho, will be the signing of the close season.
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