Athlone bucked?

**outspoken** · 14/03/2015, 8:23 AM

Not bad for Cobh at home in fairness

**Acornvilla** · 14/03/2015, 12:18 PM

At least they won, might help with the auld crowds in a fortnight.

**ATFC-1887** · 14/03/2015, 5:13 PM

Originally Posted by Acornvilla

At least they won, might help with the auld crowds in a fortnight.

That's tha problem. No home game for 3 weeks.

**nigel-harps1954** · 14/03/2015, 5:27 PM

Athlones fixtures are a bit mental alright. They've 3 of the next four games away from home, and of the following 7, 5 of them are at home.

**disgruntled** · 16/03/2015, 12:48 PM

Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

Is that some sort of dig at Roddy Collins?

No.
I'm talking about the people who run the club.
Roddy was just an employee whom I didn't mention at all.
Its the people who employed him & a squad of players they couldn't afford who are the problem.

**ATFC-1887** · 16/03/2015, 6:45 PM

Yer all going on about Roddy. Its nothing to do with Roddy, or the season Roddy was there. This is from last season and this season. Last season the club budgeted based on what crowds the expected to get for the season. When things went tits up after 10 games the crowds were alot lower than expected.

**Mr A** · 19/03/2015, 10:16 AM

The big meeting is tonight. It'll be interesting to hear what comes out of it.

**total hoofball** · 19/03/2015, 12:47 PM

Originally Posted by Mr A

The big meeting is tonight. It'll be interesting to hear what comes out of it.

Wage cuts?

I'd be surprised if someone is going to burn a massive hole in their pockets for a club that has chanced their arm on the unaffordable squad they have put together. You could have some sympathy for a club that has come down to a 8 team first division after a good number of seasons in the Premier not being familiar with the budgetry realities of operating a team in the division but it's only 18 months since Athlone were in the first division they should have known what they were facing this season.

**Longfordian** · 19/03/2015, 1:15 PM

They're going to follow Keely's advice of yesterday and merge with LTFC. The new club will play out of Longford and be called Longford Town FC (incorporating Athlone Town FC).

**Charlie Darwin** · 19/03/2015, 1:23 PM

Keely talks some awful ****e.

**WoodquayBoy** · 19/03/2015, 5:29 PM

Merge the 2 clubs and keep the 'Longford' from Longford Town, and the 'Town' from Athlone Town. Keeps everyone happy.
(Don't tell me someone in the FAI hasn't had that thought blow like tumbleweed across their mind.)

**Acornvilla** · 19/03/2015, 5:57 PM

Merge them both with the Alberts obviously.

**Longfordian** · 19/03/2015, 6:05 PM

Originally Posted by WoodquayBoy

Merge the 2 clubs and keep the 'Longford' from Longford Town, and the 'Town' from Athlone Town. Keeps everyone happy.
(Don't tell me someone in the FAI hasn't had that thought blow like tumbleweed across their mind.)

I believe that when they had people in doing presentations about the new super duper FAI run league back in '06 or whenever there was a bit of kite flying regarding clubs possibly merging so there could be one full time professional outfit and it was intimated that one club in the Midlands would be ideal. Obviously neither club were too keen on that idea.

**Charlie Darwin** · 19/03/2015, 6:12 PM

Proposing merges between clubs from different towns who hate each other is Star Wars-level out of the box thinking, up there with the eejits who'd have us set up teams for the four proud provinces of Ireland.

**Acornvilla** · 19/03/2015, 6:14 PM

Given everything else, and the fact that we 'do all our business in Dublin', we should merge with Shamrock Rovers.

**Longfordian** · 19/03/2015, 6:19 PM

Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

Proposing merges between clubs from different towns who hate each other is Star Wars-level out of the box thinking, up there with the eejits who'd have us set up teams for the four proud provinces of Ireland.

There was a lot of "blue sky thinking" from expensive consultants around then.

**Charlie Darwin** · 19/03/2015, 6:21 PM

Originally Posted by Acornvilla

Given everything else, and the fact that we 'do all our business in Dublin', we should merge with Shamrock Rovers.

Why would you merge with a club from Wicklow?

**Battery Rover** · 19/03/2015, 6:21 PM

Originally Posted by WoodquayBoy

Merge the 2 clubs and keep the 'Longford' from Longford Town, and the 'Town' from Athlone Town. Keeps everyone happy.
(Don't tell me someone in the FAI hasn't had that thought blow like tumbleweed across their mind.)

Most of us would rather rot in junior football than accept something like that.

**WoodquayBoy** · 19/03/2015, 8:38 PM

Just for clarity, I wasn't being serious!!

**ATFC-1887** · 19/03/2015, 10:11 PM

Crisis averted was the general feeling after the meeting. Not as bad as was made out. Club wont fold. Realistically was never a possibility. In advanced talks with a sponsor with announcement hopefully by end of the week.
Club appealed for more people to help out as their is a very very small number at the moment.
A new 10 euro a week donation was set up with free entry to home games included and an entry in the weekly lotto also.
Very positive response from the majority of what was an extremely large crowd. People seem to want to do something. They dont want to see the club stuck in the 1st division.
Hopefully things will progress from this and we will be back where we belong.