Saudi Takeover of Galway

**gufct** · 27/06/2018, 3:06 PM

There is no connection between them and the Comers but they will be meeting them as the comers are our main sponsors and have been brilliant for gufc. The connection lives in Galway and is a personal friend of the son of the sheikh . He is also a gufc supporter since the club started in the loi.

**MattB11** · 02/07/2018, 9:17 AM

Jim McGuiness linked to Galway United job

**The Donie Forde** · 02/07/2018, 9:27 AM

Who was in charge of Galway last Friday night?

**gufct** · 02/07/2018, 9:49 AM

Gary O’Connor was interim manager the players once again let him and the fans down

**poster** · 02/07/2018, 9:58 AM

Originally Posted by gufct

Galway is the best City in the world for Gossip and tails being added to stories.

Nope. Sligo, albeit not a city, trumps Galway once more.

**CorribsideSteve** · 02/07/2018, 10:26 AM

Originally Posted by poster

Nope. Sligo, albeit not a city, trumps Galway once more.

Leave Trump out of this, there are already enough people in Galway and Sligo with orange skin and weird hair

McGuinness would be an interesting appointment. It looks increasingly likely that we'll still be in Div 1 next season so that will be a big factor in the quality of Manager we get in.

**gufct** · 03/07/2018, 5:59 PM

http://galwayunitedfc.ie/alan-murphy-appointed-manager/

**Ezeikial** · 03/07/2018, 6:11 PM

Originally Posted by gufct

http://galwayunitedfc.ie/alan-murphy-appointed-manager/

One of the good guys.

Best of luck to Alan Murphy

**sidewayspasser** · 03/07/2018, 6:28 PM

So the Saudis aren't splashing the cash on a high-profile manager just yet.
Will Murphy take up a player-manager role, or is he hanging up his playing boots?

**Martinho II** · 03/07/2018, 6:29 PM

does that mean AM is retired from playin?

**gufct** · 04/07/2018, 9:56 AM

Alan will still be playing. The sensible decision with Mark Herrick a great addition. Due diligence is still taking place so the Saudi's wouldn't have had any input.

**Mr A** · 04/07/2018, 11:26 AM

I don't really see the point of getting rid of Keegan if all you're going to do is throw the job to a player from a group who didn't seem to be exactly busting themselves to be honest.

**Olander** · 04/07/2018, 12:57 PM

Originally Posted by Mr A

I don't really see the point of getting rid of Keegan if all you're going to do is throw the job to a player from a group who didn't seem to be exactly busting themselves to be honest.

Keegan did an absolutely abysmal job as manager this season - he had to go without question.

We're currently sixth in the First Division and he has to take a large proportion of the blame for that, the buck stops with him. The players have to accept blame also. Bizarrely, there is a narrative going around from some of our supporters that our players are the only ones to blame for this miserable season and Keegan is faultless, which is so naive.

The players are obviously culpable, but some of our supporters don't want to admit that Keegan was obviously way out of his depth. He is a terribly nice guy, but when his tenure is accessed over the year and a half that he was charge, in the cold light of day, it was disaster, but it's easier to lay all the blame at the players door. Really it was both and Keegan was clueless as to how to fix things.

Alan Murphy, who is 36, has been one of our better performers this year - that says it all really.

He's one of the few leaders in our team and he played the 90 minutes against Finn Harps a few weeks back with a broken rib, so I wouldn't necessarily agree with him "not exactly busting" himself.

The club needed to take a different path and Murphy will not be one bit frightened to make the changes required in our squad. I would expect and hope to see a serious clear-out of players in the coming week or two. It's badly needed and the place needs freshening up, it's gone seriously stale.

**Mr A** · 04/07/2018, 1:56 PM

Maybe it'll all work out. Our experiences of giving the job to a senior player rather than interviewing have rarely worked well. Just seems odd to me.. unless maybe Keegan still has to be paid so the budget isn't there to add much to wage bill?

**Olander** · 04/07/2018, 2:24 PM

Originally Posted by Mr A

Maybe it'll all work out. Our experiences of giving the job to a senior player rather than interviewing have rarely worked well. Just seems odd to me.. unless maybe Keegan still has to be paid so the budget isn't there to add much to wage bill?

I don't think Keegan was due a huge pay-off.

To be fair to the club, we're not just giving the job to any random player in the squad. Alan Murphy has done very well as our under 17 manager over the last two seasons and is highly regarded by many people inside the club. I suppose the equivalent would be like Finn Harps giving the job to someone like Kevin McHugh, which I'm sure would be warmly greeted by some and maybe not others, who think a more experienced person from outside would be a better choice.

The news of Jim McGuinness being in for the job probably raised some peoples expectations to an unrealistic level. Some of the eejits on our forum were speculating that we should be appointing Fenlon and Brian Kerr.

On a different planet...

Keegan was not up to the job, some of the players aren't either / they aren't bothered. Keegan was dispensed of, rightfully so. Some of the players will also be dispensed of in the coming weeks also.

I wouldn't say Murphy will guarantee us a Play off spot or anything, he's inherited a group of players who were mollycoddled for too long by the previous management, with a bad attitude, and we're 6 points behind the top 4. I would be happy if he came in and cleared house, releasing 4-5 players. He needs to bring in some fresh blood and actually get us playing, even if it's with "lesser" players that actually care. I still believe there is an outside chance that we can get a Play off spot.

**nigel-harps1954** · 04/07/2018, 2:47 PM

Originally Posted by Olander

I don't think Keegan was due a huge pay-off.

To be fair to the club, we're not just giving the job to any random player in the squad. Alan Murphy has done very well as our under 17 manager over the last two seasons and is highly regarded by many people inside the club. I suppose the equivalent would be like Finn Harps giving the job to someone like Kevin McHugh, which I'm sure would be warmly greeted by some and maybe not others, who think a more experienced person from outside would be a better choice.

Or James Gallagher, or Anthony Gorman, or Peter Hutton.

We've had a pretty poor run of ex-players in charge in the near past. Even Ollie Horgan was greeted with a large degree of negativity due to people wanting a more experienced proven league manager with our run of inexperienced managers proving disastrous.