Shamrock Rovers Examinership Thread

[Slash/ED]

Planet PR is his homeland, so he'd easily spot any natives.

[Green Force]

There is no sanction in the rules or the licence against a club being liquidated or going into examinership.

Ringo makes a good point about it not being fair that we racked up loads of debt to pay higher wages than Dublin City. However it is not covered by Eircom League or FAI rules. Life is unfair.
Where it will come back to bite is if the Judge decides to pursue the Directors of Rovers if he believes they knowingly traded recklessly, if they paid directors loans preferentially etc...

However the judge was presented with a choice to do nothing, effectivley allowing a liquidation where creditors would get nothing or to order the Examiner in and try to resolve this. The Club would actually have continued to exist in this scenario and the licence is such a joke that there is no sanction specified even in this case.

Obviously it will cost about €300k to run Rovers during the examinership The 400 Club will pay for the shortfall in revenues during this period.

At the end of this The 400 Club will need to have raised enough to pay the legal fees, have enough in the kitty to take the club forward and enough to pay the creditors off, the precedent being a minimum of 3.5%. The shares would revert to the 400 Club unless another investor comes in for a share , or if he wants it all he would have to refund the 400 club all monies spent.

Of course, and deadly serious here, if the clubs voted us out of the league as punishment or even tried to relegate us, we could just join the Irish League where licence criteria do not apply. This would be ridiculous since it would be a Football Club Saved by its fans that will have satisfied its creditors including the revenue.

[Ringo]

Of course, and deadly serious here, if the clubs voted us out of the league as punishment or even tried to relegate us, we could just join the Irish League where licence criteria do not apply. This would be ridiculous since it would be a Football Club Saved by its fans that will have satisfied its creditors including the revenue.

Theres no way , they'd vote you out, considering , they all owe money & might find themselves in your position.Is there a legal agreement that the 400 club get the shares, if they keep overs going.? You sound as if your treating this seriously & not emotionally, its going to be hard to raise that type of money, but if its only 3.5% & the ongoing day to day stuff, it could be done. What were the directors wages like for the last few years? Will they still be taking a salary or do they have other jobs?

[skitz3]

It is those very fans that will prove to be the difference between the survival and destruction of this club.

I apologise if my post was misunderstood.
What I meant was that SOME rovers fans care very little for the club and would be violent at matches. I agree wholeheartedly with your other comment. The fans that truly love the club are by far the best in the country, bar none. I don't think an other bunch of fans would be as financially dependable as the rovers fans.

Again I apologise if my post came across wrong.

[dcfcsteve]

Of course, and deadly serious here, if the clubs voted us out of the league as punishment or even tried to relegate us, we could just join the Irish League where licence criteria do not apply. This would be ridiculous since it would be a Football Club Saved by its fans that will have satisfied its creditors including the revenue.

I wouldn't pin too much hopes on this GF. Can't see the Irish League voting in a southern team - particularly one based in Dublin. There's absolutely no parallel to the situation regarding Derry City FC. The FAI couldn't themselves stop you joining the Northern league, but they could put pressure on the IFA to do so if they felt it necessary. Reagrdaless, I can't see you being accepted in by the other clubs in the north.

If I was Rovers and worst cam to worst, I'd look to set up the club again in junior football via a supporters Trust (i.e. the AFC Wimbledon model). After a couple of seasons of whipping everyone's ass and bringing big crowds to tiny games you'd then have proven yourself worthy of coming back into the league at the next opportunity.

Or you could just follow the Dublin City model of league admission and assume the position of an existing Dublin club with few fans and little prospects. Hmmm....

[TonyD]

I thought'd you'd empathise with Rovers. Weren't Pats the other club that misapropriated capital grant money for other purposes?

Quite a serious charge there, and totally false. As WWS pointed out Pats have never even gotten their hands on the grant money allocated to them from the Sports Capital Fund, because we need to raise a certain percentage ourselves (25% I think) which we hadn't got. There were questions raised about an FAI loan to Pats as far as I remember, which is a totally different thing. (i.e it was not money given for one purpose and used for another. ie x 2 , not fraud)

[Ringo]

Gold Cup winner blames council for Shamrock Rovers fiasco

Sunday April 17th 2005


MARTIN FITZPATRICK

THE Irish property developer whose horse won the Cheltenham Gold Cup and who looked for a while like the saviour of Shamrock Rovers FC, said yesterday that the fate of the famous Irish soccer club has been imperilled by a bureaucratic mess at the South Dublin Council. It is a mess that has yet to be explained.

Conor Clarkson told the Sunday Independent that he still cannot understand how his proposal to build the club's hoped-for stadium in Tallaght was subverted. However, he insisted it happened "somewhere at council level".

"If the plans that we were working to - and which would have involved starting building activity on December 14 last - had gone ahead, we would have been erecting the first part of the stadium roofing this weekend. For whatever reason, the baby has been thrown out with the bathwater."

The failure to provide Shamrock Rovers with a home in which to play its games was a leading cause for the collapse of the club into examinership last week. Judge Peter Kelly appointed accountant Neil Hughes as interim examiner of the club which had reported debtsof €2.4m.

Mr Clarkson said he became involved in the Rovers affair last year after some €4.5m had been sunk into the project. South Dublin Council had given a lease to a company called Mulden "without any onus to do anything to the site. There was no timetable, no schedule, no specific performance clause."

Mulden embarked ona joint venture with a company called Sloan Park, linked with Shamrock Rovers directors, and that joint venture was responsible for subsequent expenditure.

Mr Clarkson says he "shook hands" on a deal in which Mulden would sell on the lease to him to complete the construction of a 10,000-12,000-seat stadium. "I was going to put in a pub and a leisure centre to pay for the building of the stadium," he told the Sunday Independent.

"I never had any intention or any interest in building apartments, as some critics have alleged. It was a project that would never have made anyone rich. I was interested in creating a sporting venue and I was happy to let Rovers play in the stadium.

"Suddenly, while I was out of the country, I was told that the whole thing was not going ahead. The Council had changed its mind." Asked if he felt his project could be revived, Conor Clarkson, whose horse Kicking King won the Gold Cup, said the project could be reactivated and completed within 10 months.

© Irish Independent
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/ & http://www.unison.ie/

[pete]

The Council probably sees that they can avail of the grounds to tag on their own commercial property.

[joeraki]

Interesting spin on it from Clarkson. Must of been a mishap that he failed to mention that his whatever millions investment had a fairly heafty APR, something like 30% !! Sure whats €7/8 million in dept in a few years when you've f all chance of paying back €2.3 now

[Green Force]

Interesting spin on it from Clarkson. Must of been a mishap that he failed to mention that his whatever millions investment had a fairly heafty APR, something like 30% !! Sure whats €7/8 million in dept in a few years when you've f all chance of paying back €2.3 now

No figures were ever agreed. Tony Maguire made them up. One of many lies to the Rovers fans.

[trevy]

I can see both points of view here on whether Shamrock Rovers should survive or not.A football club isn't just a business however it shouldn't be allowed run up huge debts and not pay them off either just because they are a football club and were Ireland's most successful in the past.I wouldn't like to see any team go bust but theres been famous clubs throughout Europe who've totally gone out of business or had to drop out of professional football and reform at amateur level.I think this is the last chance saloon for Rovers to sort things out and hopefully they can.

[joeraki]

No figures were ever agreed. Tony Maguire made them up. One of many lies to the Rovers fans.

No they where never agreed, but I know for a fact that Clarkson moving in would leave Rovers with a debt in the years to come that was unpayable. To me the Clarkson deal was like making a deal with the devil. "I'll pay all your debts off now but in 6/7 years time your mine !!"

[Ringo]

Monday April 25th 2005


THE appointment of Neil Hughes as examiner to Shamrock Rovers is expected to be confirmed in the High Court this morning.

The full hearing will take place today with the club's creditors entitled to representation at the hearing with the Dublin club owing €2.36m.

Two weeks ago Hughes was charged by the High Court with coming up with a plan that would enable creditors recover their debts and ensure the future viability of the club by attracting investors and hiring a full-time commercial manager.

He will deliver a report to the High Court today during which he is expected to outline the considerable amount of goodwill there is towards Rovers in their present plight.



© Irish Independent
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/ & http://www.unison.ie/

[Ringo]

Rovers can be saved, court told


THE High Court was told yesterday that there is "cautious optimism" that an arrangement can be put in place to ensure the survival of the company that runs Shamrock Rovers Football Club.

But the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) is seeking further clarification in relation to financial information it was given relating to the club.

During an application for the appointment of an examiner to Branvard Ltd, trading as Shamrock Rovers, it was stated that there were seven separate parties interested in investing in the club.

Branvard has debts of €2.36m with more than €540,000 due to the Revenue Commissioners in respect of PAYE and PRSI arrears.

Ms Justice Mary Laffoy appointed accountant Neil Hughes as examiner to Branvard Ltd.

Following yesterday's appointment, the judge allowed 60 days from April 11 last, when the petition to appoint an examiner was presented, for a survival package to be drawn up.

In his affidavit, Mr Hughes said he had made "significant progress" in satisfying the conditions identified as being necessary to secure the survival of the company.

Meanwhile, High Court proceedings in which Shamrock Rovers was challenging South Dublin Co Council's refusal to extend a grant of permission to allow completion of the club's new 10,000 seater stadium in Tallaght were struck out yesterday with no order at the request of the club.

John Maddock

© Irish Independent
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/ & http://www.unison.ie/

[Ringo]

Rovers facing expulsion fear

Tuesday April 26th 2005


SHAMROCK ROVERS are facing possible expulsion from the eircom League after the FAI unearthed several discrepancies in their application for a 2005 club licence.

Rovers have until tomorrow to explain why the balance sheets submitted as part of their audited accounts for 2003 and 2004 are absolutely identical - as are the figures for tangible and intangible fixed assets.

The club could also face questions from the Office of Corporate Enforcement as the audited accounts were filed with the Companies Office.

And, to add to Rovers' worries, the FAI has asked them to explain the relationship of their company secretary and director Paul Boyle with their auditors, J P O'Donohoe & Company, who are based in Waterford.

The FAI is also looking for a detailed explanation of a €900,000 loan Rovers received from Slonepark, the company set up to construct and operate their proposed new stadium in Tallaght.

The FAI became aware of the discrepancy following a meeting with examiner Neil Hughes at which he showed them the accounts prepared for the High Court by an independent auditor.

The association subsequently wrote to the examiner and Rovers chairman Tony Maguire and the matter was mentioned in the High Court yesterday when Justice Mary Laffoy approved the appointment of Hughes. She expressed concern at the FAI's letter which was read out in court and requested that the High Court be immediately informed of any sanction taken by the FAI that could affect the survival prospects of Rovers as a going concern.

The examiner said after yesterday's hearing that the licence question must be resolved if he is to secure the investment needed to ensure the survival of the club.

If it's found that Rovers has violated any of its club licence obligations, there is a whole range of penalties open to the FAI - including expulsion.

Last night Maguire said that Rovers would be seeking a personal hearing with the FAI to explain the discrepancies in the accounts and insisted that no attempt had been made to deceive the licensing department. "There was an error made in the filing of the accounts," he said.

Maguire added that Boyle was not involved in any way with the compilation of the club's accounts. He was unaware of the exact nature of Boyle's relationship, if any, with the company's auditors.

The Slonepark loan, he said, was an old one which had been inherited by the current directors.

Gerry McDermott



© Irish Independent
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/ & http://www.unison.ie/

[pete]

I thought i heard Roddy say last night on eL weekly that he was looking to bring a couple of forwards into the team. Was i dreaming?

[NY Hoop]

This proves once and for all what a *&^%$ magoo is. "An error made........." You are the error magoo you muppet.

But what about the FAI? Why didnt they actually look at the accounts WHEN THEY WERE HANDED IN instead of now FFS?!!!

I sincerely doubt that we will get thrown out considering that it would result in fixture chaos and the FAI do not want anymore bad news. Sorry ringo! BTW were you THE fan in the stand at richmond?!!

Also if you carkies can bring more than 50 on friday we would appreciate it


KOH

[pineapple stu]

But what about the FAI? Why didnt they actually look at the accounts WHEN THEY WERE HANDED IN instead of now FFS?!!!

I assume they just checked to see if accounts were prepared. They wouldn't have that much of a qualification in accountancy and auditing (granted, I presume there was a qualified person on the committee?). That said, it does show up how flimsy the whole UEFA Licencing thing is - most clubs make an effort, but what's the point when you can get away with the likes of this? Now that the Companies Office and the ODCE are on Rovers' case, it's made the FAI aware that there's a problem. ODCE is not someone you want to get on the wrong side of either. But Rovers' auditors have a lot to answer for here as well...

[Éanna]

Also if you carkies can bring more than 50 on friday we would appreciate it

we usually do Seriously though, I don't think we'll have a great crowd up on friday because most people are waiting to go up on the monday for shels

[pete]

I think would be a disaster if eL clubs were to turn on one of their own & vite them out of the league.

Some seriously dodgy goings on with rovers accounts which is why i believe Directors should need a licence to rule eL clubs. Rovers Director boyos should be given 10 year bans from involvementw ith irish football.