Hull City owners to take majority stake in Dundalk?

**culloty82** · 20/02/2023, 10:10 PM

The generally reliable Louth journalist, Gerry Malone, is reporting tonight that Hull City plan to purchase 70% of Dundalk, with the remainder of the club remaining in local ownership, and the intention being that young players at the Championship club will gain first-team experience at Oriel Park. The Waterford-Fleetwood relationship appears to be working for both parties so far, but it would still seem regrettable if the second-most successful side in League of Ireland history were to effectively become a feeder club.

**ger121** · 20/02/2023, 10:55 PM

I can see the headlines now. �Hullelujah!�

**Jack B** · 20/02/2023, 11:17 PM

Never gone wrong for Dundalk on this front before...

In all seriousness I wouldn't be surprised if Dundalk also get used to bring in young lads from Turkey etc that Hull can't due to Brexit. Wouldn't be surprised if this becomes increasingly common with English clubs due to the proximity, language etc.

**joey B** · 20/02/2023, 11:21 PM

Hulls owner is the Turkish Simon Cowell apparently,hasn�t invested much on players for Hull either,thought seems to be they�ll use Dundalk to get around Brexit rules for young players �.

He bought into Fortuna Sittard in Holland aswell and lasted a year before leaving again so mightn�t be the most trustworthy�

How do Dundalk fans feel about it so soon after the P6 disaster??

**Nah Nah Nah Nah** · 21/02/2023, 12:06 AM

Originally Posted by ger121

I can see the headlines now. �Hullelujah!�

To Hull and back

**Another Bohemia** · 21/02/2023, 8:05 AM

Didn't the current backers of Dundalk go on the record that they weren't looking to sell? That tune changed very quickly. If I was a Dundalk fan I'd be organising some supporters group to rescue the club in a year and a half when the **** inevitably hits the fan with this potential new owner.

**Jd2793** · 21/02/2023, 8:15 AM

something very hollow about becoming a cog in a "multi club" model. hate it , hope its not something that happens other clubs here.

**Another Bohemia** · 21/02/2023, 9:45 AM

Could see it happening again with a club that lacks a real identity like Bray/Cabo/Whatever they are.

**Yossarian** · 21/02/2023, 9:52 AM

I don�t know how true all this is as the only person that this story has come from is Gerry Malone and I would take issue with him being described as reliable. A cursory read of his columns in the local paper shows someone who can barely write a coherent sentence.

However if it turns out to be true I would be very disappointed. I can�t see any real benefits in effectively being a feeder club for another club.

**oriel** · 21/02/2023, 10:33 AM

A common question asked on oriel web is a sensible one, if its true what will be in this to benefit Dundalk?

Seems to me (again if its true) the intention would be to buy into a franchise and for them to get around Brexit on player movement, hardly anything to get excited about and for now I can see no benefit whatsoever to us.

**Another Bohemia** · 21/02/2023, 10:39 AM

Originally Posted by Yossarian

I don�t know how true all this is as the only person that this story has come from is Gerry Malone and I would take issue with him being described as reliable. A cursory read of his columns in the local paper shows someone who can barely write a coherent sentence.

However if it turns out to be true I would be very disappointed. I can�t see any real benefits in effectively being a feeder club for another club.

Ability to write has very little bearing on reliability especially in the age of Twitter. It's all about who you know and what you can get out of them now.

So the real question is are his columns usually correct or accurate?

**pineapple stu** · 21/02/2023, 10:58 AM

I seem to remember him being similarly dismissed a couple of years ago when reporting Dundalk were signing an Albanian second division keeper.

**Glen Of Aherlow** · 21/02/2023, 11:44 AM

If true it's a shame to see this happening now , at a time when the league is setting to show signs of real growth . It seems like another short term move that won't in any way help develop the stadium etc. , which is badly needed.

**yurt** · 21/02/2023, 1:30 PM

Playing devils advocate for a second.

Is there not some clear benefits in terms of scouting networks, etc which could help Dundalk signing players if this were to happen? I don't see being a feeder/sister club being that big of an issue as long as the other club is sufficiently bigger.

Hull have bounced around a few divisions and would be directly competing for a similar calibre of player if/when they find themselves in L1 again.

I wouldn't be so turned off this news if it was a less established, FD club, say a Wexford, Treaty, Longford. But the fact that a club with one of the best histories will become a cog in the Hull City wheel is depressing enough. The multiclub ownership model is clearly a cancer in the modern game.

Have UEFA ever even addressed this as a concern yet? The 2 RBs and soon to be 2 Qatari teams competing in the UCL is a massive elephant in the room which needs to be addressed.

**pineapple stu** · 21/02/2023, 1:57 PM

RB Leipzig and Salzburg have met in Europe - they were in the same group in the 2018/19 Europa League. It was ruled that Red Bull didn't have "a decisive influence over more than one club", which sounds dodgy at best.

Ultimately the game is more all about money than it's ever been, and what suits the bigger clubs will happen I think. Agree though that a club like Hull owning Dundalk as part of its portfolio is not what we'd really want here.

**Demesne Lad** · 21/02/2023, 1:57 PM

Hullarious! But as of 13.57 there is no mention of this scheme on Hull Live.

**Nesta99** · 22/02/2023, 12:30 AM

Originally Posted by yurt

Playing devils advocate for a second.

Is there not some clear benefits in terms of scouting networks, etc which could help Dundalk signing players if this were to happen? I don't see being a feeder/sister club being that big of an issue as long as the other club is sufficiently bigger.

Hull have bounced around a few divisions and would be directly competing for a similar calibre of player if/when they find themselves in L1 again.

I wouldn't be so turned off this news if it was a less established, FD club, say a Wexford, Treaty, Longford. But the fact that a club with one of the best histories will become a cog in the Hull City wheel is depressing enough. The multiclub ownership model is clearly a cancer in the modern game.

Have UEFA ever even addressed this as a concern yet? The 2 RBs and soon to be 2 Qatari teams competing in the UCL is a massive elephant in the room which needs to be addressed.

Hull will never qualify for Europe so the multiclub ownership may not come in to it at all. I would find it really tough to get behind a club that is just there as a feeder club and losing its own identity in the process. That said, a couple of years ago someone *cough* posted a 'rumour' here and Oriel Web just out of curiosity and it got tweeted by Gerry. So who knows. Eeek out a 40/40 split with at least 10% supporter owned and with potential to grow that and maybe it wouldn't be purely using our club as a work permit mill

**Longfordian** · 22/02/2023, 8:12 AM

Would playing in LOI make any significant difference to these players' ability to obtain a UK work permit? Moreso than any other European country?

**Another Bohemia** · 22/02/2023, 9:37 AM

Originally Posted by Longfordian

Would playing in LOI make any significant difference to these players' ability to obtain a UK work permit? Moreso than any other European country?

Only benefit I could see would be that Hull could sign Irish lads to professional deals at 16 with Dundalk and then transfer them to Hull for feck all when they turn 18. It would essentially turn Dundalk into a nursery but that set up could prove attractive to young lads who dream of playing in England.