Next season.......

**patsh** · 30/12/2002, 7:07 PM

Spillage has an interesting column tonight. (Is this a first?)
If we reach the inter-toto cup, the season will have been a "moderate success".

For next season, he reckons we need
a new defender,
a creative midfielder and
a striker or two to ease the burden on J O'Fs shoulders.
(Didn't we have a proven striker under contract, but didn't the manager let him go??).

So we will lose Daly, I presume, for next season, but get Napier back. Given that it's unlikely that English clubs will have released too many players by the start of April, we have two other ways of getting those needed players:
a) Discover them ourselves or
b) Buy them.
So does anyone know if there are any local players who could fit the bill?
Who do you think Lennox could realistically buy in?

**eoinh** · 30/12/2002, 8:19 PM

Coughlan from Bohs, bring back Brian Shelley from carlisle (in the january transfer window). Surely he cant be happy in a team virtually rock bottom of the third division in England. BB Murphy has only played nine times this season with Hartlepool => he cant be happy.
i also think you should look in unlikely places for players like st. Pats did with Mbaki Livingstone. Crazy as this sounds, why not try some small former soviet states like estonia where Andrei Krolov is europes top scorer with 37 goals from 28 matchs or Arman Karamian from Armenia with 36 goals. Daft i know it sounds but if you dont look you wont find.

**patsh** · 31/12/2002, 12:26 PM

Hard to see Derek leaving Bohs to come back to Gunther...
Good suggestions otherwise, eoin.
Mickey D,
Greg,
Dan M,
George,
J O'F
and Conor Grady are full-time now.
Hopefully we will have all of them next season, but the question is just how many more full-timers can City afford?

Neil · 31/12/2002, 12:46 PM

Originally posted by oddboy
the question is just how many more full-timers can City afford?

It all depends how long Brian Lennox persists with Noelle Feeney and Jim Murphy as Merchandise and Marketing people. If we started sorting out that side of things we might be able to afford another few pros?

Get Guinness more involved. Or get rid of them? How about Murphy's?

We need better sponsors than Plunkett Electrical! But we'll never get these with the people that are there right now.

**razor** · 31/12/2002, 12:54 PM

College Corinthians have a Czech striker,
he is banging in the goals, could be worth a look.

**Colm** · 31/12/2002, 2:34 PM

Originally posted by Neil
It all depends how long Brian Lennox persists with Noelle Feeney and Jim Murphy as Merchandise and Marketing people. If we started sorting out that side of things we might be able to afford another few pros?

Get Guinness more involved. Or get rid of them? How about Murphy's?

We need better sponsors than Plunkett Electrical! But we'll never get these with the people that are there right now.

Yeah Neil, to be honest I think our marketing people just accept the first offer that comes along for things like match sponsor, match ball sponsor etc.
After a game a few weeks ago, someone pointed out to me that the match ball sponsor was Southbank Movies- a video shop, I wouldnt mind if it was a chain like xtra-vison but in all fairness how much can one little video shop afford to pay. Surely there are plenty of big companys who would fork out a few quid to sponsor little things like this, not a fcukin video shop. Of course finding these sponsors takes time and effort, and we don't have the people prepared to do this.

As for Guinness, does anyone know how much they actually give us? Are we only sticking with them because they are the old reliable and better the devil you know kinda thing? Are there companies out there who would pay more to sponsor ccfc? Has anyone in the club even approached other companies with a proposal?

We can't depend on gate receipts if we want to catch up with Bohs and Shels, we have got to look at the wider picture.
What we need is a marketing development group like Bohs, that seems very impressive.

**patsh** · 31/12/2002, 7:39 PM

Originally posted by Neil
It all depends how long Brian Lennox persists with Noelle Feeney and Jim Murphy as Merchandise and Marketing people. If we started sorting out that side of things we might be able to afford another few pros?

Totally agree with you, Neil, I think you have hit the nail on the head.

Originally posted by Neil

Get Guinness more involved. Or get rid of them? How about Murphy's?

Good point. What about Heineken, they use the same colours as us as well, and with increased and guaranteed TV coverage shirt sponsorship must have increased in value.

Originally posted by Neil

We need better sponsors than Plunkett Electrical! But we'll never get these with the people that are there right now.

Well Plunkett Electrical's money is as good as anybody's else's, but there should be a minimum price on match sponsorship, say �1,000, and �500 on the match ball.

**Snatch** · 02/01/2003, 10:30 AM

Does anybody know the whereabouts of Roy O'Brien?

I saw him play in a pre season friendldy against Swansea a couple of years ago when he was just out of the youth team.
He looked like a quaility centre half. He promptly went cross channel.

I does does Damian O'Rourke plan on returning from the states.

They are two Cork talents I love to see back in Cork.

As for a creative midfielder, I've always said that that is the role Georgino should be playing. Himself and Rennie would be the perfectly balanced midfield.

**eoinh** · 02/01/2003, 11:10 AM

Originally posted by Conor74

Getting money by flogging City "Guinness" shirts to the Irish diaspora from Adelaide to Alaska SHOULD be like taking candy from a baby.

Thats true!

Plus the green shirt actually looks good.

Neil · 02/01/2003, 11:46 AM

Originally posted by Conor74
Getting money by flogging City "Guinness" shirts to the Irish diaspora from Adelaide to Alaska SHOULD be like taking candy from a baby.

That is why serious questions must be put in the direction of Marketing and Merchandise managers, Jim Murphy and Noelle Feeney. They either do the job or they get OUT.

Lennox has to wake up to this before it's too late. IMO Cork City FC only has another year or two left in them UNLESS they start making money elsewhere and becoming professional (professional minded as well as paying people)

Get proper people in to do the jobs.

**eoinh** · 02/01/2003, 12:01 PM

Originally posted by Neil
IMO Cork City FC only has another year or two left in them UNLESS they start making money elsewhere

i think thats stretching things a bit neil.

However, if they want to compete with the likes of bohs for league titles and get by at least one or two rounds of euro competitions, they need to start changing things.

In many ways what happens off the pitch is more important than what happens on it.

in the past ive been to sweden, finland and norway among other countries and it always amazes me how clubs in smaller cities than cork with attendances lower than ours or similar are run professionally and have such good stadiums.

i saw some norewgian stadiums this year in bergen and trondheim => both held around 20,000. Offices, training facilities the lot.
i was up in Bodo in the Arctic Circle (a town of less than 40,000 people, yet they had a stadium that would put most irish stadiums to shame.
Sad really.

**shedite** · 02/01/2003, 2:54 PM

Originally posted by Snatch
Does anybody know the whereabouts of Roy O'Brien?

I saw him play in a pre season friendldy against Swansea a couple of years ago when he was just out of the youth team.
He looked like a quaility centre half. He promptly went cross channel.

I remember seeing him play in some Worthington Cup match or FA Cup match with Yeovil earlier this year. Good player.

**TheNorthsider** · 02/01/2003, 4:26 PM

what amazes me is that every one sees the potential the commercial side of the club has except those involved in the club ,brian lennox is a business man surely he has to see the potential that is there????

**Gone Away** · 02/01/2003, 4:35 PM

Originally posted by Conor74
If there is a brand name more associated with this country, then I don't know it. Guinness is recognised by people all over the world.

Aparently it is one of the WORLDS biggest brand names, with its merchandising etc. How we have it as sponsor is unbelievable, but the fact the seem to fo fook all is a balls. Look at other clubs around and they may not have as good sponsors, but they are certainly active.

Also, with the current behind the scenes structure we aint going nowhere. I was suspicious that the Lennox takeover was purely cosmetic. I think i am almost totally right.

On the pitch I think we will re-sign Ollie, try and get Scully, lose Devine to Bohs, get Barry Ryan from UCD and bring BBM home.

And hopefully see a new management team.

thecorner · 02/01/2003, 6:30 PM

lads i heard a rumour last nite that Q.P.R. have put in a bid for georgie
any truth in the rumour

**eoinh** · 02/01/2003, 7:09 PM

Originally posted by thecorner
lads i heard a rumour last nite that Q.P.R. have put in a bid for georgie
any truth in the rumour

well imagine being a scout and going to city's games, that scout musnt be up to much if he puts Georgie up before O'Flynn!

**patsh** · 02/01/2003, 7:29 PM

Originally posted by Conor74
If there is a brand name more associated with this country, then I don't know it. Guinness is recognised by people all over the world. Go on internet auction sites and there's loads of Guinness logo stuff for sale to the Yanks - hats, shirts, posters, they love it.

Getting money by flogging City "Guinness" shirts to the Irish diaspora from Adelaide to Alaska SHOULD be like taking candy from a baby.

Good point, Conor, but I would like to know what Guinness would do in return for City. I have no idea what the shirt sponsorship nets City, but surely they could do a bit more with the club than simply put the name on the shirt.
If Guinness were to give City the use of their massive and professional marketing department instead of money sponsorship, would it be of more advantage to the club?
Even putting the City team in an ad would generate huge interest. You know the way ads have various scenes in them, a shot of City scoring or some such would create a market for shirts in itself.
It's funny, I started this thread asking about players, but it seems most people understand that the off-field activities could be more important to City next season.
Surely if we all see this, BL does as well?

Neil · 03/01/2003, 10:59 AM

Originally posted by oddboy
surely they could do a bit more with the club than simply put the name on the shirt.

City should MAKE Guinness have promotions around the Cross every home game. Link up with the local pubs and (in the summer) have barbecues etc. That could even be done up the St Annes end.

Twould make ya sick the potential that is there and seeing NOTHING being done.

Whatever happened to that group "The Biz" from UCC who did a report on Marketing for CCFC? They were at a CCISA meeting last season and sounded good...

**Colm** · 03/01/2003, 1:13 PM

Originally posted by Neil
Whatever happened to that group "The Biz" from UCC who did a report on Marketing for CCFC?

Well it is fairly obvious that whatever ideas they came up relating to marketing were completely ignored or disregarded by our marketing "executives". They sounded good but their role was to merely make suggestions, it was up to others within the club to implement them.