Chickens are coming home to roost

**avvenalaf** · 09/03/2007, 1:38 PM

FROM TODAY'S INDO..........

Paisley heads for exit at Longford as cash crisis looms for midlands club

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THE new eircom League season kicks off this evening but it is the emerging problems of one of the clubs not in action that is in danger of providing more bad news as the FAI take full control of the domestic game.

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Beleaguered Longford Town begin their campaign against St Patrick's Athletic at Flancare Park tomorrow night but will do so without defender Stephen Paisley.

While there was no official confirmation last night, sources at the Midlands club intimated that the player had been successful in securing release from his contract after a tribunal case which he took citing deferred payment of wages.

St Pat's have been waiting in the background for the matter to play itself out and should now add Paisley to their ranks for free, having had a substantial cash bid for the Dubliner rejected as recently as last week.

It appears that the last thing Longford are in a position to refuse right now is money after reports yesterday that former investors and directors are owed large amounts of cash by the club.

And the extent of the problems is believed to be so serious that manager Alan Mathews is on the verge of handing in his resignation.

He is understood to be extremely frustrated at the club's handling of the Paisley affair in addition to the ongoing financial problems.

Meanwhile, numerous league clubs will start the season tonight without their summer signings as the saga over FIFA transfer regulations continues.

**sligoman** · 09/03/2007, 1:40 PM

What's this got to do with us?

**John83** · 09/03/2007, 1:47 PM

Originally Posted by sligoman

What's this got to do with us?

Could you move it to eL general please?

**Maz** · 09/03/2007, 1:48 PM

Originally Posted by sligoman

What's this got to do with us?

Whats it got to do with chickens either?

**sligoman** · 09/03/2007, 1:49 PM

Originally Posted by Maz

Whats it got to do with chickens either?

Paisley is a chicken?

.

I can't move it John, I'm not mod here.

**avvenalaf** · 09/03/2007, 3:05 PM

What's it got to do with us? OK, for the slow learners, this is what it's got to do with us.
Longford Town would be seen as one of the most progressive clubs in The National League. The have the finest pitch , stand and terracing in the league, onsite club house and a energetic and enthusiastic committee. They had the foresight to engage Stephen Kenny as manager in his first position and followed that appointment with more foresight when they resisted the application from Don O'Riordan through the newspapers and appointed Alan Matthews. They then won the FAI cup two years in succession and qualified for Eurpoe.

This was done on a semi professional basis. Now, while there has been a Longford Town for as long as I can remember (Leinster senior league etc) and you could say that there is a long tradition of soccer in the Town, it has never had massive local support and indeed, in 1969, when they dumped our full time team out of the FAI Cup, most of their players were from Dublin.
Now what it has to do with us is this. If what would be considered to be one of the properly run clubs in the league, operating mainly on a part time basis, can get into this trouble, credence has to be given to the view that the national league, as a full time professional entity, is a beaten docket and Rovers would do well to look closely at what has happened at Shelbourne and Longford.
Mr. McDonald, when he introduced his full time policy, should have been told that he had a pigeon which would not fly and to forget about it. For one thing, that would have avoided the mess with Conor O'Grady and if Rob had adjusted his thinking at that point, we might still have a manager.

I don't know whether to pity or envy those who think that what happens at Longford has nothing to do with us. What is happening at Longford is another wake up call for all clubs in the league and the template should be placed on Rovers to see how we are comparing. Maybe you would rather stick your head in the ground and imagine that we are immune to market forces.
Is that all right ?

PS. Longford GAA ground is the most valuabale piece of real estate in the county and they will be very pleased to move the county ground to the Town facility at Strokestown Road when the club go under.