QuoteThat's a long time to be involved with Sligo Rovers.
With regards to youth,that's the way forward for any sport.
Taken from todays Sligo Champion (13/08/08)
[SIZE=2]Youth programme essential to Rovers says Gallagher
Having just received honary life membership of the FAI for his services to soccer, a former Rovers chairman, Ray Gallagher has said the implementation of a youth programme is essential to the future of the club.
“it is absolutely paramount that we have young players coming through all the way up from underage through the FAI’s emerging talent programme and into a situation where they have the opportunity to play for the senior Rovers side”
Mr Gallagher who is chairman of the Showgrounds development committee, spent ten years on the board of the FAI up to 2003 and became the Sligo Rovers representitive on the FAI council in 1993, a position he still holds.
He was also Rovers league rep prior to the reorganisation of the LOI.
Mr Gallagher has also served on the FAI’s finance committee from 1994 to date and was also on the legal and Corporate committee for a number of years and the international committee for a year.
He received the honary life membership of the FAI at the associatios AGM in Athlone.
Last year Mr Gallagher was awarded a gold medal for his long service to the FAI
“I consider it an honour to receive lfe membership and believe I an one of a group of seven or eight people to have it”
The board of the FAI unanimously recommended Mr Burns for the accolade. “ it was a very nice gesture and I was very happy to accept it”
Ray Gallagher has been associated with Sligo Rovers since 1966 when he joined a supporters club with the late Willie Kelly, the meetings held in Willies barber shop in Teeling St.
As a youngster he cycled from his home in Mulinabreena to attend matches at the Showgrounds. “I suppose I have been involved in one way or another ever since and I have enjoyed it all”
He Became a member of the Rovers committee in 1967 and acknowledges he was on a
“One man mission”
“the lease was up 0n the Showgrounds and we wanted to recover it. We eventually did so and ultimetly the ground was put into Trusteeship in 1976, which meant it could never be sold or mortgaged and could only be used by the community fir sport”
Mr Gallagher, the late Paddy Morahan and Tom Clancywere the three Trustees.
Down through the years Ray has witnessesd many ups and downs at the Showgrounds and has served in s number of roles, including vice chairman and joint treasurer.
As chairman of the clubs development committee he has worked with others such as Kevin Colreavey, Noel Scott, padraic Casey annd David Gaule, to see the new Tracey Ave stand and all weather projects come to fruition.
He hopes that phase three of the Showgrounds development, including a centre of excellence can also become a reality in the not too distant future.
On the pitch Ray ray believes that Rovers must continue to work with the Sligo Leitrim Youth League and all those involved in youth soccer to get players through to the senior set up.
I think we cant sustain an entire full time squad. If we had six good full time professionals and then have young players coming through and fighting for their place it would be of enormous benefit
In recent years Sligo Leitrim schoolboys girls and Rovers began the process of introducing an agreed policy of between the under age and senior bodies in relation to coaching, playing ad min, devolvement and recruitment to the Showgrounds.
“We are a community owned co-op and we have to have young players from the community and surrounding areas coming through.
“The people in the Sligo Letrim are doing fantastis work, as are the likes of leo Tierney and Niall Harrison. We have one hundred Regional Development officers around the country and they are working hard with the young players. This is the way forward. We need players coming up from the youths, into the under 18’s , the under 20’s and ‘A’ teams and then into the senior squad"
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That's a long time to be involved with Sligo Rovers.
With regards to youth,that's the way forward for any sport.
Too long for my liking.Originally Posted by sligo1
hopefully he might get the old bike out and cycle back to mullinabreena
What about a taxi-a wee bit quicker!!
that spiel is a bit pointless really.fair play to him for being about so long and doing so much for the club over the years, but if youth is so important then why has there never really been a proper youth set-up for all the years he has been there. And then when a good and well run youth structure got put in place, why was Sean Connor allowed to single handedly disband it?
If the FAI werent forcing the A-team and u-20s on us then i doubt we'd have anything set-up for a youth structure.
"Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure"
Sometimes wonder what planet some of our 'supporters' have come from.
First off I'd like to say a big huge well done to Ray for this honour and also a big thank you to him for being one of the main body of individuals for keeping the club going through every kind of trying situations.
Regarding the youth set up and especially the need for it's success.
People on here have criticised every aspect of the club (myself included) but as I've said in previous posts we are very slow to dish out the praise when the praise is due.
There's already a thread in relation to DOR so I'll not dwell too long on him but during his watch he was very much to the fore for youth whither that be for financial reasons or whatever the guy was very much in favour of a youth structure. For that very reason the guy has got slated and branded a bad manger because of it.
The fact of the matter is that or club is not in a position to sustain a full-time set-up. At this stage even the dog on the street knows this. Ray Gallagher has been around a long time and to give the guy some credit it must have learned something along the way. The FAI have witnessed at first hand the great worker he is and they reward him with this honour. I think we as supporters of SRFC should be very proud to have such an individual associated with our club. Let's not be knockers all of the time and stand up and applaud an individual we all should aspire to be like as the man has given over forty years to the club on a voluntary basis.
Well done Ray it's long overdue!
what a guy...dunno how he does it. Hurrah for Ray i say!
Clubman, DOR did not get slated for his youth policy. He got slated for being a s hite manager.
Ray is all for youth? It's a pity he wouldn't listen to himself and feck off. He's done a lot yeah but he hasn't moved with the times.
Life without Rovers, it makes no sense...it's a heartache...nothing but a fools game. S.R.F.C.
I Agree Ray has done a lot of hard work for Rovers,
but he can be a little bit inflexible in his ways and thinking.
He's done a lot of great work down the years, but unfortunately he has also done the club a lot of harm, the stories of him being ignorant to people around town are widespread. Regarding the article, what would the training be like in the mornings for the six professional players he sees us having?
Have to agree, well done Ray and thanks for everytin but change is what we need now. Fresh minds with fresh ideas.
Manager: Fergal, have you your boots with ya?
Fergal: Ya, I have them here.
Manager: Ah good stuff, well give them to this man so, he forgot his!
Again absolutely needless criticism on this thread for someone who has put in so much to the BOR over the past few decades, whether the direction taken was right or wrong it was taken and time and effort put into it, so criticism on this thread is totally out of order!!!
its no wonder people wont get involved in our club with some of you whingers on their backs?
Well said!!!!!!!!!!
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