Is an Eircom League club a good buy?

I thought that Apres Match were doing the FAI a disservice in their caricatures of the FAI blazers until I caught a bit of Fran Gavin in action tonight. Oh dear...
 
In 2004 Shels, from Ollie's own lips and som of those hanging onto his coattails and from others well placed in the club, admitted that Shels we 1million in debt, they made, well estimated, 4million from their European trips and yet by the end of the year were back 1million in debt. I know they went on a Chelsea/Man U buying spree, but where did the money go.

Last week the Indo reported they were "according to reports in other newspapers" 12million in the red, how in the name of god can they go so much in debt in such a short space of time. I know the siphoning off of monies etc and poor admin costs, but 12MILLION!
 
the fai think they are the bee knees though. and thats all that matters.
 
I thought that Apres Match were doing the FAI a disservice in their caricatures of the FAI blazers until I caught a bit of Fran Gavin in action tonight. Oh dear...

And he's one of their smoother operators
 
Should the soccer faithful not rise up and do a Mussolini on the clowns in the FAI? Surely there'd be more sense in putting someone with a bit of business sense and local feeling in charge. I am sad to see where they haven't been able ot put anything together that makes sense, sure, give a few grand to each club for promotion - instead of taking control and doing it from HQ!
 
Should the soccer faithful not rise up and do a Mussolini on the clowns in the FAI?
The last attempt at a fans' representative group, National League United/NLU, wasn't too successful if I'm not mistaken. Trying to get individual eL clubs and their fans to agree on anything is like herding cats.
 
I understand the difficulties in it, but you know, I really saw great unity with the real fans when Shels were playing well in 2004, esp the home Hajduk game where I met more Dundalk and Pats, even Bohs, fans than I'd thought existed (joke). To see them arrive to cheer on Shels, bedecked in ther own colours, was very very heartening, but again this goodwill factor was squandered too quickly.

What's going to happen if Shels are thrown out of the PL, will it be Waterford or Dundalk who go up? As far as I know Waterford were more in line with qualifications for promotion than Dundalk.
 
I understand the difficulties in it, but you know, I really saw great unity with the real fans when Shels were playing well in 2004, esp the home Hajduk game where I met more Dundalk and Pats, even Bohs, fans than I'd thought existed (joke).
You should have dropped into the Dalyer bars for an antidote to this seeming eL love in.
 
Okay, I didn't venture that far, I had to leave with the "losers" that night and try to get money out of them. But it was a good time for Irish football, what happened after......
 
almo: afaik waterford are in line and not dundalk. makes that (in)famous playoff even more ludicrous. anyway john gill has stated that he has signed players for the first division and that they would struggle in the premier. athlone are the big spenders this year.
 
I agree that the playoff was ridiculous since it was never a promotion/relegation playoff in the first place in spite of what some people think.
 
agreed CM. only the Fai could stage a play off that wasn't a play off. the fact that the off the field assessment was and still is a secretive procedure made the whole process a farce. and as for the off the field assessment, that the fai missed Shels inability to pay players wages, revenue, and have massive debt seems to have eluded the assessors.