Charlie from the Stands: How did this happen?

Dublin City. Kildare County. Limerick FC. Sporting Fingal. Kilkenny City.

The new generation of League of Ireland fans may not be familiar with any of these now defunct clubs, but there was a time during my career where it felt like there was a theme of clubs going bust. Over the past decade, things haven’t been as bad, with some clubs restructuring, but for the most part, things have looked stable.

Until now, that is. Dundalk are walking the fine line of stability and demise, something which has really come to the fore in the past week. But make no mistake about it – there is a number of clubs flying by the seat of their pants.

It begs the question: Are we entering another ‘bust’ season in the League of Ireland? Or is flirting with extinction something some clubs just have to live with? Dundalk, Finn Harps and Shamrock Rovers, spring to mind.

You may be surprised to see Shamrock Rovers named above, a club that from the outside appear to have it all worked out. The biggest most talented squad in the League, the 10,000 seater stadium, four League titles in-a-row, a best-in-class academy and education programme, and a team that has recently qualified for the UEFA Conference League group stages. But believe it or not, all was not well for Ireland's most decorated team in recent years.

Between the 2022-2023 seasons, Rovers made a loss of a combined €2.4m. This meant that failing to qualify for European group stages this season, would see Rovers plummet deep into the red, and forced to explore drastic measures to survive. It shows how luck can sometimes play a part - notably Vikingur hitting the post with a last minute penalty, with Rovers floundering to hang on. Had that penalty gone in and Vikingur went on to win, we could be looking at a club in real difficulty.

Then, like a gift from God, Sinclair Armstrong is sold by QPR to Bristol City, and Shamrock Rovers receive a sell-on fee of €700k, followed a few days later with Conference League group stage qualification, guaranteeing Shamrock Rovers a further €3.8m.

As I write this article, news has emerged that local barrister, John Temple has gathered some investors to take control of Dundalk, and save it from liquidation. It had become a contentious issue in the League and Irish football in general how a club, whose success over the past decade has included two forays into European group stages, as well as four league titles, found itself in such financial peril.

Last November, a lightning-like takeover saw Brian Ainscough take over the club, from the team behind local company, Statsports. The club had just received its license for the 2024 campaign under the Statsports ownership, meaning that the proper financial checks into Ainscough were not done.

For the footballing community here, Brian Ainscough is CEO of Boston Bolts, a semi-professional club that plays in the USL League Two in the States. When I played in New York, we played against a few of the teams in that league, and admittedly, it's a poor standard compared to League of Ireland.

Out of nowhere, Ainscough takes ownership of Kerry FC, the League’s newest senior entity, who go on to finish rock bottom with only one win to their name. So, how then does this man then end up owning Dundalk?

The FAI and its licensing committee need to start answering questions, especially around who is checking these people out. It seems like anyone with a few quid can just purchase a League of Ireland club, and roll the dice on making Europe, also known as ‘hitting the jackpot’ in the domestic game. And when it doesn’t work out, these clubs, with supporters that will travel the length and breadth of the country for a lifetime, are just wiped out, causing huge heartache to supporters, players, staff and communities.

There should be a clear process for anyone looking to take over a LOI club and the process should include due diligence (which would usually just be common sense more than anything). As part of that, these people should be showing proof of funds and clear short, medium and long-term plans on how they intend to run the club. But let's see if the FAI do anything at all.

The maddest thing about the whole situation is the Dundalk supporters were outraged at Noel King being named manager this season – a man with proven, if not dated, League pedigree. They should have been more concerned with who appointed the manager, rather than the manager.

Before I finish on the fiasco surrounding Dundalk, the breadcrumbs left behind will not look good. As a League, we have been lobbying the Government for years to invest in the domestic game (facilities and academies). And yet, one of the country’s most successful – and oldest – clubs was on the brink of collapse? How do you think this will go down at Government level? It’s not a great look and another bullet that the Government can throw back at the FAI.

Closer to home, and news also emerged this week that our North West neighbours, Finn Harps are considering selling off to a private owner. I am not surprised by this as we have all heard the repeated murmurings of financial difficulty and requests for investors coming from Ballybofey for years. Events in London, Dublin and the US have failed to secure any investors, and with €7.3 million required to get the new stadium finished, it's looking like selling to a private owner is the only option.

But what would private ownership look like for Finn Harps? And who in their right mind, unless outrageously wealthy, would want to pour millions into a football club?

Personally, I am not a fan of the private ownership model in the League of Ireland, or in any club for that matter. For me, the fans, community and local employees/board members, should own a portion of the club, preferably 51%. Similar to the German Football League (DFL), where football clubs must function with a majority (51%) owned by the fans - not outside/private investors. Could this be a solution for the FAI? I would love to know how many of the clubs in Ireland own less than 51% of their club.

Back in it!

After Monday night’s impressive 2-1 win away at Galway United, Shamrock Rovers will be full of confidence coming to the Brandywell on Friday night. A win will catapult them back into a title race that had seemed all but out of their grasp.

As I watched the game on Monday night, I couldn't help but notice an improved Shamrock Rovers, more cohesive, ‘at the races’ you could say. Maybe they smell blood in the fact that both Shelbourne and Derry City seem to be faltering.

There have been big games in the Brandywell over the years, but this one seems the biggest in a while.

Should Derry win on Friday night, it would send shivers down the spines of Shelbourne and bring them within a point of their Dublin rivals. And after a dominant display in the FAI Cup last week, which to me looked like a continuation of Derry’s display in Tolka with ten men, Shelbourne looked rattled.

But should Shamrock Rovers make it two wins from two at the Brandywell this season, it would blow the title race wide open for a three-horse race coming into the final furlong. The tension is building and if ever Derry City needed the fans behind them it will be this Friday night under the lights.