Tommy's No Saint

I must apologize to those who were reading this. Currently I've been working hard on a number of other projects and haven;t had the time to update the blog. As I'm sure you can relate to I always have good intentions of updating but I seem to be suffering a bout of writers block lately.

To keep you all updated I will share an article from my friend Paul Barry. I won't give much away, great article and definatly worth a read during the work lunchtime!

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Monday, the 27th of July. An ordinary day for the vast majority of Ireland, with a nice bit of sun for a change. The weekend was finished, so back to work for many, but with a bank holiday weekend to look forward to. For a small band of football supporters in Cork, however, it was the day football had died – or at least we thought.

At roughly ten minutes past two in Dublin’s Four Court, Justice Mary Laffoy had deemed Cork City Football Club insolvent and issued a winding up order from the revenue. She had deferred the case several times previously, but with the court holidays fast approaching, she was forced to issue the order.

I was present in Court Nine, on a day that will forever stain my memory. I had stayed overnight in Dublin, having returned from the 1-1 draw between City and Derry in the Brandywell a day previous. A night of moderate success, having been trailing at half time, was capped off by the ever brilliant relations between the supporters based on opposite sides of the island. Having spent most of the last 24 hours travelling, I was tired, but extremely anxious of the case. I was still confident of safety, though, as were the club and many other fans. The judgement that arrived was simply heartbreaking. But for an overwhelming sense of anger and contempt, I would have completely broken down in tears.

Who was at fault for what we all believed to be the end of yet another soccer club in Ireland’s second city? The failure for the Cork public to show their support? Our players and staff who received such high salaries the previous two seasons? No. Getting crowds through the gates has always been a problem. The 3,000 average attendees at matches this year has been the general figure for many seasons. The players, although whose wages have been a contributing factor to our high level of debt, cannot be blamed. What alternative had they? No employee the world over would seek a lower paying contract, so why should footballers be any different? The main reason to the near demise of this soccer team lies with sub standard financial management. The book stops with the owner.

Tom Coughlan arrived with a business plan of “sustainability” – a quote he has mentioned many times since taking over last November. He felt it was imperative to keep staff wages at a minimum and reduce overall costs within the club. Why then, did he allow newly appointed manager, Paul Doolin, to partake in what was a busier transfer market for Cork City than 2008, which saw the club enter examinership? Prior to the new season, a mere five players were contracted. By the opening match against Sligo Rovers, there was a squad of 20 full time professionals – four above the 16 quota Coughlan had stated during pre-season. Included were the newly signed trio of Dan Connor, Fahrudin Kuduzovich and Stephen O’Donnell. Anyone interested in League of Ireland football would know that these would be the higher earners within the country. Yet they were allowed to be signed for a cash strapped club, who had barely avoided extinction just a few months earlier. How exactly does one comprehend a decision like this?

Following the very lucky survival of the club, many hail Coughlan as the saviour. While he undoubtedly had some part to play in keeping the club afloat, I would hold back on such praise. Firstly, he had the benefit of a very sympathetic judge. She could have called for the winding up order as early as May, but gave the club plenty of time to raise the cash needed. She was very slow in agreeing with the revenue and ultimately gave City the time it needed. Secondly, a huge amount of credit must go to Mickey Harris – brother of club secretary, Jerry. The taxi driver, who is a huge supporter, took it upon himself to write a letter Dermot Desmond – a Corkman, who owns nearly 40% of Glasgow Celtic. Desmond then contacted Cork City and the two sides will now play a money spinning friendly on the 9th of September. Thirdly, the players and staff, who have, as mentioned previously, agreed a one week deferral in wages to allow the money going towards paying the tax bill. Some of these people have yet to receive their July salaries in full, along with with August payments that were due last week. And finally, the very support base of the Turners Cross club played a huge part in its survival. The fans and the trust, FORAS, simply wouldn’t say know and all played a huge part in keeping the side from folding on its 25th birthday.

Now, let’s have a look at Tom Coughlan – who, might I add, seemed very indifferent following the issuing of the winding up order. A statement on the club website read that: “Cork City FC has made payments to the Revenue totalling €102,000 and is continuing to work to clarify the exact amount outstanding.” This turned out to be untrue, as the Revenue were still left seeking the full amount they had originally requested. The owner also told FORAS, when asked that their funds could be released to the club pending a members’ vote, that “it would be a waste of time”. Two days after the general meeting in which this vote could have taken place, Coughlan contacted the trust and requested what was offered. FORAS had to decline, however, as a general meeting would not have been allowed to have been called in time for the return to the high court on July 31st, as society rules state that longer notice must be given. The former property developer did admit that he “made a balls of it”. However, it’s very easy to admit mistakes that have already been found out.

Since Cork City were miraculously saved, what exactly has Coughlan done to reduce costs? Despite his constant efforts in attempting to sustain things and stating that “we must cut our cloth”, how exactly is he doing this? Merely four players have departed the club, to help sooth the wage bill. Four from a squad of 24 (albeit, several working on part time or amateur terms) isn’t enough. When you take into consideration, the off-the field staff, who captain Dan Murray explained was the highest for any Irish club, it raises the pool of employees to roughly 50. So, roughly 10% of workers are now off the monthly salaries, which are still estimated to be in the region of €100,000. And the players and staff are still going unpaid. Although Coughlan has repeated many times that we need higher gates so the employees can receive what they are owed, not a single fundraising task has been undertaken by the club to pay them. Nothing but the absolute bare minimum is being done to the servants who have sacrificed their livelihoods to keep football alive in Cork.

So, I say to the public who believe that Tom Coughlan is the saviour and that Cork City are safe – this is far from the case. Cork soccer is still trapped deep in the woods and far from safety. Huge initiatives must be undertaken and led by the current chairman, lest we be forced to witness similar events to those on the 27th of July, where, next time, we may not be so lucky.