John Fallon: Fan ownership a dying breed as moneymen hawk LOI for European gateway
THEN THERE WERE TWO: Bohemians supporters celebrate after their side's win. Pic: Mark Kavanagh/Sportsfile.
AND THEN there were two.
Sustaining a fan-owned club in the League of Ireland is becoming an endangered species, exemplified by Bohemians and Sligo Rovers left standing as the final flagbearers.
Finn Harps haven’t officially changed structure into private ownership yet but members soon to vote on the takeover proposal by ex-Philippines international Freddy Gonzalez have been presented by the incumbent volunteers with a stark consequence of rejection.
“We need investment simply to stand still and significantly more investment to grasp the opportunity that is now in front of us,” read a statement from their board as a precursor to the Asian interest being disclosed.
They aren't alone in accepting the realities of keeping their ship afloat amid a rising tide of outlay.
And the trend doesn’t discriminate in geography.
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Donegal’s remote location in the north-west dissuaded some suitors when Harps went to the market but Cork City too, despite being the only Premier club in the largest county, felt external investment was essential following promotion back to the top-flight at the end of 2022.
Sligo’s member-led annual general meetings have made for a fascinating watch in recent years.
As rivals were gobbled up, they managed to survive principally through the kindness of their community.
Local fundraising, driven by the 500 club of monthly subscribers, enabled managers to build squads capable of, sometimes eventually, staving off relegation fears.
Not any more.
When Sligo admit their latest annual budget of €2.9m to be uncompetitive by Premier Division standards, then the model of benefactors is inevitable.
No doubt, the Bit O’Red will ultimately attract a willing donor in the same fashion Harps have, leaving Bohs as the outlier.
That they’ve no plans to embrace the pattern is borne out of a cultural ethos.
Several were likeminded until recent years, except the others didn’t punch the transformative turnover the Gypsies have in commercial revenue.
A series of collaborative jerseys, most notably in a global context with Oasis, have spiked their yearly merchandising stream to €2m.
Tickets and memberships for restricted-capacity Dalymount are oversubscribed but the matchday income they source suffer by relocating to Richmond Park for the two years their Phibsboro home is under reconstruction.
All going to plan on timelines – plus the likelihood of a 15% sell-on arriving for Evan Ferguson’s next transfer – and Bohs will be confident of their 8,034-capacity new arena generating the lolly to avoid a change of direction.
Elsewhere, the market dictates the value of clubs.
Gonzalez has cited the completion of Harps' delayed new stadium and youth development in his pitch but doesn’t disguise his ambition for promotion either.
A two-tier system prevails in this country and the cost of those precious 10 Premier places is on the rise.
Weekly attendances and media coverage illustrate the disparity between the divisions but the financial gap is outlined by comparing Uefa’s benchmarking report six years apart.
This is the yearly analysis issued by the European governing body for the top flights of all 55 members.
Whereas in 2018, when Premier Division wages were €900,000, salaries and amortisation mushroomed to €18m in 2024.
The jump in corresponding overall turnover was from €15m to €38m.
Uefa’s payouts since, both for European progression by Shamrock Rovers and Shelbourne, along with a five-fold increase to the other Premier outfits in solidarity payments, will tilt turnover towards €50m.
Player inflation has kept pace, with at least one import understood to be grossing €4,000 per week.
July is the month when European campaigns get underway and the figures available for the four representatives by hurdling a couple of rounds present one of the arguments for the investor spree.
Trading losses by Rovers and Shels in recent years underline how a return on capital isn’t always guaranteed while a couple of other entities, like Derry City, St Patrick’s Athletic and Waterford, seemed to accept multimillion deficits being part of the territory.
It’s interesting to note from Uefa’s table how certain areas have maintained the fan-owned concept.
Northern European leagues Iceland, Norway, Estonia and Faroes Islands have virtually no private owners.
Ditto Sweden, enshrined by the 50+1 principle, retaining member control regardless of minority investors.
Their framework is regarded as stricter than the equivalent in the German Bundesliga.
There’s no appetite, either through a club coalition or from a governing body lacking the means to fund internally, for introducing similar barriers to entry here.
Rather, the FAI have been instrumental in liaising between buyers and sellers.
Not all alliances have ended well either, heightening their role in scrutinising the pocket depths of those trumpeting grand proclamations.
It appears a sliver of grief is bearable once the big spenders continue to view Ireland as a safe haven to embark on a punt.
Recruitment at well-heeled Derry City continues to attract scrutiny as the Candystripes languish in the bottom half of the Premier table after two wins from the last 10.
Billionaire owner Philip O’Doherty hasn’t been shy about splashing his cash in pursuit of a first Premier title since 1997 but the turnover during Tiernan’s Lynch 20-month spell has been alarming. Over 30 signings were made ahead of what the manager forecasts as another busy window which opened yesterday.
Last month’s advertisement for a new ‘head of recruitment’ was hailed by Lynch as a progressive step, acknowledging that an improvement in ‘due diligence’ was essential.
That seems an understatement.
A couple of recruitment consultants, both with links with Burton Albion, have come and gone in nifty time. First there was the arrival this time last year of Michael Mackin, who lasted a mere three months and one window.
Along came agent Conor Hayden during the off-season, assisting Lynch with his latest splurge, including the capture of striker James Clarke.
Hayden, meanwhile, had until last week to respond to agent regulation breach charges by the English FA.
Across that entire 2024 campaign, Hayden was said to be involved in a total of 43 deals conducted by Burton. The FA have accused him of "allegedly concealing and/or misrepresenting the reality and/or substance of these transactions so that it was not declared that he had acted for the club".
Tommy Traynor has been synonymous with refereeing in Ireland for over 50 years and after a bizarre ban that eventually got overturned he’s back officiating at the age of 73.
He was linesman when Liam Brady’s wondergoal beat Brazil in 1987 and back at Lansdowne Road five years later, part of the refereeing team for the FAI Cup final between Cork City and Bohemians.
While ill-health delayed his availability for the annual fitness test last year, his generosity from stepping in to cover an absent colleague to referee a girls’ small-sided game would ultimately cost him, both professionally and reputationally.
Traynor found himself summoned to a disciplinary hearing of the Irish Soccer Referees’ Society local branch for allegedly breaching ‘the good name of the branch, on and off the field of play’. This resulted in a 12-month suspension which, following appeals within the ISRS and FAI, was rescinded.
That, regrettably, wasn’t the end of the matter, as it took another several months for the fitness refresher to be provided. Eventually, in March of this year, his long wait for a comeback was realised and he’s been whistling at grassroots games since.
Thirty years after the High Court awarded him damages from the FAI for demotion, Traynor was vindicated for pursuing the preservation of his good name.
john.fallon@examiner.ie
