British consortium emerges as potential saviour of Cork City

DANNY DREW is leading a four-man British consortium which is hoping to take over Cork City, a public meeting of club supporters was told last night.

The League of Ireland Premier Division outfit have until tomorrow afternoon to clear a €439,000 tax liabilities debt and face being wound up if they do not meet this target.

The meeting which took place at the Telecom Club on MacCurtain St in the city centre was attended by more than 300 City supporters who were there to listen to the FORAS board of management outline the options for the Leesiders.

And they were told that Drew – a former owner of Limerick FC – will lead a group of potential investors pledging to clear the club’s debts, including the tax bill which threatens the Leesiders’ future.

The meeting was told that this was the same group of investors that attempted to assume control of the club during the examinership period late last year and that the money set aside for that had been untouched since. However, FORAS stressed that they had no evidence of this.

The fans group also claimed that an offer of money was rejected by the club last week due to time constraints. But when the winding up order was issued on Monday, Coughlan contacted FORAS for assistance as he began his bid to clear the tax bill.

FORAS also claimed that it offered to take over the running of the club on Tuesday night but this was “dismissed out of hand” by Coughlan.

When contacted by the Irish Examiner last night, chairman Tom Coughlan was unwilling to comment on the specific points brought up at the meeting but did insist he was open to serious expressions of interest.

“If there is a genuine offer for the club, I’m all ears,” said Coughlan who is continuing to appeal for donations ahead of tomorrow’s deadline.

“We’re delighted with how it’s going even though it’s a tough challenge. These are hard times for everyone but we’ve had tremendous support and I’m thrilled with the response.

“The goodwill I have received in the last 24 hours is amazing.

“Our sponsors have been magnificent. They are helping us by bringing forward payments due to us.”

Club captain Dan Murray also spoke at last night’s meeting and told those gathered that he and his team mates are committed to fulfilling the league fixture against Bray Wanderers tomorrow night.

Earlier yesterday, players union (PFAI) general secretary, Stephen McGuinness, met with Coughlan to discuss the short term future of the club after which the playing staff were informed they were free agents and can leave the club if they wish.

The players also agreed to defer payment of their wages, due yesterday, until Wednesday to allow the club “every opportunity to resolve outstanding issues with the Revenue”, according to a PFAI statement.

“The players are fully behind the efforts of Mr Tom Coughlan and the club at this difficult time and they hope that every effort is made by all the stakeholders to keep Cork City Football Club in League of Ireland football. The PFAI will continue to work with the club and the players to try and secure the immediate and long-term future of the club,” the statement added.

Pat Sullivan was the first player to take advantage of free agent status – he will leave the club today and is understood to be weighing up moves to Shamrock Rovers, Drogheda United and SPL outfit Motherwell.

Bray Wanderers have confirmed they are preparing as normal for tomorrow night’s match at Turner’s Cross (kick off 7.45pm) after a proposal to bring the game forward by 24 hours to this evening was ruled out by the FAI.

It was also announced yesterday that FORAS would act as match sponsors.

A club statement welcomed this move: “With this support from FORAS the club are able to continue dialogue with a couple of key suppliers to enable the match-night experience to continue as normal. We are sure all supporters of the club would like to express their thanks to the board of management of FORAS for this sponsorship at such a crucial time.”

* Tickets for tomorrow night’s match are available online from CorkCityFC.ie, the club store at 22 Sullivan’s Quay and from the kiosk in Daunt Square. Supporters are asked to buy tickets in advance as this will assist the club in raising much-needed funds.