Finn Harps Thread

ootbitb · 26-02-2010 7:51am

The prime town centre location of Finn Park was intended to pay for the new stadium in rural Stranorlar. Like the weather at present the economic climate is too chilly.

muffler · 26-02-2010 10:24am

ootbitb wrote: »

The prime town centre location of Finn Park was intended to pay for the new stadium in rural Stranorlar. Like the weather at present the economic climate is too chilly.

That would about sum it up.

fullstop · 26-02-2010 2:40pm

Goodluck2me wrote: »

Does noone think building a new stadium is just a ridiculous waste of money for a club that was lucky to stay afloat recently enough?

I think its fairly ridiculous, it's not like the club needs the extra space to fill it for games?

No. It's not costing the club, funding comes from sale of Finn Park to developers and government grants.

pauric_g · 27-02-2010 8:17pm

does anybody know about a Finn Harps based short story competition? Someone was telling me about it but they only picked up on the basic details. I couldn't find any details on the website.

Mr_A · 01-03-2010 10:35pm

Finn Park goes nowhere near meeting licensing standards. To stay in senior football we need a new ground or to massively redevelop the existing one (which we can't afford). And after many years of effort it seems to be on the verge of happening.

New Co-Op rules were passed at the AGM yesterday to facilitate a legal issue with the revenue. Hopefully this is the final bit of red tape.

Technique · 02-03-2010 12:10am

The new stadium would be something that Donegal as a whole could be really proud of. Yet again, we'll convince ourselves that it's a white elephant and will never happen, yet whine and moan about other parts of the country getting everything that is going while we're the forgotten county.

To be able to build a stadium like this with little or no outlay is a fantastic opportunity to give something to the future generations of sports fans in Donegal. We should give our full support to the volunteers who have put blood, sweat and tears into giving this project the best possible chance.

muffler · 02-03-2010 12:27am

Sorry, a wee bit OT but isnt it great to see the Finn Harps and the Donegal GAA 2010 threads neck and neck on the front page

Mr_A · 02-03-2010 12:35pm

Good news: Harps looked in fine fettle in a 5-0 win over Bonagee: http://www.finnharps.com/News/100301Bonagee.htm

Bad News: Finance Director John Meenan has resigned for personal reasons: http://www.finnharps.com/News/100301Statement.htm

The big kick off isn't too far away now, a win in Longford on Saturday night and there'd be a serious buzz around the Salthill game the following Friday.

muffler · 02-03-2010 12:56pm

Is it not time the web site was updated?

Carrickman · 02-03-2010 1:22pm

muffler wrote: »

Is it not time the web site was updated?

There is a new website being built as we speak for the start of the new season with an online club shop!

Mr_A · 03-03-2010 8:38pm

It begins.

Mr_A · 10-03-2010 8:09pm

Shay%20backs%20revive%20and%20thrive.JPG

SHAY GIVEN BACKS HARPS “REVIVE AND THRIVE CAMPAIGN”

Fair play to Shay for getting behind this, top man!

ootbitb · 11-03-2010 6:43am

bad pic of Shay. He looks like Ernest Borgnine as the Amish in High Noon there.:eek

Mr_A · 14-03-2010 8:00pm

That's more like it.

And the site looks well also.

Decent crowd at the game- the Revive and Thrive Campaign seems to have made an impact. The team were tentaive and nervous in the first half but upped things in the second and plugged away until the two great goals sealed the win. Great to see McHugh back on the scoresheet at Finn Park as well.

Mr_A · 24-03-2010 10:45am

Harps looking to make it three in a row- be there!

Great result in Monaghan- they finished last season like an express train, beat us in all three fixtures and strengthened in the close season so that result certainly indicates progress.

With things starting to click, there's a bit of a buzz about Finn Park again.

ootbitb · 24-03-2010 3:55pm

should be a decent crowd on Friday for Limerick game. Beat them and Shelbourne the week after and we might be in contention. About time we had a good season.:)

Mr_A · 01-04-2010 4:24pm

Well, Limerick certainly burst that bubble!

There's a schools international at Finn Park tomorrow night if anyone is interested.

Harps away to Shels and Ciaran Gallagher out.. twill be tough.

muffler · 01-04-2010 11:55pm

Just in case someone accuse me of being offside in relation to sports I will sticky this thread also and just like the GAA thread I'll review it again later in the year

Mr_A · 06-04-2010 5:25pm

Thanks Muffler!

Thought this might be of interest to some on here: Harps launch coach service from Donegal Town and Letterkenny.

Need win on Friday night to get back on track. It's going to be a topsy turvy kind of season and if we can just hang in there we have the quality to do ok.

Mr_A · 13-04-2010 11:13am

Planning extension granted and process on getting first grant drawdown progressing well: LINKY.

Harps · 13-04-2010 12:23pm

Link doesnt seem to work..

Probably being a bit optimistic with the way this project has progressed so far but does this mean everythings finally been cleared for building to start if the grant comes through?

And on the subject of that, why has it taken so long to get the grant considering the ground was originally supposed to be open this year?

Mr_A · 13-04-2010 4:30pm

Harps wrote: »

Link doesnt seem to work..

Probably being a bit optimistic with the way this project has progressed so far but does this mean everythings finally been cleared for building to start if the grant comes through?

And on the subject of that, why has it taken so long to get the grant considering the ground was originally supposed to be open this year?

Link works when I click it? Democrat site can be a bit temperamental at times.

Basically the delays seem to have been because of red tape/ bureaucracy. It's a very complicated project with a load of different parties and their solicitors involved. Every time its seemed like everything was in place some other detail came up and seemed to take forever to get taken care of.

But yes, once the grant comes through we should be home free.

Carrickman · 13-04-2010 10:19pm

Harps won 3-1 tonight in Castlebar in the League cup away to the dog track in the next round!

muffler · 13-04-2010 11:49pm

Carrickman wrote: »

away to the dog track in the next round!

ootbitb · 15-04-2010 6:55am

looks like three away games at the Brandy(isn't that dog food?)well and their 'kin pounds now.

Carrickman · 22-04-2010 10:54pm

Tough game tomorrow night away to Waterford.

Mr_A · 22-04-2010 11:03pm

Master of understatement Carrickman! Waterford have a superb squad for D1 and an excellent manager.

That said, I still think we might get a result, presumably because I'm mental.

Carrickman · 27-04-2010 10:41pm

Things are looking bleak at the club help needed badly to save the future of FHFC http://www.finnharps.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=208:harps-chairman-appeals-for-support&catid=39:news-from-finn-park&Itemid=101

Mr_A · 28-04-2010 10:46am

Things are bleak indeed. The 2008 season was an absolute disaster and last year it felt like the club was sleep-walking.

At least now we have a that seem board determined to tackle the issues, but they have a hell of a mountain to climb.

On the plus side the stadium project is inching forward and in general I think the club is looking to move in the right direction. But the debts are a millstone around the club's neck and could easily see us go under.

Mr_A · 28-04-2010 11:19am

So I'm sure there's a lot of people that see Harps in financial strife once again and don't see any reason they would care.

But I think Donegal takes senior football and FHFC for granted, probably because the club has generated too many negative headlines over the years. Yet there are many places all over the country that would take your hand off to have a football club like Harps in their midst. Harps bring employment (mostly part-time at the club itself admittedly) and various other economic benefits (bus hire, getting fans into pubs to drown sorrows, and occasionally even celebrate, etc.). Regardless of what you think of the club, the demise of another business with a turnover of around half a million euro is another blow to Donegal. If we can pull together and get the money together to save Harps- pretty much all that money flows straight back into the Donegal economy, often to other small/medium businesses that are also feeling the pinch.

And that's before you even start on the benefits of the sense of community and identity that the club gives. Or the outlet for young Donegal footballers to prove themselves in senior football. Or the various community work projects in schools. Or giving those of us who had to leave the area to get work another live connection to home. Or even just the fact that Harps do their little bit to keep Donegal on the map.

The club is in a unique position- teetering on the edge of oblivion yet at the same time probably closer to fulfilling its great potential than ever before. As I see it, one big push this year to ease the debt burden and get things on an even keel and the sky really is the limit. In a few years we could be playing at one of the best stadia on the island and playing our part in a vibrant, revived and confident Donegal.

So even if you don't like Harps, or football, or whatever- keeping this club going is important. Hopefully it won't be a case of the people in the Northwest only realising how important after it's gone.

That's why I'll be doing my bit to help FHFC out of this mess, and why I believe you should too.

muffler · 28-04-2010 12:12pm

One big hang up I have with this debt situation is the previous apparent failure to disclose this fact. Even in recent weeks we had a statement about how advanced and how well financed the new stadium development was or would be yet it is now being said that its in jeopardy.

I recall a situation at a public meeting about 5 or 6 years ago where a question was put to the board of directors by a member of the local press regarding the debt and they (board) more or less said "what debt" yet withing 2 months they were announcing that they owed something like over a quarter of a million Euro.

Why hide these issues and then only bring them into the public domain when all else fails?

Mr_A · 28-04-2010 2:03pm

I agree that the club should be open about these things.

The club's financial results have been available at the end of each year though, I don't think the debt has been hidden. Certainly press releases around the adoption of the review etc. acknowledged that the club's financial situation was poor.

Indeed this was one of the things that lead to the review being proposed- it was clear that if we didn't sort ourselves out as a club we were going to go under. Perhaps the review was actually too late to prevent that, time will tell.

In any case the board this year is very different to those of 5-6 years ago.

The only way the stadium project is in jeopardy is if the club go under as far as I know.

ootbitb · 08-05-2010 9:45am

This is the worst Finn Harps team I have seen or the worst managed.. possibly both.

As neither of the management team have any history of success does anyone have any suggestions for a new manager.

Obviously with money scarce he will have to be from the area and looking more for a challenge and the kudos success would bring rather than an immediate financial reward. If he failed ...well things can't get much worse anyway.

harps1954 · 18-05-2010 2:56pm

HELP THE HARPS . . . AND KEEP THE WORLD CUP INTERESTING AT THE SAME TIME.

Do you think you know who will win the World Cup this summer?

Or what teams will be in the semi-finals?

Do you know who will win the game between Portugal and Brazil on 25th June? What about Honduras and Chile on 16th June?

Well, if you think you know the answer to any of the above questions, why not enter the World Cup Prediction Competition? Just predict the results of all matches and also who will finish as the tournaments top scorer in this year's World Cup Finals which begin on Friday 11th June and you could be in line to win some excellent cash prizes.

Entry fee is €10 and half of your entry fee will go towards the prize fund and half will go to Finn Harps. The more entries we receive, the bigger the prize fund will be. 75% of the prize fund will go to the winners, 15% of the prize fund will go to the person finishing in second place and 10% will go to the person finishing in third place. Therefore, if for example there was 200 entries, €1000 would go to Finn Harps and €1000 would go into the Prize Fund and be distributed as above.

So, get predicting and get your entry in as soon as possible.

HOW TO ENTER
1. Log onto HERE then download and complete the Prediction spreadsheet. Make sure you complete all scores and predict who will be the top goalscorer from the drop-down-menu.
2. Email completed spreadsheet to finnharpsworldcup@gmail.com
3. Send payment either by Credit Card or Paypal by clicking on link on spreadsheet or at by clicking on the link on the website page as in Step 1 above. Payment can also be forwarded by post to World Cup Compeition, Finn Harps FC, Finn Park, Ballybofey, Co. Donegal.
4. Once payment has been received, your will receive a confirmation email confirming your entry. Please note, an entry will not be complete until payment is received.

P.S. – Please email details of this competition onto as many of your family and friends as possible. The more entries into the competition, the bigger the prize fund.

Mr_A · 19-05-2010 5:31pm

Note that there are pairs of tickets to next week's Ireland games to be won by anyone who enters the above before Sunday Evening

Interesting cup draw by the way- here's hoping that Bonagee can get by Crumlin and set up a Donegal derby in the FAI cup!

Mr_A · 20-05-2010 9:08pm

Stadium project inching forward: http://www.donegaldemocrat.ie/donegalsport/Work-on-Harps39-new-stadium.6305702.jp

The bearucracy involved is incredible, every little thing seems to take months

Harps · 20-05-2010 11:40pm

Wasnt the work nearing commencement 2 years ago? Its a complete joke.

In another 8-10 weeks we'll here of some other form that takes 3 months for someone to sign their name on.

muffler · 21-05-2010 12:28am

Harps wrote: »

Wasnt the work nearing commencement 2 years ago? Its a complete joke.

In another 8-10 weeks we'll here of some other form that takes 3 months for someone to sign their name on.

Sadly I have to agree.

Mr_A mentioned "bearucracy" but on who's part? Looking for an exemption from stamp duty should have been done 2 years ago.

And I find it a bit rich at a time when Harps are appealing for help from the public that the chairman would come out with a statement like this:

People have asked me how the club plan to build a stadium when the club is struggling financially, but the simple answer is that the day-to-day running of the club and the stadium development are two different things

Does he really think that people are complete fools.

Mr_A · 21-05-2010 10:20am

But they are two different things. The stadium should cost Harps very very little, the money coming from grants and the sale of the current ground.

ootbitb · 21-05-2010 12:24pm

I believe the debt will need to be paid before a block is laid.

Mr_A · 21-05-2010 1:39pm

Why would that need to happen?

The only one I can think of that would influence things would be a debt to the taxman as we could not proceed without a tax clearance cert, but that isn't an issue.

ootbitb · 30-05-2010 12:38am

thought tonight Harps played their best football this year. well played Brolly, who I thought was our best player tonight, after all the stick he received recently.

ootbitb · 16-07-2010 11:15pm

what's happened to the character selling half time draw tickets at the Chestnut Rd entrance? Haven't seen him this season.

EAFC_rdfl · 19-07-2010 1:51pm

was at fridays game, thought crossan was very good and covered up for mailey a couple of times. brolly was good in the 2nd half too. great work rate from them all for the 90 mins, good to see

muffler · 15-09-2010 10:57pm

Away from the game itself have there been any developments regarding the new stadium?

ootbitb · 16-09-2010 6:26am

the way things have gone attendance wise a new stadium would be a white elephant just now:(

Harps · 16-09-2010 11:15pm

Harps wrote: »

Wasnt the work nearing commencement 2 years ago? Its a complete joke.

In another 8-10 weeks we'll here of some other form that takes 3 months for someone to sign their name on.

Make that 4 months and counting, we'll get another 'things are on track' update soon enough I'd imagine before another familiar spell of nothing happening.

In any case theres no point going ahead with it when the club and the league as a whole are a total shambles

rushnaldo · 19-09-2010 11:26pm

In today's democrat that celtic are coming over in November and will play Harps In a friendly with half the gate going to Charity and the other half to harps

muffler · 19-09-2010 11:43pm

rushnaldo wrote: »

half the gate going to Charity and the other half to harps

Hard to tell the deference

Mint Sauce · 21-09-2010 11:54am

ootbitb wrote: »

the way things have gone attendance wise a new stadium would be a white elephant just now:(

i was at the derby match last month against sligo rovers (supporting rovers), first time in finn park, and whould have thought rather than building a new stadium, for the numbers that was there would they now be better off redeveloping the gound, save them self some money rather than build a purpose built place.

would guess the games would still be able to go ahead whist developing going ahead, ie, develop one stand/terrace at a time.

granted, a new stadium would be great for the club, but would their be the numbers to use it.

Finn Harps Thread

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