Dundalk FC (read mod note in post #1 before posting)

house45

10green bottles wrote: »

Have you all seen the amount of DundalkFC gear that is been worn around town since Christmas? From what i hear new jobs have been created in Horseware due to the high quality and popularity of the new kit and the club have sold near 1400 shirts alone since it went on sale back in early December! That's a huge win-win situation for everyone connected with both companies.
Delighted for all concerned with this local tie in and long may they both continue to be successful

Have to agree with you there was driving about town today and over in the marshes and have to say how refreshing it is to see young and old walking around in there Dundalk coats,tops,jerseys, really makes you proud to be a Dundalk fc fan. Just can't wait for the new season to start.

MonkeyTennis

CX+ are also making Droghedas new shirt

joeysoap

MonkeyTennis wrote: »

CX+ are also making Droghedas new shirt

That's a big market!

Nesta99

joeysoap wrote: »

That's a big market!

All part of a bigger picture!!

10green bottles

Another few awards for us last night,think that's the last of them?

http://extratime.ie/newsdesk/articles/15672/dundalk-sweep-the-boards-at-swai-awards/



Back to work for the lads later today.We are 8/11 with PP to retain and get 3 in a row.That would be some achievement.
Friendlies to start in Feb.Getting a bit excited now

Dunny

Richie Towell makes his debut for Brighton.

Maenpaa, Goldson, Dunk, Ridgewell; Calderon, Holla, Ince, Chicksen; Crofts, Towell, Manu.

Currently losing 1-0 at Hull.

doncarlos

10green bottles wrote: »

Have you all seen the amount of DundalkFC gear that is been worn around town since Christmas? From what i hear new jobs have been created in Horseware due to the high quality and popularity of the new kit and the club have sold near 1400 shirts alone since it went on sale back in early December! That's a huge win-win situation for everyone connected with both companies.
Delighted for all concerned with this local tie in and long may they both continue to be successful

Was driving around earlier and seen 4 different people wearing Dundalk gear. Madness how popular the club seems to be now. It's all about branding too. The more people wearing Dundalk gear the more popular we seem and then it's easier to attract more fans.

Raoul

Dunny wrote: »

Richie Towell makes his debut for Brighton.

Maenpaa, Goldson, Dunk, Ridgewell; Calderon, Holla, Ince, Chicksen; Crofts, Towell, Manu.

Currently losing 1-0 at Hull.

Anyone hear if he did well?

THENORTHSIDER

doncarlos wrote: »

Was driving around earlier and seen 4 different people wearing Dundalk gear. Madness how popular the club seems to be now. It's all about branding too. The more people wearing Dundalk gear the more popular we seem and then it's easier to attract more fans.

As a LOI supporter ' Cork City!!!!!' it is great to hear that the merchandise side of the Dundalk is growing. Obviously and rightly so the last number of years have regenerated a positivity with respect to the club and long may it last.

Dundalk have raised the bar of the LOI and its up to the other clubs to strive to reach this level. The awards won Friday night are very much deserved and will hopefully result in more supporters through the turnstiles.

Looking forward to renewing rivalries in the new season and hopefully :cool::cool: we can get some positives from the games.

Nesta99

doncarlos wrote: »

Was driving around earlier and seen 4 different people wearing Dundalk gear. Madness how popular the club seems to be now. It's all about branding too. The more people wearing Dundalk gear the more popular we seem and then it's easier to attract more fans.

Thats it exactly, if there is a perception of being popular then popularity snowballs. We are very very lucky that we got the perfect storm with top manager, attractive style, very professional players and not falling out of Ridleys every weekend, nice kit, trophies, match night atmosphere growing along with attendance so its a more enjoyable and attractive experience and so on. Get Oriel Park fixed up some and thats the final piece. One thing is that I am really surprised about the amount of lapsed fans who wont go to games these days out of embarrassment as they didnt attend during the graveyard years.

Dunny

Nesta99 wrote: »

Thats it exactly, if there is a perception of being popular then popularity snowballs. We are very very lucky that we got the perfect storm with top manager, attractive style, very professional players and not falling out of Ridleys every weekend, nice kit, trophies, match night atmosphere growing along with attendance so its a more enjoyable and attractive experience and so on. Get Oriel Park fixed up some and thats the final piece. One thing is that I am really surprised about the amount of lapsed fans who wont go to games these days out of embarrassment as they didnt attend during the graveyard years.

Into the bins!

Ah the Sean Connor era.

10green bottles

Raoul wrote: »

Anyone hear if he did well?

He played the full 90 minutes and done well in a very tight FA cup away tie.

Chris Hughton -

"Richie Towell played 90 minutes and coped very well. The last 90 minutes he played was back in November in the Irish Cup Final and he has been training very hard to be ready for now."

Hopefully he get's another start and a another 90 mins under his belt on Tuesday v Rotherham.

joeysoap

Dunny wrote: »

Into the bins!

Ah the Sean Connor era.

I thought Sean Connor was alright. Can remember the first match after we were promoted, against a very good Bohs side and we gave a fair account of ourselves. The bad years for me were under Trevor Anderson and then Sean McCaffrey. Also those nightmare trips to Monaghan. Drogheda let us use United park for a few matches before that. No way to run a club though, it's a wonder any of us were still left at the end of it all. It didn't help that Drogheda won their one and only title when we were stuck in the sinkhole that is the first division.

Nesta99

There have been dark days indeed and the Anderson and McCaffrey eras are probably the lowest there was but the Connor time wasn't miles behind albeit for different reasons. Im all for Dundalk FC in the record books but for most red cards in a season? Nope! There was also the seedy side with 'alleged' gambling on results, players not celebrating goals hence, players with integrity wanting off the pitch. Paying players that couldn't play ie Mickey Collins. Our relief to be out of the first division and relative to what we had been watching we possibly didnt see things that objectively. I too was impressed with that first game back against Bohs and the crowd too (our average crowd 2015 was around the same as that seasons high). The cup games against Bohs too with the replay in Dalymount showing some of the spirit we were desperate for stands out. We benefitted from other clubs demise too that season. We had some decent players and some really bad ones too...still haven't figured out Harpal Singh whether he was any good or not lol. Mansaram became a shed favourite due to being really really bad in a Baba Isaka way. Connor is a character there is no doubt but would he get a job in LoI now? Thankfully we persisted as a club to these heady days!!

10green bottles

SC and a small number of players from his squad ^^^ celebrated the end of the 2009 season in McManus' pub in Seatown - which is far far away from The hustle and bustle of the Lilywhite Lounge & OP where you would reckon something like that would take place.You have to ask yourself why that happened?
McManus's pub was owned by GM at the time btw.I doubt GM done that to try and create some publicity for the pub.I was there by complete chance that night when SC walked in and said he had just been sacked! Nobody celebrated that fact right in his face but the general feeling was one of you kind of had that coming and no harm and we move on!

Daren Mansaram was a player in the John Sullivan mode imo,not great on the pitch but a total gent of it and always willing to get involved with the fans and local charities & orgs which added to both players popularity here.

Nesta99

There are more stories of that season from off field events!! Joe Miller's involvement was a positive as I reckon he was holding the football side of things together while the main man was entertaining the ladies....or buying furniture for home or suits for the next job interview and sending the bills to the Carrick Road.

dundalkfc10

10green bottles wrote: »

SC and a small number of players from his squad ^^^ celebrated the end of the 2009 season in McManus' pub in Seatown - which is far far away from The hustle and bustle of the Lilywhite Lounge & OP where you would reckon something like that would take place.You have to ask yourself why that happened?
McManus's pub was owned by GM at the time btw.I doubt GM done that to try and create some publicity for the pub.I was there by complete chance that night when SC walked in and said he had just been sacked! Nobody celebrated that fact right in his face but the general feeling was one of you kind of had that coming and no harm and we move on!

Daren Mansaram was a player in the John Sullivan mode imo,not great on the pitch but a total gent of it and always willing to get involved with the fans and local charities & orgs which added to both players popularity here.

The Same Mansaram who was out pissed as a fart 3 nights a week in Ridleys making a show of himself?

10green bottles

dundalkfc10 wrote: »

The Same Mansaram who was out pissed as a fart 3 nights a week in Ridleys making a show of himself?

What has that to do with what i said?

Nesta99

10green bottles wrote: »

What has that to do with what i said?

Well in fairness 10gb it is disrespectful to the club, his employer, by behaving in a manner that would effect his performance and would get you the sack elsewhere. But he was in with a bunch of chancers that were doing worse so probably why he didnt really give a sh1te really. Doesnt mean he wasnt a nice chap. I felt sorry for him on the pitch tbh and didnt like the irony of the shed singing about him than doubling over with the laughter when he made an ass of himself trying to head a ball. Carlton Palmer would have been be like Lionel Messi beside Mansaram:o He would have been obligated to be doing community stuff for the club and ye would hardly have sent Mickey Collins, Alex Williams or Chris Turner out as your club ambassadors.........

10green bottles

Un-pro sure,still dosen't make him a bad guy as you say and that was the only point i was making,

10green bottles

Wow!! What a hero.

A Dundalk FC coach turned lifesaver last night after helping to resuscitate a man who collapsed while playing football with his friends.

The club’s strength and conditioning coach Graham Byrne encouraged everyone to undertake a first aid course after performing CPR on the man following the incident at Dublin City University, where he works as the head of fitness in DCU Sport.

Tweeting about the incident, Byrne said: “Had to do CPR on a man tonight who collapsed playing football with his friends. Please do a first aid course it might save a life some day.”

It is understood the man is recovering at present.

Byrne has worked closely with the Dundalk FC players since Stephen Kenny took charge of the side ahead of the 2013 campaign and is attributed with the huge success having helped the players develop their fitness regimes and diet, as well as avoiding injury.

http://talkofthetown.ie/2016/01/13/dundalk-fc-coach-turns-lifesaver-after-performing-cpr-on-man-who-collapsed-playing-football/

Nesta99

GB makes a good point on people doing First Aid courses, should be part of the course for driving test or something. Ive often wondered if there is AED in Oriel Park, the Order of Malta obviously would have one match nights but a lot of people go through the doors of Oriel/Lilywhite at other times. Ok may cost a grand or so but cheap considering the importance.

10green bottles

Confirmed DundalkFC pre-season fixtures:

Feb 2 [Tues] v CliftonvilleFC - Friendly- @ Oriel Park - k/o 7;45pm
Feb 5 [Fri] v ShelbourneFC - Leinster Cup - @ Tolka Park-k/o 7:45pm
Feb 9 [Tues] v Waterford Utd - Friendly - @ Oriel Park - k/o 7;45pm
Feb 13 [Sat] v LimerickFC -Friendly- @ Markets Field - k/o 6;30pm
Feb 16 [Tuesday] v UCD -Friendly @ Oriel Park - k/o 7:45pm
Feb 19 [Fri] v Drogheda Utd -Malone Cup - @ United Park k/o 7:45pm
Feb 27 [Sat] v Cork City -Presidents Cup @ Turners Cross - k/o 2pm

joeysoap

Dundalk won the league, Dundalk won the cup. Cork were runners up in both competitions so logically the Presidents cup is between Dundalk and Cork. But why in Cork? Should it not be at the home of the double champions?

Nesta99

Im sure it would be said it was a coin toss whether true or not. Oriel Park is holding us back at this stage as it being an FAI hosted match there is a lot less to consider when match fixed for Turners Cross.

10green bottles

There is no doubt that OP is holding us back but in reality i think that any new stadium is probably 10 years away if the current b.o.m go with the FAI and the proposal linked below - Also if the greenfield site is not at DKIT then i don't see us moving.Maybe the Gaels GFC will swap with us Nesta?
http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/national-league/fai-seeks-county-council-backing-for-new-dundalk-stadium-1.2507406

Nesta99

Swapsies on Pairc na Gael lol not a hope in Hell of that happening but it would be ideal as a site and plenty of parking. No matter how old OP is it would still be an upgrade for the Gaels assuming there is space to increase pitch size. I dont think a functioning greenfield site ground is 10 years off if we are happy with one 3000 capacity stand initially, similar to Rovers. I just cant think of a suitable site really that offers what New Oriel could on the Carrick Rd. Just off the M1 South at Crumlin/Heynestown (south of Xerox) there is a large bank of IDA land that could be utilised i supppse which is 5 min walk for me these days so wouldnt bother me at all but its a good half hour walk from town.

joeysoap

Location, location, location. Oriel park has it in spades. Take the shed - how many fans in the shed walk to Oriel on match nights ? The vast majority in my opinion. Parking ? - I used to park on the Carrick Road out side the Gaol but yellow lines put a stop to that (the law of unintended consequences, they lines are to stop train passengers parking there all day). Then I parked in Lidl, now I park in Tesco. Short walk to Oriel, but I do agree the stadium is really out date. (I attended matches in the 'old' Oriel and remember the 'new' stand being built in 1966.) Not many main stands in any sport 50 years old!!!

Nesta99

I agree that there is no location in town that betters Oriel but we cant be held over a barrel for much longer so it is sensible to consider alternatives. The Drogheda chairman in his LMFM interview (thanks for the link 10gb) said that the FAI (ie JD) have identified United Park, Oriel Park and the Carlisle Grounds as the biggest problems league infrastructure wise so a new build may not be totally unattainable.

I think I mentioned before that improvements to Oriel that increases capacity cannot be considered a forgone conclusion even if the lease is sorted. There will be plenty of hoops to jump through for planning, traffic impact studies, parking facilites as parking on the footpath at St Malachy's Villas, for example, would be an issue on match nights. An agreement with Tesco and proper policing on this could be part of a solution?!
Residents could object, planning levies and those possibly outstanding(YDC) are problematic. Is there adequate services on the Carrick Rd for a potential 8000 crowd without additional pumping stations etc. So it is not beyond possible that developing a greenfield site could be at least of similar cost compared to developing Oriel.
An average of €1000 seems to be the accepted cost per parking space so a meagre 100 space car park is 100k which is a big chunk of money and when at least 500 spaces would likely be needed for planning. This is one of the reasons Droghedas planning submission 2007 or so was rejected as they had no parking facilities included.
Building a stand anywhere is on average given at €1m guesstimate per 1000 capacity and maybe more if limited by existing structures like in Oriel.
These are ballpark figures and a few of the issues that could be faced developing Oriel and/or building a new ground. Id totally prefer to stay where we are but we will have to be pragmatic. Oriel is full of history and memories but even so it isnt our original home either and i'm sure similar discussions happened when leaving the Ramparts for Oriel many years ago!

Nesta99

I agree that there is no location in town that betters Oriel but we cant be held over a barrel for much longer so it is sensible to consider alternatives. The Drogheda chairman in his LMFM interview (thanks for the link 10gb) said that the FAI (ie JD) have identified United Park, Oriel Park and the Carlisle Grounds as the biggest problems league infrastructure wise so a new build may not be totally unattainable.

I think I mentioned before that improvements to Oriel that increases capacity cannot be considered a forgone conclusion even if the lease is sorted. There will be plenty of hoops to jump through for planning, traffic impact studies, parking facilites as parking on the footpath at St Malachy's Villas, for example, would be an issue on match nights. An agreement with Tesco and proper policing on this could be part of a solution?!
Residents could object, planning levies and those possibly outstanding(YDC) are problematic. Is there adequate services on the Carrick Rd for a potential 8000 crowd without additional pumping stations etc. So it is not beyond possible that developing a greenfield site could be at least of similar cost compared to developing Oriel.
An average of €1000 seems to be the accepted cost per parking space so a meagre 100 space car park is 100k which is a big chunk of money and when at least 500 spaces would likely be needed for planning. This is one of the reasons Droghedas planning submission 2007 or so was rejected as they had no parking facilities included.
Building a stand anywhere is on average given at €1m guesstimate per 1000 capacity and maybe more if limited by existing structures like in Oriel.
These are ballpark figures and a few of the issues that could be faced developing Oriel and/or building a new ground. Id totally prefer to stay where we are but we will have to be pragmatic. Oriel is full of history and memories but even so it isnt our original home either and i'm sure similar discussions happened when leaving the Ramparts for Oriel many years ago!