Athlone Town FC - Time to call it a day?

Its a combination of factors. The current executive committee consists really of 2 lads. These 2 seemed to have annoyed the supporters and won't step down. However i've only ever seen people suggest that the committee step down.

They should step down but theres no mention of what the plan is after that. Theres talk of a group of people willing to step in and run the club, but its all very vague cloak and dagger stuff. if the appetite is there then it won't be a hard job to remove the committee but Athlone's problem is just that, very little appetite. Its said that crowds will come back once these lads are gone and that links between the community and the club will improve then. But from my recollection, links between the club and the community had deteriorated even before the current regime took the reigns.

So even though I agree they should stand down, to say that this alone will solve the clubs problems is wide of the mark.

An emergency meeting in the last couple of weeks had a max of maybe 50 people. If more people actually cared and formulated a proper plan of action then they could get rid of the board and start afresh. But as it stands there seems to be a pretty tame effort in trying to oust them and plenty of whinging.

Amazing how everyone has a story about the glory days of their visit to watch ATFC, and how they are outraged at how it has come to this. It has come to this because the appetite is not there to watch them.

More action and less whinging would be a start. People with more understanding of running a club and how to engage with local business, nurture links with schools, the junior football clubs in the midlands region, get the club to train in athlone and go amateur for a start.

ATFC is not a viable option for a young Athlone based player who would have to pay his own way to train in Dublin week in week out. The first team roll in on friday, pick up their expenses (or not as is the case now) and then they are next seen again in 2 weeks time for the next home game.

Its pure nonsense. Going "all local" is insular sounding, but you need a local heart to the club and then pad it out with other players to make up the numbers. It stands to reason that a local player (if the ability is there obviously) will have his family and friends paying at the gate to watch. And if Athlone get a hiding for a few seasons then so be it. Its not like they are not rooted to the bottom places in the table under the current model.

Hopefully some people with a bit of vision come to the forefront, people with a bit of passion and get up and go. Rather than just wallowing and whinging

CSF wrote: »

I don't get why Athlone would cease to have a football club. Why not just accept their place in the pecking order in that to compete for a Premier Division spot they'll have to work harder to unearth gems that other teams aren't looking at, and work on bringing through young players, rather than be able to sign proven players like clubs with more income can.

Are there actual examples of it ever working for teams in Irish football who threw money they couldn't afford in the hope that the success it would bring would create the money to pay the shortfall, and the long-term was fine? I honestly can't think of one so why do teams keep trying it?

If you're a team with 300ish attendances and limited alternative income streams, budget accordingly, if you're a team with 700ish attendances and limited alternative alternative income streams then you can stretch a little bit further but realistically you still have to accept your place in the pecking order and hope you can still create success without throwing money at it.

We can blame the FAI for Delaney not being the brightest or most charismatic, we can blame the FAI for doing a terrible job of advertising the league, reasonable arguments. But blaming the FAI for teams going bust? Nah not having that. If you're a team under a certain amount of income then you're going to have to go amateur (a large number of Shels players for instance would be on amateur deals), if you're a team who can't afford the basic costs of running a LOI club on your amount of income, then the LOI probably isn't the place for you. But I don't think Athlone or Monaghan actually fitted that description, they were just run terribly.

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Might be a good idea for Willow Park FC and St Peters FC to have substantial shareholdings in ATFC going forward. It would provide some experienced counterbalance to a single group of shareholders running the club as they see fit and tie their youth players into a pathway to LOI football even if it is only league one the first division

two excellent posts. Actual thoughts and ideas about what can be done. CSF you are absolutely spot on in relation to the current model (not just with Athlone) being unsustainable.

Its based on someone running it at a loss in the hope it will lead to something greater. And its been that way for years, with no sign of anything "bigger" on the horizon. Domestic clubs lurch on from one catastrophe to the next. Even the more perceived successful clubs are one investor pull out away from disaster.

Je Suis jean mentioned Athlone offering shareholdings to larger junior clubs, this definately has some merit. The best young players in the region simply have to have a pathway or aspirations of playing for ATFC.

Its a symptom of Irish football for years, its completely fractured.

I think Athlone even have under 15s and 16s who are successful in the DDSL premier this season, which has traditionally been the shop window for young lads going to England. So in time, surely the talent is there to play for the first team.

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

I don't think everyone is whinging, I'm not and I apologise if I gave that impression. I'm curious about how things got to this point and disappointed that they have bit I haven't lived in Athlone for 30 years so I have little to offer.

You on the other hand sound plugged into the club, energetic and have positive ideas. What's stopping you going to the meetings, putting forward your ideas and offering to get involved in turning the club around? Genuine question.

Can Athlone be rebuilt to a point it is a financially sustainable LOI club? Personally I don't think so. There is too much competition for the limited time and discretionary spend people in the general Athlone area have to support local sports.

I hope I'm wrong.

I didn't mean to give the impression I thought you were whinging, you clearly were not. I was complimenting you on a great post and outside the box idea of offering shareholdings to the junior clubs.

I do sound plugged in to the club and the general area but like yourself its been a good few years since I lived in the area.

As for Athlone being rebuilt to a point its a financially sustainable LOI club? I think the future is to develop the youth of the area and give them LOI experience in the long term. Get the best players in Athlone playing for ATFC. And the really good ones will use it as a stepping stone to make a career elsewhere which is a purpose in itself. If the club are bottom of the league doing this then its not that different to how things are now. Athlone are not pulling up any trees paying out of towners to train in dublin.

Amateur football is the way to go, even use it as a shop window to move elsewhere. Local goodwill, closer links to schools/businesses, junior clubs having a say, and from an underage perspective having all roads leading towards the athlone town first team. Who knows what would be possible, but at least unsustainable costs of paying LOI journeymen 50 or 100euro a week to sit bottom of the league would be a thing of the past.

You also cultivate a culture where people are more likely to volunteer for their local football team that gives a fair crack to young lads of the area to compete on a national level. Their friends and family paying at the gate come rain or shine also nurtures a following in itself.