Waterford FC Thread

Christy Browne

friendlyfun wrote: »

the facebook page is all for him it seems. like yeah he did good things for local soccer, but nationally he held back this country in soccer.

“He” did good things for local soccer because he used the FAI as his own personal bank account and then looked like a great fella signing clubs cheques out of “his own” money.

It’s like Escobar giving wads of cash to the locals in Medellin to keep them sweet or Al Capone opening soup kitchens. Keep the peasants on side and they’ll protect you.

And the die hard Waterford fans lap it up. If he was from Tallaght and helping out Shamrocks Rovers they’d hate his guts though. Hypocrites the lot of them. Puts me off even going to games being associated with them to be honest.

WFC1930

friendlyfun wrote: »

The amount of people defending Delaney is embarrassing. He took the tax payer for a ride, had his rent PAID for him, spent 60k on a credit card. He's our own Healy Rae.

Some very damaging points can be made about JD but this isn’t one of them... what’s he supposed to reject tons of money being offered to him.. if you were in his shoes I bet you’d obviously say nah lads it’s fine I don’t want the money

Anyway what this has to do with the WFC forum I don’t know

I’m fed up of all the JD talk on blues pages. Some clown was saying the Supporters club should come out and publicly show their disapproval of him despite it having nothing to do with WFC or the BSC.

For what it’s worth tho I can see why some of our fans defend JD, he’s done a lot for this club, junior football around the country and I’ve seen some very irrelevant points made about him (such as the Oirechtas asking why Bray nearly went to the wall last year implying it was his fault despite that club spending thousands on wages while getting crowds of 300 people). However it’s his time to go, I just hope the FAI don’t appoint a puppet from Dublin to replace him.. I think JDs biggest achievement is focusing on the development of football outside of Dublin (perhaps why his getting such a bad reception from Dublin media) and WFC have benefited from that. But as I said before it’s his time to go.

That’s my two cents but I hope people stop trying to link the controversy with him to the club.

Road-Hog

Is Delaney a born and bred waterford local....? From online research which can be unreliable I know it looks like he was born here but moved to tipp(thurles) at age of three and remained there and played underage soccer and gaa with various clubs. His old man was involved with waterford utd and became treasurer of the FAI and too became embroiled in controversy in 1996?regarding ticket money relating to the 1990 and 1994 world cups, the ‘ George the Greek’ storyand ‘night of the long knives’ sagas as they became known......’the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’ you could say re John...!

Gardner

brought the young lad on friday and was disappointed how we played. Rovers could have won by another 2 or 3.
whats being said on faceache? i don't have an account. i have being reading another thread on boards and YBIG about JD and it seems that all LOI fans hate him but WFC like him. why?

hardybuck

Road-Hog wrote: »

Is Delaney a born and bred waterford local....? From online research which can be unreliable I know it looks like he was born here but moved to tipp(thurles) at age of three and remained there and played underage soccer and gaa with various clubs. His old man was involved with waterford utd and became treasurer of the FAI and too became embroiled in controversy in 1996?regarding ticket money relating to the 1990 and 1994 world cups, the ‘ George the Greek’ storyand ‘night of the long knives’ sagas as they became known......’the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’ you could say re John...!

I had him down as Clonmel.

Waterford seemed to do well to have an opportunity to host international underage games - I'm sure it would be far handier to have them played somewhere like Tallaght.

Deise Vu

hardybuck wrote: »

I had him down as Clonmel.

Waterford seemed to do well to have an opportunity to host international underage games - I'm sure it would be far handier to have them played somewhere like Tallaght.

Delaney is the Scarlett Pimpernell. I have had personal and business dealings with him, we are similar ages and, supposedly, share a profession. We both have a shared interest in soccer having played it up to adult level. Yet I know hardly anything about the man and anything I do know is contradictory to his supposed public persona.

I know him from our kids being friendly and going to each others birthdays. Far from being the consumate politician working the room, he is silent to the point of being moronic. Maybe he is contemptuous of the rest of us, I don't know. In business he doesn't give out his mobile to anyone other than a small cohort and he will not contact you even if it is in his interests. I have no theory on that one.

He describes himself as a Waterford man but he supports Kilkenny hurling (any bandwagon I would imagine). I hope I don't need to point out on a Waterford thread, how unlikely that scenario is. He supposedly played junior soccer but I know nobody who has played with or against him. He claims to have passed the exams of the Institute of Chartered Accountants but 'didn't apply for final membership'. I'm calling BS on that one. The only way to qualify as a CA, back in our day, was via working in an accountancy practice and his background is running his fathers bakeries. There is definitely a touch of Bertie's London School of Economics degree about his supposed accountancy qualification.

The only thing I know for sure is that he has / had a house in Waterford where the ex-wife and kids live and which was his base for most of his FAI years. He also went to De La Salle secondary despite the fact that he supposedly went to Clonmel as a three year old (maybe he was a boarder?).

All in all,the man's background a total mystery.

WFC1930

hardybuck wrote: »

I had him down as Clonmel.

Waterford seemed to do well to have an opportunity to host international underage games - I'm sure it would be far handier to have them played somewhere like Tallaght.

You’re right and that’s one of the things JD was good at.. spreading football around the country.. I really do fear the FAI will appoint an idiot ceo from Dublin and a county like ourselves will miss out on these opportunities. It’s great to have some u21 qualifiers in the RSC aswell and things like that but for how much longer will that go on .

PTH2009

Back too Waterford

Away too Sligo tonight and a win is a must that will move us away from 8th/relegation zone but wont be easy as these beat Dundalk on Friday night

PTH2009

0-0 draw last night and UCD beat Cork city so we are now 6th in the table

5th- St Pats (12pts)
6th- Waterford (11pts)
7th- Cork City (11pts)
8th- Sligo Rovers (11pts)
9th- UCD (10pts)
10th- Finn Harps (2pts)

early days yet but looks like Finn Harps could finish last and be relagated as there seem a level below everyone else. We could end up having our own mini league all trying too avoid the 9th/playoff spot. Unless we improve drastically we wont finish in top 4 and get another European spot (unless we win the cup)

3pts on Friday night at home too Cork is a must

Gardner

PTH2009 wrote: »

0-0 draw last night and UCD beat Cork city so we are now 6th in the table

5th- St Pats (12pts)
6th- Waterford (11pts)
7th- Cork City (11pts)
8th- Sligo Rovers (11pts)
9th- UCD (10pts)
10th- Finn Harps (2pts)

early days yet but looks like Finn Harps could finish last and be relagated as there seem a level below everyone else. We could end up having our own mini league all trying too avoid the 9th/playoff spot. Unless we improve drastically we wont finish in top 4 and get another European spot (unless we win the cup)

3pts on Friday night at home too Cork is a must

for the first time ever i agree with PTH2009

Was at the game on Monday night as i was on business in Limerick earlier in the day. very much an average performance. Missing Browne at the back big time as Max is clearly not up to the standard and Delaney can be dodgy at times. Lunney has been a huge let down in the middle of the park as also is Duggan who drifts in and out of the game far too often. Hery was excellent though i must say. Any idea why Drinan was dropped the other night?

Only for the young lad is mad about the Club I would be considering my attendance at games for the rest of the season and the foreseeable future. that isn't down to Rennie or the players but it’s the Club and especially Lee Power. With the antics of the John Delaney and the FAI coming to fruition over the past few weeks the statement that was released by the club now seems like cronyism personally between John Delaney and Lee Power. To me because it was released by the club it seems to be the view of the Chairman, the Club and its fans. it just doesn't sit well with me whatsoever as i don't like what John Delaney stands for and the FAI in general.

anyone else feel the same?

Gardner

WFC1930 wrote: »

Some very damaging points can be made about JD but this isn’t one of them... what’s he supposed to reject tons of money being offered to him.. if you were in his shoes I bet you’d obviously say nah lads it’s fine I don’t want the money

Anyway what this has to do with the WFC forum I don’t know

I’m fed up of all the JD talk on blues pages. Some clown was saying the Supporters club should come out and publicly show their disapproval of him despite it having nothing to do with WFC or the BSC.

For what it’s worth tho I can see why some of our fans defend JD, he’s done a lot for this club, junior football around the country and I’ve seen some very irrelevant points made about him (such as the Oirechtas asking why Bray nearly went to the wall last year implying it was his fault despite that club spending thousands on wages while getting crowds of 300 people). However it’s his time to go, I just hope the FAI don’t appoint a puppet from Dublin to replace him.. I think JDs biggest achievement is focusing on the development of football outside of Dublin (perhaps why his getting such a bad reception from Dublin media) and WFC have benefited from that. But as I said before it’s his time to go.

That’s my two cents but I hope people stop trying to link the controversy with him to the club.

i'm not on faceache/twitter so i don't know the whole context of that thread but maybe the Supporters Club should. i just previously posted about this issue as it doesn't sit well with me. the Statement was released by the club which in turn shows support from Lee Power, the Club and its fans. why couldn't Mr Power issue a statement on his own behalf.
Another rep who i spoke to in Limerick on Monday is a season ticket holder and they as furious with their chairman as it does not reflect the views of its core group of fans. But maybe i'm in the minority on this. Does the vast majority of fans support Lee Power's view?

hardybuck

Many professional sports organisations have appalling corporate governance structures. FIFA would be a prime example of that, and this has to have a trickle down impact on football associations around the world.

Personally, I wouldn't expect someone like Lee Power to understand what a high level of corporate governance in a top company looks like because it's unlikely that he's ever had a chance to be in that type of environment and see what that looks like.

Therefore I wouldn't be too critical of the guy. He, like many people, probably didn't have the full facts of the case which aren't fully in the public domain yet. He probably met Delaney a few times, found him helpful on a few issues, and decided to return the favour by giving him some backing.

Johnboy1951

I must not be accessing the right places to get the information (don't do social media, but that is hardly reliable) but I have no idea what Delaney is actually being accused of.

I do know he gave the FAI a director's load, which was repaid. That is not an unusual event at all.
What is unusual and illegal, is for the accounts of the FAI to not make that information known to the auditors. Whose decision was that? The board? The accountant? An error?

Delaney had a credit card on the FAI account which he used liberally.
Hardly surprising as he spent much longer hours working than one might normally expect.
IF he made personal purchases on the card and did not repay the amounts, then who is responsible? Certainly he is in part responsible, unless of course there was some 'unofficial agreement' to ignore such purchases up to a certain amount. Again that would not be unknown in such situations.

So what have I missed that is more widely known?

BTW, I believe the FAI has been mismanaged for decades so am no great supported of Delaney. Of particular note is the team managers appointed over the years and the lack of support for some, such as ladies teams.

I have just failed to receive the information that has many people calling for his head at this time.

Anyone care to enlighten me?

Gardner

hardybuck wrote: »

Many professional sports organisations have appalling corporate governance structures. FIFA would be a prime example of that, and this has to have a trickle down impact on football associations around the world.

Personally, I wouldn't expect someone like Lee Power to understand what a high level of corporate governance in a top company looks like because it's unlikely that he's ever had a chance to be in that type of environment and see what that looks like.

Therefore I wouldn't be too critical of the guy. He, like many people, probably didn't have the full facts of the case which aren't fully in the public domain yet. He probably met Delaney a few times, found him helpful on a few issues, and decided to return the favour by giving him some backing.

While I get what you’re saying in general Hardybuck but if you look at it in way of “ah shur look what harm, he didn’t understand what he was saying” but now when you sit back and take in the events that have enfolded it’s like as if Lee Power ditched milk in favour of vodka on his corn flakes the day the Club released the statement.

hardybuck

Gardner wrote: »

While I get what you’re saying in general Hardybuck but if you look at it in way of “ah shur look what harm, he didn’t understand what he was saying” but now when you sit back and take in the events that have enfolded it’s like as if Lee Power ditched milk in favour of vodka on his corn flakes the day the Club released the statement.

Oh I agree that it doesn't look good, and I think it'll look worse as time goes on, but I just don't think we're dealing with the elite of corporate Ireland here.

hardybuck

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

I must not be accessing the right places to get the information (don't do social media, but that is hardly reliable) but I have no idea what Delaney is actually being accused of.

I do know he gave the FAI a director's load, which was repaid. That is not an unusual event at all.
What is unusual and illegal, is for the accounts of the FAI to not make that information known to the auditors. Whose decision was that? The board? The accountant? An error?

Delaney had a credit card on the FAI account which he used liberally.
Hardly surprising as he spent much longer hours working than one might normally expect.
IF he made personal purchases on the card and did not repay the amounts, then who is responsible? Certainly he is in part responsible, unless of course there was some 'unofficial agreement' to ignore such purchases up to a certain amount. Again that would not be unknown in such situations.

So what have I missed that is more widely known?

BTW, I believe the FAI has been mismanaged for decades so am no great supported of Delaney. Of particular note is the team managers appointed over the years and the lack of support for some, such as ladies teams.

I have just failed to receive the information that has many people calling for his head at this time.

Anyone care to enlighten me?

The failure to keep proper accounts, and a H4 form going to the ODCE, is a seriously grave event for any organisation. The ODCE have only had to look into this four times since the start of 2018 - and think of all the different companies out there.

Those involved may be subject to criminal proceedings, or be banned from getting involved in companies into the future, so that's a fairly shocking thing for a Chief Executive of a company to be involved with, and ultimately responsible for.

Use of company credit cards normally come with rules and procedures. If there were times where he used it in error for personal purchases, the moneys must be repaid. If he didn't that's a big issue. If he was just using it very loosely, and if rules and procedures around credit cards weren't in place, again it points to poor corporate governance and abuse of position.

The forensic audit which will most likely follow (or already be underway) may throw up a few more issues onto the table.

Johnboy1951

hardybuck wrote: »

The failure to keep proper accounts, and a H4 form going to the ODCE, is a seriously grave event for any organisation. The ODCE have only had to look into this four times since the start of 2018 - and think of all the different companies out there.

Those involved may be subject to criminal proceedings, or be banned from getting involved in companies into the future, so that's a fairly shocking thing for a Chief Executive of a company to be involved with, and ultimately responsible for.

Yes it is ...... but this did not apparently happen until after this present rise in public unrest about Delaney.

Use of company credit cards normally come with rules and procedures. If there were times where he used it in error for personal purchases, the moneys must be repaid. If he didn't that's a big issue. If he was just using it very loosely, and if rules and procedures around credit cards weren't in place, again it points to poor corporate governance and abuse of position.

The forensic audit which will most likely follow (or already be underway) may throw up a few more issues onto the table.

Indeed I agree with all that ........ but none of the above answers what has triggered this situation at this time (public outcry), which is what I was asking about. What have I missed?

The above deals with possibilities of misgovernance which will have to be attended to using the correct procedures.

As I said, I am no fan-boy, just trying to get a handle on what kicked this off.

hardybuck

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Yes it is ...... but this did not apparently happen until after this present rise in public unrest about Delaney.




Indeed I agree with all that ........ but none of the above answers what has triggered this situation at this time (public outcry), which is what I was asking about. What have I missed?

The above deals with possibilities of misgovernance which will have to be attended to using the correct procedures.

As I said, I am no fan-boy, just trying to get a handle on what kicked this off.

Oh, you can thank the Sunday Times, who became aware of the details.

The FAI tried to block it with a last minute High Court injunction the day before, which they lost, and the Sunday Times published the details.

Going to the High Court for an injunction is a very expensive, and a very dramatic response. So this raised questions and drew everyone's interest about what were they so concerned about, and who was actually going to pay for this failed injunction.

Johnboy1951

hardybuck wrote: »

Oh, you can thank the Sunday Times, who became aware of the details.

The FAI tried to block it with a last minute High Court injunction the day before, which they lost, and the Sunday Times published the details.

Going to the High Court for an injunction is a very expensive, and a very dramatic response. So this raised questions and drew everyone's interest about what were they so concerned about, and who was actually going to pay for this failed injunction.

Ah, thanks. That is the info I had failed to understand.
The Times got to know about the auditors intentions and published.

Much clearer to me now, thanks.

It's the little details that get ye

hardybuck

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Ah, thanks. That is the info I had failed to understand.
The Times got to know about the auditors intentions and published.

Much clearer to me now, thanks.

It's the little details that get ye

I think the auditors became aware of it after the Sunday Times blew it up, as auditors only come in at certain times of the year, and when they do they'll rarely go through every transaction anyway.

Johnboy1951

hardybuck wrote: »

I think the auditors became aware of it after the Sunday Times blew it up, as auditors only come in at certain times of the year, and when they do they'll rarely go through every transaction anyway.

Oh, so there must have been was likely someone who blew the whistle on the dodgy accounting practices, to the Times.

That does put a different light on it.

hardybuck

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Oh, so there must have been someone who blew the whistle on the dodgy accounting practices, to the Times.

That does put a different light on it.

I'm not sure how the Sunday Times got wind of it, but that's a definite possibility.

PTH2009

https://twitter.com/markmccadden/status/1118558481580216320?s=19

Something to do with us apparently

PTH2009

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2019/0417/1043243-st-pats-write-to-fai-over-european-qualification/

dzilla

Some disaster.

PTH2009

dzilla wrote: »

Some disaster.

Yeah should of been sorted at the end of last season

Power and co were assured we would we ok when we actually qualified but maybe were told wrong by someone

Disaster for the club and supporters who I knw some were planning too do the away trip. If we are rejected than the next few Waterford vs St Pat's games will be very fiery on and off the field.

Some sneaky pricks but if were in the same boat?

Max Powers

PTH2009 wrote: »

Yeah should of been sorted at the end of last season

Power and co were assured we would we ok when we actually qualified but maybe were told wrong by someone

Disaster for the club and supporters who I knw some were planning too do the away trip. If we are rejected than the next few Waterford vs St Pat's games will be very fiery on and off the field.

Some sneaky pricks but if were in the same boat?

No way, I wouldn't accept that if other way around, club that finished higher up the table deserves it no matter what, any sportsman/woman worth anything wouldn't entertain nonsense like that.I'd be ashamed if I was a st.pats fan. This is on a par with the pathetic stuff like can we be an extra team at the world cup after henrys handball.

hardybuck

Max Powers wrote: »

No way, I wouldn't accept that if other way around, club that finished higher up the table deserves it no matter what, any sportsman/woman worth anything wouldn't entertain nonsense like that.I'd be ashamed if I was a st.pats fan

Would you then turn down a place, and a hefty sum on money, if the team above you turned out to not be eligible?

mickmackmcgoo

Max Powers wrote:

No way, I wouldn't accept that if other way around, club that finished higher up the table deserves it no matter what, any sportsman/woman worth anything wouldn't entertain nonsense like that.I'd be ashamed if I was a st.pats fan

In fairness it's not the pats fans calling for it , it's the club . They could well have been encouraged to do it from within the FAI who knows

Max Powers

hardybuck wrote: »

Would you then turn down a place, and a hefty sum on money, if the team above you turned out to not be eligible?

We are eligible AFAIK, pats are objecting