The Commentary Box: Uncertainty reigns at Oriel as key players look set to depart the club

The season ended in utter failure on Friday night when Dundalk did not get their chance of a last route into Europe, even though they did trash bottom of the table UCD 5-1 at the Belfield Bowl. Sadly, Drogheda United could not do their Louth neighbours a favour when they were beaten 4-2 by Shelbourne. Drogheda were two up at halftime. But their challenge collapsed in the second half when the Tolka Park side crashed four past them to win comfortably in the end. Shelbourne deserve their fourth place.

Dundalk have just been so poor too many times this season. It meant they did not really deserve a chance of getting into Europe. Shelbourne must now wait until next Sunday and hope that Pats beat Bohemians in the FAI cup final, to ensure they do get into Europe.

Dundalk were chasing the game for the entire first half when Michael Gallagher scored at the far post to give UCD the lead on seven minutes. It was an awful goal to give away. And as the Shelbourne game seemed to be going Dundalk’s way, it was all falling apart at Belfield. 

But then Dundalk got back into the game. Paul Doyle levelled it up on 34 minutes, shooting home a loose ball to the net. Dundalk finished the first half by totally dominating. But they could not get the lead. That did not come until 64 minutes when Pat Hoban set Daryl Horgan away. He scored with ease. Dundalk then got two further quick goals, making it three inside 7 minutes to finish the season in style. Yet it also had all the hallmarks of the end of a great era since Stephen Kenny arrived in December 2012 to now. Pat Hoban struck twice with top class goals. Daniel Kelly also had another great goal signalling the end of his career at Oriel as his contract with Dundalk is now over.

There is massive uncertainty about what happens next. One thing for sure is that Pat Hoban will not be returning. In a detailed interview with me after the game, Dundalk’s all time record goal scorer confirmed there would be no going back and that the game in Belfield would be his last game with the Oriel Park side. Hoban knocked on the head any chance of a change in the situation. He said once he was told he was no longer wanted at Oriel and that he could go and look for another club, that was it for him at Dundalk. 

Dundalk also look certain to lose Daniel Kelly, Gregg Sloggett, Nathan Shepperd, Darragh Leahy and Keith Ward. Even manager Stephen O’Donnell seemed uncertain at times during his post match interview whether he will be at the helm next season.

Robbie Benson is very unlikely to stay if O’Donnell does go and there could be others. Hoban still has a year of his contract to go. But once he was told he could go, this seems to be a key to seeing a mass exodus of players from Oriel. Darragh Leahy could also be on his way out of Oriel. 

Friday night reminded me of the time around 1997 when Dundalk put all their players up for sale as they were in serious financial difficulty. Dundalk were relegated that season. The question must be asked is all this turbulence with the loss of many of the outgoing squad to do with serious financial difficulties at the club. The owners have not said a word on the Hoban issue nor on the now expected exodus of players from the club. There are reported to be a number of potential investors interested in taking over the club.

The talks seem to be continuing. Nothing can be rushed in one way. But it’s just not new investors that are needed. The club needs new owners. Whether that happens remains to be seen. Perhaps that was why Stephen O’Donnell seemed a little uncertain at his post match interview on Friday as to his own future. One thing is for sure, had the current owners just communicated with supporters in any kind of regular way, then the club might not be in the absolute mess it is in now.

A few weeks ago, Stephen O’Donnell was very confident of being able to get his new squad signed, sealed and delivered within a few weeks of the season ending. He was adamant then that he would not have to put up with what he had to do for the outgoing season. That was signing four on loan players and bringing in the rest of his squad as the new season beckoned. Something has changed drastically since that time. Remarkably, that’s even as a result of the fact that the club has won 5 out of their last 6 games.

Negativity was a huge word put about at the now infamous Bohemians post match press conference. There seemed to be suggestions that the so-called negativity of the local media had an impact on the poor results at the club or at the way the club was finding itself now. That was rubbish. I am only critical when I have to be. But it’s remarkable that the Dundalk manager, seemingly knowing that Pat Hoban had been told that he could find another club, went on about the negativity around the club. He told me the club had never confirmed Hoban had been told he could go. 

Brian Gartland, who was also in attendance watching on, also said the club had confirmed nothing about Hoban being told to go. Meanwhile, at another level in the Youth Development Centre just after that tempestuous interview, Hoban was confirming to a local reporter that the reports were true and that he had been basically told to go.

Saturday brought confirmation about two other pieces of bad news that have been known by many for some time. Dundalk issued a statement that goalkeeping coach Dermot O’Neill was leaving the club. Dermot is a brother of the great Alan O’Neill, who was so successful at Oriel from 1985 until 1994. Dermot was also a reserve keeper at Oriel himself in the Jim McLoughlin era, before going on to become a top keeper in the league himself.

The second piece of bad news was that Dundalk had lost their main sponsor, Bet Regal. The company is thought to have had a lucrative deal with the club. The announcement that they were ending the link with the club has even more implications for the financial situation at the club. They were brought in by Peake 6 in their final year at Dundalk. Bet Regal issued a politically correct statement on Saturday announcing the departure. 

They said that after 3 years of being proud sponsors of Dundalk FC; they had decided that the time was right for a new name to don the front of the Lillywhite jersey. It has been known for some time that Bet Regal were pulling out of Dundalk. But to see it officially confirmed is another matter.The loss as club sponsor is as big a news as when Harp withdrew their sponsorship of Dundalk or when the Fyffes sponsorship also ended.

After the UCD game on Friday, Pat Hoban confirmed the worst when he said that he had played his last game for Dundalk. Pat was very emotional speaking. He says when he was told he could find another club, he took the news on the chin. But there is no doubt that he was gutted. He revealed he was given a reason as to why he was being let go. He did not want to reveal it after the UCD game. Hoban was clear that the full story will all come out in due course. Pat confirmed that it was the manager Stephen O’Donnell who broke the news to him. It was obvious it was going to be him according to the Dundalk striker as that was his job. Asked was O’Donnell carrying out somebody else’s orders Hoban said he could not honestly say. He had no idea.

Pat stressed that he was told he could leave Dundalk by O’Donnell and that he was not going to stay where he was not wanted. The Dundalk star feels that he still has a lot to give to the game. He says he is only 32 and still has a lot to contribute on the field. Pat confirmed he has had plenty of offers since the news broke from other clubs. But he told me he was not going to tell me. It would appear he has had most of his offers from within the country and one from abroad. The Dundalk ace sees the offer from abroad as not being an option. Hoban felt he would always end his career at Dundalk. He said he has made his peace with the decision and he emphasised clearly that it can not be reversed.

Pat said loyalty and trust is massive in the game for him. That had been broken as far as the Dundalk all time leading goal scorer was concerned. Pat says that what happened at last week’s press conference by Stephen O’Donnell to the local media and his denial that the club had yet to confirm his departure was their way of dealing with his own post match statement. He said he decided to do it because of the things he had seen online and on social media.

Hoban says he wanted to put the record straight, and that was he was told that he could find another club and that he would not be playing with Dundalk next season. I just find this shocking. Why did the owners not come out and confirm or deny what Pat had said? Instead, they chose to ignore what is seen as one of the biggest stories seen at Oriel in years and just say nothing.

Hoban emphasised that he feels the fans knew that he would always give his all for the jersey. He says they saw that when he came on against Bohemians last week and that he hoped they saw it against UCD last Friday. 

Pat says Friday night was the last time he would be putting on a Dundalk FC jersey but that it will not be the last time he will be putting on a jersey to play against them. He says he will be playing against Dundalk in Oriel park next season. Pat says he was very happy to finish his goal tally with Dundalk of 150 goals. Getting two goals on Friday night was fantastic. He says he got 15 goals for Dundalk this season. He always likes to get more goals than that considering he was available to play for most of the season.If you play 36 games in a league he says you like to be getting near the 20 mark.

Pat confirmed he was given the news he could leave the club on the Tuesday before the Bohemians game. Pat says he feels Dundalk have shown a small doubt about his ability. He says this will be the biggest factor and motivator as he moves forward. He says he loves when people doubt him.

Dundalk goalkeeper Nathan Shepperd says it was the inconsistent results at times throughout the season that killed the team. He says they should have been further up the table. Nathan did not rule out that he would be staying at Dundalk next season. He says the main thing for him was that he got top level games over the past two seasons. The outcome of the investor talks will play a big factor in deciding whether he will end up in Oriel again next season. Nathan says it was nobody’s fault. The inconsistencies were not helped by loan players leaving early and the fact that the team had so many injuries. He said players coming in for just one game and then getting long-term injuries, of course, would have upset the balance of the team. Players having to play out of position also did not help. Nathan says that it has to be accepted that these were some of the factors that have meant Dundalk finished in the league where they were.

The young Welshman says that despite all the factors that contributed to the team’s season ending up the way it did, it was still very disappointing the way it ended. Asked was it true that his agent has been talking to Shamrock Rovers, Nathan says he did not believe that to be so as far as he knew. He says he certainly had not been told anything. He says he has not spoken to anyone as yet. Nathan says he appreciated being held in such high esteem by the Dundalk supporters. He says he felt the love and appreciation shown to him by Dundalk fans since the early league games of his first season at Oriel. He says that this was always massive as a player. The man who many see as being the key reason why Dundalk did so well in season 2022 helping them into Europe, finished up by saying it has been an amazing two years for him at Dundalk.

The way Dundalk have handled the whole Pat Hoban story has been a shambles. They should have issued a statement after Pat was told he was free to leave Dundalk. Instead, they have said nothing. Even after the press conference against Bohemians, they have said nothing up to the time I am writing this article. The fans deserve much better. Pat Hoban deserves much better. The veil of seeming silence in the way the club has operated has caused so much disquiet among supporters. I have no doubt the owners have had the good of the club at heart and that they are all good people. But their own club management side could and should have been much better. The Pat Hoban debacle is just the latest issue. Where they go from here, I do not know. I just have a gut belief the club needs new owners who will be much more proactive in dealing with supporters in dealing with the community.

They must issue their short, medium and long-term aims as to what path they want to bring the club. Of course, owners can not tell supporters everything. But enough is enough. The way confidence has slipped among supporters.

The way the club has been allowed to drift must end. Maybe the current owners can change things. I do not know.

I can remember way back to 1973. when Dundalk FC was on its knees. Ownership changed. The club was taken over by some very forward thinking local businessmen. The club finished second from bottom in the league just as the takeover went through. They had to reapply to play in the league again the following season. They were readmitted. The board signed such players like Tony Kavanagh, who is a Lillywhite icon. They appointed John Smyth for the new season. The Londoner guided Dundalk to mid-table in the league and packed the place out every Sunday. A year later in November 1974 they appointed the greatest ever manager in League of Ireland history. Jim Mcloughlin changed the club forever. The move of new owners coming in to Oriel has had its successes. The supporters Co-Op saved the club in the late 1990s and won the cup in 2002.

Gerry Mathews saved the club from extinction as the Co-Op’s reign faded. He has been a man who has not been given half the credit he deserves. A well-known soccer personality stopped me in Clanbrassil street last Friday week and said there should be a statue built in his honour. Gerry did huge infrastructural changes to Oriel. One of course is the Youth Development Centre. But as the economic crisis hit when the International Monetary Fund arrived in Ireland signalling an economic emergency in 2011, Gerry announced he was pulling out of the club.

Then came more new owners. Andy Connolly and Paul Browne took the club over. Dundalk had just survived a play off to hold on to their Premier Division status. Again, the rest is history as the club once again rose from the ashes and had unprecedented success. The two business men sold the club in a very good financial state in 2018. Peake 6 took over. Again, there is no doubt they were good people. The club did run into difficulty and Peake 6 sold the club back to Andy Connolly and Stats Sports.

Everybody was delighted at the news. The club was in local hands. The new owners had great intentions. But it just has not worked out for them. I do not know the financial health of the club in 2022. I can only guess. But now, as it has been in the past, the owners must at the very least give prospective investors a controlling share of the club.

There has been a lot of anger at the club losing Pat Hoban. But supporters must remember that no one player is bigger than Dundalk FC.

Have a safe week. Look after yourselves.