The Commentary Box: Financial realities becoming clear by club's rebuilding policy

At the time of writing this column, Dundalk have yet to make one single new addition to their squad for the coming season. I would not be too worried about this, as I am 100 per cent sure that manager Stephen O’Donnell has ear marked who he wishes to sign.

As the Oriel boss looks set to look to the UK to bring in any new arrivals, he has to wait until the transfer window opens there to see what his options are.

It looks like he may also have to agree to loan arrangements to bring in any UK players who join the club. This is very unsatisfactory. But what can the manager do about it. The answer is nothing.

But it does look as if the manager is operating under a strict budget limit for new players and that would be very worrying. Dundalk were able to bring in Mark Connolly to the club on loan last season. Connolly was a massive player for Dundalk at centre half.

He turned out to be the best centre half in the country by far when the season finished last month, as seen by him winning a cup medal. Sadly, the medal was won with Derry City and not Dundalk.

Connolly came to Oriel last January on loan from Scottish club Dundee United. The hope was that the Scottish club would allow Connolly to stay until the end of the League of Ireland season, which was last month.

But Dundee United threw a spammer in the works when they decided to sell the defender in July. They were well within their rights to do so. Dundalk just could not compete with the asking price. Along came Derry City Manager Ruaidhri Higgins who snapped up the big Clones man.

The Lilywhites could just not compete with the riches Derry City now have. Connolly made 20 League appearances with Dundalk. But the shock of losing their big centre half at the end of July saw our defence open like a sieve.

They leaked goals from all over the place. First Division outfit Wexford were very unlucky not to beat them in the cup, scoring two against what had now become a very shaky defence. UCD and Drogheda United beat them on their own grounds.

Then First Division side Waterford United ripped the Dundalk defence apart in round three of the FAI cup, beating them 3-1. Sligo Rovers also beat Dundalk in that very tough period following the departure of Connolly. But the result was reversed as Sligo had mistakenly played a player who was on the suspension list.

Stephen O’Donnell had brought in Robbie McCourt to replace Connolly. They paid a transfer fee for him also and gave him a contract for next season too. But the move just did not work. McCourt failed to impress in the few games he did play.

And he was hit with a bad injury that kept him out for a number of games. Dundalk were in danger of losing the European spot right up until the second last game of the season. The win over Bohemians at Oriel guaranteed Dundalk European football next season.

This was earned by O’Donnell moving Lewis Macari into his usual position with Stoke City of centre half. John Mountney’s return from injury and placement to right full strengthened the Dundalk rear-guard considerably for the rest of the season.

It helped the Lilywhites go on to win their place in Europe. But the loss of Mark Connolly at the end of July could have cost them that place. Thankfully O’Donnell moved Lewis Macari to the role of centre half and the defence became stronger.

There was speculation that on loan midfielder Stephen Bradley could return to Dundalk from Hibernian next season. But news emerged during the week that Livingston have thrashed out a deal with Hibs for the young striker come midfield player.

Bradley agreed a long-term deal with Livingston which brings him much stability for the future. He won’t be able to officially play for them until January. The 20-year-old has netted twice for his new side in friendlies in Turkey and Latvia.

Bradley was in the last six months of his contract with Hibs. Their boss is cutting his squad so he can make his own January additions.

Meanwhile there has been no word what Hibernian intend to do with midfielder Runar Hauge. Speculation linked him to an on-loan return to Oriel a number of weeks ago. He came to Ireland in July.

Runar took time to settle at Oriel. But when he did, he turned out to be an exciting player who could rip through defences. Latest indications are that he will be staying with Hibs and not returning here.

Missing Transfer Targets

Dundalk have lost out on a number of possible signings in the close season so far. They lost out on possible signings from UCD, along with some other the players too.

The fact that Dundalk seem to be losing players to other clubs maybe reflects possible budgetary limits Stephen O’Donnell must operate under.

A few years ago, had Stephen Kenny wanted Mark Connolly, he would have got him. Understandably, the current owners must watch their spending, considering the fact they took over a club a year ago that was a basket case in every respect.

But they must not leave their manager having to cut corners either. It’s vital he gets the money he needs to get the right players and preferably not just those on loan. If Dundalk want to strongly contest in the league next season, they will need a very strong squad.

Derry City and Shamrock Rovers are light years ahead of us as far as financial riches are concerned. But they can still compete with them if they can get the right players.

I’ve already said I have no doubt Stephen O’Donnell is working very hard on his plans to rebuild. But the owners have a major role to play in giving O’Donnell the money he needs to get the players.

Dundalk are nowhere near being prepared for the coming season. They need a new centre half. With Lewis Macari gone back to Stoke, O’Donnell must ensure Andy Boyle has as good a player with him at centre half to partner him.

He needs to sign a full back and more midfielders, along with a striker. The Galwegian needs a much bigger squad than last season. One reason would be it’s needed for Europe. The second reason is that there are a number of injury prone players in the squad.

Dundalk were missing six or seven first team players through injury in the last three months of last season. If that happens next year, they will not be able to compete without a strong squad.

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Spending Levels

And the more I write this, the more I feel the owners must have a strong spending limit on the manager. If they can’t even sign players like Evan Caffrey and Thomas Lonergan from UCD and Ben McCormack who was a free agent, then something is not adding up.

Surely, they could have gone for Stephen Bradley when Hibs put him on the transfer list. Ben McCormack was heavily linked with the club up to a couple of weeks ago. He was signed back by St Pat’s last Tuesday.

The owners of Dundalk FC must realize that if they are not prepared to spend to get a strong squad, they will end up with a mid-table team going nowhere. The league will be much stronger and more competitive next season.

Pat’s have extra money at hand for next season. Hence Ben McCormack decided to stay. Three UCD players were being chased by Dundalk. They moved to other clubs. Cork City are back in the Premier Division and have plenty of money to spend.

Shelbourne are getting more money injected into the club. Damien Duff has already signed new players for next season. Sligo Rovers have signed at least four new players for next season. They look strong.

From the outside looking in, it really looks as if the owners have put strong financial brakes on at Oriel in regards to signing players. I’ve been wrong in the past. I can only hope I’m wrong again on this.

Of course, in relation to players’ wages, a new structure comes in for all clubs from next season. Senior League of Ireland full-time players who are aged 20 or over are guaranteed a minimum wage of €430 euro a week.

Part-time players will be paid a minimum of €130 a week. They will now be guaranteed payment from the beginning of pre-season, as full-time players are. All players, both part-time and full time, must also be paid during the mid-season break.

This is all very welcome. But it’s also a reminder to clubs to budget properly and not run into financial difficulty. Correct spending on the right players can bring much success. Dundalk has seen that in the Kenny/Perth era.

The club has also seen a huge amount of income wasted, such as in the last season under Peak6 two years ago. There are only two part time clubs in the league. They are Drogheda United and UCD.

With everyone else full-time, the players available to sign will go to the club who pays most. Dundalk must not go down that road. But nor must they shy away from coming up with the money when they have a chance to bring a good player to Oriel.

2023 Fixtures List

The fixture list for the new season came out last Wednesday. Dundalk start their season on the 17th of February with a home game against UCD. A week later they are away to Bohemians on the 24th of February.

The month of March sees two home games in three days against Pat’s and Shelbourne. The 10th of March sees them traveling to joint League favourites Derry City, with an away game again on St Patrick’s day against Drogheda United in the first Louth Derby of the season.

They host champions Shamrock Rovers in Oriel on March 31st and are at home to Derry City on 14th April 14th and also to Drogheda United on 28th April 28th.They are away to Derry again on 15th May 15th, but on 2nd June they play Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght.

The Lilywhites square off against Shamrock Rovers for the 3rd time of the season at Oriel on the 30th of June. Their last clash with the champions is on 25th August in Tallaght. Dundalk’s last clash with Derry is on the 1st of September at Oriel.

Season long passes are on the way back on for LOI TV next season. The FAI are in advanced talks with clubs about adjusting the subscription for the existing streaming service.

It will include the Premier and First Division and the Women’s Premier Division. Many supporters throughout the league would be delighted to see the pass returning for the 2023 season.

At the start of last season some clubs feared attendances and season ticket sales would be hit if LOITV season tickets were on sale again. Instead, fans could only purchase live match streams on a game-by-game basis for €7. First Division games had a charge of €5 with no bundled option available.

Last season’s venture was profitable and clubs financially benefited from it. But the huge increase in supporters attending games since the end of the Covid restrictions has given clubs the confidence that a bundled streaming package for all games is unlikely to have any negative effect for the coming season.

Prices have yet to be confirmed. It’s understood it will be announced after Christmas.

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Dundalk set to begin and end the year against UCD

Training Camps

Derry City have decided that the squad will travel to Spain in January. The Brandywell men are going to Alicante from 24th January to 30th January. They will train at the Real Club De Golf Campoamor complex. This was used by Dundalk in the Kenny/Perth era.

It’s amazing that Derry City have signed five players from Dundalk in the past 12 months. Now they are going to train where Dundalk used to train pre-season.

To be frank, Derry is 100 per cent correct in going there. It helped Stephen Kenny and Vinny Perth to win the League five times and amass millions for the club by their ventures in Europe. That money was wasted and now the new owners of Dundalk cannot afford what was done in the Kenny era.

But with hopes for success in Europe next season, maybe there will be money for Stephen O’Donnell to take his team to Spain next season.

Final Thoughts

The UEFA documentary on the late great Jimmy Hasty has been completed. It’s one of three documentaries UEFA wanted done on three players from the past in European and domestic football. The documentary makers tell me the three will air sometime in the new Year.

I’m not sure which channel the documentary will be aired on. John Murphy is featured on the programme, along with Francie Callan who played with Jimmy on the Dundalk 1962-63 league winning team and in Europe against FC Zurich In Switzerland.

Jimmy scored in that European 2nd leg which Dundalk won 3-2. Zurich went through on aggregate. But Dundalk were the first Irish team to win an away game in a European competition.

Jimmy was a one-armed player. He was a leading goal scorer for the club for two years running. Jimmy was shot dead by loyalist terrorists on 11th October 1974. He died simply because he was a catholic.

The documentary makers have also interviewed Jimmy’s family in Belfast, including his eldest son. They interviewed Jimmy’s friends in Belfast and also players who were on the Newry FC team where Jimmy started his playing career before coming to Oriel.

Rare footage will also be screened of the first ever European competitive game played at Oriel between Dundalk and Vasas Budapest. This was in September 1967. It was also the first ever floodlit game to be played outside Dublin.

The documentary really is something to look forward to. I will keep you posted on any news I get when it’s going to be aired.

The FAI were forced to adjourn it’s AGM for the second time last Thursday night. Neil O’Riordan of the Irish Sun says the original meeting was held in person last July. Thursday’s AGM was held online and was to ratify five directors to the board of the FAI.

However, technical developments happened which prevented the voting from going ahead. Members were to receive separate emails for each of the candidates running for the board of the FAI. They had five minutes to vote for or against.

Delegates quickly reported not receiving emails or being unable to access them despite being issued with multiple one-time codes. As it was impossible to validate the voting, the AGM was adjourned.

Can I take this opportunity to wish everybody a happy and peaceful Christmas. Please look after each other and always remember to be careful out there.