IS THIS THE END OF A GREAT ERA AT ORIEL?

THE retirement of Gary Rogers, departure of Sean Gannon and uncertainty over the future of Dane Massey, Brian Gartland and John Mountney is starting to look like the end of an era for Dundalk Football Club.

The team that Stephen (Kenny) built and which was carried on for a time by Vinny Perth and Filippo Giovagnoli is now being dismantled slowly.

While there is an inevitability about that prospect for even the best - the Manchester United of Law, Best, Charlton and Crerand or the Leeds United of Giles, Bremner, Hunter and Charlton - can’t beat the march of time, there is a certain poignancy surfacing within Dundalk supporters that an era that brought so many great memories could be coming to an end.

That prospect, however gloomy, could be lifted if as supporters could believe as with Covid-19 that there was the hope that the club was building for the start of a new era at Oriel Park.

That hope is slowly but steadily evaporating in a cloud of rumour and speculation swirling round Oriel Park at the moment that is not healthy, and if only a quarter of stories are true they do not bode well for the future.

Inevitably, as in all pre-seasons, rumours and speculation are always rife about players coming and going, but even before the close of last season there were deeply worrying concerns about contracts not being offered to players who were the backbone of the club and who had given loyal service.

It was also reported that the length of contracts offered to some players made no sense, while the future involvement of popular backroom staff at the club has also become an issue.

Understandably the owners Peak6 needed to undertake a complete appraisal of their involvement in Dundalk, for they carried a rather bloated panel of almost 30 players during a very difficult season, paying their salaries in full during the early lockdown unlike almost all other clubs.

In addition the Covid-19 restrictions which saw clubs having to play in empty stadiums decimated income, while costs such as the burden imposed by Uefa in terms of testing, travel arrangements and accommodation would have crippled many other clubs.

Take, for example, the direction by Uefa that players and staff be tested before and after games, which meant each individual regarded as part of the Dundalk ‘bubble’ had to be tested an estimated 30 times for the 10 European games.

Some compensation was made available to clubs by Uefa for the loss of revenue from home ‘gates’ and the Covid precautions, and qualification for the group stage of the Europa League did bring its rewards in bonus payments of almost €3 million.

However, players’ wages and bonuses, extra costs, the loss of revenue from home ‘gates’ and any compensation that had to be paid to the previous coaching team all added up to the conclusion that it was a very difficult season for the club in terms of finances.

For those reasons it is quite understandable that a cautious approach is being taken by the owners to the signing of players for the new season. Neither they, nor anyone else, can be sure when crowds will be allowed return to League of Ireland football. Indeed there is the prospect that the League will not resume until May, for many clubs have indicated that they will be in no position to pay players’ wages until crowds are allowed back to their grounds.

All of these factors are obviously at the centre of the discussions within Peak6, and have no doubt formed the basis of the mandate that new sporting director Jim Magilton has been given.

He is now tasked with handling players’ contracts and it can be assumed that he is talking to the players that the club should be anxious to retain such as Michael Duffy, Cameron Dummigan, Daniel Kelly, Sean Murray, Jordan Flores and yes, veterans such as Brian Gartland and Dane Massey who still have a lot to offer.

These players need to be offered the security of contracts that are realistic, given the fact that they are full-time players, with the burden of home and family that they have to carry.

This is all leading to rumblings of discontent among supporters, many of whom have stood by the club and are content to invest again in a season ticket even though they got little value for their money last season. They do so because they love the club, but in return they need some assurance that the club is not taking the road that has led Cork City to almost extinction.

Dundalk, as they showed in their European campaign, still have the basis of a good team in the signed players, with Shields, Boyle, Cleary, Leavy, McEleney, Sloggett, Hoban and Colovic, but it needs to be augmented by re-signing a number of players on decent contracts and attracting a few newcomers.

In time crowds will be allowed back to grounds and Dundalk will need a team that can compete with Shamrock Rovers who, by acting quickly, have secured two of our best players in Gannon and Sean Hoare and nobody wants to see Duffy the next to sign on the dotted line in Tallaght.