NEXT WEEK:
League of Ireland has never been more unified
but fear only exists in your mind. It’s not real. Danger is real but fear is just a mental thing about a possible outcome. Don’t waste your time with it.
‘Dundalk is not going to disappear. If PEAK6 disappears, Dundalk isn’t going to disappear.
‘This is a club who I was reading this week has a season ticket holder from Dublin for the last 70 years. With history like that, this club won’t just disappear. It has an identity and it has a character.
‘If PEAK6 decided tomorrow that we’ll sell the club, the club will not disappear. Now, are we looking at selling it? No. Will that change? Well PEAK6 might get sold either so if you worry about things being sold you’ll never relax but while we’re here take the opportunity we present to build on Dundalk. Don’t think about what happens if PEAK6 run away. That doesn’t matter because Dundalk is here to stay and they will continue to set the standard for the league.
‘We’re certainly not going to run away but there are too many variables at this stage to say exactly what is going to happen regarding the future. I wish I could predict the future. If I could I would share it with everybody else.
‘What I do know is, we’re the best team in Ireland right now and if and when we aren’t the best team in Ireland, we have two choices: fire the coach and get new players or sell the team. I would probably say that we’ll get new players and try to figure out how to be the best team again because that’s our nature,’ he said.
Asked where he saw the club in the next five years, Bill laughed: ‘The last thing you want to do is talk about a five year plan with a 77-year-old man!’
He added: ‘Do I see Dundalk FC being here in five years? Absolutely. Can I tell you what it will look like? I hope they’re flying the banner saying they’ve won the Champions League. People might laugh at that but dreams are free and if you’re going to dream you may as well dream big.’
THE League of Ireland clubs and the FAI have never been more unified than in recent weeks, according to Dundalk FC chairman Bill Hulsizer.
The 77-year-old was recently critical of the association for their historical management of the game here but vowed to work with the new board to improve the game across the country.
With negotiations continuing to ensure the league can get back up and running this season, Hulsizer said the mood at present is positive and while there is much to be worked out, he says the current unity provides a superb base with which to work off.
‘At this point I think that the League of Ireland and the FAI are finally starting to work together,’ he said.
‘Anytime two groups agree to have a mission together there’s always going to be pluses and minuses, gives and takes but at this point I would say the FAI and the League of Ireland are on the same page.
‘I see more unity now than at any time in the past and that will help us get football back up and running.’
Hulsizer admitted it was an uncertain time for all clubs but said it was his genuine belief that everyone wanted to play football if possible.
‘I have no idea where Covid-19 is going. If I could predict the future I’d probably get out of football and go into Government because there’s more money to be made there but right now this is the most unified I’ve ever seen the League of Ireland clubs and the FAI. We all want to play football but we want to do it in the best possible way.
At the moment every club is down revenue and they were losing money to start with.
‘There’s no club in Ireland that makes money. Some might say, we had a profit but if you spend €1 million and end up with €100 excess, that’s not a profit. There’s nobody getting rich in the League of Ireland be it an owner, staff member or player but the unity at the moment can help us at least get to a better place.
‘We’ve got a long line of people who make decisions and at some point when they’re all aligned we’ll start playing football again but you’ve got the HSE, the Government, FIFA, UEFA and the FAI. It’s a process that we’re all in together,’ he said.
Hulsizer said he was continuing to work hard for Dundalk and Irish football but insisted that he looked forward to a day when there was the enjoyment of competitive action at the end of it.
‘It’s hard work. Really hard work but that’s probably the only way you can get ahead in this world, by putting in hard work.
‘I don’t mind doing all the work but I’d love to have a bit of entertainment in watching a football game as a reward.
‘I think we’re all going to have to make some calculated decisions over the next few weeks but I don’t think anybody in the world today could guarantee a solution of this virus or pandemic other than to say it’s going to be here until there’s a vaccine.
‘Hopefully we’ll be back playing soon but until then we want everyone to stay safe,’ he said.