Decision Time - Local businessmen, politicians in summit meeting to save Derry City
THE BOARD of Directors at Dungannon Swifts may well have discussed the possibility of seeking a High Court Order to Wind-Up Derry City Football Club last night, but an equally important meeting took place in Derry's City Hotel, a meeting which could well have decided the very future of the Brandywell club.
It's believed the meeting, convened by the Derry City Board of Directors, saw leading members of the local business community plus politicians from all the local parties gather to be fully informed of the difficulties the "Candy Stripes" currently find themselves in.
While no-one at the club was prepared to comment on the meeting before the "Journal" went to Press last night, it's understood the powers that be at the Brandywell will explain the full extent of the financial difficulties with others suggesting that the club's current debts could well be in the region of 250,000.
Indeed, the vast majority of that debt is believed to be the wages owed to the club's employees, including the playing and backroom staff.
Initially, the club's employees all agreed to defer three weeks wages from August to the end of the season to help Derry City overcome what had been described as a major "cashflow problem," however, fears have since been expressed that those three weeks are unlikely to be paid.
However, compounding Derry's problems is the news that the wage bill for October - a five weeks month - were not paid on Friday last, therefore, the club's employees are currently owed a total of eight weeks wages.
By failing to pay last month's wages on Friday, Derry City has contravened the club UEFA Licensing Agreement and, unless agreements can be made with their creditors before December 21st next, then sanctions will be imposed by the FAI on the local club.
In short, Derry's financial difficulties have regularly been discussed throughout football circles - on both sides of the border - over the past week and that situation is set to continue unless agreement on a way forward was reached in the City Hotel last night.
Compounding Derry's woes was the publication of an article in a national Sunday newspaper which suggested that Dungannon Swifts also discussed the possibility of seeking a High Court Order to Wind-Up Derry City following the Brandywell club's refusal to pay the 40,000 owed to the Stangmore Park side following the pre-season transfer of Niall McGinn to Derry City.
With the local club having agreed to pay a second instalment of 10,000 by Friday last to the Co. Tyrone Irish League club - an agreement which had been reached in the High Court - Dungannon's chairman, Jarlath Faloon, appears to have lost his respect for the "Candy Stripes," suggesting that Derry's failure to pay on Friday had broken a confidentiality clause which had also been agreed in Court.
He said: "I'm absolutely exasperated by all of this. And to say that I am disappointed in Derry City would be putting it mildly.
"We had to wait eight or nine months for the original payment, but then we received no word whatsoever from Derry from the minute Niall McGinn signed for Celtic," claimed the Swifts chairman.
Mr. Faloon said following the recent Court case, Derry agreed to pay 10,000 up front, followed by a further 10,000 by last Friday and that would have left a figure of 20,000 outstanding which would also be paid in agreed instalments.
"Derry City received 200,000 from Glasgow Celtic for Niall McGinn. Derry City are fully aware that we held an agreed 20 per cent sell-on clause. Derry received the 200,000 from Celtic, yet we were totally ignored and we were certainly far from happy in that regard.
"At the High Court the clubs agreed to the payment of instalments but Derry have defaulted on the second payment, therefore, we decided that the confidentiality clause, which Derry insisted on, is now broken and we've opted to speak out," continued Mr. Faloon.
"Had the Derry Chairman opted to ring us and inform us of their difficulties, things would probably have been handled differently. We would have helped out, but no contact was made therefore we now face the possibility of going back down the legal route."
Mr. Faloon, a Dungannon barrister, went on: "We can put Derry City into liquidation now and we will discuss this issue at our Board meeting on Monday night (last night) and see what other options we have.
"We needed that money and had planned on using it to boost our budget and help the club continue progressing, but despite repeated attempts to contact Derry, we've heard nothing and we received nothing, therefore, our only option was to take them to Court."
Mr. Faloon concluded: "Before we actually reached Court, we watched Derry City sign players such as Ger O'Brien from Shamrock Rovers and David Scullion from Glentoran, with both players being paraded at separate Press Conferences. They received the money from Celtic and opted to strengthen their own squad without any consideration to Dungannon Swifts.
"To do that in front of our very noses was, in my view, simply scandalous. Our telephone calls to Derry City were never returned, we were completely ignored and our Board of Directors will decide what to do next at our meeting," he concluded.
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Weather for Derry
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 10 C to 21 C
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