Thursday 3 March 2016

Shelbourne and the Red Scare


Friday night lights returns to Tolka Park tomorrow as the League of Ireland enlivens our weekends for another year. Scrub your Adidas soles clean, dust off your winter jacket, and find that matching scarf: The Reds are back. A freshly painted, from the outside at least, dilapidated stadium awaits the few hundred brave men and women who will venture down to see a young Shelbourne team play against an eager group from Cobh. 

The social aspect of renewing friendships is high on the cards for many people tomorrow night; let's hope the jovial atmosphere off the pitch resonates with the players on the pitch. Although spirits may be high amongst the Shelbourne faithful, there is a lot of disdain towards the current Board of Management, and rightly so. 

In the weeks leading up to the 2016 season, there has been a call to arms from Shelbourne Football Club. Volunteers wanted, apply immediately! However, these have only come to light after posts revealing the sheer disregard the current Board of Management have for the fans of this club appeared on the Reds Independent forum. This is just one example of the gap between the club’s management and fans. The club, frankly, needs a new dawn.

Now, this isn’t another appeal for everyone to come together and join the 1895 Trust in one big neo-socialist co-op. That should go without saying; Trust or bust and all that jazz. Although, unless there is a radical overhaul in the hierarchy of the club then extinction is imminent. The issue of Dalymount creeps over us all like an eerie shadow. For many, a move to Dalymount Park will only result in the slow death of our club. Although, without any viable alternative mooted then it appears, for now, blocking a move to Dalymount will only result in a quicker death for our club. Any recent update from the Board of Management? Of course not.

In recent history, Shelbourne has gone from a monopolistic owner in Ollie Byrne to a loyal bunch of club patrons who saved the club from collapse. It appeared, from the outside, they had nothing but loyal intentions for Shelbourne Football Club. However, it would seem their vested interests are with a select few  “good Shelbourne people”  as Joe Casey, Shelbourne chariman, once remarked at a fans forum. It is not progressive for the club to continue their social media escapades with people placed in these positions purely on personal relationships. This ‘jobs for the boys’ attitude reaffirms our archaic marketing presence. The club has even ignored offers of free advertising on Facebook. Free advertising.

Another prime example which has left many Reds in awe is the reselling of the club bar into private ownership. Nobody should make an effort to support the bar until it is back in the hands of the club. Personally, I’m appalled the club sold the bar to some charlatan, considering the loss they made from the previous private owner by swindling stock and late rent for many months. Lessons have to be learned.

One of the few enjoyable moments from last season was the positive atmosphere in the club bar. A plethora of Reds made the effort to get down early to have a pre-match pint in the club bar and to return after the match before heading on to pastures new. We knew all profits were going to the club. We were paying player’s wages while creating a welcoming atmosphere. It galvanised supporters amidst very bleak results on the pitch. If it was destined to return to private ownership, it should have been tendered to real fans of the club. If not in the hands of the club, at least it could have been in the hands of fans who would return profit to the club. Again, this forward thinking by the club is usually scoffed at. 

The current board have assisted in building this club up from the bottom. We graced the heights of the Premier Division only to be quickly shot back down to the graveyard that is the First Division. There is no denying the BoM have put the club first on many occasions but some of the self-serving egotistical decisions, which have been all too present in recent years, are overshadowing the great work which was seen at the start of their tenure on the BoM.

From the wealth and glory of the UEFA Champions League in 2004 to the near extinction of a destitute, broken club in early 2007. Shelbourne football club has been in the spotlight of Irish sport for a variety of reasons over the past two decades. Our rise and fall coincided with one of the most dramatic men in Irish sporting history – Ollie Byrne.

Tragically, the fall was authored by the intense blinding love and attachment of Byrne to this football club. He was a man with the air of an old time salesman, who saw laws and regulations as a game to beat. He was also the man who made the strongest, and most misguided, attempt yet to push Shelbourne into unimaginable heights rubbing shoulders with European super clubs. However, there is no denying that Ollie Byrne was a still a criminal fool and an enemy of all that’s decent, honourable, and true in society.

Life at our Drumcondra club is much different since Ollie Byrne's tragic death in August 2007. There are no queues along the Richmond Road as last minute tickets are desperately sought. Trips to La Coruña, Split, and Lille have been replaced with journeys to Ballybofey, Cobh, and Cabinteely. Home matches being played in front of many thousands of fans have turned into games with average attendances lingering just over the 500 mark.

The club is on its knees and to make matters worse for the long suffering diehard fans, a proposed stadium move to Dalymount Park, home to our local rivals Bohemians, seems to be a done deal behind closed doors. The current BoM are almost recluse in their nature. Social media activity is at a minimum and their insular communication resonates worry amongst the Shelbourne faithful.

The future is dark, grim, and bleak – it’s not good. Shelbourne, much like many League of Ireland clubs, is an old institution, in more ways than its age. The language and customs of a traditional Dublin – one that feels somewhat forgotten in the past decade or two – lives on at the club. Well known witty characters and a distinct attitude in the stands makes The Reds a special kind of home for many of the fans.

However, this special home for many fans is blighted by the current BoM. Ollie Byrne may have come and gone and a new Shelbourne, fighting for survival, has been borne out of his actions. We need unity to save our prestigious football club, something which will not be possible until the current Board of Management loosen their reigns on the club. 

I can’t help but think the addition of Glenisk and Pro-Stats, which first-team members had to acquire instead of commercial management at director level, are just a front. A mere ‘let’s keep the recovery going’ announcement from Shelbourne. The recovery has stopped; it’s a time for change, cooperation, and communication.

Without change, we will all be brought on another ride by misguided owners at Shelbourne Football Club. Have we learned nothing from the Ollie days? Transparency is of paramount importance if any improvement, no matter how small, will be seen in Tolka Park anytime soon. 

S.DAWSON 03/03/2016