5 days ago
Drogheda United's owners can't blame FAI or anyone else for European mess, the responsibility was Trivela's
THE TIMES reported on Tuesday that Liverpool are looking to buy LaLiga outfit Getafe.
Manchester City are top of the City Football Group, Chelsea and Strasbourg have the same parent company and then there is Red Bull.
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Kevin Doherty guided Drogheda United to an unlikely FAI Cup triumph last season
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Board member Conor Hoey spoke to SunSport this week about the club's dilemma
The energy drink group also has a minority stake in Leeds United.
And the individual who chairs their largest shareholder is also part of Glasgow Rangers' ownership.
Then you have Manchester United minority owner
There are reports that Newcastle United's owners will buy it if he sells.
There are also owner links between Crystal Palace and Lyon, Brighton and Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, Aston Villa and Vitoria Guimaraes plus PSG and SC Braga.
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And of course,
Last season, Manchester City and Girona, and Manchester United and Nice, were all passed to play in Europe after doing the legal bits necessary to satisfy Uefa.
And this year, Nottingham Forest were put in a blind trust by Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis for that same reason before Forest fell short on the pitch.
But they did write to Uefa
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So the worms have long since crawled out of the can when it comes to multi-club ownership and that is not going to change.
Just as members made way for rich benefactors, who were replaced by richer benefactors, oligarchs, investment vehicles and wealth funds, football finds a way to find more money.
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We can question the pros and cons of them all, but the only truly bad owners are the chancers who leave a club high and dry when the funds run out.
When the owners fund the good days, little else matters as James Montague's book 'Engulfed' highlighted in chapters talking to many Newcastle United fans.
And it is why Drogheda United members voted 90-1 for their sale to Walsall's owners Trivela in 2023.
And while the story of the Drogs since then will centre around Kevin Doherty's management and their players, it was made possible because of Trivela.
The Drogs' FAI Cup victory as a part-time club was a fairytale last year.
But it was only possible due to Trivela's largesse.
Accounts on the club's website show Drogheda made a net loss of €792,848 last season, and total liabilities exceed total assets by €1,042,185.
It is why board member Conor Hoey — who led the search for the investment that saw Trivela take over — is sure their expulsion from Europe under multi-club rules is just a blip.
He told me this week: 'This changes nothing. Trivela are still the right owner. We won the Cup because of their investment in our players and management.
'Of course we're hugely disappointed, particularly for the players and supporters, but Uefa won't break us.'
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The club can argue Uefa gave them a raw deal, and cite previous examples where they say clubs were given more time.
And one of the three arbitrators at the Court of Arbitration in Sport agreed with the grounds of their appeal.
They can also question the FAI on why they did not forward on the relevant rule changes regarding multi-club ownership to Drogheda.
Everyone in the league can wonder why no club had their arm twisted to apply for a European licence in case Drogs were expelled.
But just as clubs bear responsibility for fielding ineligible players after the FAI compounded clubs' registration mistakes, clubs should not rely on others to hold their hand.
And Trivela's first statement on the Drogs in 2023 promised 'to increase investment in the club's front-office operations' before it mentioned football or fans.
Club chairperson Ben Boycott said this week when he did list grievances, 'accountability falls on us at DUFC and at Trivela Group'.
The problem is not that there was no leeway for Drogheda, but that it was hoped there would be leeway when the issue was spotted.
Because while multi-club models are probably here to stay, it is up to clubs to navigate it.
After all, Silkeborg's qualification for Europe should not have been a surprise given they had done so twice in the previous three years.
