Its completely logical if you're a Hull City fan (or Coach) but none of the Dundalk fans give a **** about us or improving our team. They're moaning about the idea of being a feeder club to us. I agree with you about the standard there not being that high. However, they see themselves is big fish in that little pond. I'd be moaning too if someone bought us with the aim of using us to develop the talent of another team in a bigger division.
I don’t think the goal is to give out passports, I’m assuming it would be to get around the rule of being unable to sign U18 players from the EU
If we takeover Dundalk, the aim will be to win the league and go deep in Europe. Acun won't be buying it to take them backwards. Yes, they'll have a strong Hull City influence but that won't detract away from the desire to push them forwards too
Ha just catching up on all the posts after a busy week now Martin. There are so many pros to being part of a multi-club network, that I think it’s something to be excited about, as long as you get the right ownership group. The main pros would be the ones you’ve all discussed here, namely additional financial power/security which I believe is the main driver here, the ability to loan players from within the network of clubs (or parent club), and then an improvement to facilities needed for the parent clubs to be comfortable sending players to DFC. To compete to win not only the LOI but also progress meaningfully in Europe, the club probably needs that help now. I’d also throw in the additional benefits that come from information sharing - when I was at the club I could ask the AFCB scouting dept for all of the scouting reports over a number of years that were on the system as part of their scouting process in order to make better decisions on potential signings - the more info you have on players the more signings you’ll get right. You should also consider information sharing on best practice, from scouting to sports science, coaching to commercial. Even the ability for SOD to go and visit partner clubs to spend time with the other head coaches in the network and learn from their coaching staff would help his personal development. Generally speaking, the right club network can add a lot of value to a club with fairly modest resources such as DFC. On the flip side, the ownership needs to be mindful of protecting the culture and identity of each club within it. That strikes me as being hugely important to the people of Dundalk, and I personal experience helps me understand why. You don’t want to be considered a feeder club, you want to be known for your own success and history which cannot and will never be taken away. Other negatives may include losing some of your top talent, although this always happen when you sit where you sit in the football food chain. You have to accept you’re playing a role for a bigger group, and there will decisions made above your head, which may not have been made is the club was a sole entity. You may also have to take players on that the coach may not have necessarily chosen, but they may need a place in the EU to keep them to build points for work permit requirements in the UK etc. But these are things you can accept as long as the positives outweighs the negatives. In an ideal world you’ll find a multi club network with owners who have a strategic vision that aligns with Dundalk’s and it’s a mutually beneficial partnership.
