League of Ireland football needs more professional skills off the field, writes former commissioner Roy Dooney

ANOTHER CHAOTIC Eircom League season draws to a close this weekend and the 2008 season will be remembered more for its financial and boardroom troubles than Bohemians' runaway victory in the table.

Bohemians' championship win was spoilt by the recent High Court ruling which adds Dalymount Park to the lengthening list of league grounds where ambitious development plans have failed to materialise.

Indeed, the words used by Mr Justice Edwards to describe the negotiations between Bohemians and a developer - "brinkmanship" and "posturing" - effectively summarise many clubs' attempts to keep their financial heads above water.

The turmoil at Dalymount is symptomatic of a wider problem among clubs to manage major capital projects to successful on-budget and on-time conclusions. While the circumstances in each case are different, the outcome is depressingly similar.

The collapse of Drogheda United's plans for a new stadium forced the club into receivership and lost points. Shamrock Rovers' move to Tallaght, while imminent at last, has been beset by cost and time over-runs.

Other clubs, for various reasons, have also failed to deliver on development plans. Bray Wanderers have had ambitious plans for the Carlisle Grounds on and off the drawing board for years. Shelbourne's efforts to sell Tolka Park were always opaque while the late Ollie Byrne was in command but mooted moves to north Co Dublin have never materialised.

Unrelated to a stadium deal, but still a major financial embarrassment, Cork City's backers Arkaga walked away mid-season, the club went into examinership and had points deducted. Several other clubs also hit financial turmoil too as mid-season cuts were implemented.

If one or two clubs were in difficulty, it might be just bad luck. But the large scale inability of so many clubs to manage their affairs suggests a more fundamental problem rooted in the fact that the league clubs are not viable entities with the professional resources currently at their disposal. Unless there is a major strengthening of boardroom capacity the failures of this season are likely to reoccur.

As currently operated, the business model for the League of Ireland clubs does not work. It is impossible to make income from spectators, fans and television match player wage bills and team running costs.

Despite heroic efforts, all sorts of other ancillary fund-raising such as raffles, dinners and golf classics are unable to close the gap.

Even when the income comes in, the temptation to cut corners is huge. Paying €50,000 to keep a goal scorer for half a season is always more tempting than dealing with a tax demand or VAT return. When one club is tax compliant in a competitive league, and their rivals are not, it is simply a form of cheating and distortion of competition that disadvantages the honest and rewards the dishonest.

League of Ireland soccer is unattractive to sponsors compared to rugby and GAA; matches are overwhelmingly attended by working-class males under the age of 30; a less than attractive demographic for most products and services. Corporate hospitality and high-class facilities at grounds are still almost non-existent - another negative when it comes to drawing the moneyed crowd in.

Its working-class roots restrict soccer's access to big hitters.

Since for many years it has been the middle-classes who have had the most access to and benefit from higher education, it is not surprising that the soccer community cannot call on professional resources for volunteer help on the same scale as other major sports.

Soccer has never been able to draw sufficient strength from the skills of the professional classes similar to rugby and Gaelic games. It is in huge need of professionals who can manage big projects, realistic budgets and offer serious legal and marketing advice.

The smooth rugby redevelopments at Thomond Park and Donnybrook in recent years, and countless other GAA club grounds, are examples of how properly run, well-managed projects can be delivered when the right professional support and advice is to hand.

While US-based property tycoon Garrett Kelleher has backed St Patrick's Athletic up to a point, the League of Ireland has continuously failed to attract heavyweight financial backers with blue-chip reputations and professional acumen. Dermot Desmond has ploughed his considerable ability into Celtic in Scotland. Irish property entrepreneur Darragh MacAnthony has put his money into Peterborough United in England rather than an Irish club.

In towns and cities around the country - Waterford, Sligo, Galway - the local business community is worn out from requests for yet another final contribution to sort out the annual funding crisis. The clubs have never shown the ability to work their own way to sustained financial stability. Usually run by well-meaning but massively over-stretched committees and boards, their past failings act as a deterrent to new people to come on board.

The FAI's club licensing system has been of limited help in raising standards but it is still clearly inadequate to regulate what has been going on. In the light of events this season, it is astonishing that the FAI could boast that the clubs were effectively in such good order that the licensing appeals body did not even need to meet to consider a single licence award for 2008.

The only way to reform the clubs' leadership and professional resources is for the FAI to take a firmer hand and insist on reform.

This could be through an overhaul of the club licensing process supported by the professional regulatory bodies. Clubs seeking a licence for the 2009 season should not be readmitted to the league until they can satisfy the FAI, with much more rigour than previously applied, that they have the acumen to run a business.

Heavyweight property, legal and financial advice on club boards might help stop the reckless decision-making made in the short-term hope of playing success which is undermining the League.

Roy Dooney is a public relations consultant and was Commissioner of the Eircom League from 2001 to 2002.