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Departed: Paul Cook. ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy

Short-changed: Sligo won't receive compensation for Cook

Accrington Stanley will not pay a financial package for their new manager, while Sligo begin interviews to replace him tomorrow.

SLIGO ROVERS WILL not be compensated for the departure of manager Paul Cook, it has emerged.

The Bit O’Red held an open forum last night and among several topics discussed was the news that no financial package will be coming from Accrington Stanley to soften the blow.

While the details are unclear, Cook himself released a statement on Sligo’s website this morning in which he was thankful for the support he was given during his time in charge before adding that he hadn’t personally asked for the compensation to be dropped.

He went on to warn members of the club’s managerial committee that in-fighting will get them nowhere.

“I have watched since the end of last season in my opinion constant fighting at management committee level and this has taken the club where we are today,” Cook said.

“Sligo Rovers is part of heartbeat of the town of Sligo and of the county and indeed the North West. And indeed a strong Sligo Rovers Football Club is vital to the community.

Don’t do our fighting in public there is no winner in this. Don’t criticise and witch hunt people as people are only trying their best for the club.”

There were angry and frank exchanges between those present in the Clarion Hotel last night as the club were also criticised for their handling of Aaron Greene.

The Dubliner had signed a pre-contract for next season which still entitled him to leave if another club came looking and yesterday it was confirmed that he had joined rivals Shamrock Rovers.

Greene, who has two young children,  pointed his family out as the main reason behind his move back to Tallaght in a statement of his own.

On the issue of finding a new manager, the interview process begins tomorrow as Sligo trawl through over 50 applicants in search of the right man for the job.

It had been originally hoped that the successful candidate would be in place by the end of this week but that date has been put back because of the sheer size of the task. He will be appointed before the first game of the season against Shelbourne on March 2, however.

Dozens of names have been mentioned as possible candidates in the last couple of weeks and while Kevin Kilbane and Julian Dicks have been ruled out because they don’t have the necessary coaching badges, Damien Richardson, Mike Newell, Johnny McDonnell and Willie McStay are all in the running.

Monaghan United’s Roddy Collins, meanwhile, is believed to have been overlooked.

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10 Comments
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    Mute john clarke
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    Feb 21st 2012, 11:16 PM

    I am in awe of Gerard’s contribution here. The WBA badge really says it all. West Bromich is a long way from Sligo in so many ways.

    Gerard may not realise that Paul Cook has a young family in Liverpool or that the opportunity to work at a club like Accrington which is close to his home does not come around too often. The last manager there John Coleman was there for almost 13 years. In the circumstances that Cook engineered amove out of Sligo Rovers and back to Liverpool is understandable. Though many may argue otherwise I think that giving him this opportunity was a much as Sligo owed him given the success that he has brought to the club. The lack of compensation is a blow but at the end of the day £10k is not going to make or break Sligo Rovers.

    Gerard may not understand much of this because in the world of Premier League money is counted in millions and there are no real people just images on a TV screen with as much real life to them as any other soap opera. I’m sure that in Sligo there will be many people wishing Paul Cook well and hoping that the next manger can carry on the playing good football and winning trophies.

    Gerard can of course continue to look at his TV and try to figure out how far supporting a team like WBA is from supporting a local side and having real people in your football club who have real lives..

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    Mute Gerard Fitzgerald
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    Feb 22nd 2012, 11:37 AM

    Its idiots attitudes like those two above that have had British clubs using and abusing Irish clubs and their home grown talent for decades,roy keane 35 grand ,kevin doyle and shane long even less money ,Paul mcgrath peanuts too,i am a limerick fc fan and attend all home games so your judgements on me are as inaccurate as your posts,you are ignorant presuptious and foolish,Sligo rovers for your added information are in the middle of a civil war betweeen the diehard fans whos opinions are the same as mine,ie the club has been mugged and lost a good manager to a mickey mouse club in a poor league,and the board who admit to messing up or as the board themselves put it,taking their eye of the ball,as regards compensation and finding a replacement with the season only a week away,Paul cook,s family is his priority and he should have planned accordingly and given sligo a decent chance to prepare properly for the coming season,cook is the best manager sligo have ever had and i have no problem with him returning to his roots ,but when a on off deal like this goes through this late and without compensation,its the club and the fans that lose and considering that accrington recieved 70 k sterling for losing their manager both me in and those in sligo feel that their club has been treated poorly by one and all,anyone who thinks diferently must be associated with accrington stanley or be a ignoramous who opens their cakehole without checking the facts,as i have said its idiots like these that have sold Ireland clubs short forever,thankfully the people at Derry city value their staff much higher and as a result get treated much better and fairer by british clubs,good luck to cook i love his style,but feel for sligo who have also lost some really good players recently in the confusion and again without suitable renumeration.

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    Mute john clarke
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    Feb 22nd 2012, 2:18 PM

    Glad to hear that you support you local team although obviously not enough to substitute their badge for the WBA badge.
    If we take Roy Keane’s move from Cobh as an example and look at the figures you will find that if was equivalent to approx 2.5 times Cobh’s annual gate at that time. If you look at Man U’s gate receipts of £122m in 2009/10 it would be the equivalent of them being offered a sum of £305m for a youngster who has just broken into the first team. In WBA terms it would amount to about £52m for that youngster. Fans may not be happy but I have no doubt that both clubs would take the cash. Simple fact is that due to population demographics, competition from other sports and TV LOI clubs cannot compete with big British clubs who poach players. They simply do not have the bargaining power.
    The civil war in Sligo that you refer to takes some explaining. Firstly during the years of the Cook era Rover average attendance has run at around 1400 in league games, for the cup finals it was perhaps 10 times that. If we assume that the ‘diehard fans’ that you refer to are amongst the regular 1400 you should know that approx 300 attended the forum that the Management Committee called for fans. I assume that the Management Committee members who work voluntarily are also ‘diehard fans.’
    As I understand it there were many hard words for the MC but equally many felt that the criticism was unwarranted. So even if all of those who attended were complaining at 300 people they represent a minority of the average attendance at the Shpowgrounds. I suggest that maybe they should be referred to as ‘vociferous’ more than, or perhaps as much as ‘diehard.’ Talk of civil war is way over the top as no doubt as always the support will unite behind a new manager.
    The players who you refer to as having left the club confuse me. Only Aaron Greene who had only signed a pre-contract agreement has left the club. If you read his statement you will see that if was for personal reasons and even if Paul Cook remained in charge he was likely to go in any case. Indeed if you read Paul Cooks statement you will also get an insight into his reasons for going. Both statements are available on the Club’s website.
    Accrington’s compensation figure which you mention is a bit of a red herring as this is invariably based on length of service, length of contract remaining and wage. In John Coleman’s case it would also include compensation for his backroom staff who left with him. That Rover’s received no compensation is certainly a gripe but could they have held Paul Cook against his will ? I seriously doubt that that would have been in anyone’s interest.
    Given that the Accrington vacancy came up two weeks before the season starts is unfortunate but hardly with Paul Cooks control, so I doubt that he could have planned it better. Do you suggest that he should have told Rochdale not to sack their manager until he was ready ?
    The final suggestion that Derry City is the example that clubs should follow is strange to say the least. It may have escaped you but they went bankrupt two seasons ago as a result of illegal payments to their staff, many of whom were left with tax liabilities as a result. Only yesterday they were refused permission to play European football as a result of past irregularities. Is this the model you want us all to follow ?
    Paul Cook’s legacy to Sligo Rovers is a strong squad and a reputation that has enticed many notable figures, who five years ago would never have heard of Rovers, to apply to succeed him.
    Take my advice get back into the real world and change the badge.

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    Mute ShaneGK
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    Feb 21st 2012, 6:01 PM

    Very informed and insightful comment Gerrard

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    Mute Martin Wilson
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    Feb 21st 2012, 7:26 PM

    Great comment Gerrard.
    Obviously from someone who doesnt give a shite about football on their own doorstep. If you knew anything about Cooks history you would know that Accrington Stanley was the club that he finished his career at.

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    Mute Martin Wilson
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    Feb 22nd 2012, 2:41 PM

    If you love LImerick so much Gerard, why is their a West Bromich Albion crest as your avatar?
    If Sligo are such an “amateurish Irish club” then what would you consider your so called beloved LImerick who lie a division below?

    Do you think that we dont want Irish clubs to get what they deserve? We are not disputing the fact that Sligo deserve compensation for the loss of their manager, Aaron Greene or any other member of staff under contract that should leave the club. Unfortunately for Sligo Rovers they allowed Greene to leave the club for free if another club came in for him. The reason why they did not receive compensation for Cook was not explained by the club or Cooks statements but who is to say that their wasnt a similar stipulation in his contract.

    I think you will find that it is not myself, John Clarkes or ShaneGK fault that Irish players are taken from our league for pittance(11 people currently disagree with your comment, but you have been petty and decided to single out individual “idiots attitudes”. Sour Grapes?). The blame lies at the Irish public for being lazy and sitting on their arses getting their football fix watching TV instead of going to games on their doorstep with family and freinds.

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    Mute Martin Wilson
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    Feb 24th 2012, 2:45 AM

    “Its idiots attitudes like those two above that have had British clubs using and abusing Irish clubs and their home grown talent for decades”
    You’re an angry man Gerard!
    To me that statement is fairly personal, but i am willing to be the bigger man and let that go.

    You talk about the league being amateurish. Do you not remember what happened to the clubs in the league when we tried to go professional Gerard? It cripled them, sent clubs into administration, liquidation and even out of existence. You cannot expect us to be able to compete for players against English sides(Even as low as the conference) because they receive better TV packages and have better average attendances than LOI clubs. As i’m sure you know these days our clubs can only offer players 40 week contracts. This will always lead to a high turnover of players and leave them susceptible to losing their better players to bigger clubs at the end of every season.

    Enjoy your successful season down there at Jackman watching 37 because it could easily be your only one. Yes you have amassed an insane squad to put you miles ahead of anyone else in the 1st division but you are following down the same path as so many clubs before you and it is always going to end in tears. I look forward to playing yis again next season on our turf(the premier division) and exacting revenge for extending our stay in the 1st division for far too long.

    I hate English moneyball and there is only room in my heart for one team.
    FORZA SHELBOURNE!

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    Mute Gerard Fitzgerald
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    Feb 22nd 2012, 3:19 PM

    ,i never blamed you wilson,or the other tools you mentioned…unless you are one of the wankers that let our best go for a pittance,the league has too many amateurs and the british clubs know it,its easy pickings for them,why wouldnt they take a chance on a good Irish player,ffs its dearer to shop in the conference,also many irish fans like a bit of comfort and profesionalism and you dont find that often with the fools running Irish football,as for clarkes stats ,they are the words of a desperate man seeking solace in numbers and stats,roy keane went to england in the 90,s not the 50,s multi millin pound players were the norm as they were in the 80,s when grimes and mcgrath went,dress it up if it makes you feel better,but the people running Irish clubs have been treated as stupid paddys for decades,and doyle and long prove that,now that the amateurs have moved to one side in limerick i expect that Pat o sullivans money and professional approach will have us up as champions weeks ahead of the seasons end,then i will celebrate and replace the baggies crest with the limerick one if thats ok with you,I would also expect that should someone come knocking for one of our players or manager,our chairman will behave in a serius and professional manner and do the best for our club,unlike sligo.

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    Mute Gerard Fitzgerald
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    Feb 21st 2012, 2:42 PM

    sligo have been screwed,losing cook a massive blow,but to accrington stanley? a joke,it could only happen to a amateurish Irish club,no compensation either,just a crap friendly that will make them little money.

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    Mute Gerard Fitzgerald
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    Feb 24th 2012, 5:41 PM

    we wont fold like ollies shels did,we have jp macmanus backing us,we will play in Europe again,we are Limerick!

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