IN HIS report to last night’s annual general meeting of the Ulster Senior League, the outgoing PRO, Paul McGovern, raised questions about clubs within the league ‘paying’ players.
McGovern, who was replaced as PRO at the meeting by Stephen Doherty, is a former player and manager in the League, most notably with Letterkenny Rovers.
He returned a couple of seasons ago as the PRO and last night he addressed the issues within a League that has seen its numbers dropped to near-unworkable numbers.
Just six teams competed last season with a similar-sized League to get underway next month for the 2016/17 campaign.
“My own personal view is that clubs paying players has, over the years, led us down the road to where we stand today,” McGovern said.
[adrotate group=”38″]“I might be wrong about that (but) it seems as if teams feel that they can’t compete with clubs that are paying good expenses to players and that they may lose their own homegrown players to other clubs that will offer them these ‘expenses’ and leave them uncompetitive to play at Intermediate level.
“Added to this is that I also believe there are far too many teams – have boots and you’ll get a game somewhere – no training or dedication required.
“Maybe I’m just old, but the players nowadays don’t seem to be ambitious or want to be as good as they can be.
“Football, for then, is very simply just a hobby or an excuse for a social gathering after the match – I hope I’m wrong and that certainly doesn’t apply to the USL clubs but rather to the Junior Leagues.
“I would like to see more engagement form both the Ulster FA and FAI in relation to how football is governed here in Donegal. I’m in the camp that believes there are too many bodies running football here and too many old axes to grind.”
McGovern is not the first USL official to make comments on alleged payments to players.
At the AGM in 2014, then League Registrar Dessie Kelly, who ended a long association at administrative level last night, said that there was a perception that the USL was ‘a semi-professional League’.
He said at the time: “Some clubs are paying out a few bob to players and a few bob to managers – and my own club wouldn’t be exempt from that.”
Mickey Rogers was the Drumkeen United manager in 2014 and, at that same meeting, he also touched on the subject.
“Players need to change their attitudes,” Rogers said.
“I lost two players to junior teams, but these days some junior clubs seem to have bigger budgets than Ollie Horgan has at Finn Harps.”
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