IN February 2020, Cork City were a lot closer to the brink than anyone outside the club realised.
Faced with a big revenue bill, City — then a members-led club — needed funds fast or the FAI would deny them a licence for the new season.
So the club cashed in what they hoped was a golden ticket — sell-on clauses that gave them a cut of any future transfer fees Preston got from moving on Leeside duo Seáni Maguire and Alan Browne.
But striker Maguire went to Coventry for a small fee, while free-agent midfielder Browne ended up at Sunderland last year.
It was still a tough one to stomach for any City fans.
After all, a decade earlier the club had cashed in their Kevin Doyle clause when in Examinership.
Had they kept it, they likely would have pocketed an extra €500,000.
Of course, the funds to stay afloat in 2008 would have had to come from somewhere else.
The cautionary tale was Derry City, whose holding company was wound up in 2009 over the dual-contracts controversy.
That meant it was the UK taxman, rather than the newly promoted Candystripes, who benefited when Conor Sammon swapped Kilmarnock or Wigan in 2011.
But sell-on clauses are fantastic when they work.
Former Bohs president John O’Connor’s X account is a gold mine of information on League of Ireland finances.
Last year he posted a spreadsheet showing the profits and losses of all the clubs that had been in the Premier Division between 2018 and 2023 when directors’ loans were removed.
The biggest two were Shamrock Rovers in 2022 and Bohemians in 2020 — the years the clubs made hay on the sales of Gavin Bazunu and Matt Doherty respectively.
That may incorrectly give the impression that LOI clubs exist to move stars on, but it helps. Because the figures that O’Connor posted are a reminder that the League of Ireland is a tough business.
The size of grounds puts a limit on gate receipts and broadcasting is not the money tree it is for other leagues.
Europe is the crock of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Shamrock Rovers’ operating loss in 2023 was €2.1million but €1.2m last year, while the €5.5m in assets points to a business in a good place.
Fundraising and sponsorship are vital too, and jersey sales can be an . . . er . . . Oasis in the desert. But outside of the members-led clubs, owners often foot the bill.
Shelbourne have lost around €1m a year for the last three years before investment is factored in. And it is why 2024 accounts for St Pat’s include a note saying that they are on a going-concern basis because owners will support the club.
In short, the club relies on the backing of its owners, principally Garrett Kelleher, who has been the club’s benefactor since he purchased the Saints in 2007.
It is why Kelleher was initially nicknamed ‘Special K’ by some supporters.
But banners and chants at Turner’s Cross recently show how fans can turn on owners.
Dermot Usher is a visible owner, attending Cork City games at home and away regularly since he purchased the club in 2023.
The first time I interviewed him, he spoke of wanting the club to be sustainable, the need to improve facilities and his belief the league as a whole was underselling itself.
His first year — the only year to date for which accounts are published — saw the club relegated, though they did lose €700,000 in the year.
That was a bigger loss that season than Bohemians, Sligo Rovers, Drogheda United and St Pat’s who all finished ahead of them.
