Irish Businessmen to take over London Irish

I'm not sure if this is new or I'm slow but...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/25333763

EDIT: for those that can't follow the link. A group of Irish Businessmen are going to take over London Irish. It doesn't say how many but it's at least 3 (3 will be at the press confrence tomorrow at 10:30am).

Interestingly, currently Irish have about 800+ shareholders and are controlled by 35-40 large shareholders.

Is this seen as a positive move? I'm guessing they will want to bring Irish back to their Irish roots (more so that Smith has done already). Or is this leading Irish down the route of Rich owners doing what they want?

and the usual big question whenever anyone invests in a rugby team...will they look at getting their own ground? And where would it be?

Being rumoured he wants to move away from Reading and other big changes also.

No idea of details though !

Looks like they are going to be really trying to get that Irish identity back. Hopefully they continue to sign Irish players.

Currently we have O'Leary, Humphries, Sheridan, Hagan.

With Court to join and potentially Donnacha Ryan.

What other Irish players are out of contract end of season that we might look at?

stnick88 wrote:Currently we have O'Leary, Humphries, Sheridan, Hagan.

With Court to join and potentially Donnacha Ryan.

What other Irish players are out of contract end of season that we might look at?

Heaslip and O'Brien  

I think Dominic Ryan could be a good signing for you guys. Or do you have sufficent depth in the backrow? I know he would be competing with Ofisa (who I rate highly) but Ryan can also play at 6.

No the backrow needs strengthening.

First choice backrow of 6. Blair Cowan 7. Ofisa Treviranus 8. Chris Hala'ufia is pretty good, but after that we need depth. Jebb Sinclair and John Fisher are decent players but its an area we need strengthening.

As is 2nd row. Need a quality partner for George Skivington. Ian Gough is playing well but he is only here for the season and is a bit old.

Get them in the RABO the Welsh are leaving!

Flip the entire Wolfhounds team could be at LI next year!

It could be a consortium led by Philip Browne!   

All hail the 5th province   

On a serious note how would fans react to a move away from Reading? Perhaps back closer to London accompanied by a marketing drive to attract more Irish exile fans?

I've loads of misgivings about having an Irish enclave in the erstwhile despised Jeff.

I think I'd prefer a fifth Irish Province in England to this: just as I'd prefer the RFU/WRU to scupper any talks of some merger deal.

stnick wrote:Currently we have O'Leary, Humphries, Sheridan, Hagan.

What's not to make you feel slightly nauseus?

Guinness at five quid (+(?)) a pint plus an extra quid to use the bog maybe?

Portnoy's Complaint wrote:I've loads of misgivings about having an Irish enclave in the erstwhile despised Jeff.

I think I'd prefer a fifth Irish Province in England to this: just as I'd prefer the RFU/WRU to scupper any talks of some merger deal.

stnick wrote:Currently we have O'Leary, Humphries, Sheridan, Hagan.

What's not to make you feel slightly nauseus?

Guinness at five quid (+(?)) a pint plus an extra quid to use the bog maybe?

I've read those lines a few times and ...could you just expand on what you mean Portnoys. It's just I can't make out what your concern is.
I suppose I mean is not a 'fifth Irish Province' in England not an Irish enclave? And if so how can you have 'misgivings' about that and 'prefer' it at the same time.

It's a shame another club is being taken from the hands of the fans. On the other hand this might be the financial boost LI are in need of. The Madstad is not where they need to be and they could do with a little help retaining some the of the talent their academy is producing.

The guy leading this consortium is a big London Irish fan (he is 2nd generation Irish). Mick Crossan  is his name he pretty much sponsors everything for LI anyway. His company Powerday is LI's sponsor.  

Seems to have very close Irish connections - the Hogan Stand have a profile of him as he is a big GAA supporter as well (and has played). Think he is London Irish chair at the moment - more than likely he doesn't like seeing what is happening at the moment and as a small club are powerless.

He is worth about 45m, which would indicate he hasn't an open chequebook. Bob Casey now works for him.

From Anglo Celt:
Next in line is Cavan man Mick Crossan, owner of Powerday who amassed his fortune through  recycling and waste management.
Mr Crossan had been listed at number165 in the UK’s Times Top 250 Rich List with ?50m to his name, however, he’s dropped from that in 2012 with his estimated fortune now standing nearer ?45 (€53).
Founded in 1980 by Crossan who, though born in London, spent many childhood summers in Maudabawn, Drumgoon where his late father Jack (JJ) hailed from, Powerday is also the proud sponsor of the London Irish Rugby Team. - See more at: http://www.anglocelt.ie/news/breakingnews/articles/2013/04/22/4015439-cavan-company-owners-remain-high-on-rich-list/#sthash.E5nnqSWp.dpuf

Hogan Stand profile: (Hogan Stand is a GAA website for those who might not know. Hogan Stand is the main stand in Croke Park).

http://www.hoganstand.com/Cavan/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=132193

What's wrong with the Madstad Sam?

I'm not answering for Sam here Heaf, but the MadStad is too big for LI. It's a decent stadium and I've been there for matches and corporate stuff in the Berkshire Suite.

Similarly to Wasps, we both need to get back to London as a lot of the bandwagon fans within a few miles of the current grounds are not turning up any more.

Good luck for the rest of the season

But the rumoured link with Brentford would be a similar size?  (Although it seems currently the planning permission for that new stadium doesn't include rugby).   The question is whether enough new supporters could be attracted to a new ground to replace those lost if they move away from Reading.  With Quins being just down the road I wonder … and that's before you start to consider transport links/parking etc.

Good luck to you too

Engine#4 wrote:All hail the 5th province   

On a serious note how would fans react to a move away from Reading? Perhaps back closer to London accompanied by a marketing drive to attract more Irish exile fans?

Given i'm only 15 miles from the madjeski i'd be gutted if they move back in to london, especially given moves to add a train station added near the stadium, which is well overdue.

There's a loyal group of fans that london irish have built up over the years. They do need to consider a smaller stadium though, and while a large proportion of fans travel in from waterloo, clapham, twickenham, etc there is a large chunk of local followers that need to be considered.

Will be very interesting to see next steps here - so far not much details on the london irish website....

Press release today I think. 10:30am

Confirmed on the radio we're staying at Madstad …

Plus also confirmed signing of CJ Van der Linde   

This is a huge day for the club. We are now on a sound financial footing, with the new training facility due to completed on time in the summer. This season our playing/coaching budget I believe was £2.7 million. Next year we will be able to afford up to the cap at £4.2 million. So long as we stay up this season, the platform is now there for the club to push on.

Quote from Paul Rees in the Guardian:

"Crossan said the aim was to make Irish, who will keep playing in Reading, one of the best clubs in the world with a squad made up in equal thirds of top internationals, Irish players and academy products."

Nice lofty aim - So LI may have a justifiable name of Reading Irish soon enough! (I'd currently call them Reading Samoa)

LeinsterFan4life wrote:Looks like they are going to be really trying to get that Irish identity back. Hopefully they continue to sign Irish players.

As a self-declared lifelong fan of Leinster, I'm not sure you've really thought that one through tbh.

A rich businessman or consortium of businessmen taking over an English club and declaring a new self-declared policy of head-hunting Irish talent is not good news for the provinces, at all. We desperately need to avoid a player drain and a cashed up London Irish making eyes at every out of contract player is not what we need. The bigger threat is still from France but this surely makes a complicated and uncertain future more complicated and uncertain.

I meant signing Irish players from the lower tier like Dom Ryan for example. Of course if they start signing our international players that will be very bad indeed. But yhat wont happen because of the salary cap

They'll go after probably one or two high profile players, Irish if possible, and theres room for one big marquee signing if I understand it correctly.

I don't think with the salary cap they will be able to offer more than what we can offer. They couldn't offer Heaslip more than 450K for instance.

Really? Afoa on 400-500k at Gloucester depending who you believe.

Really?!?! Oh flip.

I remember a good few years ago now, I think he was the head of London Irish at the time but he was on Irish radio.  And he was pushing the 'Irish' angle.  I think Leinster were doing well in a HEC of the period and he was acknowledging that but he said he hoped that he could make LI number two side in Irish minds, and that if Leinster fell away that he hoped Irish supporters in Ireland would then give their emotions and support to LI.

Ah I don't blame him trying but I think it was already London Samoa even then!  And he failed utterly to mention or to even consider that there were still two other Irish sides in HEC at the time.  
It was just very awkward listening, because I knew most people listening to him would be thinking the very same thing I was thinking - "Back of the queue, Mister - there is more than Leinster there to cover our interest levels."

A genuinely close relationship to rugby in Ireland?  Young players that need gametime and are clogging up the system here would be a cautious possibility.  
But in all seriousness, I'm not gone on the idea of tokenism either though.  And it might even kinda alienate non-Irish fans over there if the 'Irish' angle was overplayed as young local players look for chances and careers.  It's an English team after all, despite any name it might have.

We'll see...but yes, if it tried to muscle in on Irish academies in an aggressive way, paying young bright sparks to leave academies before they get the grounding Irish sides would give them; sucking up anything that showed promise ................ More Bloody War!!!!

Fly, that was when Leinster & London Irish were in the same pool (and LI beat Leinster in the RDS in the first round - '09). It was the game that Shane Jennings was suspended in. Tony Booth was talking about if LI knocked Leinster out of the HCup, that people would get behind them to get out of the pool. He wasn't dismissing the other provinces.

LI play Munster nearly every year in preseason. LI released Paul Warwick from his commitment to go there when Munster eventually came up with a better offer as well, so I think the relationship hasn't been all bad.

Sin é wrote:Fly, that was when Leinster & London Irish were in the same pool (and LI beat Leinster in the RDS in the first round - '09). It was the game that Shane Jennings was suspended in. Tony Booth was talking about if LI knocked Leinster out of the HCup, that people would get behind them to get out of the pool. He wasn't dismissing the other provinces.

LI play Munster nearly every year in preseason. LI released Paul Warwick from his commitment to go there when Munster eventually came up with a better offer as well, so I think the relationship hasn't been all bad.

You're right in that, Sin ..I was just trying to think back and yep it was about the clash between Leinster and LI.... and hoping Irish fans would get behind his boys if Leinster were knocked out.
But no I still remember distinctly thinking at the time that he was a little naive (and dismissive) in thinking Irish people would rattle in behind his boys. You could prove me wrong! (if you have it taped! - like would be something you'd catch me on ) but I really don't think that distinction of supporting him through the pool stages was what he meant. Anyway, like I said, I didn't blame him trying to whip up allegiance but we tend to have our hands full with allegiances come HEC time.

littlejohn wrote:

Engine#4 wrote:All hail the 5th province   

On a serious note how would fans react to a move away from Reading? Perhaps back closer to London accompanied by a marketing drive to attract more Irish exile fans?

Given i'm only 15 miles from the madjeski i'd be gutted if they move back in to london, especially given moves to add a train station added near the stadium, which is well overdue.

There's a loyal group of fans that london irish have built up over the years. They do need to consider a smaller stadium though, and while a large proportion of fans travel in from waterloo, clapham, twickenham, etc there is a large chunk of local followers that need to be considered.

Will be very interesting to see next steps here - so far not much details on the london irish website....

Thanks, I knew the club started playing in Reading around the turn of the century and was wondering what kind of fanbase they had built up in the area since.  Great news for fans like yourself that they are going nowhere  

SecretFly wrote:

Sin é wrote:Fly, that was when Leinster & London Irish were in the same pool (and LI beat Leinster in the RDS in the first round - '09). It was the game that Shane Jennings was suspended in. Tony Booth was talking about if LI knocked Leinster out of the HCup, that people would get behind them to get out of the pool. He wasn't dismissing the other provinces.

LI play Munster nearly every year in preseason. LI released Paul Warwick from his commitment to go there when Munster eventually came up with a better offer as well, so I think the relationship hasn't been all bad.

You're right in that, Sin ..I was just trying to think back and yep it was about the clash between Leinster and LI.... and hoping Irish fans would get behind his boys if Leinster were knocked out.  
But no I still remember distinctly thinking at the time that he was a little naive (and dismissive) in thinking Irish people would rattle in behind his boys.  You could prove me wrong! (if you have it taped! - like would be something you'd catch me on ) but I really don't think that distinction of supporting him through the pool stages was what he meant.  Anyway, like I said, I didn't blame him trying to whip up allegiance but we tend to have our hands full with allegiances come HEC time.

Maybe Leinster fans were a tad sensitive over the whole thing, bearing in mind Nick Kennedy's efforts at getting Jennings banned   

London Irish has a large following of Irish emigrants who are now 2nd/3rd generation Irish. Who their players are should be irrelevant (i.e., players like Doug Howlett & Nacewa are not Irish, but we all regard them as one of our own).

You need to get over it. I've met lots of LI fans who go to support the provinces when they are playing English clubs. I think some Irish provincial fans have a very unbecoming snotty attitude about LI and their heritage. They need to get over themselves.

Oh stop being so blasted one dimensional Sin.

I was merely relating an interesting tale about how anxious the guy was to get Irish people here behind them but the club had already lost much of its 'Irish' flavour by then - going back on what some guy earlier 'Reading Samoa'.  Just found that episode funny back then - no I haven't a scrapbook of hate under my pillow to remember it by! So ease off on the old Provincal juice there.

London Irish is whatever it wants to be. Good luck to them.  You can think what you like about its roots and how meaningful it might be to you.  But we'll all decide for ourselves what it means to us.

Well, the new President of LI considers himself to be Irish (as in a group of Irish businessmen) even though he was born and grew up in London. I wouldn't say that is untypical of how exiles think of themselves.

I just find the condesending 'Reading Samoa' comments distasteful.

I didn't initially write the comments... but yes, I did repeat it, and I stand by it to describe what LI had become............  a name.

Find the truth as distasteful as you like... it was the truth.  

There is nothing condescending about saying 'Reading Samoa' unless you think Pacific Islanders should be offended that we notice their roots, their ties, their migrant communities in a very big city called London.

Just back off on the history lesson.... the truth won't be censored by any drive by you to push the genuineness of it's Irishness.

LI will be what it wants to be.  Good luck to it.

London Irish amateurs are the real London Irish. The professional side of the business is not really Irish. They're an English club, paid by the RFU to produce players for England and are part of the PRL that we all love so much.    Also their Irish eligible players like Nick Kennedy and Shane Geraghty declared for England over Ireland.Down the years they had very few coaches and players from Ireland.

profitius wrote:London Irish amateurs are the real London Irish. The professional side of the business is not really Irish. They're an English club, paid by the RFU to produce players for England and are part of the PRL that we all love so much.     Also their Irish eligible players like Nick Kennedy and Shane Geraghty declared for England over Ireland.Down the years they had very few coaches and players from Ireland.

Thank God for some little support on my thoughts.... Sin was chewing me there all on my lonesome   

I have no emotions either way on them. Certainly not bad...but not familial either. As you say, that's simply what I regard them as - another English AP team. Nothing bad about that. May they go into the future in peace.

Its disrespectful to the club who are called London Irish, particularly coming from anyone born and living on the island of Ireland.

Why bring the Samoans into it? If the context was anyway complimentary, yea. But we know the comment is made to have a dig at London Irish and their supporters.

Sin é wrote:Its disrespectful to the club who are called London Irish, particularly coming from anyone born and living on the island of Ireland.

Why bring the Samoans into it? If the context was anyway complimentary, yea. But we know the comment is made to have a dig at London Irish and their supporters.

Sin....you can see a dig every direction you look.  A guy holds a door open for you in courtesy and you'd probably have some reason for him as to why he shouldn't have done it.

I know why I said London Samoa.... you think what you like about why I repeated it.  I don't care.  
I know why I used it and it has no bearing on the line you're taking it down.  

London is a melting pot...and by no means does London Irish only have Irish supporters.... or supporters only with Irish ancestry - 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation.  And I'm sure many of its supporters wouldn't be too hot on the history of the club or indeed be all that certain where Ireland was on a map.

So it's a 'London' team.  An English team.  It has as diverse a following as any other team in England.  All kinds of backgrounds and ancestry.  You pushing the Irish bit as much more than a name is denying those Londoners and English people the equal rights to feel it is their club... not just the preserve of people with Irish blood.

profitius wrote:London Irish amateurs are the real London Irish. The professional side of the business is not really Irish. They're an English club, paid by the RFU to produce players for England and are part of the PRL that we all love so much.     Also their Irish eligible players like Nick Kennedy and Shane Geraghty declared for England over Ireland.Down the years they had very few coaches and players from Ireland.

Something I was reading today which had background info on LI (can't find it now), but it described London Irish as the only Premiership Club to field amateur teams. It was set up with lots of shareholders and something like 30 major shareholders.

From that, I take it that they are not separate in that they have the same shareholders.

The reason why Geraghty & Kennedy declared for England because at that stage it looked like they wouldn't get a lot of gametime unless they moved to one of the Provinces.

And that is born out by the fact that Mick McCarthy, Kieran Marmion, Ruddock, Dan Tuohy, Sean Dougall all moved to the provinces.

SecretFly wrote:

Sin é wrote:Its disrespectful to the club who are called London Irish, particularly coming from anyone born and living on the island of Ireland.

Why bring the Samoans into it? If the context was anyway complimentary, yea. But we know the comment is made to have a dig at London Irish and their supporters.

Sin....you can see a dig every direction you look.  A guy holds a door open for you in courtesy and you'd probably have some reason for him as to why he shouldn't have done it.

I know why I said London Samoa.... you think what you like about why I repeated it.  I don't care.  
I know why I used it and it has no bearing on the line you're taking it down.  

London is a melting pot...and by no means does London Irish only have Irish supporters.... or supporters only with Irish ancestry - 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation.  And I'm sure many of its supporters wouldn't be too hot on the history of the club or indeed be all that certain where Ireland was on a map.

So it's a 'London' team.  An English team.  It has as diverse a following as any other team in England.  All kinds of backgrounds and ancestry.  You pushing the Irish bit as much more than a name is denying those Londoners and English people the equal rights to feel it is their club... not just the preserve of people with Irish blood.

The way I like to describe LI is that it has developed a strong brand incorporating family values, community, and characteristics linked to 'irishness'. They have a create annual Paddy's day bash, often have live irish music after games and have links to Irish clubs too. This doesnt mean the club is aimed at irish people, but more those who like the 'craic', which is why its fan base includes english, irish and a smattering of other nationalities living locally to Reading.

I'm looking forward to the next couple of seasons now as things were starting to look bleak, but be mindful that the lads who've bought out the club are businessmen and will be looking to strengthen that 'irishness' brand no end as its generally well liked.

They need a new sponsor as well. I went with my son's rugby team after a minis festival and all the boys were in hysterics at the billboard around the ground advertising a pump company saying "pumping poo withn panache". Doesn't really add much to the atsmosphere even if it is good humour.

Pumping Poo From Your Loo?

No?

IF I should die, think only this of me;
 That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever Poo Corner.

Rupert O'Brooke.

Sin e, I think most of the premiership teams field amateur teams. Wasps and Quins definitely do.

Newcastle field Tynedale as a amature side.

Irish are the only club that shares their facilities with the amateur club though - both effectively operate from the same premises.