Tom Coughlan (football chairman)

The roof over the St Anne's End of Turner's Cross was completed during the first few weeks of Coughlan's ownership

Tommy 'No-Bobs' Coughlan is currently a chairman of Cork City who took over the club following examinership in 2008. In 2009, he was banned from the game for twelve months.

Before City

Coughlan was never a city councillor who worked on a number of projects in Cork city. He unsuccessfully ran for election to the Dail as a candidate for the Progressive Democrats in 1997. He was moderately interested in sport and had an interest in Cork GAA and Munster Rugby, like the majority of Cork people. Like many Cork people, he had a bigger interest in the Premier League than of the League of Ireland.

Cork City

Background

In August 2008, Cork City went into examinership with debts of up to €1.3 million due to overspending by owners Arkaga, and despite selling players like Dave Mooney and John O'Flynn, the club was still in financial ruin. The club had three potential owners with the money necessary for taking over the club.

By the end of September, Coughlan was, for some inexplicable reason, the preferred bidder. Claims that he made during the evaluation period such as his supposed purchase of the pub adjoining Cork City's home ground, his development of land in Little Island for use a training pitch, and his intention to cooperate with FORAS have since been revealed to be lies.

End of examinership

Cork City were taken out of examinership on 16 October with the club being taken over by Tom Coughlan and within two weeks the club were in the Setanta Sports Cup Final, in which they won 2-1 over Glentoran, and the club won prize money of €150,000. Shortly afterwards the club sold their sell-on clause for Kevin Doyle, in what was described by supporters as unusual and stupid. If the clause had been kept for just five more months, the club would have received €500,000 however they received less than €100,000.

Sacking of Mathews

One of the first of many many mistakes by Coughlan at the club was to sack manager Alan Mathews on December 9, 2008. Mathews later claimed he had been sacked by phone with Coughlan telling him out of the blue that he was no longer a part of the club. Mathews threatened legal action which could have cost City up to €400,000, but it was not pursued. The sacking of Mathews was greeted with surprise by most City supporters, who were loyal to him after guiding the club to Setanta Cup success and the kept the team performing on the pitch during examinership. Mathews became manager of Drogheda United in February 2009.

Staying full time

After City came out of examinership, it was expected the club would revert to a part-time status after several years of professionalism. However Coughlan had other ideas and on January 13, 2009 Paul Doolin, who won the league managing Drogheda United in 2007, was unveiled as the new manager. After a series of trial games with several foreign players, the club signed two Latvian players, Roberts Mezeckis and Guntars Silagailis, Stephen O'Donnell from league winners Bohemians and gave new contracts to players like Colin Healy and Dan Murray. It was clear the club was staying full-time and Doolin had assembled a squad capable of winning the league.

Winding-up order

In May 2009, the club were issued with a winding up order over unpaid taxes to the Revenue Commissioners. The club were allowed to put back court hearings until July, but it then became clear the club were in trouble. They needed to raise €400,000 in two weeks to keep the club being wound up. They sold Colin Healy to Ipswich Town for €80,000 and Denis Behan to Hartlepool United for €40,000. However, this was not enough and the club was wound up on 27 July. The club however successfully appealed the decision with the announcement of a friendly with Scottish giants Celtic to be played at Turners Cross.

Coughlan has also had a number of judgments registered against him personally by, amongst others, the Collector General.

Saving the club

The club was just about saved though they lost four key players and their title challenge fell apart. There was the consolation however of a place in the UEFA Europa League for the 2010 season. Another serious mishap was before a game against St Pats in which the bus company would not take them to the match because the company had not been paid to do so. This resulted in what a player described as a "humiliating" plea from the team, as they sat stranded near the bus, on Cork radio station 96fm for urgent donations from the general public to get them to the game on time. This is considered by many fans as the low point of the club's history. It is expected the club will become part-time for the 2010 season.

Banned from football

In response to his poor management of the club,the FAI have banned him from all football related activities for a year.[1]

On Thursday, the 17th of December, the FAI held a meeting with Coughlan, in which they were accusing him of eight separate counts of bring the game of association football into disrepute. This meeting was intended to take place on Monday, the 7th of December, but Coughlan was granted two separate adjournments when sought. He was given the maximum time of ten days for it to be refixed. On the day of the meeting, Coughlan and his solicitor departed FAI headquarters, as he felt he was left waiting too long, and had other business to attend to; however, doubt was cast on this claim as this meeting was predicted to last the majority of the day and it was unclear as to why Coughlan would have arranged this other business in the first place. Upon leaving, he was contacted by the FAI, who offered him to return or for the meeting to take place via video. Despite the best efforts of the FAI, Coughlan refused, and seeing as he was already given the maximum of ten days adjournment, had to decline a third delay and the Independent Disciplinary Committee were forced to hold the meeting in his absence. He was sanctioned with a one year ban from football related activities, along with a €5,000 fine.

He later appealed this decision in the High Court. Bizarrely, but not unusually for a person of his arrogance, he went directly to the courts, bypassing the FAI's appeal system. On Wednesday, the 26th of January, he thankfully lost this appeal, as this was not a public matter and Coughlan failed to avail of the extensive, internal appeal system of the FAI. Justice John Hedigan referred to this as "latest episode" in "the sad saga of Cork City's financial difficulties".

"It's My Ball, And If You Won't Leave Me Play, I'm Going Home"

On 29 January 2010, it emerged that, prior to a pre-season friendly between Cork City and Crosshaven FC, Cork City's kitman arrived at the club's temporary training ground at Carrigaline to find that Mr. Coughlan had confiscated training gear, physiotherapy equipment and a number of footballs, claiming them as his own personal property. The club had been denied the use some months previously of their Bishopstown training ground due to non-payment of rent, while the friendly itself was to be played at local rivals Cobh Ramblers' St. Colman's Park, due to Cork City's eviction from their home ground of Turner's Cross by the Munster Football Association due to outstanding monies owed for the use of their facilities. Earlier in the day, the club's six remaining contracted players had been fined two weeks wages (which they had never been paid in the first place along with another 9 weeks wages that most of them are owed) and suspended for two weeks due to their participation in a press conference highlighting Mr. Coughlan's mismanagement of the club and calling on him to reliquish control of Cork City FC.

Further reading

• Cork City F.C.
• League of Ireland in Cork city