The rehabilitation of Nick Leeson, one-time rogue trader at Barings Bank and now toiling for his sins at Galway United, continues apace, thanks to the good offices of the club. Leeson, who took a job there last year as commercial manager, has now been promoted to general manager after impressing with his dedication and creativity — qualities, it must be said, which were also noted by his previous employers before he bankrupted the company. Leeson combines the job with some after-dinner speaking and writing.
‘Galway takes up most of my time, though most of my income comes from the speaking engagements,’ Leeson told Football Ireland. ‘The variety is what I find interesting in the new job. Going out with the manager to sign players and the like. For all Galway’s attractions, it can be difficult to attract players here because it usually involves them uprooting. So we usually try to offer them a complete package, a job and all the other things they will need.’
Everything at the club is geared up for football in the Premier League and Leeson is confident Galway will benefit from changes in the League structure that were approved by the League’s management committee yesterday. By the terms of the proposal, clubs must meet unspecified criteria — though, two are believed to be related to finances and catchment area — to secure Premier League status in 2007. ‘Given our location and the way we are set up, we’re ideally positioned to meet the FAI’s criteria, but it’s vital for the club that we finish at the top of Division One this season.’
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Injured Elliott back in the picture
Better news emerging from Sunderland about the fitness of Stephen Elliott, who it was feared could be out for the season with a nasty back injury. Elliott returned to light training last week and the latest guesstimates say he could be fit for a first-team return by the middle of next month. After scoring in successive games against Manchester United and Newcastle in October, the Irish international, below, suffered a recurrence of a serious back problem, which sidelined him for more than a year as a teenager. A pain-killing injection in his spine failed to eradicate the problem but, rather than resorting to an operation that would have ruled him out for months, medical staff recommended a period of recuperation. It appears to be doing the trick. ‘He could have been put in a plaster cast, but his muscles would have wasted,’ manager Mick McCarthy said.
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‘The first port of call was to give him rest. If he stays pain free, it will take him a couple of weeks to get fit.’
Keane faces pay-day problem
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Roy Keane’s representative, Michael Kennedy, has confirmed that his client has yet to decide on a date for his testimonial, even though Manchester United have offered a couple. This particular fixture, of course, comes freighted with problems for Keane, after the way he slaughtered Niall Quinn/Mother Teresa for making a big deal of using his tie at Sunderland for charity in 2002. ‘Maybe Keane keeps his contributions to charities private,’ he wrote about himself in his autobiography, when dealing with the fuss over his non-appearance at Quinn’s testimonial. If he takes the money, he’ll be accused of mercenary behaviour and milking United fans he once professed to care about. Should he donate the proceeds to a good cause, he’ll be taking a leaf from Quinn’s book.
Shels to profit from €20m deal
Tolka Park is expected to fetch about €20m when it is sold for residential and light industrial development, if, as is now widely expected, Shelbourne move into a ground-share with Bohemians at Dalymount Park. Sources close to the club say they are already near to reaching an agreement for the sale, with the accountant and businessman Ossie Kilkenny believed to be the intended buyer. St Pat’s are also sending out feelers about selling their ground in Inchicore. It looks increasingly likely that they will ground-share with Shamrock Rovers at their new stadium, currently under construction in Tallaght.