CORK CITY MANAGER John Caulfield says the club aren’t in a position to sign their former striker Graham Cummins.
Despite making 36 appearances for Exeter City this season, Cummins was released by the League Two side last week and is currently searching for a new club.
The 27-year-old scored 42 goals for Cork City over the course of two seasons, before being snapped up by Preston North End in 2012.
John Caulfield’s side are second in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division table at the moment but they’ve often struggled to find the net this season.
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Having been held to a scoreless draw by Shamrock Rovers last night at Turner’s Cross, City have now scored just one goal in five games against the teams in the top-five in this campaign.
Reading between the lines, it seems clear that the club have enquired about Cummins’ availability. But Caulfield is adamant that there’s no room for manoeuvre in the budget.
“Graham is on a lot of money so, to answer your question, we’re running a strict ship here,” said the City boss. “So while we all want to say, we want this fella and that fella, we can’t be silly and stupid and put the club in danger. And the board won’t do that, unless maybe someone comes in for some of my players and we juggle something around.
“But I don’t know does Graham even want to be back home. I think he wants to stay over, from what I gather. But at the same time, we’re always watching things out there, we’re always trying things.”
Before asking about the possibility of Cummins returning to Turner’s Cross, The42 was expecting a brief yes or no response from Caulfield. However, he went into great detail about why it’s unlikely to happen, referencing the club’s history of financial difficulties.
Cork City’s holding company was wound up in 2010 before the club was rescued by supporters’ group FORAS, who remain in charge on Leeside after steering the ship to safety.
“What you have to understand in Cork is that this club has gone through turmoil over 30 years,” Caulfield said. “It’s grand for everyone to come out and say, get this fella and get that fella. The ethos of FORAS, the board, is that there’s a budget there and that’s it.
“We’re the fifth biggest budget [in the league]. I’m probably 80% less than what Shamrock Rovers are. Certainly I know I’m 80% less than Dundalk and Pat’s. So that tells you where it’s at. The club, FORAS, the board, have said they never again want to get into that situation, and that’s it.
Cork City manager John Caulfield at Turner's Cross during last night's draw with Shamrock Rovers. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“At the end of the day, you look at the history in the league, Bohs and Shels were absolutely knackered. They won leagues and they were millions in debt. Rightly or wrongly, should they have been allowed to buy up everyone, even though everyone knew it was wrong?
“You look at ourselves, we won a league in 2005, we were the highest spenders that year with Shelbourne. Never in the history of the club did that ever happen before. People just went overboard and even at the time watching the matches we were going, this can’t last. We knew, we heard stories going on.”
Caulfield added: “Maybe the fans would like to hear that we’re going to sign [Graham Cummins] tomorrow morning or on 1 July, but it’s not as simple as that. We have to think about where we’ve come from and where we’re at. The board have said they’re not putting the club in jeopardy anymore and rightly so.”
Financial lessons from the past will prevent Cork City from signing their former top scorer
CORK CITY MANAGER John Caulfield says the club aren’t in a position to sign their former striker Graham Cummins.
Despite making 36 appearances for Exeter City this season, Cummins was released by the League Two side last week and is currently searching for a new club.
The 27-year-old scored 42 goals for Cork City over the course of two seasons, before being snapped up by Preston North End in 2012.
John Caulfield’s side are second in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division table at the moment but they’ve often struggled to find the net this season.
Having been held to a scoreless draw by Shamrock Rovers last night at Turner’s Cross, City have now scored just one goal in five games against the teams in the top-five in this campaign.
Reading between the lines, it seems clear that the club have enquired about Cummins’ availability. But Caulfield is adamant that there’s no room for manoeuvre in the budget.
“Graham is on a lot of money so, to answer your question, we’re running a strict ship here,” said the City boss. “So while we all want to say, we want this fella and that fella, we can’t be silly and stupid and put the club in danger. And the board won’t do that, unless maybe someone comes in for some of my players and we juggle something around.
Before asking about the possibility of Cummins returning to Turner’s Cross, The42 was expecting a brief yes or no response from Caulfield. However, he went into great detail about why it’s unlikely to happen, referencing the club’s history of financial difficulties.
Cork City’s holding company was wound up in 2010 before the club was rescued by supporters’ group FORAS, who remain in charge on Leeside after steering the ship to safety.
“What you have to understand in Cork is that this club has gone through turmoil over 30 years,” Caulfield said. “It’s grand for everyone to come out and say, get this fella and get that fella. The ethos of FORAS, the board, is that there’s a budget there and that’s it.
“We’re the fifth biggest budget [in the league]. I’m probably 80% less than what Shamrock Rovers are. Certainly I know I’m 80% less than Dundalk and Pat’s. So that tells you where it’s at. The club, FORAS, the board, have said they never again want to get into that situation, and that’s it.
“At the end of the day, you look at the history in the league, Bohs and Shels were absolutely knackered. They won leagues and they were millions in debt. Rightly or wrongly, should they have been allowed to buy up everyone, even though everyone knew it was wrong?
“You look at ourselves, we won a league in 2005, we were the highest spenders that year with Shelbourne. Never in the history of the club did that ever happen before. People just went overboard and even at the time watching the matches we were going, this can’t last. We knew, we heard stories going on.”
Caulfield added: “Maybe the fans would like to hear that we’re going to sign [Graham Cummins] tomorrow morning or on 1 July, but it’s not as simple as that. We have to think about where we’ve come from and where we’re at. The board have said they’re not putting the club in jeopardy anymore and rightly so.”
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