O’Neill’s exit was strictly business
There was a brief break from the script during the announcement of a joint-bid by the FAI and IFA for the 2023 U21 Euros hosting when the North’s chief executive touched on the importance of full houses to associations.
Patrick Nelson, raising the topic of the upcoming friendly between the nations, noted the employee in any organisation with the highest responsibility for generating cash, loves nothing better than a sold-out crowd.
The message from the podium resonated with John Delaney, his FAI counterpart, sitting in the front row, whose face broke into a semi-smile.
Perhaps his caution at embracing such a declaration was based on what transpired a couple of weeks earlier at Lansdowne Road.
Ireland, toothless in attack and devoid of any clear direction, toiled against Denmark and Wales, failing to score and taking just a point to all but consign themselves to relegation from the Nations League and drop into the third seeds for the Euro 2020 draw.
Both games were played in a stadium showing swathes of empty seats.
Thousands of those who bothered attending did so with complimentary tickets.
With the FAI aware from sluggish uptake of tickets that the Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane axis was no longer box-office, grassroots clubs received bundles of freebies to distribute.
If the FAI couldn’t shift tickets for competitive games that mattered in terms of their seeding, what chance was there of punters shelling out €50 to see a friendly against the neighbours?
At least Northern Ireland played their part, offloading most of their 3,000 allocation.
They certainly made their presence heard on another abysmal night for the home nation when the official turnout of 31,000 was widely questioned.
When the FAI fails to break the 100,000 ticket sales mark for three home internationals, it’s understandable that the bean counters get nervous.
Delaney could smell trouble with cashflow and had to act.
If, as the FAI claim, 16,000 season tickets have been bought, they average an income for the FAI of just over €100 each.
A modest figure of €1.6m from a third of their available capacity for an association shouldering €40m of debt is a recipe for disaster.
For all the spin from Abbotstown about the importance of grassroots programmes, the senior team drives their revenue streams.
According to the 2017 accounts, income from international matches jumped from €15.74m to €17.34m.
That included World Cup qualifiers at home to Wales, Austria, and Serbia, along with the play-off against Denmark.
Only by continuing to get bums on seats can the FAI service their debt and that was proving a problem under the regime relieved of their duties yesterday.
Difficult enough was attracting a new wave to the Dublin 4 venue but dissent among the existing audience threatened to diminish the sales further.
When it comes to what O’Neill described as the “big games” next year, only the full houses Nelson spoke of are compatible with a business model highly reliant on turnover from tickets.
The possibility of a disastrous draw for the 2020 Euro qualifiers next week was also factored in.
That’s why Delaney would have conducted a cost-benefit analysis before making yesterday’s decision.
O’Neill and Keane will continue to be paid their salaries under their contracts until they find new jobs but the bounce from a new boss, resulting in stronger demand for tickets, mitigates the risk.
Now, it’s up to Delaney to ensure those turnstiles are clicking to vindicate his decision.