LEAGUE OF IRELAND PREMIER DIVISION: CORK CITY'S future was still hanging in the balance last night more than 24 hours after a consortium that includes a number of businessmen and the supporters' group Foras made an offer for the club while undertaking to clear the debts in the event a transfer of ownership went smoothly.

As of last night, however, that had not happened, despite claims at a press conference yesterday afternoon by the club’s general manager, Liam Meaney, that owner Tom Coughlan had essentially relinquished control of the club, having offered its chairmanship on an interim basis to Jim McCarthy, who is an accountant, a senior adviser with the Quintas wealth management group and someone with a long involvement in football through Blarney United.

That much was true, although the offer, along with one of a seat on the board to English businessman Peter Gray, was apparently made on Thursday, before the pair had, along with former Adidas Ireland chief executive, Michael O’Connell, formally tabled their offer to take control of the club.

They therefore declined to become involved in running a club they hoped to buy, but had not yet bought, on the basis that it would be inappropriate.

They may well have thought they would be in charge quickly enough anyway, but as of last night a spokesman for their consortium confirmed no response to the offer had been received, and there are now doubts about whether the deal can be completed ahead of Monday’s High Court hearing with the Revenue Commissioners and FAI licensing deadline.

Part of the problem appears to revolve around money due to Cork City for the transfer of players to English clubs. Around €100,000 is to be received from Burnley for Kevin Long, and, while the money has reportedly been paid by the Premier League outfit to the English FA, in accordance with Fifa regulations, it has not gone any further.

Similarly, a payment for roughly half that amount that is supposed to come from Sunderland after Coughlan had a sell-in clause built into the fee for the transfer of David Meyler back to the English club, has yet to make it through the bureaucracy, and there are fears City will experience difficulty in securing the cash. That would make its financial situation look considerably worse than it does already.

As it is, the club’s debts are believed to be in excess of €500,000, about a quarter of which is owed to the Revenue.

If the takeover is not completed and the new investment is not, therefore, put in, the club will do well to win any more reprieves from the High Court.

But it would appear to stand almost no hope at all of gaining any more time to sort out its problems from the FAI licensing committee, which needs to finalise the line-up of clubs for next year’s Premier Division so fixtures can be announced.

The uncertainty means Bray Wanders could, at least theoretically, still end up getting a last-minute reprieve from the FAI and find themselves playing in the top flight this year.

That would mean Cork supporters would have to fall back on the First Division licence application made by Foras, whose members were meeting in the city last night to consider their part in the consortium’s proposals.

Under the terms of those proposals, it is believed Coughlan will not receive any money for the club, but the new owners would guarantee to take over all its debts, including the money owed to players, former players and former managers.

The future of boss Roddy Collins is not clear should the takeover be completed and McCarthy does finally become chairman.

The steady stream of players leaving the club has continued, meanwhile, with Stephen O’Donnell moving to his hometown club, Galway United. Dan Murray and Danny Murphy have already signed for Shamrock Rovers this week, which leaves precious few of the team that had enjoyed so much success at Turner’s Cross a couple of years back.

United manager Seán Connor, meanwhile, is in talks with a number of other players ahead of the weekend’s friendly against Shamrock Rovers and could complete deals with former Bohemians and Dundalk defender Thomas Heary, as well as former Bohemians, Shelbourne and St Patrick’s winger Bobby Ryan, over the next 24 hours.