Eircom League must act fast to exploit feelgood factor (Article)

MrJoeSoap

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2093-1920081,00.html

Eircom League must act fast to exploit feelgood factor

The Genesis report was overly negative in criticising the domestic game but to enjoy more success the authorities must heed its warnings. By Paul Rowan

IT WOULD have been wall to wall following Friday night’s draw. Detailed analysis of the opposition, an itinerary and maps for the benefit of Brian’s army, interviews, perhaps the unveiling of a star columnist and closer scrutiny than ever of our Premiership players.

Ireland would have played their first match in Stuttgart, the site of the 1988 European Championship victory over England. What sort of mileage could we have got out of that? In all the excitement, few would have given a second thought to a sideshow such as last week’s FAI Cup final at Lansdowne Road, even if it did attract a crowd of 24,521. Brian Kerr will not appreciate the irony, but he will recognise as well than anybody that failure to qualify for the World Cup has had a favourable impact on the domestic game.

The latest attendance and television audience figures bear this out. Figures for last week’s Cup final show the television audience peaked at 285,000, more than 30% of all viewers. The final Eircom League game of the season four weeks ago was a television spectacular, bringing in an audience of 355,000, more than the numbers who sat down in front of the box for the Ireland v Australia rugby international played on the same weekend. Cork and Derry’s huge crowds in the run up to that dramatic league climax helped increase attendance figures at domestic matches for the season by 6%.

This makes it difficult to accept the assertion in the Genesis report released in September that “the Eircom League is near to being economically bankrupt and is unsustainable in its current format and incapable of sustaining itself into the future”.

Certainly Brendan Dillon, chairman of the Eircom League from 2002-2004, has difficulty accepting such a downbeat analysis. “I would say that the overall strength of the league has improved and the depth within the league has improved. And if you look at the spread of teams — Cork winning the league, Derry second, Shelbourne in the Setanta Cup final and Drogheda winning the Cup — it was great. And it gives a lie to what a lot of what Genesis says in its recent report, which paints an extremely negative picture of the league.”

Negative as the Genesis report may be, its importance shouldn’t be underestimated. The first Genesis report, intended as a study of the World Cup performance, resulted in root and branch change that is still underway at the FAI and while the Eircom League analysis is not nearly as far-reaching, its conclusions could shape the domestic league for years to come. For example, the Genesis recommendation that the Premier League is reduced from 12 to 10 clubs is likely to cause enormous problems over the next year as the method for selecting the unlucky two clubs is debated, particularly as all 12 were competitive in 2005, including the two who went down. Some advocates of the league’s independence even argue that it suits the FAI to portray it as something of a basket case, thus making the intended merger between the two groups due to go ahead next month easier for supporters to digest.

Genesis themselves have no truck with such an argument. “There’s a danger that people can get complacent and say it’s not that bad after all. The reality is that clubs are still losing money, that attendances on average are very, very poor and facilities are inadequate to support the large intake of a new type of person into football in Ireland. If anything, rather than be complacent, I think the events at the end of the season should provide the additional spur for people to go about making some of the changes that are recommended because it proves that there is that market there to be had if you get it right. In my mind it will add to the urgency.”

Amid the haggling, there is a broad consensus that the introduction of summer football lies behind much of the feelgood factor that surrounds the domestic game. Going by the European barometer by which the Eircom League will always be judged, it is now seen as edging towards the middle tier in Europe. Shelbourne’s achievement in beating Hadjuk Split of Croatia in the Champions League last season and then losing narrowly to Deportivo La Coruna, along with Cork’s achievement in beating teams from Holland, Lithuania and Sweden over the past two seasons in Europe, have been invaluable in improving the league’s public image and feeling of self-worth. Training and playing on improved surfaces has undoubtedly honed technique and levels of fitness are at their highest when European competition begins.

Nor should there be excessive despondency about the lack of competitiveness within the league. When a premium product such as the Premiership in England goes out to market itself it doesn’t do so on the strength of Portsmouth or Middlesbrough, but on the top four of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United. The Eircom League shouldn’t be afraid to similarly market the league through the top clubs. With four of them — Cork, Derry, Shelbourne and Drogheda - likely to scrap it out next year, the opportunities are ample.

When Ireland’s four victorious Lions returned from the Lions tour to South Africa in 1997, their images were splashed up on billboards by the IRFU. In some ways it was a victory of presentation over substance — after all, Ireland had only four members in the touring party, but the message promoting Irish rugby was powerful nonetheless.

There are players in the Eircom League who are high profile in their own right — for example, Jason Byrne at Shelbourne, George O’Callaghan and Gavin Whelan at Drogheda — and who can be marketed so that children identify with them and want to support their team, as well as a side in England. But keep talking the league down and there is only one way it will go.

Good article on the current state of the Eircom League.

applehunter

Ahh the poor Eircom League is doing well, fair play.

This guy wrote a letter to me and told me that the Sunday Times have a POLICY of not covering the Eircom League.

I dont want to see our Sunday Papers giving a "side look" to OUR league.

I want them, at the end of every season to give a review of the season, ;the best matches, players, goals, jersey, funny moment, etc of the season.

Thats a lazy article that I could have written in 10 minutes.

When the Sunday Times starts properly covering the league, then I'll listen with enthuesiasm.

KdjaCL

applehunter wrote:

Ahh the poor Eircom League is doing well, fair play.

This guy wrote a letter to me and told me that the Sunday Times have a POLICY of not covering the Eircom League.

I dont want to see our Sunday Papers giving a "side look" to OUR league.

I want them, at the end of every season to give a review of the season, ;the best matches, players, goals, jersey, funny moment, etc of the season.

Thats a lazy article that I could have written in 10 minutes.

When the Sunday Times starts properly covering the league, then I'll listen with enthuesiasm.

Its an English website/paper.

kdjac

applehunter

Im not talking about the English paper. im talking about the "Irish edition"

mchurl

The el has started to get better coverage in recent times and i think that this has coincided with the improvement of the league as well. They should really kick on from this now and the el should never look back

KdjaCL

mchurl wrote:

The el has started to get better coverage in recent times and i think that this has coincided with the improvement of the league as well. They should really kick on from this now and the el should never look back

I would love to see that but with only 2 clubs actually building in the close season, i cant see any change off the pitch next year.


kdjac