Eircom pull plug on League

stovelid

I recently read some other fans saying how synonymous the name Eircom is with our league, as opposed, to say, the Barclays premiership. Consider how much we use EL as an abbreviation, but say the premiership or EPL.

It's depressing to think that the use of their name (i.e free advertising) will probably actually outlive their investment in the league. :mad:

_blank_

I haven't stopped calling it the Chicken League tbh.

Big Ears

GuanYin wrote: »

Well that is my point, maybe the FAI got a better deal and the Eircom sponsors couldn't match it or didn't want to enter into it.

Even if the north and south didn't agree recently, money can be a great motivational tool.

The problem with the current proposals for an All-Ireland league is that they are coming from a private entity and a private entity who don't really seem to know what they are doing .
They are shown here: http://foot.ie/forums/showthread.php?t=96993

The main problems with it are:
-No Promotion/Relegation until year 3
-Resorting back to a Winter League
-The inclusion of Limerick and Galway despite neither being up to the task on or off the field currently .

Limerick were recently saved from extinction by the FAI finding them an investor . They don't own their own stadium and the stadium they use(Jackman Park) is a kip by LOI standards . They're not even in contention to get promoted from the LOI First Division this season . Yet they've been included in a proposal for a 10 team All-Ireland League . They're not even a top 20 All-Ireland side at the moment .

Galway have a fairly nice ground nowdays but are struggling to stay up(I fancy them for the drop) and are going to be forced to resort back to Part-Time(which is of course what Limerick are now) because they cannot function within their present means .

Their crowds dropped this season because fans were asked to pay ridiculous prices(€20-€25 a ticket) and they are overpaying very average players to have them on full-time contracts as opposed to Part-Time .

Yet both of these sides are being included in the proposal for geographic location and 'potential' alone . Neither side would be able to compete in that league and would draw very poor crowds due to being bottom table sides without even the prospect of relegation . Limerick aren't suddenly going to attract fans with the move up in division . There are a lot of issues between Junior football and Limerick 37 and it's previous incarnations and until these are resolved Limerick will never really have potential and never really be able to draw a crowd .

If things are done right Galway have potential, but they don't even want to be part of this AIPL proposal anymore as they know they are not ready for it as this present time . They are going to have to regroup and get their house in order first and unfortunatly it may be a while before we see Full-Time football in Galway again, because I believe if it is done right it is sustainable .

-The way the league is being proposed would mean everything would have to be run by UEFA first and I doubt they'd be happy with just giving this league 2 Champions League spots and 2 Uefa Cup spots like the proposals suggest .

Ireland isn't quite ready for an All-Ireland League at the minute .
The new league set up by the FAI 2 years ago has been a major positive and the 65% wage cap has definitely helped .

The A Championship was a very good idea and hopefully will provide a proper football pyramid in this country .

The stricter licensing has improved nearly all clubs off the field and the vast majority have either improved stadia, built new grounds or have advanced plans to do one of those two things . Although problems such as the NRA being opposed to Drogheda's stadium(although in truth they don't have enough parking spaces in the plans) and Thomas Davis with Tallaght Stadium have proved a huge hindrance .

The IFA has taken similar measures to what the FAI have done recently and are starting a 'new' league themselves . Stricter licensing will also be in force their but unfortunatly Portadown(one of the North's stronger clubs) seem to have been a victim of this situation as handing in their application late has cost them being included in the new IFA 'Premiership' and they will drop a division .

I think both associations should be given a few years to get the clubs in proper order and free from major financial difficulty before we start thinking All-Ireland League .

People may be worried at the current situation where clubs(Waterford, Cobh etc) seem like they could very suddenly go out of business but when hasn't this been the case with the league ? Infact it seems the league is actually better off the ever, because not only is the quality much better than before but we actually have clubs like St.Pats who have enoug backing behind them that they are free of any financial worries and that is something we never had before .

It's funny, things may be bad but they're still better than ever .

bohsman

Im not happy with Bohs overspending tbh, in an ideal world the Dalymount sale would fall through and we'd have saved enough of the money recieved to be able to make a deal with the FAI to jointly renovate the ground and replace floodlights and let the FAI use the ground for junior internationals etc.

SantryRed

Big Ears wrote: »

Limerick were recently saved from extinction by the FAI finding them an investor . They don't own their own stadium and the stadium they use(Jackman Park) is a kip by LOI standards .

Is there any standards that wouldn't have that place as a kip?:P

Big Ears

SantryRed wrote: »

Is there any standards that wouldn't have that place as a kip?:P

No, the place is a bit of a disgrace from the dressing rooms(about the size of a garden shed) to the stand .

However the pitch is surprisingly decent, not spectacular by any means but better than you'd expect for the rest of the ground .

It takes something to go down in class from Hogan Park but they managed to do it .