Future outlook for Airtricity league

billyhead

Folks,

Just wonderingwhat you think of the current situation with the Airtricity league and whether or not you feel its on a downward spiral. With Bohs now in finiancial difficulties and poor attentances at games do you think it will ever recover or is it doomed?

dfx-

Where's the picture of the train crash that gets dusted down for Utd/Liverpool games?

Mister men

where's my popcorn

Lamper.sffc

Im sure a nice mod will change the title.

Plus could we make this a no GAV zone as derailment of thread and barstooler/oirish remarks will be imminent.

stovelid

I think I'm finally an elder statesman of the soccer forum.

Even I look at a LOI debate and feel exhausted in advance. :pac:

dreamers75

billyhead wrote: »

Folks,

Just wonderingwhat you think of the current situation with the Airtricity league and whether or not you feel its on a downward spiral. With Bohs now in finiancial difficulties and poor attentances at games do you think it will ever recover or is it doomed?

Easiest way to answer this before gavin gets here is via a table, the league table and to look at at it from next season point of view.


Bohemians: a lot of uncertainty here everyone aware of the issues they have but they will be letting players go at the end of the season so assuming nothing bad happens off the field they will still field a team in the league next season.

Rovers: Getting embedded into Tallaght and the future is looking good, sadly realising that the reason Bohs have better players is cos they pay them more and "thats why their etc:". Sound financial model which altho isnt making money now it will. Altho fans demand for success may force the clubs hand.

Sligo Well run and play nice football so should be creaming it with attendances, only a fool would dismiss that this league is ****e without having seen them play. They are quite good but alas much like our team of Fahey Ndo et all fancy football wins you **** all. Will get stronger next season.

St Pats Financially sound in that our owner has alot of money and we will for the 2nd season in a row make money but our future hinges on St Michaels and a new stadium. Our crowds are getting lower even tho for most of the season we were top of the league. The 1pm games killed any hope we had of finishing with decent attds. St Michaels may not change that but we know we ahve 4500 fans its getting them into a stadium at the same time thats the problem.

Fingal not even gonna bother. Unsustainable springs to mind but at lower level they will flourish NDSL etc:

Dundalk Big town stange form should be fine next season but assume they will have a new manager dunno why.

UCD will always exist and create more players for the league than any other club.

Galway ****ed.

Bray again like UCD will exist within budget and create players for the rest of us.

Drogs ****ed.


others can add to it like a dossier

IRISHSPORTSGUY

Started attending Shamrock Rovers matches over the last few seasons. I like English football too, incidentally.

It's a very defeatist attitude to say it'll always be rubbish - when you look at similar sized countries like Scotland, Denmark and Norway and what they can achieve in terms of attendances and Europe, you always have hope.

The trick is to catch the kids early and you have them for life, IMO. And one day I'd love to see LOI clubs in Western Ireland where GAA reigns supreme in towns like Tralee, Ennis, Ballina etc.

dreamers75

IRISHSPORTSGUY wrote: »

And one day I'd love to see LOI clubs in Western Ireland where GAA reigns supreme in towns like Tralee, Ennis, Ballina etc.

The A league is perfect breeding ground to see how this would catch on, honestly i doubt there will be teams from these areas but what there will be is players.

If a young lad at 16 goes across the water and makes it or doesnt make it, there has to be a sustainable league here for him to come back too. Thats vital for the league, the national team. its the simple fact that all these clubs over here be it SDFL,DDSL,mayo league and others are creating footballers and that the effort by the coaches is rewarded that a guy they coached at 11 is now being paid to play football.

People need to stop looking at players who didnt make it accross the water as failures and there must be something for them to come back too. Its slowly coming around to that and almost every LOI club has at least 3 ex Man u Arsenal etc trainees.

These guys are good and if they want will go back over better and stronger.

monkey9

dreamers75 wrote: »

The A league is perfect breeding ground to see how this would catch on, honestly i doubt there will be teams from these areas but what there will be is players.

If a young lad at 16 goes across the water and makes it or doesnt make it, there has to be a sustainable league here for him to come back too. Thats vital for the league, the national team. its the simple fact that all these clubs over here be it SDFL,DDSL,mayo league and others are creating footballers and that the effort by the coaches is rewarded that a guy they coached at 11 is now being paid to play football.

People need to stop looking at players who didnt make it accross the water as failures and there must be something for them to come back too. Its slowly coming around to that and almost every LOI club has at least 3 ex Man u Arsenal etc trainees.

These guys are good and if they want will go back over better and stronger.

Keith Fahey being a perfect example. Look at his performance the other night for Ireland!!!

dreamers75

monkey9 wrote: »

Keith Fahey being a perfect example. Look at his performance the other night for Ireland!!!

Screw him James O Brien is the future

monkey9

dreamers75 wrote: »

Screw him James O Brien is the future

Ha!!! The King is dead. God save the King!!!

IRISHSPORTSGUY

monkey9 wrote: »

Keith Fahey being a perfect example. Look at his performance the other night for Ireland!!!

Also Doyle is a superb player and Coleman looks a highly exciting prospect.

Anyone know how Deegan is doing at Coventry?

stovelid

IRISHSPORTSGUY wrote: »

Anyone know how Deegan is doing at Coventry?

Nobody is speaking to him there.

IRISHSPORTSGUY

stovelid wrote: »

Nobody is speaking to him there.

Any particular reason? How's he doing in terms of on-field performance?

stovelid

IRISHSPORTSGUY wrote: »

Any particular reason? How's he doing in terms of on-field performance?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Send_to_Coventry

dreamers75

stovelid wrote: »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Send_to_Coventry

i got it


Deegans injured ankle i think.

flahavaj

IRISHSPORTSGUY wrote: »

Any particular reason? How's he doing in terms of on-field performance?

^^^^^
Didn't get it.;)

monkey9

IRISHSPORTSGUY wrote: »

Also Doyle is a superb player and Coleman looks a highly exciting prospect.

Anyone know how Deegan is doing at Coventry?

Agree with you completely on those players. There's a good few others you could mention as well.

But just what i was commenting on on Dreamers point was that Fahey originally didn't make it across the water when he was a teenager, yet he came back over to the LOI and made his name and he then eventually made it back across to Birmingham and look at him now.

The LOI should not be discounted. I hate calling it a stepping stone, but lets face it, it is. But that's ok. That's what wrecks my head about the so called barstoolers. They are missing out on so much. The fundamental aspects of football.

I had the absolute pleasure of seeing Keith play every couple of weeks at Richmond Park, and the away games as well when i can make it.

Football fans miss out on so much when they just watch on tv. There's no problem with supporting English clubs, i support Liverpool. But supporting St Pat's has given me so much pleasure. Watching us beat Elfsborg or Declan O' Brien's winner against Krylia Sovietov was amazing. Or in the second leg of the Krylia match, having my manager in work on the UEFA website as we made our comeback and him just laughing at me as i jumped around the office and it was just another afternoon for everyone else there.....that to me is football.

Merseyside Derby on Sunday in some pub in Tallaght and then off to the real thing, an FAI Cup semi final against Shams!!! Jaysus, f*ck the recession. It's all good.

Lamper.sffc

Totally agree.
I nearly fell off the stand at tallaght last week when we scored those 2 late goals to beat Rovers. No feeling like it.

Gavin "shels"

No long essays from me, one thing that the future of the League needs is one 16 team division.

bohsman

Gavin shels wrote: »

No long essays from me, one thing that the future of the League needs is one 16 team all Ireland division.

FYP

Gavin "shels"

bohsman wrote: »

FYP

All Ireland one would work out the best but isn't going to happen.

Whippersnapper

And for everyone to stop stealing our best players and then handing us your has-beens so we can accomodate them into retirement.

Corholio

monkey9 wrote: »

Agree with you completely on those players. There's a good few others you could mention as well.

But just what i was commenting on on Dreamers point was that Fahey originally didn't make it across the water when he was a teenager, yet he came back over to the LOI and made his name and he then eventually made it back across to Birmingham and look at him now.

The LOI should not be discounted. I hate calling it a stepping stone, but lets face it, it is. But that's ok. That's what wrecks my head about the so called barstoolers. They are missing out on so much. The fundamental aspects of football.

I had the absolute pleasure of seeing Keith play every couple of weeks at Richmond Park, and the away games as well when i can make it.

Football fans miss out on so much when they just watch on tv. There's no problem with supporting English clubs, i support Liverpool. But supporting St Pat's has given me so much pleasure. Watching us beat Elfsborg or Declan O' Brien's winner against Krylia Sovietov was amazing. Or in the second leg of the Krylia match, having my manager in work on the UEFA website as we made our comeback and him just laughing at me as i jumped around the office and it was just another afternoon for everyone else there.....that to me is football.

Merseyside Derby on Sunday in some pub in Tallaght and then off to the real thing, an FAI Cup semi final against Shams!!! Jaysus, f*ck the recession. It's all good.

Top post.

Totally agree on the part about them missing out on it when they watch it on TV, and i'm not bashing barstoolers but I can guarantee a lot would be hooked if they took in a few games. I had the pleasure of watching Doyler for many a game at the Cross. To be honest one of the best things was watching him develop even in those few seasons. The first 7 or 8 games he played, City fans were wondering what the hell Dolan saw in him, and then well we all know what happened as time went by.

But the league has a lot more to offer than just the development of players for those across the water. I was in New York last year up early to follow the events of the Cork City case in the high court, I might as well have been in the court room for the nerves I had. It all sounds touching stuff etc, but the league in this country needs to survive by all means, despite what people think, it would leave a huge, huge gap in many peoples lives if it did ever cease to operate. But it won't. Because it can't. Positivity and all that malarky :P

Yakult

IRISHSPORTSGUY wrote: »

And one day I'd love to see LOI clubs in Western Ireland where GAA reigns supreme in towns like Tralee, Ennis, Ballina etc.

This - I would love to see a team from Kerry, and surrounding areas. Sick of Gaa. Its hard to support a league when theirs no team to shout for anywhere close.

BOHtox

Gavin shels wrote: »

No long essays from me, one thing that the future of the League needs is one 16 team division.

18 for me.

dreamers75

monkey9 wrote: »

Merseyside Derby on Sunday in some pub in Tallaght and then off to the real thing, an FAI Cup semi final against Shams!!! Jaysus, f*ck the recession. It's all good.

Mac Dowells 3.50 a pint :pac:

Gavin "shels"

R_H_C_P wrote: »

This - I would love to see a team from Kerry, and surrounding areas. Sick of Gaa. Its hard to support a league when theirs no team to shout for anywhere close.

Tralee Dynamos?

As it's been said before the LoI does well to sustain teams that we have, take Kilkenny City, decent sized town and they used to get about 30 fans into Buckley Park. Remember being down there for a match one year and asking a group of lads wearing Man Utd, Liverpool, etc... jerseries kicking football where Buckley Park was, did they know? Ofcourse not!

gimmick

Gavin shels wrote: »

All Ireland one would work out the best but isn't going to happen.

Combining 2 badly attended leagues of a poor standard will not make a good league. The Setanta Cup has proved that the nordies have nothing to offer whatsoever, apart from some thuggery.

As for the 16 team premier? Maybe, but I have major reservations, not least the gulf. It is well and good to say there is a gulf in every major league in th world, but LOI is not a major league, and there is frig all prize money. So the diffeence in prize money in finshing 4th and 10th, for example is minimal. What will be the motivation for anyone be to compete once you are safe from relegation/out of contention for Europe?

Lamper.sffc

Gavin shels wrote: »

Tralee Dynamos?

As it's been said before the LoI does well to sustain teams that we have, take Kilkenny City, decent sized town and they used to get about 30 fans into Buckley Park. Remember being down there for a match one year and asking a group of lads wearing Man Utd, Liverpool, etc... jerseries kicking football where Buckley Park was, did they know? Ofcourse not!

You just couldnt help yourself hey gav.:o

Ah well we did well to get to page 2 and the fact it took gav till his third post is something of an improvement.

dfx-

In fairness, Buckley Park was in all definitions a well kept secret. Only could the floodlights at night indicate the turn off otherwise you're heading straight past it. Up the lane, past the washing line and in the gate..

Gavin "shels"

dfx- wrote: »

In fairness, Buckley Park was in all definitions a well kept secret. Only could the floodlights at night indicate the turn off otherwise you're heading straight past it. Up the lane, past the washing line and in the gate..

They ran out of paper cups one match down there and gave my mates dad a mug of tea and asked him to bring it back at HT, only in the LoI.:D

The_Kew_Tour

What would attendences be like for clubs like Monaghan United and Mervue? Even Limerick?

Me being Cork City fan but now living in Dublin the only game I can really go to is Shelbounre which I did twice this season, which is pity. I lived near Dalymount but be honest I find it hard go to game and not support one team or other.

I wish more people took interest in league.

herbieflowers

adrian280582 wrote: »

What would attendences be like for clubs like Monaghan United and Mervue? Even Limerick?

Me being Cork City fan but now living in Dublin the only game I can really go to is Shelbounre which I did twice this season, which is pity. I lived near Dalymount but be honest I find it hard go to game and not support one team or other.

I wish more people took interest in league.

Mervue would only get a handful, and that'd be for their home games. A lot who head down are curious Galway United fans. They wouldn't have a following beyond those who are related to the players or those connected with the club.