Why do you think the league of Ireland declined in popularity ?

wexfordia

Alot has been made of the weak administration and yes I would agree that is a factor. I think the fact that football isn't the national sport in Ireland and our small population didn't help things either. In most European countries football is the national game and they have the 'critical mass' of supporters to sustain their league.That isn't the case here. Your thoughts ??

event

because its shíte

wexfordia

event wrote: »

because its shíte

Once upon a time though it was very popular.

gimmick

It was never really popular to begin with. Add in the fact that in the last few years too many clubs over stretched in order to make the "next step" in Europe, meaning that now the money is gone, and it is a glorified amatuer league again.

That is without mentioning the shocking state of the grounds, where only about 3 of them are even half decent, and even the best of them - Turners Cross/Galway are still kind of shíte.

The administation of the league leaves alot to be desired as well.

So all those factors, plus the ease with which people can subscibe to Sky and jump on a plane to UK, it makes it easy to see why the league has "declined in popularity".

flahavaj

I think the fact that there seems to be at least one club going bust all the time gets tiresome after a while, it gives the impression that the league is badly run and never seems to get any better.

3hn2givr7mx1sc

Sky Sports.

cson

event wrote: »

because its shíte

Great contribution. Ever been to a game? I'm not an ardent LOI-er but that was a highly ignorant post.

To answer the OP; most other European countries [as well as having larger populations] don't have 3 other sports in GAA & Rugby that are ahead of Football in popularity.

cson

gimmick wrote: »

That is without mentioning the shocking state of the grounds, where only about 3 of them are even half decent, and even the best of them - Turners Cross/Galway are still kind of shíte.

Rovers surely have the best ground in the League, not been to a game there but Tallaght looks great.

chughes

Up to the 1960's, huge numbers of people used to attend League of Ireland matches. The advent of televised English matches on Match Of The Day and The Big Match was a big factor in the decline of LOI attendance.

major bill

event wrote: »

because its shíte

i see your a leeds fan......oh the irony:pac:

parker kent

Televised English football is a major reason. All of our best players playing/wanting to play in England is another. As is mentioned above, it was extremely popular until the 1960s. Then MOTD came along and people saw John Giles etc playing better teams.

It is Dublin and City centric too so to many in rural Ireland, Dublin and England are both places they have no connection with. So they picked the place with the better teams (and often the Irish international players)

cson

parker kent wrote: »

All of our best players playing/wanting to play in England is another.

That's always been the way, anyone who wants to make it has to go England and it was no different in the '60s.

parker kent

cson wrote: »

That's always been the way, anyone who wants to make it has to go England and it was no different in the '60s.

And as I said, once we got televised coverage of those games, we started watching them. I did say it was a reason, not the only reason.

event

cson wrote: »

Great contribution. Ever been to a game? I'm not an ardent LOI-er but that was a highly ignorant post.

To answer the OP; most other European countries [as well as having larger populations] don't have 3 other sports in GAA & Rugby that are ahead of Football in popularity.

i could have put it innicer language but the sentiment is the same.

the quality isnt/hasnt been good enough

simple as that.

good football will attract people.
there isnt enough good football being played to attract people

major bill wrote: »

i see your a leeds fan......oh the irony:pac:

not really.

top scorers in the english leagues this year, pretty entertaining in fact

Augmerson

There was a decent attempt attempt at finding out what happened to the domestic game, covered in the book Who Stole Our Game by Daire Whelan, but the book is hard to find and out of stock in most bookshops afaik.

http://www.soccer-ireland.com/football-books/irish/who-stole-our-game.htm

major bill

i stopped caring or wondering why people dont support the LOI. Its a personal choice for people to make...some will say its ''****e'' i find that very ignorant but each to their own. I think what turns people off is the constant poor running of clubs and the negativity in the papers that follows. The telly factor is another major reason, people in this country prefer to sit in a warm pub and watch the games its a social event the clubs dont stand a chance, even if one did qualify for the champions league it wouldnt increase attendances that much in the league.

cson

event wrote: »

i could have put it innicer language but the sentiment is the same.

the quality isnt/hasnt been good enough

simple as that.

good football will attract people.
there isnt enough good football being played to attract people

Again, have you been to a game or even watch a game? Watched MNS even?

What constitutes good football? Clearly the likes of Barcelona or Arsenal play at a different level but is Scunthorpe and Doncaster considered attractive football given they play in the same league as your chosen club?

gimmick

cson wrote: »

Rovers surely have the best ground in the League, not been to a game there but Tallaght looks great.

It has one stand. When complete, it will probably be the best, but not now.

At the moment, Turners Cross is the best in Ireland for LOI. Which is a sad state of affairs.

3hn2givr7mx1sc

event wrote: »

i could have put it innicer language but the sentiment is the same.

the quality isnt/hasnt been good enough

simple as that.

good football will attract people.
there isnt enough good football being played to attract people



not really.

top scorers in the english leagues this year, pretty entertaining in fact

Ever think why the quality isn't good?

3hn2givr7mx1sc

gimmick wrote: »

It has one stand. When complete, it will probably be the best, but not now.

At the moment, Turners Cross is the best in Ireland for LOI. Which is a sad state of affairs.

It has two and has had two since last season.

ShamoBuc

cson wrote: »

Rovers surely have the best ground in the League, not been to a game there but Tallaght looks great.

looks can be deceiving;)

seriously though - the LOI is certainly going through a rough time with clubs doing what the Gov did - spend spend spend......oh shít.
But I am hopeful scenes like the cup final in the Aviva can be replicated in the future. Nearly every club has a good core base of fans - some more than others obviously - but if and when the financials are sorted out and the football starts to improve the crowds will return.
LOI is a good product and hopefully it will be back in pristine condition in the very near future.

cson

gimmick wrote: »

It has one stand. When complete, it will probably be the best, but not now.

At the moment, Turners Cross is the best in Ireland for LOI. Which is a sad state of affairs.

Tallaght has two stands afaik.

Nalz

gimmick wrote: »

It has one stand. When complete, it will probably be the best, but not now.

Incorrect, you should edit your post again

gimmick

^ My bad, but it is still not the best. Yet. If they can get 4 stands all seating it will be. Until then, no.

cson wrote: »

Again, have you been to a game or even watch a game? Watched MNS even?

What constitutes good football? Clearly the likes of Barcelona or Arsenal play at a different level but is Scunthorpe and Doncaster considered attractive football given they play in the same league as your chosen club?

Why fight it? The standard is awful. It is league 2 standard at the very best, while Division 1 is not even conference level for the most part.

I say all this as someone who renewed his season ticket for CCFC today as well.

applehunter

There are deep rooted issues with structures and divisions within soccer community but the bad management of the league itself and individual teams means teams are never far away from crisis.

Can't comment on the 50's/60's/70's/80's but I don't imagine it has been any different in those times either.

ShamoBuc

gimmick wrote: »

^ My bad, but it is still not the best. Yet. If they can get 4 stands all seating it will be. Until then, no.



Why fight it? The standard is awful. It is league 2 standard at the very best, while Division 1 is not even conference level for the most part.

I say all this as someone who renewed his season ticket for CCFC today as well.

note to self

Tallaght Saint

Because most people over here would rather watch "their" English team. They don't realise they're missing out. The feeling they would get when, say, United beat Liverpool is nothing comparison to what we LOIer's feel. I get genuine happiness when Pats beat Rovers, because I understand and experience real rivalry.

This is the way is see it, I watch football while the rest watch television

major bill

event wrote: »

i could have put it innicer language but the sentiment is the same.

the quality isnt/hasnt been good enough

simple as that.

good football will attract people.
there isnt enough good football being played to attract people



not really.

top scorers in the english leagues this year, pretty entertaining in fact

i can tell by that post you havent a clue...most people dont.. sligo rovers could be playing fingal in morton infront of 500 people and be a quality match but the poor crowd and **** atmosphere will have some people convinced it was a crap game this is the way it goes in LOI football.

People in this country are event junkies its the same with the GAA and the rugby people wont go unless its fashionable to go or a must see game.

The whole sky sports andy gray delusion is another reason the new generation of football fans the sky sports babies will have no interest in LOI cos of this.

I still stand by the leeds comment i have seen some dire championship matches but people still go...cos they are generally football lovers standard of football doesnt come into it in england.

gimmick

Trilla wrote: »

Incorrect, you should edit your post again

???

gimmick

ShamoBuc wrote: »

note to self

Some habits are hard to break. Going to CCFC is what I do. I have not particularly enjoyed any of it for a few years, but how can you experience any real highs unless you have suffered some real lows.

parker kent

John Giles tried in vain to improve things in the 1970s. A pity that not enough people wanted to follow him. No doubt the FAI were too busy setting up friendlies against Poland and cleaning their blazers to help him! And the LOI just wanted to continue on in it's self defeating path!

Nalz

gimmick wrote: »

???

It has two stands. While i was replying the other guys got in there before me

ShamoBuc

Tallaght Saint wrote: »

I get genuine happiness when Pats beat Rovers,

strange.... so do I

gimmick

Trilla wrote: »

It has two stands. While i was replying the other guys got in there before me

Yes, I held my hands up to that. I was unaware of the 2nd stand as CCFC have been "enjoying" life in the graveyard.

Premier division is for glory hunters anyway!!!

parker kent

Tallaght Saint wrote: »

Because most people over here would rather watch "their" English team. They don't realise they're missing out. The feeling they would get when, say, United beat Liverpool is nothing comparison to what we LOIer's feel. I get genuine happiness when Pats beat Rovers, because I understand and experience real rivalry.

This is the way is see it, I watch football while the rest watch television

But you are from Tallaght, why are you happy watching "your" Inchicore team? :pac:

cson

gimmick wrote: »

Why fight it? The standard is awful. It is league 2 standard at the very best, while Division 1 is not even conference level for the most part.

I say all this as someone who renewed his season ticket for CCFC today as well.

I'm taking issue with it because to say it's ****e isn't true. Of course it's not going to up to the standard of the Premiership but there are some good games and players - look at Doyle practically going straight into the Reading team from your club.

As far as I can see it there are 4 reasons why an LOI club won't ever have a 5 figure attendance in the League;

1. Rupert Murdoch & Sky: far easier to watch better quality football on television plus it has wider appeal.

2. Big English Clubs: United/Liverpool/Arsenal/Spurs have infinitely more appeal to kids than any LOI team and coupled with the fact that relatively speaking its as cheap as chips to get over to them.

3. GAA & Rugby: These two have far greater appeal in Ireland than Football ever will. There may be pockets where this isn't necessarily true but overall our talented sportsmen get funnelled into GAA and Rugby. Seamus Conneely formerly of Galway United now with Sheffield United would be a rare example of someone who played minor football with Galway but is now with a tier 2 English side.

4. Public Perception: The outside perception of the LOI is shocking as far as I can see. The clubs haven't done themselves any favours by spending money they haven't got and at least one club nearly going under every year. Rightly or wrongly my mates think that LOI games are full of knackers and that they'd be lynched - not true but that's what a lot of them think.

Tallaght Saint

parker kent wrote: »

But you are from Tallaght, why are you happy watching "your" Inchicore team? :pac:

Because my great-grandad was involved in the creation of St Patrick's Athletic. So there :P

WallyGUFC

Until someone breaks through into the group stages of the Champions League or Europa League it will stay in the doldrums. Shams are best placed at this moment to do that, with the most fans, the best stadium and the best ties with the local community.

Also the shower of incompetent fools who took over clubs and run them into the ground have a lot to answer for. Basically money = success. There is no money so no European breakthrough.

ShamoBuc

Tallaght Saint wrote: »

Because my great-grandad was involved in the creation of St Patrick's Athletic. So there :P

Was he the very holy one, Paddy or the very fit guy?;)

paulcorr

Drives me mad when people start putting down the league of Ireland when they havent a clue what their talking about.As a Shamrock Rovers season ticket holder for a number of years and have been there through the good and bad times,i cant wait for my friday nights football,home or away i can say to anyone who hasnt been to a match come to Tallaght on a friday night and you will change your mind.

cson

WallyGUFC wrote: »

Until someone breaks through into the group stages of the Champions League or Europa League it will stay in the doldrums. Shams are best placed at this moment to do that, with the most fans, the best stadium and the best ties with the local community.

Also the shower of incompetent fools who took over clubs and run them into the ground have a lot to answer for. Basically money = success. There is no money so no European breakthrough.

Could Shams break away from the pack because of this I wonder? A good run in Europe with the money it brings plus the biggest crowds in the League - you'd imagine that'd put them far and away of everyone else financially unless another benefactor backed team came through [something like Fingal to a greater degree]

Chardee MacDennis

Tallaght Saint wrote: »

Because most people over here would rather watch "their" English team. They don't realise they're missing out. The feeling they would get when, say, United beat Liverpool is nothing comparison to what we LOIer's feel. I get genuine happiness when Pats beat Rovers, because I understand and experience real rivalry.

This is the way is see it, I watch football while the rest watch television

Wow patronising much?

Oohhh I understand the rivalry. Well why's that then? Explain to me what's different about me supporting an English team? Why can't I understand the rivalry?

And youre actually saying your happiness is better than other fans happiness when our team wins, f*** off tbh...

3hn2givr7mx1sc

BastardPrince wrote: »

Wow patronising much?

Oohhh I understand the rivalry. Well why's that then? Explain to me what's different about me supporting an English team? Why can't I understand the rivalry?

And youre actually saying your happiness is better than other fans happiness when our team wins, f*** off tbh...

I'm usually completely against the militant LOIers, but he has a point. Someone going to see Rovers v Bohs home and away a couple of times a season will feel the rivalry a hell of a lot more than someone that watches United v City on telly a couple of times a season. And I include myself in that, tbh.

stovelid

It's down to a few miscreants who insist on alienating potential support by using unkind phrases. If this could be stamped out, Tallaght, Richmond Park, Tolka etc would have to be hastily expanded to 40,000 seater grounds to satisfy demand.

event

cson wrote: »

Again, have you been to a game or even watch a game? Watched MNS even?

What constitutes good football? Clearly the likes of Barcelona or Arsenal play at a different level but is Scunthorpe and Doncaster considered attractive football given they play in the same league as your chosen club?

course I have

ive no idea if scunny or doncaster play attractive football, i dont watch them.

baz2009 wrote: »

Ever think why the quality isn't good?

catch 22 id imagine.

players arent good enough. but the clubs cant attract better players unless they have more money, which they wont have unless more people come to the games, which wont happen until better players come etc etc

major bill wrote: »

i can tell by that post you havent a clue...most people dont.. sligo rovers could be playing fingal in morton infront of 500 people and be a quality match but the poor crowd and **** atmosphere will have some people convinced it was a crap game this is the way it goes in LOI football.

People in this country are event junkies its the same with the GAA and the rugby people wont go unless its fashionable to go or a must see game.

The whole sky sports andy gray delusion is another reason the new generation of football fans the sky sports babies will have no interest in LOI cos of this.

I still stand by the leeds comment i have seen some dire championship matches but people still go...cos they are generally football lovers standard of football doesnt come into it in england.

except you, right?

this may also be an issue, the opinions of the LOI fans, a lot of who think they are above "barstoolers" and EPL football fans

tbh i dont know why i even started into this conversation, i gave an opinion that id imagine a lot of other agree with. i wont be replying, so work away yourselves

micks

wexfordia wrote: »

Alot has been made of the weak administration and yes I would agree that is a factor. I think the fact that football isn't the national sport in Ireland and our small population didn't help things either. In most European countries football is the national game and they have the 'critical mass' of supporters to sustain their league.That isn't the case here. Your thoughts ??

It is the most popular sport
It has the highest participation numbers
But the LOI accounts for prob 1 % (a guess but a small minority)
The main problem is the administration of the league and the clubs them selves.
They dont seem to have figured out that there is more to football that their first team/premier division. Been through this before but its ridiculous that they dont put more emphasis on schoolboy football/academy structure.
The DDSL is one of the top schoolboy leagues in europe yet none of the LOI teams feature at the top of it consistently. How many LOI clubs have proper training facilities?
Rovers are doing somethings right - large schoolboy section, good community spirit, involved with many schools/clubs in the area. But LOI clubs dont do enough to try entice people to watch them.

Its all too easy to blame the "barstoolers" and the EPL they need to look much closer to home to sort it out.

major bill

BastardPrince wrote: »

Wow patronising much?

Oohhh I understand the rivalry. Well why's that then? Explain to me what's different about me supporting an English team? Why can't I understand the rivalry?

And youre actually saying your happiness is better than other fans happiness when our team wins, f*** off tbh...

how can someone from dublin/cork/limerick have any connection to a city like leeds/manchester/ newcastle etc and can understand why that rivalry is so intense or heated?? They aint from there or have grown up there its all fake theres more to a rivalry than on the pitch.

im not one for been a LOI superhero but it wrecks my head that someone from dublin sitting in a pub can identify himself as a scouser or a manc and call the opposition scouse bastards or manc scumbags.

tommyhaas

Its a shame there's no munster team in the premier division anymore, the longer they're away, the more attendences will drop and domestic football in the region will suffer, particularly given that Cork is the second biggest city represented in the league

flahavaj

* Predicts Barstooler Vs LOI Militants debacle in 2 pages.*

Le King

It took 4 pages to mention barstoolers? :eek:

major bill

event wrote: »

course I have

ive no idea if scunny or doncaster play attractive football, i dont watch them.



catch 22 id imagine.

players arent good enough. but the clubs cant attract better players unless they have more money, which they wont have unless more people come to the games, which wont happen until better players come etc etc



except you, right?

this may also be an issue, the opinions of the LOI fans, a lot of who think they are above "barstoolers" and EPL football fans

tbh i dont know why i even started into this conversation, i gave an opinion that id imagine a lot of other agree with. i wont be replying, so work away yourselves

wrong i dont think my opinion is above anyone elses cos im a LOI ''fan'' you posted a ignorant comment without much support to back up your claim thats why i made a comment..if your argument had been a bit more productive i would have left it and accepted it.