What's the 'most Irish' Premier League club?

gustavo

Liam O wrote: »

Watching hurling and (Gaelic) football is much more exciting than the rubbish that is peddled out by the LOI these days imo. I know a few players who play LOI and they're no great shakes tbh...

From your avatar I see that you support a British team. Just wondering if your support of them is also quality based as seems to be from your judgement of our own league. How many bad performances from them would be sufficient for you to withdraw your support?

Perhaps not winning the league maybe 2-3 years in a row?

You must be quite fortunate that you picked a club that usually wins stuff every year

Zebra3

yosemite_sam wrote: »

Everton are the Catholic team in Liverpool

Even if they are, what has that got to do with this thread?

shadowcomplex

Coillte_Bhoy wrote: »

Ridiculous nonsense.

its the truth whether you like it or not

5starpool

This thread is overflowing with win.

Coillte_Bhoy

shadowcomplex wrote: »

its the truth whether you like it or not

Go on then, tell me how it's the truth?

stovelid

The Irish thing as regards to clubs is silly. United didn't have the likes of Billy Whelan, Giles, Stapo; McGrath, Moran, Keane and O Shea on the books because they were an Irish club. They bought them because they were outstanding players that came from a cheap market close to home that was/is saturated with United scouts.

Same with with the much touted Irish Arsenal of the 70s and 80s. Look at Arsenal now for proof that it's where the best and cheapest players can be sourced.

The idea that first-generation Irish in England care about sort of thing is stupid as well. I was brought up in Manchester to Irish parents and have loads of relatives there who are all first-generation Irish too and the majority of them support City, not United.

It might suit people's sense of sentimentality to think of English clubs as being Irish but they will just buy the best players available regardless of nationality.

Celtic are probably the only British/Scottish club where the sense of Irishness means something to their local support and the club itself.

yosemite_sam

Zebra3 wrote: »

Even if they are, what has that got to do with this thread?

People were saying Liverpool were the most Irish team, when they could not be because of their history. I wonder what the clubs and the real fans think of coach loads of people from another country thinking they have some sort of affiliation with a place because of a local football team. I can't think of anything as sad if I'm honest, they really are milking some of you guys.

Grayditch

Seriously,though. How English is our Irish National team.

v3ttel

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

before we take into account that 95% of Irish 'fans' of various overseas clubs have never been next or near a home game or the city in question.

Oh, you 'real fan', you

Any evidence for this 'statistic', anything at all?

Fr Tod Umptious

Warper wrote: »

Has to be Everton. We all know about Liverpool fc turning away the Irish in the past whereas Everton never did.

I don't, please enlighten me.

From what I know, and it as already been state here, both Everton and Liverpool have their roots in the same group of people from the same church.

Jim

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

I find it hard to believe many Irish people would fall in love with Bolton, Wolverhampton, Sunderland, Blackburn, Leeds etc over Dublin, Galway, Cork, Kilkenny etc.

hats before we take into account that 95% of Irish 'fans' of various overseas clubs have never been next or near a home game or the city in question.

I started supporting Wolves about 3 years ago when I lived there for a year in college. City is a bit of a kip but I enjoyed my time there and for me represents a good time of my life. I went to a couple of games and found I liked every aspect of the club from small things like their crest and jerseys to the players, manager and overall club attitude and work rate. Also been over to 3 matches this season.

Hard to believe and the easy option?

I also support Bohs and have been to all their home matches and a few away ones this season in case that justifies me anymore (Although in the case of you and Bohs it probably makes it worse )

Warper

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

I don't, please enlighten me.

From what I know, and it as already been state here, both Everton and Liverpool have their roots in the same group of people from the same church.

Liverpool refused to sign Irish players in the 50's and 60's. They had a No Irish policy. Why do you think Everton is the Catholic club and Liverpool the Protestant club of Liverpool.

That_Guy

Warper wrote: »

Liverpool refused to sign Irish players in the 50's and 60's. They had a No Irish policy. Why do you think Everton is the Catholic club and Liverpool the Protestant club of Liverpool.

FFS. What has religion got to do with it? Seriously.

Fr Tod Umptious

Warper wrote: »

Liverpool refused to sign Irish players in the 50's and 60's. They had a No Irish policy. Why do you think Everton is the Catholic club and Liverpool the Protestant club of Liverpool.

I do not think that Everton is the Catholic club and Liverpool the Protestant club of Liverpool.

Tis a pity Wimbeldon never moved to Dublin, then we could have a truly Irish team in the EPL :rolleyes:

K-9

Warper wrote: »

Liverpool refused to sign Irish players in the 50's and 60's. They had a No Irish policy. Why do you think Everton is the Catholic club and Liverpool the Protestant club of Liverpool.

Time has moved on, I've seen joint Liverpool Rangers and Liverpool Celtic scarfs at Anfield and nobody cares! It's just history.

bullpost

I would say Leeds Utd.

Were riding spectacularily high just a few years ago. Went rapidly from this to being broke and a situation where they plunged down the leagues .

Currently nobody is sure who even owns them.

Sounds just like Ireland to me

m@cc@

Wimbledon.

LuckyLloyd

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

I find it hard to believe many Irish people would fall in love with Bolton, Wolverhampton, Sunderland, Blackburn, Leeds etc over Dublin, Galway, Cork, Kilkenny etc.

thats before we take into account that 95% of Irish 'fans' of various overseas clubs have never been next or near a home game or the city in question.

In this case you happen to be arguing with someone who is very much in the "5%" that regularly attend Liverpool home matches. If someone like Dub13 says he's in love with the city of Liverpool, you should just take that at face value tbh.

flas

Liam O wrote: »

Watching hurling and (Gaelic) football is much more exciting than the rubbish that is peddled out by the LOI these days imo. I know a few players who play LOI and they're no great shakes tbh...

no its not. you obviously have very little if any interest in the LOI to say that there is no excitment in it! its as topsy turvy as they come! soap oipera writers couldnt make up half the stuff!!

maybe we should all just support spain, going by your reckoning we should just support the best in the world!

the LOI is played in a country with a population of little over 4 million. people try and compare it to the english premier league as a barometer for how "good" it is. england has a population of over 60 million, all this is related to the standard of leagues, more people, more of an audience, more money= better standard.

flas

shadowcomplex wrote: »

alot of pool fans dont know this but Liverpool are the Rangers of Merseyside and Everton is the Celtic

no, liverpool are the liverpool of merseyside and everton are the everton of merseyside!

Pepe LeFrits

Zebra3 wrote: »

I'd say Wigan.

Aye, Robert O'Martin Ezquire is a lovely chap. His mother has a strange maiden name though... must have a bit of Welsh in him.

tdv123

West Brom

LimeTime

There is no such thing as an Irish Premier League club. They are all English, just because some Irish people follow them does no mean they are Irish.

Warper

LimeTime wrote: »

There is no such thing as an Irish Premier League club. They are all English, just because some Irish people follow them does no mean they are Irish.

There are clubs with strong Irish links and clubs with no Irish links, the thread is what club has the strongest links.

Lahm

Stoke City:

Delap, Whelan, Wilson, Walters...

Warper

That_Guy wrote: »

FFS. What has religion got to do with it? Seriously.

FFS, what do you think this thread is about? What is the "most irish club"? Did you bother to read the question. And yes religion has a hell of a lot to do it. Ireland is a predominantly Catholic country so a Protestant club like Liverpool can hardly be considered to one of the "most Irish" clubs in the PL, now can it.

Coillte_Bhoy

Warper wrote: »

FFS, what do you think this thread is about? What is the "most irish club"? Did you bother to read the question. And yes religion has a hell of a lot to do it. Ireland is a predominantly Catholic country so a Protestant club like Liverpool can hardly be considered to one of the "most Irish" clubs in the PL, now can it.

Dear god, so Irish football supporters are predominantly catholic? What % would you say and would you say many are practising or non-practising? Oh and what exactly is a 'protestant club' and how are Liverpool one?

That_Guy

Warper wrote: »

FFS, what do you think this thread is about? What is the "most irish club"? Did you bother to read the question. And yes religion has a hell of a lot to do it. Ireland is a predominantly Catholic country so a Protestant club like Liverpool can hardly be considered to one of the "most Irish" clubs in the PL, now can it.

What a ridiculous post.

EDIT: And my understanding of the thread is to decipher which team has the most Irish players on it.

Gavin "shels"

Liam O wrote: »

I support football in England and go to the odd LOI match but I realistically hold no support for a game being played at low standard in a country where there is as good if not better sport being played at a very high octane and exciting pace and high standard.

Why don't you support La Liga so, much better than standard than the EPL. Oh and I take it you support the English national team as they're better than the Oirish one?

Warper wrote: »

There are clubs with strong Irish links and clubs with no Irish links, the thread is what club has the strongest links.

Clutching at straws, teams in England = English, teams in Ireland = Irish, teams in Scotland = Scottish and teams in Wales = Welsh. Simple concept tbh.

Lahm

OK.


Just close the thread so. It's stupid.

yosemite_sam

Gavin shels wrote: »

Why don't you support La Liga so, much better than standard than the EPL. Oh and I take it you support the English national team as they're better than the Oirish one?



Clutching at straws, teams in England = English, teams in Ireland = Irish, teams in Scotland = Scottish and teams in Wales = Welsh. Simple concept tbh.

You are right supporting a La Liga side is just as ridiculous as an Irish man supporting an EPL side.

applehunter

Tottenhan Hotspurs were owned by the Tottenhams who were English land owners in North Leitrim.

Het-Field

flas wrote: »

no its not. you obviously have very little if any interest in the LOI to say that there is no excitment in it! its as topsy turvy as they come! soap oipera writers couldnt make up half the stuff!!

maybe we should all just support spain, going by your reckoning we should just support the best in the world!

the LOI is played in a country with a population of little over 4 million. people try and compare it to the english premier league as a barometer for how "good" it is. england has a population of over 60 million, all this is related to the standard of leagues, more people, more of an audience, more money= better standard.

Fine, can we compare the National League to the Scottish League, the Tippeligaen in Norway, or the Danish League ?

These League's perform at a level far greater then the current National League. Suggestions that out National team has punched above its weight are valid, the LOI has hardly done anything of the sort. You are seeking to misrepresent the true position of the National League, by trying to suggest that people are seeking to compare it to a model against which the National League shouldnt be benchmarked. I accept that we shouldnt seek to compare the National League with the EPL or the Championship. However, people are entitled to compare it to the leagues of Denmark, Scotland and Norway. The result will ultimately be the same

Liam O

Gavin shels wrote: »

Why don't you support La Liga so, much better than standard than the EPL. Oh and I take it you support the English national team as they're better than the Oirish one?.

Maybe because I grew up going to United games and the best Irish player of my generation played for them. I feel a connection to the club and some of the best experiences of my life have been in OT.

It's not like the Irish national team all play in Ireland, or is it you trying to delude yourself? It's an English game so surely surely supporting it in any shape or form is as bad as supporting an English team? There's a reason all the best Irish players play in England and you can't say that it wasn't your dream when you were growing up. Like I said earlier, if you want to play the English card the whole sport was developed in England and there is a similar Irish sport that you should be supporting if you actually judge people for supporting an English club.

also La Liga isn't the best league in the world, just has arguably the 2 best teams in the world in it.

Liam O

Lahm wrote: »

OK.


Just close the thread so. It's stupid.

I know it's been a discussion that has been had plenty of times on here but I feel it's a valid debate and as long as it doesn't spread to other threads as is the norm then I think it's OK for whoever wants to discuss it.

OhNoYouDidn't

Jim wrote: »

I started supporting Wolves about 3 years ago when I lived there for a year in college. City is a bit of a kip but I enjoyed my time there and for me represents a good time of my life. I went to a couple of games and found I liked every aspect of the club from small things like their crest and jerseys to the players, manager and overall club attitude and work rate. Also been over to 3 matches this season.

Hard to believe and the easy option?

I also support Bohs and have been to all their home matches and a few away ones this season in case that justifies me anymore (Although in the case of you and Bohs it probably makes it worse )

But you have an affinity to the city - fundamental difference.

I do not believe for one second that the Man U and Liverpool fans of Dublin are fans of those clubs becuase they fell in love with these cities in advance of supporting the teams.

bullpost

Have to say I find it a bit odd alright this obsessiveness with the Irish connection.
I never thought about an Irish connection when I started supporting Chelsea. They were exotic and different and that was part of the attraction - a bit like the fairer sex really.

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

But you have an affinity to the city - fundamental difference.

I do not believe for one second that the Man U and Liverpool fans of Dublin are fans of those clubs becuase they fell in love with these cities in advance of supporting the teams.

OhNoYouDidn't

Het-Field wrote: »

Fine, can we compare the National League to the Scottish League, the Tippeligaen in Norway, or the Danish League ?

These League's perform at a level far greater then the current National League. Suggestions that out National team has punched above its weight are valid, the LOI has hardly done anything of the sort. You are seeking to misrepresent the true position of the National League, by trying to suggest that people are seeking to compare it to a model against which the National League shouldnt be benchmarked. I accept that we shouldnt seek to compare the National League with the EPL or the Championship. However, people are entitled to compare it to the leagues of Denmark, Scotland and Norway. The result will ultimately be the same

But Irish sides beat Scandinavian and Scottish sides in Europe more often than not...

In the last 10 years, Irish teams have knocked out 2 out of 2 Scottish sides.

Cork beat Malmo and Djurgardens and lost to Hammerby. They have beaten teams from Cyprus, Iceland Lithuania and even Holland.

Pats have beaten Swedish, Latvian, Maltese, and Russian sides.

Rovers beat an Israeli side last year.

When we play a team from a league that has a similar population, Irish sides genrally win. Accepted there have been some losses to Welsh and Albanian sides, but overall, we do overachieve in Europe

flas

Het-Field wrote: »

Fine, can we compare the National League to the Scottish League, the Tippeligaen in Norway, or the Danish League ?

These League's perform at a level far greater then the current National League. Suggestions that out National team has punched above its weight are valid, the LOI has hardly done anything of the sort. You are seeking to misrepresent the true position of the National League, by trying to suggest that people are seeking to compare it to a model against which the National League shouldnt be benchmarked. I accept that we shouldnt seek to compare the National League with the EPL or the Championship. However, people are entitled to compare it to the leagues of Denmark, Scotland and Norway. The result will ultimately be the same

no we cant compare the danish league. they have even won a european championships in the 90's! it has an average attendence of 9,000, which is a lot more than our league here gets, if more people in this country took an interest in things this side of the water there would be absolutely no reason we could not have a league as successful as the danish superliga! well it would also help if our government did the same as the danish government and brought in huge tax incentives for the league but thats a different matter for a different thread.

the danish league is widely available on tv in denmark, many many live games shown every single week, this drums up serious interest in the country as the kids see it as much as kids here see english teams on tv, all this is relative. i have an uncle who lives in Arhus, my cousins, who are 13 and 7 dont watch the english premier league, they actually support AGF, their local side, they are in the 2nd tier over there now. things like this make a massive massive difference to the league. they could turn and say they support some team who plays in one of the massive money leagues around europe but they dont, its not the done thing as it is here. with the money from tv rights being pumped into the local league in denmark, the league has gone from 22nd in the uefa standings up to 12th. LOI is currently at 31st, with the same investment it would jump up the rankings aswell, but that needs people to go to the matches. it jumped 15 places in the last few years and was 29th two seasons ago, to say its not making huge strides is ridiculous.

the scottish league is the same, how many kids from aberdeen are you going to see walking around with united jerseys on? or in glasgow with spurs jerseys? they dont, they support their own league, own teams. the scottish league has an average attendance of around the 15,000 mark.

the Tippeligaen in norway again has a big following in norway with average attendances of 10,000!!

do you not see where the common denominator in all this is!?!

here in the LOI we have an average attendance of just over 2,000.

as i said in my last post, more people throuht the gates means more money=a better standard. you said 3 countries with around the same population as Ireland, i have showed you why the leagues you think we should be comparing ourselves with are such a success in the likes of european competition compared to home clubs!

Het-Field

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

But Irish sides beat Scandinavian and Scottish sides in Europe more often than not...

In the last 10 years, Irish teams have knocked out 2 out of 2 Scottish sides.

Cork beat Malmo and Djurgardens and lost to Hammerby. They have beaten teams from Cyprus, Iceland Lithuania and even Holland.

Pats have beaten Swedish, Latvian, Maltese, and Russian sides.

Rovers beat an Israeli side last year.

When we play a team from a league that has a similar population, Irish sides genrally win. Accepted there have been some losses to Welsh and Albanian sides, but overall, we do overachieve in Europe

Accepting your points is kinda strange to me ! However, I do accept this one in terms of Ireland's European performances. Ireland has done well. However, it wouldnt be comparable to the relative successes of the likes of Rosenborg, F.C Copenhagen, or even one or two of the smaller Scottish teams who have done reasonably well in European Competition.

I would also suggest that beating the likes of Gretna F.C would not be as impressive as it would seem on paper. Yes, they were a Scottish Premier League team, however, they were woefully ill-equipped for life in that division, they were vastly inferior to all teams in the legue, and were about to go out of business without a trace.

The fact that some of those victories you mentioned came in the Inter-Toto Cup would also call into question the true nature of the victories against Malmo etc. The Inter-Toto Cup was taken with various degrees of seriousness, by various clubs, and as such, it is always questionable how committed some opponants were to the competition.

I will certainly agree that Shelbourne, St Pats, Cork City, Bohs, Rovers, and even UCD (in 2000) enjoyed success at European level. The scalps of Aberdeen and Haijuk Split would remain the most noteworthy. There were also decent results taken against the likes of Deportivo, Rosenborg, Kaiserslautern, Elfsborg, Sloga, and some Eastern European teams, even if the aggregate score was not in favour of the Irish Club. However, unlike teams from Norway, Sweden, and Scotland, Ireland continues to fail to have representatives at the Group stages of either European Competition, and in recent years it has seemed as though it is more unlikely then ever for that to happen. I would hold out hope for Rovers this term, but it doesnt negate the recent history of Irish clubs in Europe.

Het-Field

flas wrote: »

no we cant compare the danish league. they have even won a european championships in the 90's! it has an average attendence of 9,000, which is a lot more than our league here gets, if more people in this country took an interest in things this side of the water there would be absolutely no reason we could not have a league as successful as the danish superliga! well it would also help if our government did the same as the danish government and brought in huge tax incentives for the league but thats a different matter for a different thread.

the danish league is widely available on tv in denmark, many many live games shown every single week, this drums up serious interest in the country as the kids see it as much as kids here see english teams on tv, all this is relative. i have an uncle who lives in Arhus, my cousins, who are 13 and 7 dont watch the english premier league, they actually support AGF, their local side, they are in the 2nd tier over there now. things like this make a massive massive difference to the league. they could turn and say they support some team who plays in one of the massive money leagues around europe but they dont, its not the done thing as it is here. with the money from tv rights being pumped into the local league in denmark, the league has gone from 22nd in the uefa standings up to 12th. LOI is currently at 31st, with the same investment it would jump up the rankings aswell, but that needs people to go to the matches. it jumped 15 places in the last few years and was 29th two seasons ago, to say its not making huge strides is ridiculous.

the scottish league is the same, how many kids from aberdeen are you going to see walking around with united jerseys on? or in glasgow with spurs jerseys? they dont, they support their own league, own teams. the scottish league has an average attendance of around the 15,000 mark.

the Tippeligaen in norway again has a big following in norway with average attendances of 10,000!!

do you not see where the common denominator in all this is!?!

here in the LOI we have an average attendance of just over 2,000.

as i said in my last post, more people throuht the gates means more money=a better standard. you said 3 countries with around the same population as Ireland, i have showed you why the leagues you think we should be comparing ourselves with are such a success in the likes of european competition compared to home clubs!

First, are these countries competing with a indigenous sport like the National League is required to ? Without considering the impact of the GAA on all other sports in Ireland, then your arguments will be weakened considerably. The increase in interest in Rugby and regular Magners League games must have had some impact on the league.

Second. Are the respective leagues of Scotland, Norway, and Denmark as centralised as the National League ? Of the Premier League's 10 representatives, almost half are from Dublin (if you consider Bray Wanderers from Dublin), while another two are from Louth, which is merely an hour from Dublin. In the first division, we have a further representative from Dublin in Shelbourne FC, and a further two Galway representatives in Mervue and Salthill Devons. Essentially, of a 21 team entity, almost half come from three counties. The main problem with this is the lack of identity this promotes amongst the teams from centralised areas.

Third. It is natural that the EPL doesnt provoke as much interest in Denmark as it doesn in Ireland. The componants of our national team are almost exclusively based in the UK, while Denmark's national team would be more disparate, and would have more representatives in its domestic league then our National Team does.

Fourth, I would like to know where this "investment" will come from ? Our Country is virtually bankrupt.

Gavin "shels"

Liam O wrote: »

It's an English game so surely surely supporting it in any shape or form is as bad as supporting an English team? Like I said earlier, if you want to play the English card the whole sport was developed in England and there is a similar Irish sport that you should be supporting if you actually judge people for supporting an English club.

So by your logic everyone in the world should support an English team or just be a hypocrite!?

You said you're a GAA fan, so people on your logic aren't allowed to follow the London or New York teams because GAA is an Irish sport?

Quality thread

Paparazzo

Xavi6 wrote: »

Celtic

About as "irish" as a green inflatable hammer

yosemite_sam

Paparazzo wrote: »

About as "irish" as a green inflatable hammer

He is right though, Celtic are as near to being Irish club as you can get. The way they were formed, they are a focal point for the Irish in Scotland and their descendants. Celtic are without doubt the most Irish club not in Ireland

nullzero

Obviously the big clubs in the north of England would have more Iirsh connections as historically a greater number of Irish people settled there than settled further south. So the OP answered the question when they said Liverpool or Man United.

LimeTime

Het-Field wrote: »

Fine, can we compare the National League to the Scottish League, the Tippeligaen in Norway, or the Danish League ?

These League's perform at a level far greater then the current National League. Suggestions that out National team has punched above its weight are valid, the LOI has hardly done anything of the sort. You are seeking to misrepresent the true position of the National League, by trying to suggest that people are seeking to compare it to a model against which the National League shouldnt be benchmarked. I accept that we shouldnt seek to compare the National League with the EPL or the Championship. However, people are entitled to compare it to the leagues of Denmark, Scotland and Norway. The result will ultimately be the same

Look, I'm just going to comment on Scotland as I haven't a flippin' clue about the Norwegian or Danish leagues. What I will say is that I, and I know alot of players do not consider the SPL a step up from the Airtricity League.

Outside the old firm the teams are not a very high standard at all.

flas

Het-Field wrote: »

First, are these countries competing with a indigenous sport like the National League is required to ? Without considering the impact of the GAA on all other sports in Ireland, then your arguments will be weakened considerably. The increase in interest in Rugby and regular Magners League games must have had some impact on the league.

Second. Are the respective leagues of Scotland, Norway, and Denmark as centralised as the National League ? Of the Premier League's 10 representatives, almost half are from Dublin (if you consider Bray Wanderers from Dublin), while another two are from Louth, which is merely an hour from Dublin. In the first division, we have a further representative from Dublin in Shelbourne FC, and a further two Galway representatives in Mervue and Salthill Devons. Essentially, of a 21 team entity, almost half come from three counties. The main problem with this is the lack of identity this promotes amongst the teams from centralised areas.

Third. It is natural that the EPL doesnt provoke as much interest in Denmark as it doesn in Ireland. The componants of our national team are almost exclusively based in the UK, while Denmark's national team would be more disparate, and would have more representatives in its domestic league then our National Team does.

Fourth, I would like to know where this "investment" will come from ? Our Country is virtually bankrupt.

firstly, in norway, football is the 3rd most watched sport on norwegian televison, so that would suggest that yes, football in norway has big competition from other sports.in norway only 8.5% of the population play football, here that figure is around the 16% mark.
people can follow more than one sport though. scotland also has the magners league in rugby, but football would be the most widely followed sport there.
in denmark the mix of sports is a bit more diverse than here, with golf and handball being the sports competiting with football. there is nearlly 150,000 registered hand ball players in denmark, its huge over there, but i would argue that no matter if they are so into their handball they will still go to their local football matches if they have an interest in it aswell.

secondly, in scotland there is only 4 teams from outside the centre of scotland, in aberdeen, inverness and dundee. the majority of teams are from glasgow or the glasgow suburbs, and a small few from edinburgh, which evidently is around an hours drive from glasgow, so they are all centralised in the way irish football is.
in norway up until the 70's teams from the north of the country were not permitted to enter the league, and now there is only one team from the north of the country, of the 16 teams in their tippeligaen, 7 are from the same area, sound oslo, exactly like the amount of teams based around dublin, but oslo has a smaller population than dublin.
denmarks 12 teams in the superliga is still based in an area half the size of ireland, its a highly populated country, there is not a great degree of distance between the teams!

thirdly this is part of my point, the players feel like they have to move, because the LOI is not precieved as being big enough or of a high enough standard to allow the players to play international football. if more people go to the games, more interest in the games then there is more money then better players. seriously, one follows the other, its not that hard to imagine!

fourth i dont know where the investment is going to come from! if we were getting the same attendances as the lowest attended league from these countries we would have 3 to 4 times the revenue streams from attendances alone, then factor in media coverage that would jump from the increase in people attending the games, then the big sponsorships start as there is a bigger audience to sell products to. its all relative.

hope i answered your questions, i did as best i could, its been a long day!

jack presley

OhNoYouDidn't wrote: »

I do not believe for one second that the Man U and Liverpool fans of Dublin are fans of those clubs becuase they fell in love with these cities in advance of supporting the teams.

And if they did, why didn't a lot of them end up supporting Man City or Everton?

adox

What I cant understand is why the LOI fans don't support Madrid.

Real football and all that.