Getting bums on seats - LOI

gustavo

Oranage2 wrote: »

I just think loi has too much competition, there are things people would rather do like go to the cinema or a restaurant. As people get older the have less time and spending the night watching a game wouldn't be most people's idea of entertainment.

Also a lady I use to work with would bring her kids to the one in Watergate park and she said it wasn't really family friendly with a lot of bad language and a hostile environment.

If people really wanted to watch a match just take a walk around a local park a watch a game there , save yourself a few quid too.

You could also say to your cinema and restaurant -
If people really wanted to watch a film just watch a DVD at home , save yourself a few quid too
If people really wanted to eat just have a meal at home , save yourself a few quid too

dan1895

What I don't get is why don't these people move to an area of the ground with less people. The places are hardly full. I do think however that it wouldn't hurt to have designated family sections, the opposite end to the designated drinking section!!

- bo -

Did a final year project on LOI myself a couple of years ago, good stuff...

happydayz182 wrote: »

What gets you attending games and what stops you?

I just caught the bug I suppose when I started going around 1999 (age 11) or so to Dalymount. Since then I've built up a group of mates at Bohs and we all meet up pre-match for a couple of pints and a chat and stand together at the match. We'd travel away and sometimes abroad following the club. So it's more than just turning up for a match and heading on home, it's regularly meeting mates you live 50km away from every week or two.

The only thing that stops me really is awkward working hours. Most games I jsut about make it to as I finish work at 6pm and have to leg it to a bus for 6.05pm which in rush hour traffic sometimes get me there just in time for kickoff. Sometimes though I'm in until 9pm. With away games, sometimes it's just too awkward getting back home so I'd have to give it a miss.

happydayz182 wrote: »

Do you know many people who potentially could become regular match goers and fans in general?

Yes and no. I've brought several new faces along over the past 10-15 years. Most of them would have come to the odd big game (derbies, European nights) but then their interest just faded. I have a lot of friends/family who regularly ask me about Bohs and who actually have decent knowledge of Bohs/LOI but just will never try out a game. Football to them is something you follow on TV (not trying to stir sh1t by saying that, but it is the attitude they have)

happydayz182 wrote: »

What kind of objections would stop people going who otherwise have a decent interest in soccer?

In my case, the main thing is the distance. If Dalymount was in the vicinity I think I'd be able to entice a few more people along, but as I mentioned its 50km or so away. I have the "bug" in that I travelled for four years to Dalymount (and away) from Athlone when I was in college. And yes it does make me question my sanity... other than that probably the ground/facilities, people don't want to stand on top of a dirty uneven pile of concrete with broken seats attached to them. It's not something that bothers me but I can see why it would others. The price, at €15, is always mentioned. Only thing is, it's far too late for a club like us to reduce it to, say, €10. We have our hardcore 1,000-1,500 at the moment, dropping to €10-12 is too big a risk to take at this stage as although it would be more appealing, we would need a 50% increase in attendance to cover ourselves.

Omackeral

Just on the point of facilities. Which stadiums would people see as good and which are poor?

Obviously Thomond is 5 star for our league, albeit temporary.

Tallaght is a good ground. No complaints there surely?

What are the Showgrounds like? I've not been yet.

Then on the flipside I would say Tolka leaves a lot to be desired, same with Hunky Dory park and the Carlisle (get p*ssed on there).

What do people think of Richmond, Dalymount, the Cross, Oriel?

Gavin "shels"

Oranage2 wrote: »

Also a lady I use to work with would bring her kids to the one in Watergate park and she said it wasn't really family friendly with a lot of bad language and a hostile environment.

Paulw wrote: »

I have to agree with this. I think that is one of the biggest problems.

Because it doesn't happen everywhere in the world? Ever been to a pub for an English match?

premierstone

Gavin shels wrote: »

Because it doesn't happen everywhere in the world? Ever been to a pub for an English match?

I very much doubt the lady in question, or those of a similar viewpoint, would bring her kids to a pub to watch an English match either, thats kind of the point!

Gavin "shels"

premierstone wrote: »

I very much doubt the lady in question, or those of a similar viewpoint, would bring her kids to a pub to watch an English match either, thats kind of the point!

Go to any local on a Saturday/Sunday....

premierstone

Gavin shels wrote: »

Go to any local on a Saturday/Sunday....

I have done, I'm still not sure what your point is though? We are talking about parents who don't want to have their kids surrounded by bad language etc. surely those same people would not bring their kids to a pub on a saturday/sunday for the very same reasons??

Paulw

Gavin shels wrote: »

Because it doesn't happen everywhere in the world? Ever been to a pub for an English match?

And there was I thinking that we were talking about taking kids/people to an actual game, rather than just to go watch something on TV.

You won't find that kind of language at a Premiership match in the UK. It's not permitted. And yes, I've been to games in the UK as well.

Many countries are clamping down on bad language at games, in an attempt to encourage kids and families to attend.

NIMAN

Paulw wrote: »

Many countries are clamping down on bad language at games, in an attempt to encourage kids and families to attend.

Cos its such a PC world we live in now, someone in the stadium might get offended.

dan1895

Here's something that keeps people away. The airtricity league website. Trying to sort out my roster in work for November so went on it to see what dates the playoffs are down for. All I got was the dates for last years playoffs!
If anyone knows please tell me.

A Brad Maddox Guy

Omackeral wrote: »

Just on the point of facilities. Which stadiums would people see as good and which are poor?
Oriel?

Oriel Park is grand if you're a Dundalk fan but I'd imagine it's pretty bad if you're an away supporter. Pretty sure there aren't even toilets over there.

There's one thing that I see a lot with fans of various teams in this league: insulting those who support English clubs or Celtic. It's something that I think undermines the effort of trying to get them to support their local club; what better way to encourage attendance than to insult those that do no attend? Even on MNS they'll mention 'barstoolers' every now and then and I think it's nonsensical.

It'd be great if we suddenly saw a universal upsurge in LOI attendances but that just isn't going to happen without significant reform, whether that be media presentation (MNS is usually terrible and I know many people hate it), advertising (it's all well and good having people sharing leaflet photos on Facebook but for anything significant to occur RTE should advertise games, even non-televised ones), league format or a combination. But to ultimately see any real increase in LOI attendance you need the FAI to both help struggling clubs stay afloat (when there's at least one club every year dangerously close to going under you know you've a problem) and fund some sort of player payment/incentive scheme to encourage Irish players to stay in this league rather than going to an English League 1/2 side, maybe even the Championship (lower end, there's obviously no way they could compete with the wages of bigger budget Championship sides). If that happened I believe our clubs could occasionally qualify for European competition, boosting finances and (theoretically) attendance (Shamrock Rovers' 1 Europa League qualification doesn't provide enough of a quantitative basis to say this for definite). This of course will not happen, all of their money is tied up in the Aviva payments. But in my opinion it would be in the best interests of the national side as well as the domestic league.

That's my opinion on what needs to be done to get bums on seats anyway. There is no easy answer to this question; if there was there would be 10,000 people at every game every week.

CSF

Paulw wrote: »

You won't find that kind of language at a Premiership match in the UK.

You are so wrong.

dundalkfc10

A Brad Maddox Guy wrote: »

Oriel Park is grand if you're a Dundalk fan but I'd imagine it's pretty bad if you're an away supporter. Pretty sure there aren't even toilets over there.

There's one thing that I see a lot with fans of various teams in this league: insulting those who support English clubs or Celtic. It's something that I think undermines the effort of trying to get them to support their local club; what better way to encourage attendance than to insult those that do no attend? Even on MNS they'll mention 'barstoolers' every now and then and I think it's nonsensical.

It'd be great if we suddenly saw a universal upsurge in LOI attendances but that just isn't going to happen without significant reform, whether that be media presentation (MNS is usually terrible and I know many people hate it), advertising (it's all well and good having people sharing leaflet photos on Facebook but for anything significant to occur RTE should advertise games, even non-televised ones), league format or a combination. But to ultimately see any real increase in LOI attendance you need the FAI to both help struggling clubs stay afloat (when there's at least one club every year dangerously close to going under you know you've a problem) and fund some sort of player payment/incentive scheme to encourage Irish players to stay in this league rather than going to an English League 1/2 side, maybe even the Championship (lower end, there's obviously no way they could compete with the wages of bigger budget Championship sides). If that happened I believe our clubs could occasionally qualify for European competition, boosting finances and (theoretically) attendance (Shamrock Rovers' 1 Europa League qualification doesn't provide enough of a quantitative basis to say this for definite). This of course will not happen, all of their money is tied up in the Aviva payments. But in my opinion it would be in the best interests of the national side as well as the domestic league.

That's my opinion on what needs to be done to get bums on seats anyway. There is no easy answer to this question; if there was there would be 10,000 people at every game every week.

Totally agree, but we havnt the money to do up the away end so its not gonna change for a while.

Gavin "shels"

dundalkfc10 wrote: »

Totally agree, but we havnt the money to do up the away end so its not gonna change for a while.

So you didn't hear of FastFix's plan at the start of the season?

dundalkfc10

Gavin shels wrote: »

So you didn't hear of FastFix's plan at the start of the season?

Show me once where FastFix or the Club itself has said that we would be improving the away end?
Apart from maybe proper toilets not much will be done for a good while.
That away end passed Uefa licencing and held 2 Europa League ties a few years back,

Alot more things needed done around the ground before the away end

Gavin "shels"

dundalkfc10 wrote: »

Show me once where FastFix or the Club itself has said that we would be improving the away end?
Apart from maybe proper toilets not much will be done for a good while.
That away end passed Uefa licencing and held 2 Europa League ties a few years back,

Alot more things needed done around the ground before the away end

Was fairly common knowledge in what they were doing with the away end; new stand, toliets, paving the away exit, etc...

dundalkfc10

Gavin shels wrote: »

Was fairly common knowledge in what they were doing with the away end; new stand, toliets, paving the away exit, etc...

That has been done has it not?

As for the New Stand? I dont know where you heard that but no plans are in place for any new stand

Gavin "shels"

dundalkfc10 wrote: »

That has been done has it not?

As for the New Stand? I dont know where you heard that but no plans are in place for any new stand

5 figure sum is what I heard at the start of the season that was being invested in Oriel.

Captain Havoc

Omackeral wrote: »

Just on the point of facilities. Which stadiums would people see as good and which are poor?

Obviously Thomond is 5 star for our league, albeit temporary.

Tallaght is a good ground. No complaints there surely?

What are the Showgrounds like? I've not been yet.

Then on the flipside I would say Tolka leaves a lot to be desired, same with Hunky Dory park and the Carlisle (get p*ssed on there).

What do people think of Richmond, Dalymount, the Cross, Oriel?

Showgrounds is grand, the Jody stand is grand, I haven't been in Richmond in many years but I think it's dated, the cross is grand, I've never been to Oriel.

BOHtox

Captain Havoc wrote: »

Showgrounds is grand, the Jody stand is grand, I haven't been in Richmond in many years but I think it's dated, the cross is grand, I've never been to Oriel.

Oriel is a kip! View and facilities are awful!

dundalkfc10

Gavin shels wrote: »

5 figure sum is what I heard at the start of the season that was being invested in Oriel.

Not a word about it

dundalkfc10

Captain Havoc wrote: »

Showgrounds is grand, the Jody stand is grand, I haven't been in Richmond in many years but I think it's dated, the cross is grand, I've never been to Oriel.

Thomand fantastic but no atmosphere as expected
Tallaght, Great ground but no atmosphere usually
Richmond, Great little ground
Tolka, Bit outdated but I love this ground
Dalymount, Jody is a fantastic stand, away end is ok. Looks very bare with only 2 sides used though
UCD, Not great but good view
Drogheda, One of my fav grounds although Away end horrible view and outdated, I do like there home end. Compact stadium, just a pity there no room to improve the stadium
Oriel, Shed side, great view although could do with extending it the full length. Away end horrible, Main stand average. Say worst ground for away fans by a good stretch
Bray, Lovely ground although always freezing
Cork, 1st time i was there in over 3 years this year and loved it. Best ground in the League!
Derry, Lovely ground but struggles for an atmosphere
Sligo, Lovely ground again. Fair play to Sligo for the improvements over the years

I know ive left some out, but there all the grounds I was in this year

AgileMyth

dundalkfc10 wrote: »

Thomand fantastic but no atmosphere as expected
Tallaght, Great ground but no atmosphere usually
Richmond, Great little ground
Tolka, Bit outdated but I love this ground
Dalymount, Jody is a fantastic stand, away end is ok. Looks very bare with only 2 sides used though
UCD, Not great but good view
Drogheda, One of my fav grounds although Away end horrible view and outdated, I do like there home end. Compact stadium, just a pity there no room to improve the stadium
Oriel, Shed side, great view although could do with extending it the full length. Away end horrible, Main stand average. Say worst ground for away fans by a good stretch
Bray, Lovely ground although always freezing
Cork, 1st time i was there in over 3 years this year and loved it. Best ground in the League!
Derry, Lovely ground but struggles for an atmosphere
Sligo, Lovely ground again. Fair play to Sligo for the improvements over the years

I know ive left some out, but there all the grounds I was in this year

You're getting to a lot of games. I've been to all of those bar Cork this year and would agree with you on most.

I'm happy enough in any ground that has a roof over the away section. Only Dundalk and Bray that don't I think. We usually have a 3+ hour bus journey after the game and its miserable when you're soaked.

Don't really think the quality of the away end matters when talking about getting bums on seats. Not many casual fans at away games is there? I think every ground has a decent section somewhere that they try to get the new supporters into!

Omackeral

dundalkfc10 wrote: »

Thomand fantastic but no atmosphere as expected
Tallaght, Great ground but no atmosphere usually
Richmond, Great little ground
Tolka, Bit outdated but I love this ground
Dalymount, Jody is a fantastic stand, away end is ok. Looks very bare with only 2 sides used though
UCD, Not great but good view
Drogheda, One of my fav grounds although Away end horrible view and outdated, I do like there home end. Compact stadium, just a pity there no room to improve the stadium
Oriel, Shed side, great view although could do with extending it the full length. Away end horrible, Main stand average. Say worst ground for away fans by a good stretch
Bray, Lovely ground although always freezing
Cork, 1st time i was there in over 3 years this year and loved it. Best ground in the League!
Derry, Lovely ground but struggles for an atmosphere
Sligo, Lovely ground again. Fair play to Sligo for the improvements over the years

I know ive left some out, but there all the grounds I was in this year

I'm goin' to de real capital next so.... boiiiii. You sold it to me just like that. Fair play

10green bottles

Gavin shels wrote: »

Was fairly common knowledge in what they were doing with the away end; new stand, toliets, paving the away exit, etc...

Did you remember all this the night after you got that dodgy beer or on the night you were drinking it?

And BTW the away exit is "paved".Or tarmacked as we call it.Must be a while since you last visited

10green bottles

dundalkfc10 wrote: »

.........
Derry, Lovely ground but struggles for an atmosphere ...............

Wee bit of a pish take here obv! LOL good one

premierstone

A Brad Maddox Guy wrote: »

There's one thing that I see a lot with fans of various teams in this league: insulting those who support English clubs or Celtic. It's something that I think undermines the effort of trying to get them to support their local club; what better way to encourage attendance than to insult those that do no attend? Even on MNS they'll mention 'barstoolers' every now and then and I think it's nonsensical.

Nail on the head there mate, one thing that really pisses me off about the LOI is this holier than thou attitude of a vast majority of its followers towards supporters of other league and in particular Celtic fans.

SantryRed

premierstone wrote: »

Nail on the head there mate, one thing that really pisses me off about the LOI is this holier than thou attitude of a vast majority of its followers towards supporters of other league and in particular Celtic fans.

Seriously? Even though the reason a lot of people support Celtic is because of Irish connections? So support Celtic because of Irish connections but don't support any LoI team. ****sake. I don't even care, but they have a very big ****ing point.

meriwether

The reason the LOI is under pressure is due to the poor state of the facilities, and the standard of football on show.

The reason behind these problems is that the LOI is consistently badly ran. There is no material incremental improvement in any of these, year in year out.

The fault for this lies with the FAI.

The incompetence of the FAI is the root of all issues here.

premierstone

SantryRed wrote: »

Seriously? Even though the reason a lot of people support Celtic is because of Irish connections? So support Celtic because of Irish connections but don't support any LoI team. ****sake. I don't even care, but they have a very big ****ing point.

Thanks for making my point better than I ever could, priceless! Does the chip on the shoulder come with a LOI season ticket or do you have to apply seperately??

Omackeral

premierstone wrote: »

Thanks for making my point better than I ever could, priceless! Does the chip on the shoulder come with a LOI season ticket or do you have to apply seperately??

It's a valid point from SR though. People supporting Celtic soley because they've Irish connections (and using this as the only reason I stress) is a bit silly when you have actual Irish teams.

premierstone

Omackeral wrote: »

It's a valid point from SR though. People supporting Celtic soley because they've Irish connections (and using this as the only reason I stress) is a bit silly when you have actual Irish teams.

Obviously the Irish connection is a large part of why I personally support Celtic, I won't speak on behalf of others, but there are other reasons aswell. And as for the LOI, I am from North Tipp so please tell me what LOI team it would be 'acceptable' for me to follow, I have absolutely no connection or affinity with any LOI team and quite frankly the snobbery of a large number of the leagues fans wouldn't entice me to change this anytime soon.

Vex Willems

premierstone wrote: »

Obviously the Irish connection is a large part of why I personally support Celtic, I won't speak on behalf of others, but there are other reasons aswell. And as for the LOI, I am from North Tipp so please tell me what LOI team it would be 'acceptable' for me to follow, I have absolutely no connection or affinity with any LOI team and quite frankly the snobbery of a large number of the leagues fans wouldn't entice me to change this anytime soon.

Ah yes, that massive North Tipp, Scottish connection.

premierstone

Vex Willems wrote: »

Ah yes, that massive North Tipp, Scottish connection.

I have family in Glasgow aswell, not that I need to justify myself to some internet bufoon. I'm glad though that my impressions of LOI fans have been reaffirmed by this thread.

I notice you conveniently ignored my question re supporting a LOI team aswell.

CSF

premierstone wrote: »

I have family in Glasgow aswell, not that I need to justify myself to some internet bufoon. I'm glad though that my impressions of LOI fans have been reaffirmed by this thread.

I notice you conveniently ignored my question re supporting a LOI team aswell.

Definitely seems like you're the one with the chip on your shoulder

bohsman

premierstone wrote: »

I notice you conveniently ignored my question re supporting a LOI team aswell.

Well most of them have Irish connections and Irish players so take your pick really.

premierstone

bohsman wrote: »

Well most of them have Irish connections and Irish players so take your pick really.

I lived in Dublin for a few years and attended a good lot of St Pats games as I lived nearby and I was at a few Boh's games as I worked with a Boh's fan, must say I quite enjoyed the experience and some of the atmospheres were brilliant, always enjoyed the games against Derry for some reason, thought their travelling support was great craic. Closest team now to me is Limerick but I have absolutely zero interest in supporting them tbh and as a GAA man I think that is a reasonable stance, county boundaries and all that!!

dan1895

No football clubs in North Tipp no? And isn't it convenient that so many people have relatives in towns with big successful clubs. Its funny how you'll never hear someone say "I support Bray Wanderers because my granny's from there"

premierstone

CSF wrote: »

Definitely seems like you're the one with the chip on your shoulder

Why do you say that?? You are quite fond of droping into the Celtic thread yourself on a regualr basis having a snipe, why is that it they are a team that you have no interest in?

premierstone

dan1895 wrote: »

No football clubs in North Tipp no? And isn't it convenient that so many people have relatives in towns with big successful clubs. Its funny how you'll never hear someone say "I support Bray Wanderers because my granny's from there"

There is indeed and I played for my local club for a few years and still attend most of their home games, we are not talking about Junior Soccer here though, please read the thread title its not that complicated :rolleyes:

dan1895

premierstone wrote: »

There is indeed and I played for my local club for a few years and still attend most of their home games, we are not talking about Junior Soccer here though, please read the thread title its not that complicated :rolleyes:

Fair point and I have great respect for anyone supporting their local team no matter what level. I don't understand why you didn't mention it earlier rather than going on about Celtic.

My point about Bray still stands though

Paz-CCFC

premierstone wrote: »

Nail on the head there mate, one thing that really pisses me off about the LOI is this holier than thou attitude of a vast majority of its followers towards supporters of other league and in particular Celtic fans.

What's your basis for this? I hope it's not based on a few comments on the internet that you don't like. About 15,000 people regularly support League of Ireland clubs. Are you trying to say that 10,000+ of these have this attitude?

The whole "holier than thou" thing isn't nearly as prevalent as Irish supporters of British football clubs claim it is. Some do hold that attitude, there's no doubt about it - but there's a hell of a lot more ****e coming the other way. And a lot of time the holier than thou attitude pops its head up, it's in response to fans of British clubs taking the piss. You could have a thread on here about the LoI, some arsehole comes onto it and says something witty like "Why would you watch that rubbish?", "the Atrocity League" etc., and then you'll get "the barstooler" type stuff in response. It's generally just like-for-like pops Yet, the latter is usually seen as much more prevalent. And it's cringeworthy when people claim that that's the reason why the LoI isn't more supported - yet, few say they don't support the British leagues when it goes the other way.

In real life, people mostly just let bygones be bygones. The majority of non-LoI football supporters that I know tend to take a little bit of interest in the league, and in return, they tend to be respected for their choice of supporting a team from abroad. If people belittle the LoI, though, they can only expect to get stick in return. If you can't take it back, you shouldn't dish it out. But, overall, it's a minority that actually engage in it, especially when they're trying to start it off. The vast majority people just couldn't be bothered.

CSF

premierstone wrote: »

Why do you say that?? You are quite fond of droping into the Celtic thread yourself on a regualr basis having a snipe, why is that it they are a team that you have no interest in?

I post in loads of teams threads, I have a lot of posts in general, some of the teams I like, others I don't. Always I try to give my actual opinion rather than a biased one though.

Don't really think I need a strong reason to like or dislike any club that aren't my club or my clubs rivals. Can be anything as simple as someone you don't like supporting a team. Don't think I should be criticised for that also.

I think it is you with the chip on your shoulder due to your posts in this thread, they come across far more of having an attitude than most of the LOI fans I've seen.

premierstone

Paz-CCFC wrote: »

What's your basis for this? I hope it's not based on a few comments on the internet that you don't like. About 15,000 people regularly support League of Ireland clubs. Are you trying to say that 10,000+ of these have this attitude?

Fair point and perhaps my choice of phrase was misleading, I would stand by it with regard to a large number of LOI fans I have had any interaction with and alot of them love to play the victim. I also know plenty of LOI fans who also support Celtic or a team in England and are just genuine soccer supporters regardless of the league or country, in my experience these are in the minority.

A Brad Maddox Guy

Paz-CCFC wrote: »

What's your basis for this? I hope it's not based on a few comments on the internet that you don't like. About 15,000 people regularly support League of Ireland clubs. Are you trying to say that 10,000+ of these have this attitude?

The whole "holier than thou" thing isn't nearly as prevalent as Irish supporters of British football clubs claim it is. Some do hold that attitude, there's no doubt about it - but there's a hell of a lot more ****e coming the other way. And a lot of time the holier than thou attitude pops its head up, it's in response to fans of British clubs taking the piss. You could have a thread on here about the LoI, some arsehole comes onto it and says something witty like "Why would you watch that rubbish?", "the Atrocity League" etc., and then you'll get "the barstooler" type stuff in response. It's generally just like-for-like pops Yet, the latter is usually seen as much more prevalent. And it's cringeworthy when people claim that that's the reason why the LoI isn't more supported - yet, few say they don't support the British leagues when it goes the other way.

In real life, people mostly just let bygones be bygones. The majority of non-LoI football supporters that I know tend to take a little bit of interest in the league, and in return, they tend to be respected for their choice of supporting a team from abroad. If people belittle the LoI, though, they can only expect to get stick in return. If you can't take it back, you shouldn't dish it out. But, overall, it's a minority that actually engage in it, especially when they're trying to start it off. The vast majority people just couldn't be bothered.

In my experience the part in bold has mostly been the other way round; the criticism is directed at British club fans first and they retaliate, particularly when the national team are playing and United/Liverpool fans are talking about Ireland (this is more prevalent on facebook. I'm usually not too active in the soccer threads here so have to take your word that idiots are insulting the league here). And yes it is definitely a minority but it doesn't take away from the fact that telling somebody they're wrong and not a real football fan for supporting a British team is not going to convince that person to get out and try the league. I really would love to ban the word barstooler :pac: And I want to point out that this part of my original post wasn't slated as a reason people don't support the league, more that it's a minor annoyance and in my opinion undermines some of the effort of trying to get them involved in the league. Your final paragraph is 100% spot on though.

premierstone

CSF wrote: »

I post in loads of teams threads, I have a lot of posts in general, some of the teams I like, others I don't. Always I try to give my actual opinion rather than a biased one though.

Don't really think I need a strong reason to like or dislike any club that aren't my club or my clubs rivals. Can be anything as simple as someone you don't like supporting a team. Don't think I should be criticised for that also.

I think it is you with the chip on your shoulder due to your posts in this thread, they come across far more of having an attitude than most of the LOI fans I've seen.

Well your posts relating to Celtic or anything SPL related certainly come across as utterly biased, I can only take your word for it that it is not intentional.

Of course you don't need a strong reason to like or dislike a particular club but thats a two way street, I don't need to justify to you or anyone else for that matter why I support Celtic, always have done and always will.

dan1895

premierstone wrote: »

I also know plenty of LOI fans who also support Celtic or a team in England and are just genuine soccer supporters regardless of the league or country, in my experience these are in the minority.

They are not the minority. Most of the time after a Shels game and I'm done giving out I'll have conversations with almost anyone about any team in any league. Fans of LOI teams are football fans. We don't have an inward view on our league and ignore football elsewhere. I wouldn't go as far as saying I support any of them but I follow the results of a lot of clubs across Europe including England.

premierstone

dan1895 wrote: »

My point about Bray still stands though

I have family in Nottingham, Birmingham, London and Glasgow and no its not convenient it was called unemployment and emigration.

GLaDOS

Out of the group of lads I'd sit with for Bohs games, I'm in the minority in that I don't follow another club. I'd say more than half of LOI fans follow an English team as well, but that's just going on anecdotal evidence.