League of Ireland in Europe 2016

joeysoap

gufc21 wrote: »

We know the teams involved every year.why not front load a couple of fixtures before the break? Play 4 midweek games at the beginning of the season. Is there room for that?

Good suggestion, pats are the only team that can break into the top 4 at the moment (not going to happen) Cork , Dundalk , Derry and Rovers play 1 home and 1 away match against each other before the season starts for the other clubs.

topmanamillion

There are too many games in the league.
Either reduce the amount of league games and/or kill the league cup.
No FAI cup replays.

All that would solve fixture congestion.

MD1990

topmanamillion wrote: »

There are too many games in the league.
Either reduce the amount of league games and/or kill the league cup.
No FAI cup replays.

All that would solve fixture congestion.

Not necessary. Just don't have a mid season break. Also teams in Europe play some midweek fixtures earlier in the season.
The League is good for squad players & is only 4-5 max more fixtures. I agree about FAI Cup replays.

If the League was marketed correctly International breaks should be targeted for midweek games with little club football on it might tempt some fans to watch a game. Dundalk vs Cork this week will get alot of attention with very little club football being played. The time is a disgrace for fans though.

joeysoap

gufc21 wrote: »

We know the teams involved every year.why not front load a couple of fixtures before the break? Play 4 midweek games at the beginning of the season. Is there room for that?

Good suggestion, pats are the only team that can break into the top 4 at the moment (not going to happen) Cork , Dundalk , Derry and Rovers play 1 home and 1 away match against each other before the season starts for the other clubs.

topmanamillion

MD1990 wrote: »

Not necessary. Just don't have a mid season break. Also teams in Europe play some midweek fixtures earlier in the season.
The League is good for squad players & is only 4-5 max more fixtures. I agree about FAI Cup replays.

If the League was marketed correctly International breaks should be targeted for midweek games with little club football on it might tempt some fans to watch a game. Dundalk vs Cork this week will get alot of attention with very little club football being played. The time is a disgrace for fans though.

I have no issue with the mid season break.
It's mostly for player welfare to allow players and coaches to go on holidays with their families in the height of summer.
There was also no option but to take a 3 week break this summer with the Euro's.

The league cup has zero appeal. Getting a run out against the Mayo League infront of a few diehards isn't going to make any difference to a squad player. The prize money is peanuts and between travel expenses and bonuses I'd be surprised if clubs break even out of it, and even that would only be an option for the 2 finalists.
All that without mentioning it's ridiculous that a 20 team league has 2 cups boosted with a whip around a few junior leagues to see if anyone fancies a game to make up the numbers.

Midweek games are a balls. It's the biggest game of the league season and it's on a Tuesday!
It's the equivalent of the GAA putting on an All Ireland Final in the middle of the week.
People have families, work, college, school, hobbies etc going on in the middle of the week.
A lot of people, particularly families, have tight budgets so it's a big ask to get them to cough up for possibly 2 home games in the one week.

joeysoap

For information purposes; Dundalk v Zenit tickets on general sale (ticketmaster) on Friday.

joeysoap

joeysoap wrote: »

For information purposes; Dundalk v Zenit tickets on general sale (ticketmaster) on Friday.

Looks like wast stand sold out, ticketmaster now selling seats for block M in the east stand. As these are * 'good' seats it means that it's nearly sold out.

* ticketmaster usually sell off the poorer seats first ie Q ,R etc and keep tge better seats to last. (No bad seats in Tallaght anyway)

Alfa Quadrifoglio

Got my tickets, this should be a sell out, its the least the fantastic performances of Dundalk deserve. Zenit a big step from from AZ Almaar and Maccabi Tel Aviv, a draw would a great result.

White Horse

No tickets available on Ticketmaster all day. Lots of people complaining they can't get tickets.

joeysoap

Looks sold out alright. Sad reflection on the LOI that we have no stadium in Ireland, with between 6,500 seats (and THATS thanks to SDCC) and 50,000 seats. Dundalk couldn't take a risk with the Aviva for the league stages (same stadium had to used for all three matches). Nobody from the town can have any reason to complain, Dundalk negotiated with Ticketmaster for their van to sell tickets all day Wednesday and all day Thursday outside Oriel, when Ticketmaster would have preferred to go straight to online sales. I got mine on Tuesday and sections A and B west stand were already sold out by 1pm.

This just might be the other extreme, over $1 billion spent on the stadium Zenit will play in.

So far $1.1 billion have been spent on the new stadium in St. Petersburg. By way of a comparison around $2.6 million (about 1.9 million euros or 1.6 million British pounds) was spent on the construction and renovation of stadiums ahead of the 2006 World Cup in Germany.


Just remembered, approx 200 tickets were held back for the Maccabi match for sale on the night. Dont know if they are going to do the same this time, probably not.

White Horse

Another protest planned for Thursday.

http://irishsyriasolidaritymovement.org/urgent-message-from-ireland-to-putin-via-fc-zenit-in-tallaght-stadium-6pm-on-thursday-20th-october/

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

mickmackey1

joeysoap wrote: »

By way of a comparison around $2.6 million (about 1.9 million euros or 1.6 million British pounds) was spent on the construction and renovation of stadiums ahead of the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Presume you mean 2.6 billion? 2.6 mill would hardly buy beer and sausages.

joeysoap

mickmackey1 wrote: »

Presume you mean 2.6 billion? 2.6 mill would hardly buy beer and sausages.

cut and paste from this report. I would say you are correct.

http://rbth.com/sport/2014/01/17/st_petersburg_to_get_two_stadiums_before_2018_world_cup_33335.html

****e, thought there'd be plenty of time to sort tickets.

White Horse

Deleted User wrote: »

****e, thought there'd be plenty of time to sort tickets.

Could be another ticketmaster mess today. No confirmation from the club that it is a sell out.

joeysoap

White Horse wrote: »

Could be another ticketmaster mess today. No confirmation from the club that it is a sell out.

MIght know more later today, I would be surprised if they hadn't sold out TBH.

White Horse

joeysoap wrote: »

MIght know more later today, I would be surprised if they hadn't sold out TBH.

Ticketmaster say it's sold out.

Philly_C

White Horse wrote: »

Ticketmaster say it's sold out.

Just checked and tickets are back on sale now for East Stand.

pablomakaveli

White Horse wrote: »

Another protest planned for Thursday.

http://irishsyriasolidaritymovement.org/urgent-message-from-ireland-to-putin-via-fc-zenit-in-tallaght-stadium-6pm-on-thursday-20th-october/

They should piss off. That'll be twice groups have used Dundalks matches to push their agenda. It's not like Zenit are in a position to influence Russian foreign policy.

They should protest the embassy which would be more appropriate.

Aye they should piss off.

Got tickets sorted anyway, looks to be a fair amount available.

brianregan09

Protesting at a match about a war neither side has anything really to do , **** off and watch Corrie or something instead

Alfa Quadrifoglio

Still tickets available for the East Stand for Thursday nights game, what do Dundalk have to do to sell out Tallaght? Hopefully by Thursday all remaining seats will be sold.

SteelyDanJalapeno

Will be plenty interested in seeing a massive team like Zenit play, should sell out

Darkglasses

joeysoap wrote: »

Looks sold out alright. Sad reflection on the LOI that we have no stadium in Ireland, with between 6,500 seats (and THATS thanks to SDCC) and 50,000 seats.

I'll be cheeky and say Tolka Park and the mighty City Calling Stadium :cool:

Turner's Cross too, but not quite the right location for a Dundalk match.

SteelyDanJalapeno

There goes the league for sure

Omackeral

TiltedBrain wrote: »

Will be plenty interested in seeing a massive team like Zenit play, should sell out

You would think that but the majority of Irish football fans wouldn't have a clue about anything outside of Premiership, El Classico and maybe Bayern Munich. That's from my general findings anyway.

joeysoap

Darkglasses wrote: »

I'll be cheeky and say Tolka Park and the mighty City Calling Stadium :cool:

Turner's Cross too, but not quite the right location for a Dundalk match.

Sadly Tolka's days appear to be numbered. Down to under 5,000 now. My first cup semi final was there on a Saturday afternoon before a full house. Unfortunately Rovers beat us 3 - 0, they were on a run of 7 cups in a row.

http://www.extratime.ie/newsdesk/articles/9686/ground-by-ground-guides---tolka-park/

City calling ground is good all right and I'd say if Dundalk had it they would happily play their matches there.

http://www.footballgroundguide.com/leagues/republic-of-ireland-premier-league-clubs/longford-town.html

Should have sold out Tallaght by now. Appears only Dundalk supporters and maybe a thousand or so other fans interested. If the Man U under 17 reserve team were playing it would have sold out long ago, that's not a criticism, it's where we are.

Captain Havoc

joeysoap wrote: »

Should have sold out Tallaght by now. Appears only Dundalk supporters and maybe a thousand or so other fans interested. If the Man U under 17 reserve team were playing it would have sold out long ago, that's not a criticism, it's where we are.

Maybe if they had some available today, they would have sold them.

inforfun

Would expect a few Russians to show up as well.

MD1990

Slightly worried about the Zenit game. Dundalk looked very,very tired against Longford. Going to be very tough game.

White Horse

MD1990 wrote: »

Slightly worried about the Zenit game. Dundalk looked very,very tired against Longford. Going to be very tough game.

They were shattered.

Three league games in six days, the FAI know how to fcuk things up.

MD1990

MD1990 wrote: »

Slightly worried about the Zenit game. Dundalk looked very,very tired against Longford. Going to be very tough game.

Very little expectations going in. Anything but a hiding will be a success.

Ragnar Lothbrok

Deleted User wrote: »

Very little expectations going in. Anything but a hiding will be a success.

Hopefully not a hiding. Best of luck to Dundalk from a Cork City fan

joeysoap

White Horse wrote: »

They were shattered.

Three league games in six days, the FAI know how to fcuk things up.

I only saw the goals on SR last night and I too thought they were out in their feet. The FAI are directly to blame for less than 1,000 at last nights matches. Dundalk still have a match on Thursday (which the whole of Europe will see the highlights of) Sunday, Tuesday, Friday, Thursday (in Russia) and Sunday for the cup final. I'd like to see Delaney's (and to a lesser extent) Gavin's schedule over this period. I only hope they aren't hammered on Thursday, this team don't deserve that.

TheCitizen

joeysoap wrote: »

I only saw the goals on SR last night and I too thought they were out in their feet. The FAI are directly to blame for less than 1,000 at last nights matches. Dundalk still have a match on Thursday (which the whole of Europe will see the highlights of) Sunday, Tuesday, Friday, Thursday (in Russia) and Sunday for the cup final. I'd like to see Delaney's (and to a lesser extent) Gavin's schedule over this period. I only hope they aren't hammered on Thursday, this team don't deserve that.

Dundalk only need one more league win to win the league. Once they do that they can put out a reserve team with whatever young players they've got for the remainder of the league. A crazy schedule but once they wrap the league up they can concentrate on the Europa League and the Cup Final.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

White Horse

The club confirm the game is sold out.

http://www.dundalkfc.com/zenit-tickets-sold/

Alfa Quadrifoglio

White Horse wrote: »

The club confirm the game is sold out.

http://www.dundalkfc.com/zenit-tickets-sold/

Delighted to hear that, the Dundalk crowd on Thursday night really are going to have to be the 12th man. Zenit are a big step up from AZ Alkmaar and Maccabi Tel Aviv and after Dundalks recent schedule they will need all the help they can get. A draw would be a huge result.

Alfa Quadrifoglio

http://www.dundalkfc.com/team-news-vs-zenit/

Some injury concerns for Dundalk ahead of tomorrow nights big game in Tallaght against Zenit St Petersburg, Captain Stephen O'Donnell out for sure, a big loss.

Paz-CCFC

Cork City U19's just qualified for the second round of the UEFA Youth League. We beat Helsinki 1-0 at the Cross tonight (and 1-0 on aggregate). By all accounts, we were far the better side over the both legs and should've scored a few more. Some going by the lads. We play Roma in the next round, away the 2nd of November, home the 23rd.

This is huge experience for these lads at such a young age. To beat a Scandinavian side (which is the most common Irish senior teams draw) and then play a side of the calibre of Roma is a massive learning curve. There are a few capable of breaking through (Ogbene has already made a few appearances for the senior side, scoring twice). To be able to bring this experience with them in future European runs for the senior side will be massive.

Just a note on the attendance - it was 1,287. Some crowd for an underage match. It was more than both of Monday's senior league games combined. We'll hopefully be able to double it for the Roma match.

White Horse

Zenit press conference today.

Artem Dzyuba: "Dundalk uses the British style, likes to play long balls, likes to fight and feels confident in the martial arts."

They don't appear to have bothered even watching Dundalk.

SantryRed

Really fear for Dundalk tomorrow. Hope I'm wrong but they look absolutely jaded. At the end of the day though, qualification will more than likely depend on the last 2 games. Anything from these two would be an absolute bonus.

If you had to pick two games to be during this busy period, it would have been the two Zenit games. It was probsbly going to be zero points regardless!

joeysoap

SantryRed wrote: »

Really fear for Dundalk tomorrow. Hope I'm wrong but they look absolutely jaded. At the end of the day though, qualification will more than likely depend on the last 2 games. Anything from these two would be an absolute bonus.

If you had to pick two games to be during this busy period, it would have been the two Zenit games. It was probsbly going to be zero points regardless!

I agree. Either one of the other two matches now would have given them zero chance. Zenith will probably win all 6 (minimum of €360,000 a win +€500,000 for winning the group) and take it from there.

joeysoap

White Horse wrote: »

Zenit press conference today.

Artem Dzyuba: "Dundalk uses the British style, likes to play long balls, likes to fight and feels confident in the martial arts."

They don't appear to have bothered even watching Dundalk.

Probably trying to influence the ref a bit too, though with O'Donnell out he will have to look elsewhere for his bookings.

wadacrack

Paz-CCFC wrote: »

Cork City U19's just qualified for the second round of the UEFA Youth League. We beat Helsinki 1-0 at the Cross tonight (and 1-0 on aggregate). By all accounts, we were far the better side over the both legs and should've scored a few more. Some going by the lads. We play Roma in the next round, away the 2nd of November, home the 23rd.

This is huge experience for these lads at such a young age. To beat a Scandinavian side (which is the most common Irish senior teams draw) and then play a side of the calibre of Roma is a massive learning curve. There are a few capable of breaking through (Ogbene has already made a few appearances for the senior side, scoring twice). To be able to bring this experience with them in future European runs for the senior side will be massive.

Just a note on the attendance - it was 1,287. Some crowd for an underage match. It was more than both of Monday's senior league games combined. We'll hopefully be able to double it for the Roma match.

I was at the game, Cork done very well to hold on some heroic defending. Played very well in the first half but tired a bit in the 2nd. Unreal attendance says alot about the supporters down their. Roma will be a huge step up.

inforfun

Anyone who can tell me how the referee was in Dundalk - Maccabi?

He is Feyenoords ref tonight...

Iused2likebusts

Zenit -2 at 23/10. I think tonight is going to be really difficult for Dundalk tonight.

SteelyDanJalapeno

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

Zenit -2 at 23/10. I think tonight is going to be really difficult for Dundalk tonight.

Russian sides travel so poorly thou, and based on Zeniths comments earlier about hoof ball, they haven't done a lot of recon.

I'd fancy goals more so, taking a crack at over 4.5 goals @ 4/1 myself.

overshoot

Eir Sport is freeview for this on Sky (423) if it helps anyone