#GreatestLeagueInTheWorld LOI 2019 pt 2

joeysoap

There was a lot of posts on the old thread about how Dundalk should spend their European money,

From last nights (excellent) program, Mark Devlin (CEO, referring to the Riga win)

”Of course, the win means additional finance into the club and helps to get a bit closer to balancing the books......”

so were not awash with money, as some might think.

Irishmale0399

Just had a wee chat with a few lads here in the office this morning. So proud to hear a group of Germans praise Dundalks performance last night, seems a lot of my work mates were streaming the game.......

Anyway some interesting points made....

Dundalk, 1.6 million squad value....ground holds approx. 2.500-3000, have to go to Tallaght for the next round, pay rent to the state and pay charter flights out too Baku.

Qarabag, 16 million squad value, own ground holds approx. 5,000, they move to the national stadium for European games and travel on the state jet...free of cost. The government insists that they use the facilities available.....

Anyways back to reality.....lets hope Rovers can go one better than us tonight and get a win.....

joeysoap

On a less serious note, CX might be shirt manufacturers, Fyffes may be the sponsors, but.........

The ‘Harp’ shirts are still everywhere :)

Tchaikovsky

Irishmale0399 wrote: »

Just had a wee chat with a few lads here in the office this morning. So proud to hear a group of Germans praise Dundalks performance last night, seems a lot of my work mates were streaming the game.......

Anyway some interesting points made....

Dundalk, 1.6 million squad value....ground holds approx. 2.500-3000, have to go to Tallaght for the next round, pay rent to the state and pay charter flights out too Baku.

Qarabag, 16 million spuad value, own ground holds approx. 5,000, they move to the national stadium for European games and travel on the state jet...free of cost. The government insists that they use the facilities available.....

Anyways back to reality.....lets hope Rovers can go one better than us tonight and get a win.....

As bad and all as our government is, it's not a fraction on how bad the Azeri one is!

tayto lover

Irishmale0399 wrote: »

Just had a wee chat with a few lads here in the office this morning. So proud to hear a group of Germans praise Dundalks performance last night, seems a lot of my work mates were streaming the game.......

Anyway some interesting points made....

Dundalk, 1.6 million squad value....ground holds approx. 2.500-3000, have to go to Tallaght for the next round, pay rent to the state and pay charter flights out too Baku.

Qarabag, 16 million spuad value, own ground holds approx. 5,000, they move to the national stadium for European games and travel on the state jet...free of cost. The government insists that they use the facilities available.....

Anyways back to reality.....lets hope Rovers can go one better than us tonight and get a win.....

I wish Rovers all the best for tonight.
I sat among a great bunch of them in Tallaght in 2016 and they roared Dundalk on. Great bunch of knowledgeable supporters. We have to realize that clubs playing in Europe are actually representing the LOI and get behind them. So all the best Rovers.

Irishmale0399

Tchaikovsky wrote: »

As bad and all as our government is, it's not a fraction on how bad the Azeri one is!

We should move that point to the politics section :D;)

Zebra3

tayto lover wrote: »

I wish Rovers all the best for tonight.
I sat among a great bunch of them in Tallaght in 2016 and they roared Dundalk on. Great bunch of knowledgeable supporters. We have to realize that clubs playing in Europe are actually representing the LOI and get behind them. So all the best Rovers.

Clubs are representing themselves.

They hope to win for their own glory and to give themselves more money so as to outspend their domestic rivals.

tayto lover

Zebra3 wrote: »

Clubs are representing themselves.

They hope to win for their own glory and to give themselves more money so as to outspend their domestic rivals.

Nope. The coefficients for seedlings in the CL and EUFA competitions are very important too.

major bill

I genuinely root for most Irish teams in Europe but can't bring meself to root for Rovers, too much history there between Bohs and Rovers, both sets give as good as they get, they still butcher us over TNS.

Any fan that doesnt get this honestly doesnt understand the rivalry.

If they win fairplay to them but I defo won't be jumping with joy anyway

dfx-

Zebra3 wrote: »

Clubs are representing themselves.

They hope to win for their own glory and to give themselves more money so as to outspend their domestic rivals.

The only chance for their domestic rivals to then compete is to get a favourable draw in Europe based on the league co-efficient.

As long as those rivals are unseeded, they definitely won't compete.

Zico !

joeysoap wrote: »

Difference in you Zico and most genuine LOI supporters is they are happy to see good performances by Irish teams in Europe. For instance I and most supporters are hopeful Rovers get through to the next round.

yes indeed I hope both Dundalk and rovers go through-the time rovers got to the Europa league group stage set the bar for the rest of us that's where I want city to go -we want the league to improve always and provide home grown players for the national team

Zebra3

tayto lover wrote: »

Nope. The coefficients for seedlings in the CL and EUFA competitions are very important too.

Of course the co-efficients are important for the league, but that doesn't change what I said.

The clubs represent themselves.

A gain for the league's co-efficient is a side benefit.

No player walking out on the pitch says to his team mates "let's do this for the league and the co-efficient".

They're doing it for themselves and their team.

They might spout a bit of nice PR when a mic is placed in front of them, but that's all it is....

Zebra3

dfx- wrote: »

The only chance for their domestic rivals to then compete is to get a favourable draw in Europe based on the league co-efficient.

As long as those rivals are unseeded, they definitely won't compete.

1) The huge prize money for clubs progressing in Europe makes it harder for other clubs to get into Europe as the gap between the usual European qualifiers and the rest increases.

2) LoI clubs in the past have won on numerous occasions as the unseeded side. And will continue to do so in the future.

White Horse

Best of luck to Shamrock Rovers this evening. These games are a big step up from the LOI and Rovers will need to show the resilience they displayed in the last round. They showed that they have the quality to punish teams, but will need to be careful and not leave themselves too open or make the unenforced errors that bedevil Irish teams n Europe.

joeysoap

dfx- wrote: »

The only chance for their domestic rivals to then compete is to get a favourable draw in Europe based on the league co-efficient.

As long as those rivals are unseeded, they definitely won't compete.

Linfield were unseeded. Won their preliminary match, hammered by Rosenborg, dropped into Europa League, got a very nice draw, should get through this round, they have €800,000 so far. And I think they will get to another round.

It’s luck if you get a good draw, seeding should help, but not guaranteed.

Complicated, but it looks like Pats and City are due 1 point, Rovers are guaranteed 1.5 points (and hopefully more) and looks like Dundalk are guaranteed 2 points, if I’m reading it right.

https://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/news/newsid=1592815.html

City are now on 4750, and Pats 1750 , Rovers and Dundalk not finalized.

As per your post, it does pay to qualify regularly.

https://www.footballseeding.com/club-ranking/a2019-2020/

Irishmale0399

sugarman wrote: »

Rovers game is being shown in Cyprus on Cytavision Sports 2 tonight, mad that our own stat broadcaster cant cover it who are located 20mins away.

Its a total disgrace. Not only should Rovers be on tonight, Dundalk should have been on last night. RTE have a lot to answer for.....


On the topic of co-efficient:
1. Players and clubs are in it for the money.....their is no money in the LOI so they have to get it from somewhere. No money, no wages......



2. Clubs as a whole have to watch the co-efficient. Not only does it bring money, but it also makes making money for European clubs a little easier.

joeysoap

sugarman wrote: »

I've been to Pats and Dundalks European games when played in Tallaght, if Dundalk get through to the next round i'll probably head to that too.

Dundalk’s next round is in Tallaght either way.

dfx-

Zebra3 wrote: »

1) The huge prize money for clubs progressing in Europe makes it harder for other clubs to get into Europe as the gap between the usual European qualifiers and the rest increases.

2) LoI clubs in the past have won on numerous occasions as the unseeded side. And will continue to do so in the future.

1) The only way to compete with the regular European qualifiers is to qualify for Europe and progress. They're getting 10 times the prize money even if they lose 10-0 to a Moldovan side in the first round compared to those not in Europe. So there's not even a petty victory in their defeat.

2) It's possible. But it's easier to progress with a higher co-efficient.

tayto lover

Zebra3 wrote: »

Of course the co-efficients are important for the league, but that doesn't change what I said.

The clubs represent themselves.

A gain for the league's co-efficient is a side benefit.

No player walking out on the pitch says to his team mates "let's do this for the league and the co-efficient".

They're doing it for themselves and their team.

They might spout a bit of nice PR when a mic is placed in front of them, but that's all it is....

Of course the clubs represent themselves but they also represent the league they play in and show the standard of that league. I think our standard is pretty good and will improve with more European games.

Zebra3

dfx- wrote: »

1) The only way to compete with the regular European qualifiers is to qualify for Europe and progress. They're getting 10 times the prize money even if they lose 10-0 to a Moldovan side in the first round compared to those not in Europe. So there's not even a petty victory in their defeat.

2) It's possible. But it's easier to progress with a higher co-efficient.

2) First you said unseeded sides can't compete, now you're saying they can.

Which is it?

diusmr8a504cvk

Irishmale0399 wrote: »

Its a total disgrace. Not only should Rovers be on tonight, Dundalk should have been on last night. RTE have a lot to answer for.....

They should've absolutely covered one. Them not covering the Dundalk game would've been somewhat acceptable if they had the Rovers game, and vice versa.

dfx-

Zebra3 wrote: »

2) First you said unseeded sides can't compete, now you're saying they can.

Which is it?

I am agreeing that it's possible to win a game here and there as an unseeded side.

But that's not going to get you near the prizemoney collected year after year by the European regulars to compete on the domestic front.

Oat23

joeysoap wrote: »

Difference in you Zico and most genuine LOI supporters is they are happy to see good performances by Irish teams in Europe. For instance I and most supporters are hopeful Rovers get through to the next round.

It's easy to wish other sides well when your team is also making over a million a year from Europe. I can totally understand why some fans might not be falling over themselves to wish teams in Europe good luck/celebrating their wins anymore because the prize money is insane now, and teams not in Europe are being left behind. Not cheering on other sides in Europe doesn't make those fans any less genuine though.

D14Rugby

You just have to look at the difference in quality between rovers opponents for this round (rovers were unseeded) and potential opponents for the next round (rovers were seeded) to see the benefits of being seeded

tayto lover

Oat23 wrote: »

It's easy to wish other sides well when your team is also making over a million a year from Europe. I can totally understand why some fans might not be falling over themselves to wish teams in Europe good luck/celebrating their wins anymore because the prize money is insane now, and teams not in Europe are being left behind. Not cheering on other sides in Europe doesn't make those fans any less genuine though.

It’s poor common sense to wish teams were mediocre just because yours is.
You should strive to improve to their standard rather than begrudge.

Irishmale0399

Oat23 wrote: »

It's easy to wish other sides well when your team is also making over a million a year from Europe. I can totally understand why some fans might not be falling over themselves to wish teams in Europe good luck/celebrating their wins anymore because the prize money is insane now, and teams not in Europe are being left behind. Not cheering on other sides in Europe doesn't make those fans any less genuine though.

Fans have to start looking at the big picture.....if 1 or 2 teams are earning big money it may be a chance for other clubs to benifit from it. Should they find a gem of player the big earners may walk in and pay a fee for that player....hence the club outside Europe gets a few more quid into the club. Going on all over the world....we may not like it but its the way football works.


On another note....European exposure may be a chance for smaller clubs to attract better marketing deals or investment...without your nights like last night or tonight the LOI would mean little or nothing in the football world.


And finally is the co-efficient not linked to UEFA payments to the LOI??? So clubs struggling should be egging the bigger clubs on as it would mean more cash for them at the end of the day.

Oat23

tayto lover wrote: »

It’s poor common sense to wish teams were mediocre just because yours is.
You should strive to improve to their standard rather than begrudge.

You can't magically make a few million euro appear in your club's bank account though. I've never felt that people begrudge teams in Europe any success they have or wish they were mediocre (who said that?), but rather they just don't cheer them on anymore as what is happening widens the gap even more. I don't know why there are fans that are annoyed when a fan of another club doesn't say "good luck" or "well done!". Are they that sensitive?

It's almost impossible for teams on the outside to improve to that level with the current setup in this league. It would take something really special for Sligo, Derry, Pats etc to overcome that financial gap. Cork had an opportunity to be apart of that elite group at the top bringing in UEFA money every year but they f*cked that up in true Cork fashion.



If nothing changes in the league, Dundalk & Shams will likely be the top 2 now for years to come and while both are making anywhere from €500k - €2m per year from Europe the rest of the league is breaking even at best. Why would you expect every fan in the league to be happy with that? There are going to be some who take a step back and realise that UEFA money is going to kill the competitiveness of the league. We need to change the structure and open up other revenue streams for every team to give them a chance. Currently it's Europe or nothing.

Zebra3

tayto lover wrote: »

It’s poor common sense to wish teams were mediocre just because yours is.
You should strive to improve to their standard rather than begrudge.

So how many non-Shels LoI fans were hoping Shels would make the CL group stages in 2004?

tayto lover

Oat23 wrote: »

You can't magically make a few million euro appear in your club's bank account though. I've never felt that people begrudge teams in Europe any success they have or wish they were mediocre (who said that?), but rather they just don't cheer them on anymore as what is happening widens the gap even more. I don't know why there are fans that are annoyed when a fan of another club doesn't say "good luck" or "well done!". Are they that sensitive?

It's almost impossible for teams on the outside to improve to that level with the current setup in this league. It would take something really special for Sligo, Derry, Pats etc to overcome that financial gap. Cork had an opportunity to be apart of that elite group at the top bringing in UEFA money every year but they f*cked that up in true Cork fashion.



If nothing changes in the league, Dundalk & Shams will likely be the top 2 now for years to come and while both are making anywhere from €500k - €2m per year from Europe the rest of the league is breaking even at best. Why would you expect every fan in the league to be happy with that? There are going to be some who take a step back and realise that UEFA money is going to kill the competitiveness of the league. We need to change the structure and open up other revenue streams for every team to give them a chance. Currently it's Europe or nothing.

A few years ago fans had to contribute to keep Dundalk alive. Then new people took over and pumped a bit of money into the club. That along with the arrival of Stephen Kenny set us up to be where we are now. A set of circumstances and a lot of hard work. That’s what it takes for any club and it might be just around the corner for yours or any LOI club.
I would always wish other teams the best of luck in Europe. You need luck.

tayto lover

Zebra3 wrote: »

So how many non-Shels LoI fans were hoping Shels would make the CL group stages in 2004?

I’ll hazard a guess 4,768.

Oat23

Irishmale0399 wrote: »

Fans have to start looking at the big picture.....if 1 or 2 teams are earning big money it may be a chance for other clubs to benifit from it. Should they find a gem of player the big earners may walk in and pay a fee for that player....hence the club outside Europe gets a few more quid into the club. Going on all over the world....we may not like it but its the way football works.

So the big picture is, someday if we're lucky, we could all become feeder clubs for the top 2?

Two issues with that. Even if it goes on all over the world and "we may not like it" that doesn't mean we have to keep quiet, accept it and be happy. Ridiculous thing to say.

You also ignore that most of the league signs players on 1 year deals. No Irish club is paying a big fee for a player.

Irishmale0399 wrote: »

On another note....European exposure may be a chance for smaller clubs to attract better marketing deals or investment...without your nights like last night or tonight the LOI would mean little or nothing in the football world.

This is a myth. The only thing that will improve the league for everyone is an overhaul of the structure and governance. Sponsors aren't interested in sponsoring Finn Harps because they happen to play in the same league as Dundalk or Shamrock Rovers who are doing well in Europe. The only teams benefitting from the current setup and will continue to benefit from it are the ones who happened to be on top when the UEFA money became insane.

Irishmale0399 wrote: »

And finally is the co-efficient not linked to UEFA payments to the LOI??? So clubs struggling should be egging the bigger clubs on as it would mean more cash for them at the end of the day.

I don't know what money you are talking about exactly, but if it was anything meaningful I would know about it so it can't be much.


Take a look at Belarus. Has BATE's success helped the rest of the league? No, it hasn't. They've won the league every year for about 15 years now and have been qualifying for the group stage of tournaments for about a decade. Most people couldn't even name another Belarussian side because they rarely get past the 3rd qualifying round in Europe.

tayto lover wrote: »

A few years ago fans had to contribute to keep Dundalk alive. Then new people took over and pumped a bit of money into the club. That along with the arrival of Stephen Kenny set us up to be where we are now. A set of circumstances and a lot of hard work. That’s what it takes for any club and it might be just around the corner for yours or any LOI club.
I would always wish other teams the best of luck in Europe. You need luck.

That's an extremely simplistic view. Dundalk's resurgence happened at exactly the right time when European prize money exploded. We were also in Europe then and won the league in 2012 which was the year Dundalk were saved. The prize money was tiny. I think we earned around €200k from the CL in 2013, so it's not as if Dundalk or any other club had a huge mountain to overcome. We couldn't even retain most of our players and Dundalk outbid us for Towell. Stuff like that will never happen again when you have clubs earning half a million just for turning up to a 1st qualifying round game.

Irishmale0399

Zebra3 wrote: »

So how many non-Shels LoI fans were hoping Shels would make the CL group stages in 2004?

Think you will find a lot of Dundalk fans were in the stands at the time....supporting one the towns finest players of the time.



LOI fans are strange....they want the direct opposition to lose, however they want everyone to love their own team. I think if they stepped back and looked at the big picture they would realise all clubs/fans have to work together to take the LOI to the next level. Its now or never lads....

D14Rugby

The European money envy is a weird one, I can slightly get it for champions league because that's a whole different level but for Europe in general its not as if only 2 teams qualify, 4 teams get the opportunity to get the money so it's not as if you can go on about the big two, if there was a big 4 then fair enough but just now it's not as if the European money is a closed shop. Cork have also shown how the money is not a guarantee of success

Irishmale0399

Oat23 wrote: »

So the big picture is, someday if we're lucky, we could all become feeder clubs for the top 2?

Two issues with that. Even if it goes on all over the world and "we may not like it" that doesn't mean we have to keep quiet, accept it and be happy. Ridiculous thing to say.

You also ignore that most of the league signs players on 1 year deals. No Irish club is paying a big fee for a player.

What I said was it may happen...if it was Sligo Rovers doing a Dundalk would you be as bitter?? Doubt it very much.

Oat23 wrote: »

This is a myth. The only thing that will improve the league for everyone is an overhaul of the structure and governance. Sponsors aren't interested in sponsoring Finn Harps because they happen to play in the same league as Dundalk or Shamrock Rovers who are doing well in Europe. The only teams benefitting from the current setup and will continue to benefit from it are the ones who happened to be on top when the UEFA money became insane.

Should Dundalk hand over their European money to the rest of the LOI clubs, socialist league??? Its not too long ago that the club didnt have a pot to piss in...good management, good owners and a lot of luck have changed that. Dundalk/Rovers in Europe will and does expose the LOI to potential investment. Fact is without it Peak6 wouldnt be in Dundalk nor would someone be willing to pump 3 million into Rovers for fun.

Oat23 wrote: »

I don't know what money you are talking about exactly, but if it was anything meaningful I would know about it so it can't be much.

A little is better than nothing.....

Oat23 wrote: »

Take a look at Belarus. Has BATE's success helped the rest of the league? No, it hasn't. They've won the league every year for about 15 years now and have been qualifying for the group stage of tournaments for about a decade. Most people couldn't even name another Belarussian side because they rarely get past the 3rd qualifying round in Europe.

Look at Munich, Madrid, Barca, Juventus.......clubs have to realise its a business and not a few pints with the lads. Run it right and you may have a chance.

Oat23 wrote: »

That's an extremely simplistic view. Dundalk's resurgence happened at exactly the right time when European prize money exploded. We were also in Europe then and won the league in 2012 which was the year Dundalk were saved. The prize money was tiny. I think we earned around €200k from the CL in 2013, so it's not as if Dundalk or any other club had a huge mountain to overcome. We couldn't even retain most of our players and Dundalk outbid us for Towell. Stuff like that will never happen again when you have clubs earning half a million just for turning up to a 1st qualifying round game.

Again I feel for Sligo Rovers, however maybe a little less money in the ground investment and more in the squad and management....then maybe you can get into Europe, earn the money and slowly improve what is a lovely ground you already have.



As I said, Dundalk were in the right place at the right time, had luck and the right owners who had a plan. The 2 lads are probably the only people to make money owning a club in the LOI. Now Peak6 are in place and from what I have been told first hand they are in it for the long haul. They see the potential of not only improving the club itself but also the LOI as a whole. Those plans are all about generating income for everyone and not only Dundalk.

Corholio

Irishmale0399 wrote: »

Think you will find a lot of Dundalk fans were in the stands at the time....supporting one the towns finest players of the time.



LOI fans are strange....they want the direct opposition to lose, however they want everyone to love their own team. I think if they stepped back and looked at the big picture they would realise all clubs/fans have to work together to take the LOI to the next level. Its now or never lads....

There isn't any 'LOI fans', there is fans of individual clubs, and within that individual fans. I agree with the sentiment but I dislike the grouping of fans together to make overarcing points, it's the same when a few cause trouble at games and it's 'Rovers fans' or 'Cork fans' in a general way.

Oat23

Irishmale0399 wrote: »

What I said was it may happen...if it was Sligo Rovers doing a Dundalk would you be as bitter?? Doubt it very much.

Ahh..I was waiting for that. Make a few good points to counter the b*llocks being talked on here from some who are upset every fan in the league isn't falling over themselves to congratulate Dundalk & Shams and now I'm just bitter.



If you go back and check, I've actually wished every team well and hoped they get through. I'm just trying to make the point that the fans who DON'T support rival teams in Europe aren't bitter or not true LOI fans. That was a ridiculous thing for the original guy I replied to to say.

If you'd all take a step back and look at the situations teams on the outside are in it's perfectly understandabale that they aren't thrilled by the success our European teams have. They aren't wishing they lose either, but they aren't going to jump for joy after every win because it makes their future chances even bleaker.

D14Rugby

Having said I don't get the European envy I do think the league when this reform happens needs to introduce some rules on how money can be spent to stop the teams in Europe just putting all their money into the first team. Youth teams, facilities and overall structure should be prioritised. And to be honest I wouldn't be against a wage cap.

Ferris_Bueller

https://twitter.com/jfallondub/status/1154415145520640000?s=19

Zebra3

Irishmale0399 wrote: »

Think you will find a lot of Dundalk fans were in the stands at the time....supporting one the towns finest players of the time.



LOI fans are strange....they want the direct opposition to lose, however they want everyone to love their own team. I think if they stepped back and looked at the big picture they would realise all clubs/fans have to work together to take the LOI to the next level. Its now or never lads....

I think it's safe to say everybody wants the league to move forward.

But the European money is allowing a small number of clubs to bolt off over the horizon.

D14Rugby wrote: »

The European money envy is a weird one, I can slightly get it for champions league because that's a whole different level but for Europe in general its not as if only 2 teams qualify, 4 teams get the opportunity to get the money so it's not as if you can go on about the big two, if there was a big 4 then fair enough but just now it's not as if the European money is a closed shop. Cork have also shown how the money is not a guarantee of success

It's not a weird one as it totally skews the playing field.

It would look for the moment that Dundalk and Shamrock are gonna qualify for Europe pretty much very season for the foreseeable future.

That leaves all the rest scrapping over the remaining two places.

When either of those two sides hit a bad spell they can just take out the cheque book. And like Bayern have done for decades, they'll strengthen while weakening their rivals.

tayto lover

Maybe the LOI clubs in Europe should give back the money as its not fair on those clubs that didn’t qualify.

Christy Browne

I know that there has been talk of a portion of the European money being redistributed between the clubs. Dundalk and Rovers are seemingly open to the idea as well.

I know the Eredivisie redistributes 5% of the European money between the rest of the clubs. Don’t know how far that would go in the LOI mind....

White Horse

Oat23 wrote: »

If nothing changes in the league, Dundalk & Shams will likely be the top 2 now for years to come and while both are making anywhere from €500k - €2m per year from Europe the rest of the league is breaking even at best.

But things do change in the league, for the last few seasons people were saying Dundalk and Cork will dominate.

Now Cork are falling like a stone and being spoken off as relegation material, despite all the European money they earned over the last five years.

Rovers were considered to be a basket case club that were unmanageable. Now they are playing attractive football and don't look out of place in Europe.

sonic85

Where can I watch the match tonight lads? Disgraceful it's not on RTE or Eir

D14Rugby

Zebra3 wrote: »

It's not a weird one as it totally skews the playing field.

It would look for the moment that Dundalk and Shamrock are gonna qualify for Europe pretty much very season for the foreseeable future.

That leaves all the rest scrapping over the remaining two places.

When either of those two sides hit a bad spell they can just take out the cheque book. And like Bayern have done for decades, they'll strengthen while weakening their rivals.

It doesn't skew the playing field though too much as Cork have shown.

6 months ago people would have said the same but said Cork and Dundalk.

It'll leave other clubs scrapping for the remaining two places for as long as they don't have a long term plan for their squad. Look at Rovers for example, after a few tough years being on the edge of qualification they sat down, came up with a long term plan got a manager in and gave them time as opposed to just throwing money at it for a year and seeing what sticks. Obviously Wilsons money helped allow that to happen but it's not impossible to do it on a smaller budget.

If it's getting the cheque book out its not weakening rivals as they'll get a sum they deem acceptable and if the fee for one player pays for a couple of the underage seasons for a season then in my opinion that's probably the better end of the deal.

Oat23

White Horse wrote: »

But things do change in the league, for the last few seasons people were saying Dundalk and Cork will dominate.

Now Cork are falling like a stone and being spoken off as relegation material, despite all the European money they earned over the last five years.

Rovers were considered to be a basket case club that were unmanageable. Now they are playing attractive football and don't look out of place in Europe.

Cork are Cork. They've outdone themselves this time with the way they've ballsed things up this time though.

Shams have qualified for Europe in 7 of the past 9 seasons since they first returned to Europe. For a basket case club they have done quite well.

Dundalk & Shams appear to be ran well and shouldn't run into the same problems with the money being earned.

sonic85 wrote: »

Where can I watch the match tonight lads? Disgraceful it's not on RTE or Eir

It's on bet365 so there will likely be a stream around.

howiya

sonic85 wrote: »

Where can I watch the match tonight lads? Disgraceful it's not on RTE or Eir

Tallaght.

I'd love to know why it's a disgrace. Rovers will probably get a higher attendance tonight and make more money than they would if the match was on rte/eir.

How much would they get from either of them for the rights? I think rovers will be better off that it's not on tv.

Oat23

howiya wrote: »

Tallaght.

I'd love to know why it's a disgrace. Rovers will probably get a higher attendance tonight and make more money than they would if the match was on rte/eir.

How much would they get from either of them for the rights? I think rovers will be better off that it's not on tv.

From next summer it'd be nice if the streaming service with Laola1 is set up properly and clubs could stream games on there themselves. I'd pay a fiver to watch the Shams game tonight in HD if it was available. Since clubs hold the rights to European games they could broadcast them domestically as well.

sonic85

howiya wrote: »

Tallaght.

I'd love to know why it's a disgrace. Rovers will probably get a higher attendance tonight and make more money than they would if the match was on rte/eir.

How much would they get from either of them for the rights? I think rovers will be better off that it's not on tv.

Maybe you didn't mean it like it came off but that really comes across like a real wankerish post. I just asked a question - I don't live in Dublin or anywhere near it but I'm trying to follow a bit of LOI this year going to some games and watching what I can on TV. It's a big European game why the fcuk shouldn't it be aired on a platform where fans or even just casual viewers can watch. Not everyone can be there

Umpalumpa

sugarman wrote: »

Not everyone lives in Dublin, let alone South Dublin.

Televised matches dont really effect attendances. Fans of the team will always be there, your casuals or mutual supports wont.

The prize money in the competition includes television rights in the deal. They wouldn't earn any money directly from the broadcaster no mater who is covering it.

Its disgraceful because theres 2 really good teams in the country competing in Europe at the moment and they continue to ignore it. Its a great advertisement of the league and football in this country in general. They're 20mins drive away from the venue. If a broadcaster from Cyprus can make the trip to cover their countries team play, surely RTE can.

They also pissed away millions on the womens World Cup just gone that Ireland werent even in and it was an incredibly poor standard that brought few viewers.

Its also better and probably cheaper than "the big bang theory" and "Ireland fittest families" repeats theyre showing in its time slot tonight.

I thought the women's world cup was a pretty high standard with entertaining games.i was also under the impression that it pulled in a huge number of viewers.
But are right about rte being a disgrace regarding the lack of games involving LOI European games

dan1895

Riga FC one up against Polish champions Piast.