Greatest League in the World 2024 [new thread available]

Zebra3

eire4 wrote: »

Perfectly valid and correct point that prior to the sale to Dublin CC Dalymount was owned by the club not the FAI. Yet for a long time Dalymount has indeed been the historical home of Irish football and the FAI while under no legal obligation have just ignored the stadium. Again what you say is right and the FAI was under no legal obligation to take care of Dalymount.

But the FAI is supposed to be the caretakers of the game in Ireland. That involves them doing many things that they are under no obligation to do but should do.

So the FAI should have given one club a huge advantage over the rest by prioritising their ground for redevelopment?

The state of the place is 100% Bohs fault and of nobody else. Bohs had the rent from internationals, cup finals and even cup semi finals for decades yet they did nothing with the ground until it was way too late.

Eggs For Dinner

Ferrycarrig Park is 51% FAI and 49% Wexford Football League

Amirani

Zebra3 wrote: »

So the FAI should have given one club a huge advantage over the rest by prioritising their ground for redevelopment?

The state of the place is 100% Bohs fault and of nobody else. Bohs had the rent from internationals, cup finals and even cup semi finals for decades yet they did nothing with the ground until it was way too late.

Dalymount was in fine condition in the 2000s. A brand new stand was built in that decade and the other stands were completely functional. Tolka and Dalymount were the best grounds in the league at that point - hence them actually hosting FAI cup finals. I'm not sure what more you expected back then?

Then the ground was sold towards the end of that decade and the plan was to move to a new site. Things went tits up and Bohs haven't had the money to do anything about it since. Fixing the Connaught St side for example would cost millions, hosting FAI cup matches wouldn't go anywhere near paying for that.

artanevilla

Amirani wrote: »

Dalymount was in fine condition in the 2000s. A brand new stand was built in that decade and the other stands were completely functional. Tolka and Dalymount were the best grounds in the league at that point - hence them actually hosting FAI cup finals. I'm not sure what more you expected back then?

Then the ground was sold towards the end of that decade and the plan was to move to a new site. Things went tits up and Bohs haven't had the money to do anything about it since. Fixing the Connaught St side for example would cost millions, hosting FAI cup matches wouldn't go anywhere near paying for that.

Surely they could have used the money they got for the international friendlies played there 35 years ago to build a new stadium!!??

hardybuck

I think we could all agree and move on regarding the fact that the LOI clubs and the FAI have never demonstrated good planning and foresight over the years.

As a couple of posters have mentioned, a large amount of stadia are owned by Councils. In lieu of a massive cash windfall from a benevolent owner, community support or via regular Europa League qualification I don't think a LOI club will ever be in a position to build and maintain a good quality modern stadium.

In Waterford, I think the new stand cost the guts of €3m in 2008, €750k of which came from the FAI, €1.25m of which came from the Department of Transport and the remainder came from the Council.

Dundalk and Drogheda fans - could you ever contemplate a ground-share funded by Louth County Council, or perhaps Drogheda could be supported by Meath!?

kksaints

We've signed Alfie Lewis a midfielder on loan from West Ham. We've a fairly stacked midfield now, could do with a right back and centre back now.

grayzer75

hardybuck wrote: »

Dundalk and Drogheda fans - could you ever contemplate a ground-share funded by Louth County Council, or perhaps Drogheda could be supported by Meath!?

No, not practical and not wanted to be sharing with teams 30 odd miles apart.

There was a plan in place for a municipal stadium at the DKIT for Dundalk FC, Dundalk RFC and Louth GAA to use but the numpties in Louth GAA decided they wanted their own stadium instead - which they still haven't built. I believe the Drogs have plans of moving up the road and the HSE will be purchasing Utd park from the FAI.

Unless the 'issues' around the lease of Oriel and capital funding becomes available we'll be stuck in this state of flux forever more but you just have to look across the border to see the benefits of the grants the IFA dish out to clubs - we're lightyears behind unfortunately.

hardybuck

grayzer75 wrote: »

No, not practical and not wanted to be sharing with teams 30 odd miles apart.

There was a plan in place for a municipal stadium at the DKIT for Dundalk FC, Dundalk RFC and Louth GAA to use but the numpties in Louth GAA decided they wanted their own stadium instead - which they still haven't built. I believe the Drogs have plans of moving up the road and the HSE will be purchasing Utd park from the FAI.

Unless the 'issues' around the lease of Oriel and capital funding becomes available we'll be stuck in this state of flux forever more but you just have to look across the border to see the benefits of the grants the IFA dish out to clubs - we're lightyears behind unfortunately.

It's not a runner for any ground-share with the GAA to take place. Simply not happening.

Interesting though to see that they're building a 14,000 capacity stadium for €12m when the Dalymount project will cost €35m (albeit with more community facilities).

grayzer75

hardybuck wrote: »

It's not a runner for any ground-share with the GAA to take place. Simply not happening.

Interesting though to see that they're building a 14,000 capacity stadium for €12m when the Dalymount project will cost €35m (albeit with more community facilities).

We would love for Oriel to be renovated to modern standard due to location, history, etc but if the lease is an issue for Peak6 they ain't exactly out looking at greenfield sites to move to so it looks like we're stuck where we are for the short to medium term anyway.

Zebra3

Amirani wrote: »

Dalymount was in fine condition in the 2000s. A brand new stand was built in that decade and the other stands were completely functional. Tolka and Dalymount were the best grounds in the league at that point - hence them actually hosting FAI cup finals. I'm not sure what more you expected back then?

Then the ground was sold towards the end of that decade and the plan was to move to a new site. Things went tits up and Bohs haven't had the money to do anything about it since. Fixing the Connaught St side for example would cost millions, hosting FAI cup matches wouldn't go anywhere near paying for that.

Apart from the new stand that was built in the 1990s, the rest of Dalymount was and still is a kip. Seats bolted down on decaying terracing is not fine condition.

As already pointed out, Bohs had decades of rental income from the FAI for internationals and big cup matches.

The FAI rightly moved their games away from the place as Bohs wouldn’t even see fit to extend the away dressing room which is tiny and it took them years to even bother putting showers that could provide players with hot water.

Yet somehow this is the FAI’s fault.

joeysoap

Dundalk and Drogheda will never groundshare. Simples. Louth Co council are supposed to build a sports centre in drogheda where drogheda will be tenants . United Park is in a dream position for the Fai to sell. Groundshare On a temporary basis - maybe- but not part permanently

joeysoap

Pickford on loan to Derry.

kksaints

kksaints wrote: »

We've signed Alfie Lewis a midfielder on loan from West Ham. We've a fairly stacked midfield now, could do with a right back and centre back now.

Well, we've got the centre back now. Paddy Barrett has signed after his brief excursion to Cambodia.

grayzer75

kksaints wrote: »

Well, we've got the centre back now. Paddy Barrett has signed after his brief excursion to Cambodia.

Good signing is Paddy.

topmanamillion

grayzer75 wrote: »

We would love for Oriel to be renovated to modern standard due to location, history, etc but if the lease is an issue for Peak6 they ain't exactly out looking at greenfield sites to move to so it looks like we're stuck where we are for the short to medium term anyway.

The lease isn't an issue

From an article 5 years ago:

“Dundalk Football Club are delighted to confirm that we have concluded the process to resolve all of the long-standing legal problems surrounding the lease of Oriel Park. As a result of this process, Dundalk Football Club have taken full ownership of the lease of Oriel Park and the YDC building"

Peak just don't want to spend the Euro money on Oriel. It's the exact same situation as Dalymount when the wage bill was huge there but Europe was being chased.
Bottom line is the moneys there at Dundalk, Peak would just have to stump some up to match grants and they've no interest in that.

grayzer75

topmanamillion wrote: »

The lease isn't an issue

From an article 5 years ago:

“Dundalk Football Club are delighted to confirm that we have concluded the process to resolve all of the long-standing legal problems surrounding the lease of Oriel Park. As a result of this process, Dundalk Football Club have taken full ownership of the lease of Oriel Park and the YDC building"

Peak just don't want to spend the Euro money on Oriel. It's the exact same situation as Dalymount when the wage bill was huge there but Europe was being chased.
Bottom line is the moneys there at Dundalk, Peak would just have to stump some up to match grants and they've no interest in that.

I agree 100%, I was merely pointing out the fact Peak6 are saying it's an issue. I'm sure Des Casey would happily extend it for another 100 years if it meant Oriel would be updated but it's not going to happen under the current ownership. Even if the lease was an issue they haven't come back with plans for a greenfield site alternative.

joeysoap

Didn't dundalk have a questionnaire a few years ago (before louth GAA decided to build a ground) whether to move or not - majority voted to remain. Oriel is very handily located. Prime position for a ground.

joeysoap

kksaints wrote: »

Well, we've got the centre back now. Paddy Barrett has signed after his brief excursion to Cambodia.

Dundalk in Ringsend

Eod100

Looks like WatchLoi will be back for premier and talk of new platform for first division.

https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/soccer-news/boost-league-ireland-fans-streaming-23551032?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar

kksaints

joeysoap wrote: »

Dundalk in Ringsend

Inchicore not Ringsend I think.

dfx-

pgj2015 wrote: »

whatever about the stream, the quality of football was shocking, I have seen better play at over 35's 5 a side.

I felt the same watching Burnley v West Brom and Mlllwall v Wycombe on Saturday.

topmanamillion

Eod100 wrote: »

Looks like WatchLoi will be back for premier and talk of new platform for first division.

https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/soccer-news/boost-league-ireland-fans-streaming-23551032?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar

Looks a good deal, most likely RTE will walk away in the summer leaving streaming to an unmanned Pixellot camera system.
Commentary then will be up to clubs/local radio,
Which is what most were looking for. Not going to make fortunes for clubs but at least fans will be able to watch games.

eire4

Zebra3 wrote: »

So the FAI should have given one club a huge advantage over the rest by prioritising their ground for redevelopment?

The state of the place is 100% Bohs fault and of nobody else. Bohs had the rent from internationals, cup finals and even cup semi finals for decades yet they did nothing with the ground until it was way too late.

It is not a case of giving one club an advantage over any other. Dalymount is the historical home of football in Ireland, it is as simple as that. The stadium was fine and fit for purpose at the turn of century and then Bohemians justifiably given the money offered looked to sell Dalymount and use part of the money to move to a newly built 10,000 seat stadium in 2006. That ran into difficulty and court cases ensued over who owned part of the ground but the company in dispute with Bohemians then agreed to build a new stadium for Bohemains in return for the sale of the whole of Dalymount. But then of course came the property collapse and Bohemians by themselves certainly did not have the money to deal with the stadium. Hence where we are at now.

eire4

artanevilla wrote: »

Surely they could have used the money they got for the international friendlies played there 35 years ago to build a new stadium!!??

How much money profit wise do you think was being made 35 years ago per game?

Pawwed Rig

topmanamillion wrote: »

Looks a good deal, most likely RTE will walk away in the summer leaving streaming to an unmanned Pixellot camera system.
Commentary then will be up to clubs/local radio,
Which is what most were looking for. Not going to make fortunes for clubs but at least fans will be able to watch games.

Honestly I would buy it at any price if the money was going to the clubs rather than RTE.
To be fair to RTE they are a bit hamstrung on this. They have to pay their workers a set wage and provide certain terms and conditions of employment or the unions would crucify them. They are also bound by a tendering process for things like the internet distribution.
The clubs can do it alot cheaper as they can use volunteers and cheaper cameras etc etc as people will do it for their club rather than as part of their day job.

eire4

hardybuck wrote: »

It's not a runner for any ground-share with the GAA to take place. Simply not happening.

Interesting though to see that they're building a 14,000 capacity stadium for €12m when the Dalymount project will cost €35m (albeit with more community facilities).

To be fair I think there are only 4,000 seats in one stand for the proposed GAA stadium in Louth and as you say it does not have any community regeneration aspect to it either.

Oat23

Now that I know how much WatchLOI costs I'd rather the clubs do it themselves, even if I have to pay €5 per match and it ends up costing extra over the course of the season.

Similar to mine and many people's feelings about the license fee, I wouldn't have any problem paying for WatchLOI if the money wasn't being wasted.

Good news for the 1D sides though. Those AI cameras are decent enough.

hardybuck

eire4 wrote: »

To be fair I think there are only 4,000 seats in one stand for the proposed GAA stadium in Louth and as you say it does not have any community regeneration aspect to it either.

Given the cost of providing all seater stadia, and efforts by other big clubs to introduce safe standing areas, maybe LOI clubs could do likewise.

eire4

hardybuck wrote: »

Given the cost of providing all seater stadia, and efforts by other big clubs to introduce safe standing areas, maybe LOI clubs could do likewise.

Would love to see safe standing areas be a feature in any future League of Ireland ground developments. Maybe put them behind each goal. Not sure what the difference is cost wise as against all seater but imagine its cheaper and I think it helps create better atmosphere at games as well.

joeysoap

kksaints wrote: »

Inchicore not Ringsend I think.

Joking. I was referring to the ex dundalk contingent at pats. Should have said Inchicore

Irishmale0399

grayzer75 wrote: »

I agree 100%, I was merely pointing out the fact Peak6 are saying it's an issue. I'm sure Des Casey would happily extend it for another 100 years if it meant Oriel would be updated but it's not going to happen under the current ownership. Even if the lease was an issue they haven't come back with plans for a greenfield site alternative.

Lease Issue:
The problem was not the ownership of the ground, the previous owners never recieved the lease upon taking over as they were expected as part of their takeover deal to pay outstanding council levies / tax on the YDC, which came in at approx. €250k+. That was done with a lump of the first European money.....hence the lease issue being resolved.


Re Des Casey:
Himself and his family will do anything they can to help the club, I doubt they have a few million to put into Oriel, however they have a watertight lease in place meaning the club will always have a site to call home.
Problem:
Peak6 cannot use the ground the stadium is built on as security with the banks as it is only leased and soley for Dunalk FCs use, banks would never get their money back if it goes wrong. If they build a new ground they will need to finance it themselves, possibly buy surrounding housing and land and hope they get their money back, which at this moment in time would mean major savings elsewhere and an American fund investing into something like a bottomless pit (aint going to happen, as they will never get that amount of money back when selling the club).


Greenfield:
Previous owners looked at it in detail, they then walked away stating they couldnt take the club any further. Think that says it all. Financing is a major problem, who is going to give a LOI club a loan / mortgage of €2,5,10,15....30 million to build a ground when the LOI prize money is approx. €100-150k per season if you come first and average attendances are approx. 1,5-2k.


The FAI, Delaney and his mates who are somewhat still in office have mismanaged the LOI into a position that no club in the current LOI format have been / will be in position to invest into major projects from income soley earned on the pitch. Rovers would still be homeless had it not been for SDCC, Shelboune and Bohs wouldnt have the prospect of a new or improved ground without public money.......Dundalk with their rich owners have not earned enough nor will they do so in the foreseeable future to do it without LCC. Reality is the LOI are dependant on public funding, which is funny as the FAI are also dependant on the same money to stay afloat let alone build grounds.


As for the new GAA ground in Louth:
Funny how none of the journalists have not looked at the influence a certain TD had on the process. Shortly before resigning from a government party the money was made available and he went silently. Fast forward and he is chairman of what....slating LOI for getting elite sports status ahead of the GAA??? Coincidence....

Zebra3

eire4 wrote: »

It is not a case of giving one club an advantage over any other.

Of course the FAI investing in one LoI ground and not in others would have given Bohs an unfair advantage.

eire4 wrote: »

Dalymount is the historical home of football in Ireland, it is as simple as that.

And Bohs threw that advantage away by letting the place go to rack and ruin.

The rest of Irish football shouldn't have been forced to pay for their ineptitude.

eire4 wrote: »

The stadium was fine and fit for purpose at the turn of century

I guess you either never stood on the crumbling Connaught St side in the rain with no roof and no facilities then or you couldn't careless about the fans who were stuck there.

eire4

Zebra3 wrote: »

Of course the FAI investing in one LoI ground and not in others would have given Bohs an unfair advantage.



And Bohs threw that advantage away by letting the place go to rack and ruin.

The rest of Irish football shouldn't have been forced to pay for their ineptitude.



I guess you either never stood on the crumbling Connaught St side in the rain with no roof and no facilities then or you couldn't careless about the fans who were stuck there.

I never said anything about the FAI investing in one League of Ireland ground and not others so stop trying to suggest something I never said.
Finding ways to invest in the facilities at all league of Ireland clubs should be right up at the top of the FAI's list of priorities. Dalymount Park as the historical home of Irish football included.
I was simply pointing out what a disgrace it is that the historical home of Irish football is in such a pathetic state and that it is another example of the FAI's dreadful performance in being the guardians of Irish football.

A property deal running into the property collapse is hardly the cubs fault.

I said that at the time the stadium was fine and fit for purpose. I never said it was state of the art with perfect facilities. It was simply fine and fit for purpose at the time.

Zebra3

Dalymount was falling apart long before any property deal/scam went wrong.

You keep pointing the finger of blame at the FAI for not investing when responsibility lay with the owners.

eire4

Zebra3 wrote: »

Dalymount was falling apart long before any property deal/scam went wrong.

You keep pointing the finger of blame at the FAI for not investing when responsibility lay with the owners.

The owners entered into the very property deals they did or attempted to because they did not have the money to do what needed to be done to modernize Dalymount.

Not their fault the property collapse came when it did. Nor was their any scam involved.

I keep pointing out what a disgrace that the historical home of Irish football is in the pathetic state it is and how that is an example of the FAI being dreadful at their job of being guardians of Irish football which it is.

Irishmale0399

eire4 wrote: »

The owners entered into the very property deals they did or attempted to because they did not have the money to do what needed to be done to modernize Dalymount.

Not their fault the property collapse came when it did. Nor was their any scam involved.

I keep pointing out what a disgrace that the historical home of Irish football is in the pathetic state it is and how that is an example of the FAI being dreadful at their job of being guardians of Irish football which it is.

It together with many other grouds of so called big clubs is a mirror image of the state of Irish football in general at the moment. Years of no prize money, no marketing, fining clubs to the edge of existance and selfserving administrators coming back to haunt the LOI. It all has to be ripped up and a new start under an independant administration has to be implimented. Codes of practice, governance, wage caps.....all needed to help the LOI develope without the parasite called the FAI involved.

eire4

Irishmale0399 wrote: »

It together with many other grouds of so called big clubs is a mirror image of the state of Irish football in general at the moment. Years of no prize money, no marketing, fining clubs to the edge of existance and selfserving administrators coming back to haunt the LOI. It all has to be ripped up and a new start under an independant administration has to be implimented. Codes of practice, governance, wage caps.....all needed to help the LOI develope without the parasite called the FAI involved.

Would be in agreement with you there for sure. I think starting over under an independent administration away from the FAI with things like wage caps ect would be a good move for the League.

topmanamillion

eire4 wrote: »

Would be in agreement with you there for sure. I think starting over under an independent administration away from the FAI with things like wage caps ect would be a good move for the League.

I don`t think the clubs or the FAI should have complete control over the running of the league.
Peak 6 running the league, fixing it to their own interests? I can guarantee sensible things like wage caps or infrastructure development wouldn`t be on their agenda. Likewise for Lee Power, Philip O'Doherty and plenty more.
We had all that when Ollie Byrne and the likes were around.

Unfortunately, I think the league is tethered to the FAI. It`s the representative body of football in this country. As bad as they have been at lobbying the government for grants and state money, an independent league board wouldn`t even be at the races.

Unless the management board were professionals, which the league couldn`t afford, the league would be no better off. It`d be either a co-op of inexperienced/unskilled well meaning volunteers which would end like Cork City but on a bigger scale or some of the leagues shadier characters rising to the top serving their own self interest.

lenny palmer

Can someone explain to me were the idea the FAI were throwing money at Bohs and to a lesser extent Shells for the use of their grounds for international and cup final games. Surely it's a case of a small rental fee ( I dont know the ins and outs of it) for the ground for the match.
Clubs in this league have always struggled to get by (bad management in some cases) weather they owned the ground they played in or not. But yet some on here expect clubs to be able to build modern stadiums with barely enough income to pay the bills they had never mind borrowing millions to fund a new stadium. Some owners even sold the land from under their clubs because it was worth more to them than any amount of winning titles could provide

eire4

topmanamillion wrote: »

I don`t think the clubs or the FAI should have complete control over the running of the league.
Peak 6 running the league, fixing it to their own interests? I can guarantee sensible things like wage caps or infrastructure development wouldn`t be on their agenda. Likewise for Lee Power, Philip O'Doherty and plenty more.
We had all that when Ollie Byrne and the likes were around.

Unfortunately, I think the league is tethered to the FAI. It`s the representative body of football in this country. As bad as they have been at lobbying the government for grants and state money, an independent league board wouldn`t even be at the races.

Unless the management board were professionals, which the league couldn`t afford, the league would be no better off. It`d be either a co-op of inexperienced/unskilled well meaning volunteers which would end like Cork City but on a bigger scale or some of the leagues shadier characters rising to the top serving their own self interest.

Sadly your probably right about the League not being able to afford a proper professional management team to run the league independently of the FAI.

Oat23

Good signing for Dundalk. They have a lot of attacking options this year.

https://twitter.com/DundalkFC/status/1364553394816495617

joeysoap

At one stage I suppose we could have compared Dalymount with Windsor. Both we used for internationals.

Both fell into major disrepair over the years. Both were club owned. But Windsor received major renovations a few years and is still used for internationals.

Afaik Linfield receive £200k a year payment but the IFA now own it

PGE1970

Drogheda sign Ronan Murray from Sligo.

joeysoap

Good signing. Thought he was decent at Dundalk. Also thought he wanted to be nearer home = Sligo.

joeysoap

Murray’s 2 goals in presidents cup final. City won.


https://youtu.be/Db6vwj1S978

Chuck Noland

Wasn’t he playing for Pats at the weekend?

shanec1928

joeysoap wrote: »

Good signing. Thought he was decent at Dundalk. Also thought he wanted to be nearer home = Sligo.

he was a permanent sick note with us. I’d say he would have been gone sooner only he signed for two years. Definitely a let down of a signing given what he had done in the past.

He had a business in Mayo unless it’s gone which was the reason he signed for us.

Oat23

Chuck Noland wrote: »

Wasn’t he playing for Pats at the weekend?

On the article I read he said the call came from Clancy after he found out he was on trial at Pats.

I'm guessing Clancy didn't bother contacting him before that because he assumed he wanted to stay in the west.

Could be a very good signing for Drogs if he can stay healthy. Had an awful 2 years in Sligo.

Irishmale0399

topmanamillion wrote: »

I don`t think the clubs or the FAI should have complete control over the running of the league.
Peak 6 running the league, fixing it to their own interests? I can guarantee sensible things like wage caps or infrastructure development wouldn`t be on their agenda. Likewise for Lee Power, Philip O'Doherty and plenty more.
We had all that when Ollie Byrne and the likes were around.

Unfortunately, I think the league is tethered to the FAI. It`s the representative body of football in this country. As bad as they have been at lobbying the government for grants and state money, an independent league board wouldn`t even be at the races.

Unless the management board were professionals, which the league couldn`t afford, the league would be no better off. It`d be either a co-op of inexperienced/unskilled well meaning volunteers which would end like Cork City but on a bigger scale or some of the leagues shadier characters rising to the top serving their own self interest.

Peak6 would not be independant....they own DundalkFC as you well know. Personally, I feel it should be a company/management board with absolutely no connections to Irish football, its clubs or their owners. Only then will you force change and improvement within the LOI.
Maybe the government would finance it instead of pumping money into the bottomless pit called the FAI, insist that every football game played at the Aviva means X amount being paid to the LOI....many ways of financing it if people really want it. The big problem is that the many clubs and FAI are still a mates club...scratching each others backs to ensure they sit tight.

hardybuck

In the last few days Waterford have secured:

- Jamie Mascoll on loan from Bolton (left back)
- James Waite on loan from Cardiff (midfielder)
- Cian Kavanagh (ex-UCD, Shelbourne, Shamrock Rovers & Wexford)
- Adam O'Reilly on loan from Preston (striker)
- Cameron Evans on loan from Swansea (defender)

As they did last year, they seem to have no trouble in hoovering up young lads on loan or on free transfers from the UK at short notice.

Sheedy's background as an underage coach, and standing in the game, probably gives clubs the confidence that they can send talented young lads to him for development. Mike Newell has obviously huge standing in the game also.