Greatest League in the World 2024 [new thread available]

Tchaikovsky

That 1956 game ended in a 3-0 win for Ireland, when West Germany were world champions. Interestingly, that was the first of 4 times that Ireland have beaten the Germans while they were world champions... in 1975, 1994 and 2015.

Anyway, sorry for going off from LOI chat

eire4

Tchaikovsky wrote: »

That 1956 game ended in a 3-0 win for Ireland, when West Germany were world champions. Interestingly, that was the first of 4 times that Ireland have beaten the Germans while they were world champions... in 1975, 1994 and 2015.

Anyway, sorry for going off from LOI chat

A very interesting stat that is. So what your saying is anytime Germany win the World Cup we should be hoping to draw them in the next European Qualifying as it should be an easy 3 points for us:)

Pawwed Rig

artanevilla wrote: »

Last international (to date) at Dalymount was a friendly v Morocco in 1990 yes.

I know that much :pac: it was the lob I was asking about

artanevilla

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

I know that much :pac: it was the lob I was asking about

Can't confirm that, I was still in nappies. I'll probably be back in nappies by the next international there.

Irishmale0399

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

I was at the last international played in Dalymount. Morocco 1990.
If I remember rightly David O'Leary came very close to scoring a spectacular og. Perfect lob of Packie Bonner which fortunately hit the crossbar.

Does anyone know if I am remembering the right game here? I used to get the £2 school boy tickets at the time so went to a fair few friendlies around that time.

Can confirm that, father and his mates put on a bus to it, got Stans jersey signed by the team afterwards.

Father and his mates promised their wives there would be no drink as the kids where with them, bus stopped about 6 times on the way from Dundalk to Dalymount. On the way home us kids were bribed with chips in Ashbourne....remember telling the ould one in the chip shop I didnt want chips...Mushies peas and a spoon would be enough. Father convinced to this day that I was drinking the remains of the cans and bottles on the bus. I was 10!!!

Pawwed Rig

Irishmale0399 wrote: »

Can confirm that, father and his mates put on a bus to it, got Stans jersey signed by the team afterwards.

Father and his mates promised their wives there would be no drink as the kids where with them, bus stopped about 6 times on the way from Dundalk to Dalymount. On the way home us kids were bribed with chips in Ashbourne....remember telling the ould one in the chip shop I didnt want chips...Mushies peas and a spoon would be enough. Father convinced to this day that I was drinking the remains of the cans and bottles on the bus. I was 10!!!

Great days

Gareth Keenan

That was Denis Irwin's debut as well.

Couple more friendlies tomorrow: Galway/Sligo and Rovers/Cabo.

joeysoap

Dalymount holds many great memories.


I was at a match between the English league and the League Of Ireland in the late 60s. England won 7-2 ( 5-0 at ht) a lot of the England World Cup players that night. There was some crowd there

I was also lucky enough to at the Ireland vs Russia match when Liam Brady made his debut. Ireland won 3-0. Russian flags burned after the match though.

irishmanmick

Any idea when details are going to be announced of the prices for WatchLOI for this season?

It tells you all you need to know about the attitude of RTE towards growing this brand that the first game to be broadcast on the platform is Friday week any they still haven't announced details of how to subscribe and how much it will cost!

They'll be complaining not enough people are subscribing next week!

Oat23

irishmanmick wrote: »

Any idea when details are going to be announced of the prices for WatchLOI for this season?

It tells you all you need to know about the attitude of RTE towards growing this brand that the first game to be broadcast on the platform is Friday week any they still haven't announced details of how to subscribe and how much it will cost!

They'll be complaining not enough people are subscribing next week!

Info is already available via the Examiner.


The subscription for the 62 matches will be called the 'Kick Off Pass' and will cost €59. Individual matches will be €5.


Profit is forecasted to be around €5k per club.


If the Pixellot AI camera system to be used by LOITV for the 1st Division and WNL is successful it will replace RTE's cameras after the June break, at which point a renewal offer will be available for the 2nd half of the year.


https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/arid-40233962.html

Irishmale0399

Oat23 wrote: »

Info is already available via the Examiner.


The subscription for the 62 matches will be called the 'Kick Off Pass' and will cost €59. Individual matches will be €5.


Profit is forecasted to be around €5k per club.


If the Pixellot AI camera system to be used by LOITV for the 1st Division and WNL is successful it will replace RTE's cameras after the June break, at which point a renewal offer will be available for the 2nd half of the year.


https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/arid-40233962.html

You mean they are only waiting for the test to end before they can piss off and wash their hands of WatchLOI.
If I am honest it would be interesting to compare the cost of what Dundalk put on vs Bohs last Friday against that of an average LOI mactch on WatchLOI without live TV coverage being run by RTE. Somehow I would imagine RTE are doing a JD and making money on it.

overshoot

Frankly I'd like to see them announce what games they intend to cover, or clarify if all clubs will be equally covered. 60 matches is 2/3 games to the midway point...
If every club is covered equally 12/18 games... Buying the season pass is 1e cheaper than a match pass, call me a skeptic that they won't be rushing to harps though.

What happens to the other 1/3 games, can clubs stream?

Commentators were much better towards the end of the year when rte's overpaid/uninterested ones were finally ditched for people with a genuine knowledge of the league. Hopefully we don't have to hear from some of them again...

thebronze14

Gareth Keenan wrote: »

That was Denis Irwin's debut as well.

Couple more friendlies tomorrow: Galway/Sligo and Rovers/Cabo.

Tried to see photos/ videos of that match to see the condition of Dalymount at the time and can't find anything

Oat23

overshoot wrote: »

Frankly I'd like to see them announce what games they intend to cover, or clarify if all clubs will be equally covered. 60 matches is 2/3 games to the midway point...
If every club is covered equally 12/18 games... Buying the season pass is 1e cheaper than a match pass, call me a skeptic that they won't be rushing to harps though.

What happens to the other 1/3 games, can clubs stream?

Commentators were much better towards the end of the year when rte's overpaid/uninterested ones were finally ditched for people with a genuine knowledge of the league. Hopefully we don't have to hear from some of them again...

You've got your numbers wrong I think. The mid-season break isn't directly in the middle after matchday 18. It's at the end of May after Matchday 14. That would be 70 games to the break rather than 90.

If my understanding is correct it is 62 games 'exclusive' to WatchLOI plus an additional 8 on RTE TV, no?

Matchday 15 on June 11th is when they expect to move to Pixellot and offer a new subscription for the rest of the season.

It's confusing because they keep saying "at the half-way point" when they talk about Pixellot, but what I think they are referring to is post mid-season break, which isn't actually the half-way point.

Irishmale0399

It be interesting to see if they try to pocket more from those abroad with the promise of the RTE TV games being available on the platform. I suspect they wont and will try to keep it as simple as possible to ensure it doesnt gain, justifying them pulling out.

overshoot

Oat23 wrote: »

You've got your numbers wrong I think. The mid-season break isn't directly in the middle after matchday 18. It's at the end of May after Matchday 14. That would be 70 games to the break rather than 90.
.

That's fair enough if you're right, I just took 18 rounds x5 to get the 90. Didn't look to see when the mid season break was.

wadacrack

The problem with the steaming service is that some fans will want to watch both divisions.I'd imagine alot of first div fans bought WatchLOI last season to just see some LOI. May not be the case this year. So having to pay for LOI TV and WatchLOI will cost how much? Im not sure . No marketing at all atm with the first game albeit free in 9 days

joeysoap

Am I the only insane one here? The FAI and the government are talking of staging World Cup games.

Are these the two organizations that

a) struggle to tun 10 team league ( 1st division is a good example)


totally ignored proper funding of football in this country (for as long as I remember) as an example. Horse racing got over €76m last year and €65m every year. Greyhound racing gets a good whack too. And now the bandwagon starts to roll....

hardybuck

joeysoap wrote: »

Am I the only insane one here? The FAI and the government are talking of staging World Cup games.

Are these the two organizations that

a) struggle to tun 10 team league ( 1st division is a good example)


totally ignored proper funding of football in this country (for as long as I remember) as an example. Horse racing got over €76m last year and €65m every year. Greyhound racing gets a good whack too. And now the bandwagon starts to roll....

The UK and Northern Ireland have more than enough stadia to do this themselves. I suspect they only want Ireland to add a bit of variety to the bid.

Nearly €200m of public funds went into the Aviva. I think they bailed out the FAI to the tune of €20m a few months ago, and the LOI/the clubs are being funded by Government this year.

On top of that clubs up and down the country get funding via Sports Ireland and Sports Capital Support, and a large number of clubs play in Council owned stadia.

So you can stop with the beal bocht.

joeysoap

Only funding LOI because of lockdown and no attendances?

hardybuck

joeysoap wrote: »

Only funding LOI because of lockdown and no attendances?

Probably - I'm not sure if the Government would normally be comfortable paying for salaries in private companies.

joeysoap

Agreed. But grounds could be modernised a bit before we talk of world cups? Gov are subsiding wages AFAIK.

overshoot

hardybuck wrote: »

On top of that clubs up and down the country get funding via Sports Ireland and Sports Capital Support, and a large number of clubs play in Council owned stadia.

So you can stop with the beal bocht.

Considering we have a half finished main stand for almost 10 years now I think I'll keep the Beal bocht!

hardybuck

overshoot wrote: »

Considering we have a half finished main stand for almost 10 years now I think I'll keep the Beal bocht!

Who is we now?

joeysoap

overshoot supports Harps

same as your Waterford.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EvfxAHVWgAA8rBC?format=jpg&name=900x900

overshoot

Now I'm depressed....
Also angry... Just reminded me the excuse for not including us last time was a missing environment statement... Which we had provided to them 6months prior...

artanevilla

Bohs clear 1000 members for the first time in history, including 200 new ones. Remarkable considering there were only 3 attendable home games last season and no guarantee of attendance anytime soon.

topmanamillion

What's the prospects of harps stadium ever being finished?
Apparently it need €7 million to open it with 2 main stands of around 2000 seats and a bit of terracing. That's clearly never happening.

So how likely is it to open with one main stand and a plastic pitch?
At what point do Harps walk away from it and just do what work they can on the current Finn Park?

overshoot

It's already being "phased"
1 being the main stand, incorporating the clubhouse, pitch
2 being the second stand (cut back from 2000 to c1600 I think. 3 being the goal terraces which didn't have any timeline attached on last presentation.
This was from an initial all seater.

Half the stand is there, but if something doesn't happen soon at least parts will require demolition... Probably the walk away point. But sure if we can't get grants for the new stadium why would we get any for Finn park?

The man in charge of it the last couple of years was one of the leading figures to bringing the WRC to Ireland. He said referencing that trying to get funding from sports captial for anything in the northwest is a nightmare.... Declining the application saying they didn't have a document without asking the club it was available (ignoring it had been sent and they just didn't file it) would back that up

Irishmale0399

joeysoap wrote: »

Am I the only insane one here? The FAI and the government are talking of staging World Cup games.

Are these the two organizations that

a) struggle to tun 10 team league ( 1st division is a good example)


totally ignored proper funding of football in this country (for as long as I remember) as an example. Horse racing got over €76m last year and €65m every year. Greyhound racing gets a good whack too. And now the bandwagon starts to roll....

Look at it from a different perspective....what do they expect to get out of it??
1. The FAI dont have a pot to piss in
2. The government are owed money by the FAI and a World Cup game or 3 in Dublin would mean they might get some of that money back by 2031.


The LOI doesnt bring in enough cash for the FAI to have more than a passing interest in it. If a private sponsor came in tomorrow and offered the FAI €10 million for the LOI rights based on the condition they lobbied the government for ground upgrade funding...they would be on bord like a rat up a drain pipe.



On the topic of funding...you should know how that works in Ireland, it is not what you need, it is who knows who and who is owed a favour.
Louth GAA have a chairman who happens to be a former Fine Gael TD, he walked quietly over the abortion issue and low and behold Louth GAA were getting a ground. His silence cost €12 million!!!

howiya

Irishmale0399 wrote: »

Look at it from a different perspective....what do they expect to get out of it??
1. The FAI dont have a pot to piss in
2. The government are owed money by the FAI and a World Cup game or 3 in Dublin would mean they might get some of that money back by 2031.


The LOI doesnt bring in enough cash for the FAI to have more than a passing interest in it. If a private sponsor came in tomorrow and offered the FAI €10 million for the LOI rights based on the condition they lobbied the government for ground upgrade funding...they would be on bord like a rat up a drain pipe.



On the topic of funding...you should know how that works in Ireland, it is not what you need, it is who knows who and who is owed a favour.
Louth GAA have a chairman who happens to be a former Fine Gael TD, he walked quietly over the abortion issue and low and behold Louth GAA were getting a ground. His silence cost €12 million!!!

Silence on what? You've made posts about this fella a few times now. What exactly are you alleging?

I doubt campaigning against the government in a referendum, leaving the party and then retaining what they would have seen as their seat is walking quietly.

hardybuck

joeysoap wrote: »

overshoot supports Harps

same as your Waterford.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EvfxAHVWgAA8rBC?format=jpg&name=900x900

Ah yeah Waterford are another club who benefited from Government funding and the Council have put in fantastic facilities down there. Pity that the athletic track impacts the atmosphere but they're lucky to have the facility.

hardybuck

artanevilla wrote: »

Bohs clear 1000 members for the first time in history, including 200 new ones. Remarkable considering there were only 3 attendable home games last season and no guarantee of attendance anytime soon.

Pity more clubs don't have a membership model. Aside from the democracy of it, the club has more stable finances as a result.

joeysoap

howiya wrote: »

Silence on what? You've made posts about this fella a few times now. What exactly are you alleging?

I doubt campaigning against the government in a referendum, leaving the party and then retaining what they would have seen as their seat is walking quietly.

I watched the Rte news at 6 0’clock. It was pretty clear Louth/Gaa have to come up with €4m but the government pays the balance. That’s €8m at present.

I don’t think he would deny it, the GAA vote got him elected.

Irishmale0399

joeysoap wrote: »

I watched the Rte news at 6 0’clock. It was pretty clear Louth/Gaa have to come up with €4m but the government pays the balance. That’s €8m at present.

I don’t think he would deny it, the GAA vote got him elected.

The GAA vote got him elected twice you mean.


First time round he was sky rocketed in over the head of a very popular Fine Gael man (who later got a Senators position), his GAA mates ensured Enda went with him....the popular choice amongst the GAA world.



He went on one about abortion and was quietly told to resign by Leo....there was a deal done as most honest FG people will admit.


He went independant...got in on the basis that his GAA mates were happy with the funding secured.


Could you imagine the uproar if Dundalk were to get €8 million of LCC to redo Oriel. Peter would be out screaming once again...as he was with the elite sports decision.

hardybuck

This is hilarious conspiracy theory stuff.

Louth, Meath, Waterford, Kildare and Wicklow all have awful GAA grounds by intercounty standards. Louth haven't really been able to host Championship games for many years, and they easily have the worst facilities in the country.

Waterford will get €3.75m in sports capital funding to do up their rotting stadium, Kildare will get €5m, Meath will get €6.2m - and I think Louth will get €8m by the sounds of it. I think these grants are all proportional to the scale of the project - and whatever they get they have to be able to raise an equivalent portion themselves.

This of course all has nothing to do with the LOI, and I'd say Fitzpatrick would only be delighted for people to think he managed to personally get this funding somehow for Louth.

As noted earlier in this thread, hundreds of millions has been pumped into soccer facilities, and the governing bodies, over the years. Much of it has been used well and much of it has been squandered.

the heathen

joeysoap wrote: »

I watched the Rte news at 6 0’clock. It was pretty clear Louth/Gaa have to come up with €4m but the government pays the balance. That’s €8m at present.

I was told that the €12m split is even between all 3 parties.

Louth GAA - 4m, GAA 4m and Govt 4m.

topmanamillion

hardybuck wrote: »

This is hilarious conspiracy theory stuff.

Exactly.
Irishmale is a good contributor here but he gets carried away with the conspiracy stuff.

Louth GAA will have to go and raise €4 million through fundraising. Or the equivalent of what Dundalk earned in Europe last year or certainly over the past 2 years.

Now if Dundalk smacked €2 million down and challenged the government to match it in grants to redevelop Oriel and were denied, he may have a point. Fact is nothing like that has happened.

The reality is Shams were very lucky to get the use of the stadium they have. They happened to be in the heartland of the richest county council in the country who were flush with property tax and in the mood to spend it.

That's not the case for the likes of Louth CoCo. As has been pointed out that Louth Councillor will be only too delighted to be associated with the new stadium when reality is he probably had bugger all to do with it.

Sligo Rovers focused their minds on developing their ground and over the space of a decade turned it from where it was aa poor FD ground into one of the best in the league. There's absolutely no doubt Dundalk could do likewise and probably in a much shorter time frame with the benefit of Euro money. They don't want to, and that's on them not the GAA or some Councillor.

CrabRevolution

Looking at it logically it doesn't make sense either; he's apparently being handsomely rewarded by FG for leaving the party, reducing their majority in the Dáil and then by running as an independent massively denting their chances at gaining a seat in Louth?

Irishmale0399

topmanamillion wrote: »

Exactly.
Irishmale is a good contributor here but he gets carried away with the conspiracy stuff.

Louth GAA will have to go and raise €4 million through fundraising. Or the equivalent of what Dundalk earned in Europe last year or certainly over the past 2 years.

Now if Dundalk smacked €2 million down and challenged the government to match it in grants to redevelop Oriel and were denied, he may have a point. Fact is nothing like that has happened.

The reality is Shams were very lucky to get the use of the stadium they have. They happened to be in the heartland of the richest county council in the country who were flush with property tax and in the mood to spend it.

That's not the case for the likes of Louth CoCo. As has been pointed out that Louth Councillor will be only too delighted to be associated with the new stadium when reality is he probably had bugger all to do with it.

Sligo Rovers focused their minds on developing their ground and over the space of a decade turned it from where it was aa poor FD ground into one of the best in the league. There's absolutely no doubt Dundalk could do likewise and probably in a much shorter time frame with the benefit of Euro money. They don't want to, and that's on them not the GAA or some Councillor.

Dundalks former and currenty owners were in talks with LCC to build a ground together with DKIT and then a communal ground open to all sports, that was until Louth GAA said they would have to be anchor tenants. The amount on offer when Dundalk/DKIT were in talks was much less than the €8 million that suddenly came into play once it was a GAA ground. Anyone who doesnt believe Peter didnt get promises before resigning as a FG TD, needs to have their eyes tested and learn how business/politics works in Ireland.

As for Dundalk FC doing up Oriel, you would have to look at the plan of the ground. They can do cosmetic stuff but as soon as they start major work they will need to buy land etc. That is where it gets expensive....prime limited land in the center of town. LCC will certainly not be arriving up to Oriel to give presents of land or re-zoning of land.
Respect to Sligo...the club, fans, council and fans all worked together to make things happen. In Dundalk they tend to work agains the club.

Irishmale0399

CrabRevolution wrote: »

Looking at it logically it doesn't make sense either; he's apparently being handsomely rewarded by FG for leaving the party, reducing their majority in the Dáil and then by running as an independent massively denting their chances at gaining a seat in Louth?

Nobody in Louth let alone FG expected him to get re-elected. FG in Louth were cock sure in fact....

dfx-

topmanamillion wrote: »

The reality is Shams were very lucky to get the use of the stadium they have. They happened to be in the heartland of the richest county council in the country who were flush with property tax and in the mood to spend it.

Rovers didn't just land in Tallaght by accident and the relationship with the council is very positive, forwrd thinking and co-operative with decisions being made by LOI fans who are not Rovers fans, that isn't down to luck or richness of the county council.

For Forks Sake

artanevilla wrote: »

Bohs clear 1000 members for the first time in history, including 200 new ones. Remarkable considering there were only 3 attendable home games last season and no guarantee of attendance anytime soon.

The poet-in-residence will be delighted

topmanamillion

Irishmale0399 wrote: »

As for Dundalk FC doing up Oriel, you would have to look at the plan of the ground. They can do cosmetic stuff but as soon as they start major work they will need to buy land etc. That is where it gets expensive....prime limited land in the center of town. LCC will certainly not be arriving up to Oriel to give presents of land or re-zoning of land.

Dundalk fans always wheel out these stock excuses along with "emergency access issues" and the likes.
All the while the main stand has 1,100 covered seats? That's very small for a main stand and leaves room for the same again to be developed either side of it.
Start there really and worry about the rest afterwards. But again none of this is on the agenda because player expenditure has been prioritised in search of European success at a time when the window into the elite rounds of the top tiers has narrowed considerably.

joeysoap

topmanamillion wrote: »

Dundalk fans always wheel out these stock excuses along with "emergency access issues" and the likes.
All the while the main stand has 1,100 covered seats? That's very small for a main stand and leaves room for the same again to be developed either side of it.
Start there really and worry about the rest afterwards.

Whatever about extending the main stand towards the town end ( definitely look lobsided) there’s no chance of extending it toward the away end. Few years ago a previous board had such plans but the residents objected (loss of light etc :rolleyes:.) The plan was dropped in favour of a new stand where the shed/YDC is now.


Before Matthews. 30 years ago? Nothing happened, no money.

Irishmale0399

topmanamillion wrote: »

Dundalk fans always wheel out these stock excuses along with "emergency access issues" and the likes.
All the while the main stand has 1,100 covered seats? That's very small for a main stand and leaves room for the same again to be developed either side of it.
Start there really and worry about the rest afterwards. But again none of this is on the agenda because player expenditure has been prioritised in search of European success at a time when the window into the elite rounds of the top tiers has narrowed considerably.

I know for a fact the former owners looked at re-developing Oriel, they then looked at a greenfield project.

The problem at Oriel is very simple....
- land behind both goals is privately owned - they would have to buy and someone would have to be willing to sell. Add to that the small piece of land behind the Carrick end is an official emergency service entrance for ambulance and fire service.

- there are only 2 entrances/exits which dont meet modern standards and if I am honest I wouldnt like to see them if there was an emergency in the ground.

- touch the main stand and you have to increase the entrance/exit space, you have to get planning from the houses fronting Oriel and in some cases may have to buy. Add to that, they would have to provide for disabled etc. under European planning conditions for stadia.


- Parking was also an issue, something which could be solved by buying land across the road on which an old hotel stands. You then need planning to take it down and turn the land into a car park (advantage here would be that it could be used by people using the train station..could pay for itself over time, if the club could buy it and get planning).


Greenfield:
- Find land and get planning to build the ground, car parks, potential roads etc.


Now once you get the planning over the line you have the problem of financing. Name one bank on this planet who will give anyone let alone a LOI club, €2-3 million plus based on potential €40-100k winnings per season depending on where you finish. Sponsorship deals which are season to season or 2-3 years max....No bank will give you a loan on the possibility that you will in Europe. 1 bad season and it will all start to crumble...2 bad seasons and you will be bankrupt.


So now you may ask....why dont Peak6 pay for it...my counter question is why should they when the FAI / LOI are doing little to nothing to improve income or exposure. Peak6 made it very clear at their one and only public meeting after the takeover that stadium developement would only be possible if the income was there...last year they then asked the question of government funding. Why have 1 club playing in a ground build with public money and another paying out of their potential playing budget?? Who would come out on top??

joeysoap

It shouldn’t be forgotten either the Casey Fanily own and live in the house directly outside Oriel.

Or that the Carrick Road is prime real estate, houses won’t come cheap

Directly facing Oriel

https://www.daft.ie/for-sale/semi-detached-house-innisfree-house-carrick-road-dundalk-co-louth/2505187

Oriel in the background

https://www.daft.ie/for-sale/detached-house-thorncroft-mount-hamilton-carrick-road-dundalk-co-louth/2596021

Liberta Per Gli Ultra

topmanamillion wrote: »

Exactly.
Irishmale is a good contributor here but he gets carried away with the conspiracy stuff.

You lost me just after "exactly".

Maybe you meant good for a laugh, like when a person uses one side of their mouth to defend a private-equity firm and its God-given right to profit off a football club, and the other side of their mouth to demand public money for the very same company.

topmanamillion wrote: »

Dundalk fans always wheel out these stock excuses along with "emergency access issues" and the likes.
All the while the main stand has 1,100 covered seats? That's very small for a main stand and leaves room for the same again to be developed either side of it.
Start there really and worry about the rest afterwards. But again none of this is on the agenda because player expenditure has been prioritised in search of European success at a time when the window into the elite rounds of the top tiers has narrowed considerably.

Forget the main stand, they have a grassy knoll where there could and should be a terrace. Finn Park is far from spoiled in terms of access into the ground and yet they have a 1700 capacity terrace behind the goal which serves its purpose, allows the Harps fans to do their job and looks well when a late winner goes in. Yous have similar but with bucket seats.

As you've said and as most are aware, the current owners of Dundalk could make tangible improvements to Oriel Park but they choose not to as the club is just another vehicle for them to make a few quid in the short to medium term.

Big Ears

It's a tough scenario for Dundalk in a way.
They've built up their training facilities around Oriel and it's in a prime location for people in the town to get to for games.
However there are clear obstacles which make developing their ground more difficult than most.

With that said, Dalymount and Tolka are perfect examples in the last 15 years of what happens to stadiums which are already somewhat rundown and left untouched for long periods of time.

If Dundalk don't do anything, Oriel is only going to gets worse !
They either need to find a way to redevelop Oriel to a reasonable level or they have to find a new location to move to, simple as that.
It's all well and good saying the council should build it for us, SDCC built a ground for Rovers, but if the council aren't willing/able able to help what then ?
Bitch and moan about the council while watching Oriel fall apart ?

Who knows what Oriel will be like in 15 years, if it's not touched it could well be at a stage where it's not safe to use, and considering how long developments can take, they really should be planning now.
Peak 6 seem to have little interest though, so in the short term I doubt we'll see any movement.

doncarlos

dfx- wrote: »

Rovers didn't just land in Tallaght by accident and the relationship with the council is very positive, forwrd thinking and co-operative with decisions being made by LOI fans who are not Rovers fans, that isn't down to luck or richness of the county council.

I live in Kilnamanagh and it's obvious for me to see how much that SDCC value Rovers and can see the benefits of having them playing in Tallaght. Tallaght stadium is the jewel in their crown and to have Europa league matches, Ireland u21s and womens internationals there brings plenty of prestige and boosts the profile of Tallaght.

I'm from Dundalk though and have also witnessed that LCC simply don't give two ****s about Dundalk. They never have and they never will. It fact it feels there is an apathy towards DFC. As Irishmale says they are always working against Dundalk not with them. When Dundalk were playing in the Europa league in 2016 and 2020 you'd barely know and the same for any of our cup finals. It also doesn't help that the council is broke and Drogheda are based in the same county. There is always that North Louth/South Louth divide as well as an affinity towards the GAA even though the county team are one of the worst in the country.