Greatest League in the World 2024 [new thread available]

Can't say I buy the love-in either. Rovers have already banked the guts of €5m in prize money, that's before any extra they make in merchandising, tv money, gate receipts, etc. With Rovers looking like they' win the league again this year, that's quite a high hurdle for anyone to compete against in 2023.

I do now. I was definitely a fan of CS Maritimo back in 2010 when they played the Fungus. Couldn't hack their filthy success at all.

Then again I am a fan of that sad bastard of a club in Drumcondra.

One of my favourite LOI memories in Europe that doesn't involve Shels is keeping abreast of Shams-Partizan during the speeches at a wedding. Some day!

Sorry if it seemed I was having a go. I wasn't. Sligo have been terrific in Europe. I just hope they get a result they deserve tomorrow

Hearing some horrible rumours of the FAI trying to get Rovers group stage matches played in the Aviva.

Absolute no for me. Imagine how bad it'd be if we got drawn against a popular English team, and the stadium was full of more "away" fans than home.

All should be played in Tallaght with the away allocation in the north corner of the east stand, with the rest full of Rovers fans.

I remember these conversations coming up when Shams made the Europa League groups and Dundalk made the groups x 2.

Fact is, there's a ceiling for all LOI clubs when it comes to assembling a squad. Even with €5 million + in the bank are Shams going to be in a different market this winter to the one just passed? You would have to say no.

The money secures their future for the next couple of seasons and it'll help with the academy but they're not suddenly going to be going toe toe with league 1 teams in the transfer market, the next Mandroiu will still go to Lincoln.

Its also worth remembering the likes of Tallin, Lincoln Red imps, Riga... All have the same route as Shams and will fancy their chances of group stage football. It's not inconceivable that the LOI champion gets a stinker of a draw a few years in a row.

Then of course there's the natural progression of the league which tends to be cyclical. The likes of Derry have a bottomless pit of cash and may not even have started to stretch their muscle yet.

Huge game for us tonight. CSKA surely can't be as average again as they looked last week. Need a big game from our defence. Don't want to call it but we can definitely go through if we play to our top levels.

Best of luck to Sligo also, while it looks impossible for them to turnaround that deficit hopefully they can at least win or draw the 90 minutes tonight.

I have no problem with Derry doing this (but I'm not a Rovers supporter). It's Tuesday night to Friday and Rovers did fly into Dublin.

Derry are seeking to maximise their chance of three points on Friday by refusing. As are Rovers by looking for a delay.

It's no big deal.

Yes

I thought Rovers flew into Shannon?

Had to be diverted due to weather conditions, so ended up landing at Dublin instead.

He ran into the Pats lad, ref should be demoted for that alone. Bought into the diving

The CSKA player handballed it first before it came off him onto Brockbank's arm. Was a terrible decision.

One of many terrible decisions from the ref, the free leading up to the penalty was even worse, he fell for every trick in the book from CSKA.

Sick after that, we should have gone through. Breslin missed such a great chance.

Nah, I think with many smaller leagues, one team like BATE or Ludograts dominate, is due to dodgy ex Soviet owners coming in and investing in a team that previously struggled. In these countries, the former power like Dynamo Minsk or CSKA Sofia, can't get close to breaking that stranglehold. Shaktor and Dynamo in Ukraine another example, albeit more even. RB Salzburg had an investor.

The difference with the Irish league is the dearth of money, any sort of windfall is a huge difference, which isn't the case with the above, in terms of those clubs self sustainable ability to compete. TNS in Wales probably worse culprits than any of the ex Soviet countries of buying the league, how can Barry even hope to compete? Regardless of the reasons, we don't want a one team monopoly

Around Europe the ex powers can't compete because of huge money pumped in by individual. My point is, in Ireland this shouldn't be the case, as the divide wouldn't be the investor, purely the European purse. It can be controlled easier to keep the league competitive

Shocking stuff from CSKA.

Looking on TV, a lot of their supporters looked very rough.

We bottled another big game in Waterford tonight thanks to JC and his bizarre, irrational decisions. Cork drop points and yet again we fail to capitalise.

I never understand people getting worked up by the handshake thing. If the 2 of them have been at each other’s throats for the whole game or have some other gripe, who really cares that much if 1 doesn’t want to shake the others hand?

As if shaking the hand of someone you don’t have any time for is some weird badge of honour.

Doherty gets the 3 points and an infinitely superior performance to the one Duff’s team put on. I’m sure he will be just fine.