Article in Financial Times

[Stuttgart88]

....on Saturday. Really interesting, a Swiss Sports Consultancy basically laughing at how badly football clubs appoint managers. always bowing to populism and knee jerk reactions etc etc. If I could find it online I'd stick it up here & also send a copy to John Delaney.

Also, last Monday week's UK Times had an article by Gabriele Marcoti(?) advocating European Leagues outside the big 4 or 5 reconfiguring so you'd have an Atlantic League, a Balkan League, a Nordic League and a central/eastern European league. He listed a sample of the clubs that'd make up each league and omitted to mention any Irish team (:

But I agreed with the jist of it. European club foootball is becoming incraesingly uncompetitive after the group stages and financially the big clubs take all the money.

Just think if we could do what the IRFU does and enter 4 ptrovincial teams into some type of Western European league. Search for the article, I liked it.

Also interesting is reading all the press about the RFU and Andy Robinson. Most papers say that regardless of who's in charge of England, the structure of the English game is killing the competiveness of the national team (too many games, too many foreigners crowding out local talent etc etc.). Almost every paper cites the IRFU as an example of how to progress. I met Sir Clive Woordward recently and he agrees. In a way I saw a similarity with our football situation. Slagging off Stan is one thing, but the total structure of our game is the problem, too many players struggling abroad, national team totally dependent on a foreign system etc etc.

Anyway, gotta go now. Little fella's nap has just come to a noisy end...

[tetsujin1979]

Is this the one you're talking about: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/4cbd97d6-7be...0779e2340.html

[Dodge]

Just think if we could do what the IRFU does and enter 4 ptrovincial teams into some type of Western European league. Search for the article, I liked it.

Wouldn't work. The majority of el fans would be massively opposed to it and the Man U/Celtic/Liverpool fans would continue to support Man U/Celtic/Liverpool etc

If you want to make 3/4 of the current clubs get bigger and better please do...

[pete]

Large Corporation sin the US are alos gulity of appointed PR friendly Chief Executives. Just have look at all the Encron, WolrdCom etc... stories.

Financial stability is important but Football is a sport first & business second so can't be viewed same as all businesses.

[pineapple stu]

If you want to make 3/4 of the current clubs get bigger and better please do...

Isn't that the whole point of the current Delaney Super Duper league?

(Seriously)

[pete]

Isn't that the whole point of the current Delaney Super Duper league?

(Seriously)

In a word Yes.

[Stuttgart88]

Wouldn't work. The majority of el fans would be massively opposed to it and the Man U/Celtic/Liverpool fans would continue to support Man U/Celtic/Liverpool etc

If you want to make 3/4 of the current clubs get bigger and better please do...

I'd be indifferent to existing clubs getting bigger, or just tearing it up and starting again. The key point for me is being in control of our own affairs rather than relying on the UK for almost everything.

I agree that most eL fans wouldn't be keen but are they that numerous anyway? And given time and a viable alternative maybe the latter category you mention would be won over.

Pete, I was simply citing football as a classic example of bad decision making. Should the process of appointing a manager in football be that different to appointing a managerb in business - any business, not just the mega corporations you mentioned? I laughed out loud when I read this morning that the RFU was rumoured to be considering the inexperienced Martin Johnson as national team coach, with the experienced Dean Richards acting as mentor.

[Stuttgart88]

Is this the one you're talking about: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/4cbd97d6-7be...0779e2340.html

Thanks Tets, that's the one. I thought it was interesting!

[Stuttgart88]

Here's The Times article by Gabriele Marcotti I referred to above:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,27-2461627.html

[galwayhoop]

....
Just think if we could do what the IRFU does and enter 4 ptrovincial teams into some type of Western European league. ...

it's not as wild a theory as you may think.

if run the same as IRFU situation it could actually work. however it would mean a 'downgrade' if you want of the eL clubs but if you then regionalised the elite players to compete in some type of euro league you would get massive support IMO (a-la munster but dunno bout leinster ).

you could then use the eL as a semi-pro system like the rugby all ireland league where the elite players get full time contracts with the regional sides. it would also facilitate the 'regionalised academy' systems for elite players at underage levels and therefore not require them travelling overseas for full time pro careers.

when the rugby went fully pro most people thought we'd sink without trace and then last month we were 3rd in the world!! i don't have much time for the ruggers but they did get the professional system spot on for a small country.

the g14 wouldn't like it but then they could p*ss off and form their own 'hollywood league' which is what they want anyway!

it would require a major rethink but it may not be the total pie in the sky that it orginally sounds!

[Fergie's Son]

Large Corporation sin the US are alos gulity of appointed PR friendly Chief Executives. Just have look at all the Encron, WolrdCom etc... stories.

Financial stability is important but Football is a sport first & business second so can't be viewed same as all businesses.

Eh? They are? You do appreciate that all CEO's of any publically traded corporation are subject to the officer board and the BOD's right? Or that most CEO's are subject to ascertainable benchmarks that directly impact whether or not they have a job?

So no, you're flat assed wrong here.

[Dodge]

I agree that most eL fans wouldn't be keen but are they that numerous anyway? And given time and a viable alternative maybe the latter category you mention would be won over.

Might be small but we're the only group proven to attend football in Ireland on a regular basis. No sporting events that last as long as a football season attract good numbers in ireland, the Irish public have shown time and time again then don't care about sport (until somebody wins something). Even the great Munster Army was getting less than 4k for a celtic league games last year. Event junkies make up the rest and you won't get those people turning up to see Connaught v AZ Alkmaar in foootball

[blobbyblob]

How about the FAI buying a Premiership club and using it as an academy for developing players and exposing them to high quality football and players in much the same way as munster and leinster act?

[Dodge]

Holy ****ing ****!

[Lim till i die]

How about the FAI buying a Premiership club and using it as an academy for developing players and exposing them to high quality football and players in much the same way as munster and leinster act?

Oh Dear, I assume your joking

Either way, expect a lot of very upset people on this thread

[Lim till i die]

it's not as wild a theory as you may think.

It's a ridiculous idea

I'm a Limerick F.C. fan, why in ainm de would I want to follow a Munster team

[irishfan86]

How about the FAI buying a Premiership club and using it as an academy for developing players and exposing them to high quality football and players in much the same way as munster and leinster act?

Hear hear, it's time big time investment occurs to import big stars to some of the bigger clubs in Ireland, or a foreign club is imported to boost the product.

There is clearly a market in Ireland for Premiership football, as evidenced by the TV ratings- it's time a supply is given.

Ideally we would have a team in a European wide super league.

I find it amazing how willing Eircom league fans are to embrace a foreign game, and yet despise the Premiership so vehemently.

Once Ireland fans drop their archaic, protectionist views, then Irish football will truly explode.

Nobody wants to see Paddy part-time except for a select few hardcore fans blinded by the romanticism of days long gone by.

Football is a business now, and the product supplied in Ireland doesn't match the market and the demand, and that's why you're seeing low attendance figures.

[Dodge]

You've just made my signature. Congrats!

[Billsthoughts]

I agree that most eL fans wouldn't be keen but are they that numerous anyway? And given time and a viable alternative maybe the latter category you mention would be won over.
.

Ouch!
Its still their clubs. why should they have something they actually have an emotional attatchment to taken away from them so you can have a succesful team that plays about 5 times a year? (ie Irish international team)Irish people who obsess over man u / liverpool at al dont have to invest the time and energy into actually going to the games. I doubt whether a lot of them would bother going every week if man u and liverpool played all their home games here. I know all my mates wouldnt for starters. yet they would be first up to the pub to watch them play. Best way forward for Irish football is to promote the existing clubs more and set realistic targets in relation to attendances. invest in making the grounds better and force clubs to manage themselves better financially. Also a bigger interest from the media is a must for generating interest elsewhere. I know its a lazy cliche at this stage but its still true.

[Lim till i die]

You've just made my signature. Congrats!

Like $hels, do you sometimes get the feeling your being wound up??

Or do I overestimate the intelligence of your average Irish sports fan