Barstool facepalm

[DannyInvincible]

Dietmar Hamann embraces the crowds who appear to have flocked to the opening of Liverpool's merchandise store on Henry Street last night:



Besides Liverpool and Dublin, in what other cities, if any, do Liverpool have merchandise stores?

[Charlie Darwin]

Well I suppose at least it requires them to go further than the pub.

[DannyInvincible]

I see they also have a store in Belfast: http://store.liverpoolfc.com/stores/finder/uk/

[adamd164]

God that's horrendous.

[DannyInvincible]

It was a live first for many in support at the Ilac Centre fixture. What was the official attendance, I wonder?

[DannyInvincible]

'Judge In Cork Takes The Mick Out Of Liverpool Fans During A Trial': http://balls.ie/football/judge-cork-...ol-fans-trial/

The following is a genuine exchange that took place in Cork Circuit Criminal Court during the trial of a man who was accused of stealing €2,495 from unwitting Liverpool fans.

Judge: People actually pay to see Liverpool?

Garda: Apparently so.

Judge: There are innocents in every department of the world.

Honestly, it might sound like some kind of poorly constructed sporting theatre but it’s not. Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin was presiding over a case in which Ian O’Sullivan was accused of defrauding 15 separate individuals by offering to sell them Liverpool match tickets without any intention of actually supplying the tickets.

O’Sullivan pleaded guilty to the charge and will back for sentencing on February 9. It is not certain if the judge will indulge in further mick taking on that date.

[Fivesilver]

"(Roddy Doyle) is a lifelong Chelsea supporter who goes to watch them four or five times a season."

http://m.bbc.com/sport/football/29646873

[Charlie Darwin]

Diehard.

[ger121]

"(Roddy Doyle) is a lifelong Chelsea supporter who goes to watch them four or five times a season."

http://m.bbc.com/sport/football/29646873

Least he goes over I suppose. Probably more often than most [insert successful English club] 'supporters' here.

[DannyInvincible]

Irish people supporting the true blues of Chelsea, with their infamous loyalist/neo-Nazi Headhunters?... Supporting a team with whom one has no tangible or communal link whatsoever is peculiar at the best of times, but this "connection" I really never got; it boggles the mind.

[bennocelt]

Had the misfortune to be in a bar full of Chelski supporters when they came to Basel. Lots of anti Irish/Celtic songs to be heard. Admitting you follow Chelsea is like admitting you havent a clue about football imho

[Charlie Darwin]

Admitting you follow Chelsea is like admitting you havent a clue about football imho

Unless you hate Irish people, in which case it's probably grand

A lot of Irish people don't really care about the history of the English club they support, which is confusing as others use the "Irish" history as a reason why they support other teams. To be fair, they're all just corporations now anyway, an Irish person choosing to support Chelsea now just sees them as a franchise.

[legendz]

A lot of Irish people don't really care about the history of the English club they support, which is confusing as others use the "Irish" history as a reason why they support other teams. To be fair, they're all just corporations now anyway, an Irish person choosing to support Chelsea now just sees them as a franchise.

The league lacks a connect with a sizeable section of the football interested public. Hard to know what clubs can do. There couldn't really be excuses in Limerick when they were in Thomond Park. On a work night out you might get a group to head to the dogs on a Friday night or a rugby game. The league unfortunately doesn't have the same draw. The league needs a prominent place in the sporting fabric.

[DannyInvincible]

The league lacks a connect with a sizeable section of the football interested public. Hard to know what clubs can do.

If clubs want to be serious about bridging a connect between themselves and the proud Irish public, they need to start adopting Union flags and St. George's Crosses.

[legendz]

If clubs want to be serious about bridging a connect between themselves and the proud Irish public, they need to start adopting Union flags and St. George's Crosses.

Constructive idea alright! The 4 main urban areas have teams yet those cities are not getting support behind the clubs in great numbers.

[legendz]

I was on a work night out. The bar in question did not have BT Sports. A few looking to watch Munster had to head to a bar up the street. The bar without BT had RTE 2 on. Got to watch the match. Great! I was probably the only one watching really but sure how bad. The lads with Cork connections had no interest. Said they didn't know of any of the players and would only be fooling themselves by taking an interest.
The league. It's players. Their profile. Therein lies one problem - the raising of their profile.

[Nesta99]

Had the misfortune to be in a bar full of Chelski supporters when they came to Basel. Lots of anti Irish/Celtic songs to be heard. Admitting you follow Chelsea is like admitting you havent a clue about football imho

Played with my old Uni 4ths in England back in the day which at that level was an excuse for beers after the game and cans on the bus during the trip home. As the drinks went in the auld English football chants started, the usual No Surrender type stuff. 4 of us on the team including captain were Irish. The English lads hadnt a clue what they were singing or that it was anti-irish, it was just the stuff they had heard over the years. If ye asked them what was IRA they would have shrugged and probably guessed at Inland Revenue Ar*eholes or some other random guess. Those that did know were 'we dont mean you lads!?! We just rolled the eyes and smirked at their being oblivious to their not very bright loutish stereotype. Us Irish of course indulged in the drinking but without the cringe renditions of the fields of athenry or coybig.

[wonder88]

Tg4 news friday night, just before LoI title decider
3 sports covered; rugby - munster game, Gaa allstars, and soccer
The two soccer items were that Rio Ferdinand is retiring at end of season and Balotelli and his shirt.
I might drop the sports editor an email, but Rio retiring next may probably have been the big soccer story of the day in tg4 land
At least Radio na Gaeltachta had an interview with the chairman of Galway on the saturday sports programme

ps saw on twitter that Rio forgot to mention QPR during a 9 minute interview on a popular English chat show

[gufcfan]

TG4 is niche enough as it is and LOI is a small niche in the minds of the sporting public in Ireland.

The sports editor knows exactly what's going on in the LOI and he has an interest in the what's going on in the jokeshop that is Galway soccer, but they report on what people want to hear about. I couldn't give a flying fudge about Rio or Balotelli, but I'm not most people.

You'd be surprised how disinterested people in the Gaeltachts are in Irish sport at times. The local watering hole showed some soccer or rugby match instead of the All Ireland club finals the last time I was there.

Since this is the barstoolers thread... I remember grown men effing kids out of it for playing soccer and one lad who is related to an inter-county player being told at 12 years of age that if he was seen playing soccer, he would never play gaa again. Shower of *******.

The same *****s shouting for United and Liverpool down the pub on Saturday then.

[legendz]

Ah lads, have ye any sympathy at all for Irish people who have had their long weekend ruined by an English team from the city of Manchester losing to a team from London managed by a former Limerick FC manager and then a team from Liverpool managed by a County Antrim man played out a scoreless draw?!