If the game had been allocated to the Showgrownds there would have been a lot less dissenting voices than there were for the final in Tallaght involving Shams! Dundalk to Sligo driving on average takes me 2hrs 20, a regular excursion due to family residing in County Sligo. Dundalk to Tallaght driving is, depending on the time and traffic, bout 1hr 30 or so. People bahave as if this island is huge. Accross the water 3hr spins to see your football team would be considered a convenience! I think that South Dublin County Council Stadium is soulless. Watering pitches aside with equal ticket allocation i dont see major advantage to Sligo to play in the Showgrounds - if anything in recent times we have seen more success there than in Tallaght. The players im sure would rather be in a final in front of a full house marking the occaison than in an half full 2 sided venue like tallaght.
Last edited by Nesta99; 18/04/2014 at 4:35 PM.
Ya Id agree with ya. If our committee want to make a stab at hosting then fair enough, I can see their thinking regarding crowd, boost to the area etc. But if it was in Dundalk for the same reasosn I wouldn't be so happy. A few hours to travel to a cup final ... no big deal.
Manager: Fergal, have you your boots with ya?
Fergal: Ya, I have them here.
Manager: Ah good stuff, well give them to this man so, he forgot his!
According to RTÉ, your chairman was explicitly supportive of playing the game at the most suitable neutral venue, as is only fair and logical for a final: http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/irish...wgrounds-snub/
Embarrassing statement from Sligo.Originally Posted by RTÉ
A football pitch is a football pitch - the advantage lies in the home support enviornment where for example a partizan crowd can influence officials decisions aside from just driving on the players. In Tallaght in our previous SSC final the home advantage was negated more or less and the game turned on an injury to Sam. Equal allocation of tickets assuming full allocation is taken well then the home advantage becomes minimal. It felt last season for a bit that we couldnt buy a win at home. While winning is absolutely the priority, players are more likely to thrive in a cauldron of atmosphere rather than (potentially) a half full ground with 2 empty goal ends diluting the occaison of a cup final.
The organisers have been fierce subtle in their timing wth (i am told ) a 4pm kick off putting the last train back to Sligo at seven bells just tantalisingly out of reach. Pity there isn't a decent ground near the city centre, Tallaght is such a dis-spiriting place, 22 sink estates in search of a suburb (if Dorothy Parker but perhaps not the locals will forgive me) with nary a boozer in sight, except for those hotels that stink of brown beef and gravy. I am not a fan of the stadium either but it is one thing and perhaps the only thing we can't blame Shamrock for, and why pray tell me is The Square called so, the Pyramid maybe, its like a Louvre extension with poundshops designed and built by Tom McFeely.
Very embarrassing statement from Sligo. Love the word 'disappointed' , all that's missing was 'that we (Sligo) didn't get our way.
Also remember they got their way previously with this, 2010 or 2011, league cup final v Monaghan.
#DundalkFC - First Irish club to win an away game in Europe (1963), first Irish club to win points in a group stage in Europe (2016).
Ah, get a life, will you?. Sligo Rovers made a business case for the staging of the game in The Showgrounds and they are disappointed that it does not appear to have received the consideration it deserved. They are merely keeping their supporters in the picture. If they hadn't made the submission, trust me, there would be plenty in Sligo jumping on them. Apparantly, The Plastic Pitch outfit didn't make any submission. Anyway, it'd done and dusted now and lets get on with the game.
It's pretty obvious why the chairman would make such a statement.
He is a smart guy to be fair to him.
No one was expecting to have the game in Sligo but in a competition where the majority of finals have been staged at the ground of one of the teams playing in the final I don't believe it was a bad idea to put a bid in to host it. Do you?
If it was the FAI Cup Final it wouldn't have been an issue. Everyone knows it's in Lansdowne every year. The Setanta and League Cup finals are played anywhere and everywhere. What I would like I see come out of this is that if the competition survives that finals are always played at neutral venues anymore.
Still no need for the statement in my eyes mind.
You've been misinformed as we did make a submission with costings to hold the game just like Sligo did. Sligo are obviously disappointed not to hold the game but the statement just smacks of bitterness. I agree that the final should be played at a neutral venue every year anyway.
More bonkers ideas from the organisers!
http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/s...up-267766.html
Jeez, 16 teams? Might as well just let every team in the LOI and IFL have a go.
Author of Never Felt Better (History, Film Reviews).
Slow build up here for the final but to be honest I cant wait. Two great teams pitting it off against each other. Sligo on a good run but the way we demolished cork put to bed any fears I had on our previous 3 games.
looking forward to it.
whats the mood in Sligo for the game. Dundalk is a little muted due to the Giro D'Italia passing through on sunday
Long Live King Kenny
Open top bus + Giro = Scary
Certainly not the level of anticipation that the FAI Cup Final would bring.
Although I think the club might have brought some of that on themselves when complaining about the game not being in Sligo. People who might have been dragged along are now using that they wouldn't play the game in The Showgrounds as an excuse not to go.
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