The Guardian: Liam Miller makes bow amid usual farce

**thischarmingman** · 12/03/2015, 1:36 AM

Cork City’s marquee signing must have wondered what he had let himself in for when the new season got under way last weekend

http://www.theguardian.com/football/...kick-off-farce

**seand** · 12/03/2015, 8:22 AM

Unremittingly negative piece. Obviously the league is a mess in a lot of ways, but there's a lot of quality there and a lot of excitement and enthusiasm about the launch which could at least have been mentioned in passing.

**nigel-harps1954** · 12/03/2015, 8:25 AM

The only farce is the ridiculous amount of comments backing up that article.

**Stuttgart88** · 12/03/2015, 8:27 AM

I saw that article in the print edition this morning and thought it was a miserly, curmudgeonly piece of writing. Is there really nothing at all positive about the LoI?

**oriel** · 12/03/2015, 11:18 AM

A better and more balance football print is When Saturday Comes, I note they have a LOI article in this month's edition. They usually have some Irish football article at least twice a year. Its an excellent Magazine, Eason's sell it.

Bradford City's FA Cup ticket fiasco
Opinion-splitting Harry Redknapp
Kilmarnock's four-way 1965 title fight
Dover Athletic's "Pillock Cup" win
Brentford's new direction
Criticising referees
Safe standing in Wales
St Austell's Cornish dream
Fan card controversy in Denmark
Greenock Morton host Stranraer – photos
How small incidents change matches
Scunthorpe and Kevin Keegan in 1970
Anger in Holland at reserve teams
Crowd trouble at AFCON 2015
League of Ireland's first ever season
Book reviews ~ Ferguson's first Reds; Newcastle's beginnings; Cardiff's European tours; saving Tim Howard

**Dodge** · 12/03/2015, 11:26 AM

Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

I saw that article in the print edition this morning and thought it was a miserly, curmudgeonly piece of writing. Is there really nothing at all positive about the LoI?

There's loads. I don't get involved in these things as they're fairly pointless

Loads of problems, loads to enjoy. My guess is Alan knew that a piece criticizing the league would get more traction than one praising it. The braver thing would have been to gone against conventional wisdom but he decided to pick on the easy target (from his base in the UK). All journos have to earn their clicks

**** all people in Ireland read the Guardian paper and anyone who read it online already has their mind made up about the LOI so no point in getting too worked up about it.

**colonelwest** · 12/03/2015, 11:33 AM

I think that's the same fella who has been doing match reports/ articles for extratime and a few local papers for the past few years going by the twitter handle on the Guardian article. You'd think he'd be of the mind to write a positive piece instead of putting the usual negative spin on everything, even the positives, but then again there's very few proper journalists left these days, it's all clickbait and op-ed blog pieces.

If it is the same fella he's done himself and his body of work of over the last few years a massive disservice for a cheap few hits for his new employers, presumably freelance at that.

**outspoken** · 12/03/2015, 12:04 PM

To be fair there's nothing in that article we didn't already know, Fairly pointless article. Maybe some suggestions to fix these issues would have been more interesting to read

**Longfordian** · 12/03/2015, 12:37 PM

Originally Posted by colonelwest

I think that's the same fella who has been doing match reports/ articles for extratime and a few local papers for the past few years going by the twitter handle on the Guardian article. You'd think he'd be of the mind to write a positive piece instead of putting the usual negative spin on everything, even the positives, but then again there's very few proper journalists left these days, it's all clickbait and op-ed blog pieces.

If it is the same fella he's done himself and his body of work of over the last few years a massive disservice for a cheap few hits for his new employers, presumably freelance at that.

Yeah that's him. A Cork City fan himself I believe.

**Charlie Darwin** · 12/03/2015, 1:05 PM

First comment on the article is somebody making the radical suggestion of setting up a Celtic league like in the rugby. Gripping stuff.

**seand** · 12/03/2015, 1:24 PM

Originally Posted by oriel

A better and more balance football print is When Saturday Comes, I note they have a LOI article in this month's edition. They usually have some Irish football article at least twice a year. Its an excellent Magazine, Eason's sell it.

Bradford City's FA Cup ticket fiasco
Opinion-splitting Harry Redknapp
Kilmarnock's four-way 1965 title fight
Dover Athletic's "Pillock Cup" win
Brentford's new direction
Criticising referees
Safe standing in Wales
St Austell's Cornish dream
Fan card controversy in Denmark
Greenock Morton host Stranraer – photos
How small incidents change matches
Scunthorpe and Kevin Keegan in 1970
Anger in Holland at reserve teams
Crowd trouble at AFCON 2015
League of Ireland's first ever season
Book reviews ~ Ferguson's first Reds; Newcastle's beginnings; Cardiff's European tours; saving Tim Howard

That'd be mine ;-)

**paykanti** · 12/03/2015, 4:28 PM

It may be struggling for finances but at the opposite end of the spectrum you have the soulless EPL with it's corporatisation of its clubs and alienation of its fans. Making out as if the financial figures are the bottom line of a league is just wrong.

**Nesta99** · 13/03/2015, 8:26 AM

Originally Posted by seand

That'd be mine ;-)

Little did we knw that Dundalk's programme had a contributor that is also featured in the top football magazine about.

**Nesta99** · 13/03/2015, 8:48 AM

That point on 6million as a population being too small to support a 2 tier league, off the top of my head Croatia, Scotland, Denmark, Norway, Isreal, maybe Cyprus all have similar populations and with footballing success in Europe. Also there is already an issue with doing a gaa county type thing when Kildare have nicked the St Brigids cross and the term lilwhites the chancers!

**Spudulika** · 13/03/2015, 4:56 PM

It was a typically crass Guardian piece, a newspaper which (years ago) I realised was as bad as the Indo for playing to an audience. In the office only yesterday we were discussing some of the worst articles about Russia - and the Guardian headed the list!

Poorly done article, lifting ideas and notes from forums (incl this) and other recent previews and coming up with - a 16 team league and better management. Pitiful stuff but he needs to get paid I guess.

**Mark** · 13/03/2015, 7:05 PM

Originally Posted by seand

That'd be mine ;-)

Brilliant article Sean. I'd never seen that Gate photo before. There were usually more committee men than players in the LOI teams photos back then!

**oriel** · 16/03/2015, 7:03 PM

Originally Posted by seand

That'd be mine ;-)

Sean congratulations on the article. I'm on a WSC email distribution list, only saw the topic, didn't realise it was your goodself, got the mag this evening. Great work.

Another DFC programme contributor had a full page article printed mid 90's about the round robin and play off that followed when Cork City eventually won the league back then, in the last season before GD was introduced!

Now if only our guardian 'friend' had picked that story!