Restructuring the EL.

[rebel yell]

I must say I'm very disappointed with the new EL structure. I don't think that it will work. Even for Ireland a ten team league is too small. It's will do nothing for example to correct the over-representation of Dublin clubs. In Scotland for example the top clubs are suffering from playing too many games against the same
teams. Also how many teams will be relegated? If it's two then you will just have a yo-yo effect between the two divisionswith the odd Longford thrown in,who'll stay up but probably not indefinitely.
Why not have two regional leagues of 12 or 14 teams for example? Surely the majority of counties could muster a team with Cork and Limerick and Galway able to provide two for any counties who can't muster a team. You could make a North/ South split which would lessen our travelling costs and increase the number of pi$$-ups at away games for the fans. The top two or four from each section could play off each season with the same for relegation with some of the junior clubs promoted to Senior status if they beat EL clubs. We definiteLy need some variety IMHO! What do others think?

[pete]

I wasn't in favour of the top 10 setup at first or the summer (non-winter) football either but have come around to the ideas gradually.

Reasons for top10:
- top 12 already struggling so less top teams might be easier to maintain.
- small teams with crap ground getting promoted (e.g Monaghan) then relegated & being replaced by thr same (e.g.Dublin City, Drogheda, Athlone etc... etc...)
- we can't maintain 22 clubs (now 21) so more ain't the solution)

Summer footie:
- weather for January speaks for itself
- better pitches aides the more skillful player
- mid season euro games can only improve results - if city played inter-toto in November i think everyone would fancy us to easily beat Metalurgs.

Interestingly you'll find no 1st division team/support support the top 10 .

[rebel yell]

Well Pete the GAA can support lots of teams easily. Asking fans to see Dundalk twice a season at home as well as twice away seems
ridiculous. 10 teams just isn't enough, although I too favour the summer soccer experiment. The same teams winnining year in, year out strangle leagues. I don't think there's any evidence that
support will increase just because there' 10 clubs instead of 12. There will be just as many struggling clubs.We need to broaden the appeal of EL Don't forget that some junior clubs have better
support than EL clubs.

[A face]

An all-Ireland league would sort the whole thing out, hard work i know but i think the end product would be great, it WOULD generate some amount of interest in the league, which is the way we should go. The ten team league seems to be a kinda shortcut around addressing the problems in the league.

If R. Dooney was to pick two regional clubs in any normal year and ensure they had proper facilities and then promote the club locally and just see what happens, having given it a decent effort it might enlighten us all as to what needs to be done. Something like that has never been done (i think so anyway), it seems like not all options/avenues have been explored.

OK ... i'm all over the place here but, the ten team league seems to be like cutting of your broken leg because you dont want to put it into a cast.

[pete]

I'll continue my devils advocate role for a while.....

Two examples why 12 ain't working.

Monaghan
- you can say they ain't embarished to see that ground on tv & i think it probably looks better on tv than being there. Monaghan have been in the Premier before but don't seem to have progressed. Junior club facilites (grass on 3 sides!) & 100 people at Monaghan v City game before christmas & i'm guessing most of their players are from dublin.

Dundalk
- For a club thats had fairly decent success in the past (not that long ago) their ground is abismal. Clearly they put all their money into buying/paying new players. You can see it again this season when they brought in several players from dublin & broke again!

Cruel to be kind.

10 team league = better average player, facility, attendance.

Have some hope of 10 fulltime teams but little hope of maintaining 12. 1st division clubs have be aided in improving so as to increase the Premier from 10 to 12 teams again in the future.