I am very sorry for the fate of Kilkenny City, and "Summer Soccer" has not been to their benefit. The fact that the county is an overwhelmingly hurling dominated place makes little benefit in having the games during the summer - it was never the premiership that proved to be the main competition here. I mean to say the there isn't even a county gaelic football team, nor has there been since sometime in the eighties.

The other big problem is that over the nearly twenty years that they have been in the league, they have spent at least a half of the time being either Dublin exiles or ex-Blues. Look at their first trip to the premier division - Alfie Hale managed a team with the Arrigans, Paul Cashin, Paschal Keane and a few others who had been there maybe three years previously with the Blues.

It was not off on a good footing, especially seeing as Waterford have the tradition in the area. Many of the better Wexford born players in my day went to the Blues if they didn't get snapped up in England and still wanted to play at the highest level they could. Lots of the better players in South Kilkenny used to do likewise.

This will not change until there is a considerable fan base in the county that would support the team as fervently against Limerick or Monaghan as against Man United. As it is I suspect that a friendly with Man United will only draw out the Red Cats rather than local fans.

It is a shame because a lot of people have put a lot of money into turning a field on the Thurles road into a decent ground. Sadly, they need fans and they don't have them. I'd hate to see them go, but surely if they finish bottom AGAIN, there would be an argument for at least a play off with a team that does want in, like Mullingar.

What is the possibility of a pyramid system taking here?