Time to end the Setanta cup?

[Steve Bruce]

Lets face it, the competition is a flop.

The LOI has destroyed the IL every season (bar Linfield), the crowds are very very poor, interest doesn’t seem to be their either.

Before this competition started, I think most people where expecting regular crowds of over 5000, but this isn’t nearly the case. The crowds have been very bad and getting worse each year.

To think people want to make this into a league. If we cannot show any decent crowds in a cup competition, what’s the likely hood we would get strong crowds in a league game?

Time to scrap this trophy IMO.

[Rovers1]

what was the attendance at last years SC final?

[Mr A]

Setanta like it, the clubs like the money, so why kill it?

[finnpark]

Lets face it, the competition is a flop.

The LOI has destroyed the IL every season (bar Linfield), the crowds are very very poor, interest doesn’t seem to be their either.

Before this competition started, I think most people where expecting regular crowds of over 5000, but this isn’t nearly the case. The crowds have been very bad and getting worse each year.

To think people want to make this into a league. If we cannot show any decent crowds in a cup competition, what’s the likely hood we would get strong crowds in a league game?

Time to scrap this trophy IMO.

The lack of media interest has caused crowds to drop just like the Eircom League and IL.

What we need is some decent rivalry, a riot or 2 for example ;) The clubs, players and fans are too nice to each other if you ask me.

[OneRedArmy]

See the other thread which suggests getting rid of the IL and EL League Cups and replacing with a widened Setanta Cup involving all clubs.

As the 5th tournament (after League, Cup, Europe and League Cup [are there still more Mickey Mouse tournaments in the North?]) it was never going to be that important, even taking into account the moolah on offer.

[Dodge]

Setanta like it, the clubs like the money, so why kill it?

Presumably because some fans are bored with it. Probably the worst reasoning ever.

BTW no one really expected crowds of 5,000+ did they?

Usual dramaqueen stuff

[Duggie]

the money is ok for been in it so the clubs wont want to see it gone.

[jinxy lilywhite]

It never caught my imagination tbh. The games be on bad nights and it will always be secondary to the domestic leagues. Some teams esp those at the top have far too many games to play. 33 league, 5 FAI Cup, 5 League Cup, Minimum 6 SC games and then an extra 4 for those in europe. You talking 53 games for a side who went all the way in each comp.
Quite a lot of games for a squad.

[micls]

What we need is some decent rivalry, a riot or 2 for example ;) The clubs, players and fans are too nice to each other if you ask me.

True after Joes comments the last time we played Linfield Id imagine playing them again would be interesting.



BTW no one really expected crowds of 5,000+ did they?

:D On a weeknight......people on a different planet if they did.

Setanta have ruined the appetitie for it by the 'draws'. 4 years, Linfield and City both in it every year and never in the same group, whereas Derry, Glens and Linfield manage to be in the same group 3 times in a row?

Playing the same teams is boring, especially since we never get the good ones.

i think it needs to be rejigged if they want better attendances, a knockout cup between all teams.

Saying that I think we'd get over 4000 if we got a home semi against Linfield

[amaccann]

I think the argument should be that the League Cups on both side of the border are fairly redundant at this stage (as well as over the water in the English league to be honest), so I like the idea of dropping them and coming up with some kind of all-island Setanta cup. It would be a sexier tournament than the existing League tourney & might create some classic clashes.

[holidaysong]

The group stages are the real problem - they are really boring to watch for a neutral. They should expand it and make it knock-out from the start. That would probably help with making it more exciting and attractive to fans.

[LeixlipRed]

I liked it more when we were in it strangely enough ;)

[Hibs4Ever]

Switch the matches to weekeds and there'll be much better crowds

[Dodge]

Lads, are you still forgetting that this is a competition created by a TV company to fill time on a Monday and Tuesday night?

[superfrank]

Linfield aside, it's all about the el clubs which makes it very boring.

Why not just invite Linfield down South and get it over with?

[deecay]

I really like it,it gives clubs like ourselfs who are a nice bit off europe a chance of something to play for/look forward to.

[Dodge]

Linfield aside, it's all about the el clubs which makes it very boring.
As boring as the LOI or FAI Cup?

[OneRedArmy]

Why not just invite Linfield down South and get it over with?You should ring Fintan Drury and suggest it, he might be interested.

[CharlesThompson]

I really like it,it gives clubs like ourselfs who are a nice bit off europe a chance of something to play for/look forward to.

Thing is, by default you more or less have to qualify for Europe to qualify for the Setanta Cup. You nearly can't get one without the other.

[Dodge]

Well the league cup/division one place gives a chance to the non euro qualifiers

BTW I enjoy going up the North and visting new grounds.

[holidaysong]

Well the league cup/division one place gives a chance to the non euro qualifiers

BTW I enjoy going up the North and visting new grounds.

There is no division one place.. The FAI scrapped that playoff once they got their hands on the league.

[mypost]

Well if people can't come out to watch cup games, there's no chance of playing an AIL.

Bar Linfield, the other NI clubs are makeweights and not crowdpullers. As in an AIL.

[stamullendrog]

think every league club north and south in one big hat straight knock out would be a belter

[BohDiddley]

Think it's been missing a bit of quality so far. That'll change next time out. ;)

[superfrank]

As boring as the LOI or FAI Cup?
It's supposed to be a cross-border competition. Not the FAI Cup + Linfield.

[micls]

Well if people can't come out to watch cup games, there's no chance of playing an AIL. .

Well if an AIL was played on Monday and Tuesday nights its doomed from the start.

And cup games generally are exciting because of the chance of being knocked out, unlike the SC group stages

[DUFC4life]

I enjoy going up the North and visting new grounds.
big reason why i enjoy the competition aswell...plus we always seem to win it...:D

[Inside Man]

I think its a great competition.
Gives clubs like us, Shams, Bray something to play for. Because if one of us were to break through it would be massive for the club in question in terms of finance and publicity.
Although i think it needs to be restructured somehow.

[finnpark]

I think its a great competition.
Gives clubs like us, Shams, Bray something to play for. Because if one of us were to break through it would be massive for the club in question in terms of finance and publicity.
Although i think it needs to be restructured somehow.

I agree.

Setanta are very good at promoting Irish football, really showing RTE and TV3 up.

I think it would be good for the competition if RTE or TV3 showed the odd match, it would get to a wider audience. Setanta's coverage and presentation is excellent, very professional.

Only seen the 2nd half last night but it was very enjoyable. The standard of play was excellent, a decent atmosphere, good looking stadium - good presentation all round.

[Bohemian1890]

Lets face it, the competition is a flop.

The LOI has destroyed the IL every season (bar Linfield), the crowds are very very poor, interest doesn’t seem to be their either.

Before this competition started, I think most people where expecting regular crowds of over 5000, but this isn’t nearly the case. The crowds have been very bad and getting worse each year.

To think people want to make this into a league. If we cannot show any decent crowds in a cup competition, what’s the likely hood we would get strong crowds in a league game?

Time to scrap this trophy IMO.

Wait till the Big Club is in the crowds will flock;)


How much do the winners get??

[finnpark]

They should have an Eire/NI International firendly before or after the Setanta Cup final. This would ensure a packed stadium eg Croke Park and everyone would probably watch the Setanta Cup final if they have Setanta on already or if they are in the pub.

I think the Eircom League should do that more often, put on live matches just before or after other live TV matches such as Irish Internationals. It would ensure a very big audience.

[eamo1]

According to the P.C game Football Manager 08 you get 130,000 just for qualifying and around another 100,000 for winning it and that game is pretty accurate for details.At least those are the figures i remember from playing that game and bringing my beloved Galway Utd all the way in it.:)

[Réiteoir]

I think its a great competition.
Gives clubs like us, Shams, Bray something to play for. Because if one of us were to break through it would be massive for the club in question in terms of finance and publicity.
Although i think it needs to be restructured somehow.

http://foot.ie/showpost.php?p=1007987&postcount=9

[belfastred]

According to the P.C game Football Manager 08 you get 130,000 just for qualifying and around another 100,000 for winning it and that game is pretty accurate for details.At least those are the figures i remember from playing that game and bringing my beloved Galway Utd all the way in it.:)

I think it's 20,000Euro for qualifying

[Candystripe]

Crowds wise, Derry have still never fallen below the 3,000 mark for home att's. Tues game with the Glens came very close though.

With our last home group game V's Linfield very important I would hazzard a guess that at least 5,000 will attend.

We brought over 1,300 to our two away games this season (Glens and Linfield) even though this is our 3rd year in the same group as them.

If Cork did draw either of the Belfast big two I reckon they would get over 3,000 at least.

With Coleraine and Bohs in it next season they should get a decent home att depending who they draw.

[A face]

If Cork did draw either of the Belfast big two I reckon they would get over 3,000 at least.

Yeah, definitely. One year we had Drogs in the group, played in the cup and then in the league all in two weeks. Wheres the attraction there? Shels were the biggest draw for us in the Setanta and we'd get more going if there was more variety.

Something very fishy about not ever getting Linfield or Glentoran in the groups though.

[Candystripe]

Something very fishy about not ever getting Linfield or Glentoran in the groups though.

And something very fishy about us always getting them!

[diamond]

i think the new format this year sucks. any buzz it had at start (which was little) is totally gone now (in drogheda anyway). tho maybe its coz we always win it. do enjoy trips to windsor park tho

[BleusAvantTout]

I think it's a great competition and have attended every Linfield game. However being "drawn" in the same group as Derry & Glentoran in three consecutive tournaments has become boring! :o

Attendances are down and I believe that Linfield ensuring that all of our games are "all ticket" has severely restricted our crowds. I am also aware that other clubs operate a "pay at the gate" policy! :confused:

[Stato]

According to the P.C game Football Manager 08 you get 130,000 just for qualifying and around another 100,000 for winning it and that game is pretty accurate for details.At least those are the figures i remember from playing that game and bringing my beloved Galway Utd all the way in it.:)

It's €150,000 for the winners, €70,000 for the runners-up and €20,000 each for the other six teams. Referees expenses (including travel costs) and fines for yellow and red cards are deducted from it by the organising committee.

[Celdrog]

I think its a fantastic cometition:D We have 300,000 reasons to love it.

The group games can be a bit ropey at times but without this competition we would never have had the phrase "we molested football". Its worth it for that alone.
The knockout stages are great. Last year, Linfield and Cork was a thriller, Pats and Drogs was a good game and the final saw the the best football I have ever seen the Drogs play. We destroyed Linfield in the first half, they took the lead, we missed a penalty, got a late equaliser and the penalty shootout was incredible. 3-1 down to win 4-3. All in all a terrific final.

It does need a few better Northern teams though.

[Sheridan]

He never said "we molested football." He said "we molested them in football."

[Celdrog]

He never said "we molested football." He said "we molested them in football.""We absolutely molested em in football"
Well done for speaking Corkese.
Worth another look.
http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ffOQyk7gY

[Réiteoir]

Cry me a river Joey - i'll start playing the world's smallest violin for you

[Lux Interior]

Personally, I enjoy this competition but I'm hugely disappointed by the utter antipathy shown by a large section of our support (only 240 in Derry the other night) and - apparently - the club (given the bizarre formations sent out over the past 4 seasons).

I've enjoyed - conversely - the beatings handed out to us over the four seasons we've participated, given that it's a standard of football we should be aspiring to. That said, the visiting support from EL sides - bar Derry - has been as disappointing as our home crowd. The attendances (home and away support in both fixtures) too, versus Linfield, have been the lowest 'Big Two' attendances in recent competitive fixtures.

Don't think we should scrap it, though. The format needs tinkering (us, Blues and Derry in the same group for three seasons hasn't helped) and I would prefer Saturday games (won't happen) as Monday night at the Oal, paying a tenner in to invariably watch the Glens struggle, has little appeal for most.

[Lux Interior]

Well if people can't come out to watch cup games, there's no chance of playing an AIL.

Bar Linfield, the other NI clubs are makeweights and not crowdpullers. As in an AIL.

A sad indictment of how our club has performed in the competiton.

Likewise, no-one under 20 up here has ever heard of Rovers, given that your club have been nowhere near the comp.