The Derry City thread - Derry sign first four players [Archive] - Page 9

dcfcsteve

26/10/2009, 12:15 AM

Apologies if this has been mentioned before, but surely this constant problems is an indicator that full time football does not work in the LOI?

Full-time football is not the problem.

Paying people wages that they can't afford is the problem.

It is possible to have a full-time club where you pay people wages you can afford. It's what all other businesses with full-time employees seem to have no problems doing.

Ergo - it's not full-time football that's the problem. It's financial stupidity.

Surely the FAI should be putting measures in place to protect clubs from this sort of thing?

What can the FAI do to stop clubs that seem deteremined to make crazy decisions ? The FAI don't run the clubs. Those who do need to take more responsibility. And others need to stop looking to the FAI to act like the UN all the time.

dcfcsteve

26/10/2009, 12:19 AM

Good find actually. This year has been higher than usual though I'm led to believe.

I believe your post is what's known as humble pie. ;)

Norn Iron games have been attracting good crowds for quite a few years now. It's not just last year.

dcfcsteve

26/10/2009, 12:22 AM

Back in the 80's the Brandywell was a very unsafe place for Protestants to go to.

Yeah - that's why we had protestant fans and Board members at the time..... :o

micls

26/10/2009, 12:23 AM

It is possible to have a full-time club where you pay people wages you can afford. It's what all other businesses with full-time employees seem to have no problems doing.

I think youd struggle to find another business with the income of an LOI club that could sustain 20 or so full time staff.

With the current levels of income full time football is not sustainable imo. A mixture of full time and part time similar to Rovers, sure. But the income streams are too volatile to be risking your clubs future on paying full time players 52 weeks a year when crowds can nosedive after a few poor games. Particularly in the current climate when all revenue streams, particularly sponsorship, are way down.

dcfcsteve

26/10/2009, 12:24 AM

Ack you'll say one thing we'll say another. Fact is Derry quit the Irish League, therefore it was Derry's decision.

And thereby dissolves what little credibility you had on here as a poster.... :o

dcfcsteve

26/10/2009, 12:27 AM

I think youd struggle to find another business with the income of an LOI club that could sustain 20 or so full time staff.

But that is the whole point. LOI clubs chose to ignore normal business practice.

If they did restrict themselves to wages they could afford, then they could still have full-time players. It's really rather straight forward.

micls

26/10/2009, 12:31 AM

But that is the whole point. LOI clubs chose to ignore normal business practice.

If they did restrict themselves to wages they could afford, then they could still have full-time players. It's really rather straight forward.

You claimed full time football isn't the problem. Id consider full time football to be a full team of full timers, on this grounds I wouldn't consider Shamrock Rovers to be full time.

As I said, I don't think full time football as defined above, is feasible at the moment for LOI clubs, based on income streams, therefore trying to be fulltime IS the problem.

If clubs stick to wages they could afford then Im sure they could have some full time players, but they wouldnt be a full time club

dcfcsteve

26/10/2009, 12:50 AM

As I said, I don't think full time football as defined above, is feasible at the moment for LOI clubs, based on income streams, therefore trying to be fulltime IS the problem.

If clubs stick to wages they could afford then Im sure they could have some full time players, but they wouldnt be a full time club

What if a club paid all its players a relatively low salary - one that they could afford.

Would they still not be full-time because you don't think it's organisationally feasible for an Irish football team to be so ? :confused:

awec

26/10/2009, 1:30 AM

If a club is full time they have to offer decent wages. That's the entire point of a player going full time.

Mr_Parker

26/10/2009, 7:22 AM

Derry can't rejoin the Irish League under their rules unless they move to a different stadia.

See the Oxford decision.

:confused:

Mr_Parker

26/10/2009, 7:30 AM

Gutter journalism at best, two weeks ago Linfield got �400,000 from the IFA deal, over the fortnight it has risen to �800,000. it all depends who you listen to.
At the IFA AGM in June it was confirmed that Linfield received circa �800,000 for last season.

Regardless of the figures, DJ is correct. For years now players have turned us down to play for other clubs who pay bigger wages. There is a tight wage structure at Linfield, with or without the money we have rightfully received from the IFA we would not be in the position Derry and a few other clubs have found themselves in this season.

In your last financial year you spent circa �655,000. How you decide to structure your wages is of little argument. More players on less money or Less players on more money. In LOI terms that wage bill might see like peanuts but in comparison to the rest of the IL it is a fortune.

refjohn

26/10/2009, 8:27 AM

:confused:

Oxford United Stars applied for the Championship this season and Derry City Council agreed to a groundshare at Brandywell but would only give them a 1 year lease. They were refused necessary license on basis that they needed to posess a minimum 3 year lease. DCC's viewpoint is that no team will get a longer lease so it's fair to assume that means Derry City too and therefore no chance of a license for Irish League?

Krstic

26/10/2009, 8:30 AM

:confused:

Oxford were refused entry to the IL as Derry City Council will only lease the brandywell to them (and us) one year at a time.
Therefore surely the same rules would apply to Derry City.

And just to add my tuppence worth, NO THANKS, I'd rather watch Derry in the 'A' League.

Mr_Parker

26/10/2009, 8:39 AM

Oxford United Stars applied for the Championship this season and Derry City Council agreed to a groundshare at Brandywell but would only give them a 1 year lease. They were refused necessary license on basis that they needed to posess a minimum 3 year lease. DCC's viewpoint is that no team will get a longer lease so it's fair to assume that means Derry City too and therefore no chance of a license for Irish League?

Oxford were refused entry to the IL as Derry City Council will only lease the brandywell to them (and us) one year at a time.
Therefore surely the same rules would apply to Derry City.

Thanks.

Surely the FAI ask for longer than a 1 year agreement for their Licence?

Mr_Parker

26/10/2009, 8:44 AM

Thanks.

Surely the FAI ask for longer than a 1 year agreement for their Licence?

Just had a read up and seemingly it doesn't.

passerrby

26/10/2009, 10:28 AM

Thanks.

Surely the FAI ask for longer than a 1 year agreement for their Licence?

it dida couple of season ago but some of the clubs could not provide this so it was withdrawn

SMorgan

26/10/2009, 11:57 AM

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/irish/8325118.stm

I think Derry City may have little option but go back to the IL.

Mr A

26/10/2009, 12:17 PM

I really don't see why people are relating massive over spending and what jurisdiction they play in.

Steve Bruce

26/10/2009, 12:45 PM

At the IFA AGM in June it was confirmed that Linfield received circa �800,000 for last season.

In your last financial year you spent circa �655,000. How you decide to structure your wages is of little argument. More players on less money or Less players on more money. In LOI terms that wage bill might see like peanuts but in comparison to the rest of the IL it is a fortune.

The IFA and Linfield obviously run their two financial years at different times. For instance. Linfield runs from the 1st January until 31st December.

On our finance sheet we got no where near 800k but again that is probably because of the financial year Linfield work from.

Steve Bruce

26/10/2009, 12:47 PM

I really don't see why people are relating massive over spending and what jurisdiction they play in.

I'd say it would be cheaper to go to Coleraine, Ballymena, Dungannon, Limavady, Belfast, Lurgan, Portadown, Newry than to go to Galway, Cork, Dublin etc etc.

Costs would be so much less than the LOI.

Personally I don't think DCFC will ever be in the IL again because it would be too much of a comedown for them after years of DCFC looking down their noses on the IL

Mr_Parker

26/10/2009, 1:06 PM

The IFA and Linfield obviously run their two financial years at different times. For instance. Linfield runs from the 1st January until 31st December.

On our finance sheet we got no where near 800k but again that is probably because of the financial year Linfield work from.

Indeed they do but the �800k did not come directly from the IFA accounts either as they did not encompass the whole season. This figure was put to the the IFA at AGM and confirmed by them in respect of the past season.

Krstic

26/10/2009, 1:20 PM

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/irish/8325118.stm

I think Derry City may have little option but go back to the IL.

Why Because Liam Coyle thinks we should?

I can assure you that very few Derry City fans want to see their team back in the Irish League.

As i have previously posted, I'd prefer to watch Derry in the 'A' League.

In my opinion we have very little in common with Irish League teams or fans.

EalingGreen

26/10/2009, 1:45 PM

I can assure you that very few Derry City fans want to see their team back in the Irish League.

As i have previously posted, I'd prefer to watch Derry in the 'A' League.

In my opinion we have very little in common with Irish League teams or fans.Maybe it's just your choice of phrase, but in what way are DCFC and its fans substantively different from IL teams/fans (i.e. "have nothing in common with")?

And if DCFC did go completely "belly up", so that they could not play in the LOI Prem or 1st Division, would you really watch them eg at Castlebar or Tullamore, in preference to eg Coleraine Showgrounds or the Oval etc?

(Genuine questions, not a wind-up, since I'm interested in learning more what DCFC fans really think)

dcfc_1928

26/10/2009, 1:49 PM

We've more in common with IL fans, than we do with most other so-called football fans on this island.

In my opinion we have very little in common with Irish League teams or fans.

dcfc_1928

26/10/2009, 1:52 PM

I'm probably in the minority of Derry fans, but I wouldn't mind us going back to the Irish League.

Travelling to Coleraine, is easier (and cheaper) than travelling to Cobh.

And if DCFC did go completely "belly up", so that they could not play in the LOI Prem or 1st Division, would you really watch them eg at Castlebar or Tullamore, in preference to eg Coleraine Showgrounds or the Oval etc?

(Genuine questions, not a wind-up, since I'm interested in learning more what DCFC fans really think)

EalingGreen

26/10/2009, 2:05 PM

Indeed they do but the �800k did not come directly from the IFA accounts either as they did not encompass the whole season. This figure was put to the the IFA at AGM and confirmed by them in respect of the past season.
On this question of LFC's income from the IFA, without being able to quote exact figures, I know that at various times the income has fluctuated widely, depending on how many internationals were played in any given season, whether these drew large or small crowds and whether high admission prices could be charged.
Therefore, 10-15 years ago, the income might have been barely 6 figures per season.
Afaik, however with more games and (mostly) sell-out crowds at high ticket prices, recent seasons will have seen LFC's cut rise to closer to �500k per season.
However, the reason why the most recent figure will have been so high as �800k is because LFC don't just get their cut from a percentage of the gate receipts, but their contract with the IFA also gives them for a percentage of ground advertising receipts, programme sales and (crucially) TV revenues for internationals.
Of course, at the time the new Contract was drawn up (1984?), TV receipts were paltry. However, as we all know, that has since changed radically, so that the most recent �800k figure was greatly boosted by the inclusion of 15% the first year of the IFA's new multi-million pound deal with SKY TV to televise NI home games.
Faced with another two years of the SKY contract (at least), whereby LFC would continue to rake in huge amounts even if nobody came to the games, the other IL clubs are naturally up in arms.
This discontent has been further exacerbated as the clubs have greater contact/access with the IFA now that the IL is now run by the IFA and so are in a better position to ask questions* etc.
And the fact that LFC don't appear to have spent more than about tuppence hapenny of their own money on updating Windsor in recent years, adds even more to the other IL clubs' anger.

* - For example, it is only recently that a copy of the (104 year!) contract between the IFA and LFC has been made public, despite it having been originally drawn up 25 years ago. :eek:

Krstic

26/10/2009, 2:40 PM

Maybe it's just your choice of phrase, but in what way are DCFC and its fans substantively different from IL teams/fans (i.e. "have nothing in common with")?

And if DCFC did go completely "belly up", so that they could not play in the LOI Prem or 1st Division, would you really watch them eg at Castlebar or Tullamore, in preference to eg Coleraine Showgrounds or the Oval etc?

(Genuine questions, not a wind-up, since I'm interested in learning more what DCFC fans really think)

As i said this is soley my opinion, but i will try to explain.
I should really have said 'very little in common in football terms' with IL teams and fans

I'm 34, therefore my entire time following Derry City has been in the LOI.
I also attend Rep of Ireland internationals.

As a football fan i am entirely comfortable in these surroundings, i don't look at myself or my club as merely Visitors to LOI football. This is all i have known.
I feel comfortable going to away games in Dundalk, Dublin or Galway. However when i have gone to both the Oval and Windsor I have never felt comfortable. Police everywhere outside the ground, wire cage tunnels to get into the grounds and sectarian chants (from both Home and away fans).
This is something that is alien to me as a LOI fan, however you as an IL fan have probably alot of experience of this.(I'm not saying as a participant by the way).
On top of this I just think that demographically Derry City are more at ease in the LOI, would you not agree?

SMorgan

26/10/2009, 2:46 PM

Why Because Liam Coyle thinks we should?

I can assure you that very few Derry City fans want to see their team back in the Irish League.

As i have previously posted, I'd prefer to watch Derry in the 'A' League.

In my opinion we have very little in common with Irish League teams or fans.

Not because Liam Coyle says so, but because the club haven't made a very good hand of the LOI. Operating in the Irish League should allow the club to significantly reduce its cost base.

On saying that David Jeffrey's last comment in the article is lamentable.

"Certainly I would welcome them back. My own opinion is that they should never have left but that was their choice."

While Derry City voted itself out of the Irish League, is was a constructive expulsion in that the Irish League made it totally impossible for the club to operate. The club had no alternative.

Krstic

26/10/2009, 3:01 PM

SMorgan, It would also probably be cheaper and just as handy for Dundalk, Monaghan and Finn Harps to play in the Irish League.
Would you want to go there to play?
Derry City are a League of Ireland team and very proud of it.
It annoys me when other LOI fans say that we should go back there, I have have never been there, however my father, Uncles and Grandfathers have all been there and would never go back.

Rovers Maniac

26/10/2009, 3:06 PM

I can't understand either why other LOI fans are saying Derry should go back, i think it would be a disaster to lose them to the LOI. They have been a great addition to the league and have a great traveling support an always bring a good support to the showgrounds, and arguably the best thing that happened the league as far as i can remember in near 30 years of watching it.

Ezeikial

26/10/2009, 3:15 PM

Krstic

26/10/2009, 3:35 PM

There is a very obvious difference between the Derry City and the clubs you mentioned.
But I can't see how the IL would hold any attraction for Derry or anyone else in LOI (apart from the reduced travel cost). It seems to me to be a poorly supported stagnant league, with very few progessive clubs.

Derry and the LoI have been good for each other.

Not really Ezeikial. I know you will say "but you are in Northern Ireland" so that's the difference.
However you have to realise that Derry City FC and in some ways Derry City itself(certainly the West bank) is an enigma.
As much as politics and sport should not mix the reality of life is that they do. The majority of our fans are from a Nationalist/Republican Backround, the Brandywell stadium is in the heart of on of the biggest republican areas in Ireland, it is about 1 mile from the Border with Donegal, 000's of Derry people now live in the donegal villages of Muff, Killea, Carrigans, st johnston and Bridgend which are now really Derry suburbs. Football wise most of our fans if asked would say they support the ROI national team with many like myself being active supporters(as in attending games regularly).
So can you not see that not only in terms of football do we see the LOI as our home but in real terms most Derry people would have an affinity to Derry's natural hinterland (Donegal) than anything on the east side of the River Foyle.

Ezeikial

26/10/2009, 4:17 PM

Not really Ezeikial. I know you will say "but you are in Northern Ireland" so that's the difference. we see the LOI as our home but in real terms most Derry people would have an affinity to Derry's natural hinterland (Donegal) than anything on the east side of the River Foyle.

I readily accept all that you say, and am fully supportive of Derry City competing in the LoI.

However there are very real differences between the situation with Derry and the clubs you mentioned (Finn Harps, Monaghan and Dundalk), beyond national political boundaries. None of these clubs are situated geographically within the jurisdiction of the IFA (and probably could not join the IL even if they aspired to), and don't have any historical association with the Irish League.

MariborKev

26/10/2009, 4:17 PM

dcfcsteve

26/10/2009, 5:11 PM

The Irish League is not the answer to Derry City's problems.

Not spending money we don't have is the answer to Derry City's problems.

Whether that happens in the League of Ireland, Irish League or the Highland League - it still stands as the answer.

And whilst the costs of travelling would be lower in the IL than the LOI, security costs would be dramatically higher and income noticeably lower (much less prize money, no TV income, lower gate receipts).

If the Irish League is being presented as the answer, then it is the question that needs changing - not the jurisdiction we play in.

Steve Bruce

26/10/2009, 7:54 PM

On this question of LFC's income from the IFA, without being able to quote exact figures, I know that at various times the income has fluctuated widely, depending on how many internationals were played in any given season, whether these drew large or small crowds and whether high admission prices could be charged.
Therefore, 10-15 years ago, the income might have been barely 6 figures per season.
Afaik, however with more games and (mostly) sell-out crowds at high ticket prices, recent seasons will have seen LFC's cut rise to closer to �500k per season.
However, the reason why the most recent figure will have been so high as �800k is because LFC don't just get their cut from a percentage of the gate receipts, but their contract with the IFA also gives them for a percentage of ground advertising receipts, programme sales and (crucially) TV revenues for internationals.
Of course, at the time the new Contract was drawn up (1984?), TV receipts were paltry. However, as we all know, that has since changed radically, so that the most recent �800k figure was greatly boosted by the inclusion of 15% the first year of the IFA's new multi-million pound deal with SKY TV to televise NI home games.
Faced with another two years of the SKY contract (at least), whereby LFC would continue to rake in huge amounts even if nobody came to the games, the other IL clubs are naturally up in arms.
This discontent has been further exacerbated as the clubs have greater contact/access with the IFA now that the IL is now run by the IFA and so are in a better position to ask questions* etc.
And the fact that LFC don't appear to have spent more than about tuppence hapenny of their own money on updating Windsor in recent years, adds even more to the other IL clubs' anger.

* - For example, it is only recently that a copy of the (104 year!) contract between the IFA and LFC has been made public, despite it having been originally drawn up 25 years ago. :eek:

See that Kop Stand that cost �4Million. Linfield paid 2M of that out of our money (though loans etc) whilst the IFA put in very very little, the rest of the money was mostly grants.

My point is, your last point is balls.(of the big paragraph) However the rest I can say is probably the most accurate way of summing up how things have went I have seen from a Glenman

Steve Bruce

26/10/2009, 8:01 PM

Mr_Parker

26/10/2009, 8:44 PM

See that Kop Stand that cost �4Million. Linfield paid 2M of that out of our money (though loans etc) whilst the IFA put in very very little, the rest of the money was mostly grants.

You 100% sure about that?

OneRedArmy

27/10/2009, 8:00 AM

The whole IL debate is an unhelpful diversion from what the real problem is, which is willful and sustained atrocious financial management.

We are no different to Shels, Cork and probably in due course Bohs in that, to use a baseball analogy, we weren't content to swing slower and take base hits, we wanted the home run. Except we swung and missed repeatedly and are now out.

I can possibly see the argument that we'd not have got into this position in the IL, but thats hardly a cure. Its the footballing equivalent of going to a remote treatment centre and cutting yourself off from fellow addicts IMO.

Personally, I've no interest whatsoever in returning to the IL as long as sectarianism is still rife and that kind of societal problem isn't going to change overnight.

1895ringsend

27/10/2009, 8:23 AM

I enjoyed our many battles with Derry down the years. Our rivarly with them went back to late 80s when both sides were prommoted in the same season and continued right up until 2006 with the 2 clubs fighing it out fo the league title. Played each other in 2 FAI cup finals and a league cup final to. I'd like that to continue to be honest(although it dose'nt look like we're leaving div 1 anytime soon ;))

Overall as much as i would'nt exactly be their biggest fan i would'nt like to see Derry out of the league of Ireland. I think they've been good for the league and gave it a lift in the late 80s when they appeared on the scene.

gufc2000

27/10/2009, 9:22 AM

Hutton poised for Brandywell exit

Derry City captain Peter Hutton will leave the crisis-hit club at the end of the season after being told his contract will not be renewed.

The 36-year-old central defender, who has made 661 appearances for the Candystripes, is the first victim of City's cost-cutting measures.

"It was like a bolt out of the blue but I don't hold any grudges," said Hutton.

The former Portadown player has ruled out retirement and he is considering a return to the Irish League.

Hutton, who also played for Shelbourne, had a brief spell at Shamrock Park in 1998.

He added: "Hopefully, I can get an opportunity to keep playing, possibly in the Irish League on a part-time basis.

"I've kept myself in good shape and I intend to continue to look after myself, so I'm not retiring from the game just yet.

"I was informed by Stephen Kenny that my contract would not be renewed and I was disappointed, but that's football."

Hutton and his team-mates have not had their wages paid on time because of the ongoing financial difficulties at the Brandywell.

The club has been very good to me as a player, but the state of the local game is not good at the moment.

"It's very disappointing that the club is on its knees again," he said.

"I was at the Brandywell in 2000 when the club experienced financial difficulties and, even before that, there were problems when Derry had to go into voluntary liquidation during the 1990s.

"My over-riding feeling is one of sadness. I've been involved as one of the players' representatives in the ongoing discussions with the Board and I've become a bit disillusioned.

"The club has been very good to me as a player, but the state of the local game is not good at the moment and we've come to understand that we are not immune from the difficulties.

"It's certainly been a rollercoaster ride for me but, fingers crossed, people will rally around and the club will return a much better organisation for the changes that will be made."

------------
BBC Sport

Flexy

27/10/2009, 9:33 AM

------------
Many Thanks PIZZA for being such a loyal servant you'll never be forgotten

Sam_Heggy

27/10/2009, 9:41 AM

Pizza is a LOI legend imo, cracking player even though he's a mucker :p

I had heard a rumour about Kenny's exit to Pats and Eddie Seydak with Pizza to replace him with a Youthful side. Obviously this rules that out as Kenny wouldn't be in a position to let players go for next season had he intended to leave.

Mr_Parker

27/10/2009, 9:47 AM

Personally, I've no interest whatsoever in returning to the IL as long as sectarianism is still rife and that kind of societal problem isn't going to change overnight.
Sectarianism is not "rife" in the IL. It may not be perfect but it is one hell of a long way from where it was. You do a dis-service to all IL clubs by suggesting such.

OneRedArmy

27/10/2009, 10:16 AM

Sectarianism is not "rife" in the IL. It may not be perfect but it is one hell of a long way from where it was. You do a dis-service to all IL clubs by suggesting such.Eye of the beholder and all that.

EalingGreen

27/10/2009, 10:49 AM

As i said this is soley my opinion, but i will try to explain.
I should really have said 'very little in common in football terms' with IL teams and fans

I'm 34, therefore my entire time following Derry City has been in the LOI.
I also attend Rep of Ireland internationals.

As a football fan i am entirely comfortable in these surroundings, i don't look at myself or my club as merely Visitors to LOI football. This is all i have known.
I feel comfortable going to away games in Dundalk, Dublin or Galway. However when i have gone to both the Oval and Windsor I have never felt comfortable. Police everywhere outside the ground, wire cage tunnels to get into the grounds and sectarian chants (from both Home and away fans).
This is something that is alien to me as a LOI fan, however you as an IL fan have probably alot of experience of this.(I'm not saying as a participant by the way).
On top of this I just think that demographically Derry City are more at ease in the LOI, would you not agree?
Interesting. It's sad (imo), if hardly surprising that it has come to this, considering the situation in NI etc.
All I would say is that if the LOI is all you have known since you have been following football, remember too that for 50 years before you, the IL was all that DCFC fans knew (even if that wasn't always a happy situation)
Which I guess means that if ever DCFC did return to the IL, succeeding generations of new fans might only come to know IL football, with all that entails.
Then again, as I get older, I do tend to take an increasingly long-term view of things!

Anyhow, if DCFC were back in the IL, it would not mean Derry as a town, or those inhabitants who follow its football club, were any less "Nationalist" etc in outlook. Otherwise, how do you think the likes of Cliftonville, Donegal Celtic and Newry City manage? Or would eg Linfield and Glentoran become any less "Unionist" should they join some all-Ireland League in future?

That said, it's still all purely hypothetical and still v.unlikely to come about (imo).

P.S. There is no reason why DCFC fans cannot go on being fans of the ROI team, regardless of what League their club plays in.

Mr_Parker

27/10/2009, 10:50 AM

Eye of the beholder and all that.

Really? You attend IL games on a regular basis then? :rolleyes:

EalingGreen

27/10/2009, 10:55 AM

SMorgan, It would also probably be cheaper and just as handy for Dundalk, Monaghan and Finn Harps to play in the Irish League.
Would you want to go there to play?
Derry City are a League of Ireland team and very proud of it.
Silly comparison - those clubs have no connection with NI or the IL and never had. Further, they do not feel compelled to leave the LOI, as DCFC did the IL.

It annoys me when other LOI fans say that we should go back there, I have have never been there, however my father, Uncles and Grandfathers have all been there and would never go back.I have heard people say the same about attending NI games, but those few who have been persuaded to return all agree that the present day bears little comparison to what went on even 15 years ago.
Things change - but only when mindsets do.

EalingGreen

27/10/2009, 11:08 AM

But I can't see how the IL would hold any attraction for Derry or anyone else in LOI (apart from the reduced travel cost).As others have noted, the reduced travel cost would likely be outweighed by extra security etc.
I'd say that a greater "attraction" for DCFC should be that IL clubs do not engage in the "arms race" which DCFC Steve earlier described as infecting the LOI these days i.e. "We must spend money (we don't actually have), otherwise we'll fall behind other clubs (who are spending money they don't actually have)"
If, as seems evident, DCFC could be very competitive, and financially viable, playing part-time in an overwhelmingly p-t IL, then that ought (imo) to appeal to them.
For I have always felt that when it comes to attracting fans and support etc, being competitive (even at a lower standard of football) is actually more important than struggling in a higher standard League, or "betting the farm" to compete in a higher standard League.
That said, if football fans don't want something, for whatever reason or none, you can't force them, since following a team is always overwhelmingly more of an emotional thing than a rational one.