Glentoran V Longford

[Longfordian]

It was a good game to watch I thought, both teams attacked when they could. As was mentioned our defending was poor which to be fair is unusual for us, Ferguson and O'Connor have yet to fully gel. Finishing also was poor but that's less unusual,it's a pity Myler was injured. Lack of competitive matches was also a hindrance, I'd be confident enough still about our chances of going through. Glentoran are in peak form and fitness and we're just getting going and there was very little between us I felt. Linfield at home next and it's importanat to win that one.

[BohsFans]

Stop making stuff up, Shels got the third best average attendence last year with over 2,000 and only a very short gap seperated us and Bohs. Get your facts right next time, thanks :) Derry weren't position one or two, if you're wondering.


Still livin off that 0-0 draw in the CL qualifiers I see!

Best bit of the game was when Barry Ferguson got floored and tumbled over after someone gave him a fair shoulder.

Class :)

[pineapple stu]

Are your attendances any better? On average I mean.
Keep track of estimates on this forum (which apparently weren't too far off reality; the FAI just released an overall league average) - last season's league averages are here (http://foot.ie/showpost.php?p=194576&postcount=689). DCFCSteve is unfortunately stereotyping Shels, who have improved over the last couple of seasons. ;)

[paudie]

Watched the game on Setanta and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Both teams had a positive attitude.

Glens probably deserved to win because they took their chances. Three good goals (though dodgy defending as well).

Decent presentation from Setanta as well.

All in all a good start to the competition.

[MariborKev]

Crowd were very quiet, everyone so nice to each other.

Maybe just coincidence but thought it was strange the way Glentoran Manager didn't look at matthews & same when MOTM never looked FAI President Corcoran in the eye.


Good to see the Cork conspiracy theorists are out in force again. Gavin Melaugh is from Derry and certainly would have no "issues" with the FAI. I think it was probably just nerves.

As a neutral at the match the atnosphere was a bit better than how I have been told it came across on TV.

[dcfcsteve]

Derry weren't position one or two, if you're wondering.

What part of the statement "Derry... who haven't had a good season in years" eluded you there Slash/ED....?

:)

[dcfcsteve]

Kept track of estimates (which apparently weren't too far off reality; the FAI just released an overall league average) - last season's league averages are here (http://foot.ie/showpost.php?p=194576&postcount=689). DCFCSteve is unfortunately stereotyping Shels, who have improved over the last couple of seasons. ;)

Scanning over your figures there, it appears that the main boost to Shel's attendances last year were relative - i.e. it's not so much that their gates increased dramatically, but more that the likes of Pats and surprisingly Waterford had a big drop, making Shels look better. Pats experienced a 37% year-on-year drop in atendances, Waterford a 30% drop, and Rovers a 28% drop. Shels experienced a 16% drop - same as Derry.

Shels are based in the biggest city on this island - a city that engulfs 35%-40% of the Republic's population. They have been the single most successful Irish team domestically for the last 5 years, and the most successful Irish team in Europe in many years last season. For people to be comfortable with them having the 3rd highest attendance figures after all of this is absolutely shocking....

If Pats and Rovers didn't have such dreadful seasons last year, Shels would be at best 4th or 5th ranked in terms of attendances. How do you like them apples......? :p

To bring it all back to the original point, the stats seem to suggest there is a higher average attendance at EL games than those in the IL.

[Cosmo]

Well done setanta - good presentation.

well done bogford and glentoran - I thought it was a great match to watch. WTF was danny at for that second goal :confused:

Btw how come the boggers were late getting into the ground

[pineapple stu]

Scanning over your figures there, it appears that the main boost to Shel's attendances last year were relative - i.e. it's not so much that their gates increased dramatically, but more that the likes of Pats and surprisingly Waterford had a big drop, making Shels look better.
The 2003 figures were way too high across the board, it seems. They came from the likes of The Star, and there were far fewer fan guestimates, which meant more chance of a way too high figure getting in. When I compiled the figures last year, I deliberately went for the lowest reasonable attendance. Also, a quarter of the 2003 attendances are missing, compared with 3 games for 2004. Factor all that in, and the rankings appear reasonable.



To bring it all back to the original point, the stats seem to suggest there is a higher average attendance at EL games than those in the IL.
Definitely.

[De Town]

well done longford and glentoran - I thought it was a great match to watch. WTF was danny at for that second goal :confused:
Dunno. Himself and Baz were crap lasst night. Shaky all night. Suppose its only their first competitive game together though. Give them time ;)


Btw how come the Longford fans were late getting into the ground
apparently they stopped somewhere and lost track of time :o

[fosterdollar]

Cracker of a first goal for the Glens. They looked good going forward but defensively suspect. Shels will have a field day against them.


bit early to be predicting the final isn;t it?

[Shelsman]

I watched the whole game and thoroughly enjoyed it, was literally on the edge of my seat for the last 20mins. Both teams went all out to win the game from start to finish. Once there was a goal scored the match really took off.

I was impressed by Longfords passing, particularly the speed with which they broke out from defence. I though Barrett was terrific too. If Longford can sort out their defence then they will do OK.

I know it might be silly to judge the difference in standards on just one game ( I can't wait for next week! ), but if a mid table eL team who haven't started their season yet can put it up to the IL league leaders then I would guess that Shels ( and Cork if they play well ) will absolutely cream the other IL teams.

[eirebhoy]

I have the match on my PC as an .avi file. I can put the goals online if anyone has any webspace. Anyone?

[Schumi]

I have the match on my PC as an .avi file. I can put the goals online if anyone has any webspace. Anyone?
Don't suppose you could e-mail them?

[eirebhoy]

Don't suppose you could e-mail them?
I'm just converting, editing, etc. and I'll let you know the file sizes. PM your address anyway.

[Maz]

Dunno. Himself and Baz were crap lasst night. Shaky all night. Suppose its only their first competitive game together though. Give them time ;)


apparently they stopped somewhere and lost track of time :o

we were told we could buy tickets before the game as we were meeting up with the supporters club buses so naturally people waited till then. we stopped had our meal and were a good 20 mins on the bus waiting for the others to arrive hence the reason we were late!!

[MariborKev]

Steve,

Much as I would like it to be true, our average is well under your 2,000 mark-we even had less than that for the Waterford semi final game :eek:

[CuanaD]

Just finished watching the replay of the match on Setanta - it was interesting to watch again with a clear head.

I wonder what odds you would get now on Longford wining that group?
3 points down with 3 games to play,
but they finished by far the stronger side on the night & were unlucky not to get a draw. I just feel now that they could surprise Linfield & the Glens & win their other 3 games!

Should I head down to Paddy Power's now? :D

[De Town]

Should I head down to Paddy Power's now? :D
Yes :) I feel we can still get out of that group. We are only going to get better with match fitness/sharpness etc.

[BohDiddley]

Can we have Keego back please?

[Longfordian]

Didn't really produce last season for us but he may prove useful yet this season, certainly was effective when he came on on Tuesday.

[pete]

I don't know if there is much difference between the 3 top IL sides but Longfords forte is Cup games whereas they would be a bit behind Shel$ and Cork City in quality. If assume thats true then would give greater belief in eL side to win competition.

[BohDiddley]

Didn't really produce last season for us but he may prove useful yet this season, certainly was effective when he came on on Tuesday.
Didn't produce lasts season? I seem to remember him scoring your most important goal ...
Much under-rated player. He's not flash and he can have his off-days, but he always gives his best, in contrast to some erstwhile Bohemians I can think of.
He nearly won it back for you on Tuesday, when your strikers had squandered everything and made Glens look good.
I'd have him back in a shot.

[Longfordian]

Point taken BohDiddley but as a season he didn't have his best one last year. I rate him too though, and he could be a useful option for us.