Eircom League/Irish Football Magazine

[CollegeTillIDie]

How many queens are there....? :p

10% of the population on average so they say:D

Good luck with the magazine and get people who check their facts before they write articles...right pineapple stu? :D

[BillyG]

Great idea and best of luck. No real suggestions as most have been covered already. One point though. I work within the defence forces for our magazine and it is trying to change style at the moment from "intellectual historical articles" to a more "easy read style". Readers will read little articles (page or 2) with good content rather than 4 pages of drivel containing padding and very little substance. Thats were good strong editorial direction will come in.

The 4-4-2 style is probably good way to go.

Again ...... best of luck

[A face]

I work within the defence forces for our magazine and it is trying to change style at the moment from "intellectual historical articles" to a more "easy read style". Readers will read little articles (page or 2) with good content rather than 4 pages of drivel containing padding and very little substance. Thats were good strong editorial direction will come in.

I disagree to a point ... its well noted alright that even some of the broadsheets have made some sweeping changes on this issue, in effort to get peope to read the full article, but the thing is .... its back to quality, if the article is captivating and good factual information that the reader didn't already know is being relayed to them then it could be 6 pages long. Equally if the first paragraph is cráp on a small article, it'll get left behind too.

Small topics just couldn't be covered properly in a small article .... for example the FAI and League merger .... i'd be scared if it were only covered in two pages. One thing that wont help, is not using paragraphs and pictures to break it up for the reader, by that i mean no one is going to read a wall of text no matter what its about.

[Poor Student]

Patsy McGowan to have columns



Anybody but him. Do you ever read the crap he writes in the People?

[gustavo]

Maybe Eamonn Sweeney to write a column but he seems content writing about GAA and Rugby these days for the Sunday Independent

[desaintsno.12]

"Thats one thing that i would do aswell, drop a few copies in a good barber shop, doctors waiting room or taxi base, basically anywhere where people will pick it up and have a flick through".

excellent idea there.
also i'd try to find out some so called "famous" or well known people who follow the EL and interview them about their club etc
and fair play lads.can't wait already. i pressume i'll be able to pick a copy of it up in Thailand this summer :cool: :p ????? go global ;)

[gustavo]

also i'd try to find out some so called "famous" or well known people who follow the EL and interview them about their club etc



Sligo Rovers relatively famous fans that have written on us in the past include
Eamonn Sweeney
Adrian Eames
Tommy Gorman
Oliver P. Sweeney - Hot Press Magazine

[BillyG]

Small topics just couldn't be covered properly in a small article .... for example the FAI and League merger .... i'd be scared if it were only covered in two pages. One thing that wont help, is not using paragraphs and pictures to break it up for the reader, by that i mean no one is going to read a wall of text no matter what its about.

Agree with you but something the new mag could look at is "Feature Article" which would be able to justice to the more serious topics. The FAI/League merger wouldnt fall into the category of "small topic".

[monzo]

Anybody but him. Do you ever read the crap he writes in the People?

That was a bit of a joke suggestion tbh. Haven't seen his People articles but his Democrat ones are often class.

[BohDiddley]

Irish football badly needs a decent mag, so best of luck with it.

Some observations:

IMHO, the title needs a rethink. 'Ground football' means nothing to a lot of people. I only found out by chance today, in a rather ignorant article by Tom Humphries in The Irish Times, that it is a derisory term used by lovers of bigot ball. Maybe you have a different, more informed take on that.

Think hard about getting the balance right in the content mix. Don't make it a fanzine, or give it such an insider take that it alienates the curious general reader. Don't indulge your writers, no matter how much they love the league or their club, unless you actually want a collection of fan rants. And easy on the history and nostalgia (unless you want to make a case for 100% government funding to rescue the Home of Irish Football).

Keep a tight editorial rein so that you deliver good quality for the reader. Tell amateurs and show-boaters to write for foot.ie (no offence) but be open to good new talent.

Make it newsy. I know that's hard for a monthly, but there's an awful lot you can cover outside of last weekend's results that can add to newspaper and broadcast coverage. You can especially cover club development, league development, and the place of Irish football internationally. You're never going to beat 4-4-2, so avoid the EPL except to slag it off (a regular column exposing Sky-hype and how plain bad English football can be might be good). Run stories that will get picked up by the mainstream press. Slag off some of the great and the good of Irish sport and see if you don't get a reaction. Again, being awkward and pugnacious will put some distance between you and a cosy fan mag.

Vary article length. By all means have one or two long reads, but keep most short, 800 to 1,200 words. Again, discipline is key.

Get the design right. You can have the best content in the world, but if your layouts, type and images are a mess then only the most dedicated, such as foot.ie members, will read it. Spend lots of time, attention, and money on the all-important cover. Put Kevin Hunt on the front. Jason Byrne can posture as many times as he likes in front of the Jodi Stand, but he's never going to be cover material. Do good action centrefolds (with plenty of black and red).

On the business side, do everything you can to get it into Easons -- or distribution will kill you -- and hustle hard for proper ads.

Think about a spin-off website.

[el punter]

Hey BohDiddley....you left out

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be"

and

"To thine own self be true"

The English teacher told me it WOULD have practical use someday :)

[pineapple stu]

On the business side, do everything you can to get it into Easons.
They'll take 45% profit though...

[A face]

They'll take 45% profit though...

Are you serious ?? ... man i really didn't think it was that high !! :eek:

Thats extortionate to be honest, jebus h crimbo :mad: although is it worth to run with them for a few months to get established and then find someone else? Subscriptions is the way to go, push that as much as possible imo. Every programme editor, webmaster, fanzine, supporters club, newsletter and fan should get behind this to be honest.

[John83]

Are you serious ?? ... man i really didn't think it was that high !! :eek:

Thats extortionate to be honest, jebus h crimbo :mad:
Tis. We checked. :)

[Aaron]

When its up and running any chance of sending a few up yo the brandy to be sold?

[monzo]

Has there been a date confirmed for release yet? Hopefully it'll be out soon so I can have something to do while the LOI break continues.