What Graham Taylor's comments (about England) mean for us

[Noelys Guitar]

He suggested today that England could end up like Scotland. His point being that English players are being squeezed out by players from other countries. and this will lead to a smaller and less talented pool of English players (yes I know worse than what they already have!). For Ireland obviously the same problem. But we could lose out on two fronts. If Blatter gets his proposal through the EU of limiting the amount of non-nationals in leagues across Europe we would still end up with a reduced number of eligible Irish players playing in the premiership. I believe this will happen withing the next seasons. What for us then (if this comes about)?

[Block G Raptor]

More Quality player in the Eircom League. less Kids going to warm benches the lenght and bredth of the uk

[RogerMilla]

i never heard of blatters proposal , we have freedom of movement. Irish players can play in any league they want in the EU. nothing he can do to limit that, he'd be better served taking on the g14. England will always have a huge pool of quality players, It's just up to their manager to bring them!! lol lol

[Poor Student]

Due to EU freedom of trade the best he can really do is insist on a minimum amount of players brought through the youth system. Foreigners at the club from a young age will count.

[Plastic Paddy]

Foreigners at the club from a young age will count.

Which is one of the main reasons why Arsenal et al. have been going round signing babes-in-arms from here, there and everywhere.

Like so many FIFA/UEFA initiatives, on the surface this appears to be a good thing but, once again, don't be surprised if the big clubs get richer and the small clubs get poorer on the back of it.

Irish clubs had better sort their shît out and quickly if they are to benefit from such a change. I hope therefore for the sake of Irish domestic and international football that the eL reorganisation isn't just a Titanic deckchair-rearranging exercise. But I don't hold out much hope...

:ball: PP

[Stuttgart88]

It was posted in the eL section this week, but how can bloody greyhound racing attract tens of millions of investment from the government but football gets **** all? Why can't we attract private money? Look at Quinn's consortium. 10% of that money could go a long way invested at home. Look at what Lucas Neill has said he'll do for Australian football.

I never fully understood successive governments' attitude to football.

Is it:

We're afraid to get involved as it'd offend the GAA
We're either GAA men or rugby men, but not in between and anyway we all love football: Man United or whoever
We won't help football as the governing body is too inept & corrupt
Ah sure football can help itself as all our players play in England anyway
Just not interested
Just not lobbyed hard enough?

I'm not going to propose a solution (would be happy to thrash it out but would take ages & I agree with a lot of Genesis II) but a thriving domestic game is crucial if we are to take control over our own destiny. We must keep more of our best young players at home & not leave them at the mercy of an English system that can no longer be depended on. If the likes of Saul Deeney, Michael Reddy, Keith Gilroy and scores of others are happy to play for Grimsby or Burton Albion it's a sad indictment. More of this type of talent at home would improve the standard & maybe attendances.

Better facilities are required too. There are private solutions: Local govt, for example, could insist on quality sports facilities being provided by developers as part of their housing plans. Look at what the Dalymount purchasers were prepared to do for Bohs in terms of a new ground (OK, away from P'boro I know).

Is there any chance of harnessing the potential support of recent immigrants. For example, in Australia, soccer was pretty much the preserve of the Croats. Would an Irish / Polish team have any market?

[Roverstillidie]

Would an Irish / Polish team have any market?

they have been marketed hard at with poor enough results.

the filth got a sizeable enough eastern european crowd (including a load of green and white clad bohemians prague fans, that confused the gypos) after an intense blitz, but they dont seem to have come back.

the main reason the EL fails to get funding is Merrion Square. Has there been a peep out of JD over the Tallaght situation? could you see Croke Park sitting back and allowing a football club to block a GAA development? has JD ever demanded, and gotten, a meeting with the minister for sport like Kelly. they havent a fraction of the energy required to seek govt funding that its rivals do and individual clubs are totally left to fend for themselves, with invevitible mixed results.

He should have threatened to pull the plug on the CP deal the second Thomas Davis threatened legal action.

[lopez]

This b*llocks happened before in the nineties and it hardly made England any better internationally. In fact if the old four foreigner (including EU countries) was kept I can see English clubs becoming even less successfull in European leagues. (Remember that hammering that ScumWho got against Barcelona around 1994). I say bring it on.

As for the Irish, the best will still be signed, the mediocre will hopefully enhance the EL instead of as Block G states, warming benches of even the likes of the Third Division clubs (Sorry I've yet to buy into this League reorganisation). The problem back in the 90s was the threat of not being able to pick up these English one minute, Irish the next players like Morrison. So what?!