Roddy Collins : Clown of the highest order

[A face]

I have to say he out done himself tonight.

eL should give up competing in UEFA Cup and Champions League and concentrate on Intertoto Cup.

He has come out with some gems in his time, little pearls of wisdom but this is one of the better ones. In the last 3-4 eL clubs have gone in Europe where they never have gone before. Now with all that progression Roddy wants us to give it up and just compete in the Intertoto. Can someone please put the guy out of his misery, surely he cannot be enjoying that level of stupidity? :eek:

If Rovers fans ever wonder why they were in the first division, its because that guy is a clown of the highest order and completely inept as a human being, not to mind a football manager.

Stay away for the stupid pills Roddy, they dont do anything for you barr make you really really stupid.

[Rebal Boy]

I can't stand him. He's a f*cking w*nker. He really annoys me. He wasn't givinbg City a chance tonight when Dave Barry and the other gut can't think of his name were trying to believe they could do it. I pity the next club who takes him on as manager I really do.

[Neish]

Why do ya take any notice of what he says, he a known gibs*ite.

BTW: Ya sould change the title of this to Roddy Collin : Clown of the highest odor

[BohsFans]

I have to say he out done himself tonight.

eL should give up competing in UEFA Cup and Champions League and concentrate on Intertoto Cup.

He has come out with some gems in his time, little pearls of wisdom but this is one of the better ones. In the last 3-4 eL clubs have gone in Europe where they never have gone before. Now with all that progression Roddy wants us to give it up and just compete in the Intertoto. Can someone please put the guy out of his misery, surely he cannot be enjoying that level of stupidity? :eek:

If Rovers fans ever wonder why they were in the first division, its because that guy is a clown of the highest order and completely inept as a human being, not to mind a football manager.

Stay away for the stupid pills Roddy, they dont do anything for you barr make you really really stupid.

In fairness to him (I'm no Roddy fan btw) everything else he said about the match tonight and Cork in general was spot on! Your being very selective there.

Stupid thing to say though! :(

[Mick89]

I have to say he out done himself tonight.

eL should give up competing in UEFA Cup and Champions League and concentrate on Intertoto Cup.

He has come out with some gems in his time, little pearls of wisdom but this is one of the better ones. In the last 3-4 eL clubs have gone in Europe where they never have gone before. Now with all that progression Roddy wants us to give it up and just compete in the Intertoto. Can someone please put the guy out of his misery, surely he cannot be enjoying that level of stupidity? :eek:

If Rovers fans ever wonder why they were in the first division, its because that guy is a clown of the highest order and completely inept as a human being, not to mind a football manager.

Stay away for the stupid pills Roddy, they dont do anything for you barr make you really really stupid.

What happens then if an eL team qualifes from the intertoto?:confused:

Suppose he's just so used to embarrassing himself on TV these days with this Euro Star antics that he can't help himself.

[listowelceltic]

is this not the last season of the intertoto cup?kind a hard to concentrate on a comp thats coming to a end.also roddy kept refering to colin obrien as "young"colin o brien.is he not in his thirties?

[A face]

In fairness to him (I'm no Roddy fan btw) everything else he said about the match tonight and Cork in general was spot on! Your being very selective there.

Stupid thing to say though! :(

Not selective, four of us watched it tonight and we were all agreeing with what was said until he came out with that clánger, Dave Barry had just been talking about lack of funds, and cutting your cloth accordingly (Shels boom and bust) and it then went to Rodders .... he could have highlighted the lack of investment in the league, he could have reiterated what Naill Quinn has said recently about funding, he could have spoke about the benefits of investing in the league ..... the choices were endless ... but not .... Roddy comes out with that little cracker.

You cant defend the indefensible !! :eek:

[Marked Man]

He wasn't givinbg City a chance tonight when Dave Barry and the other gut can't think of his name were trying to believe they could do it.

He was right not to though, wasnt' he?

[BohsFans]

eL should give up competing in UEFA Cup and Champions League and concentrate on Intertoto Cup.


Not defending it.

[Risteard]

Besides the crap he talks, seems like a horrible person.
He's always -most notably on eL weekly - shouting above people to get his 'point' across.

Terrible record behind him and not deserving of the media time he gets.

[OneRedArmy]

Bitter relegation specialist who is addicted to publicity, all he has left is a Dermot Keeley-esque "things were better in my day guv" psychological crutch to lean on, as he slips further into obscurity.

[Poor Student]

I've read a lot written by Collins over the years and watched him on TV. He seizes every opportunity possible to bash the league and highlight its utter unworthiness to him. When Shamrock Rovers were filmed to be on Futbal Mundial he wrote in his weekly article in The Star that he hoped it wouldn't gloss over the truth with some romanticism as the league deserved to have its patheticness known to the world. That's not to say he doesn't offer the odd true critical point, for example the lack of depth in Cork's squad compared to Drogs and Shels. However it was rightly raised in response that the lack of funds just won't allow that. He always talks about spending large wads of cash that don't exist in the eL, which is exactly what he did in his last two jobs. I don't know what he wants. He offers no real solutions to problems, he just points out flaws and goes on about bringing in better players.

[Sheridan]

I really don't understand how and why people continue to take Roddy's pronouncements seriously. He mounts a particular hobby-horse at the beginning of a broadcast and rides it rock solid until the bitter end. The more contentious, the greater the likelihood of his invited being back. From a broadcasting point of view, he speaks fluently and relatively articulately, encourages controversy and has a certain grotesque charisma. But NO-ONE takes him or his opinions seriously.

That said, he did (Stopped Clock Principle) correctly identify Cork's chief tactical failing tonight, namely Billy Woods' propensity to be drawn inside and leave the left flank exposed.

On a broader point, I don't see why every result in Europe has to be hailed as the greatest triumph in history and evidence of imminent Champions League qualification, or derided as indicative of the inherent deficiencies which will always and inevitably prevent Irish clubs from succeeding in Europe. It's football. Yes, the league has progressed, but not to the extent that Cork City can send a skeleton crew to Belgrade and expect to compete with Red Star on an even footing. But even so, they were done by two avoidable goalkeeping errors and what looked from my (admittedly imperfect) vantage point like an offside header. There will always be a large random component involved in football, people need to stop making these categorical generalisations.

[Dodge]

I love the way you never dumb down your posts Sheridan. Agree with that last post 100% too.

[harry crumb]

I really don't understand how and why people continue to take Roddy's pronouncements seriously. He mounts a particular hobby-horse at the beginning of a broadcast and rides it rock solid until the bitter end. The more contentious, the greater the likelihood of his invited being back. From a broadcasting point of view, he speaks fluently and relatively articulately, encourages controversy and has a certain grotesque charisma. But NO-ONE takes him or his opinions seriously.

That said, he did (Stopped Clock Principle) correctly identify Cork's chief tactical failing tonight, namely Billy Woods' propensity to be drawn inside and leave the left flank exposed.

On a broader point, I don't see why every result in Europe has to be hailed as the greatest triumph in history and evidence of imminent Champions League qualification, or derided as indicative of the inherent deficiencies which will always and inevitably prevent Irish clubs from succeeding in Europe. It's football. Yes, the league has progressed, but not to the extent that Cork City can send a skeleton crew to Belgrade and expect to compete with Red Star on an even footing. But even so, they were done by two avoidable goalkeeping errors and what looked from my (admittedly imperfect) vantage point like an offside header. There will always be a large random component involved in football, people need to stop making these categorical generalisations.

Good points made there.

Like the "Skeleton crew" reference:D

[Clones Road Cas]

I have to say I dislike him with a passion, but i would agree with nearly all I heard him say.

What I heard and I may have missed a bit of the analysis was that we have to stop talking up our chances in the CL / UEFA cup under current domestic structures because it makes us look foolish and that our best chance of winning games is in the Intertoto. He argues that we are more than 5 years away from the group stages of the CL.

I think round three of CL is possible in any year with a lucky draw, but given the gulf in recenue between the teams in the el and europe that the next step is impossible without a change in the fortunes of our league.

UEFA is a bit more chancy but you would still require very good draws to make the group stages. We have had good draws in this round, one of DC or DU will require another good draw and a great performance to make it through to the next round.

As for his talk about cork not signing players and taking a step back, he's dead right. Yes cork were missing players but they, understandably due to the need for financial sense, have not invested heavily since winning the league and as a result are not playing as well this year.

I do think that given his fractious relationship with so many people in the el that it is an insult to have the ***** commenting on tv and that rte should be told this.

[Vitruvian Man]

I love the way you never dumb down your posts Sheridan. Agree with that last post 100% too.

Get your beady eyes off him Dodge.

We saw him first.

[Ronnie]

Simple people come up with simple ideas - pay out loads of money to get the best players and you'll be successful. Now, where we get that money....doh, hit a glitch already!

[geysir]

What I heard and I may have missed a bit of the analysis was that we have to stop talking up our chances in the CL / UEFA cup under current domestic structures because it makes us look foolish and that our best chance of winning games is in the Intertoto. He argues that we are more than 5 years away from the group stages of the CL.

I think round three of CL is possible in any year with a lucky draw, but given the gulf in recenue between the teams in the el and europe that the next step is impossible without a change in the fortunes of our league.

UEFA is a bit more chancy but you would still require very good draws to make the group stages. We have had good draws in this round, one of DC or DU will require another good draw and a great performance to make it through to the next round.
.
I might have missed something here, but with 3 merited wins and a draw already gained in the UEFA cup competition, with both teams involved now at the same level that a string of lower profile co-efficientless InterToto victories would have brought, the achievements of Derry and Drogheda make Roddy's statements look irrational.

[joeSoap]

The first two qualifying rounds of the CL are in the main made up of clubs like Cork City, Shelbourne, etc. In other words clubs that are going to get knocked out in the 3rd qualifying round if they get there. I'll bet that the majority of clubs that automatically went into the third round draw will make it to the group stages. An Irish club will not make it to the group stages of the CL in the next 5-10 years and we can all delude ourselves all day long into believing that if we so wish.

Roddy may have been overly critical when he said about puling out of the CL and the UEFA cups, but he ain't half wrong imo. The problem here lies within UEFA. There should be a totally different competition solely for clubs of lower co-efficients, something similar to what the GAA have done with regard to the hurling championship. The Christy Ring cup is now an eagerly contested competition for clubs of a lower standard who wouldn't have a snowball in hells chance of winning the Liam McCarthy. It gives them something to strive towards other than beatings from Cork and Kilkenny.

If there was a competition amongst your equals in Europe Irish clubs would prosper more I believe and achieve far better long term prosperity.

[mandrake]

he is a eejit..i think he has issues with the fact he is not working in football anymore...cant sing either...
he slags of the leageu of which he has worked and played alongside a lot of people employed in the league, which is out of order, but he get sloads of airtime.............rte/star/newstalk, so maybe they want him to be a dunphy-esq figure...

his analysis of performance was right but the intertoto idea was bulsh*t

[pete]

I do not believe it is certain that an eL side will make the CL group stages as lets face it Uefa do not make small teams there (Milan ruling yesterday) but with some luck it is possible.

Levski Sofia were seeded in the 2nd round & beat Georgian team 4-0 on aggregate, Sofia are now also seeded in the 3rd round & play Italys Chievo. Beating a strong 2nd round seed can make you seeded in the 3rd round meaning easier tie.

[NY Hoop]

The first two qualifying rounds of the CL are in the main made up of clubs like Cork City, Shelbourne, etc. In other words clubs that are going to get knocked out in the 3rd qualifying round if they get there. I'll bet that the majority of clubs that automatically went into the third round draw will make it to the group stages. An Irish club will not make it to the group stages of the CL in the next 5-10 years and we can all delude ourselves all day long into believing that if we so wish.

Roddy may have been overly critical when he said about puling out of the CL and the UEFA cups, but he ain't half wrong imo. The problem here lies within UEFA. There should be a totally different competition solely for clubs of lower co-efficients, something similar to what the GAA have done with regard to the hurling championship. The Christy Ring cup is now an eagerly contested competition for clubs of a lower standard who wouldn't have a snowball in hells chance of winning the Liam McCarthy. It gives them something to strive towards other than beatings from Cork and Kilkenny.

If there was a competition amongst your equals in Europe Irish clubs would prosper more I believe and achieve far better long term prosperity.

You cannot be serious. If teams dont learn by playing the big boys how on earth will they progress?

Roddy wasnt wrong about cork not strengthening their squad though.

For a true reflection on him check out last sundays tribune!


KOH

[joeSoap]

You cannot be serious. If teams dont learn by playing the big boys how on earth will they progress? Agreed, but at the moment whats the point in fighting above your weight? There's none, you get pummelled. All I'm saying is that UEFA should have some parallels and devise a competition whereby teams can compete at their own level in Europe to give them a chance of being successful. There is no point in going out onto a pitch with the knowledge you're going to lose and lets face it, thats what Cork City had last night. The gaps are simply too big at present between the superpowers to the big clubs to the aspiring clubs to the minnows. There should be a system in progress whereby teams can compete, not go out there simply proud to have qualified for Europe.

[LFC in Exile]

Agreed, but at the moment whats the point in fighting above your weight? There's none, you get pummelled. All I'm saying is that UEFA should have some parallels and devise a competition whereby teams can compete at their own level in Europe to give them a chance of being successful. There is no point in going out onto a pitch with the knowledge you're going to lose and lets face it, thats what Cork City had last night. The gaps are simply too big at present between the superpowers to the big clubs to the aspiring clubs to the minnows. There should be a system in progress whereby teams can compete, not go out there simply proud to have qualified for Europe.

But if you extend the logic only premier teams should be allowed compete in the FAI Cup. There should be a FAI Cup-lite for all the others.

And also, UEFA do have that type of structure - its called the InterToto, UEFA Cup and CL - and qualifying rounds within the CL. :ball:

[TonyD]

But if you extend the logic only premier teams should be allowed compete in the FAI Cup. There should be a FAI Cup-lite for all the others.

And also, UEFA do have that type of structure - its called the InterToto, UEFA Cup and CL - and qualifying rounds within the CL. :ball:

Exactly. The present system offers the best of both worlds. You can compete against teams of equal standing in the early qualifying rounds and then test yourself against the better teams as you progress. And we are making progress, no-one can dispute that surely ? As Sheridan said, we will get bad results from time to time. Plenty of English Premier league teams have been on the end of 3-0 beatings away from home I'd bet. We shouldn't let it overshadow the general improvement in results, which has been quite marked in just 3 or 4 seasons. If we continue to improve at this rate I for one will be reasonably happy. In fairness to Roddy(though he is a bit of a clown) I don't think he was advocating pulling out of the Champions league, just that we shouldn't be talking up the possibility of making the group stages in the near to medium future. I think we all know he's probably right there. His criticism of Cork for not spending was mind blowing stuff though. Clearly they are trying to live within their means and there's nothing wrong with that. We all know the dangers in trying to do it any other way. And lest we forget, look at the "quality" at some of Roddy's signings when he was given money to spend. Carlton Palmer, anyone ?

[Clones Road Cas]

I might have missed something here, but with 3 merited wins and a draw already gained in the UEFA cup competition, with both teams involved now at the same level that a string of lower profile co-efficientless InterToto victories would have brought, the achievements of Derry and Drogheda make Roddy's statements look irrational.

I'm not saying he was right about restricting ourselves to the Intertoto cup, what I am saying is that I think that people who think that we will be in the Cl group stages within 5 years are deluding themselves, under the current structures.

For example, taking Collins own time with Bohs (shudders), the performances against aberdeen and kaiserslautern. How much progress has been made since then. How much progress has been made since shells did the job on Hadjuk Split.

The league has moved on somewhat since the bad old days, but not as much as some would like to suggest. While some might have found Collins remarks annoying, what to me was more embarassing was the commentators having to try and justify the gap in class being attributable to 4 missing players.

Football is about squads, not your best XI and even had Cork had their best XI they still would have struggled mightily and they sure as hell weren't getting past AC.

The only way Irish clubs get into Cl groups is if someone decides they are going to pump millions, not thousands, but millions into getting them there. The only possibility of that happening lies with the Bohemians property deal. Other than that no hope.

On the point of pulling out of Euro competitions, no its not a good idea. What might work is forsake the CL spot for a few seasons in favour of a seeded 1st round Uefa draw for the league winners, but It'd never happen.

Collins is a complete ****** and I cant stand him, but I think he was correct in the sentiment he was expressing if not the specifics.

[bluemovie]

Roddy seems to get punditry work because he's a "big character" and recognisable to the general public thanks to You're a Star, The Rod Squad and his brother. Unfortunately, more people associate him with Irish football than the likes of Pat Morley (who I think does an excellent job as co-commentator).

For Roddy, it's a case of:
"You can't sing, you can't manage, you look awful.....you'll go a long way".

P.S. Is it just me or have the posts from Dublin City fans been a lot better and more insightful since their club did a dinosaur?

[Jerry The Saint]

P.S. Is it just me or have the posts from Dublin City fans been a lot better and more insightful since their club did a dinosaur?

Dinosaurs dominated their era before they became extinct. Dublin City were a dodo at best.

:p

[reder]

I watched Cork City last night and saw their away game in Cyprus. They battled hard in Cyprus and got through with alot of luck. However what Roddy Collins said last night is pure rubbish. Irish teams need to play the likes of Belgrade more and more often not less. By playing these teams the players will learn to adapt better to the euro game and what is a higher level of football. I honestly dont see an EL team getting to the group stages of the CL in the next 5 years BUT I certainly think the UEFA cup is a great competition for them in which them can develope. To my eye it is very likely that an EL team could qualify for the group stages of the uefa cup and playing in this competition will improve them.

[NY Hoop]

I watched Cork City last night and saw their away game in Cyprus. They battled hard in Cyprus and got through with alot of luck. However what Roddy Collins said last night is pure rubbish. Irish teams need to play the likes of Belgrade more and more often not less. By playing these teams the players will learn to adapt better to the euro game and what is a higher level of football. I honestly dont see an EL team getting to the group stages of the CL in the next 5 years BUT I certainly think the UEFA cup is a great competition for them in which them can develope. To my eye it is very likely that an EL team could qualify for the group stages of the uefa cup and playing in this competition will improve them.

Spot on.

KOH

[ghBohs]

The presenter dude (Con something?) came out with a weapons grade classic as well - "but surely Roddy, Cork are just cutting their cloth to suit their.... er, suits". Compulsive television.

[Risteard]

I love the way you never dumb down your posts Sheridan. Agree with that last post 100% too.
Agree.
That poster deserves Champions League football.:ball:

[The Sheliban]

Of course the big difference between European football in Roddy's day, and European football now is that every club would get knocked out in the first tie.
These days, we're almost expected to win the first match. All four teams this year got past the first round, which is showing a level of consistency never dreamt of 10 years ago.
Of course the whole Champions League thing is geared to the bigger clubs, and its awful hard for a smaller club to break through - a bit of a Catch 22, like Ireland until 88 - you don't get a good seeding until you qualify, and you don't qualify because you don't get a good seeding.
Having said all that, Cork's performance was the worst in the CL by an Irish club for a number of years, and I can kind of see Roddy's point that the League is regressing. But hopefully it was only a glitch.

[Shelsman]

He always talks about spending large wads of cash that don't exist in the eL, which is exactly what he did in his last two jobs.

Excellent point!

[Shelsman]

He argues that we are more than 5 years away from the group stages of the CL.

Nope, he said we would never qualify! The fooking spanner. I suppose he's right though unless we get some serious investment in one club or another....

[Shelsman]

The problem here lies within UEFA. There should be a totally different competition solely for clubs of lower co-efficients.
If there was a competition amongst your equals in Europe Irish clubs would prosper more I believe and achieve far better long term prosperity.

I half agree, we would make more 'progress' i.e. go further in the competition, but would people come out in their droves to see the cream of Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Macedonia turn out in Turner's Cross? :confused:

UEFA were going to have a Poll to see if 'The Fans' thought that the Champions from each country would go straight into the Group Stages of the Champions League -now THAT would be a solution.

[CuanaD]

I really don't understand how and why people continue to take Roddy's pronouncements seriously. He mounts a particular hobby-horse at the beginning of a broadcast and rides it rock solid until the bitter end. The more contentious, the greater the likelihood of his invited being back. From a broadcasting point of view, he speaks fluently and relatively articulately, encourages controversy and has a certain grotesque charisma. But NO-ONE takes him or his opinions seriously.



So, to surmise -
The eircom league has been, once again, Ridden Rock Solid by Roddy
:D

[Shelsman]

Here is my opinion of where the eL stands at the moment:

Why the eL has made so much progress recently:

- Full Time teams
- Summer Soccer
- The Setanta Cup ( more matches at a higher level )
- ITV Digital Collapse ( a lot of players came back, fewer went over )
- The emergence of many new, small nations in Europe e.g. Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Macedonia ( a lot of our wins have been against teams from countries that didn't exist 50 or 60 years ago ).

What is holding us back:

- Lack of investment, we need the Irish Millionaires to invest in Irish Clubs, not English ones
- Lack of support from the general public ( how many million is being lost from 'fans' buying Man Utd, Arsenal, Celtic jerseys and spending €500 a pop to go to one match a year at Old Trafford or wherever ).
- Competition from the GAA and Rugby ( Red Star Belgarde don't have to worry about that although I 'm sure they have other sports )
- Stadiums that are simply not good and certainly not big enough. Surely City would have got 20-25,000 at the first leg of the Red Star game and consequently 4-5 times the income in gate receipts? I would like to see City team up with Munster Rugby and develop a 25,000 seater stadium together.
Also for Bohs and Shels to ground share ( though I do believe that a clubs stadium is a big part of it's identity -though it does work for AC and Inter! ).

The way forward:

- Get more investment from the FAI and the Government
- Don't panic and keep plugging away, we are slowly getting there
- Expand the Setanta Cup to include Scottish ( and Welsh ) teams. This is a competition that is played at a higher level than the eL and one where our teams play a good number of matches every year.
- Other than this, we really do need some Irish Abramovices, we do have them but they are only interested in English and Scottish clubs. Here's hoping I win a bumper Euromillions! :)

[passerrby]

roddy collins is one of the great men of irish soccer he is thoughful ,caring and always mindful of the clubs budget and a great dresser.
sorry have to go there calling me for my medicane

[A face]

Here is my opinion of where the eL stands at the moment:

Why the eL has made so much progress recently:

- Full Time teams
- Summer Soccer
- The Setanta Cup ( more matches at a higher level )
- ITV Digital Collapse ( a lot of players came back, fewer went over )
- The emergence of many new, small nations in Europe e.g. Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Macedonia ( a lot of our wins have been against teams from countries that didn't exist 50 or 60 years ago ).

- Fulltime teams and summer soccer made the biggest impact i think. Setanta, i think clubs are twigging that there is good money to be made and they took it more serious this year.
- ITV, yeah ... to an extent, but its eL clubs that should be linking with junior clubs to stop players moving abroad, or at least come up through the system.
- The last point, ah no i'd say ... look at the numbers in those countries. (https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/rankorder/2119rank.html)


What is holding us back:

- Lack of investment, we need the Irish Millionaires to invest in Irish Clubs, not English ones
- Lack of support from the general public ( how many million is being lost from 'fans' buying Man Utd, Arsenal, Celtic jerseys and spending €500 a pop to go to one match a year at Old Trafford or wherever ).
- Competition from the GAA and Rugby ( Red Star Belgarde don't have to worry about that although I 'm sure they have other sports )
- Stadiums that are simply not good and certainly not big enough. Surely City would have got 20-25,000 at the first leg of the Red Star game and consequently 4-5 times the income in gate receipts? I would like to see City team up with Munster Rugby and develop a 25,000 seater stadium together.
Also for Bohs and Shels to ground share ( though I do believe that a clubs stadium is a big part of it's identity -though it does work for AC and Inter! ).

- Investment is brutal, but its not at a level where its good to invest
- General public are a crying shame, something to be embarrassed about but the league needs to convert them. Attitudes need to change.
- Basketball is huge in that part of the world, 20,000+ crowds, serious stuff over there.
- Stadia size is an issue but i'd rather see 10,000 at games every week rather than 30,000 flash in the pan. Councils should be providing stadia, and not marginalising huge sections of the community by having huge GAA stadia full once a year. Ridiculous.


The way forward:

- Get more investment from the FAI and the Government
- Don't panic and keep plugging away, we are slowly getting there
- Expand the Setanta Cup to include Scottish ( and Welsh ) teams. This is a competition that is played at a higher level than the eL and one where our teams play a good number of matches every year.
- Other than this, we really do need some Irish Abramovices, we do have them but they are only interested in English and Scottish clubs. Here's hoping I win a bumper Euromillions! :)

- This will never happen unless clubs and more importantly (and the only thing that will swing it to be honest) supporters groups need to lobby and pressure for this investment. There is no effort done on this level, zero, nada, not a dot !!
- We are doing fine, with all the obstacles put infront of us we are doing unreal, the print media for the large part are completely against us, our national broadcaster is not worth talking about, i dont know whether to laugh or cry at them. FAI for years (and some say they still do) treat the league with contempt, pathetic captical funding which is criminal it is so unjust, all the petty infighting and the fragmented structure that exists in Irish football. We are doing very well and dont let anyone tell you different.
- Why do you want to have other league having the chance at taking the prize money ??? I cannot understand this, if for any reason the extra travel costs ?? This does not make sense, the argument for just doesn't hold water

[mypost]

Surely City would have got 20-25,000 at the first leg of the Red Star game and consequently 4-5 times the income in gate receipts? I would like to see City team up with Munster Rugby and develop a 25,000 seater stadium together.

But we can't have a situation where a 25,000 growd is built for 5,000 people. If 25,000 turn up for a game involving Cork in Europe, then we have to make sure there are 25,000 home fans there, and not going there to watch the opposition, like when Coruna visited Shels. Officially, the Spaniards had 20 fans supporting them then. Unofficially, they had 20,000+. :(

[Clones Road Cas]

Council do not build stadia for the GAA. GAA clubs build stadia for the GAA, the most that occasionally happens is that COuncils will donate some land. The tallaght stadium maybe a worthwhile project, but in national terms its a rare one.

Of course nobody has mentioned the need to restructure the leabue. Nor have they mentioned that we still have 5 teams in a city of 1 million (6 with Bray) and that that is a major problem in the development of the league.

[TonyD]

Council do not build stadia for the GAA. GAA clubs build stadia for the GAA

With a little help from the taxpayer in the form of generous grants, No?. Contrast this with the experience of St Patricks Athletic, awarded a grant (sometime around the turn of the century I think, it's so long ago I can't remember) to build a new stand. We're still waiting for the cash.


Of course nobody has mentioned the need to restructure the leabue. Nor have they mentioned that we still have 5 teams in a city of 1 million (6 with Bray) and that that is a major problem in the development of the league.

Hmm, but four of those five teams would be among the best supported in the country(ok, I may be stretching the point with Shels:D ) - they are all certainly in the top half dozen crowds wise. So what do you want to do ? restrict Dublin to maybe two clubs and bring in Country clubs who wouldn't be as strong ? If clubs can survive in the top Division, financially and playing wise, then no-one has the right to "restructure" them out of existence. If they are so weak that they can't survive they will go to the wall anyway, like Dublin City.

[NY Hoop]

Of course nobody has mentioned the need to restructure the leabue. Nor have they mentioned that we still have 5 teams in a city of 1 million (6 with Bray) and that that is a major problem in the development of the league.

No offense but that is rubbish. There are 1.2 million people in the capital and 5 clubs is enough but to suggest that this is a major problem:rolleyes:

KOH

[Vitruvian Man]

With a little help from the taxpayer in the form of generous grants, No?. Contrast this with the experience of St Patricks Athletic, awarded a grant (sometime around the turn of the century I think, it's so long ago I can't remember) to build a new stand. We're still waiting for the cash.




I want to knock this GAA/Government conspiracy thing on the head. The GAA get their grant money through exactly the same system as the EL clubs. So why do they get money and we don’t?

1. Grant money is given out as a percentage of how much money the organization puts in itself. EL clubs invest NOTHING in their infrastructure and therefore cannot top this up with grant money. GAA clubs fund-raise within their membership so they can legitimately get money off the government grant schemes. This is true even of mega-projects such as Croke Park where the GAA put up massive amounts of its own money.

2. A condition of allocating grant money is that the sporting body has a valid tax clearance cert. I would guess that virtually all of the ELs 22 clubs have lapsed in their TCC over the last 5 years. I know for a fact that Bohs have lost their TCC several times over that period and restructured their payments. The winding up orders against Shels, and Cork plus Rovers in examinership confirm as a FACT that those clubs have too. Not to mention the difficulties that Derry, Drogheda, Dublin City, Waterford have got into. Now you could argue that the GAA don’t pay their sportsmen and they have a lower cost base so it is easier for them to stay tax compliant, and this would be true, but when I challenged the Bohs board as to why they signed a player we obviously couldn’t pay wages too the response was… “we took a flyer at it, we had a gamble, you never know what might of happened if we won the league.” This attitude is rampant in the EL and all the clubs are rotten with boom/bust economics. When clubs withhold the PAYE and PRSI that the players pay they are stealing from the government – and now you want the government to top up the theft with more money?

3. Pats are also a great club to bring up with regard to grant money. The whole EL is regarded with suspicion when it comes to grant because Pats and some other spent grant money on players wages.


The GAA don’t get favourable treatment. They are just better organized at using the system and fighting their corner. The EL clubs would rather f*ck it up, whinge about it, and try to blame somebody else.

[passerrby]

will ya stop using the population of 1.5 milion as if they are potential football supporters. soccer is not our nartional sport and will always be a poor second to ga and all the restructering marketing and tinkering may improve things but not to the level of having 6 well supported in the city

[NY Hoop]

Where did I say they were potential support?

I was just outlining that there are 5 (not 6) clubs in a capital city of 1.2 million. In London out of a population of 7.5 million there are 13 clubs.

One point is the 5 clubs here have potential something that monaghan doesnt have.


KOH

[wws]

Pats are also a great club to bring up with regard to grant money. The whole EL is regarded with suspicion when it comes to grant because Pats and some other spent grant money on players wages.

thats just BS Vitruvian Man. we NEVER got the grant. at NO stage did they give the money over. its amazin how an incorrect story in the indo is taken as gospel on the bohs board

theres politics being played with the money because its all bound up in where the chips fall - ie WHO GOES WHERE and when groundwise

[CuanaD]

will ya stop using the population of 1.5 milion as if they are potential football supporters. soccer is not our nartional sport and will always be a poor second to ga and all the restructering marketing and tinkering may improve things but not to the level of having 6 well supported in the city
Everyone breathing is a POTENTIAL supporter

there are approx 4.2million people in the 26 counties - 21 clubs = 200,000 potential support per club. Therefore 5 clubs in Dublin is a perfect figure.

& as i have said before (loads of times!) we just have to seperate them & market them properly - related to their catchment areas.
1 for each of the 3 county council areas and 2 for Dublin city council area - 1 northside & 1 southside. this gives 5 similarly populated catchment areas, all within Dublin, but all easily seperately identified. So you can support your local team against other Dublin clubs & yet support any Dublin team (in Europe, Cup, Setanta, whatever) if you wish. What about 'Shamrock Rovers SDCC', or 'St.Patricks Dublin City (South)'