Who is Feeding the Media with Negative LOI "facts"?

[Boh_So_Good]

That's it. I am now convinced more than ever that somebody is feeding journalists with "LOI is Knackered bull****".

Pretty obvious who it might be when you think about it. Somebody who needs the league to be a joke so they do not look like a joke themselves when clubs like Drogheda do well in Europe.

[adamd164]

I'd agree that the media in this country only ever publish negative spin on the league. It's depressing really

[Longfordian]

It's almost like there's a PR company at work...hang on a second...

[Boh_So_Good]

Pointless question, but where are the FAI in all this? Could you imagine the GAA and IRFU sitting back and allowing this carry on in the media concerning their own sports.

The FAI are perfectly content to see domestic soccer trashed in the Irish sports media in tandem with "Sunderland are Irish" stories beside them.

[deecay]

Apart from Gards,journalists are the lowest of the low.

[MariborKev]

That's it. I am now convinced more than ever that somebody is feeding journalists with "LOI is Knackered bull****".

Pretty obvious who it might be when you think about it. Somebody who needs the league to be a joke so they do not look like a joke themselves when clubs like Drogheda do well in Europe.

I'd disagree.

It has been common knowledge for a while that certain clubs were in difficulties. However the launch of P1 plan has thrown more attention on the League and therefore it gave a reason for further investigation.

Whilst the current situation is causing some "pain", it might at least give rise to some clubs to stop and take stock. I doubt it, but it might.

[Big Ears]

Funnily enough it seems LOI football is finely getting the amount of media coverage it deserves at the moment. Shame none of it is about the actual football.

[Saint_Charlie]

Funnily enough it seems LOI football is finely getting the amount of media coverage it deserves at the moment. Shame none of it is about the actual football.

That's always been the way sure. The papers only ever really give us good coverage when the **** hits the fan

[pete]

It is probably fair to think there is a conspiracy when the Indo publishes a "financial crisis survey" in the same paper as Drogs march report. That "survey" could have put that together in a few minutes my any foot.ie regular by combining attendance thread with wages rumour threads.

:rolleyes:

[SMorgan]

I believe that the situation is being milked by P1 and supporters of their silly all ireland league proposal. That's why its important that the FAI kill the proposal at the earliest possible opportunity. JD's statement stating that the proposal won't happen because the IFA are against it was, in my opinion, cowardly. The FAI should kill the proposal on its own grounds.

As long as the P1 proposal is on the table then the sniping of the domestic game, on both sides of the border, will continue.

[thischarmingman]

That's it. I am now convinced more than ever that somebody is feeding journalists with "LOI is Knackered bull****".

Pretty obvious who it might be when you think about it.


*Looks around accusingly at other foot.ie members...*

[SeanDrog]

tbh the media tend to focus on the negative more than the positive regardless if its the ecomony, el football or local news etc (sure the Olymics kick off today and the UK Times has a front page piece about the smog) - I suppose it might even be attributed to human nature (well maybe Irish nature :rolleyes: ) to have more interest in negative things. The Irish love juicey gossip - Drogs doing well against Keiv is a good story but prob a boring enough read to many a Joe Soap but reading about directors being fired out of Bohs, clubs on the verge of collaspe bla bla bla , tends to catch peoples eyes - they rather read about soap opera type situations - well thats my take on it anyway.

Have a good day all (Friday yeeee haaaaa)

Sean

[Mr A]

I think the general reporting of the league's problems recently does seem to have P1 fingerprints on it.. but the fact is that the vast majority of clubs are spending in an unsustainable way and are the authors of their own misfortune. Clubs are defaulting on wages on a regular basis, running massive deficits and for tall the expenditure we're still looking at mostly the same players who'd be in the league anyway.

[amaccann]

It's not just the LoI though; newspapers sell off the backs of controversy and "hot topics". Look at the tactics the tabloids adopt with breaking "news" stories, or editorials by the likes of Kevin Myers.

So does it really surprise anyone that hacks jump all over something they perceive as weak & in trouble? The LoI is slowly picking itself up, but that's not going to stop the jackals from thinking there's a free lunch to be had.

I do agree that the FAI should be doing more to protect clubs from the persistent hounding, or lack of basic coverage by certain national publications.

[skitz3]

That's it. I am now convinced more than ever that somebody is feeding journalists with "LOI is Knackered bull****".

Pretty obvious who it might be when you think about it. Somebody who needs the league to be a joke so they do not look like a joke themselves when clubs like Drogheda do well in Europe.

You need to look a little closer to home.

[lofty9]

More in today's Star :rolleyes: they are saying that Cork haven't paid their players in weeks.

[Mr A]

It's the clubs themselves that are to blame (as usual)- they're the ones who f**ked up their budgeting!

[CuanaD]

Ah yes, I remember the 'Wimbledon for Dublin' campaign - its all to familiar

Just let it go, its only posturing.

[Ronnie]

It's the clubs themselves that are to blame (as usual)- they're the ones who f**ked up their budgeting!

Thats too easy to say. Lets say a club does a budget, based on that budget it sets its wage budget. The problem arises when the budgeted income falls - gates, sponsorship etc, the expenditure stays the same unless you can reduce the wage bill. Realistically that can only happen in the window and can only happen if another club is willing to take the player, ala Sligo and Galway. Even if wages are 65% of turnover, its only players wages, not managers coaches and physios, so wages might be 80% of costs. The majority of other costs are unavaiodable -transport, light and power, insurance etc, thus when you have to cut something its players wages are the only option, and only for half a year. Take Galway, they got rid of 5 or 6 players, probably saved them the guts of 80k between now and end of season.

[Mr A]

Fair point- it's easy to get caught wrong footed by unexpectedly poor on field performance or whatever, but when it gets to the stage were the majority of clubs in the premier are experiencing some level of finanical problems then you have to wonder whether in general the clubs are living in fantasy land.

[pineapple stu]

Exactly.

One club, things can go wrong. Lots of them,a nd it's incompetence. Especially when you consider that people here could see the problems coming a mile off (Galway's ticket price hike and increased budget being a case in point).

If the clubs want to stop the bad news, they should stop creating it. Though I agree it does take a bit more of a priority with the media than it probably should.

[jinxy lilywhite]

The problem is that clubs are giving the press ammunition that they need. If this wasn't happening would the papers even comment about how good clubs are doing, I don't think so.
Someone once said "no publicity is bad publicity". Financial worries of clubs now are out in the open. Maybe potential investors might come in and help out. I doubt it but you never know.
The rate of which these problems are coming out suggests to me that someone within the powers that be is leaking this.

[ramsfan]

feckin roddy collins, he is normally stir stuff so i think it was him

[pete]

More in today's Star :rolleyes: they are saying that Cork haven't paid their players in weeks.

Deliberately exaggerated when they say 3 weeks. Sure I haven't been paid at work for a week. The fact get paid monthly would get in the way of a good story.

[bellavistaman]

Loads from our club were feeding the press with negativity whilst our problems were on going few weeks back, very disapointing.

[Dodge]

If the clubs want to stop the bad news, they should stop creating it. Though I agree it does take a bit more of a priority with the media than it probably should.

Thats the point though isn't it? I've no problem with them reporting negative facts, provided they give a proportionate amount to the footballing side adn any good news stories. AFAIk the only LOI story to make back page/first page of sports section in the Indo this year has been Michael Keane being sacked. It was a saturday and they barely mentioned the football the night before.

I'll ay it again, the vast, vast majority of Irish football and sports journalists and editors want the League of Ireland to die.

[A face]

I'll say it again, the vast, vast majority of Irish football and sports journalists and editors want the League of Ireland to die.

That because they are just so damned passionate about the game :rolleyes:

[Derry]

I would think most clubs have finanacial worries, but Bohs have reasons to be really worried.

[BohDiddley]

I'll say it again, the vast, vast majority of Irish football and sports journalists and editors want the League of Ireland to die.
I'm convinced that's true. Even if you were in favour of giving LoI more coverage, outside of a very few specialised reporters who've somehow managed to establish a niche, it would be career suicide to pursue it.
Football coverage in Irish newspapers slavishly follows the television agenda, and that agenda is dictated by Sky and, more recently, Setanta.

[blackholesun]

The media in general are always happy to run horror / hyped up / bad news / shocking stories on any topic, get used to that fact.

But to see fans of used who are living way beyond their means whinging about this is quiet amusing.

The sooner the wages madness is knocked on the head the better, if there has to be a few more Shels types blow ups along the way, then so be it. Certain clubs are deciding to offer crazy money to players, so its own their own heads if it all goes wrong for them. Ill have no sympathy.

bhs

[paul_oshea]

so anything producted in a paper that isn't to the liking of an EL supporter is now a "fact" in inverted commas rather than a foot.ie FACT. :p

So what stuff is to be believed then?

if they are offering these crazy wages, why not go in for better players from eastern europe and wherever else and then pay them less? All round win win situation.

[finnpark]

The media in general are always happy to run horror / hyped up / bad news / shocking stories on any topic, get used to that fact.

But to see fans of used who are living way beyond their means whinging about this is quiet amusing.

The sooner the wages madness is knocked on the head the better, if there has to be a few more Shels types blow ups along the way, then so be it. Certain clubs are deciding to offer crazy money to players, so its own their own heads if it all goes wrong for them. Ill have no sympathy.

bhs

Yes, thats 100% true. Unfortunately, papers like the Irish Independent and The Star have a pro British theme running through them.

[blackholesun]

if they are offering these crazy wages, why not go in for better players from eastern europe and wherever else and then pay them less? All round win win situation.

Cork could probably land a player much better than Gamble for less wages, but then Gamble would end up going somewhere else. Egos, greed and stupidly by the people running some clubs quickly comes into all this ...

But this has already started to happen it seems with Bohs recent signing. Anyone hear if Bohs got him on a free? or did they have to pay a transfer fee?

bhs

[fergalr]

That's it. I am now convinced more than ever that somebody is feeding journalists with "LOI is Knackered bull****".

Pretty obvious who it might be when you think about it.

You don't have to be paranoid to think that they are out to get you and just because some clubs are spending beyond their means doesn't mean that there is a concerted media campaign.

A PR firm is running a high-profile campaign to replace the current league. I'd be shocked if they were not spinning and while I am disappointed, I am not surprised that there are lazy hacks who are all to happy to have their copy supplied for them.

However don't lets be fooled that this is a recent phenomenon. There are other interests in this country who perpetually spin against the LOI. Winess Evening Herald front pagers on phantom riots, zero coverage of LOI games every Sunday in the Tribune's 20 page sport section and the campaign of the likes T Humphries against association football in Tallaght.

If the FAI think this league is worth fighting for then they better get their act together because right now they well behind on points in media battle.

[centre mid]

In answer to the OP, very few stories are even written anymore. The red tops especially, just have a sub editor who gets "stories" landed on their desks from PR and communications companies in the form of press releases.

It wouldnt take much of a leap to imagine where these press releases may come from. They are ususally agenda driven.

[passerrby]

must agree the silence from abbotstown has been deffening but then P1 are not the only people with there own agenda

[Réiteoir]

Paul Lennon doing some major agenda peddling on the AIL in spades on RTÉ Radio 1 now