Identity Crisis FC

[Réiteoir]

Do you not feel loved Boh-So-Good??? The way you talk you'd nearly think 'the media' have some way violated you.
The sports media cover items which appeal to the masses, as is their duty. At least 80% of soccer fans in Ireland watch/follow/have interest in the premiership therefore it gets more attention from the irish media than the LOI. Thats how it is, get over it.
My God some LOI fans are so bitter towards the premiership its quite sad really. Get a life lad.

and peversely a lot more Premiership "fans" are so bitter towards the LOI - which is even more sadder.

We have lives - it's actually going to grounds, supporting your LOCAL eL club week in, week out, through thin and even thinner - as opposed to staring at a massive screen whilst dribbling into a pint glass as you try to figure how to get the latest lot of curry stains out of your nice new Manchester Hotspurs or Liverpool United jersey.

Sure we don't all decide at the end of the season to ditch the Drogs jersey to go out and get a shiny new Bohs one because everyone else goes and follows them because they're the ones who start winning stuff...

Tis strange - because similar figures of Premiership support exist in Norway (80% of people there follow the Premiership) - but pick up a copy of Dagbladet, VG or Aftenposten (their main newspapers) - and you will only find small snippets on the Premiership - most of their football coverage is devoted to the Norwegian Premier Division and it's players.

And lo and behold - when you're over there - not only do you get the choice of watching many more Premiership games on TV than you do with Irish Broadcasters/Sky - but you also get THREE live Norwegian Premier Division games a week

Something mighty wrong there...

[brianw82]

Concerns have been raised in the Irish media that a dangerous sect of so-called Irish football fans are planning a protest outside POTBS park before their next home game. The protesters are questioning the "Oirishness" of the club, and are planning on spoiling the day out of all the Irish football fans at POTBS park by raising banners like "Support your local football club". Naturally, this would disturb and confuse the loyal patrons of POTBS park, as indeed they ARE supporting their local Oirish football club. The views of these protestors are utterly wrong, and must not be given any coverage by any media.

I'm just wondering, Boh_so_good, what do you plan to do to keep such undesirables away from POTBS park?

[seanfhear]

Good luck boh-so- good you are doing great work.

[LeixlipRed]

Concerns have been raised in the Irish media that a dangerous sect of so-called Irish football fans are planning a protest outside POTBS park before their next home game. The protesters are questioning the "Oirishness" of the club, and are planning on spoiling the day out of all the Irish football fans at POTBS park by raising banners like "Support your local football club". Naturally, this would disturb and confuse the loyal patrons of POTBS park, as indeed they ARE supporting their local Oirish football club. The views of these protestors are utterly wrong, and must not be given any coverage by any media.

I'm just wondering, Boh_so_good, what do you plan to do to keep such undesirables away from POTBS park?

The UCD A Championship side are in action against their U-18s in a jumpers for goalposts affair the same day. Should keep us all too busy to get over to protest :D

[Ireland4ever]

and peversely a lot more Premiership "fans" are so bitter towards the LOI - which is even more sadder.

We have lives - it's actually going to grounds, supporting your LOCAL eL club week in, week out, through thin and even thinner - as opposed to staring at a massive screen whilst dribbling into a pint glass as you try to figure how to get the latest lot of curry stains out of your nice new Manchester Hotspurs or Liverpool United jersey.

Sure we don't all decide at the end of the season to ditch the Drogs jersey to go out and get a shiny new Bohs one because everyone else goes and follows them because they're the ones who start winning stuff...

Tis strange - because similar figures of Premiership support exist in Norway (80% of people there follow the Premiership) - but pick up a copy of Dagbladet, VG or Aftenposten (their main newspapers) - and you will only find small snippets on the Premiership - most of their football coverage is devoted to the Norwegian Premier Division and it's players.

And lo and behold - when you're over there - not only do you get the choice of watching many more Premiership games on TV than you do with Irish Broadcasters/Sky - but you also get THREE live Norwegian Premier Division games a week

Something mighty wrong there...

Think you need to define bitter, people aknowledge that the standard in the LOI is poor, thats not bitterness, its just the way it is. This suggest anything else is just comical. I dont know any premiership fan that doesnt enjoy seeing the likes of drogheda et al do well.

As for the Danish situation, it is hardly comparable. While im no expert on the Danish league it is obviously a decent enough standard. The Danish squads always have a hefty proportion of their players playing in their national league, in comparison its a novelty story when an irish manager gives the LOI a token jesture by including a LOI player in the squad.

A professional league in Ireland is just not a sustainable idea (Look at all the clubs in financial trouble at the moment) .All our best players will always travel to the UK if they are of a certain quality. Its just too easy for irish players to adapt to the premiership/english life, something that cant be said about anyother country including Denmark!

[LeixlipRed]

You see Denmark, he says Norway??

[Ireland4ever]

Not much of a difference really, same points applies to both.

[sonofstan]

Not much of a difference really, same points applies to both.

Such a blithe unconcern with geographical exactitude goes some way towards explaining why people like the above can imagine there's Irish clubs in Britain.

[thischarmingman]

This is one of my favourite threads ever.

That is all.

[Marco]

Sit in a pub and tell one bloke "we are an Irish club" and let the flawless progression of the Mindless Paddy Osmosis do the rest.

Com'on, get real! Convincing the most mindless, sheep-like, easily controlled by flashing lights nation on earth to follow a British soccer club is akin to pointing an alter boys hole at a priest and expecting him to say "what's that for?" Somethings require no effort.

The Orish soccer fan is natures greatest moron. Evolution's perfect lemming. He has no mind. He is a ****ed-robot who longs in his plastic hibernian heart to be an Essex Larger and Lime Boy going "Phorwhhhhh!" at something called 'crumpet'.

Matters not if the Irish soccer supporter is from the gaelic speaking regions of Donegal and can find no reason for an alarm clock without connecting it to a chunk of semtex, or the chattering classes of Foxrock - to reach that state of Albion Enlightment via a British soccer club is their heart's and soul's desire.

The British empire was built on their kind and they are what they will always be. Following (and I mean that in most literal sense) Man U or Liverpool or Sunderland is no different than dying for Queen and Country in some remote Hindustani Raj during the 19th century. It all the same thing.

MILLIONS of Paddys are born to be mindless sheep in the service of the Empire's Spirit. The melody of William Blake's "Jerusalem" is the frequency at which their central nervous system resonates. Thats the sound you would hear if you could listen inside their giant green leprecaurn hats.

Somethings are so natural and self-fullfilling they require no work. Marketing a British soccer club in Ireland is one of them. To be honest I am more worried about an asteroid from space hitting Pint O' Blackstuff Park than filling it with stupid Micks.

Ok but how will you be marketing your club:D .... keep this up and you might end up on MNS

[Marco]

The UCD A Championship side are in action against their U-18s in a jumpers for goalposts affair the same day. Should keep us all too busy to get over to protest :D


What happens if there is a clash of gear! it might delay the kick off & the fine sent to Cobh Ramblers:D

[barney]

to be honest i dont understand the whole "quality" argument that people always pull out when asked why support english teams and the fact that the premiership is "on our doorstep" as it was put to me the other day, but surely then why don't all the people in france support the premiership considering its only across the channel?? or all austrian people support the german league because its a higher standard??

also the whole quality argument thats pulled out always fall down when i ask them would they still support united or whoever if they were relegated to league 1? the answer i get back is always yeah but surely this makes the whole quality argument fall down because the quality would fall so much?? the look of puzzlement on the faces when i bring this up is always comical and so so so sad in another way :(


If you really think it has nothing to do with quality, then you're living in Disneyland. It's a combination of other things as well though. Culturally, we are a lot closer to England than France is. We are bombarded with their media, be it TV, radio or newspapers. That's bound to rub off.

All of our best players go to England to play. Keane, Duff, Given, Dunne etc. How many of them played in the eL? None. Truth be told, any of the eL players who haven't gone to England would love to and those that did never made it. Can you really expect the public to buy the idea that the eL is what they should be supporting when the players would much rather be playing in England.

The quality thing does stand up in my book. The same Man U fan would not have started supporting United if they were a 4th Division team when he started supporting football. I find that 99.99% of English football supporters support their team for a logical reason; be it that the side was a good one when they started following football or that there is an Irish connection (I know Irish West Brom fans who follow them because of Giles, ditto Leeds, etc). However, once they are in for a penny they are in for a pound because through thick and thin they will stick with those teams. That's part of being a football fan.

I also don't buy the theory that Irish people just aren't interested in live football and if Man U played here every week people wouldn't go and watch them. LOI used to get massive crowds in the 50s and before that. However, when it became apparent that the LOI was light years behind other leagues, the crowds started to dwindle.

It makes me laugh when I read on here that 'barstoolers' know nothing about football. I know 'barstoolers' who have a tremendous knowledge of the game. Likewise, I know eL fans who know squat about the game (and vice versa).

Believe me, I love the eL and the thrill of live football. But if we can't acknowledge the reasons that people in this country support English football, then we are condemned to forever remain in the state we're in.

Depsite all that I had a good chuckle at the first post in this thread. Quality.

[Sheridan]

I think the biggest fallacy in the quality argument is the notion that your average stay-at-home Irish football fan can tell a good game from a bad one.

[skitz3]

I find that 99.99% of English football supporters support their team for a logical reason; be it that the side was a good one when they started following football or that there is an Irish connection (I know Irish West Brom fans who follow them because of Giles, ditto Leeds, etc).

Except the English themselves who follow their team because they are local, not because they are good. That my friend is logic, not the tripe you just churned out.

[barney]

I think the biggest fallacy in the quality argument is the notion that your average stay-at-home Irish football fan can tell a good game from a bad one.

I think a bigger fallacy is the one that you aquire some Giles-like footballing insight just because you go and watch your local team.

[skitz3]

If Andy "Unbelievable" Gray tells barstoolers they've just witnessed a great game they believe it. I mean just look at the effect it had when he started telling them the Premiership was the best league in the world, straight away without viewing another league they all went around repeating it, like sheep.

[barney]

Except the English themselves who follow their team because they are local, not because they are good. That my friend is logic, not the tripe you just churned out.


Maybe the wording of my original post wasn't all that clear, but I meant Irish supporters of English football, not the English themselves (for whom locality is the biggest factor).

[skitz3]

Maybe the wording of my original post wasn't all that clear, but I meant Irish supporters of English football, not the English themselves (for whom locality is the biggest factor).

Well my wording was clear, the reason football is where it is today is because local fans went to see their local team. I have no problem with someone who wants to travel to England to see a team, so long as he'll also travel to Tolka, Richmond, RSC etc. aswell.

[Réiteoir]

that i can definitely agree with, i didn't know bohs fans could be so entertaining :eek:

as entertaining as a 6-4 win at Santry! ;) :D

[Sheridan]

I think a bigger fallacy is the one that you aquire some Giles-like footballing insight just because you go and watch your local team.
LOL.

If you think Giles represents the apotheosis of footballing knowledge then you definitely need to broaden your horizons.

[barney]

Well my wording was clear, the reason football is where it is today is because local fans went to see their local team. I have no problem with someone who wants to travel to England to see a team, so long as he'll also travel to Tolka, Richmond, RSC etc. aswell.

Do you really think that something which hasn't happened in 40+ years is likely to start happening now? If not, why not (and try to refrain from the 'sheep' argument)?

And my original post about why Irish people support English teams wasn't necessarily logic I agree with but, to me, that's how/why it happens. Very few of my mates support Chelsea coz they were muck when I was growing up. There will be a lot of Chelsea fans in years to come because they are successful right now. If Irish people don't start supporting the most successful sides in England then how do you explain the popularity of Liverpool, Man U and Arsenal over lower league clubs?

[barney]

LOL.

If you think Giles represents the apotheosis of footballing knowledge then you definitely need to broaden your horizons.

Giles is one of the finest footballing brains there is. I'm sure you might consider reading Jonathan Wilson books broadening your horizons and expanding your knowledge of the game but listen to what Giles says; its ingeniously simple.

[amaccann]

The support issue has nothing to do with quality; ask any Liverpool fan for the last few years ;) (joke!)

What it boils down to is this:
Supporting Irish clubs == Effort.
Supporting English clubs == No Effort.

And this is the Irish we're talking about, so we might as well give up now.

[barney]

The support issue has nothing to do with quality; ask any Liverpool fan for the last few years ;) (joke!)

What it boils down to is this:
Supporting Irish clubs == Effort.
Supporting English clubs == No Effort.

And this is the Irish we're talking about, so we might as well give up now.

LOL I'll concede that point on Liverpool.

Seriously though, how do you explain the big crowds the GAA get? The big crowds the national team gets? The amount of supporters that travel over the water every week to watch English football? That all takes effort.

I don't buy the whole SKY TV/sheep thing either. I do think they have done a tremendous job marketing their product but long before they existed, English football was far more popular here than the domestic game. I had a mate growing up whose dad used to play LOI Premier Divison football but my mate never really went to watch them play. He had no interest in LOI football and this was before the Premiership existed. And he knows quite a lot about the game.

We can stick our heads in the sand and pretend that all the people who prefer English football are nothing but mindless sheep who know nothing about the game but the reality is somewhat different.

[barney]

just as matter of interest do you follow the irish national team?? and if so why?? it can't be because of the quality or the fact that they are a top winning side and it certainly can't be because you feel patriotic pride for the team..

also you didn't acknowledge the fact i also mentioned the austrian-german thing and they are very very close culturally but you don't find all austrian people following german teams

also when you are mentioning irish people and english teams could you refrain from using the word supporting because thats not what irish people do they follow who ever happens to be winning at the time, they have to look down to see what crest they are kissing today which is the complete anthesis of what being a real football fan is all about

*edit the point about barstoolers not knowing anyhting about the game is basically because can't make up their own minds because they don't go to the games, they make up their minds simply by agreeing/disagreeing with what andy gray et al have to say, they dont form opinions for themselves


I support the Irish national team and I support my local team as well. Why can't I feel patriotic pride towards them? Or have you just assumed that I don't support my local side just because I've defended those that support English football over the domestic game?

I'm not too familiar with Austria to be honest. Does the majority of their national team play in the Bundesliga? Do the Austrians buy German papers, watch German TV?

Irish people do support English teams. You might think you have a monopoly on football support because you go and watch you local team but a lot of Irish people travel to England to watch games while the majority of those that don't have Sky Sports subscriptions and buy the replica shirts. A percentage of that money goes to the English club so, therefore, they are supporting them.

Really so every football fan in Ireland that supports English football has the exact same opinion about everything? Dear oh dear.

[Réiteoir]

Really so every football fan in Ireland that supports English football has the exact same opinion about everything? Dear oh dear.

Yes they do - they think the LoI is "a bag of sh*te" and that the Premiership is the bestest best thing in the world ever and that Stevie G will never leave his beloved Liverpool Albion

[barney]

Yes they do - they think the LoI is "a bag of sh*te" and that the Premiership is the bestest best thing in the world ever and that Stevie G will never leave his beloved Liverpool Albion


LOL I hope you're trying to be funny.

[galah]

i love the way we tink its just as Irish thing that everyone follows the PL ...seen an articule there recently (sorry cant remember where) with some guy giving out about the state of local soccer in Nigeria with no one interested in going to games because they only interested in the PL. anyone who has travelled across Asia or South America will see premiership on morning, noon and night with their only leagues floundering. I go to my clubs LOI games but will happily sit my arse on a barstool and watch PL games too ...dont see a problem in that

[pete]

You fail to realise that bandwagons are the greatest event for the casual supporter. Bandwagons are always big events with big crowds so even if you lose you will feel you are part of something. The trick of the bandwagon is to convince yourself you are a real fan & that you really bleed for your team on the inside.

Can't speak for other countries but as a nation sport is really popular but live attendances are relatively small across all sports (few large GAA crowds does not change this). Just look at the amount of sport on Irish channels.

[barney]

You fail to realise that bandwagons are the greatest event for the casual supporter. Bandwagons are always big events with big crowds so even if you lose you will feel you are part of something. The trick of the bandwagon is to convince yourself you are a real fan & that you really bleed for your team on the inside.

Can't speak for other countries but as a nation sport is really popular but live attendances are relatively small across all sports (few large GAA crowds does not change this). Just look at the amount of sport on Irish channels.

Are they that small relatively speaking? Not doubting what you are saying, just wondered if there are numbers to back that up. I was at a GAA qualifier earlier this year, dead duck of a game and 6,000+ were at it despite the result being a formality. Seems, relatively speaking, that's a decent crowd.

It is easy to just dismiss people as bandwagoners, and there is an argument to do so, but you are simplifying it somewhat. Most people I know who support Premiership/English teams, and I'm talking lads who support everyone from Liverpool, United and Arsenal through to Spurs, Man City, Southampton, Leeds and Forest have done so for two decades. Some of those aren't exactly the bandwagons of glory-hunters.

Someone said earlier that your average 'barstooler' won't know a good game from a bad one and so the quality argument is null and void. Even if that was the case, and I don't believe it is, you don't need an in-depth knowledge of football to see that if all your international players play in a foreign league and all the players in your domestic competition would give their left arm to play in that foreign league or the tier below it, that the quality in that foreign league is infinitely better.

[BohDiddley]

This is truly inspired stuff BSG.

However, rather than waiting for a deluded squillionaire, which IMO is a rather vulgar route, especially coming from a Bohs supporter, can I propose that we adopt the Ebbsfleet model? I'd certainly stump up €50 for a share and a chance to send Mary Hannigan a card every March featuring St Patrick doing keepy-uppies.

This model would give us much greater control, and we would be able to adopt policies that would strike a delicate balance between parody (some of our Limerick contributors already have demonstrated that this may be a challenge) and actually putting a team out. There would need to be just enough credibility to attract a viable following of if-it's-on-the-mainland-it-must-be-good dimwits.

This would mean, for instance, that while shamrocks and shillelaghs would be de rigueur in the stands, we would be pushing our luck to have the players tog out in leprechaun suits and beards.

Dream scenario 1: pre-season friendly tour of the old sod
Dream scenario 2: drawing Sunderland in the cup! :D

[Réiteoir]

Are they that small relatively speaking? Not doubting what you are saying, just wondered if there are numbers to back that up. I was at a GAA qualifier earlier this year, dead duck of a game and 6,000+ were at it despite the result being a formality. Seems, relatively speaking, that's a decent crowd.

Take a look at the crowds for the GAA National League games in the winter or the AIB Rugby - then you'll see what he's getting at...

[barney]

Take a look at the crowds for the GAA National League games in the winter or the AIB Rugby - then you'll see what he's getting at...


What about the Magners League, Heineken Cup and GAA Championship?

[brianw82]

barney, all of us get the points that you're saying. We understand WHY people prefer the English teams.

The thing is, we will never ACCEPT them, because we just can't accept these reasons.

[barney]

why don't all the leinster/munster fans support english teams?? sure the premiership in england is of a better quality then the magners league

why is it that its only irish football "fans" that don't all support a team thats local to them??


Good question. I'd venture a guess that the fact that Leinster and Munster can compete on the same level as the English teams in the Heineken Cup is the answer to that. It's a fact of life that success will breed support. To the best of my recollection, there wasn't a huge amount of rugby fans 10-15 years ago, certainly not as many as we have now.

On the subject of the national team, while we are never going to win the World Cup or Euros, we do have, and have had, a team who can compete at that level. Afterall we beat England and Italy at major finals and drew with Germany, Soviet Union and Spain. Although we haven't been great in qualifying in recent campaigns, we have at least been able to give the likes of France, Czechs and Germany etc. decent games when we have played them.

Unfortunately, the eL is not in the same stratosphere as the EPL and cannot compete on any level hence the lack of support.

[barney]

barney, all of us get the points that you're saying. We understand WHY people prefer the English teams.

The thing is, we will never ACCEPT them, because we just can't accept these reasons.

Some people don't seem to get the point and prefer to just take the moral high ground.

If you can't accept and understand the reasons, then you really have no chance.

[gustavo]

Unfortunately, the eL is not in the same stratosphere as the EPL and cannot compete on any level hence the lack of support.

So because our league isn't as good as the best league in Europe , it's badly supported , hardly seems fair really

[finnpark]

Good question. I'd venture a guess that the fact that Leinster and Munster can compete on the same level as the English teams in the Heineken Cup is the answer to that. It's a fact of life that success will breed support. To the best of my recollection, there wasn't a huge amount of rugby fans 10-15 years ago, certainly not as many as we have now.

On the subject of the national team, while we are never going to win the World Cup or Euros, we do have, and have had, a team who can compete at that level. Afterall we beat England and Italy at major finals and drew with Germany, Soviet Union and Spain. Although we haven't been great in qualifying in recent campaigns, we have at least been able to give the likes of France, Czechs and Germany etc. decent games when we have played them.

Unfortunately, the eL is not in the same stratosphere as the EPL and cannot compete on any level hence the lack of support.

Barney, there are plenty of pro British and Pro United Kingdom plastic Paddies like yourself. The Brits love the Irish and the Asians because any little bit of media marketing and they come running buying merchandise and even travelling to the odd match.

The "Paddies" have been a laughing stock at most British clubs for years. Just give them plenty of beer when they come over and tell them they are great.

I don't see the Belgians, luxumbougs or Scandinavian people flock to the United Kingdom eventhough their leagues are a similar standard to the LOI and they are probably closer to the UK than many parts of Ireland.

So well done for keeping the tradition going, buy a jersey and go to a match or two.

Here is Man United's flag, well done and keep supporting UK teams:

http://www.flagguys.com/img/manchest.jpg :)

[barney]

Barney, there are plenty of pro British and Pro United Kingdom plastic Paddies like yourself. The Brits love the Irish and the Asians because any little bit of media marketing and they come running buying merchandise and even travelling to the odd match.

The "Paddies" have been a laughing stock at most British clubs for years. Just give them plenty of beer when they come over and tell them they are great.

I don't see the Belgians, luxumbougs or Scandinavian people flock to the United Kingdom eventhough their leagues are a similar standard to the LOI and they are probably closer to the UK than many parts of Ireland.

So well done for keeping the tradition going, buy a jersey and go to a match or two.

Here is Man United's flag, well done and keep supporting UK teams:

http://www.flagguys.com/img/manchest.jpg :)

Oh my. I'll say this again. I'm a season ticket holder with my local club, I support any fundraiser they have and I've attended the vast majority of games home and away this season. Pull your head out of your backside.

How many of Sweden's, Belgium's or Luxembourg's national team play in England? How much English media are they exposed to?

[HolylandsMan]

Take a look at the crowds for the GAA National League games in the winter or the AIB Rugby - then you'll see what he's getting at...


The 6,000 quoted for the qualifier matches would be about standard for the NFL games I would go to (Armagh, not Derry who have one of the smallest GAA supports in Ireland).

For some reason in GAA, having a game on a Saturday rather than a Sunday causes a huge decrease in attendances. I know there are some logical reasons for this (more people working on Saturday's etc) but you wouldn't get the same fluctuations in other sports which leads me to believe that GAA supporters tend to creatures of habit who enjoy the "tradition" of going to a match on a Sunday.

[finnpark]

How much English media are they exposed to?


At least you realise that you are brainwashed. ;)

Quite frankly I am not supporting anything English.

As Cromwell once said:

"By the time Im finished here I will have all these stupid Paddies supporting British football clubs". :D

[barney]

So because our league isn't as good as the best league in Europe , it's badly supported , hardly seems fair really

Not because it isn't as good, it's because it isn't able to compete in any way, shape or form. Maybe it isn't fair, but that's life I'm afraid.

Believe me, I get a bit angry when I see the Liverpool, Arsenal and Sunderland shirts around the place but there are valid reasons behind it and to deny that is to deny reality.

[brianw82]

there are valid reasons behind it and to deny that is to deny reality.

Let's say that your wife or girlfriend cheats on you. How would you feel? Betrayed? Sad? Angry? Yes, you probably would feel like that, and no matter how many 'logical reasons' she gives you, (he's better looking, bigger willy, earns more, bigger house, etc), you're not going to think, "Oh, that's right. He is much better than me. Fair enough love, you made the right choice. Off ya go, and good luck!"

The fact is that supporting an English PL club over an Irish one is like betraying a football commandment that is universally understood.

Supporting your local club while keeping tabs on the PL on TV (like what I do) is a bit different. Lots of folk follow other leagues, but never forget their own.

[Ireland4ever]

Let's say that your wife or girlfriend cheats on you. How would you feel? Betrayed? Sad? Angry? Yes, you probably would feel like that, and no matter how many 'logical reasons' she gives you, (he's better looking, bigger willy, earns more, bigger house, etc), you're not going to think, "Oh, that's right. He is much better than me. Fair enough love, you made the right choice. Off ya go, and good luck!"



Well any rational person would come to the opinion that they are better off apart, and that you would be better off without someone who has no interest in you. LOI fans like yourself are - to use your analogy - coming off as the bitter ex boyfriend. The bitterness some of the posters on this thread have shown towards EPL fans here is ridiculous, labelling all EPL fans as barstoolers incapable of understanding a match for themselves. The notion that seeing a match live in some way gives a unique profound insight into how the game works is laughable. If that was the case that would mean that all footballers would be scholars at analysing the game due to the amount of time they spend watching playing it. Ive got two words Jamie + Redknapp.

[Ireland4ever]

why don't all the leinster/munster fans support english teams?? sure the premiership in england is of a better quality then the magners league

why is it that its only irish football "fans" that don't all support a team thats local to them??

Heineken Cup Champions - Munster.
Magners League Champions - Leinster

Your argument doesnt really hold up there at all!!! The standard of Irish club rugby is obviously quite high.

[dcfc1928]

Very entertaining thread. I just want to find out how Identity Crisis FC did in their first competitive week.

[pete]

It is difficult to compare LOI with any other Irish sport. Top LOI sides typically would have 20-25 home games a season whereas even professional rugby has at most 15 home games.

The fact that the GAA can get 50k+ for big games in th summer doesn't mean much as they also get a few thousand for some qualifiers. I think the Leinster hurling final had 18k this year & a lot of people would have got free tickets & stayed in the bar. Without the back door system & the qualifiers I would guess there would have 50k for that game. Cork play their league games at Flower Lodge so i suspect crowds are on average 5k.

[SkStu]

Well any rational person would come to the opinion that they are better off apart, and that you would be better off without someone who has no interest in you. LOI fans like yourself are - to use your analogy - coming off as the bitter ex boyfriend. The bitterness some of the posters on this thread have shown towards EPL fans here is ridiculous, labelling all EPL fans as barstoolers incapable of understanding a match for themselves. The notion that seeing a match live in some way gives a unique profound insight into how the game works is laughable. If that was the case that would mean that all footballers would be scholars at analysing the game due to the amount of time they spend watching playing it. Ive got two words Jamie + Redknapp.

its not about profound knowledge or deep insights - its about a "unique insight" into the world of SUPPORTING A TEAM, proper support. Not your typical Super-Duper-Sunday-down-the-pub-where-were-you-when-united-beat-bayern type support.

Look, im sure most posters here have an interest in the premier league and would watch MOTD or whatever but the difference is that we put our local, Irish team, the sense of community/camraderie and thrill of live football first. Live football in any way shape or form, regardless of "quality", beats watching footie on the telly - HANDS DOWN. Since i left home, i started coaching a youth team over here and i honestly get more excited watching those games than i do watching the premier league games on a saturday morning.

Why? I think its bacause its a proper investment - in all ways - emotionally, financially, personal time and so much more... much the same as following Bohs.

[Saint_Charlie]

Here's a quote from Johnny Mac after the Elfsborg game to muse over


They have 100,000 people in the city here, they get average gates of 10,000-12,000, for the big games they get 17,000. They get 12 per cent of the city’s population at their home games; we can’t get 12 per cent of people from Ballyfermot.:mad:

If half the people that thought the EL was rubbish went to a match with an open mind they might surprise themselves and actually enjoy it. :ball:

[SkStu]

If half the people that thought the EL was rubbish went to a match with an open mind they might surprise themselves and actually enjoy it. :ball:


so f*ckin true.