League Director gives two fingers to First Division

In today's Irish Daily Mail, there is an exclusive interview with Fran Gavin ahead of the league launch.

In the bottom corner he reacts to the lack of First Division Football on TV by saying "Louis Copeland wouldn't put his worst suits in the window!". He then goes on to say that if clubs want to be on TV they should get into the Premier Division.

This is disgraceful coming from the director of the league - he is basically giving the finger to the entire division. Even Sky show league 1 & 2 games as part of their TV deal yet this is the contempt coming from the FAI!

I can imagine the charge of disrepute if a club person was quoted like that in the papers!!!!

....I think he's right.

We're trying to sell our league. Sky don't have the same problem. Not comparable situations.

He's being honest and giving the reason that you won't be on tele.

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Originally Posted by micls

We're trying to sell our league.

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First division teams are trying to sell our division too.

I can see his point (though I am not sure that you can make a blanket statement about the superiority of premier division facilities and, to a lesser extent, footballing standards over first division teams), but if he did actually say something along the lines of

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if clubs want to be on TV they should get into the Premier Division.

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then it is a pretty ignorant statement to make.

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Originally Posted by micls

We're trying to sell our league.

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The key word there - league, i.e. not just the Premier Division. How does his comments help First Division clubs like Kildare or Monaghan who are struggling to get more bums on seats?

id hate to ask him what he thinks of the A league :o

Sky even show conference, as do Setanta. Thats a disgrace for him to say that. Bloody sporting fingal will be better than most teams in the premier. The Premier was wrapped up with a good bit to go in the season and the first divsion went right down to the wire with a much more exciting finish on the last day of the season. I wonder has gavin ever even been to a first divsion match....if he hasn't he shouldn't be commenting on it. There are first divsion matches as entertaining as any premier match. The quality of football might not be as good but the entertainment can be. Its just like the english premier is a higher standard but not particularly more entertaining than the loi premier. His attitude towards the first divsion is no different than the irish publics attitude to the loi premier. How can he convince irish people to support their home team when thats his attitude.

I understand not showing loads of first divsion matches but it derserves some coverage. How else is it supposed to progress without some national coverage.

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Originally Posted by mediahack

Even Sky show league 1 & 2 games as part of their TV deal yet this is the contempt coming from the FAI!

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Sky don't show Ryman First Division though.

He's right in what he says, but it's interesting that the FAI are very much for keeping any sort of negative comments from clubs out of the media, yet they turn around and do the same thing themselves. Do what I say, not what I do.

Edit - "If they want TV, they should get to the Premier Division" is obviously a ridiculously ignorant comment. He should have just kept shtum. Come to think of it, that'd be a good rule for him in general.

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Originally Posted by osarusan

First division teams are trying to sell our division too.

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We wont be able to sell the individual clubs in most cases imo. The way to go about it it to sell the league itself. If people take an interest in the league, then theres a chance theyl take an interest in their local club and head down one night.

The hardest job is getting them into the ground and everything should be done to do this (if hiding facts etc does this then I fully support it). If someone watches mns, enjoys it and thinks I can give this a chance then he'l head to the nearest ground.

Then the club has a chance to sell itself through its facilities, atmosphere etc, regardless of the football.

Again I think the key is getting them through the door and interested in the league for the first time. To do this you need to show them the best of whats on offer.

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Originally Posted by holidaysong

The key word there - league, i.e. not just the Premier Division. How does his comments help First Division clubs like Kildare or Monaghan who are struggling to get more bums on seats?

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Tried to expalin this above.

I think Setanta should agree an offer with the FAI a similar deal to Sky's with the FA. Its the only way this league is going to get somewhere imo!

I agree with him. Why should the First Division be treated as equal to the Premier?

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Originally Posted by micls

If people take an interest in the league, then theres a chance theyl take an interest in their local club and head down one night.

The key is getting them through the door and interested in the league for the first time. To do this you need to show them the best of whats on offer.

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Again I can see your point as I can see Fran Gavin's point.

But your argument above (edited by me) suggests that you think only covering premier division football games is more likely to make, say....a Monaghan fan want to attend a Monagahan game, than if first division games including Monaghan were covered as well.

I don't think I'd agree with that.

Again, I fully agree that most of the coverage should be of the Premier division teams. My main beef is that this comment

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if clubs want to be on TV they should get into the Premier Division.

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which suggests that there will be little help from the FAI for teams trying to achieve that.

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Originally Posted by Mr Maroon

I agree with him. Why should the First Division be treated as equal to the Premier?

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Nobody mentioned equal coverage, nor expects it. More than the 45 seconds the 1st division got all last season would be nice though.

Because there is more than ten teams playing loi football in ireland thats why. Nobody said it should be treated equal, but it needs some coverage or the teams in the first division will always struggle to get attendances up.

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Originally Posted by osarusan

But your argument above (edited by me) suggests that you think only covering premier division football games is more likely to make, say....a Monaghan fan want to attend a Monagahan game, than if first division games including Monaghan were covered as well.

I don't think I'd agree with that.

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No, Im saying it'd make a random barstooler or teenager or kids etc that gets interested and happens to live in Monaghan to go look for their team and go to a game. People who mightnt even know of the LOi before this.

I would think that MNS should ensure to have results and particularly next fixtures of all clubs up at the end. Someone might have watched at at the end realise tehre is a team in Monaghan they can go check out.

Im not completely against showing a first division game for example, but I think the primary aim should be to show the league off at its best.

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Originally Posted by micls

We won't be able to sell the individual clubs in most cases imo. The way to go about it it to sell the league itself. If people take an interest in the league, then theres a chance theyl take an interest in their local club and head down one night.

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I disagree. I think someone begins being a LOI fan by supporting the club they see as their local club and then, by extension, the league itself. I don't think it's possible to first make someone a fan of the league through MNS and then for them to seek out a club.

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Originally Posted by holidaysong

I disagree. I think someone begins being a LOI fan by supporting the club they see as their local club and then, by extension, the league itself. I don't think it's possible to first make someone a fan of the league through MNS and then for them to seek out a club.

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Wel just have to agree to disagree.

I think the local club thing only works AFTER you go to your first game(it was certainly the case with me). We dont ahve a culture in the country of supporting your local football team and people dont see the point/see it as something you should be doing.

However I think after going to a game this manifests itself and you ralise what you've been missing.

I think the local club aspect is how clubs can work to keep fans, but I dont think it'l get them through the door first day

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Originally Posted by micls

No, Im saying it'd make a random barstooler or teenager or kids etc that gets interested and happens to live in Monaghan to go look for their team and go to a game.

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Apologies, that is what you said.

What I meant to write was that "you think only covering premier division football games is more likely to make, say....a random barstooler living in Monaghan want to attend a Monagahan game, than if first division games including Monaghan were covered as well?"

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People who mightnt even know of the LOi before this.

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Are these not the very people who need to be made aware of the existence of first division clubs in their vicinity? Rather than having to find out for themselves?

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Im not completely against showing a first division game for example, but I think the primary aim should be to show the league off at its best.

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So we basically have the same opinion - the primary aim is to showcase the best the LOI has to offer. We in the first division are looking for just a little more than Gavin seems to want to give.

While his point is valid, it's the sort of thing you discuss with mates in the pub not in an interview. More amateur hour stuff. Fran you're a tit.

As Junior Soprano said to Mikey Palmese in series 1, when Mikey was ranting about how Tony was exceeding his boundaries and should be taught a lesson:

"Take it easy, we're not making a Western over here"

Or in The Thick of It, when Ben Swain was threatening all kinds of retribution against a political rival, the scottish bloke told him to shut up saying:

"This isn't eastenders - this is politics"


Did he say something daft ? Yes. Did he mean to insult Division 1 ? No
Was it badly worded and ill chosen words ? Yes Is he satan personified ? No

Badly chosen mataphor but let's calm down

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Originally Posted by mediahack

In today's Irish Daily Mail, there is an exclusive interview with Fran Gavin ahead of the league launch.

In the bottom corner he reacts to the lack of First Division Football on TV by saying "Louis Copeland wouldn't put his worst suits in the window!". He then goes on to say that if clubs want to be on TV they should get into the Premier Division.

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BRAVO

One of the things which has always been fundementally wrong with Irish society is we reward failure and superficial victim complexes which serve only to create a pointless level playing field of averageness for all. Thus the cream of the crop in terms of Irish talent across all sectors of society have a ball and chain made up of parish pumps and the isolated connected to their feet dragging them back. O'Socialism.

There is a Parish Pump mindset among the First Div Clubs were they are somehow not getting the respect they should. Firstly, the only aim of a First Division Club should to do their best not to be one anymore. That's it.

People who take issue Fran Gavin's refreshingly honest comments are the same people who have us building Western Rail Corridors between villages in the West of Ireland while the Dublin Rail DART/Communter system is bursting at the seams...the same mentality which has every passenger into Knock Airport being susidised by the taxpayers for 290 Euro each so people in the rural Mayo can feel loved...the same reason why cities like Cork and Limerick remain underdeveloped while villages in Roscommon like Boyle have the best of everything and are still ****holes...the same reason we pour billions into the Irish language while our schools turn out kids who have appalling English language and grammar skill.

We have to get over this mindset in this country, especially LOI football if we are to move anything in this country forward. The days of rewarding failure has to end, well said Fran Gavin - should be running the country, let alone the LOI.

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Originally Posted by Angus

Is he satan personified ? No

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Proof please?