League structure...given some serious thought I hope.
Mr. T - This post is swiped from another message Board but i had to do it ... i just had ta, i tells ya !!
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I've been trying to look objectively at Bray's proposals, and the longterm structure we need for our league, as at least Brays proposal has put it up for debate. Bloody hell, this is gonna be a long post, but bear with me. I'm a Harps fan, and let me first state that we do not deserve to be in the Premier Division in the current set up. We knew what we had to do, should have maybe won Div 1, but we didn't. Three times. Tough. I've been against the ten team league from the start, our ongoing doomed attempts to get into it have nothing to do with it.
Firstly, people are commenting on Brays proposals without even looking at what they are saying. NOBODY is saying that a 22 team league is the way for the future, read past the first sentence please!!!
Secondly, the proposals arise because a lot of clubs, including Premier Clubs feel the 10 team experiment has not worked, so no need for petty remarks that its being pushed by clubs who couldn't get promoted.
The whole issue of the structure of our league needs to be looked at carefully and serious discussion needs to take place in some forum other than the notoriously "mé fein" league representatives committee.
I like many believe that we need a bigger top flight, somewhere around 14 to 16 teams, as more clubs get to an appropriate standard. Bray's current frustration is justified I think by the fact that in my opinion any of the top three in Division 1 this year could have gone on to compete in the Premier Division. Many who watched Division 1 this season in fact would say that the weakest of the three actually won the title, with some justification, but unfortunately Harps and Bray bottled it, Dublin got the breaks, and vitally the results so fair ****s to them.
So, regarding the Premier, a few of the arguments against a bigger top flight just don't wash with me. The notion that there will be loads of meaningless games in the latter stages which will stagnate the league is a load of balls in my opinion. Why then do all the top leagues in Europe have big divisions? Plenty of less important clashes later on in the Premiership, Serie A, La Liga but they don't kill the league. Even if your team can't win anything you still want to claim a scalp from a title contender or beat your Derby rivals. Its a weak argument and not based on any solid fact. (Also, I feel any perceived detriment from potential meaningless games is far outweighed by the potential benefits.)
In actual fact, I believe the status quo of every team in the 10 team Premier being involved in either a Championship/European chase or a relegation battle is the biggest single problem with the current system. Think about it, any Div 1 team getting up is forced to break the bank, spend spend spend to simply survive in their first season in the Premier. There is a big gap between the average Div 1 side and the average Prem side and in any of the other European leagues previously mentioned success for a newly promoted side is finishing 1 spot above the dropzone. This allows them to reap the benefits of the top flight for a year, gradually build from being a mid table side to challenging for honours. Longford are a great example of this gradual progression on the field, even though they flirted with the playoffs once they are now well in the top 5. This is not "unambitious" as some people have called a team which sets mid table as its target, but realistic and prudent. 'Unambitious' clubs who stand still will soon find themselves passed out by these climbers who do things the right way (e.g.: Charlton and Fulham in England....bye bye Leeds who did the opposite)
Similarly the top 3 or 4 in the Premier are well clear of the rest, but are spending crazy money to do so, and so all our top 3 have serious financial problems. The cost of them dropping out of the top three and the European spots is huge, esp. as if they do they are in the relegation zone, pushing them to spend more on very poor odds of reaping it back from Europe. The advent of professionalism, and the spending of mega bucks to do it is what improved the standards of the Premier, not the ten team league!
So I think a bigger league is the way to go, questions remain about there being enough quality for a 16 team league just yet, however I think 12 is definitely realistic now, possibly phasing it up to 14 or 16 as Div 1 teams progress.....e.g.: the top three in Div 1 this year were clearly ahead of the rest and would compliment a 12 team premier. In a few years if there are another couple of Div 1 clubs making progress it may make a case for further expansion.
So what of the future. The biggest problem in any restructuring is how to maintain a viable and sustainable Division 1 as well as a bigger Premier Division. The basic options at present are to me both pretty unrealistic. Going to a 16 team league and putting the unlucky 6 (we'd probably finish 17th on goal difference on the last day) out of senior football is madness. We want to progress the game not lose clubs. However to have an expanded Division 1 with more junior clubs stepping up to the mark is probably not realistic as yet either.
I think a first division is vital as an entry point to the top flight, a transitional division with smaller expenses which would be attractive for junior clubs with ambition to have a go at if they fancy going all the way. In this light we need to be like every other major football nation and have promotion and relegation at least a possibility to/from the First Division from the Intermediate ranks. However, given the dispersed nature of most of the First its going to be expensive travel wise etc, unless a split regionalised set-up can be adopted. However this probably needs even more extra junior clubs to be feasible.
So what's my answer, well in some ways I don't have one, other than to say that this needs to be looked at by the eircom League, the clubs, the fans, the FAI and the junior associations. Any changes to the first division to allow promotion from the junior ranks would necessitate agreeing changes in structures with the junior/intermediate associations. Any moves to get 2, 4 or even 6 more clubs into the eL would need to be discussed across the board too. This is a mini Genesis report in itself, and sadly I fear the work or though will not be put in. There will be another half assed, half thought out change, which will fall on some key weakness to be replaced another.
My best proposal, go initially to 12 or 14 teams in the premier, and attempt to get at least 2 more clubs into the league for a 10 or 12 team First Div. The First Division is not popular, scorned by many superior Premier clubs fans, but its vital to the game here that its a healthy place to be, to allow clubs rebuild, get their grounds etc, in order and build step by step toward advancement. If possible it should be regionalised, but if not perhaps the league should put up cash, or even use some of the revenue from sponsorship, even from the individual premier clubs, towards subsidising long trips for Div 1 Clubs.
Promotion of the whole league is of course vital too, and a better TV package is one of the best ways forward. Its does not cost the earth to professionally record a clubs home game and perhaps some money should be "taxed" off the premier or off every club to pay for the League to organise recording of all matches and production of a decent highlights show, including magazine type features to give/sell to whichever TV station will take it. This would be subsidised at first but if the whole league progressed could eventually pay for itself as the TV stations would pay for it if it was getting good ratings. To hell with sitting round moaning about the poor TV product. Set up our own production company and make a programme as good as we know if could be, get it on air and see how it goes down..anyway, that's another hobby horse.
Infrastructure regulations are vital too. There need to be realistic standards, which teams must have within a realistic timescale after which nobody gets up to the Premier without Standard A, no junior clubs gets into Div 1 without Standard B. UEFA licensing was nearly this, but it was excessive, under-resourced and railroaded in in a crazy timescale.
