Matthews calls for summer soccer to go as Longford show another lack of ambition

That pr!ck Alan Matthews is in the Mirror today saying he is leading a campaign to revert the league to a Winter season.

He says crowds are down and the players are unable to take holidays.

Another small club, Finn Harps, are backing Longford's proposal.



Matthews would want to take a look at the style of football he plays as to why crowds are down, it's nothing to do with the summer season.
Also, I wonder if Longford hadn't fcuked up in Europe so many times would he be calling for this. It's helped ourselves and Shels in Europe.

Back to mucky pitches that doesn't help a passing game and teams reverting to long ball boring football.

Yeah, that would suit Longford.

Why's it lack of ambition to say you think something is wrong?

Not agreeing with cork = lack of ambition :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by sullanefc

Back to mucky pitches that doesn't help a passing game and teams reverting to long ball boring football.

Yeah, that would suit Longford.

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Cos we're doing so crap this season on the excellent summer pitches is it?

ffs, this pr*ck is laughable.

Longford struggled to get a few hundred on a fine summer's night last Friday, but he thinks they will come flocking out to watch the sh*t he tries to pass off as football in the depths of winter?

We have never had so much media interest in the eL, so many games on TV, and such good results in Europe (guess whose team is the odd one out :rolleyes: ), largely due to summer soccer, and this arsewipe wants to f*ck all that away because he thinks he will get an extra 50 or 60 on the gate at Flancare?

He should p*ss off to the LSL. It's about his level. Football wise and ambition wise.

It'll either get support or it won't. If it doesn't nothing will change. Christ, agree with Rico or don't dare open you mouth. You're worse than fookin shels fans...

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Originally Posted by Macy

It'll either get support or it won't. If it doesn't nothing will change. Christ, agree with Rico or don't dare open you mouth. You're worse than fookin shels fans...

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And where exactly is Rico mouthing off about this?

Of course, nobody must disagree with the oracle of Flancare, how DARE anyone criticise him or his sh*tty tactics....:rolleyes:

Debate it without resorting to personal attacks the whole time. Criticise the idea with valid reasons, rather than the usual "lack of ambition" bull the whole time.

It'd be interesting to see what the other rural clubs think, rather than just the city clubs where there obviously isn't the same impact of going head to head with the GAA every weekend (training, junior matches, senior matches etc)

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Originally Posted by Macy

Debate it without resorting to personal attacks the whole time. Criticise the idea with valid reasons, rather than the usual "lack of ambition" bull the whole time.

It'd be interesting to see what the other rural clubs think, rather than just the city clubs where there obviously isn't the same impact of going head to head with the GAA every weekend (training, junior matches, senior matches etc)

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Oh, so sorry, it wouldn't do to call Mr. Matthews anything but Sir.:rolleyes:

What "valid reasons" has he put forward for changing it back?
That he thinks "crowds are down" because of summer soccer?

How about the improvement in European results for some of us?
How about the massive (comparatively) media interest in the eL now?
How about the fact that some of the sceptics realise that eL teams can play fast, attacking, passing football?

What does he want: to go back to mudbaths, postponed games, and early exits from Europe?
Why is their the exact opposite push going on in NI, where they realise that summer soccer may be what saves their league?
Actually, why isn't he coming out and calling for an All-Ireland league, that has a much better chance of increasing crowds than a return to bad weather games.

He is a part-time manager with a part-time attitude.
Not everybody wants to stand still, some clubs want to try and push on.

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Originally Posted by Macy

It'd be interesting to see what the other rural clubs think, rather than just the city clubs where there obviously isn't the same impact of going head to head with the GAA every weekend (training, junior matches, senior matches etc)

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But those rural clubs never got the crowds in the winter either. Anyway, most GAA games are on Sunday afternoons and EL games on Friday nights.

A few small ambitionless clubs are going to try and make the whole league take a step backwards because they can't find a REAL solution to their problems.
Get some positive people on board who will actually help your club move forward with long term solutions that will actually work.

Cork City is the perfect example. Over the past few years we have people who are thinking big and so far it is paying off. The likes of Brian Lennox, Dolan, Rico and so many more fans and officials behind the scenes have made summer soccer work. We can't be punished just because a few small sh!tty clubs can't be bothered to be pro active.

perhaps the excuse for "football" longford play might be a reason crowds are down.

i dont blame people for not paying in to see that. Even the locals in longford cant be bothered judging by the televised game last week.

We've been through this before but

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Originally Posted by patsh

We have never had so much media interest in the eL, so many games on TV,

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this is not largely due to summer soccer it is massively due to the entrance of a 7 days a week all-sport channel into the Irish market. A knock-on effect of Setanta has been a large increase in TG4's involvement in sport. There has never been as much tennis, cycling, motorsport coverage on Irish TV either....

Outside of TV, I don't believe that press coverage has improved. The GAA Championships take up a huge amount of media resources all through the summer. Even during the old winter season the eircom League hardly got any attention until after the All-Ireland finals. Part of the aim of this was to avoid competition with the fabulous English Premier League season ( :rolleyes: ) yet Irish papers soccer coverage during June/July was still full of rubbish speculation about possible transfers for Gerrard, etc. And we still don't know what's going to happen during the World Cup next year, whether Ireland qualify or not.

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Originally Posted by Jerry The Saint

We've been through this before but



this is not largely due to summer soccer it is massively due to the entrance of a 7 days a week all-sport channel into the Irish market. A knock-on effect of Setanta has been a large increase in TG4's involvement in sport. There has never been as much tennis, cycling, motorsport coverage on Irish TV either....

Outside of TV, I don't believe that press coverage has improved. The GAA Championships take up a huge amount of media resources all through the summer. Even during the old winter season the eircom League hardly got any attention until after the All-Ireland finals. Part of the aim of this was to avoid competition with the fabulous English Premier League season ( :rolleyes: ) yet Irish papers soccer coverage during June/July was still full of rubbish speculation about possible transfers for Gerrard, etc. And we still don't know what's going to happen during the World Cup next year, whether Ireland qualify or not.

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The entrance of Setanta has made a difference, but surely th increased profile of the eL becuase of $hels CL run last year, and City's Inter-Toto run, as well as high profilegmaes this season has helped enormously as well.
I think media coverage has increased, especially newspapers, where all the national papers have daily stories, on eL topics.

Going back to winter football would be a disaster now, for the standard of foootball and our European campaigns. Like it or not, it willbe through European success that the profile and credibilty of the league is going to be raised. His argument against summer soccer is based on crowds, there are other ways of trying to increase crowds withot taking backward steps....

Summer soccer hasn't worked for Bohs either. Dalymount is always better under the floodlights but having said that the league committed to trying out the summer season so we have to give it atleast ten years before considering changing it back.

From now until the end of the season the days will be shorte so you can have your lights on in Dalymount.

Crowds were just a ****e during the winter.

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Originally Posted by bohsmug

Summer soccer hasn't worked for Bohs either. Dalymount is always better under the floodlights but having said that the league committed to trying out the summer season so we have to give it atleast ten years before considering changing it back.

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In case you hadn't noticed Bohs have been utter pants since the introduction of the summer season. Not suggesting that your current crapness has anything to do with the summer season but the pitiful crowds must be related to Bohs returning to their natural place - middle table plodders.

KOH

no harm in Matthews raising the issue, as its important that it be discussed, but I think going back to winter would be a disaster.

I personally don't believe that Summer soccer has added to or taken from the crowds at Eircom league grounds overall, playing football under lights does look better in the winter but when grounds around the country are largely open to the elements I think better weather generally balances this out.

What summer soccer, in combination with the move towards professionalism, has done is to improve the quality of results our clubs are getting in Europe. This in turn lends the league more credibility amongst the non-attending public and in the long run will lead to bigger crowds IMO.

The media interest around European runs is improved and while I agree Setanta getting into the market has been the main driving force behind the TV deal, were we to swtich back to winter soccer we'd go back to direct competition with other European leagues and Setanta and other stations would IMO be less inclined to put money into domestic football programming.

If Matthews is so concerned about player holidays why not push for a mid-season break rather than a switch back to winter football.

What would you expect from Matthews but to mirror exactly
what Keely says, sure wasnt he his yes man for years.
The positives for summer soccer far far outweigh the negatives.
Its just another example of why this league takes so long to progress
when you have 'the old school' with there, things were better in
the old days mentality trying to hold everyone else back.

This season we changed to 12 team league so maybe crowds are down because of that?

Its ludicrous to think of changing the season as need another interim changeover & its a lot harder to change time of year play games than the number of teams.

- There is no proof that crowds are down from a few years ago just as no proof they have increased.
- Changing season so players can take holidays is ludicrous & makes a joke of the league & attempts to become more professional.

When someone suggest a proper reason for changing i will listen. IMO the fans should have biggest say in any change.