Originally Posted by
Spudulika
The biggest mistake St. Francis did was be bullied/enticed/lured into the LOI, they were a solid club with good fan base and realistic ambitions, far too good for the LOI. Kilkenny is a good football town but just didn't have the numbers to make it work, it shows now when there is still abundant football there that it may have worked somehow. Kildare County showed that just because there's lots of football being played locally doesn't mean that there will be a transition into pro or semi-pro football. I remember playing against Kildare schoolboy teams and while they were rough as sandpaper, they were fanatical, same up in the Junior ranks, but there seemed to be a disconnect when County kicked off. It at least dampened the calls for LOI teams to be put in Navan and Mullingar, for now!