Governance of the FAI

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10/09/2025, 1:05 PM
Eirambler

Where there are positive things to say about it I'll say them. I said last week that it wasn't beyond possibility that Shamrock Rovers could make the CL group stages, looking at what the team from Kazakhstan achieved.

But, people are saying it's a shining light - it's not even ranked in the top 30 leagues in Europe. And it has gotten to where it has almost entirely as a result of the performances of one team.

You might be surprised at how much LoI I watch. Sadly it's still - for the most part - **** teams playing **** football in **** stadiums. Wishing it were otherwise doesn't make it so.
10/09/2025, 1:12 PM
nigel-harps1954

Given how utterly sh1t everything else is within Irish football currently, it absolutely is a shining light.

Given how ignored it is, how pathetically funded it is, and how clubs struggle to get their deserved attention from certain parts of the media, its head and shoulders above the level it should be at.
10/09/2025, 1:14 PM
SkStu

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eirambler

Where there are positive things to say about it I'll say them. I said last week that it wasn't beyond possibility that Shamrock Rovers could make the CL group stages, looking at what the team from Kazakhstan achieved.

But, people are saying it's a shining light - it's not even ranked in the top 30 leagues in Europe. And it has gotten to where it has almost entirely as a result of the performances of one team.

You might be surprised at how much LoI I watch. Sadly it's still - for the most part - **** teams playing **** football in **** stadiums. Wishing it were otherwise doesn't make it so.

Say what you like about the domestic game (but you are overly contrarian about it IMO) but lets put it this way. If we had the top lads at the LOI clubs come in and run the FAI on the same sort of playing field that JD had for so many years, the FAI and Irish football would be light years ahead of where it is now. These clubs picked the domestic game up by the bootstraps with little to no support or resources - but a hell of a lot of vision - and have made massive strides.
10/09/2025, 1:15 PM
Stuttgart88

I think shining light = the only part of the football scene in Ireland that's getting noticeably better, not worse, as opposed to "isn't it amazingly good?"
10/09/2025, 1:21 PM
Eirambler

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

I think shining light = the only part of the football scene in Ireland that's getting noticeably better, not worse, as opposed to "isn't it amazingly good?"

I would say that puts it closer to "less bad than it used to be" rather than "shining light" to be honest. Bad and all as our senior international team are, they're still ranked higher in Europe than the league is.

I would suggest our actual shining light might be our Under 17s, since they're off to the World Cup this autumn. They had to be something like top 11 in Europe to achieve that - that's your shining light if you really want to find one.
10/09/2025, 1:25 PM
Stuttgart88

I think you're nit picking tbh

(Post above deleted - it was a duplication of my earlier post)
10/09/2025, 1:28 PM
pineapple stu

One underage team can't really be a shining light in the overall scheme of things I feel. A structure - and Stutts' cautious summary of the LoI is a good one - should carry far more weight than one underage team.
10/09/2025, 1:28 PM
Kingdom

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eirambler

But, people are saying it's a shining light - it's not even ranked in the top 30 leagues in Europe. And it has gotten to where it has almost entirely as a result of the performances of one team.

Is that Dundalk or Rovers? Or is it Pats, Bohs or Shels? All have had credible sequences of results in Europe in the past decade.
10/09/2025, 1:34 PM
pineapple stu

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kingdom

Is that Dundalk or Rovers? Or is it Pats, Bohs or Shels? All have had credible sequences of results in Europe in the past decade.

Only the last five years count for the UEFA rankings, so really it's substantially Rovers' exploits that count towards our UEFA ranking
10/09/2025, 1:41 PM
Kingdom

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eirambler

I would suggest our actual shining light might be our Under 17s, since they're off to the World Cup this autumn. They had to be something like top 11 in Europe to achieve that - that's your shining light if you really want to find one.

I wouldn't be so sure about that side. They aren't that strong in comparison to previous years and they made the world cup without making the Euros which is kinda stupid.
They were poor in the first stage of the groups also - in a relatively nice group (lithuania was a stinker).
Plus they'll have lost a couple of players I assume from that group (noonan) and it could be argued their high seeding which gave them the decent original draw was based on the performances of previous years.
It's great that they are going for sure, but it's not necessarily going to be something that works out well - even allowing for the nice group (panama) which there'll undoubtedly be expectations to win.
10/09/2025, 2:01 PM
Eirambler

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kingdom

Is that Dundalk or Rovers? Or is it Pats, Bohs or Shels? All have had credible sequences of results in Europe in the past decade.

It's Rovers, because the bulk of our five year coefficient is provided by them.

Hopefully Shels can also make a meaningful contribution this autumn, but they are where they are only by virtue of beating Linfield twice.

I agree to an extent about the Under 17s by the way, and I think they are where they are almost in spite of our structures rather than because of them. So, if the counter argument to mine is that there is simply no shining light at all, I'd accept that. But they have qualified for a World Cup and placed very highly in Europe to do it, so I'm happy to call them a shining light, even if only a short term one.
10/09/2025, 2:16 PM
Stuttgart88

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eirambler

Hopefully Shels can also make a meaningful contribution this autumn, but they are where they are only by virtue of beating Linfield twice.

And Derry diving for an injury time penalty against Rovers :)
10/09/2025, 2:53 PM
Eirambler

This article sums up the current situation well - if anything, with the negative effects of Brexit still to be felt in the senior international team, there may be worse to come.

Though, I see even David Sneyd has taken the same happy pills as the FAI in that he mistakenly seems to think Euro 2028 qualification is guaranteed, which it very much isn't.

https://archive.ph/UyKOl
10/09/2025, 3:16 PM
Kingdom

Quote:

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Only the last five years count for the UEFA rankings, so really it's substantially Rovers' exploits that count towards our UEFA ranking

It's been quite some time since I had a good look at Bert's site, but I suppose what I'm wondering is, did Dundalk's run to the group stages (was that 2016?) impact Irish seeding at all? and if so did that positivity in any way help Rovers when they had their first good run in Europe?

If not, then no hassle at all.
10/09/2025, 3:26 PM
pineapple stu

So I suppose Rovers fans will tell you their first good run was reaching the 2011 Europa League group stages, and so you're asking that question the wrong way around!

For the 2021/22 season Ireland had two of Dundalk's Europa League qualifications in our coefficient and were still only ranked 37th - indeed, we dropped back to 40th the following year, after Rovers made the Conference League groups for the first time.

So on that basis I think Dundalk's success had little real impact on Rovers.
10/09/2025, 3:32 PM
Kingdom

Quote:

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

So I suppose Rovers fans will tell you their first good run was reaching the 2011 Europa League group stages, and so you're asking that question the wrong way around!

For the 2021/22 season Ireland had two of Dundalk's Europa League qualifications in our coefficient and were still only ranked 37th - indeed, we dropped back to 40th the following year, after Rovers made the Conference League groups for the first time.

So on that basis I think Dundalk's success had little real impact on Rovers.

Thanks Stu, and yes I am getting mixed, that clarity is much appreciated.
10/09/2025, 3:56 PM
ontheotherhand

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kingdom

I wouldn't be so sure about that side. They aren't that strong in comparison to previous years and they made the world cup without making the Euros which is kinda stupid.
They were poor in the first stage of the groups also - in a relatively nice group (lithuania was a stinker).
Plus they'll have lost a couple of players I assume from that group (noonan) and it could be argued their high seeding which gave them the decent original draw was based on the performances of previous years.
It's great that they are going for sure, but it's not necessarily going to be something that works out well - even allowing for the nice group (panama) which there'll undoubtedly be expectations to win.

Strange one to highlight in an argument against the LoI as well, given where most of them have been developed. Guess that's another win for Rovers though?
10/09/2025, 4:16 PM
Kingdom

Quote:

Originally Posted by ontheotherhand

Strange one to highlight in an argument against the LoI as well, given where most of them have been developed. Guess that's another win for Rovers though?

I think the underage developments are a positive. Rovers are to the fore of that - what they've undertaken is fantastic. I only applaud Rovers for what they are doing underage.
10/09/2025, 4:21 PM
ontheotherhand

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kingdom

I think the underage developments are a positive. Rovers are to the fore of that - what they've undertaken is fantastic. I only applaud Rovers for what they are doing underage.

A lot of clubs and a lot of volunteers are doing great work with zero help from the wider public, the government, or the FAI. Meanwhile, the focus is on the national side as it continues to humiliate us all.

I wasn't arguing against your point, just commenting on how odd it was for someone to mention the u17s as a shining light, while also claiming the LoI isn't one. Shels and Rovers are the football story in the country right now. Well, the positive one.
10/09/2025, 5:50 PM
nigel-harps1954

Quote:

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Only the last five years count for the UEFA rankings, so really it's substantially Rovers' exploits that count towards our UEFA ranking

Could the same not be said for quite a number of nations ahead of us in the ranking table? There's an awful lot of nations that rely heavily on one or two clubs for their coefficient points.

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