"How to fix the league" threads

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Originally Posted by Riddickcule

Nah can't agree with you there, we're not competing with gaa as its a completly different game. imo.

And technically we're not competing with the EPL either, really we're competing with Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Celtic.

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No :stop:,most soccer fans won't say "I support this team and this team only",if you bring up the League of Ireland,they will say "I go to the odd (insert local club here) match",we just have to get them in more often,and I don't think we can compete with the GAA so a winter league is the way to go.
Also,I think one of the main purpose of the league is acting as breading ground for internationals,if we play at the same time as English clubs,they might be more inclined to buy Irish!

I hate when people say professional football here can't work of course it can work it just needs money.

Thats all we need to our league, more money. The rest will then follow (interest, media etc)

I did not say we could not have pro football here,my point is England will always be bigger then us and have more Irish international's,the league would work best if it works like a shop window.

The problem, riddickule, as we've told you thousands of time is that everyone knows money is what's needed

getting it is the problem. Until you figured out how to
realistically get that money, there's no point in you posting in this subject again.

Long time lurker, finally getting round to contributing…


The nub of the issue is that clubs in Ireland are not solely in competition with leagues or clubs across the water. Nor are they solely in competition with the GAA and IRFU. Like it or not, football has become another part of the entertainment industry, and football fans, whether we like it or not, are consumers. But too many consumers want the best comfort, price and entertainment for the least possible effort.

So, clubs are in direct competition for bums on seats with cinema multiplexes, pubs, restaurants, theatres, gigs – even the circus coming to town is a rival. For sporting “thrills” they’re in competition with EA Sports, Wii, etc; for access to sporting events they’re in competition with Sky and the internet – after all, who needs real sport when you can have it vicariously from the comfort of your living room?

If clubs are to prosper, they have to take a long hard look at what they’re offering, and compare that to all their competitors. Good seating, good food and good toilets aren’t the magic solution – no film, or pub, or Wii game, or Sky coverage beats being in a ground at a real game - but they’re substantially missing from the league at the moment. Clubs also have to analyse why they’re losing customers to their competitors. Mom and Pop can bring the clan to a match or the cinema for much the same price – cinema, for its comfort and services wins. The Work Night Out/Stag/Hen/Birthday gang can catch an early bird menu in a restaurant, then a gig, then a late bar; football doesn’t appear on their radar.

The competitors for clubs have gotten their product right. The product might not be particularly unique or extraordinary, or even desirable: one Jennifer Lopez rom-com is the same as another; Blackpool v West Brom won’t get many pulses racing next season across the pond; Championship Manager or Football Manager are just variations on a theme; but the competitors have addressed the limitations of their product with the extra benefits that attract customers, that don’t really require lots of money, just lots of creativity and business savvy.

And that’s where they’re leaving our clubs in the penny ha’penny place.

Way too much sense in that post.

Not one uninformed,emotional rant?

The wage cap/ SCP was meant to be the mechanism that gave clubs the money to put in place the infrastructure talked about above. There is no silver bullet, we can only build in a sustainable way taking a long term view. Unfortunately, the FAI seem incapable of running licensing credibly, and so we have endless stories of clubs in trouble.

Which brings me to the big problem with the "how to improve the league" threads - they're invariably looking for a silver bullet of P1, AIL etc. We've already tried several, such as 10 team premier and summer season - they don't work. And they'll never work, because our population is generally a load of glory hunting knobs (for all sports). imo the "product" isn't that bad, we just have a terrible reputation, that can only be addressed through living within our means now and aiming for long term growth.

Note to self: Never start a thread, then feck off to Glasgow for 2 days!

Yes, a lot of the articles are a bit ill-conceived, but people consistently fail to address the argument, and just post something along the lines of "How to fix the league thread #42,177", as if trying to think progressively is a bad thing in itself. Sure, people are going to have rubbish or unoriginal ideas, and it may be frustrating for those poster who have been around a long time, but surely you can just say "daft argument" or simply ignore the thread.

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Originally Posted by Macy

The wage cap/ SCP was meant to be the mechanism that gave clubs the money to put in place the infrastructure talked about above. There is no silver bullet, we can only build in a sustainable way taking a long term view. Unfortunately, the FAI seem incapable of running licensing credibly, and so we have endless stories of clubs in trouble.

Which brings me to the big problem with the "how to improve the league" threads - they're invariably looking for a silver bullet of P1, AIL etc. We've already tried several, such as 10 team premier and summer season - they don't work. And they'll never work, because our population is generally a load of glory hunting knobs (for all sports). imo the "product" isn't that bad, we just have a terrible reputation, that can only be addressed through living within our means now and aiming for long term growth.

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this has always been my base assumption too. To be honest, if we got everything in order with our leagues and were competing to a reasonably high level in europe it would still take a huge psychological shift from the general sporting public here for clubs to see any significant difference. When we dont have the full backing of the FAI, and we really dont, then all we can hope for is baby steps and it is being left to each individual club to make those steps themselves.

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Originally Posted by MariborKev

Way too much sense in that post.

Not one uninformed,emotional rant?

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He'll never last

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Originally Posted by Riddickcule

I hate when people say professional football here can't work of course it can work it just needs money.

Thats all we need to our league, more money. The rest will then follow (interest, media etc)

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thats like saying time travel can work all it needs is a flux capasitor

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Originally Posted by passerrby

thats like saying time travel can work all it needs is a flux capasitor

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And Doc brown, it wouldn't be the same without him

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Originally Posted by Sam_Heggy

And Doc brown, it wouldn't be the same without him

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but what what about doc gavin who says everything will be fine "in the future" now theres a mad sceintist

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Originally Posted by GUFCghost

I did not say we could not have pro football here,my point is England will always be bigger then us and have more Irish international's,the league would work best if it works like a shop window.

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Sorry man i didn't mean it directly towards you i just meant i hate it in general.

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Originally Posted by Nah Nah Nah Nah

He'll never last

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Au contraire, my friend...

Post 2 of my 5-Post Probationary Period...

Until I post my fifth, chances are I'll be gazing round me with the wide-eyed innocence of a lumbering centre-half who, having nearly decapitated the ref with the flying body of the striker he's just slide tackled, cannot believe he's getting a red card and the ref has the audacity to give a penalty as well...

Perhaps by the sixth, I'll be as irascible, cantankerous and unreasonable as the next man (figuratively speaking, and with apologies in advance to whoever posts next!!)

There's your cue Adam...

I think we need to make the tickets cheaper,10 euro max.
Clubs also need to get more involved with schools and under age teams,eg five a side games at half time and posters in the club houses.
We need a winter league,where far to close to the GAA.

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Originally Posted by GUFCghost

I think we need to make the tickets cheaper,10 euro max.

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Our setanta cup semi was only €10 and was our worst crowd of the season. Price drops won't encourage too many new fans to go, it'll just make it cheaper for thso who already go (and therefore cut the revenue for the clubs)

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Originally Posted by GUFCghost

I think we need to make the tickets cheaper,10 euro max.
Clubs also need to get more involved with schools and under age teams,eg five a side games at half time and posters in the club houses.
We need a winter league,where far to close to the GAA.

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Originally Posted by Dodge

Our setanta cup semi was only €10 and was our worst crowd of the season. Price drops won't encourage too many new fans to go, it'll just make it cheaper for thso who already go (and therefore cut the revenue for the clubs)

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Price is only one part of the mix. Its a pretty useless crude tactic on its own. (Witness how the free admission Cork V Drogheda league game worked out last year!) It has its place but only as part of an overall strategy

I agree, and I'd like to see a range of prces and ticket options for people, and I'd love the clubs to have the option of charging what they like. But the FAI have set minimum ticket prices and the clubs can't go lower