Brian Barry Murphy

Actually lads, did any of you see that new series on Sunday night on BBC 2, called Football Diaries?
It looked really good so far.
It started with pre-season for the season just ending.
They featured Chelsea a bit, but most of the program was about Weymouth FC. A Dr. Martens league club, going nowhere, and a local businessman took it over. He brought in Steve Claridge as player manager, has spent a bit of money, taken a huge risk. Lots of the old board of directors have resigned, they were happy with the easy going, stay where they are attitude. Crowds of 400 - 800, he needed to be getting 1400 through the gates to be breaking even.
I've looked at where Weymouth finished this year, and how the season went.
I have to say it looks like it will be well worth having a look at it to see how things progress.
TBH, it sort of reminds me a bit of City and Lennox.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Echo Boy

They dont have a rich prince pouring in the money to the club!

---

err, shows you dont know much about monacos financial position. during the close season they were denied a professional licence because of their finances. only on appeal did they get it. many of their star players are on loan from other clubs (morientes is from madrid; madrid pay 60% of his wages). at the end of the season no matter what happens they have to sell their best players.

As for England beneath the first few teams in the premiership the standards start to dip very quickly. its the reason their teams outside the top few can very rarely get past a round or two in the uefa cup.

As for the english leagues - because of the collapse of their TV deal players had to be released at the end of their contracts no matter who they were. those in contract had to be retained because they couldnt afford to be paid off.
on the eircom league show we had roddy collins talking about his time at carlisle bemoaning the fact that he couldnt sign certain loi players because he couldnt afford them. that doesnt just apply to carlisle but a lot of english clubs.

anyway its a silly debate because you should be comapring senior leagues with senior leagues. more important is how we compare with the slovenian, belgian, croatian leagues etc.
I doubt though if you are interested in them echo boy, are you?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jofyisgod

Thre are no, i repeat, no under-21/full internationals playing in conference/div3. No way is there nearly 3 in one squad!
Players in the conference barely get £500 a week, whereas Georgie, JOF, and Fenn are easily on the equivalent of 1,200 a week

---

Brian Murphy (Swansea) and Stephen Capper (Scarborough) are both in the Irish U21 squad.

And do you actually know what the Cork City players earn in a week, because the figures I have heard bandied about Cork City (where I live) is much less than your 1200 a week.

Some points you make are valid but you go and let yourself down at the end with a personal attack, shame. :(

[QUOTE=jofyisgod]i think that you 'drinkfeckarse' are a complete @rsehole.
/QUOTE]

I'm an @rsehole for pointing out the fact that no EL players tend to make it at the highest level!!

I'm sorry, seeing as this is a forum, I thought I was entitled to an opinion just as much as the next guy.

As I've stated numerous times before, it's not a personal attack on the EL (I played for a few years in the EL myself), just pointing out the obvious that it's not a really high standard. Simple really, no need to get shirty. I probably shouldn't have said that line "not grasping" etc, I realise that was a bit sarcastic but you have let yourself down with a comment like that. And another thing, I never mentioned anything about the Conference, that was Echo Boy and he's entitled to his opinion too without everybody freaking out! I laugh actually when I read his posts because I think he just throws a few dodgy comments in here and there to see everybody freaking out and it get's them everytime!

Curtis Fleming made it at the highest level and was captain of palace this year in Div one...he bpalyed premiership for middlesborough ...had a good career in England in the top levels without being spectacular

Tommy Gaynor had a good carreer in the top division with Forest started out at limerick

Miah Dennehy...legend enough said

Here we go again, I said "tend to". Exceptions rather than the rule.

Judging the EL by the number of players that go across to the premiership and make it does not make sense. Very few premiership clubs buy players from even 2nd and 3rd division clubs. Top clubs are now buying players from the continent (Look at Bolton trying to sign Rivaldo) and bringing players up from their youth systems. The fact that a handful of Eircom league players have made it in England in the last decade (Roy Keane, Paul McGrath, Curtis Fleming etc) is a credit to the EL. The Premiership is the top level of football and anyone who makes it there is an exceptional footballer, and they are hard to find.

To draw a line under the Monaco thing, they don't have to pay the same taxes that the other clubs in France do. They can afford to only get gates of 3000-4000, because what they pay their players probably only works out to be what they would get anywhere else after tax.

Anyways why compare City to a lower league english club? Lets get behind them, win this bloody league, and knock a big team (Liverpool/Newcastle) out of the champions league. That would be nice.

Thankfully I don't make a habit of going to Div 3/ Conference games. I would say I've been to maybe 7 or 8 Div 2/3 games in my travels. Seen a lot of SPL games (also poor other than the obvious).

Why? Now before you come back with an answer slaughtering me, bear in mind that I'm on a half day in 5 minutes so I won't be commenting again until tomorrow/Sunday or more probably Monday so until then......