From the outset let me say I very rarely attend local matches. I am about to criticise the LOI/IL, but the criticism is intended in a constructive manner. The commitment of local fans can only be admired, but the tight knit nature of the local leagues is such that when one does criticise them the fans can take that criticism almost personally. That disclaimer stated, here goes
I agree with Carrigaline re an all-Ireland league, but there is a tendency to believe it would be a cure all miracle drug for the local game. That isn’t true unfortunately. There are other factors and wider issues with the culture of Irish football
1. We have a culture of winning, no matter how insignificant the victory
2. We waste talent
3. We don’t look outside the British isles
4. Ireland doesn’t take local football seriously
5. Local football doesn’t take itself seriously
1. We have a culture of winning, no matter how insignificant the victory
At all levels of the game, the first question we ask is “what was the score” It’s what we are interested in more than anything else. It’s the first question we ask our mates who play amateur football on monday morning. It’s the first question we ask our kids when they arrive home at lunchtime on saturday. This will never change I would imagine. It is simply impossible to re-educate every mother to stop asking that question. But it does create a culture of holding people back when they should be moving on, particularly with kids. Our junior coaches want to hang on to their best players. They will be delighted if they get picked up by Liverpool or Celtic, but they don’t want them to go across the town to play in a better team 2 divisions above them in the local youth league. Which leads me on to point 2
2. We waste talent
Quote:
Originally Posted by eekers
There is a huge difference between playing for something other than the result, and removing competition. Talent flourishes when it is surrounded by talent.Quote:
Originally Posted by barney
Many of us will remember the kid from school, or who went to school with our kids, who was brilliant. He never got picked up by a Man U or an Arsenal, but they might have looked at him, and we would swear that he was good enough. He got to 17 and hadn’t got a move, and buried his talent under Guinness and chips He probably doesn’t even play the game now. If he does he’s out of shape, but he has a first touch that means he doesn’t really have to be fit at the level he plays.
There are only a handful of clubs across the water with the resources to properly scout over here. I remember scouts from Aston Villa and Manchester United looking at youth players I knew, but I don’t remember many from Ipswich or Burnley. If that kid in your mind had been from somewhere like that in England, there is a chance that even though he didn’t make it to a Man U or a Tottenham, he might have been picked up by a local club League 1 or League 2 club, went through their academy, and might have made a living from the game. He may even have been a late developer and ended up playing at a higher level.
In Ireland he probably didn’t make it. Local clubs don’t have the money to invest in proper academies and what underage structures they have don’t put quality players together for them to thrive. Once you get to 16 it’s getting too late to be picked up and you’ve fallen behind similar kids in England and Scotland.
The FAI are realistically the only people who could run this, but we could do with a network of half a dozen or so regional academies where the best talent in Ireland can get proper training and learn how to play the game, where there is competition for every place from some new kids being scouted and no one can afford to relax. And if someone gets a chance to leave and go across the water (to Britain or beyond) all the better. It creates a chance for someone else to come in.
3. We don’t look outside the British Isles
We do not prepare our youth footballers to leave the British Isles, or even expose them to football outside these islands. There is rarely a chance to even watch a game involving 2 non UK/IRL teams on TV. There isn’t a single manager from outside the British Isles working in the LOI (has there ever been?).
In the academies I suggested above, we should have coaches from Portugal and Austria and anywhere else they place a high value on technical ability. In addition to football training, they should of course be getting an education. And that education should have a heavy emphasis on European languages. If you can teach a young football even basis French and German, it is going to open up the chance to make a career of football in not only the French and German leagues, but also in Austria, Switzerland & Belgium.
As it is once footballers leave the British Isles they might as well have fallen off the edge of the world. What video of McGeady in Moscow or Sheridan when he was in Bulgaria we could get mainly took the form of clips on youtube. A magazine show on TV highlighting the exploits of Irish qualified players around the world would improve this and make the rest of the world seem a more realistic proposition to young Irish footballers.
4. Ireland doesn’t take local football seriously
Ireland doesn’t take local football seriously. There is no glamour to the local leagues. You meet the players in the pub, you work with them, they live next door to your mum. What television coverage there is also lacks glamour as the leagues lacks stars. David Jeffrey is one of the most successful managers in the history of either league, but I met him once on the train to Dublin and he was chatting away to my partner who he knew through work about their day job. It’s idle speculation but I would imagine someone of similar status in the Croatian league couldn't travel on the train from Split to Zagreb without being mobbed by people wanting to talk football. In a society where anyone who can cook green beans, do up a living room or take their clothes off is a celebrity our local players and managers have a negligible public profile.
The TV coverage is poor. Not the games fault, but compared to GAA the coverage is amateurish and there isn't much of it. It's a big ask, but as TV goes digital the opportunity also exists to have a dedicated Irish sports channel. There is miles of great sporting footage in the archives that never sees the light of day, it would allow the big live events being shown on the RTE1 or 2 to have the option of Irish language coverage on the sport channel, and between Soccer, GAA, Rugby and other sports RTE already have more sport than they could ever show on the existing channels
5. Local football doesn’t take itself seriously
Perhaps as a result of the status football has in society, local football doesn’t take itself seriously in my opinion. I’ve known and worked with a few Irish league players over the years, and they don’t play for the love of the game, or even see it as a career. To the guys I’ve known it is a handy part time job that builds up the holiday fund or whatever. Despite the fact that they are getting paid, they generally only train on a Tuesday and Thursday. There are club sides working harder than that in the GAA, never mind the hours the county sides put in.
Off the pitch the local game doesn’t demand to be taken seriously. I'm not an expert, but I would imagine it isn't made easy for the broadcaster to cover a local game. Most grounds don’t even have the most basic media facilities. How many local grounds have dedicated commentary positions for example? Or proper mixed zones within the stadiums? I can't recall seeing them, although I stand to be corrected on that.
Facilities for the fans need a huge upgrade, particularly children. If you can get the kids interested, and involved their parents will follow. But much of the experience of going to a big game is absent for local games. On the walk to the stadium there are none of the people selling scarves, hats etc. You don’t get the smell of fried onions filling the air. They don’t see the players on TV during the week, so they don’t know who they are at the weekend. The players all have names like their parents and neighbours.
Irish people can be very cynical, and if the local leagues were given a re-launch many, most in fact, will probably look at it quite cynically. But Irish people go to Disneyland. They know that “Mickey Mouse” is actually a guy on minimum wage in a suit, but their kids buy into the illusion so it’s worth flying to Florida to see little Jack and Chloe enjoy themselves. Similarly if Irish kids see a guy from Portugal called Pedro Costa dribbling his way through the back 4 and slipping a ball past the keeper on TV, they will buy into it. Their dad may well know that he is no closer to the Portugal national team than Michael D Higgins, but they might still take the kids to see a game at the weekend. If nothing else it works out cheaper than going to see Man United or Celtic, and they can put the money saved towards the Disneyland fund.
The Belfast Giants have shown what is possible with the right amount of hype and glitter. On a good weekend they get more people into the Odyssey Arena than the 5 Irish league sides in Belfast manage between them. To watch Ice Hockey.
I have no doubt some of what I have said here is nonsense, and that I’ve made factual errors, but I think the general themes are correct.
