2016-'Three to watch'

I think the LOI has some good clubs and some are playing super football this season. I just saw that Sligo volley on thescore.ie, a goal that would grace any league anywhere. Dundalk, Pats, Cork, Sligo and Rovers are all doing their bit to make this a super season.

I was at a talk in London last night about the history of the football league playoffs. The speaker said that League Two is the tenth best attended league in the world! Let's take TV and commercial income off the table (League Two is surely earning more on both fronts) and just look at gate money. How on earth can the LOI come close to the tenth best attended league in the world? Let's assume there is a rough correlation between income and standard. I can think of reasons why the correlation would be high, but equally why it may be low. You'd have to conclude that League Two is higher standard overall, but that there are players in LOI who could play quote a bit higher.

Btw, I'd say Aberdeen and Dundee United both would walk the LOI myself, and probably Inverness and Motherwell. Hibs, St. Mirren, Partick and others, maybe not.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

I was at a talk in London last night about the history of the football league playoffs. The speaker said that League Two is the tenth best attended league in the world!

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He was talking through his arse there anyway.

The best average attendance or the best total attendance? I'd say it's nonsense of both counts, but might creep up on total attendance given there are 24 teams.

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Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

The best average attendance or the best total attendance? I'd say it's nonsense of both counts, but might creep up on total attendance given there are 24 teams.

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League Two average attendance was circa 4,500 for the past season. That's not even in the top ten in Europe, and only 3,000 above League of Ireland.

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Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

League Two average attendance was circa 4,500 for the past season. That's not even in the top ten in Europe, and only 3,000 above League of Ireland.

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That would make sense then. 4,500 across 24 teams is 2.5 million. That would correspond to about 6,600 in a 20-team league or 8,200 in an 18-team league.

I think he was talking total attendance.

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Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

League Two average attendance was circa 4,500 for the past season. That's not even in the top ten in Europe, and only 3,000 above League of Ireland.

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Only 3,000 :)

I think it's fair to say if LOI crowds were 3,000 higher on average there would be no complaints about the LOI.

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Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

League Two average attendance was circa 4,500 for the past season. That's not even in the top ten in Europe, and only 3,000 above League of Ireland.

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That's not even taking into account the fact that they doctor attendances over there, as even a cursory glance at the scores of empty seats every weekend attests to.

Off the top of my head, The Premier League, The Championship, League 1, Ligue 1, La Liga, the Bundesliga, the Eredivisie, Serie A, the Russian Premier League, MLS, the Jupiler League, the Portuguese Premier League, the Danish Premier League, the Allsvenskan and the Tippeligen would all have higher average attendances than 4,500. There are bound to be many more that I haven't thought of in the last ten seconds. Yer man was talking out his hole.

why would you look at total attendance anyway? Surely, average attendance is the real indicator.

By the way Stutts, I would not think that using attendance (or income) as the sole indicator to compare the quality of two unrelated leagues (i.e. not part of the same league system) is not an accurate or fair gauge. A consideration, definitely, but you cant QED your argument on that.

By your rationale, League 2 would be better quality than the Croatian, Greek, Swedish and Israeli premier leagues and just behind quite a few others...

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Only 3,000 :)

I think it's fair to say if LOI crowds were 3,000 higher on average there would be no complaints about the LOI.

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Ah, of course, but just using it in comparison to League of Ireland, where attendances are completely paltry compared to most leagues across Europe.

On this very subject, an Irish Post article from last week with a few names from left field, I thought anyway.

http://www.irishpost.co.uk/sport/10-...for-the-future

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Originally Posted by CraftyToePoke

On this very subject, an Irish Post article from last week with a few names from left field, I thought anyway.

http://www.irishpost.co.uk/sport/10-...for-the-future

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Always love to read these articles to see what happens to these players in the future. I think Crowley is one that will never play for us again, will be interesting to see what happens with Grego Cox and Bossin long term.

Sam Byrne won't be looking to go out on loan next season considering he's been released. The rest seem like they were just picked from the various youth team players playing at the biggest Premier League clubs.

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Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

In my very honest opinion, outside of Celtic, there's no club in the SPL who would realistically walk away with the League of Ireland Premier Division.

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You are joking!
This season just gone, Aberdeen & Dundee Utd. would have romped home while St. Johnstone & Motherwell would have won it easily too...
Granted, the rest are very mediocre, to variable degrees.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

I was at a talk in London last night about the history of the football league playoffs. The speaker said that League Two is the tenth best attended league in the world! Let's take TV and commercial income off the table (League Two is surely earning more on both fronts) and just look at gate money. How on earth can the LOI come close to the tenth best attended league in the world? Let's assume there is a rough correlation between income and standard. I can think of reasons why the correlation would be high, but equally why it may be low. You'd have to conclude that League Two is higher standard overall, but that there are players in LOI who could play quote a bit higher.

Btw, I'd say Aberdeen and Dundee United both would walk the LOI myself, and probably Inverness and Motherwell. Hibs, St. Mirren, Partick and others, maybe not.

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Presumably that talk meant old Division 2 in England, as in the Championship now?

No, I don't think so. Maybe I picked him up wrong, maybe he was talking ****.

Ah fair enough, unlike some your posts are usually fairly logical, so just trying to offer a rational explanation, as bizarrely, think the Eng.Championship does have the 'tenth highest' crowds in Europe, definitely in the top 20...

I think The Championship is even higher than that. Better than Serie A and maybe also Ligue 1?

Think it was, but slipped back?
Ligue 1 definitely!

Per capita, the Eredivisie is higher than loads of them.