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Why does anyone think that provincial cubs would bring a big crowd to the Aviva for an away league match?Quote:
Originally Posted by brendy_éire
You could hold a big Dublin derby match there, but who would want to yield home advantage?
The showpiece at the Aviva is the FAI cup final.
Pitch would hold up no problem didn't they play that many games the time of the dublin super cup and wasn't a mark left on it.Quote:
Originally Posted by colonelwest
The only way this would work is if it's a tenner in and drink is allowed (at the seats). It's the only way fans will stay. Otherwise most will go home after their own game (or miss the opening 2 for their game). Why would they stay? "to promote the league"? Ha
yeah because the attendance at the Magic Weekend for the Super League in the UK hasnt been anything to write home aboutQuote:
Originally Posted by Dodge
They're allowed drink at rugby league. So if that's allowed, we're good to go
Our scumbag element, Rovers, Bohs and Shels scumbag fans on the one day on the Aviva.Quote:
Originally Posted by Longfordian
Jesus, they would need some gardai on duty unfortunately
http://www.the42.ie/league-of-irelan...59945-Sep2015/
John O'Sullivans response to the Conroy Report and what he'd change in the league.
He can feck off if he thinks that the FAI can get their hands on Dundalk's European money.Quote:
Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954
We don't have a council to build us a stadium. We have no sugar daddy.
Our European prize money is ring-fenced for the redevelopment of Oriel Park.
Quote:
Originally Posted by White Horse
Totally agree WH (until we fail to qualify for Europe, then I want some of someone else's hard-earned money).
My own thoughts:
1. Independent Consultation me ar$e
How can a former FAI consultant be called independent? The FAI have gotten off fairly lightly in this and from listening to him, he justs sounds like an FAI mouthpiece.
2. No to a 10 team league
Chopping and changing the structure of the league on its own will not solve the ills of the league but switching back to a 10 team league will only make things worse IMO. People say you will play the big teams more often but there was a major problem with over familiarity last time and the big games just aren't as big anymore. Especially when you draw the same teams in cups and when games are postponed. You will get the absurd situation of meeting the same team 3 times in a short space of time.
What we should be trying to do is encouraging more teams into the 1st div. Encourage the likes of Mons, Kildare and Kilkenny back in. Encourage the Kerry league and similar in. They should follow the Wexford model of keeping things affordable. And to also make it affordable it should be regionalised and the extortionate affiliation fees should be reduced for 1st div clubs.
3. Yes to increased sponsorship and prize money.
While it seems to be very aspirational, this should be pushed. The report says that it costs the FAI more money to run the league than it takes in but there needs to be more transparency in TV and sponsorship incomes and these should be used to subsidise affiliation fees for 1st div clubs rather than the current poker game scenario.
4. Yes to focussing on infrastructure.
Deals like the new CCFC training centre are welcome. There should be more of this but we need to focus on stadium improvements also.
5. Yes to player marketing.
I've always felt that this should be done. Richie Towell is the poster boy at the moment. Even non LOI fans know who he is. But there should be more of this to make LOI more marketable. I remember in our glory years that non LOI fans knew who Georgie, Flynnie and Kearney were. It was great.
Anyway, my 2 cents. Sorry for long post.
Players are still paid too much in the league of Ireland for the crowds they bring in. Totally disagree with the idea that professional players are the most important part of the league. It is club members/fans for me. Start at this point, like the GAA was before Dónal Óg.
Good piece in the Irish Times where Malone outlines some of the targets there was in the last report, average crowds at matches for example. A 3k average attendance for Premier and 1k for 1st could be achievable if clubs could connect more with their communities and facilities/matchday experience improved. By the way the league didn't reach, or move any closer to the targets set out in genesis in relation to crowds.
Players won't do it for free*, and clubs already think they're paying them too much to play. They don't want to pay them to star in ad campaignsQuote:
Originally Posted by sullanefc
*You'll get some players who are very generous with their time and will turn up for every school, hospital visit etc.
Just on the league winning prize money and also CL for previous period.
Considering its now 100k for winning the league but up to 575k min from CL (total of 675K min), how does this compare to say when Bohs won the league in 2008, did they get 280k from the league, if so what was their CL min? I'd like to see the total figure in comparison to today.
Overall though, the prize money needs to be increased significantly for all clubs, and a new and fairer TV deal needs to be negotiated, I would say something like 5k for the home side and 1k for an away side would seem reasonable?
The urgent improvement in facilities should have been better emphasized in the report, and maybe a scheme whereby if clubs raise 50k, the FAI or Govt Sports Body matches it, or more, then the money is kept under a protected account, to be only used on ground improvements.
10 team Leagues is not the way forward either.
Am I the only one who wonders whether the FAI actually get the 19k affiliation fee from all clubs each season?
While I agree with this until we manage to get teams into Division 1 I just don't see how an 8 team league at that level is doing anyone any good down there (hopefully we won't be finding out next season). If there are only 20 teams then I think it has to be a 10/10 split. It's just the teams at the top that need to be looked after.Quote:
Originally Posted by sullanefc
Would love to see players paid a small basic wage & % of seaon ticket & gate money. The better they play & the more promotion activitives they do the bigger the crowd so the more they earn. Unfortunately this will never work for a various reasons.
One thing the report doesnt even mention things like increase media coverage in papers, radio etc & fails to deal with the issuse of live EPL games on Friday nights which will have a huge effect on attendances.
Well prize money just gets deducted from it anyway. So if you finish high enough and don't incur too many fines you might end up ahead. As for clubs that are behind.. hard to know. Does it count as a football debt at licensing time?Quote:
Originally Posted by osarusan
The premier shouldn't be hurt to help the first division imo. And there is no guarantee at all it would even end up 10/10 whos to say teams that wen't down won't just go bust without the money from prem and we end up with a 10/8 split or something like that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nah Nah Nah Nah
If one of your divisions is likely to kill clubs that end up in it then that's the central problem for your league in my opinion. Although clubs have historically probably been probably more likely to die at the top level.
So I guess the answer is obvious- we shouldn't have a 16/18 premier, we should have a 16/18 first instead.
Regarding league structure, my greatest annoyance of the entire report is that there was no recommendation to genuinely attempt to put a pyramid structure of sorts into place. I had really hoped Conroy would suggest the the FAI take football in this country by the balls and put shape on it from top to bottom.
We'd not be having the discussion of 'not enough teams' again, and there'd be a constant supply of teams going through promotion and relegation right throughout the country.
We'd easily be able to transfer to a 16 team Premier and 10 team First Division North/South in the next ten years if the right structures were put in place from top to bottom.
Agree 100%, for a small country there's an awful lot of teams and Leagues out there, with the proper pyramid structure we could give any of the home nations leagues (bar the big leagues in England of course) a run for their money and more, as well as the smaller European leagues. It will never happen though.Quote:
Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954
Quote:
Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954
Exactly, because we all know that one or two clubs going to the wall will put the idea of a ten team league immediately into touch, or at least make it look foolish.
As for the league split, jesus no, not this again!!!:(
I would like to explore his no6 point in more detail but fully agree with everything else he had to say.Quote:
Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954
Quote:
Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954
Fully agree with this but you & I know it will never happen because the 92 leagues affiliated to the FAI won't let it happen.
Good piece by Ireland's best football journalist. (Though I don't share his tolerance for barstoolers). http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/c...wn-357321.html
Pretty depressing piece. I would be inclined to think the battle against (or rather for survival alongside) the premiership isn't such a lost cause. At work I am surrounded with premiership fans, but several have been feeling more and more distant from it increasingly becomes all about the money. It was always about the money of course, and the LOI is too, but things like the managerial merry go round (Rodgers was the 2nd longest serving manager in the premiership when sacked), crass behaviour from managers and players and the lack of atmosphere at games has seen them start to lose interest. Even if they don't go, they can see fans mean little to clubs. Our league does have its own selling points- most of all that being involved with an LOI club can be great fun and very rewarding.
Suggesting school visits is one thing, getting past GAA bias Principles/ Boards of Management is quite another (which iirc is something we've had trouble with when we've tried initiatives with schools).
I would agree that there's some kind of shift happening, although whether that's just an age thing is a different matter. We'll probably end up with more following lower leagues/ non league UK football though as they're "real" fans, and still writing off our league, unfortunately.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr A
The Harps schools programme has no issues with access. If anything they have more schools wanting to be part of it than they can get to.
What I was looking for in the Report was a blueprint for the implementation of an intermediary league with reserve teams (without any obligation on LoI clubs to do so) and new clubs as was the case in the A Championship being invited to join with the ambition of possibly make the step up to LoI level.
While a 33 week season might not be ideal, it remains the best fit evidenced by a return to that format.
Coming from outside the LoI community as I would see it, the league seems to have reached a stable enough position. It's down to clubs really to get their own houses in order. The lack of prize money is still a concern.
I can still only harp on that the league does lack a national vibrancy. If you live in provincial towns like Tullamore, Castlebar, Tralee, Ennis, Portlaoise and Kilkenny to name a few, you should be able to watch a game in your area where the local team is involved in the LoI even if it's only at an intermediary level. While it might be a long way off, I would like the FAI to have the ambition, blueprint and drive to make it possible.
It's easy to say clubs need to sort themselves out, but there are clubs in the league that are reasonably well run and they're holding on by their fingernails. We have a good board and volunteers and sponsors at FHFC but it's a constant struggle even in a good year. The number of league clubs has reduced in size by 13.6% (22 to 19 clubs albeit Rovers fielded a reserve team to keep 20 teams) and recovered to a 9% reduction- bugger that for stability!
Anyhow.. once the season is over will address this in more detail in a blog. Haven't found time to put it all together yet.
When I say clubs need to get their own houses in order, I don't doubt that it's challenging.
If a Harps supporter will excuse me for harping on, it is a shame that an intermediary league cannot be put in place. It was harsh on the likes of Tralee Dynamos and FC Carlow that the plug was pulled on the A Championship.
I wonder how many Harps fans support the idea of one division this morning?
Still fully support it. The First Division is a balls and needs to be done away with.Quote:
Originally Posted by White Horse
Promotion wont diminish my support for 1 division, only 4 new teams in the first division wouldQuote:
Originally Posted by White Horse
I think the first division is required by ufea for our league to get euro places?
Must look into it but according to a lad who would know about these things it's not actually true that you need a second division.Quote:
Originally Posted by LK37oldskool
FAI get a heap of money for having two divisions.
I love this! I'm gonna forward it to Jim Corr who needs some new material.Quote:
Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954
How much do you want to bet that I'm wrong?Quote:
Originally Posted by Ezeikial
Sorry lad, but I think this is probably the worst LOI related idea that any significant amount of people have voiced support for. You think clubs were dropping like flies a few years ago? Implement a single tier LOI and all hell will break loose.Quote:
Originally Posted by SeanDMRooney