Best summary I've seen of the whole thing yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by ThirdManRun
Printable View
Best summary I've seen of the whole thing yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by ThirdManRun
Hard to blame the IFA really. But we have to get our own house in order first anyway. This league isn't exactly growing as it is. We have lost Kilkenny, Kildare, Monaghan, Dublin City etc over the years. Teams in this country don't want to join, you can hardly blame the Irish League teams for not wanting to join either.
I also don't think adding IL clubs to this league is the silver bullet that Lucid thinks it will be. The IL's biggest club, Linfield, didn't exactly sell out TX in Europe did it? Also, the setanta cup had very poor attendances. The likes of Dungannon at home weren't exactly mouth watering fixtures. You'd also imagine the media hyping up the Shamrock v Linfield fixture as the Irish old firm fixture and getting all sorts of sectarian nonsense involved.
Let's grow our own league first. Let's get the Lucid type money for a LOI league first. Improve facilities, make the 1st division a league that new teams want to be part of. Have strict licensing that prevents cowboys from running clubs into the ground that makes a farce of the league.
The likes of Lucid would want more concrete proposals with solid backers before any club could sign up with his plans. A lot more due diligence required. Can't blame the IL clubs and the IFA for taking a cautious approach.
Nobody suggested "adding IL teams join this league". It's about a new start covering both leagues.Quote:
Originally Posted by sullanefc
Yes, we need to grow the LOI but all Prem clubs bar two (Cork and Waterford I think) had increased fan numbers this season so it ain't all bad.
Can only hope the proposed new "structure" doesn't knock things back.
Wouldn't give up on this yet. The all-Ireland league idea will not go away, I think, because it makes sense.
Nothing stopping those who want to "grow our own league first" from not doing so. They can start straight away both north and south, no need for them to get Lucid involved.
Don't see the extra travel negative at all, if I assume the the top division(at least) would be full-time.
I think with respect to the IL guys, if a new league is 14 teams and it's 10/4 LoI/IL (not what's being proposed, but it could well pan out as such - it's proportional to population), then it certainly makes sense to think of it as adding 4 teams to the current LoI.Quote:
Originally Posted by marinobohs
This whole "new start" stuff is as nonsense as it was when we had a "new" league in 2007.
Eh, that's not really what I meant. What teams get added to what league is merely a matter of perspective. A Linfield fan has LOI teams added to the league he watches and a Cork City fan has IL teams added to the league he watches. I didn't mean it to sound like the LOI was enveloping the IL.Quote:
Originally Posted by marinobohs
To rephrase, a merger of leagues on it's own is not going to improve the fortunes of professional football on this island on it's own. A lot more needs to happen first IMO.
There were too many obstacles in place for this plan to work ie. The time frame of delivery and also the money being banded about as prize money as to what's currently on offer.
But it has got the conversation started and a recognition that a lot needs to be done both sides of the border facilitates wise, off pitch administrations etc before an all island league is considered
The only way an all Ireland league will ever come into being is if people leave politics & self interest out of the equation & we all know that will never happen.
It needs people to see the bigger picture rather than their own little patch.
Anyone who knows anything about football in this country knows the answer to that question.
The blazers say NO 😡
In some way the IFA dropping the boom on this might galvanize lucid as if he doesn't come out with s okmw hard numbers soon the momentum such as it is will be gone and all work to date is wasted.
To be fair to the IFA they have only made official what everyone was saying, no specific plans or numbers.
Very true.
If Lucid is serious, the best thing he could do now is put in some investment/sponsorship into the LoI and help turn it into something that the IL clubs would be interested in joining/merging with.
And even then, that's subject to the idea that there's no particular reason why IL clubs should necessarily want to merge, and that staying where they are can be realism rather than lack of ambition.
Even if they agreed a ratio (LOI : IL) wouldn't that have to be guaranteed for a period say 5 years or so to allow the league 'bed in' ?.That would mean no relegation/promotion for that period, pretty tough on whomever doesn't make the first cut.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Introducing promotion/relegation from the start cold very easily see one league weakened to an extent 'their' fans might lose interest in the whole thing. Either way, a lot more thought required.
A league where, for example, Ballymena come 14th, Coleraine come 13th, but Bohs in 12th get relegated instead would be a pretty stupid league.
Random relegation regardless of final position is about the only 'improvement' the FAI haven't considered. Don't knock it. You just know someone in there will think it's a great idea.:rolleyes:
As I see it, the AIL proposal boils down to three options, in order of likelihood:
- It's dead in the water.
- Lucid scales back the project to the LoI only. Which means losing c.40% of the potential all-island TV audience, plus whatever overseas audience that includes. I doubt his investors would accept a diminished potential return unless they reduced their investment proportionally, so how much better off clubs would be compared to now is debatable.
- Lucid provides enough specific financial detail to entice some Northern clubs to break away and join an AIL. And pigs'll fly.
If it's an All-Ireland League, it's an All-Ireland League. Teams from both sides of the border should have to sink or swim. Quotas for northern teams would make a joke out of the entire affair.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
You might be on to something there Eminence.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eminence Grise
The team that finishes last (this year UCD) gets 10 tickets, Dundalk as Champions get 1 ticket , Rovers get 2 etc etc.
All the Tickets get put into a big bowl and one ticket is pulled out in the Aviva Stadium in a massive end of season event and that is the relegated team for the year.
If we combine it with the cup final it would be a guaranteed sell out.
Dundalk as Champions have ony 1 chance in 47 of going down but it would still be exciting for their fans.....Rovers would have two chances of their ticket being pulled out TWICE AS EXCITING!!
I salute you sir....
Combine this with an AIL and the sky is the limit
A little bit more here on why the IFA said no.
https://www.irishnews.com/sport/foot...lucid-1753569/
Way too much thinking there. But you can sign me up! Provided we get to use words like metrics, opportunity, blue-sky thinking and overseas investors in the marketing blurbs!Quote:
Originally Posted by sbgawa
Pretty damning if even half of it is true unfortunately.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr_Parker
Also - the eircom League?! That takes me back!
Maybe even build in a type of carbon offset bidding where clubs could buyback some of their relegation tickets.Quote:
Originally Posted by sbgawa
Fully agree but a League where 3 IL teams got relegated first season is unlikely to be palatable to our Northern friends (or vice versus).Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu