But you'd have two unfilled ends either side of the Donie Forde on show then. At least the Derrynane goes the length of the pitch.
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I really don't get this fixation about the optics of grounds on TV.
While I understand it has some relevance, surely the quality of the football and the competitiveness of the match are more important considerations for attracting viewers.
Presented with a choice in watching an Ireland V Kazakhstan friendly in the Aviva or Dundalk V Shamrock Rovers in Oriel Park / St Pats V Derry CIty in Richmond the LoI fixture would win out every time for me
No need to be so condescending Ezeikial, the point you seem to continually be missing is that no "Neutral fan" perceives the LoI to be higher quality than, the Ireland team or probably any other football match available on TV either. If a neutral switches on a game and it's in a nice stadium they are more likely to continue to watch it rather than sneer at the man and his dog in the battered stand and switch to say an SPL game with dire football but in a great stadium.
You can't guarantee the quality of a game beforehand. The two best teams in the world can put out dross. You know what the stadium looks like. A bad game in a bad stadium looks a lot worse than a bad game in a good stadium.
I've said this before but I'll say it again. We should be looking at getting our games broadcast abroad in a proper tv deal, not this ridiculous robo cam betting deal we have. Limit the games to only the best stadiums and divide the money roughly evenly among all 20 clubs but with a small bonus to the home and away teams involved for each game. This money should then only be allowed to be spent on infrastructural improvement. Either on Stadia or Training Facilities.
Explain to teams what they need to do in order to be considered for hosting games. Maybe funding could be dished out in a sort of grant format rather than x% per club per year. We need to constantly improve all of our stadia, including those that are currently considered the best, but we should be looking to improve those that are the worst as a priority and create a minimum acceptable standard.
A high quality game in a low quality stadium should be a more attractive prospect, but in reality, it isn't.
All the TV deals, all the media coverage, all the stadium upgrades, and all the attendance statistics can be worked on and talked about, but at the end of the day, using your own comparison, if there's 30,000 neutral football fans tuning into a football match in Ireland, and the options are Dundalk vs Shamrock Rovers playing a superb game of free flowing football in Oriel Park, or Ireland vs Kazakhstan playing boring hoof football with no quality in Aviva Stadium, I'd wager 25,000 of that 30,000 will pick the Ireland game, irrespective of the quality of football on show.
I suggest that the perception of the quality of a LoI match is more likely to be impacted by the quality of the football than anything else.
If a neutral switches on a game and it is a nice stadium, but a poor quality match, do you really think that they are likely to stay and be captivated by the nice seats in a stand?
If quality of stadia was truely what dictated TV cover age, matches in Tallaght, Turners Cross, Showgrounds would have a significantly higher TV viewership than matches form Oriel Park - this is not the case.
I am not saying that stadia quality is unimportant, just that it is over-stated
I think its more of a case that the league is perceived as Mickey Mouse by the barstoolers and people in general.
When they turn on the TV and see a Mickey Mouse stadium they see that as confirmation and even if the football is good they still say its a mickey mouse league. Even good play or goals are written off.
If what they see on TV in terms of the stadium looks good professional and inviting there is more chance of them coming along to a match.
I don't think its the difference between small crowds turning into big crowds but its an incremental thing.
That is only true to a certain degree though, Man United have played some of the most turgid football I've ever seen this season but I'd bet their games have more viewership than any other club in the EPL, because they play in a nice stadium? Of course not. They, like Ireland, have a well established fan base who will watch their games regardless, so the point of LoI viewing figures vs Ireland is moot.
The broader point of trying to gain neutral viewers and gain more new fans is directly impacted by how the games look on TV. We all know the quality of football in the LoI is good and getting better, but the quality of the Stadia, facilities, general TV watching experience is still going to keep away the neutrals who, for the most part, think the LoI is just pub teams playing in front of a few hundred dole-collectors. If the general appearance of the league on national media doesn't improve with the quality of the football the neutrals still won't believe it's any better as a whole, that's why it's important!
Looking forward to this.
That's a mad aul hairshtyle on Kenny all the same.
He would be managing at a higher level I feel if he sorted that out alone.
When is the next game on TV?
Any RTE or Eir Sport schedule or announcements for May onwards!