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Just had a phonecall from a source in Scotland who has confirmed that Sean Dillon may be moving across the water to Falkirk.It hasn't got to negotiations stage just yet but will keep you informed.What do people reckon..good move ..??:ball: :confused:
They're supposed to be after Quigley too. Falkirk seems to be an Irish destination these days with the likes of Stokes, Cregg, Barrett and O'Donnell. John Hughes is doing well there and likes to play nice football. They're still not that big a club in a Socttish context but it's a better shop window for a bigger move.
disaster. another fine player on his way to that joke of a league.
I wonder will they start to fly journos and
rent a crowd over from here like Sunderland.
Also, I wonder will Stephen Kenny try to bring
a few players over to Dunfirmline?
Every single club in Scotlands top tier has full international players. Even the smallest supported team there has, on average, double the attendance of Irelands best supported club. Lose the Old Firm bias and it's still a better league than the EL.Quote:
Originally Posted by ciaraa
Those are the facts I'm afraid and that's coming from someone who bums up the EL to anyone who will listen over here in Scotland.
If they're a joke of a league then what is the eL?Quote:
Originally Posted by ciaraa
The lowesr average attendance in the SPL is 4,500 for Inverness. Take away full houses for visit of Old Firm teams & I am sure that drops significantly. Attendances are no guage of quality anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by drinkfeckarse
I see bits of the SPL highest sometimes on Setanta & by & large the standard is poor. That is not to say the eL brilliant. Obviously the Premiership is of high standard but for I can't take seriously anhyone who knocks the eL & then watches the SPL are ist of poor enough standard. Irish people who watch the SPL probbaly only watch Celtic & haven't a clue about other teams or players.
CompetitiveQuote:
Originally Posted by Poor Student
Circular reference. If they lost the Old Firm (see Celtic thread on the speech in Dubai) it would be an inferior league. The Old Firm keep it afloat. Only league where the away end is generally the biggest stand in the ground.Quote:
Originally Posted by drinkfeckarse
Flawed argument. It's the same for any league. Do you think City get more for a home game against Shels or Bray? At the end of the day the SPL's lowest average attended club is still twice that of the EL's highest attended club.Quote:
Originally Posted by pete
If they lost the Old Firm attendences would still be a lot higher than in Ireland. It's a simple fact. Hibs, Hearts and Aberdeen avaerage approx 12,000 for non old firm games. Some would argue that attendences would increase if they lost the Old Firm as the league would be competitive again and teams would have a genuine chance of silverware.Quote:
Originally Posted by OneRedArmy
Think about how much money would leave the league and then think about your response again.Quote:
Originally Posted by drinkfeckarse
The Old Firm keep the League afloat financially.
A joke league with fickle supporters crippled by a post-colonial inferiority complex, evidently.Quote:
Originally Posted by Poor Student
Please read my post again. It contains my views on what I suspect would happen if the Old Firm left.Quote:
Originally Posted by OneRedArmy
There is very little difference between both leagues, apart from the Old Firm. Results have proved this. Full-time pros over there probably get double what they get over here, hence the amount of EL players heading over there. They are also more likely to be spotted by English clubs.
the infrastructure in the SPL is of a different level to the crap here in ireland.
The scottish people dont follow a foriegn league en masse like we do here
Morton got more at a recent game than we did in our semi final of the cup
Larrson , gattuso ,di canio ,gravsen have all played or play in the SPL
We need a reality check here, our league is in a terrible state and by slagging the SPL we are fooling ourselves
In regards to the anti-Celtic element of some posts , Celtic fans in general in ireland would have a more positive view of the eircom league than fans of other non Eircom league clubs, there is a large crossover of fans at Rovers
dont see how slagging scottish league we are fooling ourselves?? just cos i think its a joke doesnt mean i think el is fantastic. just dont like seeing players who I enjoy watching play (not necessarily dillon but lads like wes hoolahan for eg) move there when football wise its definitley a poorer standard (take away old firm obviously). i have wathced some matches (only on setanta mind) and some of the stuff i have seen would make your eyes water! its really poor. just cos they have better stadiums/more fans doesnt mean that the fare will be better (as pete pointed out)Quote:
Originally Posted by Fingal hoop
it was 1985 or something, the last time a different team won the league. what kind of competition is that?? hearts are suppsedly the 2nd best team but look how they fared in europe this year! derry would probably have taken them and they only have a fraction of the budget.
infrastructurally (?) scot league is way ahead of ireland but in football terms (which is what my 'joke league' point was aimed at) ireland is definitely ahead of all but 2 of the scottish teams.
oh yeah and cel-tarian fans in my experience of seeing them at friendly games in united park are some of the worst "fans" i have ever had the misfortune to come across. i am sure there are some bona-fide ones in ireland like FH mentions but i have yet to meet them.
At the end of the day the attitude of most of our players will be that accross the water is the place to be, whether it is the Premiership, Championship, SPL or even the conference. The only league an Irish player wouldn't leave for is the Welsh league. :(
good move for the lad, wish him all the best. might actually get paid at falkirk
Quote:
Originally Posted by gerryscore
No its not, not at all.
In footballing terms, I'd imagine that any of the top four teams in the EL could and would beat 7/10 EPL sides (Rangers, Celtic, Hearts excepted) in European
competition. The last two contests (Bohs vs Aberdeen, Derry vs Gretna) have resulted in victories for EL sides.
However club infrastructure, stadia and support far bigger in Scotland.
A bit of perspective here. Dillon might be moving to Falkirk to better facilities.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hooperatzi
Following the Bradford Fire in 1985 and the Hillsborough Disaster in 1989, and the Taylor Report, the UK Government set up a body called the Football Trust which gave significant grants to either upgrading existing stadia or in other cases partially aid those clubs to build new stadia where they weren't being paid for in full by property speculators eyeing up their old ground's location.
It's only in recent years that the Irish Government has done anything for facilities in this country via grants through the Sports Council.
Plus unlike the Scottish we are not subsidised by tax payers from a country with 50 million citizens adjacent to us .
It would be a good move for him- playing against better players and giving him a better chance of moving on to better things.
so what?? are the facilities not considered that good because clubs got grants? falkirk's ground (with only its two stands) is better than any in the eL - and pretty much the rest of the premier division in scotland have better than falkirk. the move is still an improvement for dillon, irrespective of how the facilities were developed.Quote:
Originally Posted by CollegeTillIDie
bottom line, having watched both, there is no doubt that the scottish league is a much better league than our own. those that want to continue to delude themselves can, but there really is very little comparison.
Would Dillon be better waiting for a move to a better league? Very few players from the lower SPL sides ever make it at the top levels in England. More often than not scottish based players more to League One in england and sometimes the Championship. Besides Falkrik seem to be full of loaned players so could easily be back in the 1st division if they left.
What better league? Players can't afford sit around waiting for a Premiership club to come in and swoop for them. Even Championship clubs are fairly rare. Players in the SPL can just as well impress the Old Firm as they can clubs down South. The odd player has even moved to the continent. The SPL has global exposure, it doesn't matter if it's on the back of the Old Firm, when playing one of them Dillon would be playing to quite TV audience. You can't seperate the Old Firm from the SPL no more than you can take Cork and Derry out of the eL.
I haven't actually seen anything to back the Dillon to Falkirk story up other than this thread.
He'll be getting paid more money (probably on time and in full too), so for a professional player it's probably a no brainer tbh. If I got offered multiples of my salary by a Scottish firm I'd probably take it too, so why should it be any different for a footballer in his job either? Bringing in skill levels and support is irrelevant.