I know this isn?t the right thread but people talk about the loss of Connolly for us but I think Hoban?s injury has had a much bigger effect on us. Not only is he a great striker and front man, but the press is driven by him and he gets himself all over the pitch. Our replacement strikers in Martin and McMillan are like putting 10 year olds into and under 18 team, completely ineffective.Originally Posted by placid casual
Completely agree Hooooban is the player that holds everything together for you. Gives u an out ball, good at corners at both ends and a great finisher. When we play u if Hoooban is out it is a different ball game.
I think thats very fair, but you or others of your persuasion then can't be calling on Irish Media to give fair light, attention and focus on the League and games in Europe if you are going to put up that fare. All thats happened over the last few games of rovers in europe is turned disinterest to annoyance for many. The qualifying rounds involving other Irish teams were much better and far more entertaining to watch but not on mainstream TV and I think thats pretty shameful. But whats more shameful is the noise that will emanate from here next year giving out about no LOI teams in Europe being shown(again). I think every team has a duty to the league, their supporters and the leagues fans when performing on mainstream TV in Europe. I'll be the first to call them out next year too - I am not having a go a new otoh.
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
LOI fans are a weird bunch and arguably the weirdest quirk is this feeling of ownership of the League's European representatives. Always found it bizarre, I want all other Irish clubs to do terribly in Europe which is the normal way for a football fan to feel and it's how I suspect the vast majority of Rovers fans feel. Why would fans of Cork, Galway or whomever even care? It's deeply, deeply weird not to mention parochial and small time.
Stephen Bradley has a duty of care to Rovers not to strange internet guy who is losing his mind over another club's performances - did I mention that it's not normal behaviour? Frankly it's none of anyone else's business, Bradley and the club have a plan which is currently on schedule but it's not a short term plan and results/performances in Belgium and Norway are quite frankly irrelevant to us - the only people who actually matter - in the grand scheme of things
We are quite happy making incremental steps and progressing year on year without throwing it all away as others - including Rovers - have done in the past. That's the key for us and if anonymous LOI guy finds that embarrassing then maybe he should hang on until his own club are in similar position before giving himself an aneurism. Just a thought.
No One Likes Us, We Don't Care
on the money.
That has to be the post of the year so far?.
I think WAR summed up my overall sentiments better than I could! You and I obviously differ in terms of what we support Paul but I understand where you're coming from at least. I'm a Rovers supporter, not a #loifamily man. I want us to dominate Irish football and as a result I don't want other clubs to do well in Europe. Now I wouldn't begrudge certain teams a run but it's not something I'd be hoping for. I did at one point lean more towards wanting the league as a whole to be well represented but I've long since given up on any of my EPL worshipping mates switching sides. If they do it won't be down to European runs any way. It will be because the domestic games are better craic than sitting in front of the tv and the nonsense across the water has become too overhyped and fake even for them.
In addition I don't care about the media coverage piece. The best coverage of the league is done by sections of the media that will always do right by it and I'd honestly prefer if the bigger broadcasters just left it alone for a while. Dundalk had a great run in Europe but what were the long term changes it brought about? Did it result in a proper tv deal or anything concrete? Maybe successive runs would be too hard to ignore but until we have a club who can actually properly compete in the groups then we aren't going to have that and that requires incremental change and investment. I'd rather build towards being able to take Molde on properly than hope for one brilliant year and then the inevitable decline that has followed for most clubs.
Now I can say all that and still think we SHOULD be able to do better in our away games. I'm not excusing the performances. But I don't care if we prioritize the league. That's what I want. I want #20. I want 3 and hopefully 4 in a row. Europe is a nice bonus and hopefully we can get a win and a draw from the home games but the groups were the target, not putting on a show for the neutrals.
21 leagues and 25 cups.
People on a public LOI forum posting about LOI teams in Europe, that are not their team. Well I never! What next, people posting on attendance figures that aren?t about their club or heaven forbid, posting about another club?s game in a game week thread. Where will it end?! I?d ban the lot of them personally, as a LOI forum is no place for that kind of behaviour. Just a thought.
But what if strange anonymous weird LOI internet guy doesn't have his own club ? But instead has this freakish yearly hard on for this thread on this website only & the sense that Stephen Bradley & Rovers should fuc king well try harder to give him some vague reflective glory to bask in, Irish style with no real interest in the league beyond that & surface knowledge at most.
Surely it's not that hard to understand ? Supporting the LOI is a fringe pastime, and one that if we're honest is often maligned by a lot of people in society ("Who do you really support though?" "I wouldn't watch that sh!!te if they were playing in my back garden" etc etc). It's us against the world - or at least the armchair gobsh!!tes anyway (and a large portion of the national media) - which understandably develops a sense of camaraderie, mutual self-interest and support etc.
Then there's also the obvious fact that LOI clubs doing better in Europe undeniably gives our overall league more credibility.
I'm surprised this has to be spelled out to be honest.
And I'll tell you what is actually deeply weird though. It's Irish people turning their backs on their own football clubs to latch onto foreign teams they have neither connrection nor affinity with. That's really where the weird sh!!t is at amiigo
I think a word which used to be popular on the forum, 'minnow-ism' is my reaction to all these Rovers fans happy to win league every year and not care about Europe. So you'd prefer to win another (20th - I believe) league title than qualify for the knock-out stages in the Europa conference, a competition which is about a thousand times more prestigious? A 20th league title for Rovers? Who cares - nobody's going to take any notice outside Rovers fans. But qualifying for knock out-stages in Europe would give the club a profile it's never had before. As I say - 'minnow-ism.'
Rovers haven't been great in the group, but getting there is an achievement in itself -- and it's about as organic as it can get, which is to be celebrated in era of billionaire oligarch football club owners. Baby steps to the Champions League final in 2035, like.
Used to watch Rovers in the 80s (the Pat (and Mick) Byrne, Liam O'Brien etc. era) so have a bit of favouritism towards them, but overall, some of the Pats and Sligo performances in Europe this year were more exciting to watch. With the league more or less wrapped up now, Rovers have no excuses for lacking courage/playing within themselves in the remaining conference games.
.
Ive just cut this part out as it's the most important to us as Rovers fans.
We do care about winning the league more than any other team in this country. We value the importance of winning our domestic league. We understand that to get into European group stages its vital we win the league.
What other clubs fans, or even just LOI followers think about whether Rovers are seen as successful or not is a complete phookin irrelevance to us. Attempts to somehow discredit Rovers achievements over the last few years just says more about that person than anything else.
When we come to your town/village /city it means a lot to you folks to try and beat us. Cool, keep it that way. It makes the games and ground atmospheres very entertaining.
Rovers domination in the league is coming to an end in the next year or two so people can get their whinges ready for when Derry take over.
Entirely missing the point. As was outlined in WAR's earlier post, there is a plan here to try & compete over a longer timeframe than 1 or 2 isolated years, if Rovers did manage to get through to the knockouts (which in reality is a behemoth of a task given the financial clout we're up against) and fell away to allow a financially well backed Derry dominate the league for the next 4 or 5 years where does that leave us as a club? Rovers, whether you like it or not are entitled to put in place a strategy that in their opinion benefits them (no one else matters to be frank) and keeps them ahead domestically and random online posts calling them minnows etc. (for daring to go against the tried & tested failures of the past) are never going to influence that thinking.
Personally as a Rovers fan for over 40 years I will always put the league first, its the bread & butter for any club at any level, and no one off run in Europe will ever change that IMO. As a fan of a club I want to see them win stuff & be the best in the country, anything on top of that is a bonus. If we win our 20th title this year it will be the 10th I'll have personally see us win, and do you know what, it never gets tired or boring. And if the plan works there'll be plenty of European opportunities to come. But I believe there's merit in trying to get the foundations right first & then building on that.
They have a few million banked this year. They'd be mad not to prioritise the league and look to do the same next year.
Blowing the league title and having to compete in the conference league first round qualifier would be a huge setback for them.
Minnowism for me is asking other clubs to sacrifice their priorities in order to give you something to celebrate.
I hate to see someone knocking the league title like this by the way. I really hope we don't go the way of the EPL where the league plays second fiddle to CL qualification. The Champions Path has thankfully helped keep the league title's level of importance but the league should be celebrated regardless. It's what we play for all year.
When Derry win it next year by 15 points maybe it will allow us the freedom to give you all a bit of a jolly up when we play in Europe.....
21 leagues and 25 cups.
I wouldn't say the league is wrapped up at all yet.
Hoping for a bit more of a competitive game tomorrow night but with only a 5 point cushion and 4 games to go, it's still very much up for grabs with advantage to Rovers
"Now jump up there and stuff that son of a bitch in the basket, chief"
Couldnt think of a word to sum up Rovers in one word but Minnow-ism is the best I?ve heard yet!
Pull the other one, it's got bells on.
As others have said getting to the group was the reward, anything else was a bonus. The insipid performances have been a disappointment sure, but anyone expecting them to have set the world on fire is a fecking ejit.
Despite what some people are saying champions qualifying for the conference groups every year from now on isn't a given, but it's an order of magnitude easier relative to the non-champions path. So why wouldn't making sure you're champions be the priority?
Those saying Dundalk or Rovers managed to win the league before while competing in group stages. Well if anyone was paying attention Dundalk had a few slip ups in 2016 when they tried to cram as many games into October as possible, but Cork kept dropping points themselves, including on the last day. If Dundalk had to finish their group games before the end of that season it might have been different, though they probably still would have finished ahead of that Cork side.
There shouldn't be a title race, it should have been a procession. Rovers should be sitting here now knowing 3 points against Drogs sees them champions. Instead, they're looking over their shoulder wondering if they're going to need to win against UCD on the last day to clinch it.
For beating the champions of Macedonia & Malta?while getting their ass penitrated repeatedly by any side that was in any way decent?for you?re own sake don?t even dare celebrate that like it?s some achievement, the champions of Ireland should be expecting to make Europe with the route they had and to say otherwise again speaks of the minnowism this Rovers side posses.
No one said set the world alight?trust me Rovers have been on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, all that was wanted was Rovers to be respectable in the games regardless of the results?instead they have been an absolute disgrace from start to finish, and no the sides they are playing aren?t amazing?Rovers just make any side look amazing with how terrible they?ve been.
Exactly they are and that shows why Bradley isn?t up to scratch, any side with ambition would have sacked him ages ago.
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