QuoteI'll state the reasons why your league isn't in a lull and why our league is.Originally Posted by pete
If the IL is experiencing a lull then I don't know what is happening to the eLOI with such an exodus to the UK in the close season.
I don't want to offend anyone but Portadown lost 6-0 & 11-0 on aggregate to St Pats & Cork City. At least Dungannon put up a fight.
1) The support of the IL is shrinking on average
2) The league has 16 teams in a country that should have 10 teams - too many amatuerish setups.
3) The amount of quality players being produced in Northern Ireland has been reduced
4) Coverage of IL football is shrinking by the season
5) Facilities are crumbling
6) Only one club has any credibility in our league now.
Compare that to the LOI
1) Crowds are on the up on average
2) Fewer teams in the top division, makes competition a lot better
3) A lot of good players being produced by the LOI hence the amount going to Scotland and England
4) Coverage of LOI is getting better and better
5) Facilities are getting better
6) More clubs with credibility and pulling power
The fact that Scottish clubs and English clubs are signing your players is a testement of how well your league is going. Unfortunately few players in IL football get interest from across the water because the standard by and large is poor, even in comparison with the LOI. With Only Linfield being able to play and beat the top teams in the LOI.
Also on the 3 years to catch up thing.
I accept that the LOI will get better, but I do not and I think you would be foolish to believe that you will continue to get better at the same rate as you have in the last 5 years. Let's make no mistake about it, your standard has increased at a very rapid and steep rate. You will still get better I believe(and hope) but not at the same rate as you have been.
The IL however are even further behind than you where 5 years ago. But we seem to have good brains now at the top(Howard Wells) and I believe the IL will see a dramatic change in infrustructure and in 3 years the gap between us will be a lot closer. Whether we close the gap all together I don't know and probably say no, but I do believe we will have 3 or 4 teams in the IL that would be able to compete in the Setanta cup to a point where we could possibly have more than 1 qualify to the Semi's each year.
The Setanta cup has been a good exercise for IL football because it shows us how far we need to go to achieve a modest standard of football. Linfield aside the standard we have shown has been very limited.
It's also a good exercise for LOI teams because it's decent money and you get to have the likes of Linfield coming and achieving a bit of buzz about the towns.
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