More Aggressive Approach Needed

[Pedro m]

I would be very much of the same opinion as Greenforever. I too am very involved with MY club. Even in the off season i'd be giving 10+ hrs to bits related to my club. For me the real strength of Irish football is at local/grassroots (hate that term) level. I'm not trying to get at any EL supporters everyone to their own.

Back on topic - IMO the problem stems from the strength of the GAA. The local aspect ie the parish etc. My closest EL club is prob Pats maybe they do a lot of work in their area. How many clubs had a schoolboy/underage section before it became a requirement under licensing? Too many clubs IMO see their underage set-up as a hindrance. The easiest to influence in society are the young. Taking Pats as an example their must be 40 schoolboy clubs on their doorstep, how many of these clubs have they approached and given free tickets to the kids and free accompanying adults tickets? Take a short term loss to get these kids involved and in love with EL football. Players should be coaching in these local clubs.

There is so much PR that could be achieved by visiting clubs. IMO ads wont work and are simply a waste of money. There is the tickets that you get with the summer soccer schools but I reckon if a schoolboy club was offered 200 tickets for kids and coaches it would be taken up much quicker.

There is no easy answer but the attacks on the "barstoolers" wont do anything for the EL. Whether people like it or not the EPL is here to stay and popular. But as in England the where the lower league and non-league clubs are supported as 2nd team by a lot of EPL supporters this is a reality in the EL also and should be abused by arranging friendlies against such opposition where possible instead of resenting the "barstoolers" that would turn up.

Maybe this is being done/tried but as an adminstrator/manager with a local club in Dublin we have never been approached

anyway just my tupence ...................

[micls]

While I can see why Europe and the CL group stages are the holy grail, they arent the be all and end all.

Football isnt just about being successful in Europe, or being considered a top team in Europe(will never happen). Anyone who will only support a team within those conditions isnt a football fan, they are an event junkie.

There are leagues the world over which will never consistently be int he CL or be 'top teams'. But thats not what football is about.

Football is about passion and pride in you locality, in your team. Greenforever Id expect you would get this, as why would you support the Irish National team otherwise?

Its about passion, camaraderie and a belief in your local team.

We all want bigger crowds, better stadiums etc etc. But not if the price we have to pay is half of us not having our local teams anymore, with them being dumped so that 4/5 can suddenly become good.

If people dont want to come to games they cant be forced, as frustrating as it is. But lets be honest here, it's their loss. They're missing out on what it really is to be a football fan, through the good and the bad. So do what we can, but all the while, lets just enjoy what we have, cos its a hell of a lot better than some alternatives.

[TonyD]

While I can see why Europe and the CL group stages are the holy grail, they arent the be all and end all.

Football isnt just about being successful in Europe, or being considered a top team in Europe(will never happen). Anyone who will only support a team within those conditions isnt a football fan, they are an event junkie.

There are leagues the world over which will never consistently be int he CL or be 'top teams'. But thats not what football is about.

Football is about passion and pride in you locality, in your team. Greenforever Id expect you would get this, as why would you support the Irish National team otherwise?

Its about passion, camaraderie and a belief in your local team.

We all want bigger crowds, better stadiums etc etc. But not if the price we have to pay is half of us not having our local teams anymore, with them being dumped so that 4/5 can suddenly become good.

If people dont want to come to games they cant be forced, as frustrating as it is. But lets be honest here, it's their loss. They're missing out on what it really is to be a football fan, through the good and the bad. So do what we can, but all the while, lets just enjoy what we have, cos its a hell of a lot better than some alternatives.

Hear Hear. See, someone gets it.

[Greenforever]

Should be through the clubs - I wouldn't restrict to just League of Ireland clubs myself.


I wouldn't restrict distribution to League of Ireland clubs, but yes, priority should be given to people who commit to Irish football all year round, not just a few games a year. A block booker for 10 years would only barely be coming up to a couple of seasons worth of games compared to an LoI season ticket holder.

Tickets pre block booking used to be distributed through clubs, and suprise surprise, a hell of a lot of tickets never paid for.

The block booking scheme is a massive success and results in huge revenue for the FAI which filters through to the EL and lower levels.

You're assuming all block bookers have no other interest in the game, most block bookers I know, have some kind of involvement weather playing, managing, or supporting a club.

And why should an LOI fan get better treatment than say a fan of a LSL team etc.

[Greenforever]

Midweek games against unglamorous teams and huge travelling bills. It's a recipe for bankruptcy.

Is that the El or the champions league qualifying rounds your talking about? For a lot if people that is what you have just described.

[Greenforever]

While I can see why Europe and the CL group stages are the holy grail, they arent the be all and end all.

Football isnt just about being successful in Europe, or being considered a top team in Europe(will never happen). Anyone who will only support a team within those conditions isnt a football fan, they are an event junkie. .

I beg to disagree, if I am going to travel the lenght of the country supporting a team I expect more, if Im not getting it I will settle with supporting my local club which for me would be a DDSL club.

As a matter of Interest does any posters know who were the FAI club of the year this year? I would far prefer to support a club with this commitment than an EL club and that is my perogotative and doesnt make me any less of a fan in my eyes.

.

Football is about passion and pride in you locality, in your team. Greenforever Id expect you would get this, as why would you support the Irish National team otherwise? .

As previously posted I can have more pride in my local team, as I know the players, the parents, the coaches etc, etc, and thats what gives me most satisfaction.

The national team I support because I can identify with it and because of the love for my country.

ts about passion, camaraderie and a belief in your local team.

We all want bigger crowds, better stadiums etc etc. But not if the price we have to pay is half of us not having our local teams anymore, with them being dumped so that 4/5 can suddenly become good.

If people dont want to come to games they cant be forced, as frustrating as it is. But lets be honest here, it's their loss. They're missing out on what it really is to be a football fan, through the good and the bad. So do what we can, but all the while, lets just enjoy what we have, cos its a hell of a lot better than some alternatives.

What is the definition of your local team? From most posters it has to be your local EL team, well sorry if Im going to support highly paid players I expect far more, and if it's the structures that are fault so be it, I'll quite happily stay with a lower level, but which I can identify with more.

End of rant from an event junkie and the club of the year St Joeys Boys, Sallynoggin. (I've no involvement with them but the height of respect for them)

[Lamper.sffc]

Greenforever. You are fighting a loosing battle. I dont see any real ideas coming from people to improve what we have( lost count of how many times you asked for their ideas)
Its mainly just negativity from most(you know who you are) not all i know.

This is the cancer in the el, until this atitude changes our league will stay the same.
If we want more bums on seats we need to let people know that its alright to support a team abroad but why not support an el team also.
Slagging people off and generally being negative doesnt help or encourage new fans.
I sometimes think these people dont want new fans at their clubs they want it all for themselves just so they can say, " look at us we are the true supporters we brave it out when others wont" they wont feel that way if there was too many fans.

[placid casual]

with respect i think the "negativity" you sense is borne out of frustration from EL fans .
We all want more people to come through the turnstiles but these people wont turn up, except when a team they watch on tv turns up.
its not "supporting" in the classic sense of the word but more about an evenings entertainment for them. they dont have the culture of following football but still reagrd themselves as supporters. they arent. they are consumers.

[Lamper.sffc]

with respect i think the "negativity" you sense is borne out of frustration from EL fans .
We all want more people to come through the turnstiles but these people wont turn up, except when a team they watch on tv turns up.
its not "supporting" in the classic sense of the word but more about an evenings entertainment for them. they dont have the culture of following football but still reagrd themselves as supporters. they arent. they are consumers.

Fair point. But you have to agree that slating these people is not going to encourage them to come to a match. It will do the opposite.

[Greenforever]

Greenforever. You are fighting a loosing battle. I dont see any real ideas coming from people to improve what we have( lost count of how many times you asked for their ideas)
Its mainly just negativity from most(you know who you are) not all i know.

This is the cancer in the el, until this atitude changes our league will stay the same.
If we want more bums on seats we need to let people know that its alright to support a team abroad but why not support an el team also.
Slagging people off and generally being negative doesnt help or encourage new fans.
I sometimes think these people dont want new fans at their clubs they want it all for themselves just so they can say, " look at us we are the true supporters we brave it out when others wont" they wont feel that way if there was too many fans.

At last a sensible post, at least the clubs aren't as negative as a lot of the posters on this thread.

It reminds me of Irish trips away such as the next three games, "these are the real supporters" is what you'll hear, I hate the easy trips, Paris, Stuttgart etc. My answer is always would the team prefer to have 40,000 supporters behind them than 400. If i'm going to support the team then surely I want as many suporters as possible to create as good an athmosphere as possible.

That said Oslo with all 200 -300 of us will be great crack

[Lamper.sffc]

Sport is about enjoyment, no matter what level of participation you choose to have.