derry & Cliftonville

**ghosty** · 11/03/2004, 9:18 AM

Originally posted by davros
Well,not now they're about to get relegated?Still the IL Div1 could get a crowd boost from their Enormous part-time following....

Who is getting relegated...Cliftonville or Crusaders? I would suggest you look at the current IL table davros, from where i am it looks like the only team certain of going down are Glenavon. We're 3 points behind Dungannon and the Crues and we still have to play both, so i'd say we're good to stay up.

**BannsideBoy** · 11/03/2004, 12:19 PM

Originally posted by ghosty

Bannside Boy, on current form? So you take this seasons current form to decide if they make it or not? What about the seasons Ballymena, Coleraine and Distillery spent in the 1st Division or areyou glossing over that bit?

So when the premiership in england was formed they offered places to stoke, wolves etc becuase of past glories, wise up.

As i have said it is on merit, and not god given right.

Sounds like a bit of Belfast Bias to me.

Smell the coffee, the teams that you mention are of superior quality to either team from north Belfast.

**TommyT** · 11/03/2004, 1:42 PM

One way not to do it is averageing the placings for two seasons. Remember bangor ?

**BannsideBoy** · 11/03/2004, 5:51 PM

Originally posted by TommyT
One way not to do it is averageing the placings for two seasons. Remember bangor ?

I do very well, what a farce.

**Plastic Paddy** · 11/03/2004, 10:48 PM

Originally posted by BannsideBoy
Originally posted by BannsideBoy
1.Bohemians
2.Cork City
3.Glentoran
4.Linfield
5.Portadown
6.Derry City
7.St Pats
8.Shelbourne
9.Shamrock rovers
10.Drogeda
11.Coleraine
12.Longford
13.Waterford
14.Ballymena Utd
15.Dundalk
16.Lisburn

Give or take a few, this would be a great league, good supports for most teams.

I stepped into this debate just now, but I couldn't agree more with BB's assessment. A firm basis for an all-Ireland league in my book. Promotion and relegation would soon iron out the differences, that's for sure.

BB - thanks for the commonsense approach. (I'll get me coat now for even saying such a thing...)

PP

**Lux Interior** · 13/03/2004, 8:32 PM

With the Irish League and Eircom Leagues being tinkered and re-tinkered, without any tangible successes, the logical step, IMO, would be an All-Ireland paradigm, based on a 16-team format.

Some critics would cite travelling as a (legitimate?) reason for not considering amalgamation but, with Dublin around 2 hours away, the only arduous journeys would be Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Cork. Omagh would still be nightmare

Around 250 Glens made the summer, Sunday afternoon trip to Tolka last year for a 2-1 stroll against the EL champs-elect. I would estimate that this would be half any regular support we would take to accessible aways - and that would be if the team were playing rank.

I'll be at the Kraftwerk gig on Monday night (Olympia). Small Glens lapel badge, if anyone fancies a natter

**ghosty** · 14/03/2004, 7:15 PM

Originally posted by BannsideBoy
So when the premiership in england was formed they offered places to stoke, wolves etc becuase of past glories, wise up.

As i have said it is on merit, and not god given right.

Sounds like a bit of Belfast Bias to me.

Smell the coffee, the teams that you mention are of superior quality to either team from north Belfast.

When the Premiership was formed the teams that didn't get relegated made up the 1st Premier league, no invites were issued.

As for merit, what merit? Ballymena were a 1st Division Club last season and now they're not even mid table. Granted that Distillery are having a good season this year, but is that any basis for including them? Coleraine, well they won the IC last season, so maybe they deserve on that alone....but is that not a past glory?

A few weeks ago Cliftonville beat Distillery 5-1 in the IC, we beat Coleraine in the league 2-0, then Larne beat them 4-0 away. So they're not actually all that good.

On the subject of Larne, why not include them? They're better than most this season and reached the CIS Cup final where they lost to us.

**BannsideBoy** · 14/03/2004, 8:07 PM

Originally posted by ghosty
When the Premiership was formed the teams that didn't get relegated made up the 1st Premier league, no invites were issued.

As for merit, what merit? Ballymena were a 1st Division Club last season and now they're not even mid table. Granted that Distillery are having a good season this year, but is that any basis for including them? Coleraine, well they won the IC last season, so maybe they deserve on that alone....but is that not a past glory?

A few weeks ago Cliftonville beat Distillery 5-1 in the IC, we beat Coleraine in the league 2-0, then Larne beat them 4-0 away. So they're not actually all that good.

On the subject of Larne, why not include them? They're better than most this season and reached the CIS Cup final where they lost to us.

ok thicky

i'll put it in simple terms, look at the league table.

**BannsideBoy** · 14/03/2004, 10:11 PM

Its a Coleraine FC supporters site, formed to publicise the reformation of the portrush coleraine supporters club.

**BannsideBoy** · 15/03/2004, 12:40 PM

Should be a good game, though cliftonville might save their players for their relegation battles to come, can't see Derry not winning it.

**brendy_�ire** · 16/03/2004, 10:57 PM

Originally posted by davros
Derry beat Cliftonville 3-0

**** easy it was. We had a number of reserves on. Not much of a challenge and a real eye opener to the gap between the eL and IL.

**brendy_�ire** · 16/03/2004, 10:57 PM

Originally posted by davros
Derry beat Cliftonville 3-0

**** easy it was. We had a number of reserves on. Not much of a challenge and a real eye opener to the gap between the eL and IL.

**Lux Interior** · 16/03/2004, 11:00 PM

Originally posted by brendy_�ire
**** easy it was. We had a number of reserves on. Not much of a challenge and a real eye opener to the gap between the eL and IL.

Would suggest that Cliftonville, in their current guise of second-from-bottom s.hiteyness would hardly be an accurate barometer of the standard of the Irish League

**BannsideBoy** · 16/03/2004, 11:02 PM

But derry were the second ****est in the eircom league too, tho you glens beat shels comfortably, so brendy's arguement fails there too!

**TommyT** · 16/03/2004, 11:09 PM

You were almost right, try this

Originally posted by Lux Interior
s.hite would be an accurate descrption of the standard of the Irish League

Pity though.

BTW Derry won't be anywhere close to relegation this season.

**BannsideBoy** · 16/03/2004, 11:21 PM

and they shouldn't have been last year!

**brendy_�ire** · 16/03/2004, 11:45 PM

Originally posted by Lux Interior
Would suggest that Cliftonville, in their current guise of second-from-bottom s.hiteyness would hardly be an accurate barometer of the standard of the Irish League

Aye, fair enough, I suppose. But then there's the likes of Stute drawing with Harps (the humiliation

). Also, we've been far from great in our pre-season friendlies to date, and the squad on last night included a few teenagers. Clfitonville were very poor for a Premier league side (or compared with the top 16 in the eL).

**Lux Interior** · 17/03/2004, 9:45 PM

Originally posted by TommyT
You were almost right, try this

Pity though.

BTW Derry won't be anywhere close to relegation this season.

To be fair, Tom, I don't think most people who go to local games are enticed by the quality on the park, n'est-ce pas?

**Lux Interior** · 17/03/2004, 9:48 PM

Originally posted by brendy_�ire
Aye, fair enough, I suppose. But then there's the likes of Stute drawing with Harps (the humiliation ). Also, we've been far from great in our pre-season friendlies to date, and the squad on last night included a few teenagers. Clfitonville were very poor for a Premier league side (or compared with the top 16 in the eL).

Indeed, brendy - one of my main objections to the re-intro of a 16-team league was the availability of enough decent talent.

Too few genuinely, relatively gifted players spread over 16 clubs has seen, IMO, a decline in standards.

And I would have no doubts that only the top 4/5 in the IL would survive - without setting the house on fire - initailly - in an AIL.

We'd be one of them, natch

**lopez** · 20/03/2004, 3:05 PM

Originally posted by ghosty
Lopez, what do you mean about non sectarian? If you want non sectarian then Linfield shouldn't be there.

Yeah dump them and put in a re-formed Belfast Celtic instead. While we're at it let's ditch Glentoran, Coleraine, Portadown and any other 'sectarian' team.

Anyway, someone earlier said that Linfield fans have complained about Coleraine fans' sectarian chanting.

Yep, I'm still having trouble getting to grips with that one.