Delaney wants England friendly at New Lansdowne

[Plastic Paddy]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...ndfootballteam

Thoughts people?

My tuppence worth - to paraphrase a certain firebrand from the North, "no, no and thrice no"!

PP

[OwlsFan]

"Ireland have been playing their home games at Croke Park and the FAI chief executive John Delaney has admitted it would be virtually impossible to host England there because of the historical associations with Bloody Sunday in 1920."

Didn't stop the English rugby team playing there or did the English soldiers represent the English FA ?

Not bothered if we play them someday down the line but NOT the first game and this was discussed already in a previous thread.

http://foot.ie/showthread.php?t=1020...ight=Lansdowne

[Sligo Hornet]

"Ireland have been playing their home games at Croke Park and the FAI chief executive John Delaney has admitted it would be virtually impossible to host England there because of the historical associations with Bloody Sunday in 1920."

Didn't stop the English rugby team playing there or did the English soldiers represent the English FA ?

Not bothered if we play them someday down the line but NOT the first game and this was discussed already in a previous thread.

http://foot.ie/showthread.php?t=1020...ight=Lansdowne

It was NEVER going to be the First match

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/181120...and-visit.html

Sounds like it was a case of "dipping the toe in the water" to see what the reaction would be both sides of the Irish Sea

[Claret Murph]

It was NEVER going to be the First match

Nothing would shock me that's for sure . I still say it will be England for the first up .

If the FAI want to make a pointer for the future then they would have to invite the North for the first game .

[Noelys Guitar]

We should play them. It is only a matter of time before we draw them again in a qualifier/tournament (WC2010 hopefully). I would love to beat them again.

[back of the net]

"Ireland have been playing their home games at Croke Park and the FAI chief executive John Delaney has admitted it would be virtually impossible to host England there because of the historical associations with Bloody Sunday in 1920."

Didn't stop the English rugby team playing there or did the English soldiers represent the English FA ?

Not bothered if we play them someday down the line but NOT the first game and this was discussed already in a previous thread.

http://foot.ie/showthread.php?t=1020...ight=Lansdowne

i could be wrong but i dont think there is the scumbag hooligan element to the england rugby fans owlsfan -- i would say thats more the reason why the gaa wont have the english soccer team in croker rather than the historical associations with 1920

[endabob1]

If the FAI want to make a pointer for the future then they would have to invite the North for the first game .

A nice thought & a strong statement about mending bridges etc... but you know the FAI will go for the money option

[elroy]

i could be wrong but i dont think there is the scumbag hooligan element to the england rugby fans owlsfan -- i would say thats more the reason why the gaa wont have the english soccer team in croker rather than the historical associations with 1920

Im a football fan first and foremost and would not like to see England play in croker. its nothing to do with the gaa or history but i feel a certain section of english 'supporters' would see this as a massive opportunity to cause trouble. And the only ones that would lose out is us because the backlash from the public/gaa would be huge.....ie they shouldve never opened up the stadium etc etc adn we dont really want to go down that route.
As of now opening up of the stadium has been nothing but a success for all sides and id like to keep it that way.
The english rugby team went out of their way to appreciate the history behind croker before their game there, id be surprised if capello and co did likewise.

I would have no problem with them playing a friendly in the new LR however but not as the first game. Cant really explain why i feel that way but just would prefer the first game in LR to not be shrouded by any worry about visiting fans etc.
According to the radio this morn, the first game will be against Argentina on Aug 18th 2010. There will be an eircom league game and a rugby (prob magners league) game played in the stadium first as a test run.

[back of the net]

Im a football fan first and foremost and would not like to see England play in croker. its nothing to do with the gaa or history but i feel a certain section of english 'supporters' would see this as a massive opportunity to cause trouble. And the only ones that would lose out is us because the backlash from the public/gaa would be huge.....ie they shouldve never opened up the stadium etc etc adn we dont really want to go down that route.
As of now opening up of the stadium has been nothing but a success for all sides and id like to keep it that way.
The english rugby team went out of their way to appreciate the history behind croker before their game there, id be surprised if capello and co did likewise.

I would have no problem with them playing a friendly in the new LR however but not as the first game. Cant really explain why i feel that way but just would prefer the first game in LR to not be shrouded by any worry about visiting fans etc.
According to the radio this morn, the first game will be against Argentina on Aug 18th 2010. There will be an eircom league game and a rugby (prob magners league) game played in the stadium first as a test run.

cant argue with any of the above elroy -agree with it all-- well said lad.

i aint a big rugby person ...so i cant really comment on the sport and fans of that sporting code

but i did notice(as u rightly said) ,how much of an effort the english rugby team and management put into in appreciating and trying to understand the history of croke park

delaney knows their football fans wont be like that and hence why he has come out with the "History" comment

[boovidge]

Do we really want the first game at the new stadium to be one with tension and booing of anthems? Rugby fans on both sides of the Irish sea are much more mature, as much as I hate to say it, and thats why the England game at croker was so successful. With football, the idiots on both sides would ruin it for the majority.

[BaZmO*]

"Ireland have been playing their home games at Croke Park and the FAI chief executive John Delaney has admitted it would be virtually impossible to host England there because of the historical associations with Bloody Sunday in 1920."

Didn't stop the English rugby team playing there or did the English soldiers represent the English FA ?

Rugby fans and Soccer fans, and in particular, English Rugby fans and English Soccer fans are worlds apart. English soccer "fans" can't even respect the National Anthem of the opposing team.

There was no way in hell the FAI were going to be that stupid (and I know, that's saying a lot) and let an Ireland/England friendly take place in Croke Park. The fallout if something went wrong would have been ridiculous.

It does make you wonder though, what would have happened if we had of drawn England during this campaign. Would they / Could they have risked it?

One thing is for certain, our National Anthem would have been booed and that would not have gone down well, particularly with the GAA heads.

[EalingGreen]

My guess is that with an enormous financial stake in LR to be repaid, Delaney's overriding concern must be money i.e. filling the new stadium as often as possible, for the maximum ticket prices..
Which is why I would guess that England will NOT be the first opponents i.e. whoever you play is likely to draw a capacity crowd for the first ever full game in the stadium.
However, I'd say JD is already eyeing up possible future opponents for subsequent games, and England would be at/near the top of the list of crowd-pullers for a less attractive date e.g. a midweek in late November.
And as someone suggested, he's likely flying a kite good and early, to gauge public reaction.

P.S. I think I'm right in saying that England command the highest appearance fee of any country - even including Germany, Italy or Brazil? The FA won't disclose it, but it's said to be around £1m stg, a throw.
Still, even for that money, will they be willing to risk a second successive embarrassment on Irish soil?

[elroy]

My guess is that with an enormous financial stake in LR to be repaid, Delaney's overriding concern must be money i.e. filling the new stadium as often as possible, for the maximum ticket prices..
Which is why I would guess that England will NOT be the first opponents i.e. whoever you play is likely to draw a capacity crowd for the first ever full game in the stadium.
However, I'd say JD is already eyeing up possible future opponents for subsequent games, and England would be at/near the top of the list of crowd-pullers for a less attractive date e.g. a midweek in late November.
And as someone suggested, he's likely flying a kite good and early, to gauge public reaction.

P.S. I think I'm right in saying that England command the highest appearance fee of any country - even including Germany, Italy or Brazil? The FA won't disclose it, but it's said to be around £1m stg, a throw.
Still, even for that money, will they be willing to risk a second successive embarrassment on Irish soil?

I dont think filling LR will be an issue or a real consideration to be honest. With a capacity of 50k and judging by the attendance levels at croker, it will be full for each game relatively easy. particulary considering practically all the tickets will be sold via block booking as well.

[paul_oshea]

cant argue with any of the above elroy -agree with it all-- well said lad.

i aint a big rugby person ...so i cant really comment on the sport and fans of that sporting code

but i did notice(as u rightly said) ,how much of an effort the english rugby team and management put into in appreciating and trying to understand the history of croke park

delaney knows their football fans wont be like that and hence why he has come out with the "History" comment

exactly back of the net, he couldn't come out and say what he really thought was the point. But then again I don't think he should have said anything at all around that.....

[EalingGreen]

I dont think filling LR will be an issue or a real consideration to be honest. With a capacity of 50k and judging by the attendance levels at croker, it will be full for each game relatively easy. particulary considering practically all the tickets will be sold via block booking as well.

That may very well be correct, but crowds are to some extent dependant on results and/or the economy, neither of which JD can control. Therefore, he won't want to take any chances on there possibly being unsold seats another 2, 3 or 4 years down the line.

For a comparison, you've only got to look at the way the English FA is renting Wembley out for any damned thing it thinks will sell tickets.

[bennocelt]

Do we really want the first game at the new stadium to be one with tension and booing of anthems? Rugby fans on both sides of the Irish sea are much more mature, as much as I hate to say it, and thats why the England game at croker was so successful. With football, the idiots on both sides would ruin it for the majority.

i know what your saying but i wouldnt say mature - just different sport with different type of supporters - i know i would never go to a rugby game - imagine all the siht heads you would meet - jeez

[livehead1]

crowds are to some extent dependant on the economy

Really? Where is your evidence to support that? Seems pretty much the same to me:
2007/08
1 Man Utd 1,438,136 75,691
2 Arsenal 1,141,335 60,070
3 Newcastle 975,093 51,320
4 Liverpool 827,111 43,532
5 Sunderland 823,540 43,344
6 Man City 800,400 42,126
7 Chelsea 786,549 41,397
8 Aston Villa 760,560 40,029
9 Everton 702,142 36,954
10 Tottenham 683,370 35,966
11 West Ham 657,423 34,601
12 Derby 616,216 32,432
13 Middlesbrough 507,450 26,707
14 Birmingham 497,438 26,180
15 Blackburn 454,928 23,943
16 Fulham 451,714 23,774
17 Reading 448,115 23,585
18 Bolton 397,122 20,901
19 Portsmouth 378,367 19,914
20 Wigan 361,876 19,046

2008/09
1 Man Utd 452,611 75,435
2 Arsenal 420,435 60,062
3 Newcastle 326,821 46,688
4 Liverpool 261,988 43,664
5 Man City 258,001 43,000
6 Chelsea 250,009 41,668
7 Sunderland 247,116 41,186
8 Aston Villa 230,625 38,437
9 Tottenham 215,699 35,949
10 Everton 244,882 34,983
11 West Ham 235,212 33,601
12 Middlesbrough 166,614 27,769
13 Stoke 163,350 27,225
14 West Brom 181,743 25,963
15 Hull 173,259 24,751
16 Fulham 170,373 24,339
17 Bolton 158,256 22,608
18 Blackburn 153,273 21,896
19 Portsmouth 117,214 19,535
20 Wigan 107,304 17,884

[Fergie's Son]

Do we really want the first game at the new stadium to be one with tension and booing of anthems? Rugby fans on both sides of the Irish sea are much more mature, as much as I hate to say it, and thats why the England game at croker was so successful. With football, the idiots on both sides would ruin it for the majority.

Matiure isn't quite the right word for it. For the most part, rugby draws from a higher socio-economic group then does football. That lends itself to more orderly fans as they tend to be more "corporate" (i.e. they attend with clients and co-workers etc.) as well as being economically advantaged enough that causing mayhem is not their first goal. Now this is a generalization but it's somewhat of a reasonable one.

[celticV3]

When we play england at the new landsdowne, knowing the fai probably first game, i think it will be a lot more of a boring match than people assume it will be.

[ifk101]

That may very well be correct, but crowds are to some extent dependant on results and/or the economy, neither of which JD can control. Therefore, he won't want to take any chances on there possibly being unsold seats another 2, 3 or 4 years down the line.

For a comparison, you've only got to look at the way the English FA is renting Wembley out for any damned thing it thinks will sell tickets.

I don't share your concern EG.

There is always a novelty element attached to a new stadium and I believe this will lead to Lansdowne Rd being sold-out regardless of the opposition for a certain period of time.

If this was an FAI stadium only, there would be reason for concern. But joint-"ownership" with the IRFU offers a potential parachute, so to speak.

And then again, maybe the IFA will be looking for a new base down the road to play their games