I am not trying to be smart here. Leveller what do Westport see as a higher level. Is it Connaught senior league if it reforms or eircom league. Where does Westport see itself as a club in 10 yrs say.Originally Posted by Leveller
ye are going back into this discussion again! treat it with caution?? why?? if mervue did that last year where would they be now?? every team with players good enough and ambition and a good underage setup should always try and play at the highest level they can for the players. otherwise you would only be losing all your players who are good enough to be playing at a higher level with better football and playing in better grounds. i don't know any player that wouldnt want to test themselves at the highest level they can if they're good enough!
Reporter to Gordon Strachan: gordon, what's your impression of jermaine pennant? Reply: I don't do impressions!!
I am not trying to be smart here. Leveller what do Westport see as a higher level. Is it Connaught senior league if it reforms or eircom league. Where does Westport see itself as a club in 10 yrs say.
Not wishing to answer for Leveller but I would imagine that clubs should take one step at a time. Clubs should have proper underage structures in place to ensure the long term future of the club with some degree of success on the field. I would imagine that Westport have that in place. The entire process should be thought through, and planned out well. For that to happen it would mean that a proper Senior League structure was put in place, and not like what happened before. The lead must come from the top.
Thanks Spot Kick, that was a well thought answer, I would agree with everything you said.
I think Westport would be better off staying junior and, as spot kick said have proper underage structures in place to ensure the long term future of the club with some degree of success on the field.
I am not sure if being in the LOI is the be all and end all, look at the state the top clubs are in now and that is under the guidance of the governing body, all the top clubs are essentially part time now, the standard is higher, but not that much, most of the top teams are in financial difficulties and have lost their best players, we beat a LOI div 1 (well bottom of the table) side to win the Connachht Senior Cup, and we did this with an all local team.
I dont think there is much to gain by trying to get in the LOI (the LOI recruit alot of players from junior clubs) , it is not sustainable in the long term for a club or the players (who have day jobs and families) from a town of 5000 people to compete in such a league.
I think the people at Westport United are being realistic.
Dont always say what you know, but always know what you say.
Which team is it that yee beat? Thought it was athenry!
How can you be taken serious with comments like the above. Connaught senior cup come on please.
Your team was in it too (Celtic) and they didn't win it so whats your point?
Mervue were the team they beat.
Levellers point is realistic on the financial side as there are alot more overheads involved with the A league rather than just junior football. Westport are not willing to risk this commitment.
Fair play to Celtic if they stay playing at this level, they must get the crowds going to the games to fund it all though...
Point is. A question was asked, but as usual it was fluffed over with the same old garbage "financial commitments" " A league is going nowhere" "the sky is falling down". If Westport are such a good team are they not cheating their players and supporters by not trying to find a higher level whatever that may be.
As I said I think the club is being realistic about things, there are financial commitments involved and big ones too.
I dont think the sky is falling down opinion is a bad one considering the recessionary times we are in.
Again look at the top LOI clubs, look at the mess they are all in, and that was under the guidance of our governing body, and that was with all clubs meeting their "criteria" to enter the league.
I wonder if one of the "criteria" on entry was to publish the yearly accounts of the club, where the club is only allowed to spend a percentage of their turnover on players.
It is clear that the clubs were overspending on wages to players, how was this allowed to happen?
I think the people involved with Westport United Football Club would be cheating the players and the supporters entering such a league, spending a fortune travelling all over the place and on expenses, you will find any of your better players will be cherry picked by the LOI clubs anyway (you have already lost two - oops sorry they were originally from Westport) which will prevent your club or any of the other junior clubs involved making progress in this league.
Why should Westport jump straight in anyway? See how you get on first.
The league is a fad, many clubs will get fed up when the ring of saying - "we are a LOI club" wears off , when they dont progress in the league and the funds dry up (they will), and then you will see them pull out, once one goes, the others will follow.
If Westport are not interested what is the big deal?
Last edited by Leveller; 28/08/2009 at 8:59 AM. Reason: include word
Dont always say what you know, but always know what you say.
Very reasonable answer. I would love to see however just how far this Westport team could push it if they were to face high level game week in week out. It just seems they have lost some of the enthusiasm of previous years.
I think Leveller has a point. Westport are right not to jump blind into the A league.
Castlebar Celtic are in a far stronger position as a club, they have their own ground and a very well established & sucessful underage set-up.
Whither or not the A league proves to be a sucess or a total flop, it is a natural move for Celtic to make.
At a very basic level the culture and attitude within a club like Celtic, where development, growth and the future are obvious priorities, can only be good for young players coming through.
There is no doubt the E.L. has been ran rather questionably in terms of clubs financial dealings in the last couple of years, and many clubs are now suffering as a result of this negligence. (The E.L. is the not the only industry suffering of late as a result of questionable financial management.) This, however, is not reason enough to put a cap on ambition and scorn all attempts a club makes to step up a level.
The A league may prove a great big nonsense, and if it does I will be the first to hold my hands up and say "Thats a shame, I thought it was a decent idea."
If Celtic end up back in the S.L. in a couple of years, I for one will be dissapointed because it means their project has not worked out, and we won't have a Mayo team in the E.L. On the other hand, with all the talk of the poor standards in the S.L. of late, should Celtic return to the S.L., they will bring experience and some new ides to the party, this can only be a good thing.
I can see where Leveller is coming from, in relation to spending a huge chunk of the clubs finances funding travel expenses in an as yet untested league, but I think its a risk worth taking. The worst that will happen is they will end up where they started, a top S.L. Club.
Each to their own, what is the big deal if Westport don't enter the A league? Maybe in a couple of years they will, or maybe it will be a Conn senior league then.
The point is, this A league is not about a current crop of players, it is about the holistic development of a club from top to bottom - U-8's to the senior team.
In the mean time, Fahy Rovers hope to be on their new pitch in Fahy next season, with two underage teams and absolutely no aspirations for the Eircom League. Yet.
Last edited by Norm; 28/08/2009 at 10:41 AM.
Just because nobody from Ballina Town really posts on here it doesn't mean they dont come on to read and have a good laugh at some of the stuff!
There's always going to be people who are totally partisan posting here... some fans or players can't see beyond their own club, which should be obvious from a quick glimpse at this thread. I would say, in general, everyone respects Ballina as a Super League team..
Just because nobody from Ballina Town really posts on here it doesn't mean they dont come on to read and have a good laugh at some of the stuff!
Another point well made by leveller regarding the A Championship is the burden put on the fans... Westport have great support, who follow them to every match, not just home games. This is pretty much unprecedented in Mayo Football. Regardless of weather, opposition or gaaaa, they want see their team play. When their team is playing in Derry at 2.30 or the likes, this incurs a lot of cost, or travelling or both.
So in that regard Westport are keeping faithful to their fans.
I totally see the point of Rava and the other Celtic boys' argument regarding ambition, but Norm is right in saying the club is not at a place to consider the move just yet. One thing I think everyone can agree on is that it would be very interesting to see how they would do at that level, because they do seem to a bit bored of the league this year, despite their wealth of talent.
Last edited by FahyForever; 28/08/2009 at 12:53 PM. Reason: Dog ate original draft
Thanks for that Fahy Forever, both your responses were top class and well balanced on both sides. Thanks.
Dont always say what you know, but always know what you say.
Thats a total contradiction.
On the costs of entering the A Championship. The only cost is 1)Entry fee to the league 2)Travelling to the 8 away games (3 within 1 hour) 3)Match Officials. By getting the current sponsors and new sponsors to give a bit of money, get home game sponsored and with gate receipts, I don't think the A Championship is a step too far for Castlebar Celtic in their current situation.
No doubt about it. Ballina are a good side who play very nice football but looking at the Mayo website it looks like they are missing half a team for Sunday. I am afraid that it looks like Westport again but as you say, you have to respect Ballina.
It's not a total contradiction, My point is that within the Mayo League Westport have a great following, surpassing any other club. If they were to go into the A Championship it would mean people missing work and incurring a fair bit of expense. I think you understood that too but decided to be obstinate. How many supporters do Castlebar get at an average away fixture? (Please do not take`this as anti Castlebar Celtic, it's not.)
Can anybody from Fahy tell me why they had to call there game against snugboro off tomorrow
pitch flooded
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