Rooney hails Irish support

**A face** · 19/02/2004, 10:29 PM

Rooney hails Irish support

Rooney says marketing of the match experience important going forward

Irish support "fantastic"

FAI CEO Fran Rooney said the marketing of the match experience was an important factor for the Association going forward.

He was speaking after the friendly game against Brazil at Lansdowne Road last night.

Mr Rooney said the marketing of the friendly fixtures starting with the Brazil game and with the Czech Republic and Romania to come, had been a conscious effort by the FAI to provide a real value for money package with lots of entertainment for the supporters.

Read more at www.a2zsoccer.com

**ger121** · 20/02/2004, 7:22 AM

Originally posted by A face
Rooney hails Irish support

Rooney says marketing of the match experience important going forward

Irish support "fantastic"

FAI CEO Fran Rooney said the marketing of the match experience was an important factor for the Association going forward.

He was speaking after the friendly game against Brazil at Lansdowne Road last night.

Mr Rooney said the marketing of the friendly fixtures starting with the Brazil game and with the Czech Republic and Romania to come, had been a conscious effort by the FAI to provide a real value for money package with lots of entertainment for the supporters.

Read more at www.a2zsoccer.com

I take it he's talking about the amount of people that turned up.Coz he couldn't have been talking about the noise they were making!!!

**gspain** · 20/02/2004, 8:48 AM

Anyone else sick at the stream of people leaving with 10 minutes to go. I was in UA in the west and there were hundreds streaming out long before the final whistle. We were playing the world champions and looked like we could beat them.

**Robinski** · 20/02/2004, 10:21 AM

Originally posted by ger121
I take it he's talking about the amount of people that turned up.Coz he couldn't have been talking about the noise they were making!!!

Agreed. Yes it was a packed house, it was always going to be but the lack of noise was disappointing.

**tiktok** · 20/02/2004, 10:45 AM

A bit of Rooney 'spin'. Considering there were 44,000 fans and a team of World Champions there it was much to quiet.

**Beavis** · 20/02/2004, 11:53 AM

The atmosphere seemed poor.What has happened to us?has our recent economic upturn caused us to change into boring lifeless fans?There must be some explaination,or do we just imagine that Lansdowne used to be better.(Although I can't recall a time before that the chairman of the FAI and the manager of the team publicly stated that the fans needed to improve.)

As yous might have seen we were hoping to do something about the atmosphere for the Brazil game but no-one(myself included) could get tickets.I would like to see a good number of tickets free up for the next game.With the glamour fixture crowd dropping off hopefully we can get some together for a crowd of singers.

Was there an eL group together on the north?

**sylvo** · 20/02/2004, 12:00 PM

People leaving early is something that anger's me no end. Would people leave a cinema ten minute's before the end of a movie of cause not. From where i sit in the east stand you can see the level crossing @ lansdowne station clearly and the huge swarm of people swarming over it heading home while the game is going on is shocking. This was'nt just the other night this happen's @ every match, and just goes to show that a lot of people just go to lansdowne just for the show, if people can't be arsed to stay to the end because there's something else going on that clash's with the last ten minute's, or they don't want to qeue twenty minute's for a dart then they should bother going @ all.

**Macy** · 20/02/2004, 12:14 PM

Originally posted by Beavis
Was there an eL group together on the north?

No, everyone was spread out.... The pull of one more pint is just too great for most eL fans I know

Didn't really enjoy the match that much at all tbh....

**A face** · 20/02/2004, 1:10 PM

Lads, cant really give out about fans streaming out of the ground .... most of them are barstoolers and thats what you get from watching Sell-Thick and ManUre on the telly !!

**tiktok** · 20/02/2004, 1:15 PM

when it got close to full time, someone next to me said
"the England Portugal game is kicking off now"...
twenty seconds later they were moving.

**sylvo** · 20/02/2004, 2:24 PM

Originally posted by tiktok
when it got close to full time, someone next to me said
"the England Portugal game is kicking off now"...
twenty seconds later they were moving.

Had two eejit's behind me waffell on for five minute's about the iingeeeerrluund v Portugal game while the game was in full flow,
we're playing the world champion's and some people can only talk about some team who hav'nt beat us in nearly twenty year's not what's happening on the pitch.

**Footie_Fan** · 21/02/2004, 4:22 PM

I love when a goal or something happens in the last few minutes just so the early leavers miss it on the way to the pub. Imagine missing an Irish goal in the dying minutes to beat Brazil just so you can get your first few pints in.

**Jon'o** · 21/02/2004, 8:48 PM

Originally posted by A face
Rooney hails Irish support

Rooney says marketing of the match experience important going forward

Irish support "fantastic"

FAI CEO Fran Rooney said the marketing of the match experience was an important factor for the Association going forward.

He was speaking after the friendly game against Brazil at Lansdowne Road last night.

Mr Rooney said the marketing of the friendly fixtures starting with the Brazil game and with the Czech Republic and Romania to come, had been a conscious effort by the FAI to provide a real value for money package with lots of entertainment for the supporters.

Read more at www.a2zsoccer.com

shame he praised the irish suport now...

agreed we get behind the lads but prehaps she should save the praise until the next game when the true fans will still be there who are more deserving of praise.

i also didnt understand the people leaving early.... surely if they had something planed they should have made arrangements to do it later.... prehaps they were cold? a few more layers next time... or just too much past their bed time??

i think the latter is more true at least they can fall asleep in an armchair!!!

**pineapple stu** · 23/02/2004, 12:34 PM

Weekday friendlies are always going to be poorer atmosphere-wise than qualifying games. Plus the North terrace was very packed, which probably caused some groups to get split up, which didn't help.

The Brazilian papers said the crowd was great though! Said we cheered every touch of the game and left contented to go for our Guinness, with the advantage that there's an Irish pub on every corner in Dublin!

**4tothefloor** · 23/02/2004, 4:51 PM

Originally posted by sylvo
People leaving early is something that anger's me no end. Would people leave a cinema ten minute's before the end of a movie of cause not. From where i sit in the east stand you can see the level crossing @ lansdowne station clearly and the huge swarm of people swarming over it heading home while the game is going on is shocking. This was'nt just the other night this happen's @ every match, and just goes to show that a lot of people just go to lansdowne just for the show, if people can't be arsed to stay to the end because there's something else going on that clash's with the last ten minute's, or they don't want to qeue twenty minute's for a dart then they should bother going @ all.

Its a pain alright, but thats more to do with the fact that racing to get the train home is a bit of a rat race. You've usually under an hour to get to your train, which can be tight if the Dart queues are long etc. This problem could be sorted if the trains departed Connolly at 11pm, rather than 10.40. Even so, most of the people who leave early are probably more worried about getting a seat on the train for the journey home, than missing a late goal in the game.