Norn Iron rubbish part 23452346526

[Not Brazil]

No doubt we'd get more out of it, two players who want to play v a guy who won't even allow us to put him in the squad. Btw McGinn and McCourt are pretty handy players, could become vital in the coming years

McGinn is a cracker.

Paddy has it in abundance...just needs to put a bit more work in.

[galwayjames]

Paddy has it in abundance...just needs to put a bit more work in.

And play for us

[Not Brazil]

And play for us

Mission Impossible.

[-lamb-]

What's snide about the truth?? How is that 'censorship' ?
Sure next time they go into one about an Orange march or about how wonderful UJ's are, I'll tell them to leave out the 'snide comments', which I'm guessing won't go too well. As it's on 'their' territory.

And whilst yer on about other boards or mods, there's not a chance we can have this 'debate' on one emenating from that side, such is their intolerance. As for 'constant twisted insults', did say it was mainly 'tongue-in-cheek', but you only choose to define the truth by your own warped criteria?

so you were on a troll with the snidey remarks, just exactly as i said.......
either that or you can't even see what it is you are saying. one or the other....yet both depressingly familiar.

[galwayjames]

Mission Impossible.

Ah well, we'll have a load of players from other countries eligible to play for us next year, Kevin Nolan etc... what players could play for Northern Ireland?

[Not Brazil]

Ah well, we'll have a load of players from other countries eligible to play for us next year, Kevin Nolan etc... what players could play for Northern Ireland?

You over estimate the IFA's ability to suss these things out James.

Oliver Norwood...he's the real deal.

[galwayjames]

Oliver Norwood...he's the real deal.

Not as good as Chris Turner

[Not Brazil]

Not as good as Chris Turner

With that, I'll bid you Good Night.

[galwayjames]

With that, I'll bid you Good Night.

Finally, can't believe I spent an hour talking with a Linfield fan But it was worth it in the end

[ArdeeBhoy]

so you were on a troll with the snidey remarks, just exactly as i said.......
either that or you can't even see what it is you are saying. one or the other....yet both depressingly familiar.

Huh?
Presumably you don't see the Irony of yer '2nd point' ....
Or can read sufficiently re. The rest ??

[backstothewall]

Belfast Celtic aren't going to be re-formed.

There already is a "Celtic" Club, based in West Belfast, playing in the IL.

Quite apart from anything else, why should a Club spring up out of nowhere, to take it's place at the top table - that's insulting to every other Club on the island.

So basically, we're down to two IL Clubs - Linfield and Glentoran - in an AI Premier League...Derry City are a LOI Club.

So you think that the effective addition of Linfield and Glentoran to the current top tier in the LOI is going to be the saviour of Club football on this island?

Considering AI leagues outwith a "Premier" league is a complete non-starter.

How would a mid table clash, in a second tier, between say Institute and Waterford, benefit either Club?

The end of Belfast Celtic was the death of football in the north. The point of isolating the Belfast teams from the others is that it turns everyone in counties Down, Antrim and Armagh of potential fans.

why would larne go amateur, or want to? i should point out larne were never relegated on the pitch and have 2 senior cup finals and a few semis under their belts in the last 7 years.
what about the likes of distillery, dungannon, newry and institute? do they go amateur as well or is there space in your 2 leagues for them?
can derry city play in the same league as linfield etc? according to other posts on this forum and others there might be trouble (rolls eyes).
and belfast celtic to come back and straight into a top ail??
coleraine, crues, ballymena and the ports all in a second division? behind who in a top league? (i think you previously mentioned c'ville down there too, not to mention you would probably turf glenavon in there).
so basically you picked 2 of the biggest teams on the whole island, plus another who say they still can't play with the first 2 and some historical society thats not even a football club to fill the NI spaces in a fantasy AIL?

i think you've been on the funny pills tbh.

Whats the average attendance? Given the town has a population of 18228 (according to the last census), and is well within Linfelds catchment area, it simply can't support a professional team. And in time it will go the same way as Omagh did if they continue to try to pay their players.

http://new.u.tv/Sport/Larne-FC-Ltd-w...8-b059bb2cffca

Take the hint. Remember Omagh Town, and the ongoing fiasco that is the slow death of Ards FC

[backstothewall]

One of the main reasons I'm against a merger is because there's no one in the NI team I want in our team. And we'd be on pressure to play some NI players, who aren't up to it.

Such a merger doesn't do any good for either country, and we've both come close to qualifying this time around so we don't need it anyway.

Brilliant. We came close.

You obviously haven't watched much of George McCartney, Johnny Evans, Kyle Lafferty or Steve Davis

[Not Brazil]

The end of Belfast Celtic was the death of football in the north.

I disagee.

Like in the South, wall to wall TV coverage of English/Scottish/European football, and the emergence of the budget airlines, has done a lot of damage to the domestic game.

[-lamb-]

The end of Belfast Celtic was the death of football in the north. The point of isolating the Belfast teams from the others is that it turns everyone in counties Down, Antrim and Armagh of potential fans.



Whats the average attendance? Given the town has a population of 18228 (according to the last census), and is well within Linfelds catchment area, it simply can't support a professional team. And in time it will go the same way as Omagh did if they continue to try to pay their players.

http://new.u.tv/Sport/Larne-FC-Ltd-w...8-b059bb2cffca

Take the hint. Remember Omagh Town, and the ongoing fiasco that is the slow death of Ards FC

actually, crowds in the il were still very high for decades after belfast celtic disappeared.
the reasons for declining crowds in general is a mish mash of lots of reasons, sky tv, cheap flights, troubles, standard of football, mismanagement at the top (?), etc, etc.

i never said larne could support a professional team. it would take a lot more available income for 95% of il teams to be able to do that, hence why they don't. even linfield and glentoran don't feel it is beneficial at the minute. linfield are probably the only team who could do it without killing themselves today, and only then due to the ifa rental income for windsor park. it would be unlikely that the likes of coleraine, ballymena, glenavon etc could manage it without really stretching themselves to the limit.

larne's current situation is, in all honesty, unreadable to an outsider, and many insiders. it's a legal matter whether the debt from the ltd co that ran the club until 2 years ago will affect the football club itself and there is no way ANYONE knows unless it goes to a lenghty court case.
larne's crowds aren't good at the minute....internal splits and second tier football taking their toll, but crowds while in the top tier were on average more than at least 4 other clubs that are there at the minute. larne is almost exactly the same size as wexford, but with a much bigger football base and history. it is certainly much larger than dungannon, limavady etc.
the town itself isn't really in the linfield catchment area at all. it never has been either. while carrickfergus, bangor, lisburn etc are awash with big 2 fans, larne is just outside the "easy belfast commute" suburban zone and has stayed relatively free of big 2 intrusion.

anyway the point is that larne can quite happily run a paid team of part timers, as they have for many many years. in fact their wage budget in the top tier was higher than at least one of the teams you would place in your 2nd tier league.

the omagh town disaster has nothing to do with larne or ards. they had little support in the town, were up to all sorts and ultimately were well above their own safe level.

ards are slowly getting their act together after bad management and bad luck (the parent company who were to build their new ground went bust after castlereagh park was sold, not exactly ards's doing to be fair). there are plans for a new stadium with an expected completion date of 2011, though i suspect it could be a year or so later as it is council backed. if all goes well ards will be back playing in ards with a new stadium and their support will undoubtedly increase again.

[micls]

That's true, but I just get the impression that there would be quite a few people within the 6 counties who would not take too kindly to supporting an All-Ireland team.

I'd imagine not. I still dont see why that would be 'bigotted' though.

There'd be plenty of cobh people that wouldn't take too kindly to supporting an All-Cork team either. Most Cork City fans wouldn't care once we got to keep the name cos we're the bigger team and it would be Cobh being swallowed up into us in a practical sense.

I'd see that as a very similar scenario to the international one, and a very valid reason that NI fans would have no interest, and there's nothing bigotted about it.

[JohnB]

[QUOTE=micls;1279651]I'd imagine not. I still dont see why that would be 'bigotted' though.
[QUOTE]

Me neither. Being bigoted? Pretty much every time someone from NI has an opinion that doesn't fit with a particular view of Irishness, there's an accusation of bigotry. The irony is of course, completely lost on the accuser.

Also, the antipathy that many NI fans have for the RoI team is put down to bigotry. In some cases that's true. But it's also to do with discussions such as this. I was out of my bed very early to watch and cheer on the RoI's last WC campaign, but I've found it increasingly difficult to feel well disposed towards the team. Every time we do badly, and now it seems, even when the RoI do badly, we have calls for an all-Ireland team. That team would no doubt play home games in Dublin and would probably take on a similar feel to the Irish rugby team, in which players from NI 'guest' as honorary RoI players. I follow the rugby and go to the internationals, but it has become increasingly difficult because Belfast has been deemed an 'away' venue by the IRFU. I'd hate to see similar happen in football. If effect it would signal the end of the team I've supported since childhood. I'd have thought any football supporter would recognise this.

[Fixer82]

Ah the league of Ireland and the Irish League. The People's Front of Judea and the Judean People's Front!

[irishultra]

I disagee.

Like in the South, wall to wall TV coverage of English/Scottish/European football, and the emergence of the budget airlines, has done a lot of damage to the domestic game.

There has never been wall to wall coverage of European footbal(other than two british leagues) in Ireland. That is why you never really get Real Madrid fans here like irish people who support english clubs.

[backstothewall]

actually, crowds in the il were still very high for decades after belfast celtic disappeared.
the reasons for declining crowds in general is a mish mash of lots of reasons, sky tv, cheap flights, troubles, standard of football, mismanagement at the top (?), etc, etc.

i never said larne could support a professional team. it would take a lot more available income for 95% of il teams to be able to do that, hence why they don't. even linfield and glentoran don't feel it is beneficial at the minute. linfield are probably the only team who could do it without killing themselves today, and only then due to the ifa rental income for windsor park. it would be unlikely that the likes of coleraine, ballymena, glenavon etc could manage it without really stretching themselves to the limit.

larne's current situation is, in all honesty, unreadable to an outsider, and many insiders. it's a legal matter whether the debt from the ltd co that ran the club until 2 years ago will affect the football club itself and there is no way ANYONE knows unless it goes to a lenghty court case.
larne's crowds aren't good at the minute....internal splits and second tier football taking their toll, but crowds while in the top tier were on average more than at least 4 other clubs that are there at the minute. larne is almost exactly the same size as wexford, but with a much bigger football base and history. it is certainly much larger than dungannon, limavady etc.
the town itself isn't really in the linfield catchment area at all. it never has been either. while carrickfergus, bangor, lisburn etc are awash with big 2 fans, larne is just outside the "easy belfast commute" suburban zone and has stayed relatively free of big 2 intrusion.

anyway the point is that larne can quite happily run a paid team of part timers, as they have for many many years. in fact their wage budget in the top tier was higher than at least one of the teams you would place in your 2nd tier league.

the omagh town disaster has nothing to do with larne or ards. they had little support in the town, were up to all sorts and ultimately were well above their own safe level.

ards are slowly getting their act together after bad management and bad luck (the parent company who were to build their new ground went bust after castlereagh park was sold, not exactly ards's doing to be fair). there are plans for a new stadium with an expected completion date of 2011, though i suspect it could be a year or so later as it is council backed. if all goes well ards will be back playing in ards with a new stadium and their support will undoubtedly increase again.

Would Larne gain anything from promotion? With respect, they are never going to win the Irish League. When Larne fans go to the top of the mountian, is getting hammered a couple of times a year by Linfield and the Glens what they see in the promised land?

Would there not be more fun in a provincial division without teams they can never hope to compete with, which they might win on a good year?

[ArdeeBhoy]

Also, the antipathy that many NI fans have for the RoI team is put down to bigotry. In some cases that's true.
But it's also to do with discussions such as this. I was out of my bed very early to watch and cheer on the RoI's last WC campaign, but I've found it increasingly difficult to feel well disposed towards the team. Every time we do badly, and now it seems, even when the RoI do badly, we have calls for an all-Ireland team. That team would no doubt play home games in Dublin and would probably take on a similar feel to the Irish rugby team, in which players from NI 'guest' as honorary RoI players. I follow the rugby and go to the internationals, but it has become increasingly difficult because Belfast has been deemed an 'away' venue by the IRFU. I'd hate to see similar happen in football.

That's fair enough. If it helps, even someone like my good self would be more than happy to go to Belfast for every match for an UI team!

Though part of the problem with the rugby in Beal-feirste, is the inevitable issues with flag and anthem, not to mention the stadium!
Though you don't find may Irish people complaining about Stormont (apart from the weather!) for a UI cricket team or people from greater Ulster going to Casement for GAA Finals !

After all, as many Nordie fans keep parroting the FAI broke away from the IFA. And we'd mainly agree, at best are both full of well-meaning incompetents. So you'd better get on and build the Pairce de Maze or whatever.....

And just to appease Mr.Lamb or whatever, Good luck to Larne FC.
Hopefully one day we'll see you in an AI-Lge??