Sporting Fingal Gone Belly Up

[PartySaint]

In fairness, it didn't take much effort to not get relegated up to 1986.

Still a good achievement for the clubs who have yet to be relegated

[The Lep]

Fingal have never been relegated either

[PartySaint]

Fingal have never been relegated either

It only counts if you been around for more than 5 minutes

[The Lep]

A game is 90 minutes so we qualify

[Spudulika]

You've directly contradicted yourself there.

Googling "closed league" gives the following as the first reply -


That's clearly not the case in the LoI, as the last couple of seasons have shown (three new clubs to the top two flights in as many years, for example, with only the first in a year when there was no promotion/relegation at the bottom of the First Division)

Point taken and I welcome your pedantic reply, however if you are trying to claim the league is not a closed one, then maybe a better term can be coined for the half-way house we have in Ireland which only serves to keep status quo and be unproductive in terms of investment, sponsorship and development. Legendz, it's not a reflection on the ambition or lack thereof a club possesses that they don't apply for an A licence. There are far more worthy clubs in the country than those in the A Championship, or even in the 1st Division, especially in terms of crowds and how they're run, however it makes no sense in such a poorly structured system to bother with the A championship - if they withdrew (as the case is for one senior club I know) from the LSL and play the reserve teams of EL premier teams, it's not going to do anything for them. As The Lep mentioned, a pyramid could work easily, sure it would take aligning the seasons, though this would also be possible. However what is the way to go - go back to a winter season or everyone goes to a summer season.

[John83]

Point taken and I welcome your pedantic reply...

He wasn't pedantic, Spud, he was right. If you want to complain about the lack of a football pyramid in Ireland, do so, but don't use the wrong word for it and then bitch when people don't understand you.

[SkStu]

John83 rides to the rescue again!

[Fivesilver]

Identity is important. If regions don't have a club they can identify with, the game will suffer. I could never imagine Mayo supporting Galway or Sligo, at least they have some foot on the football ladder now with Castlebar.

When I lived in Ireland, the lads I used to meet at every away match included a couple of die-hard Rovers fans from Swinford. There was also a gang from Leitrim (Manorhamilton) as well as lads from Roscommon (Boyle and Castlerea - among the latter being one Luke Flanagan, now better known as Ming).

[passerrby]

you kept some strange company... i mean leitrim come on now

[bingoballs]

My bad and in fairness, its a shame ye don't have more fans because ye play good football and good luck to ye. I just hope we make europe

[bingoballs]

[QUOTE=The Lep;1412711]

No disrespect to Fingal fans but I wouldn't be sorry to see them going belly up. Whats their average home attendance? When they went 2-1 up against Shams in a Dublin derby in Tallaght you would imagine their fans would have gone mad, all eight of them did alright! Surely they are relying on European qualification to fund themselves for next season. They have a handful of fans and should they qualify for Europe, they would only be depriving Sligo Rovers or Pats fans a European adventure that their seasons truely deserve.[/QUOTE]

Are you seriously saying that Sligo and St Pats deserve a euro spot just because they have more fans? Trust me, there was more than eight fans going mad Are you still upset that Sporting Fingal won the cup last year? time to move on me thinks

Mod edit - "bitter" rubbish removed

Eh no, I am just of the opinion that two clubs who have performed admirably throughout the season, without the aid of a sugar daddy, relying on the revenue generated from a strong fan base, are more deserving of European football than your good selves. Its not personal or bitter, its just my opinion. For what its worth, I think its a shame ye don't have more fans because ye play good football

[Lamper.sffc]

For me its not about the money and who does and doesnt deserve a Euro spot, its about the players on the pitch and the fans in the stand (no matter how many). You get what you deserve in a league format and all the fingal fans who have supported the club all season deserve european football if the club achieve it. Not because of money but because thats where the team finished and as fans we would deserve it too just like any other fans.

By your logic then Bray should get european football too. Because if you are talking about performing admirably then these guys would possible deserve it more than Pats or Sligo. But we all know thats not how it works.

[Spudulika]

He wasn't pedantic, Spud, he was right. If you want to complain about the lack of a football pyramid in Ireland, do so, but don't use the wrong word for it and then bitch when people don't understand you.

I stand corrected on the use of the wrong word, I should have said "allegedly" open league, which would get me around all areas. The lack of a pyramid in Ireland makes the game unattractive for all sorts of reasons, though maybe it's just hard experience of trying to amke sense of the situation that makes me see it this way. I guess if people wanted it to change, there would be a grass roots upheaval, however it seems (as stated in the Indo so it must be true) the FAI boss has the support and tender love of the grassroots so all is well in the state of Denmark.

[BonnieShels]

I haven't commented in this thread in a long while since County-gate.
The thread has kind off gone off topic again as to who deserves to be where in the LOI. That is a irrelevant.
We all wanna see well-supported teams in a well-supported viable league. We don't want boom-to-bust teams. I am aware of the irony of saying that as a Shels fan.
There was an initial concern as to the fact that Gannon is being sucked into NAMA. That is a fact, now the other issues that have yet to be resolved are the finances for 2011 finalised or near to being finalised?
Having been involved in the draft budget process for DLR in the last 2 months I can tell ye Fingal CoCo are gonna be absolutely smashed in 2011 and I think we can say goodbye to serious involvement from them in that case. This is heresay but I cannot imagine that they're gonna get a windfall from the Local Government fund... though maybe the residents of Whitestown and Fortlawn might pay their rent arrears? :O That could do it!
Surely as this is Ireland and as nothing at all is a secret here... something must have leaked?

[Réiteoir]

Still a good achievement for the clubs who have yet to be relegated

I'd be wanting to point out that fact on a large banner - mainly to be displayed at all games any club which qualifies takes part in up and down the country.

[Big Chief]

We all wanna see well-supported teams in a well-supported viable league. We don't want boom-to-bust teams.

I couldn't agree more. There are teams in this league who have little or no support and simply aren't viable. Sporting Fingal are one of the most obvious examples. If and when the sugar daddy funding is removed they will quite quickly cease to exist. They will go the way of umpteen teams before them and doubtless plenty more will fail to learn the lessons and go the same way in the future.

[White Horse]

An interesting profile of the owner of St. Patrick's Athletic whose property company has loans in default to taxpayer owned Anglo Irish Bank.

http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/...y-2382056.html

[marinobohs]

An interesting profile of the owner of St. Patrick's Athletic whose property company has loans in default to taxpayer owned Anglo Irish Bank.

http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/...y-2382056.html

Over to you Dodge, but I Think Pats are self sufficent and not depending on funds from kelleher.

[passerrby]

I couldn't agree more. There are teams in this league who have little or no support and simply aren't viable. Sporting Fingal are one of the most obvious examples. If and when the sugar daddy funding is removed they will quite quickly cease to exist. They will go the way of umpteen teams before them and doubtless plenty more will fail to learn the lessons and go the same way in the future.

but there are well supported teams who are not viable while there are teams who are not well suported who are viable

[BonnieShels]

but there are well supported teams who are not viable while there are teams who are not well suported who are viable

Fingal fall into neither category.