Airtiricity League XI v Manchester United confirmed for Aviva Stadium on August 4

[dcfcsteve]

i posted the extratime.ie article on facebook and this was the response i got;

I'll tell you why, because most clubs and the FAI for a long period have been run by individuals who were in it for themselves rather than the club. There was a time in the 60's and 70's when Irish run clubs attracted big crowds-not anymore. The Charlton era while it gave us a taste of what its like to play with the big boys did nothing to bridge the gap between English and Irish footbal-hence the phenomena of the Irish passionately supporting Liverpool, Man U etc.

so thats his excuse. Not much i can say though because im too young and new to talk about the history of the league.
Did anyone see the bit in the irish indo yesterday about a scunthorpe united fan (alsso a finn harps fan apparently) who followed them because he wanted to be "different" from the manu's and liverpool fans in class

He's right that the FAI squandered the riches garnered by the Charlton era. It was hugely short-sighted, but considering that the country did it on a grand scale for the last 15yrs vis-a-vis the riches of the Celtic Tiger, it becomes a little more understandable. I'm fairly sure the FAI would struggle to account for all the Charlton era money though.

He's wrong, however, to link the Charlton era with Irish people supporting foreign football. It was very deeply ingrained by then already, and the Charlton era income wouldn't have changed that even if it had all ended up in the league.

And let's not forget that a lot of Irish people didn't support the ROI either up until the glory years. Attendances and merchandise sales made that clear. Many of them viewed Glasgow Celtic as the equivalent of an Irish national team, so all the Charlotn era really did was to give many Irish people a national team to support for the first time. It could never have addressed the club-level support issue.

[Real ale Madrid]

Does anyone think that a type of LOI all-star game similar to the MLS version could be played every year to showcase the talent in the League?

Maybe if we had the Shamrock rovers players available and Rico had 7-10 days to prepare a team the homegrown players could have given it a better go.

Perhaps a space in the calender ( a weekend ) could be set aside for it ?

I think it would be a nice reward for the players. A chance to play a game at the aviva in front of a big crowd against a Chelsea / Barca / Milan type team, perhaps even invite South American opposition. A well prepared LOI team could beat Celtic imo.

Can't help but feeling this has more benefits then downsides if the quality of opposition can bring in a large crowd. Perhaps the gate reciepts could be ploughed back into the league in its entirety.

There is a large potential for this type of game to really help the league.

Lots of ole ole brigade / barstoolers etc, but clubs themselves have been exploiting these kind of revenues for years, I think its about time the FAI did the same on behalf of the league.

[crc]

Does anyone think that a type of LOI all-star game similar to the MLS version could be played every year to showcase the talent in the League?

Personally, no. If you play 'glamour friendlies' like the one last week against Man Utd all you get are hordes of red shirts shouting against the Irish team. However, I do think that the league should hold a double or triple-header of games at the Aviva Stadium on a sunny* Saturday in the summer. Make it a competitive regular league game and pitch rivals against each other. It would attract league fans like us no doubt, but I'd say you could attract loads of others if the tickets were pitched at somewhere around €10 or €15 rather than the ridiculous €45 last week. Maybe a bit like Rugby League's Magic Weekend.

*I'm not sure how to guarantee sun!

[CuanaD]

Are most barstoolers part-English?

Nope, but it's something I always ask:

Sheep: 'Did you see the match last night/the goal/ the ref/ whatever'
Me: what game? I didn't know there was a match last night.
Sheep: 'Wha? the Pool/Manu/Chelsea/whatever game, blah blah'
Me: 'I didn't know you are from Pool/Manu/Chelsea/whatever? You don't have the accent'
Sheep: '?'


It makes me feel a tiny bit better

[sligoman]

Does anyone think that a type of LOI all-star game similar to the MLS version could be played every year to showcase the talent in the League?

There is a large potential for this type of game to really help the league.

Delaney has said he plans on having a tournament every summer now with 3 'big' teams and a LOI XI.

It doesn't help the league, it helps the FAI.

[Straightstory]

Personally, no. If you play 'glamour friendlies' like the one last week against Man Utd all you get are hordes of red shirts shouting against the Irish team. However, I do think that the league should hold a double or triple-header of games at the Aviva Stadium on a sunny* Saturday in the summer. Make it a competitive regular league game and pitch rivals against each other. It would attract league fans like us no doubt, but I'd say you could attract loads of others if the tickets were pitched at somewhere around €10 or €15 rather than the ridiculous €45 last week. Maybe a bit like Rugby League's Magic Weekend.

*I'm not sure how to guarantee sun!

Agree. This Delaney plan for a tournament must be stopped. HE must be stopped!!

[Real ale Madrid]

Delaney has said he plans on having a tournament every summer now with 3 'big' teams and a LOI XI.

It doesn't help the league, it helps the FAI.

It would help the league if reciepts were put back into the league. That's all I'm saying. An all star league selection v a top European side with proper prearation would go down well with barstooler and domestic league follower alike imo, IF the funds were redirected to the league itself.

[Charlie Darwin]

The FAI subsidises the league to the tune of millions every year - the money IS re-directed into the league.

[marinobohs]

It would help the league if reciepts were put back into the league. That's all I'm saying. An all star league selection v a top European side with proper prearation would go down well with barstooler and domestic league follower alike imo, IF the funds were redirected to the league itself.

Not a hope in hell of funds going back into the LOI. Given the financiai liabilities taken on by the FAI over the "new" lansdowne any cash will be diverted to cover that cost - no doubt the reason the game(s) are being mooted.

Not adverse to the idea of a one off game personally as long as it doesn't interfere with the LOI programme but not convinced it would be something I would attend either.

[tippex]

I still think there should be a weekend where all scheduled premier league games are played in lansdowne and have a blitz. You are talking about one game friday and then 2 on each of saturday and sunday. Then the gate receipts should be equally distributed among all clubs (possibly incl 1st division clubs) This way it would benefit the league as a whole and not one or two individual clubs.

[Dodge]

I still think there should be a weekend where all scheduled premier league games are played in lansdowne and have a blitz. You are talking about one game friday and then 2 on each of saturday and sunday. Then the gate receipts should be equally distributed among all clubs (possibly incl 1st division clubs) This way it would benefit the league as a whole and not one or two individual clubs.

If we ever go back to a 33 game seaosn (12 team premier), it'd be a handy way of getting rid of the odd numbered home/away game

[tippex]

If we ever go back to a 33 game seaosn (12 team premier), it'd be a handy way of getting rid of the odd numbered home/away game

It would but surely even the FAI have learnt from the mistake that was a 12 team league. The way to go is 16 teams (in fairness its the only hope we have of staying up unless another club goes the way of cork/derry)

[pineapple stu]

You'd have to play an entire round of matches in Lansdowne for that to work. That'd lose its novelty appeal very quickly.

[Réiteoir]

You'd have to play an entire round of matches in Lansdowne for that to work. That'd lose its novelty appeal very quickly.

Three games on Saturday, Three on a Sunday. 2pm, 5pm, 8pm kick offs.

Would work well imo

[pineapple stu]

I'm thinking of clearing all cases where Club A plays Club B twice at home and once away. I suppose having all clubs play 16 times at home, 16 times away and once in a neutral venue is a start alright.

[Real ale Madrid]

Three games on Saturday, Three on a Sunday. 2pm, 5pm, 8pm kick offs.

Would work well imo

Fans would only show up for thier own game - meaning a 80 - 90 % empty stadium for most of the day. obviously there are a few who would hang around. But the majority won't.

Not a bad idea either IMO - but I just don't think its as lucrative as an All-star game played as part of the domestic calender.

[tippex]

Fans would only show up for thier own game - meaning a 80 - 90 % empty stadium for most of the day. obviously there are a few who would hang around. But the majority won't.

Not a bad idea either IMO - but I just don't think its as lucrative as an All-star game played as part of the domestic calender.

I know I'd go for the whole day depending on when we were scheduled to play. it could get expensive though in the bars

[Charlie Darwin]

The GAA does something similar for the All-Ireland qualifiers when there is more than one game going on in succession. Seems most people only show up to see their team then **** off.

The bumper-fixture idea might work better for FAI cup semis or something.

[Dunny]

Dave Barry is a barstooler.

[WoodquayBoy]

I'm thinking of clearing all cases where Club A plays Club B twice at home and once away. I suppose having all clubs play 16 times at home, 16 times away and once in a neutral venue is a start alright.

Surely if it was a 16-team division, each team would play 15 times at home and 15 times away? Tsk tsk, and you a Student, just what are the rest of us paying grants for, I ask ya!!!