Should league games be postponed for teams while in Europe ?

**Dodge** · 20/07/2010, 12:46 PM

Originally Posted by Tony Soprano

Hertha Berlin and Steaua Bucharest aren't big enough draws

Exactly, and they’re bigger than most Irish clubs get each year. Seriously, it is riodiculous to plan a season about the possibility that a club get Juventus

pats didn't make enough money from those ties. a bigger draw (say PSV Eindhoven) could have been the difference between you staying full time or going semi-pro. thats a perfect example of how important these games are and the difference they can make

BUT we were ALWAYS more likely to get a club that wouldn’t attract huge numbers. Is PSV really THAT much more of a draw than hertha? Maybe extra but even a huge figure in Irish terms like 100k wouldn’t be world changing for us, and I doubt the rest of the league would see any benefit

You’re plucking figures out of the air now, on the basis that perhaps, if Irish clubs progress to a round that has only happened 3 times ever, we might get a decent draw and then we’d be able to convince 40,000 people to watch it at top dollar prices (which we’d need to charge to pay for the fecking stadium).

Are you Ollie Byrne reincarnated?

**Port Saint** · 20/07/2010, 1:00 PM

I think there are too many scheduled midweek games anyway and the season should be extended by at least 4 weeks. A 17 close season is way too long.
This would free up a fair few dates to resechdule fixtures.
The problem only really exists in a 2 or 3 week window for 4 teams at the moment (if as a league we improve further then that will change but until then...). Why not organise the league cup into a round robin league type format and play it off during these 3 weeks and give the European teams a bye into the knock out stages.

**passerrby** · 20/07/2010, 1:36 PM

seriously what is this fasination with qualifing for europe while it must be nice to play in europe if you are putting your clubs future on the possibility of getting a big club draw which will somehow pay all the incured debt then your club is doomed ,play and pay at the level your club can sustain and if a bonus comes along then enjoy it . and your right dodge this was the path choose by ollie and it desimated shels. and the dream is still hurting clubs.
this i believe is a vain attempt to give the impression that certain clubs are as big as man u or celtic which is silly but most of all is finanacial roulette

**Tony Soprano** · 20/07/2010, 2:49 PM

Originally Posted by Dodge

Exactly, and they’re bigger than most Irish clubs get each year. Seriously, it is riodiculous to plan a season about the possibility that a club get Juventus

BUT we were ALWAYS more likely to get a club that wouldn’t attract huge numbers. Is PSV really THAT much more of a draw than hertha? Maybe extra but even a huge figure in Irish terms like 100k wouldn’t be world changing for us, and I doubt the rest of the league would see any benefit

You’re plucking figures out of the air now, on the basis that perhaps, if Irish clubs progress to a round that has only happened 3 times ever, we might get a decent draw and then we’d be able to convince 40,000 people to watch it at top dollar prices (which we’d need to charge to pay for the fecking stadium).

Are you Ollie Byrne reincarnated?

who is talking about about planning the season around Europe ? we are talking about at most about 6 games for a club if that club gets to the 4th round. they don't need to draw Juventus - I have listed the clubs that would bring a windfall (10 - 15 of them). the disruption shouldn't be overestimated

yes PSV would be a bigger game than Hertha. what crowd could PSV get at the Aviva ? 20,000 I would say, at least. is that not realistic ? thats how much, half a million depending on ticket prices. maybe more. maybe a lot more. plus TV money. minus rent . its very likely Pats would still be fully pro if they had that

the format of the cups has been changed. the irish champions now only need to win one tie to get to the 4th round of the europa league. where there is i would say a 50/50 chance of getting a big club. if Irish sides are seeded in the second round of the CL (good chance Bohs and pats would be next year, Rovers might be more difficult) there is every chance that will happen frequently, so there is a much better chance of big ties than in the past. and thats not even considering teams getting through from the europa league itself (as pats did, as fingal might) or getting a decent draw in the third round (as rovers might)

i'm talking about 20 - 30 euros a ticket, i don't think thats excessive

Originally Posted by passerrby

seriously what is this fasination with qualifing for europe while it must be nice to play in europe if you are putting your clubs future on the possibility of getting a big club draw which will somehow pay all the incured debt then your club is doomed ,play and pay at the level your club can sustain and if a bonus comes along then enjoy it . and your right dodge this was the path choose by ollie and it desimated shels. and the dream is still hurting clubs.
this i believe is a vain attempt to give the impression that certain clubs are as big as man u or celtic which is silly but most of all is finanacial roulette

who is talking about risking the clubs future ? all I want is for some fixtures to be postponed !

Originally Posted by Port Saint

I think there are too many scheduled midweek games anyway and the season should be extended by at least 4 weeks. A 17 close season is way too long.
This would free up a fair few dates to resechdule fixtures.
The problem only really exists in a 2 or 3 week window for 4 teams at the moment (if as a league we improve further then that will change but until then...). Why not organise the league cup into a round robin league type format and play it off during these 3 weeks and give the European teams a bye into the knock out stages.

I like my idea better. have teams not in europe play each other on those weekends. have teams in europe play each other and postpone where applicable. this season for example Dundalk would have 5 games to make up, Bohs 6 (if they go through). Rovers and Fingal would have 3 (unless they go through) only two of those games would involve sides not in Europe (2 of Dundalk's games). there are lots of solutions as to how they could be made up (one could be made up straight away in midweek slot between rounds 3 and 4

although league cup could work too - would mean either extending the season or having more midweek games for all teams (including those not in Europe)

how about having the summer break during the european games ? teams involved will tend to be those with most professionals so maybe they would be more willing to forego the summer holiday

**Dodge** · 20/07/2010, 2:56 PM

Tony Soprano. You're completely insane. Completely.

You haven't listened to a sigle point anyone else has made, so you're on the ignored list now.

Enjoy it there...

**mypost** · 20/07/2010, 7:42 PM

Originally Posted by Tony Soprano

postponing these games could be the difference between Rovers getting to play Juventus or not, and may have led to Dundalk avoiding a thrashing in Sofia. Fingal could well make the 4th round. these are big prizes an crucial for the development of the league

We have enough issues playing Bnei Yehuda. Postponing the bread-and-butter games back home doesn't affect that task, nor will it be the difference between progression and the flight home.

Football-wise, Juventus is a terrible draw for us tbh. We have zero chance of beating them, and all the build up to the home leg will be whingers wondering why we won't take it out of Tallaght to satisfy event junkies. We saw what Shels did against Coruna, and we know where they are now. We're determined to ensure we don't go the same way.

Financially, we'll do well out of it, but most fans want to get through a couple of rounds, not 1.

**Ezeikial** · 21/07/2010, 2:40 PM

Originally Posted by mypost

Football-wise, Juventus is a terrible draw for us tbh. We have zero chance of beating them, and all the build up to the home leg will be whingers wondering why we won't take it out of Tallaght to satisfy event junkies.

Financially, we'll do well out of it, but most fans want to get through a couple of rounds, not 1.

Have I been in a time warp? Did Rovers actually beat Bnei Yehuda already?

**Dodge** · 21/07/2010, 2:43 PM

Originally Posted by mypost

Financially, we'll do well out of it, but most fans want to get through a couple of rounds, not 1.

So you're saying Rovers fans have never been satisfied?

**Straightstory** · 21/07/2010, 2:50 PM

Originally Posted by Dodge

Tony Soprano. You're completely insane. Completely.

You haven't listened to a sigle point anyone else has made, so you're on the ignored list now.

Enjoy it there...

Yes he did. He answered most points articulately, soberly and rationally as far as I can see. (Someone's in a huff!)

**Bohs11** · 23/07/2010, 3:08 PM

Nice to see that the FAI are consistant between Bohs, Dundalk, Fingal and ......The Model Club http://www.airtricityleague.com/inde...ucd-postponed?

**dong** · 23/07/2010, 3:12 PM

Did Bohs, Dundalk or Fingal make any such request from their opposition is the question?
If not then there is zero point having a go at the FAI over this.

**Dodge** · 23/07/2010, 3:14 PM

Originally Posted by dong

Did Bohs, Dundalk or Fingal make any such request from their opposition is the question?
If not then there is zero point having a go at the FAI over this.

Considering the FAI punished Foster, I'm fairly certain Dundalk asked...