Funny - and I don't have stats on this - but I always felt there were less games shown live during the summer, presumably because RTÉ are busy showing the GAA.Originally Posted by Jicked
I don't think it makes much difference either. It is important though that clubs representing the league in Europe are in a good condition, summer football would seem to help with that.
If the league did start in mid-July, it'd be a good time to get a lot of the press coverage for it. Finishing around March/April then would be ahead of most other competitions again being in the spotlight more at that time.
how patronising can one be. salthill or anybody have a vote like everybody else and that vote is no less important than anybody elses. you have a short memory. I would not like to return to winter football but no club has any more say than anybody else even if they think they are superior.
I wish i did not know then what I dont know now
TV schedule for this year is here. One game shown in each of June, July and August. Four games in March, four in April and three in May. So there's at least one argument which can be definitely shot down.
I'd say that the reason no compelling arguments can be made for either winter or summer football is because the problems of the LOI aren't really related to the issue.
I don't consider it patronising, it's looking at something realistically instead of just being small-minded about things. Good on Salthill, Mervue too, best of luck to them if they think that their interests are best served playing in the LoI, but that a club that, let's face it, contributes almost nothing to the senior game such as Salthill, can potentially have such a large say in the direction of the League is just wrong. And no, Shamrock Rovers weren't ever at Salthill's level despite your rather petty and irrelevant jibe. Nor are Shelbourne, Cork FORAS, Derry etc.
Apologies about the summer games being on TV, I was wrong on that front. But our busiest periods for TV coverage are the start and end of our season, when we go up against two irrelevant times in the English game, March (when the christmas period has died down and before a title race has got going) and October (when there's no 'crunch' games and the big sides are playing out tedious Champions League group games). Put the LoI climax up against a Man Utd/Man City title race and we'll see how much coverage we get. And yes, to me it is pretty clear that we get more coverage in the summer months when football writers are stuck with filling (admittedly less) football column inches without anything happening in the UK (even the transfer market doesn't offer compelling stories like it once did)
In my opinion, maybe one vote should be more important than another, if it results in greater progression for the League as a whole. That's not necessarily Shamrock Rovers, Bohemians or UCD's vote, but perhaps the FAIs. The League is far too petty and small-minded, in League's that have flourished across Europe they haven't been afraid to make bold decisions in the greater interest, instead of letting say Blackpool, Wigan and West Brom dictate the direction of the Premier League. It's not that they're not considered, nor have say in many big decisions, and many could argue that they're better off because of it.
how patronising can one be. salthill or anybody have a vote like everybody else and that vote is no less important than anybody elses. you have a short memory.
Last edited by Jicked; 22/10/2010 at 12:44 PM.
The one thing important for the league in the long-term will be the creation of a football pyramid with the LoI as the pinnacle. Winter or Summer football will only be important regards being run on the same season as the Intermediate and Junior football in a pyramid system.
If the league ran from July to March/April, it would be finishing ahead of any title race going on across the water.
Personally I'd consider LoI sides developing their own youth/A Teams more important than a synchronised pyramid structure. I'd think a closed league with an invitational system would serve all clubs better, rather than seeing a side promoted and thrown in to senior football when they're not in a position to help themselves or the League as a whole.
I've already argued that the big clubs have been the ones trying to ruin the league recently with ridiculous, self-serving suggestions, often couched as being for the "greater progression of the league as a whole". If giving Salthill and Mervue a full and equal vote acts as a check and balance against that, then I'm all in favour of letting them have an equal vote. (And that's before you get into the idea that as full members, of course their vote should be equal. Otherwise, you'd end up with clubs spending more money they don't have to finish higher up the league to earn a bigger vote to skew things in their favour more).
Including a winter break? What about the idea that players need to p*ss off to Ibiza for a few weeks? Do that right in the middle of pre-season training? There's no easy answer unfortunately.
Last edited by Jicked; 22/10/2010 at 12:54 PM.
I agree, the "big clubs" ridiculous overspending over the last decade or so have knocked the League back a lot. But I'd rather see those checks and balances run by the FAI with a view on how the League can best operate, rather than by Salthill and Mervue who'd understandably have a view on how to get more than 70 people out to watch a football game in Galway.
It seems a little harsh that I'm picking on the two Galway sides here, it's by way of an example only and I don't mean to be attacking them.
English Premier league works on one clusb, one vote...
And I wans't being petty by suggesting Rovers were at the same level as Salthill, its a fact. You were both playing in the first division (if I was petty I'd have mentioned that they own their own ground).
54,321 sold - wws will never die - ***
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SO if the likes of Bohs, Pas, Cork, Derry, Sligo, Dundalk all voted for winter football but were outvoted by Mervue, salthill et all you'd be upset about it?
54,321 sold - wws will never die - ***
---
New blog if anyone's interested - http://loihistory.wordpress.com/
LOI section on balls.ie - http://balls.ie/league-of-ireland/
developing our league to a standard that brings bigger attendances is the greater interest not sseeing a few teams getting knocked out of europe
I wish i did not know then what I dont know now
The development of Youth sides is important. The A Championship as it is is a good interim league but long-term I'd still see getting a pyramid structure being important as well. In a pyramid system, sides won't be just thrown into senior football and will have to meet certain criteria first.
With the big clubs clearly shaping the direction of the League. Even then, there's rules such as the parachute payments to protect the interests of bigger teams interests (not that it means it results in a closed shop league)
No, because in my opinion the right decision would have been reached. But the point remains that I don't think clubs that small should be able to dictate such things, the FAI should be making such decisions after consulting with all parties.SO if the likes of Bohs, Pas, Cork, Derry, Sligo, Dundalk all voted for winter football but were outvoted by Mervue, salthill et all you'd be upset about it?
Last edited by Jicked; 22/10/2010 at 1:01 PM.
Just as you can argue that small clubs shouldn't be allowed dictate things, neither should big clubs be allowed dictate things. And the point remains that the small clubs aren't dictating anything. There was a vote, and 21 of the 22 clubs voted. If the small clubs were so obviously out for their own interests at the expense of the greater good of the league, their proposal wouldn't have passed. But it passed because a majority of clubs saw merit in it.
The checks and balances are still there in that the FAI have to approve this before it actually happens.
And your point is..............Seriously?
And it was one of the big clubs that couldn't be bothered to vote (or indeed attend the meeting). The meeting on Monday in Athlone was not the first meeting of the clubs, it was the latest of a series of meetings where this matter has been discussed. Clubs even completed questionnaires to guage their opinions on a wide range of things that could improve the league, but again this ONE club didn't bother about it. Bet you if the FAI agree to the proposals submitted by the clubs, it will be this ONE club that cries the loudest afterwards.
Up the Harps!!
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