Barstoolers Love-In

**razor** · 18/06/2011, 9:24 PM

Mackey had a slight dig in his article this morning.

not half enough though

�Rangers Host Hearts In SPL Opener!�

�Dons Begin Against Bristol Rovers!�

And, oh be still my beating heart�

�Stevenage Face Exeter First!�

Yes, just some of the stand-out headlines there from the new season fixture list � or the fix-list, for short, as they say in Italy.

That would be the new season across the water, of course, our own domestic game continuing merrily on its way through the summer months, not that anything like enough Irish football fans care to pay a whole heap of attention.

**mypost** · 19/06/2011, 1:46 AM

Originally Posted by born2bwild

I emailed him about the article and suggested that he should offer the LOI as the 'cure' to withdrawal symptoms.

Lo and blah blah blah...he emailed me back....

"Thanks for your email which contained many valid points.
I live in England, write about international, English and European football and in this context wrote a piece about the end of those seasons and the effect this has on me.

Thanks,

Dion"

The international "season" ends for us at the end of the EC Qualifying campaign. That won't be until October or November.

**PartySaint** · 19/06/2011, 2:13 AM

Does it not end in June? Then the friendly is August not mark the start of a new 'Season'??

**R�iteoir** · 19/06/2011, 3:20 PM

Originally Posted by PartySaint

Does it not end in June? Then the friendly is August not mark the start of a new 'Season'??

Yep. FA rules state that no football may be played domestically in England during July as that's designated as the "off season"

**mypost** · 19/06/2011, 5:54 PM

Originally Posted by PartySaint

Does it not end in June? Then the friendly is August not mark the start of a new 'Season'??

The winter league seasons run Aug/Sep - May/June. The summer league seasons run Feb/Mar - Oct/Nov. Similiarly, the international seasons run from the beginning of the qualifying campaign until the end.

**RahenyBohs** · 22/06/2011, 3:15 PM

Originally Posted by Straightstory

Just saw a bit of last Sunday's RTE's Premiership highlights programme - in front of a packed audience of Irish people wearing Premiership shirts. The audience members consistently used the term 'we' in reference to clubs like Arsenal and Man United. One Sunderland (!) fan (?) actually asked 'Do you think simulation is coming into the English game and is becoming a real problem here'.
An utterly weird and surreal experience. I'd like to see a similar experiment in the World Cup. They could all wear their England jersies.

The use of 'we' that barstoolers use in reference to English clubs makes me sick to the teeth. They have never been to a match or go week in week out to have any real emotional attachment to the club. All they have is jerseys and their sky digibox.

**marinobohs** · 22/06/2011, 3:45 PM

Originally Posted by RahenyBohs

The use of 'we' that barstoolers use in reference to English clubs makes me sick to the teeth. They have never been to a match or go week in week out to have any real emotion attachment to the club. All they have is jerseys and their sky digibox.

Hey, RB dont forget those jesters hats

**peadar1987** · 23/06/2011, 8:51 PM

I found this looking for the Market's Field plans on Limerick's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=501850355#!/pages/Limerick-Liverpool-FC-Fan-Page/354785757861?sk=info

Incredibly sad that it has three times the number of fans as Limerick's page. And that's just for one English club. There's probably one just as big for Man U, and smaller ones for Chelsea and Arsenal.

**TiocfaidhArmani** · 30/06/2011, 2:43 PM

Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

So tell me, why is it alright for EPL, SPL followers and Barcelona, Real, AC, whatever fans in Ireland, to be allowed to criticise the LOI, put down every club in the league as sh**e, terrible football, etc, but it's not alright for fans of the teams in this league to be a little patriotic about their own clubs, and league and put down the so called die-hard Irish fans who have this opinion on the league without even giving it a chance.

There's nothing wrong with that, but there's a pre-judgement of fans who support Celtic I don't like. Now you are 100% right about people who don't support the league without giving it a go, I agree. You should always support a local team. There's no EPL on Friday evenings so why not? We would also have a half decent league is they all did support the league because more bums on seats than more money for players and better facilities. So I'm not disagreeing with you but LOI fans sometimes turn people off with their lecturing and talking down to people.

Just to clarify I'm not defending those people but as peadar said, it's important to get rid of this thing that you can't support a 'foreign' club and a LOI club also. Of course you can. It should be encouraged. You can't beat the EPL but we should encourage folk to support both. I'm perfectly comfortable supporting Shels and Celtic. Why can't others?

**TiocfaidhArmani** · 30/06/2011, 2:46 PM

Originally Posted by mypost

As for the football "theatre" you speak of, it resembles a theatre for 2 games a year, at some ungodly police-driven hour. The rest of the time, it's barely half-full, as average Celtic fans haven't got 650 quid to watch bi-weekly training sessions against the teams I've already stated. If you have, good luck to you.

You haven't been there lately I take it since the Green Brigade have got on the scene. More's the pity. It's great.

As a Celtic fan, I hope they win the league, but if they don't, I'm not exactly devastated. I know because of the league set-up, they'll win it again soon enough. In the LOI, refs are not attacked for getting decisions wrong and players are not attacked in the street for playing in the "wrong" jumper, fans don't sing about 300-year old history, while coach's don't get death threats in the post. There are more peaceful ways of enjoying football

No ref was attacked. Verbally? Yes. But where does that not happen? It's an intense rivalry but look at the crap at a Bohs v Rovers game with only a few thousand there! There's hardly any trouble around the ground during a Celtic v Rangers game. Sorry but in terms of hooliganism and thuggery I won't be lectured to by a Shamrock Rovers fan! Your scenes away to Dundalk, "taking" the Shed day. I've never seen anything like that while at a Rangers game in my puff!

People in glass houses........

**cornflakes** · 30/06/2011, 3:02 PM

Originally Posted by TiocfaidhArmani

No ref was attacked. Verbally? Yes. But where does that not happen? It's an intense rivalry but look at the crap at a Bohs v Rovers game with only a few thousand there! There's hardly any trouble around the ground during a Celtic v Rangers game. Sorry but in terms of hooliganism and thuggery I won't be lectured to by a Shamrock Rovers fan! Your scenes away to Dundalk, "taking" the Shed day. I've never seen anything like that while at a Rangers game in my puff!

People in glass houses........

Does that have more to do with the fact there's a bigger police presence at a game between Rangers and Celtic than a Rovers-Bohs or a Rovers-Dundalk game

**TiocfaidhArmani** · 30/06/2011, 3:09 PM

Big police presence maybe but per supporter I'm not sure re Rovers-Bohs. There's loads of Guards at Bohs v Rovers game. Generally at the stadium though although there's poison in the air, especially at Ibrox, but inside there's not much really bad happening. You would be surprised how many times I've seen Rangers fans walk almost through the Celtic fans walking up to the away end at the Broomloan end.

Now you're also saying about Rovers v Dundalk. Now that's exactly a major rivalry. Now in any SPL game where have you seen Celtic fans act like that and how many fans do we have compared to Rovers? There's just the same amount of police at a regular SPL game as there is at a LOI game and we don't act like animals in stadiums. We come, we support our team, we go home. Every. Single. Game. Rovers on the other hand...! Invading stands and bathering kids. Yeah, they can lecture to us...

**PartySaint** · 30/06/2011, 11:31 PM

Originally Posted by TiocfaidhArmani

Just to clarify I'm not defending those people but as peadar said, it's important to get rid of this thing that you can't support a 'foreign' club and a LOI club also. Of course you can. It should be encouraged. You can't beat the EPL but we should encourage folk to support both. I'm perfectly comfortable supporting Shels and Celtic. Why can't others?

This doesn't happen, No LOI fans care what team you support as long as you're supporting you're local LOI team and not giving ****e talk and the standard being crap or terrible excuses for not going like that

**BonnieShels** · 30/06/2011, 11:35 PM

Are you just back from McDowell's lad?
I understand exactly the sentiment you're trying to convey but I don't think that TAM will understand. He's a Celtic fan.