Does the success of one team in Europe benefit the league as a whole?

**BonnieShels** · 11/08/2011, 7:11 PM

Right, I emailed RT� sport. Got back to me straight away. They said there's nothing confirmed yet. Waiting on Setanta to respond.

**Charlie Darwin** · 11/08/2011, 7:33 PM

I'd be surprised if both games weren't shown. It'll be RTE for the home leg and Setanta for the away leg.

**culloty82** · 11/08/2011, 7:58 PM

The fatal flaw with using the Danish League as a model is that, like Belgium, teams tend to rise up the pyramid through mergers between lower-division clubs, so teams like Pats and Shelbourne north of the Liffey or Rovers and UCD on the other would have fused into superclubs.

**BonnieShels** · 11/08/2011, 8:09 PM

I'd say you're right Charlie.

Eh Culloty, Pat's are firmly ensconced on the Southside. Unless you mean the Soccer team in the teacher training college in Drumcondra? Is there one?

**BonnieShels** · 12/08/2011, 8:31 AM

Setanta got back to me this morning.

As was suspected they're looking at the second leg.

**legendz** · 12/08/2011, 1:57 PM

RTE have confirmed first-leg coverage.

**BonnieShels** · 12/08/2011, 2:03 PM

Yeah just read cuyahoga's post

**Ezeikial** · 29/08/2011, 11:24 PM

Small anecdote from a conversation with someone I met today in the course of business:

On hearing of my interest in League of Ireland he said the normal predictable stuff - It's great for the league, It will really raise the profile, It shows that there is real quality here, it will boost attendances across the league etc etc.

I gently explored his sporting interests and he declared himself interested in all team sports. He has been to a few rugby internationals and a couple of Heinken Cup matches over the last few years, and has also been to Croke Park for a some of the bigger GAA matches. Occasional attendances at RoI internationals in the Jack Charlton era, but only twice since then. He also declared himself as "interested" in Man U and has been to UK for matches five times in the last 3 years.

It became clear that he is an "avid consumer" of TV sport and was able to dicuss in detail the Ireland V England rugby match, Dublin V Donegal GAA match and the Man U V Arsenal games all of which he watched this weekend on TV.

He lives in Dublin southside and after I talked up the LoI experience and in particular the good matchday experience and facilities at Tallaght Stadium I softly delivered the punch line question (remember all his superlatives about LoI attraciveness post Rovers Europa League breakthrough) - "would you consider going along to a match in Tallaght Stadium?"

"Naw - it's not really my cup of tea!"

**Charlie Darwin** · 29/08/2011, 11:33 PM

Tell him we have tea too and you only need to cue for about 25 minutes to get it at half time.

**Spudulika** · 30/08/2011, 3:26 AM

Let's face it, we all want a little bit of comfort. Comfort and LOI football (or football in Ireland in general) don't go hand in hand. People will go where there are crowds, so if it's a Junior Championship match in Dunleer where the whole community gets out in force, or some big event like Munster vs All Blacks, it's human nature. I always wonder if there is a disconnect between community and senior football because of the lack of local interest. Or I should say, perceived lack of local interest.

**Macy** · 30/08/2011, 8:05 AM

Originally Posted by Spudulika

Let's face it, we all want a little bit of comfort. Comfort and LOI football (or football in Ireland in general) don't go hand in hand.

Accepting your following point about the Irish loving a bandwagon to hop on, I'm not sure the above stands up that well. Especially if the proposition is Tallaght. Facilities is one of the worst excuses ever, imo. It never stopped people travelling to UK football when the grounds were (albeit more atmospheric) dumps.

**TiocfaidhArmani** · 30/08/2011, 9:19 AM

Ezeikial, don't give up on that person. Keep chipping away. Attitudes won't be changed overnight. Person by person is how it'll be done if we're ever to change decades held attitudes.

**peadar1987** · 30/08/2011, 11:15 AM

Originally Posted by TiocfaidhArmani

Ezeikial, don't give up on that person. Keep chipping away. Attitudes won't be changed overnight. Person by person is how it'll be done if we're ever to change decades held attitudes.

Getting someone into the ground the first time is the most important hurdle. If someone goes to a game with a group of Rovers supporters and gets caught up in the atmosphere, they'll be well on the road off the barstool. Of course, this works less well with Bray, as the games I bring people to are inevitably drab losses in the rain to teams from Louth.

**Ezeikial** · 30/08/2011, 1:08 PM

Originally Posted by TiocfaidhArmani

Ezeikial, don't give up on that person. Keep chipping away. Attitudes won't be changed overnight. Person by person is how it'll be done if we're ever to change decades held attitudes.

I take your point - although it's a bigger priority for me to cajole, brow-beat, frog march or otherwise encourage people to Oriel park rather then Tallaght

**freewheel30** · 30/08/2011, 2:50 PM

Thought Cenny Kunningham made an interesting point on last night's MNS about how once one club from a country reaches a particular stage / level of European football, chances are a bunch of other clubs from that country will follow. Certainly happened with Cyprus.

**legendz** · 30/08/2011, 6:52 PM

Rovers only made the breakthrough last week. It'll take time for their profile to grow on the back of last week. Someone involved in marketing will no more about this but I think at least 6 weeks of good coverage is needed to promote any product, event etc. Rovers will be involved in the Europa League from mid September up until mid December. In that period their profile should grow a whole lot more. The green shoots were set last Thursday. They should grow over the next 3-4 months.

**PartySaint** · 30/08/2011, 6:58 PM

Originally Posted by freewheel30

Thought Cenny Kunningham made an interesting point on last night's MNS about how once one club from a country reaches a particular stage / level of European football, chances are a bunch of other clubs from that country will follow. Certainly happened with Cyprus.

I've been thinking about this, Does this mean our Champions will be expected to get into the Europa League group stages from now on?

I said last year that there will be an Irish club in the group stages of a European competition within the next 5 years, I know believe there will be another Irish club in the group stages in the next 5 years

**legendz** · 30/08/2011, 8:03 PM

Originally Posted by PartySaint

I've been thinking about this, Does this mean our Champions will be expected to get into the Europa League group stages from now on?

I said last year that there will be an Irish club in the group stages of a European competition within the next 5 years, I know believe there will be another Irish club in the group stages in the next 5 years

I agreed with that call of 5 years as well. I definitely wasn't expecting it this season but within 2-3 years seemed a good possibility. I thought the league was going to have 1 or 2 years of getting to the play-offs consistently but having near misses on the group stage while knocking on the door. Shamrock Rovers blew the door right off it's hinges.

Rovers have lifted the bar. It's a good point in some respects that other clubs could follow. A monkey, planet of the apes even, has been taken off of the league's back.

We need to be cautious as well though. There will be set-backs along the way. This seasons champions could easily suffer defeat in the Champions League Second Qualifier Round next summer and have no Europa League safety net whatsoever. Teams plotting a course from Europa League Qualifier Round 2 have no room for error, having to get though 3 rounds.

**peadar1987** · 30/08/2011, 8:08 PM

Originally Posted by legendz

I agreed with that call of 5 years as well. I definitely wasn't expecting it this season but within 2-3 years seemed a good possibility. I thought the league was going to have 1 or 2 years of getting to the play-offs consistently but having near misses on the group stage while knocking on the door. Shamrock Rovers blew the door right off it's hinges.

Rovers have lifted the bar. It's a good point in some respects that other clubs could follow. A monkey, planet of the apes even, has been taken off of the league's back.

We need to be cautious as well though. There will be set-backs along the way. This seasons champions could easily suffer defeat in the Champions League Second Qualifier Round next summer and have no Europa League safety net whatsoever. Teams plotting a course from Europa League Qualifier Round 2 have no room for error, having to get though 3 rounds.

Although if Shams can pick up some good results, it could raise the league's coefficient, and mean that Irish teams have to go over fewer hurdles by entering at a later round. I think it's the league's coefficient, and not the team's own coefficient that determines at which round you enter

**legendz** · 31/08/2011, 1:24 PM

Originally Posted by peadar1987

Although if Shams can pick up some good results, it could raise the league's coefficient, and mean that Irish teams have to go over fewer hurdles by entering at a later round. I think it's the league's coefficient, and not the team's own coefficient that determines at which round you enter

The best we'll get is into the top 27. This will allow the cup winner, like Sligo this year, start in Qualifier Round 3. Ireland will be 31st for next seasons rankings. 15th is needed for league champions to join CLQ3, 15th is also needed for the cup winner to join ELQ4.