Where to from now....

**bawn79** · 28/09/2012, 9:20 AM

Originally Posted by gastric

This policy excites me and could give domestic football the shot in the arm it needs so badly. While many will criticise me for making the comparison, rugby was dragged kicking and screaming into the professional age and nearly despite itself has become an example for what is possible in sport in Ireland, in terms of marketing and financial stability.

Hopefully, the FAI will learn from this and ensure that football in Ireland has a long and successful future.

I'm kinda surprised this hasn't got more coverage. This pretty much gives the green-light to a Celtic League. I think this is the only way to go forward with a professional model in Ireland.

Should this article be a thread in it own right?

**Stuttgart88** · 04/10/2012, 2:10 PM

Another article on the same theme as John Devine, www.thecoachdiary.com etc.

http://footblogball.wordpress.com/20...t-generations/

**DannyInvincible** · 18/10/2012, 9:11 AM

A recent Futbol Mundial feature on the state of the game in Ireland:

**DannyInvincible** · 09/01/2013, 11:38 AM

Thought I'd post this here; an insightful article on the League of Ireland's "conveyor belt" of talent in spite of the many hurdles its clubs have to overcome: http://www.thesun.ie/irishsol/homepa...eyor-belt.html

IF Giovanni Trapattoni is to be believed, ‘there is no league in Ireland’.

Any manager in Britain worth his salt knows better because the domestic game has provided a conveyor belt of talent across the Irish Sea.

SunSport has trawled through the squad lists of the 92 English league and 12 SPL clubs to assess just how big an exporting market the League of Ireland has been.

And our figures show there are a staggering SIXTY-ONE players on the books of 48 different clubs.

....

Irish exports

PREMIER LEAGUE (11)

ASTON VILLA: Enda Stevens (UCD/St Pat’s/ Shamrock Rov).

EVERTON: Séamus Coleman* (Sligo Rov), Ben McLaughlin (Dundalk).

NORWICH CITY: Wes Hoolahan* (Shelbourne).

QPR: Brian Murphy (Bohemians).

READING: Noel Hunt* (Shamrock Rov/Waterford Utd), Karl Sheppard (Galway Utd/Shamrock Rov), Pierce Sweeney (Bray Wands).

SUNDERLAND: James McClean* (Derry City).

WEST BROM: Shane Long* (Cork City).

WEST HAM: Sean Maguire (Waterford Utd).

CHAMPIONSHIP (17)

BIRMINGHAM CITY: Keith Fahey* (Drogheda Utd/St Pat’s).

BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION: Gary Dicker (UCD).

BURNLEY: Daniel Lafferty** (Derry City).

CHARLTON ATHLETIC: Kevin Feely (Bohemians).

CRYSTAL PALACE: Damien Delaney* (Cork City).

DERBY COUNTY: Conor Sammon (UCD/Derry City).

HULL CITY: David Meyler* (Cork City), Stephen Quinn (St Pat’s).

IPSWICH TOWN: Daryl Murphy* (Waterford Utd).

MILLWALL: David Forde* (Galway Utd/Derry City).

NOTTINGHAM FOREST: Stephen McLaughlin (Finn Harps/Derry City).

PETERBOROUGH UTD: Daniel Kearns (Dundalk).

SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY: Paul Corry (UCD).

WOLVES: Matt Doherty (Bohemians), Kevin Doyle* (St Pat’s/Cork City), Aaron McCarey (Monaghan Utd) Stephen Ward* (Bohemians).

LEAGUE ONE (13)

BRENTFORD: Jonathan Douglas* (Monaghan Utd).

COVENTRY CITY: Roy O’Donovan (Cork City).

DONCASTER ROVERS: Paul Keegan (Drogheda Utd/Bohemians).

LEYTON ORIENT: Leon McSweeney (Cork City), David Mooney (Shamrock Rov/Longford Town/Cork City).

MK DONS: Shaun Williams (Drogheda Utd/ Dundalk/Finn Harps/Sporting Fingal), Jay O’Shea (Bray Wands/Galway Utd).

PRESTON: Graham Cummins (Cork City).

SCUNTHORPE UTD: Jordan Keegan (St Pat’s/Monaghan Utd).

SHREWSBURY TOWN: Dave McAllister (Drogheda Utd/Shelbourne/St Pat’s).

STEVENAGE FC: Don Cowan (Shamrock Rovers/Longford Town).

YEOVIL TOWN: Paddy Madden (Shelbourne/Bohemians), Kevin Dawson (Sporting Fingal/Shelbourne).

LEAGUE TWO (9)

ACCRINGTON STANLEY: Padraig Amond (Shamrock Rov/Kildare County/Sligo Rovers).

BRADFORD CITY: Carl McHugh (Dundalk).

BRISTOL ROVERS: Mark McChrystal (Derry City).

BURTON ALBION: John McGrath (Limerick).

CHELTENHAM TOWN: Alan Bennett* (Cork City).

EXETER CITY: John O’Flynn (Cork City), Jimmy Keohane (Wexford Youths).

ROCHDALE: Brian Barry-Murphy (Cork City).

SOUTHEND UTD: Graham Coughlan (Bray Wanderers).

SPL (11)

ABERDEEN: Niall McGinn** (Derry).

CELTIC: Paddy McCourt** (Shamrock Rov/Derry City).

DUNDEE UTD: Sean Dillon (Longford/Shelbourne), Richie Ryan (Sligo Rov).

HIBERNIAN: Gary Deegan (Shelbourne/ Kilkenny City/Longford Town/Galway Utd/Bohemians), Eoin Doyle (Shamrock Rov/Sligo Rov).

INVERNESS CT: Richie Foran (St Pat’s/Shels/Home Farm), Conor Pepper (St Pat’s).

ROSS COUNTY: Sam Morrow (Derry City).

ST JOHNSTONE: Alan Mannus** (Shamrock Rov).

ST MIRREN: Graham Carey (Bohemians).

TOTAL: 61.

* Ireland internationals; ** Northern Ireland internationals.

TOP EXPORTERS:

11: Cork City (old club & new). 9: Derry City (old club & new), Shamrock Rovers. 8: Bohemians, St Pat’s. 7: Shelbourne. 4: Drogheda Utd, Dundalk, Galway Utd*, Longford Town, Sligo Rovers, UCD. 3: Bray Wanderers, Monaghan Utd*, Waterford Utd. 2: Finn Harps, Sporting Fingal. 1: Home Farm*, Kildare County*, Kilkenny City* Limerick FC, Wexford Youths. *no longer a league club

**tetsujin1979** · 09/01/2013, 12:25 PM

Fair point, but some of those are a stretch, at best. Pierce Sweeney hasn't played a game at senior level for Reading, apart from a friendly against Bray that was part of the transfer deal. The numbers of those that would be considered genuined international standard players is much, much shorter.
Did Graham Carey start at Bohemians, or was he only on loan there?

**osarusan** · 09/01/2013, 12:43 PM

Not sure if John McGrath played for Limerick and if he did, it was his first time at an Irish senior club, when he was about 27. Alan Mannus had 10 years at Linfield before coming to Rovers.

It's a list of players with English clubs that at some point played/were on the books at LOI clubs. It might come as a surprise to non-LOI fans that there are this number of ex-LOI players, but what's being implied (in my opinion) is that the players on the list all learned their trade in the LOI, which isn't the case for all of them.

**tetsujin1979** · 09/01/2013, 1:25 PM

Originally Posted by osarusan

Not sure if John McGrath played for Limerick and if he did, it was his first time at an Irish senior club, when he was about 27.

He did - http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/irish...51-limerickfc/ - but he only played a handful of games before moving back to the UK.

Originally Posted by osarusan

Alan Mannus had 10 years at Linfield before coming to Rovers.

It's a list of players with English clubs that at some point played/were on the books at LOI clubs. It might come as a surprise to non-LOI fans that there are this number of ex-LOI players, but what's being implied (in my opinion) is that the players on the list all learned their trade in the LOI, which isn't the case for all of them.

sorry, that's what I meant to, reading back through the original post, I could have meant anything!

**SkStu** · 09/01/2013, 11:53 PM

Originally Posted by tetsujin1979

Fair point, but some of those are a stretch, at best. Pierce Sweeney hasn't played a game at senior level for Reading, apart from a friendly against Bray that was part of the transfer deal. The numbers of those that would be considered genuined international standard players is much, much shorter.
Did Graham Carey start at Bohemians, or was he only on loan there?

He was on loan from Celtic and played a lot of games for us. He made his first start in competitive senior football for Bohs.

**Charlie Darwin** · 10/01/2013, 12:01 AM

Originally Posted by tetsujin1979

Fair point, but some of those are a stretch, at best. Pierce Sweeney hasn't played a game at senior level for Reading, apart from a friendly against Bray that was part of the transfer deal. The numbers of those that would be considered genuined international standard players is much, much shorter.
Did Graham Carey start at Bohemians, or was he only on loan there?

Does it matter if they're not international-standard? I don't know how many Irish players there are in the same leagues who bypassed the LOI and succeeded in England, but I'd be willing to bet it's lower than 61.

**tetsujin1979** · 10/01/2013, 9:50 AM

Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

Does it matter if they're not international-standard? I don't know how many Irish players there are in the same leagues who bypassed the LOI and succeeded in England, but I'd be willing to bet it's lower than 61.

There isn't 61 players in that list that you can say have succeeded in England either. Sweeney and McLaughlin, for example.

**ifk101** · 10/01/2013, 10:02 AM

Originally Posted by tetsujin1979

There isn't 61 players in that list that you can say have succeeded in England either. Sweeney, for example.

What age is Sweeney?

**tetsujin1979** · 10/01/2013, 10:05 AM

Originally Posted by ifk101

What age is Sweeney?

17 I think. Might be 18.

**ifk101** · 10/01/2013, 10:13 AM

Bit early to highlight him as a player that hasn't succeeded.

**Serb** · 10/01/2013, 10:20 AM

Originally Posted by ifk101

Bit early to highlight him as a player that hasn't succeeded.

I know it's pedantic, but tets is technically correct — he hasn't succeeded yet. There's a good chance he'll eke out a career at some level of the English league system however.

**tetsujin1979** · 10/01/2013, 10:28 AM

Originally Posted by Serb

I know it's pedantic, but tets is technically correct — he hasn't succeeded yet. There's a good chance he'll eke out a career at some level of the English league system however.

that's the point I was making, the list looks impressive, but if you break it down into players who are playing regularly at a Championship level (which should be the minimum for an international player) it looks like this

Irish exports

PREMIER LEAGUE (6)

ASTON VILLA: Enda Stevens (UCD/St Pat’s/ Shamrock Rov).

EVERTON: Séamus Coleman* (Sligo Rov)

NORWICH CITY: Wes Hoolahan* (Shelbourne).

READING: Noel Hunt* (Shamrock Rov/Waterford Utd)

SUNDERLAND: James McClean* (Derry City).

WEST BROM: Shane Long* (Cork City).

CHAMPIONSHIP (11)

BIRMINGHAM CITY: Keith Fahey* (Drogheda Utd/St Pat’s).

BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION: Gary Dicker (UCD).

CRYSTAL PALACE: Damien Delaney* (Cork City).

DERBY COUNTY: Conor Sammon (UCD/Derry City).

HULL CITY: David Meyler* (Cork City), Stephen Quinn (St Pat’s).

IPSWICH TOWN: Daryl Murphy* (Waterford Utd).

MILLWALL: David Forde* (Galway Utd/Derry City).

SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY: Paul Corry (UCD).

WOLVES: Kevin Doyle* (St Pat’s/Cork City), Stephen Ward* (Bohemians).

Of those, only Enda Stevens, Stephen Quinn, Gary Dicker, Conor Sammon, and Paul Corry are uncapped by Trapattoni, and of those only Stevens would make a difference to the existing squad, IMO

**ifk101** · 10/01/2013, 10:30 AM

Originally Posted by Serb

I know it's pedantic, but tets is technically correct — he hasn't succeeded yet. There's a good chance he'll eke out a career at some level of the English league system however.

It's too early to say he hasn't succeeded as we don't know what Reading's expectations are for Sweeney or whether he has succeeded in meeting those expectations.