Originally Posted by Roberto
You actively support Wigan yeah?
I'll keep that in mind, thanks. Decent spot to go out as well and very close to The Reebok, if one was to do a two games in a day/weekend kind of thing.
Yep there are plenty of LOI is crap threads....
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
You make 2 incorrect assumptions i.e. 1) a crowd of 17-18k means no atmosphere and 2) position in league equates to a poor standard of football.
Why are LOI fans so touchy??
I used to go to St Pats games in Harolds Cross in the late 80s so I do know a little about crap factilities, no atmosphere and poor standards of football.
1) If Finn Harps were playing in the English Premier League in a stadium of the same size as the DW, there would be crowds of 18,000.
2) Position in a league doesn't equate to a poor standard of football, but when the football played by the team itself has been proven to not be of much of an attractive standard, then you have to ask questions. Personally, I see one or two teams in the League of Ireland playing much more attractive football than certain teams in the English Premier League.
League of Ireland fans have every right to be touchy. It's thoroughly frustrating to see tens of thousands of people flooding through Dublin/Belfast/Cork/Knock/Shannon airports each and every weekend to watch 'their' teams play, blatantly disregarding the League as "poor standard, poor quality stadia" when never actually stepping foot inside one of the grounds to watch a game, all whilst the league here is on it's knees.
You know the total attendance of all the games here last weekend, Premier and First Division was just over 12,000?
As someone said though, all this is for another thread.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
That's just great.I admit it's strange but what do I do? What started off as a 'casual like' experiment turned into a genuine passion for the club. And it would appear I'm not the only one. At the game against Reading that clinched promotion to the Premiership I spotted an Irish tricolor with 'tiocfaid ar la' written on it. Support who you want, life is too short.
Did they spell it incorrectly as a joke?
Surely Wigan weren't packing in many more fans than most LOI teams back in 2000 and the current atmosphere does look a bit muted on TV. Wigan would be more of a league town from what I understand. I'm not having a go, I was just interested in how you'd come to follow a team not many Irish people would have chosen.Ah, thats what I thought you were getting at. I have been to many LOI games. I lived in Dublin and attended Shelbourne games a lot and when I moved to the South East I also went to Waterford games. To be honest, crap facilities, no atmosphere and a fairly poor standard of football turned me off so I stopped going. I do believe in the concept value for money. However I do think I do a little 'for the long term benefit of Irish football' as I am involved in a local club as a coach for our Schoolboys teams.
If you are so patriotic about Irish football why do you call yourself after an Italian Australian soccer player who spent a lot of his career playing in the English and Scottish leagues
I don't know why they are so touchy, but it's another reason, and perhaps a bigger reason compared to facilities and standard of football, that could well put people off attending. What's the point in going to a club game casually given the hostile condescending bickering, and petty chastisement / one-upmanship about not watching foreign leagues.
How on earth would people in the stadium know that you watch foreign leagues?
He's not wearing milk bottle glasses and an anorak
I've said it before in other threads (can't remember which one), that pontificating to those who follow an English club like they are committing some horrible sin will get none of them through an LOI gate. Nobody likes to be lectured. I know people who dismiss the LoI and the suggestion they go to some of its games for that reason, for what they perceive as a cliquey attitude that is hostile to those who choose to support English clubs.
I have no idea what you could do, practically, to combat that perception.
Personally, I think the EPL, like most leagues in Europe, is way, way above the LOI, both in tears of talent and entertainment value, but I'll admit I might be in the minority on these forums when it comes to that opinion.
Author of Never Felt Better (History, Film Reviews).
I think the mods should move these posts to a more appropriate place, but it's a good debate if not a bit jaded.
I think some people polarise the issues here. I hate the way people will look down their noses at the LoI yet are devoted to an English club, but if people realise that the LOI is what it is fair enough if they think it's not for them. The league has work to do to win people over but I see enough good in it to be interested in it and to support it when I can. I only knock it if I think I'm objectively justified in doing so and in fact I talk it up over here.
If the league can convert people who never go to occasionally go, and get those who occasionally go to go more regularly then it'll be making progress.
In fairness to roberto, I too went to Harolds Cross in the late 80s and thought it was grim. Btw, I thought Wigan were fantastic at the tail end of last season.
Also, one aspect of English football I'm jealous of is its place in the public's consciousness, at all levels. They may not play it artistically and it may be vulgar financially but it's hard to not recognise its significance here. I think that aspect appeals to many Irish.
If you go on your own and say nothing and do nothing then yes there is no way you could be "outed" - it's akin to any "lone wolf" away fan getting into the home end and keeping schtum. But if for instance a casual fan was to take his son, father, friend or wife etc to an LoI match natural conversation could "out" him as a fan of the "foreign game". If the pair of fans said, "oh who is that number 3 for shels, he looks pretty quick but suspect at positioning", "yeah a bit like a poor mans John Arne Riise / Stefan Radu / Sven Bender etc" - firstly he wouldnt know who Lorcan Fitzgerald was and secondly mentioning such names would indicate his knowledge of, and probable watching of a game beyond the sea by the fact that he knows a Fulham / Lazio / Dortmund player.
Look at the end of the day, in all seriousness, if domestic football is to grow a huge element of it is about being open and inclusive fans. If casual fans dont feel welcome then I cannot see how the LoI will realistically grow. A lot of people on here carp on and on about how people supporting foreign teams is destroying LoI clubs, but the idea that someone can enjoy foreign football and go to the occasional LoI game too seems to be disgusting to quite a few of the hardcore LoI club fans. They are entitled to feel that way if they want, but as I said I can't see the league's fan base growing with such entrenched attitudes.
...which would indicate a worrying degree of delusion amongst the majority.
Your opinion on the LOI is pretty much a statement of fact.
You're awfully suspicious of people. People might get a bit annoyed if you look down on the football and spend the whole game talking about how much better English football is, but the majority of people in the ground will sit down and watch Sky Sports just like you and will probably say fair play to you for broadening your horizons by seeing your local side. A lot of people there won't know the name of each player either. It's not like you're a spy behind enemy lines who has to worry about being outed.
For my examples, it wasn't anything in a match (because they weren't going) it was a few nasty run-ins in pub discussion and elsewhere (very rare) but more of a general feeling they got from online interaction and comments - forums, facebook, twitter and the like, where some discussions of foreign clubs or articles on LoI football would attract a very argumentative and condescending type of LoI fan, quick to use words like "west Brit".
It's a perception issue of course, because I believe the vast majority of LoI fans either don't care or would encourage such supporters to go and see LoI clubs in a positive way. But some people stick to their first (or negative) impressions.
Author of Never Felt Better (History, Film Reviews).
I find the reality is the polar opposite of what goes on online.
why the heck are people picking on Roberto for following an English club? Lay off FFS. 90% of the regulars in this Ireland forum are primarily followers of the English clubs. Not sure why Roberto is fair game and everyone else gets away with it. Must be because hes a new-ish poster.
For the record, ive been a dedicated Everton fan longer than ive been a staunch Bohs fan. Its the Irish way to look abroad first (though i dont necessarily understand why).
I like high energy football. A little bit rock and roll. Many finishes instead of waiting for the perfect one.
I don't have any problem whatsoever with anyone wanting to support a team in England. 99.9% of my friends are English league followers.
What annoys me is when they blatantly disregard the league here and simply don't want it because it's 'Sh*t and the facilities are awful'.
We all know the facilities aren't all up to scratch, especially up here at Finn Harps. But the constant jibes about how 'why would you support Finn Harps..sure they're sh*te?' really really annoys me.
If I was watching Finn Harps just to see the top class standard, and the excellent facilities, as well as huge crowds and atmospheres...I'd be waiting a while.
The league here is a disgrace, plain and simple, and I don't hold it against anyone for not wanting to watch such a sub standard league.
But ffs, give it a chance at least.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
Cheers
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