Dublin Decider

**ArdeeBhoy** · 26/08/2013, 11:34 PM

Maybe, but the anecdotes work for me just as well. There's actually not that much The 'Tic and Hibees agree on.
This appears to be one of the few things on which they do, but am happy to stand corrected!

**Charlie Darwin** · 26/08/2013, 11:59 PM

Ah, but maybe it's one of those situations where the Celtic and Hibs fans are happy to just agree because it suits both of them.

I know it might seem on here like I am hostile to Celtic but it's only from the point of view that I don't like seeing Irish people supporting a team from overseas and overlooking their own league. I have no problem with Celtic fans who support their local clubs, of whom I know many. I know being from Ardee you probably have no particular affinity for Dundalk or Drogheda and a pan-Irish team might make more sense to you, but it's just frustrating when the domestic league suffers because a team from across the water is so popular.

Like I said, if Celtic are playing I'll cheer them on and hope they do well. I have no malice towards them, they're just not my club.

**ArdeeBhoy** · 27/08/2013, 12:23 AM

Heh, I can totally understand why Celtic and other big clubs p*ss off LOI fans, though sometimes their self-righteous attitudes don't help.
Any big club has its' fair share of eejit fans and Celtic are no different, albeit they're more 'political' than most.

But if Rovers or any other LOI club had 50k+ regular fans, the chances are they too would have attracted a few eejits too...

That said, have a soft spot for most LOI clubs, it's just the fans on places like this who can be a tad tedious at times, though most are fine in the flesh!

**Charlie Darwin** · 27/08/2013, 12:36 AM

My problem isn't with eejit fans, it's with people who support Celtic or an English club when they haven't produced a top player in decades. I mean Nottingham Forest and Wolves don't have any Irish links but they've produced the two best Irish players in the past 25 years. I don't begrudge anyone supporting any foreign team - it's the lack of joined-up thinking. Celtic are absolutely crying out for an Irish team to link up with, but there's nobody they can link up with because Irish people don't support Irish football. Celtic signed McCourt and McGinn from Derry and they've been sniffing around plenty of players since, but there are no formal links because Derry don't have enough fans to produce the quality of coaching they need. McClean was an abberation - he succeeded because he did so much work away from the club that he made himself succeed. Ditto for Rovers, Bohs, Dundalk or whoever. As long as Irish people are only interested in elite football (or, in the case of Celtic or Leeds or whoever, second-tier football) we will never produce the best players.

**galwayhoop** · 27/08/2013, 7:11 AM

Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

McClean was an abberation - he succeeded because he did so much work away from the club that he made himself succeed.

???

Can you explain this bit please??

**ArdeeBhoy** · 27/08/2013, 10:00 AM

Hear the passion Chas, don't follow the logic. For me football seems to follow a more irrational cyclical pattern and in the case of a small country like Ireland with other major competing sports, it feels a lot more random that we produce decent players or not.

**nigel-harps1954** · 27/08/2013, 10:47 AM

I think clubs here would be smart not to link up with a club like Celtic.
For all the money or such involved, you also run the risk of alienating or annoying a proportion of support with such a link.

**ArdeeBhoy** · 27/08/2013, 12:30 PM

Yeah, a proportion of a thousand people...wow.

There are pros and cons, but Shams or Harps/Doire would be probably be their best option.

And before you ask me for an explanation, ask a few active Irish Celtic fans...

**Charlie Darwin** · 27/08/2013, 12:46 PM

Originally Posted by galwayhoop

???

Can you explain this bit please??

He didn't have great coaching but he did extra work off the field that most players wouldn't and reaped the rewards.

Originally Posted by ArdeeBhoy

Hear the passion Chas, don't follow the logic. For me football seems to follow a more irrational cyclical pattern and in the case of a small country like Ireland with other major competing sports, it feels a lot more random that we produce decent players or not.

You don't follow the logic that better coaching produces better players? There's nothing random about it. Ireland is full of youngsters who haven't fulfilled their potential because they don't settle in England or don't get the right coaching at home. Countries like Croatia produce world class players constantly, and it's not by random chance.

**nigel-harps1954** · 27/08/2013, 2:02 PM

Originally Posted by ArdeeBhoy

Yeah, a proportion of a thousand people...wow.

There are pros and cons, but Shams or Harps/Doire would be probably be their best option.

And before you ask me for an explanation, ask a few active Irish Celtic fans...

A proportion of a thousand people can make a huge difference to a League of Ireland club.