FAI Invites First Division Expressions of Interest

**littlebray** · 28/01/2015, 7:42 PM

Don't you just love Fran Gavin's "following receipt of a number of expressions of interest"!

Tarmonbarry ... and who else?

**Mr A** · 28/01/2015, 7:49 PM

I think Carlow are considering coming in but were not ready this year.

**citybone** · 28/01/2015, 8:17 PM

Originally Posted by Mr A

http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/irish...i-application/

Plenty of carping about another Dublin club in the league. But we desperately need at least an 8th team plus a third of the league teams coming from Dublin when Dublin has about a third of the population hardly seems massively disproportionate. But at this stage I think a lot of the giving out is just a reflex with no actual thought involved.

In fairness Fingal is the biggest populated part of Dublin with no club (anymore), If Sporting Fingal had stayed amateur and built a small football stadium in Fingal they could have been sustainable but no they spent money on wages and had no legacy. A 500 seater main stand and two little 250 seat stand behind each goal, one for vocal home fans and one for away fan's. Might only have been a average first division club but better than bust and might have had a good year every now and then.

**Spudulika** · 28/01/2015, 8:19 PM

Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

I don't think anybody's booed Cabinteely - in fact, I think the response has been overwhelmingly completely positive towards them.

Easily was probably an exaggeration on my part but you said they "should" be bringing in 500, even if if you're saying it would take a few years, without any real argument for why beyond them having a good underage set-up.

Charlie, I can live with my words being twisted, it's practice in foot.ie, but come on, it's not been supportive of the new club. I do, in one sense, understand the tribalism, but we should be happy with clubs aspiring to join, we should be forcing our own clubs to do more to open up the league, and while we all criticise the FAI, it is our own clubs who voted again and again to allow the national association run our top senior leagues.

And I'm not having a go at you, I know that there are many on here who will head out to Stradbrook just to take a look for the sake of the game, and I just hope our meeja get on board with this and start giving our league some support.

**Spudulika** · 28/01/2015, 8:23 PM

Originally Posted by citybone

In fairness Fingal is the biggest populated part of Dublin with no club (anymore), If Sporting Fingal had stayed amateur and built a small football stadium in Fingal they could have been sustainable but no they spent money on wages and had no legacy. A 500 seater main stand and two little 250 seat stand behind each goal, one for vocal home fans and one for away fan's. Might only have been a average first division club but better than bust and might have had a good year every now and then.

Not fair on Fingal. They Sporting Fingal, they were doing good work in the community, they were developing younger age groups and in the process of getting a small ground together (in Lusk if I remember right), and they had no choice in the end. The council pulled the plug completely for political expediency and cowardice - even when the club had backers coming in and no debts.

Fingal is not covered, but it's a spread out area - you could have a LOI club out in Blanch (lots of good players from there - Fabio for one), one in Malahide, but further north and you're running into Drogheda. Brings into focus a need for franchising.

**Charlie Darwin** · 28/01/2015, 9:39 PM

Originally Posted by Spudulika

Charlie, I can live with my words being twisted, it's practice in foot.ie, but come on, it's not been supportive of the new club. I do, in one sense, understand the tribalism, but we should be happy with clubs aspiring to join, we should be forcing our own clubs to do more to open up the league, and while we all criticise the FAI, it is our own clubs who voted again and again to allow the national association run our top senior leagues.

And I'm not having a go at you, I know that there are many on here who will head out to Stradbrook just to take a look for the sake of the game, and I just hope our meeja get on board with this and start giving our league some support.

What's not been supportive? Some people have questioned how wise it is (completely valid) but I'd wager a good chunk of people here will put their money where their mouths are and buy tickets. Clubs don't run on well-wishes and having smoke blown up their holes on message boards.

**Mr A** · 29/01/2015, 9:54 AM

Cabinteely in for the long haul: http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/irish...medium=twitter

An a separate point- 7/20 clubs in the Greater Dublin area = 35%. For an area that has 39% of the population that is not over representation like many people seem to think.

**MattB11** · 29/01/2015, 12:51 PM

Would of rathered a team from outside of Dublin myself, be hard for them to drum up any kind of fan base when you consider anyone from the area with any interest in loi football probably already support one of the Dublin clubs.

**gufcfan** · 29/01/2015, 1:20 PM

Fixtures out

**Nesta99** · 29/01/2015, 5:29 PM

Originally Posted by Mr A

Cabinteely in for the long haul: http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/irish...medium=twitter

An a separate point- 7/20 clubs in the Greater Dublin area = 35%. For an area that has 39% of the population that is not over representation like many people seem to think.

Its 39% of the population overall of which a tiny percentage is then shared among the 7 Dublin clubs in actual league attendance. The math in simplicity is of course correct but arguably a town like Sligo will get better crowds that the Dublin clubs while being about 0.4% of the national population. Having said that as another Dublin based club goes I feel Cabinteely have a better chance than UCD to build a fan base even though UCD are well established. The growth of League of Ireland attendance nationwide if done correctly and supported by the FAI would likely be more in a one club provincial town/city than in Dublin irrespective of population. Even those who rarely attend games have probably alligned themselves to Dublins more successful and still in existance traditional 4.