QuoteOriginally Posted by yurt
Good man Eamo , the greatest spoofer on planet earth
https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soc...i-owe-34348121
Hard not to have a rye smile reading this. To be fair to him though he really didn't need to come across as glowing as he has done for the league in this piece.
Dunphy driving the LOI bandwagon was definitely not on the bingo card for 2024.
Good man Eamo , the greatest spoofer on planet earth
I find his current low profile a bit of a relief - he was certalnly entertaining, and not without a sense of humour, but he was just so bullish and opinionated. I'm glad he doesn't have the stage or profile he once had, but it's always good to see people change their minds. So.... ahem - nice one, Eamo.
I really like his podcast ‘The Stand’ ;reason being that he covers everything from sport, economics and politics both local and international and what makes it for me is that he always has brilliant guests who are both entertaining and experts in their field ( whether one agrees or not with their views) - in other words Dunphy usually has little to say I.e. no spoofing and he just lets the ‘experts’ get on with it.
Eamonn is his own self made man, he simply looked at how the wind was blowing and leaned in to it, 'contrary entertainment' that this country loves and loves to hate so popular with most; Like the Healy-Raes he could have forged a good career in politics among other things but I suppose (sports) journalism is one of the other great Irish spoofers' paradise - more opinion pieces than actual journalism. There has been more proper reporting on LoI over the years than other leagues and codes because there was some proper dogged stubborn pride involved!
Dunphy may be jumping on a bandwagon but for most long term LoI fans the potential being shown currently by the league has always been there but a combination of self interest and imcompetence held things back and instead of trying to change things people with a bit of influence, like Dunphy, stuck the boot in (if he had been more Mark Tighe than a Delaney mouthpiece...?). For my 40 odd years nowLoI fans have predicted the fall of the national side, that the reliance on England/Scottish systems has meant that more players than McGrath* have been lost, rather than 'almost missed'.
European football in general has professionalised, with respect to Bradley and Duff the LoI journey had already been embarked upon with....well licencing and pro coaching badges, elite player pathways, national underage leagues, minimum s+c, FT training, recognition of the role - the need of LoI beyond a few niche nerd merchants. Dunphy's endorsement is here nor there, when the national side starts to climb rankings again, and it will, with the roots unquestionably in LoI, then the told ye so i will bleat.
His level of bitterness and resentment toward the league stank more of a man who failed than one that was scorned. What was his efforts in the league with Rovers, was he obstructed at a sports development or just didnt make some quick money and was eventurally told to bog off?
*Paul McGrath is my Ireland legend, probably like most of my era. Im a bit too young to know what the landscape of early 80's LoI and wider society was tvh, it wouldnt have been easy for McGrath, but his well documented issues would have been a concern for any club, no English club would have taken a punt until St Pats had and he showed he could function at all never mind in the mad world of pro football with a club like Manchester United. Nearly missed, at 18?, he wasnt missed at all, maybe he was watched through some dark times and given a chance in LoI as soon he was able? - I dont know the detail of his scouting obviously but does Dunphy?
The great Charlie Walker was the man who first saw the potential in McGrath nesta, a legendary figure down inchicore way.also took a punt on Jackie Jameson , the most skilful Irish player I’ve ever seen, and many others too. Great eye for a player as they say.Eamonn is his own self made man, he simply looked at how the wind was blowing and leaned in to it, 'contrary entertainment' that this country loves and loves to hate so popular with most; Like the Healy-Raes he could have forged a good career in politics among other things but I suppose (sports) journalism is one of the other great Irish spoofers' paradise - more opinion pieces than actual journalism. There has been more proper reporting on LoI over the years than other leagues and codes because there was some proper dogged stubborn pride involved!
Dunphy may be jumping on a bandwagon but for most long term LoI fans the potential being shown currently by the league has always been there but a combination of self interest and imcompetence held things back and instead of trying to change things people with a bit of influence, like Dunphy, stuck the boot in (if he had been more Mark Tighe than a Delaney mouthpiece...?). For my 40 odd years now
European football in general has professionalised, with respect to Bradley and Duff the LoI journey had already been embarked upon with....well licencing and pro coaching badges, elite player pathways, national underage leagues, minimum s+c, FT training, recognition of the role - the need of LoI beyond a few niche nerd merchants. Dunphy's endorsement is here nor there, when the national side starts to climb rankings again, and it will, with the roots unquestionably in LoI, then the told ye so i will bleat.
His level of bitterness and resentment toward the league stank more of a man who failed than one that was scorned. What was his efforts in the league with Rovers, was he obstructed at a sports development or just didnt make some quick money and was eventurally told to bog off?
*Paul McGrath is my Ireland legend, probably like most of my era. Im a bit too young to know what the landscape of early 80's LoI and wider society was tvh, it wouldnt have been easy for McGrath, but his well documented issues would have been a concern for any club, no English club would have taken a punt until St Pats had and he showed he could function at all never mind in the mad world of pro football with a club like Manchester United. Nearly missed, at 18?, he wasnt missed at all, maybe he was watched through some dark times and given a chance in LoI as soon he was able? - I dont know the detail of his scouting obviously but does Dunphy?
Wonder did Dunphy have too many bevvies writing that column? I havent read any of his columns in a long time so Im a bit shocked reading this
Gary Cronin is he the right man to manage Longford Town?
How long will it be before either the League or its clubs start to migrate to Bluesky in earnest? Facebook still serves a good role as a promotional tool, but it remains to be seen for how long value will be gained from Twitter accounts.
A lot of LOI clubs are already on Bluesky
Paaatrick's Agletic
A lot of people I know who have migrated have already lost interest in it because there just isn't enough sports content or accounts on there yet and if they are a lot of them are American sports
What are the best podcasts to listen to for loi and/or the national teams?
I'm not a football club, but I do make a lot of LOI stuff, been using both, Bluesky for just over a year, Twitter for over a decade. Getting similar levels of engagement on Bluesky Vs Twitter even thou I have 5x more followers on Twitter, I think Twitter is very much on its last legs and fully p2w, I don't see it surviving in the long term as a useful public resource. Plenty of companies and clubs have left it. The new season will be interesting to see how clubs spend their energies. I don't use TikTok, and I assume that has become a decent avenue for clubs to reach younger fans.
I think twitter's demise is greatly exaggerated. You're right about tiktok though, outrageous growth there
It might depend on your audience, mine has been decimated, lot of people very socially minded want nothing to do with the place. I kind of don't use it to actually read the timeline any more because it's generally just distressing and anger inducing at the best of times. I'd quit it completely if I could afford to
This is more of a 'doing their best to drag a club down' point than promote a club.
Does every club have a few fans who insist on going out of their way to turn a fan base against a club? There are a few on the Cork City forum who do nothing but have a go at the club from whatever angle they can find. The lads from the Amigos podcast are the driving force behind it. I get that they have issues with the owner but the way they behave is petty and childish.
Does every club have fans who behave like this?
Given how small the communities are around our clubs there'll always be a few people who've given a ton of time to their club and feel they've been disrespected in some way who won't be shy in letting their feelings known.
On the Galway United front there has been very little to complain about in the past 2 years after steamrolling the first division in 2023 and outperforming expectations massively in 2024.
The main drama these days on the Galway forum is people having a go at posters who are eternally POSITIVE about anything and everything relating to the club.
Welcome to the forums Liongard822! I'd recommend LOI Central, setup by two journalists from Off The Ball, which focuses exclusively on the League of Ireland. Great info and great craic listening to it.
Thanks mate.
Found it on the podcast app. Have downloaded it to listen to later.
I hear Between the Stripes LOI podcast is very goodIn all seriousness, it's probably the only pod that gives the first division proper coverage every week without fail.
BetweenTheStripes.net - Home of Between the Stripes LOI podcast.
Your man Gary is gas, but the other fella….I hear Between the Stripes LOI podcast is very good
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks