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Thread: Athlone Town want league to emulate MLS

  1. #1
    First Team Battery Rover's Avatar
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    Athlone Town want league to emulate MLS


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    Like the Fonz. Only a dog. Mr A's Avatar
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    Makes a fair bit of sense. Won't happen though.
    #NeverStopNotGivingUp

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    First Team seand's Avatar
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    I'm pretty sure it's in UEFA's rules that member countries' leagues can't be a closed shop and have to have promotion/relegation

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    Like the Fonz. Only a dog. Mr A's Avatar
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    They didn't say it'd be a closed shop. It could be open to new clubs under a new structure.
    #NeverStopNotGivingUp

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    Wasn't there some suggestion that the league has to have two tiers in order to meet the criteria for a UEFA Licence or something?
    Upwards to the vanguard where the pressure is too high.

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    I think it's absolute nonsense. Dragging down overall standard of the league by diluting it with poor clubs is the last thing we need to do. The best teams need to be in the top league and the bottom teams of the league need to have some motivation.
    Where is the motivation on Bray or Limerick to better themselves in July if there is no relegation to worry about. We would likely have 2 good sides at most in each division and the rest made up of teams with no chance.

    The MLS's success is the fact that there has been massive money pumped in to it not it's structures

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    International Prospect outspoken's Avatar
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    Total toys out of the pram stuff from athlone. You wouldn't mind them making a statement like this if they were 15 points clear at the top of the division but they are struggling to even get into the play offs, they must have real financial worries down there if they are making statements like this which follows earlier statements earlier in the season. Where were these calls for change when the got promoted and thought they had seen the back of the graveyard division ? Exactly.

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    International Prospect Nesta99's Avatar
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    Change nothing!! (until Dundalk's days in the sunshine are over)

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nesta99 View Post
    Change nothing!! (until Dundalk's days in the sunshine are over)
    Can't thank this cos I'm on phone but I would if I could!
    Even though you're making a joke (and a good one) there are those at all bigger clubs who think that exact way.
    This is one of the reasons it won't happen.
    Something like this should happen though.
    End of season playoffs would be great. The top 6 involved. Lots of interest and lots of coverage.

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    International Prospect Nesta99's Avatar
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    Play-offs for the league title I dont believe would generate much more interest imo. I think its daft actually, like often in Rugby a team finishes clear at the top then win nothing as the lose a one off semi or final. Its is something that could possibly be tinkered with for Europa League places...maybe! As far as i'm concerned we already have a competition that is the big game close of season affair. To have league finals and a Cup final is overkill. All the restructuring that is needed is the mindset of the FAI and by extension the media involvement in the League. Like Scotland domestic football stories should be back page of the papers for all divisions and foreign leagues get inside page space - we of course do it arseways! At the end of it all though market interest will drive anything - to improve market interest is a big task but we shouldn't feel like we are battling the national association on top of everything. I've mentioned before that it was interesting while living in England that football fans followed their West Hams and Spurs but not at the entire expense of the local Southend or Colchester clubs and the fans also didnt expect a Premier League experience in L2 OR 3. Here the game is compared with whats seen on TV and when its not the same its called muck. Serious inferiority complex if you ask me.

    I get where Athlone are coming from, even worse when restructuring did happen Dundalk were promoted and relegated again within weeks. Wexford Youths are in the hunt for promotion and they are not in existence the length of time that some clubs including Dundalk spent in the 1st Division. Sorting out our own clubs boardroom management would be a good start before talk of league restructuring. Lose the quick fix hopes or seeking loopholes like Waterford. The 1st Division does need something to be done but I dont see any magic wands lying around and an MLS model would be a disaster.
    Last edited by Nesta99; 17/07/2015 at 8:51 PM.

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    Seasoned Pro White Horse's Avatar
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    The team who gets the most points are the champions. There are already two cup competitions.

    In my opinion, a country of Ireland's size cannot support more than 10-12 clubs in the top level. Perhaps we should be looking at a regional conference type league underneath a single division LOI. In that way there would be a link and pathway between junior and senior football.

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  18. #12
    Like the Fonz. Only a dog. Mr A's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nesta99 View Post
    Change nothing!! (until Dundalk's days in the sunshine are over)
    This nicely sums up 95% of the responses to any proposal for change in the LOI.
    #NeverStopNotGivingUp

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    Only one thing for it

    Upwards to the vanguard where the pressure is too high.

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  22. #14
    First Team jinxy lilywhite's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr A View Post
    This nicely sums up 95% of the responses to any proposal for change in the LOI.
    I disagree . most clubs understand and take that the loi is rotten. There are some great folks involved in the clubs especially volunteers who deserve the utmost respect from the loi family.

    The suggestion from Athlone is one of desperation. It is tough in the 1st. We had 8 horrible seasons in it that I hope never again to be in it. But the truth is that the teams there are not good enough and 2 tiers are needed. To use the MLS model where it is in a country of over 300m and the clubs are the majority franchises it would never work here.

    There is no quick fix to get the league to the standard that we all want. Improvements are needed at the top level from the fai but also the clubs themselves. Bit by bit and little by little. Add in also time and money which none of the clubs have
    Long Live King Kenny

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    Maybe a 20 team league could work like this... after first round robin phase, i.e. 19 games, the league splits into 2, i.e. positions 1 to 10 in top group and positions 11 to 20 in the bottom group. That accounts for another 18 games (9 home, 9 away), bringing the total to 37 games. Gives all teams at least 18 home games, some 19. But their needs to be incentives for teams in the bottom group to play, that seems to be at least one issue from this idea. (Just thought of this idea in no great detail )

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    International Prospect outspoken's Avatar
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    Promotion and relegation is needed they are the only games that attract bumper crowds to have bray V Derry in the battle of who finished 19th in a 20 team league with no relegation will only do one thing for the league and it isn't improve it

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    Quote Originally Posted by outspoken View Post
    Promotion and relegation is needed they are the only games that attract bumper crowds. to have bray V Derry in the battle of who finished 19th in a 20 team league with no relegation will only do one thing for the league and it isn't improve it
    Never even mind that, what about all the other teams realistically out of the running for Europe?

    People thinks there are problems now? Clubs would drop like flies. Monaghan type situations would be an annual occurrence.

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    Quote Originally Posted by White Horse View Post
    The team who gets the most points are the champions. There are already two cup competitions.

    In my opinion, a country of Ireland's size cannot support more than 10-12 clubs in the top level. Perhaps we should be looking at a regional conference type league underneath a single division LOI. In that way there would be a link and pathway between junior and senior football.
    Ireland can support 4-5 team who will aspire to be professional, and another 2 part-time and the rest amateur. 10-12 is massively optimistic.

    We don't need promotion-relegation to make it interesting. It doesn't necessarily mean that who finishes top at the end of the regular season are champions. If it is marketed right and supported by the FAI, media and sponsors, it could be massive. Supporters will b!tch for a while, then get behind it and continue to b!tch about the next pain in the neck item. However the 3 main stakeholders in this, FAI, media and sponsors - will never back something that could make senior football in Ireland a success as it would mean too much work.
    http://www.championat.com/bets/artic...r-week-16.html

    Giving the Russians a weekly taste of our glorious LOI!

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    Seasoned Pro White Horse's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Spudulika View Post
    Ireland can support 4-5 team who will aspire to be professional, and another 2 part-time and the rest amateur. 10-12 is massively optimistic.

    We don't need promotion-relegation to make it interesting. It doesn't necessarily mean that who finishes top at the end of the regular season are champions. If it is marketed right and supported by the FAI, media and sponsors, it could be massive. Supporters will b!tch for a while, then get behind it and continue to b!tch about the next pain in the neck item. However the 3 main stakeholders in this, FAI, media and sponsors - will never back something that could make senior football in Ireland a success as it would mean too much work.
    Dublin should be able to support two teams. Cork, Derry, Sligo, and Dundalk have the necessary support base to have decent budgets.

    Then their are the "sugar daddy" clubs. Pats at the moment, but Limerick and Drogheda in the past.

    10-12 is probably optimistic.

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    Capped Player nigel-harps1954's Avatar
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    Everyone should just rally together, each of the other 19 clubs donate around €30,000 every season, and push Finn Harps on to League and European glory.

    We all know it's the only way forward.
    https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.

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