Decent money for rovers (from what I hear at the club celtic didn't want any of the gate) plus 150 people paying €100 a head in the 1899 suite. Comercial sucess hopefully they do it next season as well . Be nice if timing allowed us play a full team though
Rovers had 2 players over 20 on the pitch through the whole game, mcallister and meenan and they went off at half and around 60.Originally Posted by pineapple stu
It was just a chance to make a bit of money and have a look at some younger players. I don't see any harm in it, the young lads won't give a **** about the score cause now they can go to their mates and say they played against celtic and some of them didn't do themselves any harm in getting a look in later in the season.
Not sure Celtic would be too happy at not getting a challenge. Doubt they'd be up for that again next year.
I'm not sure what else they expected scheduling a game two days after their opponents were involved in a Europa League game that had been pencilled in for months.
A team of Celtics lofty status can't be expected to know/care about the goings on of some 2 bit LOI team.
Were Shamrock Rovers season ticketholders at the game? What did they make of it?
Liverpool "supporters" turned up in huge numbers to watch a reserve team playing Shamrock Rovers last year. Clubs field reserve teams for friendlies. Liverpool were always going to field reserves when an international tournament was about to start at the end of a season. Shamrock Rovers were always going to field reserves 2 days after a European tie. Shrewd business for Rovers.
https://foot.ie/forums/117-Kerry-FC
A Championship: 4 years - 8 first teams - 0 financially ruined. First Division '14: 7 first teams.
Opportunity lost for new clubs/regions to join the LoI family.
Good thing they were playing the biggest team in Ireland so. I have it on good authority Stephen held an extended meeting with Brendan where he advised the Celtic boss on how to deal with pressure.
Season tickets weren't valid but there were a lot of regulars there. Most saw it for what it was, and some would be closet Celtic fans anyway so enjoyed it anyway.
Fair play to Rovers...Take the money and run! Will stand to the youngsters playing against quality opposition and the main players are fresh for the big match this week
There is an (amusing) irony that an Irish club has sent out the kids in a friendly against some UK tourist side. Maybe the Celtic fans might see some name crop up from the Rovers youngsters in the future and be thinking 'Yeah I saw him when he was only an apprentice!'.
Yeah I've a season ticket and I was there. I've fairly deep family connections to celtic so was never really going to miss it. Just a chance to go see these big players though I honestly was expecting the first team from Rovers to get at least 30mins but I know why they didn't.
When you see the likes of bolger, bone and a few others and how well they play its very possible that will happen and maybe when that happens a few of those people will come down to more games
I must be in the minority that think this battering was bad for the leagues image overall. If we're trying to attract new fans, getting battered by an average European team is not going to help imo. Casual fans watching are not going to know that it was only a Rovers reserves team, it'll just be another point to prove their theory that the league is poor.
Anyway hope Rovers made a few quid at least
Agreed - that was awful, another example of the LOI trying to make a quick buck in the short-term - they knew since last year that they'd be in the Europa League and still scheduled this game between the first and second rounds - nobody really learned anything from this from a footballing standpoint (not even Celtic who didn't get to test themselves against Linfield-level opposition, which must surely have been part of their aim when they agreed to the fixture) and, as you said, anyone tuning in on TV will think it is a fair reflection of the league (rather than a a reflection of the U19 league). And besides, Cork City are in the same boat in the Europa League, schedule-wise, and still had to field their first team against St. Pat's. (Watch now as Rovers march on against Boleslav while City crash out, just to prove me wrong)
Norwich in cobh was a strange one ?
Some would argue rovers u19's are linfield level opposition
I'd say though the scheduling was out of rovers hands, they probably agreed the friendly then we're told to take or leave that date and you can't really turn down that money.
It wasn't a complete waste for celtic either, some players were really blowing at points in the game so at the least they got a good training match out of it, some will say they could have played against their own reserves for that but there's a different mentality from both sides in that that completely changes the game and means you get less out of it if it's your own reserves. And I'd say shirt sales spiked for the build up, tonnes of brand new jerseys about the place, so not a completely wasted exercise for them.
As for the leagues image yeah it's not great for that but all the articles are pointing out it was rovers reserves and even to look at the pictures you can tell it was mostly kids playing so the only people it would really put off are those who look for reasons to put the league down and you'd never convince those anyway.
It was Celtic who were looking for a fixture on that date and Rovers said yes. Whatever League of Ireland club they picked, they'd all have been in the same situation with having a game the day before or after, so nobody would be able to field a full-strength side. It was never an opportunity to market the league or whatever because there was no situation we'd have been able to put out a full team.
It was shrewd business. The result is a PR fail. Many will hear the result but not the detail of Rovers fielding a reserve team. Those judging the book by it's cover can't be convinced as you say.
It's a reflection of their poor footballing knowledge anyway if they can't compute Rovers were in European action two nights before the friendly. Rovers were right to not turn down the money just to please those without the capacity to have an awareness of the circumstances surrounding the game.
https://foot.ie/forums/117-Kerry-FC
A Championship: 4 years - 8 first teams - 0 financially ruined. First Division '14: 7 first teams.
Opportunity lost for new clubs/regions to join the LoI family.
Id say had it been Sunday you might have got a rovers first team for the first 45 but obviously with it being decided before the draw and the potential for celtic to be going anywhere for a game on the Tuesday that was never on the cards but because of the whole linfield debacle in hindsight a Sunday game would have suited both fine, if not better for both, but hindsight is 20/20 as they say.
I am curious as to how rovers first team would have done, still would've lost I guess but I think/hope it would have been tight enough
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