I presume running a team in the youth leagues can be viewed as a statement of intent? Currently we have Kerry League, Mayo League and the Monaghan/Cavan League.
I'd say we should focus on the 20 we have first.I'd estimate that about 10 out of the 20 grounds are UEFA Category 2, which is the standard we should be aiming for, and most clubs don't have proper training grounds. If there's going to be some sort of centralised investment in the league it should go there first.
oh boy I'm not good at football forums
There is not much point in league fans or the FAI picking an area and saying here should be a new club for the league (BUT here I am going to talk about just that). The only way that a team can go into the league is if there is enough dedicated members of the club who have a little financial clout. Without the core of a club (or area) pushing for this, it aint going to happen.
There are somethings the FAI can do tho, such as easing the financial burden on new and existing clubs. Currently we have amateur teams who struggle with the costs. More prize money and bigger grants is of course needed (I think everybody knows that). I remember reading a John O'Sullivan ariticle on the 42 that talked about how UEFA give 2.1mill to each FA to run the leagues, this needs to go into teams pockets, especially first division so a solid base can be built with infrastructure and time to allow a club to grow organically. Also, it would be super helpful for plenty of training to be provided to those who run the clubs.
I do believe small teams can exist in the league and do add something (random note... look at all the league talent that UCD produce, gven players something important to fall back on too). Although, I can never see any of the teams mentioned getting higher than 1000 average crowd over a year. Plus there will be a huge problem with any entering with Facilities and stadia.
Having entry into the leagues youth leagues is also a pretty big carrot for potential teams tho. I think the best option at the moment would be St. Kevins Boys, who already have a huge reputation , near fingal, which is huge population area and probably want entry to the u13/15/17 leagues. Plus maybe Evergreen again?? seems there is a lot of football activity in that area of the country and they seem to be doing pretty great at intermediate level.
Anyways, its a hell of a lot more important that we dont lose any clubs than find new ones. Losing the history of Athlone would be such a huge huge shame
That's absolutely key. Speculating on big towns is pointless until these two points are addressedOriginally Posted by Mr A
Aren't St Kevin's Boys in Dublin ? In which case - that would be the last thing the league would need IMO. Having loads of underage players is all very well, but rarely seems to filter through to support for the senior team in these sort of new clubs. Don't Cabinteely have a ridiculously high number of members and underage teams, for example ?
As for Evergreen - do you mean Evergreen United, who were based in Cork city ? Which makes the point on this one for me
As for Athlone - increased prize money would help, but the club appears to have been appallingly run for years now. It's a genuine soccer town with a good population by Irish standards, and a club with a good history in the game and inter-generational support. There is no way a club with all that going for it should be in the state they find themselves in, so they need to look at themselves for the reasons IMO.
That's the thing though, isn't it? UCD have made an amazing contribution to football in this country but they're probably the one small club for whom FAI support is irrelevant. They'll keep doing what they're doing because it's part of their academic program and they benefit from the facilities built for all the college's teams. It's the likes of Longford, Cobh, etc who could take steps forward if FAI support was what it should be.
Add Newcastle West to that provincial list.
Why are people always looking for new clubs?!
We can't look after the club's we have!
Because we need to replace the ones that regularly go bust and can't pay their players...It's the Cycle of LoI Life.
I jest.
While I am pretty satisfied with the current compliment of clubs, it is interesting to see possible population centres that could support a club.
I'd imagine it's Evergreen in Kilkenny. They just lost Mikey Drennan to Sligo. They do have a good underage setup, however.As for Evergreen - do you mean Evergreen United, who were based in Cork city ? Which makes the point on this one for me
I live in Kilkenny and I feel that rather than using the 'hurling stronghold' excuse, LOI in Kilkenny actually suffered from the same common denominator as other failed or under-performing (at least attendance-wise) LOI clubs, the location of the ground. While Buckley Park is a nice setup, it's not at all accessible. Compare this to a smaller town, like Sligo, where the ground is a few minutes walk from the centre and even though they're towards the bottom of the league, attendances are respectable. I don't think that's a co-incidence.
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Evergreen in Kilkenny are a nice junior club, but they'd add to the LOI no better than Salthill Devon did. They play on an artificial pitch inside a cage.
I'd love to see a Kilkenny side back in the league, it is a good football area, but like the post above suggests, the ground is just too far from the town.
For me, a Carlow IT based side is the only one that could work in that part of the country. Carlow football is in a good state at a junior level, and it's fairly well supported.
Seems a perfectly reasonable answer to me in fairnessBecause we need to replace the ones that regularly go bust and can't pay their players...
I jest.
Just to echo what other people have said, it would be great if the teams with U15s intended to create a 17s, then 19s and then Senior team in the LOI with a proper underage/Schoolboy structure. So that would mean:
1. Cavan-Monaghan playing out of Gortakeegan.
2. Mayo FC - Ideally playing in the most populous area or playing in a good catchment area.
3 & 4. Carlow-Kilkenny could probably be split in to Carlow (linked to the IT) and a Kilkenny team - Be it Evergreen or the return of Kilkenny City but actually playing in or close to the city.
5. Kerry FC also have a team with a big playing population (It will always be in the shadow of GAA but that's fine. We should be competing with those who wear Liverpool or UTD jerseys, not the GAA. The two sports can co-exist). Tralee or Killarney would be the obvious choice of town here.
Looking beyond that then, some areas to target would definitely be Fingal and Kildare.
6. I know both had clubs and failed but Fingal were only in existence for a few years and were located in the wrong spot. An actual Fingal team playing out in Swords would have a huge catchment area. Start with a 15s team, then 17s then 19s then senior. Give it a chance because it is a huge and expanding area.
7. Finally, Kildare then. I know they also had a team and I know GAA, Horse Racing and Golf is big out there but it's one of the biggest counties population-wise so given time I'd hope they could develop.
You look at big (relatively big) junior clubs who've been linked in the past.
Tullamore, Mullingar and Fanad for instance. Harps are struggling enough in the NW with Derry and Sligo competing for players and, perhaps a lesser extent, fans. So Fanad would be a non-runner imo.
Are people from the wider Westmeath area going to jump on a Mullingar team? Are people from Edenderry going to feel affiliated with a team called Tullamore? Maybe one has a strong enough presence to justify a team. Maybe they wouldn't be winning leagues but if there was a strong presence to develop youth players in the area with proper coaches then maybe they'd be sustainable.
Obviously this is way down the road (and possibly not possible at all) but I feel it's definitely something the LOI/FAI should look to do. You'd have a real feel of a National League, not just an east coast league with a few teams scattered around the country. Most sustainable counties would have a LOI team and there would be a great geographical spread.
Last edited by David BOHie; 14/06/2018 at 12:24 PM.
I don't think anything will change in this country until we get a proper pyramid system in operation.
It should be possible to go from the lower leagues right to the top like in other countries.
Put the system in operation & invest in it.
Use what clubs we have all over the country & build on that without the need to invent new ones.
In which case he was getting the two completely separate Evergreens mixed up.
https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2002...62260-kildare/
Says here in an article from 2007, 12 clubs were contacted to see if they wanted to join. Anyone know the 12? haha
As they are mentioned, in 1984, a year before Newcastle West joined LOI in '85 Newcastle Rovers were formed and the two clubs have been big Desmond League rivals since NC West dropped out of LOI and back into DL in 1990. They amalgamated underage last year, a new club called Newcastle West Town FC came into being. They already have an U15 FAI Cup South West win in their first year, the first DL club to win a regional competition. This coming DL season, the clubs will fully amalgamate and the town will put one junior side out. It's very possible this club will have a lot of their own way at DL level.
The town now has a population of around 6,600. The urban area has passed well beyond the old town boundaries which are due for redefinition.
The old LOI ground is a lot more developed than it was in the LOI days, a much better facility although obviously probably still short of national league current standards.
Also current LOI players Liam McCartan (Wexford Youths) Killian Brouder (Limerick FC) Gary Shanahan (Galway) are all ex NCW AFC players. In addition to this, Paudie O'Connor (Leeds Utd via Limerick FC) Anthony Forde (Rotherham United) & John McGrath (ex Villa / Doncaster / Burton and Ireland U21s) are all ex DL players from very nearby.
So,here you have a club founded in 1948 originally with good tradition and real presence in the area, an area which produces players of a capable standard clearly, and who also have previous in the LOI. You also have a good underage set up and a forward thinking amalgamation for the good of the game in the town as they combine their facilities, infrastructure and efforts.
Is the potential here for a LOI Div 1 club ? Absolutely, yes in my opinion.
What do you not have ? A staged pathway to that goal, or the remotest motivation for those at the club to put the club under that financial pressure just to have the status of 'LOI'
What do you also not have ? A governing body who will address the two above issues.
Interesting to see that even then - the peak of the bubble really - only 5 of the 12 clubs appeared to have had any interest of joining. And Mullingar Town, whose chairman was a bit mad I think, were the second strongest of those 5. And the best candidate, Kildare, lasted 8 seasons.
I think the LoI is going nowhere until the First Division is gotten rid of, and instead the regional leagues (LSL, MSL, etc) become de facto regionalised First Divisions.
Did Denis Behan come through NCW? I know he's from Abbeyfeale but I had always associated him with NCW for some reason. Either way he's another indicator of decent talent in the NCW hinterland.
Not as far as I know with Behan, OMTY, could be wrong though. Yeah, from eight miles away only too though you're right.
Limerick is a big enough county population wise with 90,000 or so NOT living in the City environs so there is enough room for supporting two LOI clubs in one county in theory. Behan was a very decent striker, that goal in the Brandywell for Cork from 30-40 yards out. He just sort of disappeared though it seems. I lived in Abbeyfeale as a kid and got to see him play some local matches when we were teenagers. He was bigger stronger and faster than every other kid so people knew he would do well one day. The South West could and should have an LOI team whether it's Tralee or Newcastlewest. North Kerry is all about hurling, and Kerry aren't world beaters in that regard, while West Limerick is all about Gaelic Football, and Limerick are in Division 4 i think.. A good opportunity in the future for a soccer club to become successful perhaps.
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