Do or die for Summer Soccer!!!
Listening to Radio1 this afternoon, with Aidan Fitzmaurice this weeks guest to speak about the weekend action.
He said that this weeks Euro matches are do or die for the whole Summer Soccer. He says that it hasn't boosted attendences and that the country clubs are giving out.
Do you think Summer Soccer should be a permanent move? Do you agree with his ultimatum?
Get rid of summer soccer ASAP. It does help a bit for Europe, no doubt but crowds and that are down. With summer holidays for 2/3 months families and kids are away and its the youth that we need to attrcat and keep for the league to prosper. The atmosphere also suffers as its too bright in a way and the early dark nights lead to a better atmosphere.
The results in Europe are what we need to improve as a whole league. Reverting back to a winter/spring season would be suicide, you might get an extra 20 people through the gates, but the league will begin to decline drastically. Maybe when we start getting teams into the CL/UEFA every year we could reconsider it, but summer soccer has and will continue to help improve the league as a whole.
God
speak for yourselvesOriginally Posted by chippie0001
what exactly did he say country clubs are giving out about??
save the sheep shaggers bring back beheadings for waherford
Judging by what lennox gives as your crowds they are down, either that or you could never count in the first place, any maybe you still can't.speak for yourselves
I was a big supporter of summer soccer when it was proposed and brought in but the fact is that crowds at the majority of clubs seem to be down. I also don't think that the standard of football has improved much either, and our media coverage remains as dire as ever. Scrap it I say.
It's not getting rid of summer soccer we need to be worried about, we have to get rid of the EL and the IL, both league have to combine if football on this island is to survive, there are too many teams going into debt and i feel that by having an all ireland league it will attract more fans more media attention and most importantly more revenue for all involved
I was in favour of summer football, I'm not sure how successfull it has been though.
I think that the ideal solution/compromise would be to revert back to the previous "winter" season, though having a brake of about 5 or 6 weeks in December/January, starting the season a couple of weeks earlier (which would benefit the teams in Europe) and finishing a couple of weeks later.
Just when a fair few teams have got skillful players, who can pass and run with the ball and play attractive football, some "country" teams want to go back to mud baths and hoof ball?
Must be Longford.....
Media coverage down? How about miles more games shown live then ever before on 4 different channels. How about more prizemoney and sponsership not to mention a whole new cup with huge prizemoney. As well as Glens v Shels on TV, when would that have normlly been done?
Europe only slightly better? First time any Irish club gets past 2 rounds in Europe and two teams do it in one year. Not to mention 0-0 against Depor, the whole catalyst for the increased attention, which was caused by summer soccer.
Maybe crowds are down, but considering the money that will be made up in prizemoney, sponsership, europe and TV deals I think it's a price worth paying for summer soccer. Better pitches too and the standard of football has definitely increased, whether that's due to summer football or not is another question.
I agree with this, but it could also bring alot of trouble with it, i know i am goin back to this sectarianism mind of things but seriously speaking, could you really see Shamrock Rover Vs Linfield working with the two clubs having a small number of wannabe football hooligans
No going back IMO. Its better for football, and as things move along, I think crowds will grow again
what he said.
the only thing that could be considered is maybe a summer break of about 2 or 3 weeks, in July / August. This would be at the same time as the European games. It would avoid fixture congestion for the clubs in Europe and mean that those fans that go on holiday would miss less of the season.
Summer Soccer Stays
The problem our league faces is one of image - not of timing.
Even if we held games in people's own back gardens on their birthdays, they still wouldn't watch it.
I think Summer football has broadly been good - as pitches are in better condition and the weather shouldn't be scaring away any fair-weather supporters - but tinkering with the timing of our league is the proverbial rearranging of the deck chairs on the Titanic. It doesn't change anything.....
The people we're trying to attract to our league by tinkerting with timings are the very ones who would bust a gut to go watch a Premiership game even if it was played in the Arctic Circle. That therefore makes it very clear that timing is not our real problem.
What is required are two big things. Firstly - a wholesale change to the league in such a way that will gain genuine notice/interest. An all-island structure is probably the best way to do this. Secondly, we need consistently good results in Europe to build our credibility. I think Summer football is, and will continue to, help in this.
This idea that all we have to do is change the time of our league to overcome our problems is at best niaive. The bottom line is we have an image problem - not a timing issue....
Agreed with alot above ..... there is no quick solution to ammend some of the problems with our league. The chopping and changing will do more harm than good.
I definitely think that an all-ireland league is the way to go, it would give 16 quality teams who compete at top level and all the benefits and spin-offs would be brilliant.
But just on the "attendances are down .... its time to change" ..... here is a novel idea ...... clubs who want more crowds and better performances in Europe etc. ..... put in more of an effort, stop blaming summer soccer as the cause of these problems.
Simple question for clubs that want to change ...... Do you advertise and how is it done ?? ....... basic i know, but how many do it to a degree where it'll make change ??
The SFAI are the governing body for grassroots football in Ireland, not the FAI. Its success or the lack of is all down to them.
lads i don't normally attend gaa games but last night there seemed to be a big crowd gathering near my home so i said id fork out €6 to watch the game.
There was over 2000 i rekon at the game between two sides that would not have large populations.
the game was between newtownshandrum v bride rovers. But yet when you see attendances for clubs like Galway and Waterford it would make you wonder why they cant get higher attendances.
First Division Champions
If Ireland qualify for the WC next year I'd imagine it's going to hit clubs badly unless we take a break. The eL will be further dwarfed by the WC hype. At least some chunk of eL fans if not a good bit will be in Germany. eL matches may even clash with WC games? What do people think about this?
Simple really, suspend all games for the month, or for three weeks of the tournament.
You want to read through the attendances thread before saying that?!speak for yourselves
I think summer soccer is the way to go. The improvement in European competition has shown the last couple of seasons (particularly in the InterToto, when it doesn't count...) and I think wlil help again this season. That means more exposure and more prize money, which can only be good for the league.
However, the crowds thing is a problem, especially with the FAI saying last year that July and August were the two worst months for attendances (verified by the threads here). But there are ways to remedy that which I think haven't been taken. The fact that we're playing football here while the Premiership is off should be marketed aggresively to the barstoolers - hasn't been done (last year in particular, no live TV games were shown; this year is a bit better, but not hugely). The clubs aren't helping - some of the pitches this season have been appalling (Cork, Bohs, Waterford on Saturday was fairly bobbly, etc.) and this isn't helping. That's a lack of professionalism on the clubs' part holding us back (shock horror...
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