Quote#WeeCountyWanderersOriginally Posted by sadloserkid
In truth Nesta I didn't even consider the effect that me floating the grisly spectre of Louth County could have on a Dundalk loyalist such as yourself. An oversight for which I am wholly contrite.
#WeeCountyWanderers
Well that at least, you may once again enter the towns of Dundalk and Drogheda without being a marked man!
It will be interesting to see what a fresh set of eyes makes of season alignment and how to introduce a pyramid structure.
https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2022...r-of-football/
Get out! Barred from Dundalk and Drogheda!! Which would be tragic for anyone..
People pay good money to get barred from better places.
Former FAI chief Bernard O'Byrne has ambitions of Meath club Athboy Celtic joining the league in the next 5 to 10 years. Very very optimistic on his part I must say...
https://www.meathchronicle.ie/2022/0...e-to-10-years/
We’ll have 2 Meath clubs then!!
Irish by birth ,Harps by the grace of god.
I'd have thought Navan would be more feasible from a population point of view?
Aye Drogheda being taken fully in to county Meath and off Louth's hands is long overdue!
I would say that Athboy in LoI is as likely as Eircom Park!
Last edited by Nesta99; 17/06/2022 at 7:46 PM.
You would think so, along with following the example of Cavan Monaghan, Carlow Kilkenny, Mayo, Kildare and Kerry in joining the youth leagues.
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.
Thats a surprise move from BOB whats population of Athboy does anyone know?
Gary Cronin is he the right man to manage Longford Town?
Wikipedia says a massive 2,445.
Being from the town and having played for the club I can tell you it's very small - about 3k.
Absolutely ludicrous suggestion from BOB to be honest.
It's a good little local club and all but they shouldn't realistically ever join the LOI. Luckily I don't think anyone takes BOB seriously. They've got some good publicity recently because Jamie McGrath is from the town. He played with the club underage and became the 1st Meath lad to play competitively for Ireland (when he started against Portugal I think). His family have been heavily involved in the club over the years and his dad coached in the club for many years.
I've stated this before here but the only town in Meath that realistically would have the population to support a LOI team is Navan, but weirdly soccer doesn't have much support there. It's a staunchly Gaelic football and rugby town.
Trim could possibly be an option but it's much smaller than Navan - around 10k I think. Trim Celtic are a decent club though and well regarded in the area in terms of local goodwill. Imo there isn't a club in Navan that has that.
Ashbourne has exploded in population in recent decades and is now one of the biggest towns in the county, but similar to Navan, GAA and rugby are very strong there. I lived in Ashbourne near the gaa club for a few years and the amount of money they've poured into gaa facilities is phenomenal, so they've an enormous head start on any possible LOI club trying to get local support.
Alas, I can't really see a LOI club being formed in Meath any time soon, but I'd be happy to be proven wrong.
I know I said the league could do with a 'celtic' club, but this wasn't the route I had in mind
This is a pure vanity project for Bernard O'Byrne. Whatever the opposite of the midas touch is, he appears to have it when it comes to Irish football. He was the head of FAI security on the night the English were left to merrily dismantle Lansdowne Road's collection of wooden seats/benches. And he was CEO of the FAI for the Eircom Park project, which he personally spearheaded. Neither he nor the FAI showed much interest in the LOI during his tenure as CEO, so it's ironic that it is now the height of his ambitions for Athboy.
He was CEO of Basketball Ireland until last year, so is clearly looking for something new to occupy his time and has hit upon the idea of propelling a village of 2,500 people to Irish football's top table. Like an Irish Gretna. I'd be fairly confident that we won't see Athboy Celtic in the LOI. Ever.
Hard to know with BO'B for sure but I think he was really making the point that clubs should show ambition, like Athboy in LoI why not. From what Ive read he hasnt really said that LoI is the actual target of the club. It would make sense if he approached a senior club to have Athboy affiliated in some way, even for coach education and seeing whats needed for national underage levels. Would BO'B sit quietly in the background in such a partnership though!?
To be honest, I don't think anyone in the town with an ounce of sense is taking this claim seriously.
More likely it's just a publicity stunt. Maybe he's trying to build on the recent Jamie McGrath publicity and drive up local support and memberships. (McGrath was the special guest a few weeks ago when they officially opened a new pitch in the town.)
Or maybe he's pushing for grants and thinks this type of claim will help his case or something.
As Nesta said, maybe he's just making a wider point that some clubs in the county should be more ambitious...
Are you seriously asking why a tiny non-league club in a village of 2,500 shouldn't realistically aspire to be in senior football ? Sustainability for a start...
He is literally quoted in that article as the Club's Chairman saying : ""Personally, I would set a challenge to my club to have League of Ireland football in Athboy within a five to 10-year framework".
Last edited by EatYerGreens; 19/06/2022 at 1:42 PM.
No im not asking why a tiny non league club from a small village shouldnt aspire to a senior club. I was saying that possibly B'OB was talking about having ambition, and in his mind thats LoI, sure why not try and aim for the highest level. I wasnt stating any opinion though of course I think its daft. Further up the thread I said Athboy in LoI is as likely as Eircom Park - both being B'OB driven 'projects'.
Yes he did make that quote but the word 'personally' indicates that it is his personal thinking and not necessarily that of the club. As I said, its hard to know with B'OB but it could and probably is most likely to be 'a reach for the stars' metaphor, rather than a statement of actual policy or plan.
Personally, I would set a challenge for Dundalk to win the champions league within 5 or 10 years - Is this a wish, desire, a metaphor for thinking big, or an actual proactive plan of intent by a club (even if I was DFC's chairman)? I see it as think big, be ambitions, sure why not it could happen, probably wont but sure whats the harm in giving it a go on the off chance. We did get the Dundalk, a European team in Ireland, stuff which was the Peak 6 ambition and attempted (and failed due to one individual) policy. I dont think B'OB comments are the same even n relative terms being more wishlist stuff. But as I started with 'Its hard to know with B'OB.
I wonder if similar discussions happened about the likes of Eibar back when they decided to aim for La Liga, yes the pyramid structure facilitated this, but the then 5k capacity ground, an average of 2700 attendances, and a budget of €3mil - quite LoI sounding actually, was probably scoffed at and Its pretty likely that there were plenty of rolling of eyes at the time in Madrid and Barcelona; but they eventually got there and stayed for a good few seasons. So such dreaming can become a reality but obviously very very rare and LoI doesnt quite the same draw for dreamers than La Liga
Last edited by Nesta99; 19/06/2022 at 2:29 PM.
If it was all just pure random speculation on your part, you could've said that at the startNo im not asking why a tiny non league club from a small village shouldnt aspire to a senior club. I was saying that possibly B'OB was talking about having ambition, and in his mind thats LoI, sure why not try and aim for the highest level. I wasnt stating any opinion though of course I think its daft. Further up the thread I said Athboy in LoI is as likely as Eircom Park - both being B'OB driven 'projects'.
Yes he did make that quote but the word 'personally' indicates that it is his personal thinking and not necessarily that of the club. As I said, its hard to know with B'OB but it could and probably is most likely to be 'a reach for the stars' metaphor, rather than a statement of actual policy or plan.
Personally, I would set a challenge for Dundalk to win the champions league within 5 or 10 years - Is this a wish, desire, a metaphor for thinking big, or an actual proactive plan of intent by a club (even if I was DFC's chairman)? I see it as think big, be ambitions, sure why not it could happen, probably wont but sure whats the harm in giving it a go on the off chance. We did get the Dundalk, a European team in Ireland, stuff which was the Peak 6 ambition and attempted (and failed due to one individual) policy. I dont think B'OB comments are the same even n relative terms being more wishlist stuff. But as I started with 'Its hard to know with B'OB.
I wonder if similar discussions happened about the likes of Eibar back when they decided to aim for La Liga, yes the pyramid structure facilitated this, but the then 5k capacity ground, an average of 2700 attendances, and a budget of €3mil - quite LoI sounding actually, was probably scoffed at and Its pretty likely that there were plenty of rolling of eyes at the time in Madrid and Barcelona; but they eventually got there and stayed for a good few seasons. So such dreaming can become a reality but obviously very very rare and LoI doesnt quite the same draw for dreamers than La Liga
I did! I said 'I think'......etc. But yeah my point(s) can get lost in rambling nature of my posts
Last edited by Nesta99; 19/06/2022 at 2:50 PM.
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