Both towns are 90%ish Nationalist anyway.Originally Posted by oldfan
Speaking only of Warrenpoint, it's limited. There would be a vague awareness of how the club are getting on, I suppose.
The support for these teams is very local and the standard is so poor the public are just not interested, it's the same for Carrick Rangers, Dungannon Swifts and Portadown I'm talking a short walk or people just don't go to the games.
The size of Dublin is irrelevant to this discussion. No club in the south has been as utterly dominant in the LOI as Linfield has in the IL. Linfield have the European record for the most league titles won - working out at an average since 1892 (?) of almost one title every two seasons. No club in Dublin has a stadium anywhere near as good as Linfield. And no club in Dublin operates in a city where football is so dominant. By any measure Linfield have everything going their way in Belfast yet still only get average crowds of about 2,500-3,000. Drop the 'but Dublin' attitude for a minute and just acknowledge that that is poor.
Not with pre-paid tickets bought online. There is a very clear paper trail for those through the supplier, so you can't pretend that the £12-15 (or whatever it is) doesn't exist. It's only cash sales that you can play with.
No-one of any religion takes an interest in Warrenpoint. Their crowds when I've gone have been almost entirely away supporters, plus their own youth teams (presumably on free tickets).
Newry has a decent rump of support of a few hundred, which even in the second tier they were getting. They can get a much bigger crowd on their day, as they did last Sunday against Linfield, or the last time they played a promotion play-off against Carrick a few years ago. They'll probably fall back down to 500-800 this seaosn once the weather worsens and if they struggle on the pitch.
As an aside, any time I've been to see Newry it's always struck me as a very LOI set up. It has the look and feel of an LOI club. I think they would be a great addition to our league (though obviously that's not going to happen).
Watching the coverage on LOITV, Lucan v Bohs looked like a crowd of at least 3,000 with the Jodi quiet full.
Derry v Cork again was about a 3000 attendance from the viewing.
Good crowds for these games
Wexford 2 Dundalk 3 Att. 567
Extratime.ie
Linfield are lucky in many ways. They have the best stadium because they have a contract with the IFA to hold international games and they generate a handsome sum from this, I believe the contract is for 90 to 100 years. They received grants to bring the stadium up to international standards and believe it was the IFA who got most of the grants(I can be corrected) . They may only get 2.5k - 3k supporters attending games but they get great support from their supporters clubs and other groups in their community
Not being funny but i find it hard to equate getting great support from groups in the community and supporters clubs with people not coming to matches.
Rovers get great support from groups in the community and supporters clubs as well but by definition this is made up of a small % of the match going fans.
Its hard enough to get lads who go to matches to do anything for the club let alone those people who dont
I'm not speakimg for Linfield - perish the thought! - but you are backtracking from your previous claim (about Belfast support) by concentrating on Linfield.
For to quote your post #876, you claimed: "The attendances in the north are good for the regional clubs like Coleraine, Larne and Ballymena. Much less so for the Belfast clubs, given the size of their city."
Fact is, however you measure it (city or metropolitan area), Dublin's population is approx. four times bigger than Belfast's.
Yet for this season to date, the five Dublin top flight clubs have between them attracted a combined average of 16,285 attendances for games.
While for season 2021/22, the four Belfast top flight clubs attracted a combined average of 8,032.
Re your speculation [bold], you may be correct, but I wouldn't be so sure. For LFC won three of the last four non-Covid seasons, yet overall attendances increased consistently in each of those seasons, with the early signs for this season similarly encouraging.
You may be confusing domination with competitiveness i.e. LFC haven't been running away with the league in the same way eg PSG or Bayern have theirs. Rather other clubs have put it up to them until the last few games of the season, thereby maintaining interest. (Same as eg Man City, winning four of the last five EPL titles without crowds or interest waning?)
An attendance of 4700 people for a play off for Group stages in Europe is terrible and i don't think there is any dressing it up.
Look at the crowd Pats had in Tallaght for an earlier round in Europe , Sligo selling out Turners cross.
The Linfield attendance signals to me that they have limited support outside their Core support, i don't know why but if you cant be bothered turning up for a European play off for Group stages for the first time ever then you aren't a fan even floating.
An incredible achievement if true.
Whoopssorry about that.
You were in my subconscious, i'm worried about you boys when you come back up.
But Dublin !!
Yet Linfield will get 5-8,000 at a Boxing Day derby match against Glentoran when both teams are being competitive. Which again proves the point about the insular mindset in some quarters in the north. Being kings of a very small castle or top dog in Belfast is of greater public interest than making a genuine mark on the European stage. Our wee minds in Our Wee Country.
By the sounds of their game on Friday aganst Derry, you don't have much to worry aboutWhoops
You were in my subconscious, i'm worried about you boys when you come back up.
Agree it's crap - hilariously so, for the self-proclaimed "Biggest Team in Ireland"! :
Might it be that eg Shamrock Rvrs playing a crucial European game in Dublin will attract a number of neutrals, even fans of other teams?
Whereas neutrals and fans of other IL teams (esp) will not go to watch LFC unless they're playing L'pool/Man U/Rangers/Celtic etc (or some other "name" opponent).
Indeed, while some other LOI fans may be happy enough to see a rival club doing well in Europe (for the sake of the league), there is a definite "Anyone But Linfield" attitude in the IL.
This is partly down to the political/religious element, but also because it's them Linfield hoors.
FTB.
There is definitely a certain sense of camaraderie amongst LOI fans when it comes to European football.Agree it's crap - hilariously so, for the self-proclaimed "Biggest Team in Ireland"! :
Might it be that eg Shamrock Rvrs playing a crucial European game in Dublin will attract a number of neutrals, even fans of other teams?
Whereas neutrals and fans of other IL teams (esp) will not go to watch LFC unless they're playing L'pool/Man U/Rangers/Celtic etc (or some other "name" opponent).
Indeed, while some other LOI fans may be happy enough to see a rival club doing well in Europe (for the sake of the league), there is a definite "Anyone But Linfield" attitude in the IL.
This is partly down to the political/religious element, but also because it's them Linfield hoors.
FTB.
But not enough to explain the gap between a 4,500 crowd and a 7,500 one. You'd be lucky if Rovers had more than , at a guess, 100 fans of other LOI clubs there last Thursday. I was at Pats-CSKA and saw one Longford shirt and one Dery top. I'm sure there were more than that there obviously, but not enough to make a big difference to what was another sold out fixture.
Bottom line - Linfield's crowds are sh!te for a club that has got literally everything going for it. But it's also a very parochial crowd, as you'd probably get a biggerb gate if they played Glentoran in the Co.Antrim Shield Final.
I also don't buy that the religious/political element stops many people of other teams from going to see Linfield in Europe, when almost every other senior club in Belfast is from a unionist background/area (Glentoran, Crusaders, H&W Welders, Dundela, Knockbreda).
Last edited by EatYerGreens; 29/08/2022 at 4:24 PM.
We get your point about Linfield, but are you still holding to your earlier claim about Belfast clubs poor support generally, "given the size of the city" [sic]?But Dublin !!
Yet Linfield will get 5-8,000 at a Boxing Day derby match against Glentoran when both teams are being competitive. Which again proves the point about the insular mindset in some quarters in the north. Being kings of a very small castle or top dog in Belfast is of greater public interest than making a genuine mark on the European stage. Our wee minds in Our Wee Country.
Anyhow, one city's "small minds" may just be another city's "event junkies".
As for your other point re. the effect on future IL crowds of LFC winning so many titles, did the LOI experience its own drop-off in crowds after Dundalk won 6 out of 7 titles not so long ago?
No argument from me there.
Tbf, I suspect the Glens would bring rather more fans to Windsor than RKS did.
In any case, traditional allegances and rivalries are deeply embedded in IL football - it's much of what maintained the league during 3 decades of serious civil unreast, followed by the overwhelming rise of the game in England (esp) and elsewhere. In that sense, I'm not sure it's all a bad thing.
Does the same apply in the LOI? (Genuine question)
OK - I'll bite
So which Belfast clubs do you think are anywhere near well supported, given the size of the city (and the fact that football is by-far the number one sport there) ?
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