Which IL is most loved by ROI based football fans?

[Gerrit]

If team's fans must be local, so must the players, that's my opinion. The time that a club represents a locality is long gone, with a few exceptions like Bilbao. Most clubs have the criterium "whatever player gets us good results"...

I never supported a local club BTW, in Belgium I travelled 50 miles every week and then 50 back for my team, and it was not a top team (we played out of Premier Division with the exception of 4 years, the other of those 13 years I followed them were in First and Second Division - and in 3 out of 4 of those Premiership years we relegated. But my heart was with them more than with the clubs of where I lived)

And as for Linfield not employing Catholics: nothing wrong with that as long as they don't behave badly towards them. If they are founded as a club representing the protestant community, then so? I mean, there are a few clubs for the Deaf players of a certain town, is it sectarian as well if they don't allow any hearing players??
As long as there is no abuse or racism, I have no problem with a club trying to stay true to her roots. Linfield abusing Catholics is wrong. Linfield only playing with Protestants but still respecting Catholics ; I don't see the problem.

[sylvo]

We've played them a few times in friendlies. They're sh!te

Hey you can't diss my team like that. Try driving through there on a sunday, interesting place, you wouldn't want to break down there lets put it that way.

[sylvo]

That fine place Sylvo!

It reminded me of the movie ''deliverance''

[CollegeTillIDie]

To be honest I remember a time when English football did not totally dominate the Press down here when there was half decent coverage of the Irish League in the papers. And that is how it should still be , after all we share this benighted piece of land with them so why not stick their results and a few match reports in the Papers. There is every danger a few more IL fans might buy papers from down here and who knows what the positive spinoffs of that could be.

I would prefer if so called supporters here had a passing interest in 6 counties ball then cross channel ball.... and I even include the League of Wales in that one .....

Of course decent coverage of the entire EL including the First Division( IRISH TIMES I am talking directly about you lot here) would be a start!

[lopez]

I'm for Glentoran aswell. Don't know why but again it must be the green shirt. Or the fact that they liked winding up Linfield supporters in the eighties with tricolours.

...That comment on Athletic Bilbao just shows how there seen as the national team for the Basques and what national team plays foreigners apart from Ireland and Tunisia...

Actually you'll find that Athletic Bilbao are as lax with the 'all Basque' policy as you feel the FAI are with its 'all Irish' policy. Last time I looked two of their players were born in Logrono in Rioja, a part of Spain even the hardline irredentists within EH and ETA do not consider part of Euskadi.

Then there's Navarra. Leaving aside the uncomfortable historic fact of the people of this fine province being the most pro-Franco of Spain (far more than Madrid which incidentally was the last city to fall to Franco) for which they were rewarded with a more generous tax system, is the referendum of August 1982, where the province voted by a majority not to join the Autonomous Basque region. While the North of the province is considered ethnically Basque the south is Castillian. But Athletic does not discriminate here.

Mind you fair play to Athletic: They do try to keep it, in the global scheme of things local - leaving aside the Brazilian they signed in the nineties with the Basque surname which was akin to Brian Kerr signing Shaquille O'Neal or Eddie Murphy - but I'd dispute it being solely Basque.

As for Ireland and Tunisia being the only countries playing foreigners, you never heard of John Barnes? F*cking long way back to find his English ancestors.

[Speranza]

The behaviour of a lot of Linfield fans contradicts the delusions of posters here that they are not sectarian. The Sash isn't sectarian It and the billy boys were the song of choice at the Brandywell despite blues fans being clapped when they entered the stadium.

[Gerrit]

The big difference is that in the Sash or in Rule Britannia there is no violence towards others (not directly anyway), those are anthems praising the British (not necessarily hating the Irish) ; whereas Billy Boys has a very explicit violent content with that "up till our necks in... Surrender or die".
I agree that the Billy Boys is a sectarian song and should be strongly disapproved. I'd say the Sash is more or less a patriottic song, which is not wrong IMO. You may could say that it becomes sectarian if you only sing it when playing an Irish team, but I recall that many LFC fans sing it just as well when playing Glens or Crusaders...

[ORPCS]

I'm for Glentoran aswell. Don't know why but again it must be the green shirt. Or the fact that they liked winding up Linfield supporters in the eighties with tricolours.

Blues fans IMO did a much better job of winding the Glenmen about the Glens seemingly more politically neutral tradition. A large tricolur with Glentoran emblazoned across the front being displayed on at least one occassion, as well as chants of 'Only fenians play in green' often brought a wry smile from me knowing full well that the Glens too have a predominantly loyalist following.

[big p from owc]

How could anyone in the 26 be "fond" of l*nfield ??? I really am baffled by that. All they brought to the Setanta Cup Final was sectarian and racist chants together with dodgy flags. They should have been docked prize money but that was never going to happen.

get over it and stop living in the past you dinosaur.

[Bosco]

Glentoran-Best fans ever in flancare and a few of them seem to really like us for some reason!

[Éanna]

How could anyone in the 26 be "fond" of l*nfield ??? I really am baffled by that. All they brought to the Setanta Cup Final was sectarian and racist chants together with dodgy flags. They should have been docked prize money but that was never going to happen.

I have to say I look out for Linfield as well, having met with some of their fans from the Shankill Road SC up in Dublin. Nice guys and great fans, and I wish them all the best. I was also very impressed by the reaction of their board to the chants you mention- unequivocal condemnation. BTW, why are all your posts on this kind of issue? No interest in anything else?

[Gerrit]

Does Linfield have a supportersclub in Dublin ? One that's not affiliated to Dublin Loyal ?

That's what bothers me about Linfield: their bonds with Rangers. I dislike both of the Old Firm, and the fact that they have the same colours is no issue to me, the scarves with both names on it is a different thing
For the same reason I won't start supporting Donegall Celtic. I hope to find a team here with no interest in sectarianism. So no Old Firm connections as well.

[Roverstillidie]

Gerrit, you are a relativly new arrival in Ireland, so ill give you some leeway on the finer points of football and politics and how they mix.
To say the sash isn't a sectarian song is quite frankly bonkers. So the words arent explicitly anti-catholic, but they are about the orange order, which is. And contextualise it in terms of when it is sung, by whom, to whom.
The reality is Linfield, while improved, are still percieved by the majority (and it appears their own board) to be the most bigoted team in the north, followed by glentoran, portadown and colraine.
Im amazed how many people with EL affiliations claim to have a soft spot for them. Go up to windsor with your bray, shels or cork shirts and see what happens. Bohs would of course be welcome for historical reasons. Its up to the Rovers and Derry fans to look like luddites pointing this out.
Im not expecting a glib Cliftonville from everyone, but football in the 6 counties does not happen in a vacume.

[gspain]

Gerrit, you are a relativly new arrival in Ireland, so ill give you some leeway on the finer points of football and politics and how they mix.
To say the sash isn't a sectarian song is quite frankly bonkers. So the words arent explicitly anti-catholic, but they are about the orange order, which is. And contextualise it in terms of when it is sung, by whom, to whom.
The reality is Linfield, while improved, are still percieved by the majority (and it appears their own board) to be the most bigoted team in the north, followed by glentoran, portadown and colraine.
Im amazed how many people with EL affiliations claim to have a soft spot for them. Go up to windsor with your bray, shels or cork shirts and see what happens. Bohs would of course be welcome for historical reasons. Its up to the Rovers and Derry fans to look like luddites pointing this out.
Im not expecting a glib Cliftonville from everyone, but football in the 6 counties does not happen in a vacume.

Majority of whom?

Perceived to be but no hard facts.

How about the club that flew their flag at half mast for the pope and wore black armbands.

The club that gave their ground for use by a camoige club.

The club with numerous RC players.

I see you didn't mention Longford shirts in your bigoted rant - no problems there.

I won't even go there on Portadown, Coleraine or Glentoran.

Yes there are still some problems with sectarianism in IL football on the terraces. However there are problem swith sectarianism in NI society and football will reflect that as long as it is played and supported by people from both communities.

[Roverstillidie]

gspain has managed to call me a bigot for pointing out that soccer reflects society and then in the same breath point out that soccer reflects society.

winner of 'inane and half-cocked post of the month' goes to....

it is not bigoted to point out a clubs history.
linfield are traditionally a predominantly protestant, loyalist club.
in the same way derry are a predominantly catholic, nationalist club.
they are both proud of their histories
when/where did i add a negative connentation?
im just surprised how many southerners proffess to be fans of the historically 'loyalist side'.
how many belfast loyalists would cheer for derry or rovers?

[Finn 05]

Its a bit of pot calling the kettle black here.
What about Rangers players getting boo;s
in Landsdown, even though they are eastern european

[Speranza]

Yeah but we can discount international fans from this, most of them support that Irish club in Britain , they don't have a clue!

Fair enough Derry are a club with a majority of nationalist support but I have never heard any sectarian chants at the Brandy. EL fans having a soft touch for teams like Linfield, Glens e.t.c saddens me but it doesn't suprise me.

[Strabane_Harp]

In the Irish League i would follow Glentoran but also Carrick Rangers


Strabane doesnt have a league club cause the town has Finn Harps just up the road and the crowd would head there, even a small minority to Derry

Doesnt need a IL club with those clubs so close