I thought of this article when I read your postOriginally Posted by CorribsideSteve
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soc...medium=twitter
His players, [Stephen Kenny] thought, had looked different in Alkmaar’s modern stadium – then a decade old – and perhaps looked at themselves differently too.
He was talking about environment and perception and, ruefully, he would revisit the theme a few months later.
Following Dundalk’s summer elimination from the Champions League by Rosenborg – 3-2 on aggregate after extra time in the second leg – Kenny observed his players and the 21,000-capacity modern stadium Rosenborg inhabit and said: “There is nothing between the teams and yet we are playing in bloody Oriel Park, very limited facilities, and we are coming to grounds like this.
“The players deserve to playing on stages like this.”
At Windsor Park in Belfast, Shamrock Rovers walked into the 18,500-capacity redeveloped stadium and looked like they owned it. Graham Burke, Daniel Cleary and company strode around Windsor with a sense of belonging.
The point here, however, is Kenny’s – presentation. Part of the reason why Rovers were so persuasive – and impressive to an audience who see them rarely – was the setting.
Windsor is the best soccer-specific (as they say in the US) stadium on the island. The second-best is Tallaght. Rovers play consistently in Europe on the sort of stages Kenny mentioned. There’s a trip to Stamford Bridge next month.
This not only makes the players and management of Stephen Bradley more comfortable when entering these surroundings, it also enhances external perception of them.
Go back to Alkmaar-Dundalk and Dutch infrastructure has material benefits plural – commercial income is one, obviously, but there is also the added value in the transfer market of players being seen in a Dutch situation, as opposed to being seen in Irish domestic football at, say, Oriel Park.
Put simply, better facilities, better stadiums increase the value of the players inside them. Supermarkets call it packaging.
There's more of note in that article other than the extracts I have copied above.
And somewhat related, I was in a rugby school and I think it's fair to say two of old pals, Leinster season ticket and IRFU debenture holders, know diddly-squat about the LOI and quite frankly assume it's rubbish. I'm in a WhatsApp chat with them. One did agree to come out to Tallaght with me last season but the opportunity never arose. The other, quite out of the blue, posted in the chat on Friday that he had just seen a presentation by Kevin Doherty about Drogs' US investment and their plans and he was really impressed. He and his wife went to the match yesterday and loved it. Both recognised that the "FAI run-in" (as they called it) was getting a lot of attention.
I have always thought that if you take LOI football and put it in front of 10,000 fans in a decent stadium, it'll just look better, and people would consider it better quality football than the exact same game being played out in front of 800 people.
Agree. And even if a particular game turns out to be a dud, quality-wise, in such a setting, if there's more noise from the crowd, and the facilities and comfort are themselves decent quality (seats, view, cover, catering, toilets etc), then the overall day out won't seem quite so wasted.
And it's in this context that it really drives me mad when even big clubs like Derry leave a bunch of training goalposts stacked up behind the pitch. It just looks like amateur football.
100% agree, more so as a television viewer than when at the game. When attending a game I don't think the spare goalposts have as big an impact, although still look amateurish. I don't know if this makes sense but my own take on this is that from a set/staging point of view the goals need to mean something (have value or whatever the best way to phrase it is), the ultimate aim is to get the ball in there.
100% agree. Some of these little details annoy me about our product on tv. I think it’s because we’ve never had a proper tv deal that these things aren’t corrected.
Owned by council, stored by council, locked to rails by council.
As Irishmen we dilute our sense of nation by depending on the English to bring us our balls
1 thing always sticks out about Alkmar for me, a lot of the younger fan base based themselves in Amsterdam (as you do) and Man Utd were playing Feyernord on the same night as us and the amount of United fans who couldn't believe the amount of Dundalk fans going around the day before the game.
They were amazed we had approx 1000 going to the game but our home attendances were only approx 3000
If you think about it, it shouldn't be a surptise that a much higher percentage of fans at a club like Dundalk are "hard core", than at a tourist club like Man U.
While the chance to play in Europe means more to such fans than those of a club like Man U, where it's pretty much taken for granted (see eg St.Mirren's away support in Europe this year)
I understand the hard core element alright, but in my own family my Father and 2 of his brothers went to Alkmaar
The last Dundalk game my Dad attended was the FAI Cup Final when Rovers beat us on penalties, one my uncles hasn't been in Oriel Park since the 1980s when he was a kid himself
The other one would be a regular but an awful lot of older people went to that game who would never go to Oriel Park
A lot of expats were at that game also. I wouldnt have anticipated that many Dundalk people and fans living on the continent tbh, Brussels an obvious one but plenty arrived in from Germany, Denmark, Lux, Swiz, Netherlands itself. I had tickets for home section myself but up beside the away section.and that block was busy beside the packed away section. Non Dundalk friends topped things up a bit, but yeah there was general surprse at the support, performance and result and some shock at Gary Roger's ruthless goalkeeping!
Rovers allocation of 2,927 for chelsea away sold out.
Should hopefully be a bit of craic and Rovers will be already qualified for the play offs,and not reliant on having to keep an eye on the goal difference...
Yeah the league stage has gone exactly to plan so far for Rovers after they were handed the dream sequence of fixtures. Since they've gone and got the results that were expected of them they'll get to have their big tie in London with very little to lose.
It could easily end up being the case going in that if Rovers win at Chelsea they could finish in the top 8 and qualify for the QFs directly. It would really increase the coverage around the game if SR had something to gain from the game instead of it being a dead rubber.
Are you suggesting that Rovers could be capable of taking on what is widely regarded as the most expensively assembled football squad in the world and trying to win . I think we'll be going to keep the score down. I'm presuming you saw chelsea obliterate their last opponents in the competition?
Its is a classic throwback to the days when you could hope to nick a 0-0, maybe rough a side up and scare them for 5 minutes before the next 90 with back to the wall before the inevitable last second calamity. Those days are gone, its hoping for not being totally whipped, being aware of GD implications, and eanjoying the occasion of being there at all. Talk of a win is nice and all and belief is good but....
Yeah premier league football may as well be a different sport to LOI. Rovers have some very good LOI players but there are so many levels between LOI and the premier league.
By GW 6 they’ll be well inside the Top 8. They’ll put out the reserves of the reserves in that squad. They’ll still win of course. Maybe 2 or 3 nil but it won’t be a Noah level bashing.
Two nice away days coming up, sandwiched between the one game that really matters and that is Borac. A point there would remove even the small percentage chance of 7 not being enough.
Sorry no that's not what I am suggesting. I dont think they've any chance of being competitive, which I think everyone agrees with.
I just think that in the couple days of build up to the game if rovers have something bigger to play for it'll increase interest. They could potentially get to half time at 0-0 and that would become a story in itself.
Ok grand, sorry I took you up wrong.
Yeah that makes sense,but as Ger rightly points out, it's the Borac game that is the one Rovers will target,as 1 more point should push us into the top 24. I'm taking Bradley's assertion of a possible top 8 place with amusement but not serious.
I'm going to both Ger, should be great craic.
As we pished the league up the wall it's highly unlikely we'll get here next season so you have to take your opportunities as a seasoned LOI fan where you can get them.
Can't wait to see the chelsea faithful clutching their overpriced pearls when Rovers turn up on their doorstep
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