Who is the owner?
Jim Hanley.Originally Posted by cláirseach
There would be no club without him, and if he ever goes there will not be a club, baring someone else willing to come in to lose a lot of money. I'm one of the many people who don't live near home, and getting to a match is as much hassle as most away matches honestly and I don't have multi hour round trips every weekend in me.
Last edited by Acornvilla; 11/08/2024 at 7:27 AM.
Thanks Acornvilla. I'd love to know who owns every club in the league, maybe that'll be my thread for the offseason!
No worries. We're in a tough spot. I personally think we need to invest in more full/part time off the field staff to build the club.
We've been in a bit of a tailspin since Cronin left for Bohs. There was a big gap in replacing him. Henderson came in very late, half the squad was already gone to Wexford, anyone worth signing had been signed, and we've been trying to rebuild ever since, but with bad performances comes smaller crowds and smaller budgets. There is forever the issue with the stadium location, you have to drive to it, which stops so many from even being able to get there if they wanted to, no shuttle bus from the town has ever been sustainable. I don't know what the solution is bar massive investment in the town and county itself, it's not great out there.
That's fairly grim reading, Acornvilla and Outspoken. Maybe if your teams trained in Longford it would improve things? GUFC have gained a lot of support from the parents and families of underage teams. We had womens teams last year for the first time and I think this has helped too. We don't have a training ground so our teams are spread all around the county, not ideal, but maybe it's contributing to a more inclusive county-wide community. Of course results help massively too.
When you break in down like that it really explains a lot. When you do get a boost in attendances, where does that generally come from?
I think the addition of underage and womens teams to clubs is helping with the attendances. You have a lot more boys and girls involved with clubs, their friends and families come to support them underage but they become fans of the club and end up going to support the mens first team games too.
Manager: Fergal, have you your boots with ya?
Fergal: Ya, I have them here.
Manager: Ah good stuff, well give them to this man so, he forgot his!
Usually like most clubs you get a decent crowd first game of the season. About 1,600 at an Athlone game, I think last season, but we lost badly, and that was that. People make the effort to come and have a look out of interest. How that goes can determine how many come back, and we have been incredible at losing any match with a crowd for a number of years. It's very much a GAA county and there's no real culture of going to football every week there. When the Town got bigger crowds, the first team and economy was in better shape.
A side effect of the move to summer football was a lot of fans in North Longford/Cavan (where I'm from) stopped going to games because the summer season doesn't suit a lot of people. I think the move to summer football was necessary, but we did lose a portion of the fan base overnight. That's a long time ago, and the club has never reached the mid 00's heights, it likely won't again, so no one from around there has really had much of a reason to reconnect.
I don't think people from big cities/towns who live relatively near their club quite understand the privilege of being able to just walk to or hop on a quick bus/dart/luas and go to a match, you can't do anything in Co. Longford without a car.
I can't speak in great depth about underage issues in Longford. My underage club would have been UCL harps which are a relatively large club with a lot of underage teams it takes in kids from Longford,Cavan and Leitrim. Outside of Tristin Noak Hoffman, I'm not sure many others have been brought in to the Longford setup let alone played first team. Longford have some sort of Partnership with Melvew, where James Abankwah (incredible that he never played for us) and Aodh Dervin came through. I constantly hear not enough kids from Longford clubs are brought in to the Longford underage setups, but that's all hear say and I can't comment because I have no idea who is playing underage in Longford, how extensive the scouting or how good the coaching is. People love to complain so I'd take it all with a pinch of salt.
Regarding training in Longford. The club does have a second pitch and a couple of 7 a side astros, I assume that's where the underage teams train. As for seniors, no players at the club live in Longford bar a couple of academy lads who have made a breakthrough this season, I don't know the ins and outs of how feasible it is to change how things work, if it was possible it'd probably have been done by now, I assume the club training nearer Dublin is a reason why some players stay with or sign for the club in the first place.
Everything that happened under Kenny/Matthews was a once in a lifetime freak occurrence, we got a lovely stadium and wonderful memories, but I'm not really sure how somewhere the size of Longford with the challenges the local area faces will be able to keep up as the league professionalizes without major investment to build the club outside of the first team. I know almost every club in the LOI is heavily driven by volunteers, but that takes people with energy and time, and the bgger your population the greater chance of finding them, we're really at a disadvantage there.
I've given some artwork to the club over the years, done match programme covers for a season, but that's about the height of what I'm able to contribute, Outspoken has given the club much more than I ever could, and still works for free every other week on match days among other stuff off the field. There's a very small team killing themselves to keep the show on the road, and only one full time employee. I'd rather we spent less on the first team and had a couple more in the background trying to find a way to sustain and grow the club.
I agree with mentions about underage sides growing fanbases, it will hopefully help everyone, but we will only ever have so many people knocking around with an interest in football, so our underage sides can only reach a certain level before they have to sign in kids from outside the county and the further afield you look the tougher it will be fore their family/friends to become a part of things.
Last edited by Acornvilla; 11/08/2024 at 2:37 PM.
2813 at Galway/Pats
Irish by birth ,Harps by the grace of god.
Great post outlinging the challenges at Longford Acornvilla,I will add on the volunteer part that volunteers in the LOI take an unbelieveable amount of abuse on SM,I really admire anyone that puts their time and effort in because its a totally thankless task that as far as I can see bring's mostly headache and abuse.....
Last edited by joey B; 11/08/2024 at 4:56 PM.
Irish by birth ,Harps by the grace of god.
Probably to an extent - but only to an extent. If someone doesn't give a feck about LOI football, they're not suddenly going to become a fan of the adult mens teams just because their 10yr old plays schoolboy there. I'm sure we've all seen kids teams play exhibition matches at an LOI games at half-time, or do a half-time tour of the pitch with a trophy they've won, only to then see a fair chunk of them leave straight afterwards with their parents who can't be arsed hanging around for the second half. Even with the pester power of children. It probably happens much more at First Division clubs, where there is less buzz/appeal around the clubs.
The switch to Summer football was 2003 - which immediately coincided with the most successful spell Longford Town has ever had, and its biggest crowds (2003-5). So any impact of Summer football obviously wasn't felt in the first few years there, which is when you'd expect such a fundamental change to have had the most noticeable impact if therewas going to be one (?).
In my view people always have an excuse to justify not going to watch their local LOI team. Almost always it involves laying the blame on someone or something else other than themselves. Instead of just admitting 'They're sh!te now and I can't be fecked to go' they'll instead blame the time of year. Or that old rural club favourite of there'not being enough local players in the team any more'. Etc etc.
When you actually look at it, more than two-thirds of the Summer LOI seaon involves months that were also included in the Winter season. So how can someone go to a game in February, March or September under one format but not the other?
It's fine to think that, I'm sure plenty do make excuses, but anyone saying that stuff was probably never really going to be a fan anyway. I come from an area where I've said it happened. Where I grew up is about an hour round trip drive away from the stadium for games. I literally know people who continued to try going but couldn't make it work so gave up, us doing well just meant other new people started to go, they didn't stick around long term as often happens, every cub has fair weather fans and that's fine, it was literally the clubs most successful time in it's history, a complete outlier, those crowds are the exception not the rule.
I vividly remember a packed stadium for a league cup final, and then playing in front of under 500 people the next week. We also often had very large away crowds in those days, something we obviously don't get in the first division today baring rare exceptions. Two things can be true at once.
And again, the critical point, the town and local economy was in a completely different place. The average crowds weren't even big by LOI standards today, and for us it was the peak. I don't think a lot of people outside the club appreciate just how uphil the struggle is to create consistent attendances when the town the club is from is dieing.
Cobh is bigger than Longford, Tralee over twice the size, Athlone too, it should be one of the weakest clubs, there's junior clubs from much bigger places. The fact we haven't been stuck to the bottom since Kenny came, and have a nice stadium has given everyone an unrealistic expectation of what Longford should have been doing all along, we don't have a lot to work with. There's a bigger conversation to be had about how the club could try to capture interest from the county/midlands and be called Longford FC or something, I hate that the crest is a cathedral, it doesn't represent me in any way. We should try and have more lads from Longford, but the catchment area is tiny, the odds are not good that we will be creating elite footballers with no money and no population any time soon. The best ones will leave right away anyway. it's not like Longford is excelling at other team sports.
It's the club I've supported since I was a child, I don't have any answers or the means to effect change. It's deeply depressing to watch something that gave you some of your best childhood memories slowly die. More money, and more people is the answer, you're all welcome to move here and invest
Last edited by Acornvilla; 12/08/2024 at 6:55 AM.
The best post I've seen on the entire LTFC debate. Well done.It's fine to think that, I'm sure plenty do make excuses, but anyone saying that stuff was probably never really going to be a fan anyway. I come from an area where I've said it happened. Where I grew up is about an hour round trip drive away from the stadium for games. I literally know people who continued to try going but couldn't make it work so gave up, us doing well just meant other new people started to go, they didn't stick around long term as often happens, every cub has fair weather fans and that's fine, it was literally the clubs most successful time in it's history, a complete outlier, those crowds are the exception not the rule.
I vividly remember a packed stadium for a league cup final, and then playing in front of under 500 people the next week. We also often had very large away crowds in those days, something we obviously don't get in the first division today baring rare exceptions. Two things can be true at once.
And again, the critical point, the town and local economy was in a completely different place. The average crowds weren't even big by LOI standards today, and for us it was the peak. I don't think a lot of people outside the club appreciate just how uphil the struggle is to create consistent attendances when the town the club is from is dieing.
Cobh is bigger than Longford, Tralee over twice the size, Athlone too, it should be one of the weakest clubs, there's junior clubs from much bigger places. The fact we haven't been stuck to the bottom since Kenny came, and have a nice stadium has given everyone an unrealistic expectation of what Longford should have been doing all along, we don't have a lot to work with. There's a bigger conversation to be had about how the club could try to capture interest from the county/midlands and be called Longford FC or something, I hate that the crest is a cathedral, it doesn't represent me in any way. We should try and have more lads from Longford, but the catchment area is tiny, the odds are not good that we will be creating elite footballers with no money and no population any time soon. The best ones will leave right away anyway. it's not like Longford is excelling at other team sports.
It's the club I've supported since I was a child, I don't have any answers or the means to effect change. It's deeply depressing to watch something that gave you some of your best childhood memories slowly die. More money, and more people is the answer, you're all welcome to move here and invest
What's the story with the economy in Longford town, AV? Back in the Celtic Tiger era the county was firmly in the extended Dublin commmuter zone. I know it ended up with a few ghost estates after the crash happened. Is it no longer getting the ripples from Dublin's success? Mullingar and Athlone are doing well, and even places like Kingsscourt in Cavan are part of the Dublin commuter zone now. Is it that Longford is just that little bit too far west? Just slightly beyond the ripples from Dublin (which is where it's at economically, for the east of the island anyway).It's fine to think that, I'm sure plenty do make excuses, but anyone saying that stuff was probably never really going to be a fan anyway. I come from an area where I've said it happened. Where I grew up is about an hour round trip drive away from the stadium for games. I literally know people who continued to try going but couldn't make it work so gave up, us doing well just meant other new people started to go, they didn't stick around long term as often happens, every cub has fair weather fans and that's fine, it was literally the clubs most successful time in it's history, a complete outlier, those crowds are the exception not the rule.
I vividly remember a packed stadium for a league cup final, and then playing in front of under 500 people the next week. We also often had very large away crowds in those days, something we obviously don't get in the first division today baring rare exceptions. Two things can be true at once.
And again, the critical point, the town and local economy was in a completely different place. The average crowds weren't even big by LOI standards today, and for us it was the peak. I don't think a lot of people outside the club appreciate just how uphil the struggle is to create consistent attendances when the town the club is from is dieing.
Cobh is bigger than Longford, Tralee over twice the size, Athlone too, it should be one of the weakest clubs, there's junior clubs from much bigger places. The fact we haven't been stuck to the bottom since Kenny came, and have a nice stadium has given everyone an unrealistic expectation of what Longford should have been doing all along, we don't have a lot to work with. There's a bigger conversation to be had about how the club could try to capture interest from the county/midlands and be called Longford FC or something, I hate that the crest is a cathedral, it doesn't represent me in any way. We should try and have more lads from Longford, but the catchment area is tiny, the odds are not good that we will be creating elite footballers with no money and no population any time soon. The best ones will leave right away anyway. it's not like Longford is excelling at other team sports.
It's the club I've supported since I was a child, I don't have any answers or the means to effect change. It's deeply depressing to watch something that gave you some of your best childhood memories slowly die. More money, and more people is the answer, you're all welcome to move here and invest
Some very interesting posts about LTFC plight. Sobering and a good insight into trying to make a LOI club work in rural Ireland.
Two observations, I know it can't be reversed now, but for the future stop building stadiums so far outside towns. I first starting going to matches on my own in mid teens, if I grew up in Longford town, how am I supposed to do that? It is an hours walk from the town centre to the grounds and not even footpath. This aside from the failure to build connections with local businesses etc that might benefit on match night all in all outweighs additional parking apces for me, everytime.
Secondly and this occurs across league but interested to see is there many success stories? Ireland has seen a lot of demographic change in the last 25-30 years, in particular in terms of ethnicity and heritage. Rural Ireland and indeed rural Irish towns including Longford have seen similar trends. It is clear that significant amount of people "new to the parish" want to be part of area they are living in and you can see that in many areas of irish life. However it is maybe a missed opportunity that LOI clubs haven't picked up extra supporter base from this. You would think it an attractive option, a universally understood game (as opposed to Gaelic football), clubs that clearly identify with place etc an opportunity for communal shared space. Perhaps some clubs have already developed strong supporter bases from this pool already, interested to see if so.
Outspoken mentioned this earlier, but most of the town fans I know don't even live in Longford any more. I'm a headcase doing a weird made up job, so I'm a terrible example, but I'm living hours away because it's where I could afford to live, others have moved because they wanted a better life and a better job.
Longford has a few large factory/warehouse spots where people work, a lot of those working there are actually commuting in to the county, so they're not looking to necessarily become part of the community. Or even they're from the area I grew up, and they're doing an hour round trip in to work every day, and don't have the time/energy for Friday/Saturday night football by the end of the week. Driving around Longford town is a bit depressing, a lot of closed shops. Half a street burning down a few weeks ago certainly won't help, but that's another mad story that's by the by! There is a lot of people unemployed or in very low paying employment struggling to get by living in the area, I don't have any stats in front of me and explaining the greater socio economic issues are a bit beyond my pay grade, but there's an incredible amount of people living in Longford who don't come from Longford and are not really well off, probably don't have the means to get out to matches, probably don't have a car to drive out there anyway even if they wanted to.
There's plenty the club could be doing to reach out to people, give kids tickets, invite refugees, all sorts, and tons of initiatives have been tried, but circling back to other points already made, this stuff takes man power to do consistently over numbers of years, rather than one off gestures, and we don't have it.
I'm really trying to not **** on the people involved in the club, because I know they're doing the best they can
Last edited by Acornvilla; 12/08/2024 at 1:28 PM.
Longford is a truly bleak town at the minute. I took a drive in through the town the last time Harps played in Longford this summer. My young lad broke his glasses in the car on the way down, so we went into the town to try and find some sellotape, or anything that could provide a temporary fix until we got home again. We found nothing. Barely a shop open, boarded up houses and shops all over the place, and an insanely quiet main street for 6:30pm on a Saturday evening. Eventually went to the local Tesco, asked someone about sellotape, met with a shrug of the shoulders, and couldn't find any there even. Ended up being sorted out with medical tape off Harps phyiso at the ground.
I've been knocking about the midlands all my life, and been in and about Longford for as many years as I can remember, and it's genuinely as bleak as I've ever seen the town, in it's current state. It's a pity to see how it's gone, as it should be on the Dublin commuter belt, only an hour, or slightly above, to the M50 and should be a handy location for anyone working in any of the decent sized towns in the midlands.
Saying that, there's effectively zero Longford Town FC presence in the town. On a match night, you wouldn't know there was a game on ten minutes away. They could definitely be doing more in the town itself, but as pointed out, that's more manpower, and much the same could be said of any club in the LOI.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
Longford gets a lot of attention for bad crowds but there’s other clubs attendances are equally disappointing,Bray/Wexford had less than 600 people there a couple of weeks ago,Wexford had less than 350 people on Friday,that’s just 2 examples of clubs in far bigger towns and are much better off economically.
Even our crowds are disappointing and tail off badly as the season goes on, though we’ve had issues with floodlights I don’t think we have the crowds that will go week after week in the First Division….
Irish by birth ,Harps by the grace of god.
Bray is just a disaster.
Wexford have similar issues to Longford in terms of ground placement, but that'll be sorted once they get their shiny new ground in Wexford Town.
Our crowds have been hammered by fixture changes this year. It's a miracle they've been a high as they were for a few games. 1,003 for our last fixture against Bray was excellent considering our form too. We could be doing so, so much more too, but getting near 1,000 average on a season where we've had 5pm Friday kickoffs, two Thursday games, and stupidly, just one home game in our regular 7:45pm Friday slot between 31st May to 30th August. We've been properly fcuked this year between fixtures being reversed, floodlight issues, and Euros changes.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
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