Treaty v Athlone - 787Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954
Treaty v Bray - 902
They were announced on the night but somebody must have forgot to log them.
Treaty v Athlone - 787
Treaty v Bray - 902
They were announced on the night but somebody must have forgot to log them.
And even the First's decline is solely down to swapping Dundalk in for Cork, which is no aspersion on their fans, more the latter enjoying a number of Munster derbies when they were relegated.
Glass half full....we have grown again, up 38k on last year, 11 clubs with increases, and Derry growing, possibly getting closer to Dub clubs average net year, and all teams in top flight over a 2k average.
Glass half empty, the 38k increase , most of that is from 1 game, Bohs V Rovers in Aviva, probably 30k net. The other increases are marginal, offsetting some small falls, and the falling trend in Waterford and Galway would be a concern, only second season up. Rovers may have reached a current ceiling, 6k, and Pats growth seems to have slowed.
900K above, plus FAI Cup final + European games, would we hit 1m?
It certainly does seem without stadium improvements for Bohs, Shels and Pats we could only look at relatively minor growth for the near future.
Derry's increased capacity does give them potential if they're performing well, and had Cork got their pricing right they'd have likely seen a significantly higher attendance, but they'll be back to the First Division next year anyway.
There is perhaps scope for another 1 or 2 derbies a year at Landsdowne, although replicating last year's season opener needs to be done first before we get ahead of ourselves.
Hopefully the increased media presence this year from Virgin Media's TV coverage and News talk on the radio proves to be a catalyst to push things on further, particularly outside the capital.
Posting Permissions
Quote
Bookmarks