Club or Country?

[mypost]

I think it's a sad state of affairs when at a crucial time in the NL, that there are so many NL club's fans choosing to travel out to Cyprus to watch a bunch of failures play, than watch their club scrapping for vital league points at home?

We play at Drogheda this weekend, and the head of our supporters club is, instead of co-ordinating the bus trip going to Drogheda, travelling to Cyprus to watch Ireland go out of the World Cup the next day. The Drogheda game is vital to our hopes of staying up, yet he and many other fans of the club are off to Cyprus to watch Ireland, something they can do again at home the following week, at a fraction of the cost, and inconvenience. October is a crunch time in the league, with clubs chasing championships/promotion, and others trying to beat the drop. With 7 games left, this should be a time when attendances at NL games increase, yet because Ireland play in Cyprus the same weekend, it looks like this week's attendances will be even lower than normal. This is not a Rovers issue either. It appears that the NL's fan base are deserting the league in droves this weekend.

I'm sure not many other countries bring 15,000 fans to away games. Is it because they prefer to watch their local club's games rather than shell out €700 to watch their national side implode??

[EnDai]

At least its only Drogheda and you can get the train!

Tis a strange one though! Club over country for me anyday.

[mypost]

At least its only Drogheda and you can get the train!

There's no return train service after the game!

[Schumi]

Some of us have our games called off due to international call-ups so it doesn't arise.

[Vitruvian Man]

Some of us have our games called off due to international call-ups so it doesn't arise.

Agreed.
Rovers are minnows. Even their own fans would rather get out of the country than watch them.

[eirebhoy]

I think it's a sad state of affairs when at a crucial time in the NL, that there are so many NL club's fans choosing to travel out to Cyprus to watch a bunch of failures play, than watch their club scrapping for vital league points at home?

Its your country ffs.

[Dodge]

FFS lads we've had numerous debates on this before. Lets just leave each other to whatever makes them happy

[BohDiddley]

Spoilsport.
I was just going to mention that this condition probably afflicts hoops more, seeing as they have adopted the mantle of the big green patriots' club.

[The Stars]

Club all the way.I know the atmosphere in the Showgrounds isnt great but it seems better than any Ireland matches,espically at home.Few hundred gobshiners singing alleigence to Keano and shouting Ireland,Ireland,Ireland....

[hoopy]

Spoilsport.
I was just going to mention that this condition probably afflicts hoops more, seeing as they have adopted the mantle of the big green patriots' club.

Just make sure you can afford a proper sized bus for you're next away game Getting back to the topic, if I had to make a choice I'd rather Rovers won than Ireland. The decision is made even easier with Keane and Kerr in the Irish set up.

[Cosmo]

There's no return train service after the game!

www.matthewscoach.com will get ye home for a fiver

[Conor H]

Club all the way.I know the atmosphere in the Showgrounds isnt great but it seems better than any Ireland matches,espically at home.Few hundred gobshiners singing alleigence to Keano and shouting Ireland,Ireland,Ireland....

Friendlies yes.But the atmosphere at the France game was unreal.

[Drumcondra Red]

I was thinking about this earlier on today, I think club just edges it, but then again I've had many a rant about Keano choosing Man Ure over Ireland, does that make me a hypocrite???

[TonyD]

The decision is made even easier with Keane and Kerr in the Irish set up.

Hey, leave Brian alone. He's a legend in this league. I'm sick of the flack he's been getting lately. League of Ireland supporters should know better.

On the club v country issue, if I had to choose I'd take three points at Tolka on Friday before an Irish win in Cyprus. But the beauty of football is that we don't have to make those choices, I can hope for both.

[holidaysong]

www.matthewscoach.com will get ye home for a fiver

It is the same price from Drogheda to Dublin as it is from Dundalk to Dublin?

Anyway on the topic why can't the two be mutually exclusive?

[OneRedArmy]

Well, Derry don't often come up against Ireland in competitive fixtures so I can happily acommodate both.......

I've no idea who'd I'd rather win something, both probably. I'm greedy like that.

Ridiculous thread, EVERY time it comes up.

[Macy]

does that make me a hypocrite???

Yes.

Club everytime, but what was that someone said about the same few topics just being repeated in a slightly different way?

[rerun]

I suppose if sombody has planned for a while to go to an away match and plans their summer holidays around the match, e.g. spend two weeks in Cyprus and go to the game while you're there, then thats fair enough. Like the original poster said, it does cost a lot of money and if you've shelled out for a trip it would be madness not to go just to catch a game that you had no idea would be important back when the season started.

Then again, if somebody decided to go on earlier this week, I suppose there's a case for the original posters argument.

Perhaps it's what we always get back to here. Is being a football supporter about standing in the cold in Drogheda desperately hoping for three points, and not wondering for 90 minutes how you're going to get home, or is it about going on the lash somewhere and watching some overpaid, overhyped Premiership and Championship players put on the shirt and plough through the same **** one more time. Personally, I believe it's the former.

The atmosphere might have been great at the Stade de France, but I'm sure it's great there if Les Bleus are playing Germany, Holland or England. It's funny, but I don't really see the national team as my team, it's too removed from the football that I read the paper and listen to the radio for, or read this forum for that matter (O.k. I'll own up and say that I don't exclusively read about Irish football, but I'll as happily read about Shalke as Arsenal and I'd watch the Tippeliggen or Bundesliga highlights if they were on RTE at 7 on a Saturday). Stick some eL players in there and I think my attitude might change. It's depressing to think that a lot of people who will watch/go to the match relate to the team and players via the Premiership, i.e. support Man Yoo and Ireland.

[Jaime]

I'd take 3 points from the Cyprus game instead of 3 points for Bohs tonight if we had been playing Cork tonight. But it's a stupid choice; no-one is ever going to actually HAVE the choice, so what's the point? The two are mutually exclusive, and people moaning because the "head of their supporters club" is gone missing should grow up. Typical Rovers minnowism. "Co-ordinating" a bus to Drogheda...

[bigmac]

We play at Drogheda this weekend, and the head of our supporters club is, instead of co-ordinating the bus trip going to Drogheda, travelling to Cyprus to watch Ireland go out of the World Cup the next day.

Appreciate your situation, but why are you giving sh!t to a guy who is obviously not a barstooler, but puts a lot of time and effort into the club? Would the same criteria apply if someone went to London for a weekend and took in a premiership game, at the same time missing an away Rovers game? I have no problem with people following Ireland, I feel a bit disconnected from the team but I'd never stoop to the Dunphy level of hoping they get beaten, so if someone wants to go to an away game (where it's much easier to get tickets) then good luck to them.