Northern teams are not inferior

**Raheny Red** · 12/12/2005, 4:48 PM

In 2 CL games we totally outclassed the Glens!!

**Mark Breen** · 12/12/2005, 4:48 PM

Who obviously where at the time the league champions ahead of linfield

**royalblue** · 12/12/2005, 5:14 PM

cheifo
Apprentice Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 25

Royalblues point is merely that our teams are not technically more gifted as theres.The fact that Linfield won the Setanta cup this year would support this in my veiw.

Thanks mate you seem to be only one of about 4 who have actually understood my point. I guess the rest must see through rose tinted glasses. The whole topic was on technical ability. Some guy slates Linfield and Northern teams and says we are not technically as good.

I was saying if you compared southern born players to Northern born players generally they are all on the same level technically. So to say Southern teams are techically better than Linfield is crap. Yeah there are always some who are better than the norm (wayne rooney) these players are just naturally gifted. But to say that a team/teams is technically better than another, then they need to have technically better players. But i dont see it generally in your teams. As I said you have some great players who would grace our league, but we also have great players who would grace your league. But not all eircom teams have these technically better players. They are few and far between. Fitness is the difference, it can improve your awareness as your brain gets more oxygen, you are sharper as a player, but you are not technically better than you where. Just more alert and fitter.

**Slash/ED** · 12/12/2005, 5:55 PM

Originally Posted by Raheny Red

In 2 CL games we totally outclassed the Glens!!

Indeed, even Longford would have beaten Glentoran on away goals last year if their setanta group matches were taken together, and their first game of the season was in the oval.

Anyone who thinks in the champions league matches the only difference was fitness is badly, badly deluding themselves. And Shels were sh*t at the time and around the Setanta cup final too. Lost to relegated Rovers the next game in Tolka as I recall, doesn't prove anything.

**Roverstillidie** · 12/12/2005, 6:07 PM

RB, with respect you are on a hiding to nothing.

to say all players and sides are technically the same is bonkers. Rovers v Barca? Norn Iron v Brazil? Come on out of that.

The Setanta win for Linfiled was a fine result because they werent expected to do so. I suspect they got a disimproving shels side at just the right time, and fair play, they took their chance. The real benchmark was the spanking they gave glens in the CL.

As for your trophies, all it means is for 130 years 2 clubs have dominiated, and the EL is far, far more competitive, where top can get done by bottom, and any one of 3 or 4 sides could win it every year. How you see that as a sign of weakness is beyond me.

Unless you are on some form of wind up?

**royalblue** · 12/12/2005, 8:31 PM

Did you actually read what i typed. I never said all teams are technically the same. I said Northern Irish Players and Southern Irish Players are technically the same. I also said there are exceptional players in Nothern and Southern teams. The only advantage your top clubs have over us at Linfield is fitness. And the EL has only become competitive in recent years. Only in the last 10 years has your league went from being substandard to a good league. And our league has dropped from a good league in the last 10 years to substandard now. Trust me 10 years ago we would have hammered every team down south with the team we had. And your league is no premiership, i have watched your matches with a handful being okay. The rest is pump it as high as you can football.

**Dyl10** · 12/12/2005, 9:48 PM

Originally Posted by A face

He would be good cover for any eircom League club.

A very valid point, Ucd should get him as cover for robbie martin

**A face** · 13/12/2005, 12:32 AM

Originally Posted by royalblue

Did you actually read what i typed. I never said all teams are technically the same. I said Northern Irish Players and Southern Irish Players are technically the same. I also said there are exceptional players in Nothern and Southern teams. The only advantage your top clubs have over us at Linfield is fitness.

RB, that is where i disagree, i am not saying there is something in the water down here and all southern players are better as a result, i am saying fitness aside, just techical ability, eL team seem to have the underhand, and i base this on what i see in players playing in competitive football. Maybe there is more money floating about down here and i can only speak for Cork City here, there have been big changes in coaching and amount of staff here, so that is bound to effect it.

And the EL has only become competitive in recent years.

No its not .... it has been competitive for years before that, just not very good at it

Only in the last 10 years has your league went from being sub-standard to a good league. And our league has dropped from a good league in the last 10 years to sub-standard now.

I'd agree, in the last few years our league has come on leaps and bounds, where as any news we get barr fixtures/results from yours are club houses burning down and managers leaving. But the point i am making .... where ever it is at now, i think the eL teams are on a high level than IF teams

Trust me 10 years ago we would have hammered every team down south with the team we had. And your league is no premiership, i have watched your matches with a handful being okay. The rest is pump it as high as you can football.

10 years ago, we would not have stood there looking at ye knockin' balls into the net .... no more than ye will stand there looking at us doing this year

but the point is, there is alot less long ball stuff down here, and that is a banker. You lot might do well kickin' lumps out of us this year ... but that doesn't make you a better team, given a level playing field, match fitness wise, at the moment we'd hang ye out to dry. You have the upper hand now in that we wont be match fit, but you'll need to take all the advantages you get and we understand that !!

**drummerboy** · 13/12/2005, 10:40 AM

A mate of mine was sitting in a bar in Spain watching the Shels v Glentoran game. Got talkin to this guy from the north who turned out to be a Glentoran player, Glendennin I think, sorry about spelling. Anyway said he wasn't bothered giving up his holiday to play in Setanta Cup. Surprising really considering the money involved for clubs.

**Raheny Red** · 13/12/2005, 10:53 AM

drummerboy wrote:

Anyway said he wasn't bothered giving up his holiday to play in Setanta Cup.

Jaysus did Roy Coyle not bother telling him that it was the Champions League!!

**Dassa** · 13/12/2005, 10:56 AM

The players are part time and if hes spent alot of money on a holiday then why loose the money. The clubs up here were very unlikely to give him the money hed spent back so cant blame PT footballer for that. Surely with the players who have left both the IL and EL both doing very well across the water this is a sign that technically both league are strong enough.
Doyle -Cork- Reading-ROI
Elliot- Glentoran-Motherwell-Hull- NI

**Slash/ED** · 13/12/2005, 11:00 AM

Originally Posted by Dassa

The players are part time and if hes spent alot of money on a holiday then why loose the money. The clubs up here were very unlikely to give him the money hed spent back so cant blame PT footballer for that. Surely with the players who have left both the IL and EL both doing very well across the water this is a sign that technically both league are strong enough.

He knew the dates for the CL literally years in advance, they don't change, he knew it when he booked his holiday too.

**Macy** · 13/12/2005, 11:04 AM

Don't think a part time player would get away with that down here, and I'd say it's a while since teams went in with no training (which is what Glens appeared to do).

**Dassa** · 13/12/2005, 11:08 AM

Have to admit that the Glens preparations for those matches was a disgrace and dont know what Roy was thinking. A manager with his experience should know better and Glentoran brought no glory upon our league with their second round performance. Heres hoping lessons can be learnt from that disaster for NI teams in the future.

**Dazzy** · 13/12/2005, 11:08 AM

Most players of the EL only went on holidays and id rather play in a CL game than go on holiday!

**Peadar** · 13/12/2005, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by Dazzy

id rather play in a CL game than go on holiday!

Enjoy your holidays this summer mate.

**Dazzy** · 13/12/2005, 4:20 PM

Originally Posted by Peadar

Enjoy your holidays this summer mate.

How is Lithuainia in the summer?

**Ceirtlis** · 13/12/2005, 5:22 PM

Back to the debate at hand i think that as well as being fitter eircom league teams are better organised which in a way could be seen as better technically. there are tons of goals in the il and the defending can be absolutely shambolic from what i see on bbc. however for el fans to be looking down their noses at any other league is a bit rich. i am an el fan tru and tru but whenever i try and watch a game on telly at home or when i am at college i have to watch it my own room cos noone else in the house will sit through it. the fai cup final was one of the poorest games i have seen in a long time there must have been about 100 throw ins and there was not a whole load of skill on show. overall i think the el is marginally better and i think royal blue might be winding you up a little going on about linfield so much ,what they ever do in europe?

**pete** · 14/12/2005, 9:30 AM

I think its a fairly poor excuse to say Linfield not gone fulltime as would kill competition in the league. Shels went fulltime in the eL & other teams have followed. Shels & maybe Drogs are probably the only fully fulltime clubs as other have part-timers too.

Sure if it ever gets too easy for Linfield ye could always apply to join the eL. Might have to start in the 1st division but sure that will get you used to the higher standard.

**royalblue** · 14/12/2005, 1:14 PM

Sure what did linfield do in europe! Let me think well a part from a few european cup quarter finals, not much hee!hee!. And that was when it was a really hard competition, not like now. The teams that Linfield played in those days would walk all over your teams today, like the great Liverpool team and the Manchester City team. It was a lot harder competition when it was straight knockout. Yes times change and that was the past, and who knows what future brings. But are heritage is coated in Platinum and Gold. We have had legendary teams at Linfield with Legendary players like the great Jackie Milburn, who Alan Shearer is trying to break his goal scoring record. You have been doing well in europe and i hope you keep it up. As for Linfield going fulltime, it was all down to the IFA at the time, whatever else you might think. The IFA are a bunch of old gits who wont change. As for Linfield joining your league, no chance Keep dreaming. But lets say they did join the eircom, it would be the best thing that ever happened to your league. Right away the attendances at each ground would go up when Linfield played, as Linfield have the largest travelling support around. And also the fact that every team would want to knock The Great Linfield of the top spot of the eircom league year after year after year