Irish obsession with the Champions League

**pete** · 01/05/2006, 4:41 PM

A lot of media articles recently about how eL sides coud fund themselves to get into the cash cow of the CL. An eL side in the CL cannot deliver a professional football league in this country with good facilities & bigger crowds.

I've no doubt irish event junkies would queue up for CL tickets but vast majority wouldn't be seen near an eL game.

There is no quick fix for a viable league. Where will the eL be in 5 years?

**Mr A** · 01/05/2006, 4:55 PM

Dead right. Irish football needs a long term plan that takes account of football from top to bottom- what we get is casting about for silver bullet solutions, usually involving 10 clubs with no regard for anything that happens below that.

**A face** · 01/05/2006, 5:24 PM

UEFA Licencing, better facilities, better advertising etc. is the way to go. The CL might capture peoples imagination as to what the possiblities are but agreed, its not the answer.

Marketing is brutal for the league. The league should have been developing a media company years ago and should be producing a television package and selling it to RTE, TV3 ..... getting the advertising right. Highlighting the good parts of the game instead of leaving it to red top rags to slate the league at every opportunity. This actually will be vital if we want to steer ourselves into a good position, and it is ignored. I think the league dont realise the value of good publicity ... maybe because we rarely get any.

**OneRedArmy** · 01/05/2006, 7:11 PM

The meedja obsession with the Champions League is driven by naive assumptions that the huge strides achieved by "small" clubs such as Rosenborg and Villareal could be replicated by an Irish club who win a few rounds into the qualifiers and bumble into the bigtime, arriving at the veritable banquet of the group stages like a culchie up from the country.

Back home, immediately the Eircom League would rise up from the bowels of society and the barstoolers would forego their pint and the televised excitement of West Brom v Fulham on a Monday night and flood in their thousands into brand spanking new stadia around the country energised by a new awakening to the joys of domestic football where they would be captivated by watching a local team live and in person.....

Its a nice thought, but not only does it ignore the difference situations that clubs such as Rosenborg and Villareal faced, but it assumes a general level of footballing administration at club and national level that we are sadly lacking.

And crucially, as was stated above, it also ignores the particularly Irish penchant for event junkieism which means that short-term success at anything is generally only a reliable indicator that disinterest is around the corner in the longer-term.

**TonyD** · 01/05/2006, 8:53 PM

That's the mentality we're facing I'm afraid. The only thing I would say about the Champions League obsession is that it has the potential to change that mentality. There's nothing the Irish public loves more than a success. A qualifier from our league into the Champions League group stages could(and I stress could) do for the league what the qualification for Euro 88 did for the International team. I remember going to see Ireland play Brazil in 1986 when the crowd numbered something like 17,000 and there were tickets aplenty to be had. Now the FAI can get over 30,000 to see any old rubbish game they put on. It needs a real breakthrough to catch the imagination. It's not the only answer, or a miracle cure, but it could kickstart real progress for the league. Let's just put it this way, it couldn't do any harm.

**Dodge** · 01/05/2006, 9:54 PM

Its not helped by clubs who are gambling their future on trying to get in to the Cl, some at all costs.

Typical of the idiots involved of running Irish football and Irish clubs

**crc** · 01/05/2006, 10:26 PM

I don't think that the Champions Legaue is the panacea that some make it out to be, but I do think that success in Europe is good for the league. The major problem the league has is an image problem. The general population is constantly being told that local football is rubbish and they believe it. The fact that Cork City and Shels were able to put out European teams that people had actually heard of turned a few heads, but it takes long steady progress to make serious inroads.

Irish fans are event junkies, there absolutely no doubt; all we need to do now is give them an event. The last game of the season between Cork and Derry could have sold out three times over. Why? Not because Rico and Stephen Kenny had suddenly bought 22 new players, but because there was hype!

As A Face says, the league needs propper marketing. I hate to speak of it in such cynically commercial terms, but the league needs a sexy 'product'. The odd time there is hype, the people come out in their droves; what we need to do now is increase the frequency of hype. Good European performances are part of that process, but not alone.

**A face** · 02/05/2006, 12:37 AM

Originally Posted by crc

As A Face says, the league needs propper marketing. I hate to speak of it in such cynically commercial terms, but the league needs a sexy 'product'. The odd time there is hype, the people come out in their droves; what we need to do now is increase the frequency of hype. Good European performances are part of that process, but not alone.

I wouldn't give a toss how its said to be honest .... why ... because everything else is a product, we are up against so many products now that its just stupid.

**trevy** · 02/05/2006, 9:17 AM

Remember when Shelbourne played Deportivo La Coruna at Lansdowne Road in the Champions League qualifier there was I think 24000 there.Then Shels had a league or cup game a week later at Tolka Park and there was 1000 there.Thats says it all.
Irish people will come out for the glamourous occasions in all sports but getting them to come back for the ordinary league and cup games is the problem.

**gspain** · 02/05/2006, 10:26 AM

The Champions League is arguably the top football competition worldwide now (I don't think it is bigger than the World Cup but there is an argument that it is). It is certainly huge from a club football persoective.

If somebody could do a Rosenborg it would make a hugfe difference.

It is often overlooked that football is by a long way the most popular sport in this country. Playing numbers dwarf those of other sports but spectator wise it is an odd trip to OLd Trafford or Anfield, Lansdowne for an International and Sky Sports.

In the 1990s Munster rugby team played before a couple of hundred people and now have the biggest following in Europe. I think champions league success or even uEFA Cup success would be the way to really boost our league.

**Dodge** · 02/05/2006, 10:37 AM

Originally Posted by gspain

In the 1990s Munster rugby team played before a couple of hundred people and now have the biggest following in Europe. I think champions league success or even uEFA Cup success would be the way to really boost our league.

Leinster and Ulster get bigger crowds for Celtic league games

I think one club doing well in europe would kill the league myself. Hoovering up whatever little sponsorship cash available (particularly if it was a Dublin club) and fostering, once again, the idea of a breakaway.

**hamish** · 02/05/2006, 2:25 PM

Originally Posted by Dodge

Leinster and Ulster get bigger crowds for Celtic league games

I think one club doing well in europe would kill the league myself. Hoovering up whatever little sponsorship cash available (particularly if it was a Dublin club) and fostering, once again, the idea of a breakaway.

They're provinces though Dodge and Munster have also got only 4 to 5 thou for quite a few Celtic League games as well which is an international competition of sorts. I think their biggest was a weekmor so ago - 9,000 for a Celtic League game.
Better comparision would be the EL and AIL. There was an AIL match on last Saturday involving a LIMERICK club on RTE2 and if there were 100 at it that was tops.
If I was involved with an AIL club I'd be really p!ssed off - where are all those event junkies for these games?

**Dodge** · 02/05/2006, 3:07 PM

I wasn't saying anything different sirhamish, was just arguing gspain's point that they Munster were getting the best gates...

**bigmac** · 02/05/2006, 3:48 PM

In fairness with the rugby, just because it's a province doesn't really make a difference. It's a bit much to expect fans to travel from Cork to Limerick or vice versa for a Celtic league match. The key thing is that Munster can get 4 or 5 thousand in either Cork or Limerick on any weekend and can sell out their big games. That's out of a much smaller population base than Leinster are drawing on.
When it comes to football, it's a concerted effort that is needed, preferably coming from the top down - at the moment it's left to the individual clubs to market the matches so you have a situation where in a large proportion of cases it's supporters who are making and sticking up posters around the catchment areas. If this doesn't change then the league will be stuck in the doldrums, Genesis or not.

**pete** · 02/05/2006, 4:56 PM

I started this thread now about wider public affection for watching CL games on tv but the fact that 1 eL team getting to the group stages is seen as cure for the eL ills.

Other medium sized leagues in Europe are boosted by huge crowd at big games in their leagues which seems supplements the small crowds in average league games.

A Dublin team getting drawn an english team in Europe could probably fill the new Lansdowne but they'd probably be all follwoing the foreign team.

**GroundFootball** · 03/05/2006, 3:12 AM

I don't think it's all about the sexy product.

A Face make a few very salient points but the problem with poor attendances at eircom league matches is not all about the game itself. There's plenty of **** boring games in the premiership.

What Irish football hasn't notice yet is that people aren't interested because they don't know. It' not coverage of the results that's important it's the players the managers the personalities an the controversies they need to know before they care. The extra coverage and hype the Champions League games provides gives them a way in. Things like Kevin Doyle's and Shane Long's move to Reading give people a face and show how good a standard the league is. This should be exploited to promote the league more. Even guys like Pat Dolan and Ollie Byrne (controversial though they may be

) help draw attention to the league n have suficient personality to make people interested (no matter what your personal opinion of them

).

Also when we do get them in the stadium door they have to have a fantastic experience. "Packaging" - everything has to look professional and well done from the stadium to the stewards to the program and the half time snacks. It's all about customer satisfaction. This thankully is improving rapidly.

If anyone thinks Champions League or prettier football will solve the leagues problems they are deluding themselves. It's all about marketing.

PS: sorry for ranting

**JC_GUFC** · 03/05/2006, 4:59 PM

Originally Posted by OneRedArmy

The meedja obsession with the Champions League is driven by naive assumptions that the huge strides achieved by "small" clubs such as Rosenborg and Villareal could be replicated by an Irish club who win a few rounds into the qualifiers and bumble into the bigtime, arriving at the veritable banquet of the group stages like a culchie up from the country.

Back home, immediately the Eircom League would rise up from the bowels of society and the barstoolers would forego their pint and the televised excitement of West Brom v Fulham on a Monday night and flood in their thousands into brand spanking new stadia around the country energised by a new awakening to the joys of domestic football where they would be captivated by watching a local team live and in person.....

Its a nice thought, but not only does it ignore the difference situations that clubs such as Rosenborg and Villareal faced, but it assumes a general level of footballing administration at club and national level that we are sadly lacking.

And crucially, as was stated above, it also ignores the particularly Irish penchant for event junkieism which means that short-term success at anything is generally only a reliable indicator that disinterest is around the corner in the longer-term.

Seriously - are you Rico in disguise?!

**TonyD** · 03/05/2006, 8:13 PM

Originally Posted by hamish

Better comparision would be the EL and AIL. There was an AIL match on last Saturday involving a LIMERICK club on RTE2 and if there were 100 at it that was tops.
If I was involved with an AIL club I'd be really p!ssed off - where are all those event junkies for these games?

The interesting point here is that the game was on RTE (Live I presume?) And I'm sure nobody was sneering or making comments about the lack of a crowd. That's the major difference between football and other sports in this country, too much of the media is actually encouraging people not to take it seriously. They would never dare treat GAA or Rugby with the same attitude they have to "Domestic Soccer" Setanta Sports has been a huge improvement though.