QuoteWhat did he say?
Devlin - Failed before he started ??
In yesterday's Mirror, comparing the eL to the lower teams in League 2 in England.
Whatever about the debate, is he totally out of order putting pressure on eircom League clubs who are investing huges sums of money trying to get support from the local communities in which they are in ??
Is this reckless behaviour from an FAI official entrusted to uphold the best interests of our league ??
Should he be reprimanded over these unnecessary comments, which deliberately are trying to devalue the leauge. As a result every club official trying to pitch for sponsorship and reveneue now have a steeper hill to climb as a result of this irresponsibility.
Are eircom League clubs going to be compensated as a result of this?
info@fai.ie
** Remember, this is a thread about the actions, not the debate or the standard. that debate does not justify these comments. Please keep this on topic.
Last edited by A face; 07/05/2006 at 1:50 PM.
The SFAI are the governing body for grassroots football in Ireland, not the FAI. Its success or the lack of is all down to them.
What did he say?
he wants to watch his mouth or face a bad hiding at the next EL game he turns up at.
You're heading for a ban, you know that, right?Originally Posted by thejollyrodger
id pay money to see a pimply little streak like you start on devo!
C'mon lads, calm down.
Extratime.ie
Yo te quiero, mi querida. Sin tus besos, yo soy nada.
Abri o portão de ouro, da maquina do tempo.
Mi mamá me hizo guapo, listo y antimadridista.
I think you should have your own sub-forum at this stage. Your posts are nothing more than comical
Who Cares?!
to be honest face, you might be overreacting here....
why are el clubs entitled to compensation from the fai because devlin offered an opinion?
Why not compare like with like.
compare us to league in the Baltics or of countrys of similar size, with similar demographics.
England is a massive country with basically only 1 popular sport.
Soccer,
Cricket,
Rugby,
and to a lessser extent Morris Dancing and Darts.
For all your League of Ireland news - www.extratime.ie
Ok rugby, but its mostly soccer.
Cricket and rugby are minority sports.
Have you seen county cricket crowds?
Whether we like it or not there will always be a comparison with English football, after all that is where most of the players who leave Ireland go to and it is where most of the players in the EL who have played outside Ireland come form.
Perhaps Face would like to give us his opinion as to where the standard of EL football stands in comparison to England. It is certainly not Premiership or Championship. That only leaves League One, League Two or Conference.
If you look at the clubs that finished in the top 10 in League One, I could not see the current Drogheda, Derry, Cork or Shels teams matching any of them over a season.
If Devlin's assessment is wrong, I am sure Stephen Staunton will correct him, after all SS has first hand knowledge of the standard with his fairly recent involvement with Walsall who finished bottom of League One.
Similarly, someone like Roddy Collins should be able to give an objective assessment (rather than a rant) based on his previous connection with Carlisle who topped League Two this season and who just escaped relegation to the Conference during Collins time there.
So come Face, let's have the Cork opinion (which is usually inflated, particularly if it is about themselves!).
Honest! I am not a secret Tim nor a closet Sham - I really am a Seagull.
Perhaps he wouldn't .... but if i did it wouldn't matter because i am not employed by the Football Association of Ireland.
The comparison is a topic which could run into 10+ pages and i'm sure it would be great ..... but that is not the issue.
The issue (unless you are trying to detract from it) is that a paid employee of the FAI has been entrusted with a job that is heavily reliant on him behaving in a manner that would lend itself to the interests of the league, not to undermine it, not to bring Irish football into disrepute with a wild, unsubstantiated, unproven and ridiculous line of debate/comment.
He is obligated to behave in a decent manner. It is completely reckless and irresponsible of him to undermine the league, there is no and cannot be any defense for this. You cannot have an FAI official working against the eircom League clubs.
It is not over reacting lads ..... it is a black and white situation, pick a colour for all i care but it is the wrong one. He is out of order and clubs are out of pocket as a result of this.
Or is Pat Devlin void of any responsibility ??
The SFAI are the governing body for grassroots football in Ireland, not the FAI. Its success or the lack of is all down to them.
The eL Premier has standards ranging from Bottom Championship through to top of League Two.
Top sides could compete & survive in the Championship with larger squads. Have you seen some of the sh!te in that league?
I have heard Pat Devlin asking for a competitive ten team league improving in standard to be changed back to a twelve team league because he complained the standard was too high and first division teams couldn't compete with accelerated advances when they came up.
The SFAI are the governing body for grassroots football in Ireland, not the FAI. Its success or the lack of is all down to them.
Don't see how his views do any of this, especially undermining the EL and working against it?Explain? Football is all about opinions. Managers/players/fans are asked for them all the time.
Don't understand this wild, unsubstantiated, unproven and ridiculous line of debate/comment
Honest! I am not a secret Tim nor a closet Sham - I really am a Seagull.
I know you are going to lay down your life to defend Devlin at all costs, the man who just walked out on ye ... and i admire that but my point is still valid.Don't see how his views do any of this, especially undermining the EL and working against it?
He is employed by the FAI .... and if you are an employee of the FAI, you are obligated to behave in its best interests. By drawing a comparison to our leagues first tier and another leagues fourth tier, a comparison which is not shared by all and which is at the very least menacing, he has over stepped the mark.
eircom League clubs have a thankless job of trying to gain sponsorship in their communities so sustain and fund the clubs to stay afloat. That is the nuts and bolts of it .... clubs scrap to get any assistance with resources they can. Ask anyone that works with their club to confirm that.
That job has been made harder by the reckless comments made by Devlin who should be promoting the accolades and attributes of the league. He should be trying to show the league in its best light. If he doesn't want to do this then he shouldn't have taken the job.
Read it again in its context, i am not wasting time with your childish bickering. I have given my opinion, i'm entitled to ... end of.Don't understand this wild, unsubstantiated, unproven and ridiculous line of debate/comment
Dont reply to me if you wont at least acknowledge the wrong doing.
The SFAI are the governing body for grassroots football in Ireland, not the FAI. Its success or the lack of is all down to them.
Nothing to do with Devlin and his BW connections.
He would be overstepping the mark if he was hyping up the league to be something it isn't. I would think his assessment of how things are currently in comparison is about right and many EL fans would agree. That is not to say it cannot get better.
I would suggest that the type of money that is required in sponsorship or investment or any income to take the EL to much higher standards is not going to come from local communities but would have to come from major sponsorship and commercial/merchandise income for which television income is usually the catalyst. Television income for the EL sides is never going to be big bucks here while TV coverage of Premiership and Championship games continues to be available in Ireland and the UK.
You obviously have a problem with Devlin and whatever he does you will always find fault with it.
If he was so far out of order as you seem to think he was and his comments were detrimental to the EL then I have no doubt that Staunton and especially John Delaney will deal with him.
In the meantime, once again, lets agree to disagree and say no more about it.
Honest! I am not a secret Tim nor a closet Sham - I really am a Seagull.
Yet another thread about Pat Devlin by Cork City's very own A Face. Will you ever cop onto yourself. Your like a little fcuking child at this stage picking up on anything what so ever to do with him and his new role with the FAI.
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