David?

[Schwalker]

As you are on the spot, how would you describe the state of football in NI right now..?

As most foreigners (I´m German BTW) we know about the secterianism that have plagued the area but how have the football been affected?
And how is the mood in NI regarding football. In General..

[David]

Sectarianism as a problem nowadays is minimal, certainly compared to 10 or 15 years ago although it is still present and does need dealt with. The league at the minute is undoubtedly in a poor state. A 16 team top division is far too many for a countrty our size (1,500,000 people approx.) and hopefully that will be changed in the near future. Speaking from a Linfield perspective though I feel the future is a bright one. We are making positive steps towards professionalism and now have four full time players with more planed to make this step over the next few seasons. We have shown that we can compete with the best the Eircom League has to offer in the Setanta Cup. Prior to this it was commonly felt that there was a sizeable gap but Linfield at least have shown that we are up there with the best in Ireland although the Eircom has undoubtedly more strengyth in depth.

As for the future I feel personally that it has to be an all Ireland League. There are lots of problems to iron out for that to become a reality but I feel it is a must for both leagues and can help teams all over the island improve as well as bringing in increased sponsorship and media coverage.

[nshoop]

Good post dave but I think getting an all-Ireland league will be a problem because teams wont want to give up european places and power and ownership will come into it.It would be great but there are too many obstacles I reckon

[dcfcsteve]

As you are on the spot, how would you describe the state of football in NI right now..?

Well, right now the state of football in NI's second largest City is healthy, beautiful and bright ! With the mood to match.........

[David]

Good post dave but I think getting an all-Ireland league will be a problem because teams wont want to give up european places and power and ownership will come into it.It would be great but there are too many obstacles I reckon

It certainly won't be easy but would be a major boost for football on the island of Ireland as a whole.

[charliesboots]

I agree with David that an All-Ireland league is the way forward for developing football on the island as a whole.

It favours both leagues in that it should increase attendance, sponsorship, tv revenue etc. It would also give both leagues an opportunity to "start a fresh" as almost all supporters agree that both associations and league's have been attrocious in their capacity as organisers/officials and so on.

Personally I think that a solution to the problem would be to create an association that governs the whole island and therefore remove any problem relating to European representatives.

However with one association there could probably only be one "national" team competing at International level. Personally I would welcome this. It works in almost every other sport such as hockey, rugby, cricket and I'm sure numerous others.

I'm not quite sure what other peoples opinion on it would be but it would be interesting to hear.

[holidaysong]

I'm sure that most fans in the North wouldn't be up for one national team as they would probably see it as their team being swallowed up by the bigger 26 county team. If both national teams could be retained while having one league then I'm sure that they would be in favour of it.

Obviously for a Dundalk fan an All-Ireland league would give me lots of new close away trips. I would be hugely in favour of it. Would teams in the North be willing to accept the increased travel costs however?

[Dassa]

This AIL realy isnt the answer we should worry about investing in the clubs we have in NI. as a fan of a smaller club who will probably be threw out of the league in the coming years the IFA have alot to answer for for their lack of interest and investment in the past.

If however the AIL does happen one national team will just not work.

[Dazzy]

If both national teams could be retained while having one league then I'm sure that they would be in favour of it.

ITs simple keep the FAI and IFA cups, just like what is done in Litchenstein but Uefa would have to rule on if the 2 national teams stay.

[Gather round]

I'm for an expanded all-Ireland cup (as David says, both Northern and Southern teams have shown themselves to be competitive in it so far), but against an all-Ireland league. Apart from party political problems (and consider why, say, the Baltic countries haven't merged into a single league), I can't see it stimulating interest, crowds and income from sponsors that much.

I supported expanding the Irish League to 16- with eight or 10, you play the same teams too often- but clearly there are too many weaker sides with few fans and little money. Perhaps a return to 12 in a 22 game 'half-season' with Setanta or successor in the other half.

I don't like watching football in high summer, but another experiment could be a mid-winter close season punctuated by Xmas fixtures, with a mid-season break in June/ July.

I'm sure Derry Steve would agree that DC's amazing results this term don't fully hide structural problems- it's bizarre, for example, that they can only admit 3,000 to home UEFA games.

Although as for the second city, I believe Sporting Lisburn are still mediocre...

[Schwalker]

I thought Derrys stadium problem partly was because their cheapskate council owns the stadium?

[dcfcsteve]

I thought Derrys stadium problem partly was because their cheapskate council owns the stadium?

Not partly - totally. We're only tenants on a short-term rolling lease.

I assumed Gather Round would've been aware of that situation.

[Gather round]

Steve- aye, I knew about that, largely through you mentioning it here.

My point was really that Derry's low capacity, and thus difficulty in investing/ expanding follows from their weakness and reliance on the local council, which is in itself presumably explained by ingrained poor management in the past. Were they stronger, they'd call the shots.

[EalingGreen]

I'm sure that most fans in the North wouldn't be up for one national team as they would probably see it as their team being swallowed up by the bigger 26 county team. If both national teams could be retained while having one league then I'm sure that they would be in favour of it.

Completely agree, HS - and my guess is that a large majority of fans of Irish League clubs and the overwhelming majority of the NI international team's fans would concur, also.