Good or bad year for the league

**Mr A** · 30/09/2006, 8:09 AM

For those that say it has been a bad year what would the criteria have been for it to have been a good year?

Off the top of my head:

No clubs going bust and leaving the table in a mess.
Freedom from controvesy and administrative disasters.
No clubs facing winding up orders.
Officiating that isn't so bad that even the refs admit it.
Increasing attendances.

In fairness I think we may just be so used to maladministration etc that we're used to it while European progress is fresh and new- so it outweighs the negatives to many. It may be in the long run that this season turns out to be a great step forward, but at the minute it looks a bit ropey as far as I can see.

**Soper** · 30/09/2006, 9:52 AM

No league is perfect though, is it?We've had a good year, I can't see what good it would be investing all the effort in making everything tick right, at the expense of European results which are undoubtedley benefiting the league.

**Dodge** · 30/09/2006, 11:04 AM

Originally Posted by Soper

No league is perfect though, is it?We've had a good year, I can't see what good it would be investing all the effort in making everything tick right, at the expense of European results which are undoubtedley benefiting the league.

So you'd be quite happy with a club going bust every season and the league being dragged through the court just to see a couple of clubs do well in europe?

The reason I started the poll was beacasue this should've been a great year for the league but with the continued **** ups from the league and club admin, its just getting ridiculous

**Bald Student** · 30/09/2006, 11:09 AM

I voted good because the league is a footballing competition and on that basis it's done well.

Off the field it's the second worst year I can remember (after the registration season) but on the field is more important.

**Dr.Nightdub** · 30/09/2006, 12:15 PM

Voted Meh... on the basis that Ollie's threatened court case over the Bohs match has the potential to make this season as farcical as the registration season. Considering that the League run-in is most likely gonna be between Derry and Shels, the fact of Shels looking to earn three bonus points via the courts is a bigger time-bomb than any tax problems, drop in attendances or whatever.

Hard one to call apart from that - a lot of excellent progress in football terms being negated by a lot of off-the-field cr�p. What's the point in the clubs getting their acts together if the FAI continue to meander on like a bunch of retards let out on a day trip - they may as well replace Delaney by Dustin Hoffman's character from "Rain Man", he'd probably do a better job.

**gustavo** · 30/09/2006, 4:33 PM

Originally Posted by Galway Harps

Off the top of my head:

No clubs going bust and leaving the table in a mess.
Freedom from controvesy and administrative disasters.
No clubs facing winding up orders.
Officiating that isn't so bad that even the refs admit it.
Increasing attendances.

.

But only one of those things is a positive the rest are no negatives , Surely the criteria for having a good season is when good things happen not when bad things dont happen

**dfx-** · 01/10/2006, 12:26 AM

Originally Posted by Dodge

So you'd be quite happy with a club going bust every season and the league being dragged through the court just to see a couple of clubs do well in europe?

Yep 'we' won games in Europe despite the league, not because of it.

**damien** · 01/10/2006, 3:10 PM

i voted yes. It has been a good season on the field but off the field it needs to be sorted out by the clubs and the fai.

**Soper** · 01/10/2006, 6:01 PM

Originally Posted by Dodge

So you'd be quite happy with a club going bust every season and the league being dragged through the court just to see a couple of clubs do well in europe?

The reason I started the poll was beacasue this should've been a great year for the league but with the continued **** ups from the league and club admin, its just getting ridiculous

No, I wouldn't be happy about that at all.There needs to be progress made on both aspects , rather than focusing on one.I wouldn't be happy if every effort was made to make all clubs at least financially sustainable, and this resulted in teams going back to getting drubbed in Europe.The European results this year have done a world of good for the league, but again it's not perfect, but as I said, at least it's something.

**Macy** · 02/10/2006, 9:03 AM

I voted meh, but only just above no. The european performances have been great , and Derry doing it in an apparently sustainable way is even better. That just about lift's it above the usual sh�te.

On the negatives...

Attendances are down. This has to be addressed, and the real reasons for this must be found out. This requires investment in proper research rather than more boll�xology such as "more people will watch in the summer because the weather is better". It's been the best summer for years.

CHF going bust, and the Shels tax issues are good in the long run. However, they show the cronic failure of the FAI lead licencing system. It should never have got this stage mid season, as they should never have got a licence to compete. Cork I'm not sure off, as they appear to be run okay considering their team is suffering from not replacing people, so I suppose more inclined to believe Lennox.

Ollie threatening more court action to try and win the league is just farcical. One of the first things the FAI should do is instigate draconian punishment for clubs that go to the courts and lose.

**NY Hoop** · 02/10/2006, 11:37 AM

Originally Posted by d f x-

Yep 'we' won games in Europe despite the league, not because of it.

Wrong. The European games we won in 2003 were because the league season was changed. But you would'nt have minded losing 15-0

KOH

**jebus** · 02/10/2006, 4:21 PM

Bad, because of the lack of proper promotion/rekegation. Made the whole year completely nonsense for me. Obviously if you are Shels, Derry, Cork etc. this will be considered a minor gripe, but as a fan of a team who had ambitions to push for the 1st Division title this year it made the whole thing seem a bit of a shambles

**dcfc_dee** · 03/10/2006, 11:44 AM

Originally Posted by jebus

Bad, because of the lack of proper promotion/rekegation. Made the whole year completely nonsense for me. Obviously if you are Shels, Derry, Cork etc. this will be considered a minor gripe, but as a fan of a team who had ambitions to push for the 1st Division title this year it made the whole thing seem a bit of a shambles

i would agree with you on this point

**pineapple stu** · 03/10/2006, 12:55 PM

Originally Posted by Bald Student

I voted good because the league is a footballing competition and on that basis it's done well.

Off the field it's the second worst year I can remember (after the registration season) but on the field is more important.

I think it's an overly simplistic view to just view the league as a footballing competition. Off-field factors are just as important if we want more people to stop looking down on the league and come to games.

**Macy** · 03/10/2006, 3:17 PM

Originally Posted by pineapple stu

Off-field factors are just as important if we want more people to stop looking down on the league and come to games.

I'd say more so given the way the press like to report our league. Negative off the field stuff gets far more coverage than the positives.

**oriel** · 04/10/2006, 12:36 PM

Voted Yes as after watching 3 previous years of rubbish football, finally the First Div is an entertaining place once again - having seen any premier div games but its obvious that standard too has improved with the euro results.

attendances not as good as expected, but this should increase big time with better marketing for new FAI lge next year

**Shelsman** · 04/10/2006, 12:55 PM

We had the Setanta Cup again this year -this is great.

Dublin City going out of existence is terrific..

Bohs starting to turn into a massive club is great too -they might be the ones who make the break through to another level in Europe in the years to come as a result of the sale of Dalyer.

European results were unprecendented ( all four progressing a round ) and Derry's display away to Gretna was possibly the best football played by an Irish club in Europe ever.

Points deductions are unfortunate but not a major issue.

Winding up orders were given but no club folded for this reason.