SPL and EL article

[lofty9]

The last quote from Maurice Malpas sums up the FAI in regards to being a professionally run organisation.

http://www.sundayherald.com/sport/sh...089990.0.0.php

Rub of the Green


THE IRISH tricolor flies proudly above the Scottish Premier League table, and this time it has nothing to do with Celtic's travelling support.
With no fewer than nine players and one manager from the Republic of Ireland involved in SPL match squads last weekend, Motherwell lining up three more players who will arrive in January, and the first managerial import Stephen Kenny also likely to raid his old stomping ground at the turn of the year, footballers from across the Irish sea are this season's must-have accessory.
With the SPL's ranks also swelled by three Ulstermen in the form of Neil Lennon, Ivan Sproule and Dean Shiels, the sheer amount of arrivals marks something of a departure.


The traditional route to soccer stardom for a talented youngster from across the Irish Sea involves leaving as a teenager for one of the big clubs south of the border, a journey traversed in the last 15 years by Roy and Robbie Keane, Damien Duff, and even current SPL top scorer Anthony Stokes. But it is the convergence of a number of new factors which has seen the SPL become the beneficiaries of a second wave of Irish immigration.
Firstly, the TV money which has poured into the Premiership academies south of the border, and the consequent increased competition for places, has squeezed opportunities for young Irishmen - with even those that do make it finding it impossible to infiltrate first team squads laden with foreign talent. Stephen O'Donnell, Patrick Cregg, and even Stokes have found Scottish football a hospitable halfway house.
Secondly, the equilibrium between the SPL and the Eircom League is at a particularly delicate stage. While SPL wages and standards have generally declined in recent years, the Eircom League's development as a professional summer competition in the last three seasons has borne only partial success.
More and more of those players unable to find a berth in an academy down south have stayed at home, yet although the top four clubs in the country - Champions Shelbourne, Derry City, Drogheda United and Cork City - could easily compete in the SPL (Kenny's Derry side, for instance, embarrassed Gretna in the Uefa Cup and drew with Paris St Germain), poor attendances and sponsorship revenues have seen even the top clubs struggle with finances. Shelbourne, for instance, won the title despite players going for months without receiving their wages.
The end result is that Irish-based players in general still regard a transfer to the SPL as a good career move, while clubs in the SPL or the Championship down south sniff a bargain, particularly in January, when the Eircom League is in close season.
Reading, who plucked Kevin Doyle from Cork City for a paltry £80,000 last June and now have on their hands a £6 million striker with eight Premiership goals, would certainly agree. So would Wolves, who have been heavily linked with Cork striker Roy O'Donovan, and Ipswich, who are set to sign another Cork player George O'Callaghan.
For Dave Rogers, the former Dundee and Ayr United defender, who has just won his third title in four years with Shelbourne, this fiscal flight is more a reflection on the league's uncertainties rather than the quality of its football.
"I played against Kevin Doyle in my first two years over here and he was very average but he had a great attitude and you only have to look at him now," Rogers said. "He is right up there with the top goalscorers in the Premiership with eight goals. A Scottish team could have taken a chance on him for £80,000 but Reading decided to take a chance."
There is certainly no doubt that this has been a bumper year for Irish talent. Stokes is the league's top scorer, while Motherwell's Richie Foran and Dundee United's Noel Hunt are all in the top five places in domestic competitions. Rogers - who was at Shelbourne when Stokes left for London as a 14-year-old - believes the chance to showcase talent at venues like Ibrox and Parkhead is a big factor.
"Personally I think players are moving over to Scotland, to teams like Motherwell, not because it is better money I think it is more to do with the certainty of the whole league set up," he told the Sunday Herald.
"Things are more secure in the SPL, you get bigger crowds, and if not better facilities, the whole league is run better. The main thing is that you want to test yourselves against better quality, and in the likes of Rangers and Celtic you've got that. When I was in Scottish football I used to love going to play against Rangers at Ibrox or Celtic at Parkhead. The people who run the Irish league don't have a clue really. There is more professionalism in the SPL.
"But without question the top four teams in the Eircom premier would all finish in the top half of the SPL. We are all full-time clubs, with good players and good managers. There are certain people in Scotland who give the Irish league a bit of a bad name, but we beat Derry to the league and proved we were better than them, and then you look at what Derry did to Gretna."
Kenny and Craig Levein are also likely to be dabbling in the Irish market this January, but Maurice Malpas has got his work in first. For him, the reasoning behind his decision to bring in Cork City left-back Danny Murphy and St Pat's Athletic striking duo Trevor Molloy and Paul Keegan is simple enough.
"There are three or four reasons," Malpas said. "The players are available at this time of year, they're out of contract because it is the close of their season.
"Secondly - the ones we've had in the past have done well and the ones now will adjust to our type of game, because it is reasonably quick and direct there. Three - they come into our price bracket but, most importantly, we do think they're good enough to come into our team.
"We don't kid ourselves on that this the SPL is a great standard but I honestly think it is a step up and none of them will play against teams as big as Celtic and Rangers," Malpas added. "That is a big attraction for the guys."
Indeed, the main worry for Malpas to consider in recruiting the trio is whether he can get international clearance in time for Motherwell's SPL match against Rangers on January 1.
"The problem is that it is the FAI's close season," Malpas told the Sunday Herald, "and if we can't get things done in the next few days there will be a problem, because they don't open until the 2nd. The FAI have never been known to be quick about anything."

[A face]

I just wanna puke after reading that ..... its pathetic, Its like buzzards flying over head waiting opportunistically to swoop in and take off with the rich pickings of the league, which has made good strides to counter the rot, the decline of our game. And what do we get in return? Yeah …. It’s a rhetorical question.

I know, its up to clubs to wise up and sort out this situation but I feel like they are not afforded anything in doing so, or at least it is definitely not a level playing field. And most of the set backs are created/caused domestically where you would think you would be able to rely on in certain quarters.

I don’t want to do off on one so I’m gonna end it there for now.
Did i mention i was píssed off over this?

[The Sheliban]

I think Rogers has called this fairly accurately actually. ****e league better organised in Scotland

[mypost]

"The people who run the Irish league don't have a clue really. There is more professionalism in the SPL.
The FAI have never been known to be quick about anything."

Expect a fine heading Maurice Malpas' way very soon. This kind of constructive/accurate criticism can not be condoned.

[dynamo kerry]

Expect a fine heading Maurice Malpas' way very soon. This kind of constructive/accurate criticism can not be condoned.

can not be condoned? are you an fai suit by any chance?

you're either misquoting by accident or on purpose - both are pretty unforgivable

malpas can say what he please- rogers on theother hand may face a fine but i can honestly say i have no problem with his comments

[CharlesThompson]

can not be condoned? are you an fai suit by any chance?

you're either misquoting by accident or on purpose - both are pretty unforgivable

malpas can say what he please- rogers on theother hand may face a fine but i can honestly say i have no problem with his comments

I hope you are being ironic.

[Tazskool]

Reading this fully thru and adding a different aspect onto it for a minute..

think of it in this way...

England EPL about Scottish PL ? If you look at it in that apsect you will see that 90% of it is in the same light...

If you were to put the SPL against the EPL you'd see that the SPL is in a mess and the gates and quality of players is poorer in the SPL.. Also that the EPL picks off Scottish talent cheaper than possible..

The Irish Leagues, as far as I can see, are moving forward in thier progression to make it better and a stable enviorment for all involved with the game and make the grass roots better..
This takes time and money and with more "part time" clubs going full time this is forward thinking.. bigger grounds..more press coverage... more involvement in Europe can only add up to forward movement unless some "suit" manages to go crazy and ruin it for all..

Every league in the world started off this way..

[OneRedArmy]

The Scottish League is better run than our shambles and they have the benefit of the Old Firm spreading the cash around the League. Thats pretty much the difference.

The irony is that its Irish people (North and South) putting a significant amount of the cash into the SPL.

A Face you seem to be trying to push the blame outside of Ireland for Irish clubs not realising full value for our players when its clearly our fault. To use your often quoted example of Kevin Doyle, Cork were shafted by someone inside the camp acting against the interests of the club and the rest of the club administrators not being clever enough to notice or realise the impact.

There's plenty of examples of this all around the country. I know your views on Pat Devlin but he's one of the few examples of Irish football administrators actually getting fair value for players (Jason Byrne and Zayed being prime examples).

[BohsFans]

he's on about them again on Motherwell's website:

http://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/cgi/49vtres.pl?record=705

[dynamo kerry]

I hope you are being ironic.

no- which bit do you find entertaining? and why?

although, I admit the previous chap may have been fishing but I hate misquoting

viva la accuracy

[BohDiddley]

he's on about them again on Motherwell's website:

http://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/cgi/49vtres.pl?record=705

Did somebody mention faxing?

[dynamo kerry]

they don't do faxing at fai hq

[drinkfeckarse]

can not be condoned? are you an fai suit by any chance?

....I think he was taking the p!ss.

[dcfcsteve]

no- which bit do you find entertaining? and why?

although, I admit the previous chap may have been fishing but I hate misquoting

viva la accuracy

DK - can you disable the 'Sense of Humour Filter' on your computer's security software please ? Thanks.

[mypost]

....I think he was taking the p!ss.

Someone noticed the in the post.

[pete]

I don't think Shels players went months without wages so i think that is inaccurate. Obviously Doyle left for pennies & has been debated to death at this stage. We have learnt from that now so have already rejected bids for O'Donovan. It was mentioned that the top 4 sides in the eL would easily be able to play in the SPL. The tone of the article did not mention the SPL being a hige step up. Motherwell signing 2 players from the 7th best eL side reflects badly on the SPL surely...?

[BohsFans]

Keego

[A face]

Keego

Apparantly they all played in the Irish league !?!

[Raheny Red]

Apparantly they all played in the Irish league !?!

Isn't up north the Irish League

[bohs til i die]

I don't think Shels players went months without wages so i think that is inaccurate. Obviously Doyle left for pennies & has been debated to death at this stage. We have learnt from that now so have already rejected bids for O'Donovan. It was mentioned that the top 4 sides in the eL would easily be able to play in the SPL. The tone of the article did not mention the SPL being a hige step up. Motherwell signing 2 players from the 7th best eL side reflects badly on the SPL surely...?

All 12 teams in the Scottish top flight would more then hold their own in the eircom league but only the top 3/4 clubs from here would do likewise in the SPL.

Motherwell are in the bottom half of the SPL. They have signed Murphy from Cork and Keegan and Molloy from Pats. Just because they signed two guys from the 7th placed team in the eircom league doesnt reflect badly on the SPL. Just because a player plays for a mid table team doesnt necessarily mean he is a bad player.

Malpas has outlined why he signed the guys from here and it makes perfect sense.