Golden age of league football in the Republic?

**dcfcsteve** · 15/01/2007, 12:12 AM

Originally Posted by CollegeTillIDie

As regards crowds there has not been a golden age in my lifetime and I was born in the early 1960's. My own club saw it's crowds go down in 1983 when we were more successful than the season before because there were less goals at our games. We reduced our goals against by 40 goals in the season.
We won the Cup that year too. Although being drawn away from home in every round didn't help the attendances.

Well - Derry City had a golden age from 1985 - c.1992. 10,000 average at home consistently, up to 3-4,000 for away games. Crowds that have not been witnessed at any other club since the 1950's/1960's.

And that in-turn created a golden age for First Division attendances overall for the 2 years we were in that division (1985-87). People evencame along to see their local club play, just because it was Derry City they were up against I found numerous examples of this at games myself.

**red bellied** · 15/01/2007, 7:58 AM

I was up in the Brandywell for a couple of games around 1990-91 and no way was there 10,000 at either of the games, about half of that and thats been generous.

**Dodge** · 15/01/2007, 8:17 AM

Derry crowds peaked about 1989 withe the treble season. Went down every season after that until a couple of years ago. OK now but nowhere enear that obviously.

**dcfcsteve** · 15/01/2007, 12:13 PM

Originally Posted by red bellied

I was up in the Brandywell for a couple of games around 1990-91 and no way was there 10,000 at either of the games, about half of that and thats been generous.

Hence why I put c. 1992 as the end of the golden age.

Dodge is right - the start of the end of the phenomenon came after the treble in 1989. 1991 was the start of a big decline, as we finished 7th that year - having been champions and then 2nd in the previous 2 years. We still got some good gates that year - though, as the season progressed they got worse, particularly against the less glamorous teams. I remember a game against UCD at the very end of the season where we only had about 900-1,000 !

**TonyD** · 15/01/2007, 12:54 PM

Originally Posted by DmanDmythDledge

They aren't that good compared to other European results before, bar maybe Shels draw with Deporivo. See CTID's post for some examples.

Those results listed though tended to be one-offs. I would certainly say that the last 3-4 seasons have seen by far the most consistently good set of results the league has ever seen. It may not constitute a golden age, but I definietly think that, on the pitch at least, things are going in the right direction.

**red bellied** · 15/01/2007, 1:04 PM

Originally Posted by dcfcsteve

Hence why I put c. 1992 as the end of the golden age.

Dodge is right - the start of the end of the phenomenon came after the treble in 1989. 1991 was the start of a big decline, as we finished 7th that year - having been champions and then 2nd in the previous 2 years. We still got some good gates that year - though, as the season progressed they got worse, particularly against the less glamorous teams. I remember a game against UCD at the very end of the season where we only had about 900-1,000 !

1989-90 so would of been the end of the Derry City age. Played Rovers in a cup replay in the Showgrounds the following season, no more than one hundred away supporters. Sticks in my head because Rovers had just been promoted compared to the previous time Derry came in their thousands.

**CollegeTillIDie** · 15/01/2007, 1:53 PM

pineapple stu

Given there was only 2 points for a win at the time in both Leagues, Rovers would have picked up 2 points out of 4 , had these been League games.
Hardly a disgraceful showing.

**dcfcsteve** · 15/01/2007, 1:57 PM

Originally Posted by red bellied

1989-90 so would of been the end of the Derry City age. Played Rovers in a cup replay in the Showgrounds the following season, no more than one hundred away supporters. Sticks in my head because Rovers had just been promoted compared to the previous time Derry came in their thousands.

At the most it was the very start of the end, but certainly not the end as you suggest. A club doesn't win a treble at the end of one season in front of full-houses, and then find the next season that they've been deserted and are playing in-front of a couple of hundred..

In 1989/90 we played Benfica in the European Champions Cup, and it was the first Irish European game screened live on Irish TV (and, I believe, the first non Cup Final domestic game ever televised live as well). The hype and buzz was still clearly there for the team that season - I remember my school (the biggest in the city) having to close down early to allow people to go to the game, as otherwise they'd have had no teachers or pupils for the day. We finished the league that year in second place, and had decent crowds - particularly across the first half of the season. We also took a very big crowd away to Portugal. 1989/90 was far from a bad year for attendances overall, but a failure to match the previous year's success did start the process of missed expectations leading to a dwindling in the crowds.

Next season we were in Europe again - playing Vitesse - and crowds were fairly healthy for the start of the year (though down a bit overall on previous season). We won the League Cup and had a decent attendnace at the final, but then it just went wrong on the pitch and we slid down the league table, finsihing 7th. Fans used to huge success suddenly had the shock of us losing to fairly mediocre teams, and the crowds started to slide as a result. 1991 was therefore our annus horribilis really on the attendances and footballing front, and the clear start of the end for that particular golden era.

But never-mind - we've got another one now.....

**Dodge** · 15/01/2007, 2:25 PM

So basically what you're saying is that Pats beating Derry to the 1990 league title knocked 9,000 off your home gate?

For the record the biggest (by far) crowd I've seen at a Pats home game was a game v Derry in March 1990. The whole of Harolds Cross was packed (even behind the goal).

**CollegeTillIDie** · 15/01/2007, 2:29 PM

Dodge

And losing the Cup semi-final too?

**pineapple stu** · 15/01/2007, 5:20 PM

Originally Posted by CollegeTillIDie

pineapple stu

Given there was only 2 points for a win at the time in both Leagues, Rovers would have picked up 2 points out of 4 , had these been League games.
Hardly a disgraceful showing.

(a) Your point has nothing to do with anything and
(b) I never said it was a disgraceful performance.

The fact remains, however, that it is the only time an Irish League side has knocked a League of Ireland side out of Europe and so cannot possibly be held up as an example of the mid-80s being a Golden Age,

**Aaron** · 15/01/2007, 5:52 PM

Originally Posted by Dodge

So basically what you're saying is that Pats beating Derry to the 1990 league title knocked 9,000 off your home gate?

For the record the biggest (by far) crowd I've seen at a Pats home game was a game v Derry in March 1990. The whole of Harolds Cross was packed (even behind the goal).

I have that on one of my Derry City videos. Thats the game Liam Coyle scored the winner with plenty of City fans invading the pitch when he scored. I think its the same one. Was Ennis with you at that time and were we playin in blue and white stripes?