What is the future now for EL?

[padjoe]

just wondering does anyone see a bright light in any form coming at the end of a bleak pre-season especially as so many of the league's stars have jumped ship to clubs across the water, stephen kenny leaving derry for dunfermline, limerick being rejected a licence, our league champions on the verge of extinction. is there anything positive to be taken from all this as we stand on the brink of the new FAI premiership. are clubs going to be able to build on the success in europe in previous years if they are after losing their top players who are plying their trade else where and is the league attractive to other players who might want to return home? it all makes me worried because it seems the league has become a victim of its own success now and progress may have been set back for another while..am i being a diva about all this?? any opinions???

[Soper]

Well, Derry and Drogheda haven't lost anyobody important, so Europe will be okay...as long as Shels don't enter.

Most of the players that went weren't that good, bar Byrne, Bennet and a few others.

[khoop]

Plenty of clubs are doing quite nicely thank-you.

Athlone is buzzing.

Limerick looks like it may have finally got things sorted.

Wexford are joining the fold.

Dundalk - for all their complaining - have made great strides.

Bohs are looking to the future with a ground move.

Galway have great things planned apparently.

Drogheda have the new stadium in the pipe-line.

Finn Harps likewise.

Bray have made major improvements.

Oh - and at Rovers - it's onwards and upwards.

This list could go on forever.

So apart from cheating Shels - everything is fine. Couldn't be better.

Does that answer your question?

[A face]

Plenty of clubs are doing quite nicely thank-you.

Athlone is buzzing.

Limerick looks like it may have finally got things sorted.

Wexford are joining the fold.

Dundalk - for all their complaining - have made great strides.

Bohs are looking to the future with a ground move.

Galway have great things planned apparently.

Drogheda have the new stadium in the pipe-line.

Finn Harps likewise.

Bray have made major improvements.

Oh - and at Rovers - it's onwards and upwards.

This list could go on forever.

So apart from cheating Shels - everything is fine. Couldn't be better.

Does that answer your question?

Exactly, its the newspapers job to look at thing negatively and make the league look bad, but the thing is there is great stuff happening in the league, it might not be 'newsworthy' the national media most of the time but it is still happening.

The main thing is the league has to keep pushing the standards and getting things right both on and OFF the pitch.

[Dodge]

Only club to have a bad pre-season AFAICS is Shels, and maybe Longford. Evryone else is happy enough (bar Maxi's lot obviously)

Best preseason ever IMO. can't wait for the season to start

[Dr.Nightdub]

just wondering does anyone see a bright light in any form coming

Yep, it's hovering over Tolka Park like the star of Bethlehem, announcing to the world "Come ye and give thanks". Kinda fitting too, seeing as they've already had the great flood and Ollie's been a plague on the League for years.

[Celdrog]

Yes, I can see a bright light.

Drogs have probably the strongest squad we have ever had. We get to defend a cup for the second successive season (after 40 odd barren years)
Looks like we will finally get a new top of the range ground.
And we got great odds on winning the league so Christmas is already sorted.

Shels all but gone (unfortunately). Derry as strong as last year. Cork finally getting a decent transfer fee from Reading. Bohs coming back, Pats looking good, Galway back where they belong. Rovers back in the premier. Dundalk still in the graveyard

Europe again beckons as a huge success for Irish clubs.

All in all things look good would be my view.
So PadJoe you are allowed to write something positive

[BohsPartisan]

Yeah, I can't wait for the new season. After a couple of years of pure horror for us there is a light at the end of the tunnel (hopefully not an oncoming train). Hopefully all the off the field rubbish will be settled soon and we can get down to the football (I think we sometimes forget what its really about.)

[Magicme]

Mons have the new Regional Development Centre to look forward to bringing even more young players on. This year will see the greatest representation of our underage set up in the Senior squad with young lads aged from 17 up showing that the development model works.

Future is looking bright up here!

[blackholesun]

Survival of the fittest ... Shels have been on life support for years and its about time things caught up with them ...

Re players going away, most of them were not great anyway, only 2 or 3 genuine losses to the league, loads of opps now for young players to come through at several clubs which can only be a good thing.

The reality is that the league is in the best shape its been in decades, but the press spin is that its on its last legs.

Rovers announced a 25000 profit last season over the weekend, did it get much publicity? NO, cause negative news sells ...

bhs

[Lim till i die]

This year will see the greatest representation of our underage set up in the Senior squad with young lads aged from 17 up showing that the development model works.

*Cough*We have *Cough* no money *Cough*

Seriously lads this pre-season doesn't exactly bode well for getting the "Barstool Monkeys" (TM Foot.ie) off their stools and into LOI grounds. Why if I didn't know better I'd swear the league was a shambles

[Magicme]

For us the young local lads are the key to getting the monkeys off those stools and onto the ones in our fine Bagster Lounge at half time!!!

Yeah we have not got a lot of money for our senior team, but thats because we look to the future and have a long term sustainable plan to ensure that football will always be alive in Monaghan.

[BohsPartisan]

Have you still got Edward Keyes?

[Magicme]

No....he's gone!

More of our squad will be announced today

[BohDiddley]

Plenty of clubs are doing quite nicely thank-you.

Athlone is buzzing.

Limerick looks like it may have finally got things sorted.

Wexford are joining the fold.

Dundalk - for all their complaining - have made great strides.

Bohs are looking to the future with a ground move.

Galway have great things planned apparently.

Drogheda have the new stadium in the pipe-line.

Finn Harps likewise.

Bray have made major improvements.

Oh - and at Rovers - it's onwards and upwards.

This list could go on forever.

So apart from cheating Shels - everything is fine. Couldn't be better.

Does that answer your question?

Press please copy.
That post should be made a sticky.
In addition...

• more television coverage promised
• more, and better informed, press coverage (especially in redtops)
• more money for promotion
• better regulation (we hope)
• league as a career option for players, with education deals, no longer bypassed en route to England
• better integration with schoolboy system
• growing disenchantment with corporate football/EPL/G14

[gufct]

Things are on the up on Corribside not alone back in the Premier but we have a full time Professional set up on and off the field, 500 season tickets sold including 25 Gold at €1,500 5 weeks befor kickoff and planning permission before the end of the week for a new 1,500 seater stand with work to begin immediately and a finish date for the end of June this year.

Shels problems have been flagged for years here its just everyone including the press were afraid to tackle ollie. As for the cream of the league leaving id hardly call Trevor Molloy,Paul Keegan ,Sean Dillon,Robbie Doyle and Danny Murphy that.

As for the others at least clubs are getting semi-decent fees for them and I think any players heading over from now on will not go on the cheap/

[Dodge]

As for the cream of the league leaving id hardly call Trevor Molloy,Paul Keegan ,Sean Dillon,Robbie Doyle and Danny Murphy that.

Dillon was, without doubt, one of the players of last season. Superb central defender. I agree with your point in genereal but wouldn't have used those examples.

[stickyjoe]

Some good things happening alright but the most disappointing thing for me is the attendances, the matches I seen in Dublin throughout last season for the most part were absolutely pathetic.

I`m not sure there was even more then 5,000 at an FAI Semi between Pats and Rovers. And thats not to single out them clubs as I seen attendences at Shels, UCD and Bohs that all appeared to me to only have a few hundred at them.

[dcfcsteve]

The future for the EL isn't actually all that bad. The standard of play is decent and continually improving, faciltiies are slowly but surely getting better, there is more money in the league, and European performances are unlikely to go back to the level they were at only a few seasons ago any time soon.

However - do we have the ability to take a step-up to the next level ? To attract bigger crowds - even 5,000 at an average game would be a greatv start ! The answer to this is, I fear, no. Without some sort of step change in the image and publicity fro our league, I can't see how we can capitalise on all the good work and get substantially more people into our grounds any time soon.

Consistently good European results will help - but can anyone see thousands of new flans flocking to see Longford v UCD (no offense guys !) or any otehr league game, even if we were clocking-up results against decent European competition ?

The key to breaking this cycle is, I believe, the FAI. Something substantially different needs to be done in promoting our league. An all-island league might be the answer here. But we have never seen our national association (you know - the one's who say 'we care about Irish football...' ) make even a half-arsed attempt at promoting our league. I can't help but belive that if they introduced a well-thought out promotional campaign - including making best use of the 60,000-odd captive audience they will have at Croke Park 8 times a year - that within 2 season we would start to see the results at the turnstiles.

Sadly - there is more chance of Ian Paisley being made Pope than the FAI making an effort to promote domestic football.....

[DiscoPants]

The future.....

We realise that selling your best players is just a fact of life for clubs in smaller leagues. A proper transfer market dvelops between Ireland and Britain, wherby we realise substantial transfer fees for our best players.

In order for this to happen clubs have show a bit more savvy in their contractual dealings with players, ie increasingly try to tie them down to long-term deals (not as easy as it sounds). Cork City have already sold Bennett for €380k and all clubs should use this as a benchmark in future deals.

Money is no good if it is not invested properly, though. Clubs need to rethink their wages policies (hopefully the salary cap will take care of this) and stop being so short-sighted by throwing money at players in the hope of instant success.

Any money from future transfers needs to be invested in PROPER youth structures and the development of academies in conjunction with the FAI. Young players will see the Eircom League as a viable alternative to the traditional path of leaving for Britain at 15.

We develop our own top quality players, and sell them if the need arises. Its a tried and tested formula and perhaps this is where the future of the league lies.

Then again.....