I agree, i think theres a greater chance of more genuine fans attending with the block booking scheme. If there was a general sale, the touts would get a ****load of the tickets. They get enough as it is. Im holding off on judgement until wed night when i hope the atmosphere will be much better.
A more inspiring performance would help too.
You weren't in 501 by any chance?Originally Posted by eirebhoy
The atmosphere was brutal alright.
A handful of Welsh fans making more noise than 70,000 Ireland fans.
Hopefully we'll do a better job of it on Wednesday.
The football just doesn't inspire passion though.
Have Boot Disk, will travel
I heard that the takeup of Premium tickets (i.e. 10-year GAA ticket holders who have the option to buy their seats for other games/events) was something like 85% for the rugby but only 35% for the Wales game. And it's only likely to get worse. Even packaging it with Germany, a series of bad results would probably lead to people skipping the Cyprus game as a protest or simply through lack of interest.
I thought the atmosphere at the start of the game was much better than people are giving credit for. Certainly I've never heard the anthem sung as loudly at a GAA game. This team just doesn't inspire enthusiasm, wherever the game is played. It's not completely a glory-hunting thing either, even allowing for the fact that we have (almost) no realistic hope of qualifying, an actual decent performance, playing proper, exciting football even for a brief spell would help to get the crowd on their side.
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I didn't boo Robbie Keane but I certainly shouted at him to get off the field.
When you're being replaced and there's a young fella on the sideline, waiting to come in, the least you can do is make an effort to get off the pitch. Especially when you've been rubbish!
Have Boot Disk, will travel
Too many people more interested more interested in a public crucifixion than supporting their country. The amount of arseholes around me who hadnt a clue about soccer was amazing.
Whats the story with flags i had 3 but wasnt allowed hang them not by the stewards but by some Gaa head and i wasnt covering any advertising hoarding with them.
rubbish is being extremely harsh and blinkered. he played his socks off, set up our goal and set up duff for our other great chance. the problem is that his role is unclear and he needs someone up beside him. he has to keep going looking for the ball. would have been far more effective with doyle beside him
his booking was also a joke.
people who booed our top scorer ever should be ashamed of themselves. its this kind of carry on that is actually helping make things worse rather than better as it is affecting the teams confidence.
our two best performances this campaign (germany and chech rep) were given when the crowd was 100% behind the team
I heard 93% for rugby and 40-45% for football for the premium tickets. However remember these are owned by GAA fans. Even those with no interest in rugby would presumably buy them for friends or sell them for a substantial profit. A mate of mine got offered the football ones from a colleague on the basis of the 4 games so maybe the FAI sold them that way. From what I could see the premium seats seemed pretty full. I know another friend managed to get 2 as his block booking from the FAI.
I thought the atmosphere was poor all the time. The anthem was sung with a lot more passion at big games in Lansdowne. Obviously a 3pm saturday kickoff didn't help and eveningg ames will be better but I think it was down to the performance and previous ones. The Welsh fans weren't that impressive either although much better than us. Still they were probably shocked by their performance too.
Definitely agree with that.
I was in the upper hogan and it was terrible, I was banging the bodhran constantly to no avail. It seemed the Lower Canal was the best for trying to get things going. We are able to swap our tickets for the Lower Canal for Wednesday so that where I'll be going.]
The Welsh fans were quiet as away fans go, if we had been playing an eastern european team or something we would have been put to shame on Saturday.
<insert witty remark>
People around me in the lower Hogan gave him a standing ovation. The Sunday times said he was excellent.
I would never boo our own players. I didn't think he had a good game. I think he is not a captain. I think he is trying far too hard and trying to do things he can't do very well.
But even the pubs didn't seem to have any buzz at all it seemed like a friendly we were playing . Now in the clear light of day no doubt with 67,000 32,000 were people were were not the regulars I seen people dressed like they were going to a night club and not a match . I was in the lower canel end saw loads of EL tops these lads seemed to get behind the lads . Now when stand up for the boys in green came round a few times as always I was one of the first up and if any sunshine boys told me to sit down I would have had a few things to say that's for sure .
Yeah, Richard Dunne would be a far more suitable candidate for captain.
I never said that Keane didn't try but he wasn't impressive. He hasn't had a good game for Ireland in long time.
Have Boot Disk, will travel
The whole day was just completely bizarre. The stadium itself looks really nice you as approach it. However, we had to enter the davin end via a narrow old gate before the turnstiles. The view from block 320 was ok, it was very difficult to follow what was going on down the far end of the ground. Wouldnt class the stadium as world class.
The atmostphere was just pathetic. I expected a cauldron of nosie. The little noise that was made just went up and out of the place. At Lansdowne the old stands kept it in. For what its worth I think the lansdowne fans have now been diluted with a ridiculous amount of daytrippers. The man beside me from the north didnt have a notion what was going on on. I commented on our lack of width in the first half and he looked at me like I had 40 heads.
The whole day from the fans view was summarised with that mexican wave. As that wave went around the ground, we were being pinned back on the edge our box and under the cosh big time. Most of our fans there really didnt have a clue what was going on.
Lets hope 20,000 or so of the day trippers stay away on wed and the 50,000 there can create and atmosphere. On a side note, the corporate people obviously didnt fancy the fixture, there were rows of seats free in the centre block of the stand to our right in the upper tier.
I don't go for booing, but its impossible to create an atmosphere when the performance is that poor.
I am of the opinion people came into the ground full of expectation but the tripe that was on show knocked the stuffing out of everyone fairly quickly (which was actually not dissimilar to the 1st half of the rugby against France).
Also the combination of the band and the schoolboys in the Davin/Cusack corner with their constant Mexican wave generation actually worked against the atmosphere.
I don't see how anyone can defend the performance on Saturday, as opposed to the result.
Under lights on Weds will be better as long as the team put on a better show, but to blame the atmosphere on the ground, in any way, is frankly ridiculous. Lansdowne would've been an equally quiet venue on Saturday had we played so poorly (San Marino at home anyone?!).
The rugby against England showed that Croker is well capable of being very very loud.
I have never booed Ireland or Galway United and never will ,as I see myself as a Soccer fan now I can see why poeple do when your team has put in a shocker but i feel that it will not make me feel any better or the players .
I was one of those screaming abuse at O' Shea eveerytime he gave the ball away. I don't pay €50 for a ticket and not do what I want to do. I can say what the fuuk I like.
Someone told me to "sit the **** down" while getting ****ed off by that ****!n donkey. If he said that again I would have told him to f off.
I chose the atmosphere when I heard the team, I knew the team was just an anti-climax, we weren't ever going to play well with the way they were set up.
However, I wouldn't boo some player off the pitch or shout abuse at someone like Kilbane who you know is always trying his best.
ANd don't bother paying attention to any wankker that tells you to sit down especially when you are "standing up for the boys in green", you know they're not real fans!
San Marino are going to be a handful as the group goes on." - Steve Staunton reacts to performance against San Marino.
Owls Fan, I thought the overall support was quite good until it became apparent that there was nothing more to get excited about. The canal end made a very good attempt to generate an atmosphere but as always, what happens on the pitch is what gets a crowd alive, or at least sustains it, not the other way around. The lack of any real critical context for the game was a factor too.
I was at both the rugby matces at Croker. Whilst the England game made the hairs on the back of one's neck stand up, France was nothing special. We were losing for a lot of the game and many just sat and watched. At the end I heard loads of "only a game" nonsense that made me livid.
As for the negativity - that's the Irish for you. At football they always know best, always need to be having a pop at someone. They're never happy. God knows there's not much to cheer about the current set up (a string of promising kids coming through excepted) but many attendees are just cranks who don't know the game well & who'd be complaining no matter what was happening.
The whole day was just a big let down. The level of noise was pathetic. The welsh fans were so far away from the davin lower you could barely see them.
Also the lack of banners at the game was unreal. I know one person put a banner about stan and bouncebackability in the upper davin was told to remove it "or lose it" by a steward. My brother was sitting i row 2 of the block and he told me.
Also alot the the regular banners were no where to be seen. (Chelsea irish were there, west landan!!) It can only get better on wednesday night, cant it?
Posted this on the other thread (merge them?):
I thought the overall support was quite good until it became apparent that there was nothing more to get excited about. The canal end made a very good attempt to generate an atmosphere but as always, what happens on the pitch is what gets a crowd alive, or at least sustains it, not the other way around. The lack of any real critical context for the game was a factor too.
I was at both the rugby matches at Croker. Whilst the England game made the hairs on the back of one's neck stand up, France was nothing special. We were losing for a lot of the game and many just sat and watched. At the end I heard loads of "only a game" nonsense that made me livid.
As for the negativity - that's the Irish for you. At football they always know best, always need to be having a pop at someone. They're never happy. God knows there's not much to cheer about the current set up (a string of promising kids coming through excepted) but many attendees are just cranks who don't know the game well & who'd be complaining no matter what was happening.
Upper tier isn't corporates - the empty section was likely to be some screw-up on the ticket distribution.
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