Irish UK Club Football Bangwagon Jumpers -Irish Footballs Number 1 enemy

**A face** · 13/04/2007, 12:26 PM

Originally Posted by superfrank

I say fair play to Niall Quinn as a buisnessman, he's been very clever. He's recognised a lot of Irish people like English football so he's trying to develop an Irish brand over there to appeal to these Irish people even more. He can't be blamed for what's wrong with our league. That's ridiculous.

As for the deal with Umbro Ireland, surely the Umbro owners had a say in it too?

Jeeze, i'm suprised to hear you say that Frank

**Rocky** · 13/04/2007, 12:42 PM

Originally Posted by CharlesThompson

This has all the potential of a potatoe eating dwarf signing for Barcelona as their centre forward as it has as being a long term Irish support winner for Sunderland and Niall Quinn. His 'greening' of Sunderland will fall flat on its face when Roy Keane ups sticks and takes over from Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and Terry Butcher takes the reigns at Weirside.

Didn't Leeds have loads of support here a few years back with O'Leary and all the Irish players!? What makes this so much different? The fact the owners are Irish too? I cant see it being successful long term.

**CharlesThompson** · 13/04/2007, 1:01 PM

Originally Posted by Rocky

Didn't Leeds have loads of support here a few years back with O'Leary and all the Irish players!? What makes this so much different? The fact the owners are Irish too? I cant see it being successful long term.

Well I suppose Leeds have historically a reasonable base of Irish fans (I will refuse to call them supporters from here on in), and to be honest if the new David O'Learyites are still around the're very quiet.

No matter what happens, Irish EPL football fans are more likely to be swayed by success than anything else. If and when Sunderland get promoted, I have no doubt they can do 'well', but when it comes to winning trophy's they have an Everest to climb to compete with Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal. The new Sunderland 'fans' will get bored in a few years and Sunderland will become their a team they like and then slink off back to their normality.

**MyTown** · 13/04/2007, 1:10 PM

Originally Posted by Jerry The Saint

No offence, but I'm not surprised the Irish Times ignored your letter. Quinn was actually one of the few supporters of Thurles Town in his youth and travelled all over the country to watch them.

Fair cop JTS. I wasn't aware Quinny had followed Thurles Town around the country, so I definitely stand corrected on that.

However, I stand by the main emphasis of that point, which is that NQ is only ONE of a number of co-owners of Sunderland, and I'm guessing he is the only one who hitched his wagon to an Eircom League team in the past.

**padraicoc** · 13/04/2007, 1:15 PM

Originally Posted by Paraic

Boylesports
again, looks like a smart bit of business, they're not doing it for the Irish market, although, it will undoubtedly have a benefit, Boylesport are looking to make serious inroads in the UK with on-line poker betting etc. And what better way to do it than to with a team who, at the current rate of going will have serious exposure in the coming years. What odds that the shirt deal is performance based? Im not sure how �15m is in comparison to other shirt deals in the Premiership, but it does'nt seem like massive money if it is performance based.

This is smart business, at the end of the day when boyle sports make a profit on their investment in the uk they'll bring that profit home to armagh(UK, but that's a different argument) in Ireland.

(I am assuming boyle sports are from armagh from a post above!)

Originally Posted by Paraic

Umbro
did a quick google and could only see references to Umbor UK in the few press releases that I saw. subject to correction on that one, and I don't know the corporate structure but I couldn't see umbro ireland recoup any significant investment on shirt sales in Ireland unless the deal was funded from the UK parent company.

I assume Umbro Ireland are fully owned by Umbro "global" and that the profits are going there anyways, or a loss would be forked out for by the head office, and the same would happen if UMBRO UK sponsored same, but if umbro Ireland are sponsoring this and make profit in ireland off the back of it then maybe there will be more jobs at umbro ireland, taxes gained and employment gained in ireland etc.

What I am saying is Umbro is umbro don't matter what country they are based in the profits go home...

**superfrank** · 13/04/2007, 3:55 PM

Originally Posted by A face

Jeeze, i'm suprised to hear you say that Frank

I'll take that as a compliment.

**pete** · 13/04/2007, 4:12 PM

Quinn previously tried to arrange flight from Cork-Sunderland but was cancelled due to lack of interest. Of course now they on the brink of promotion might have more interest. I can't wait to see oirish folks with Sunderland jerseys so I can study up on Sunderland & ask them questions about the team of 2005 to which they will clearly be clueless.

I know the bandwagon is nothing new but surely Sunderland really does take the biscuit.

Why was there not the same interest when Mick McCarthy got them promoted on a shoestring budget?

**Tazskool** · 13/04/2007, 4:20 PM

Marketing sums it all up... He is looking for someone close to home and somewhere untouched by Sunderland and using the fact he has Irish sponsors and Irish manager who is world known to bring money into the club by selling merchandise in Ireland..

Its business.. cant knock a guy for wanting to make money and keep the club afloat..

Would you say the same if your teams shirts suddenly were being sold in England and your club had English sponsorship?

**Gareth** · 13/04/2007, 5:08 PM

Irish people supporting English sides is nothing new. Any fans we have are unlikely to move to being Sunderland weekly visitors, and anyone that does go over, well why haven't we attracted them before now. Quinn has the right to do what he wants. He has no reason to promote Irish soccer, and unless he says he cares deeply for it and we can label him a hypocrite etc, then he's just another businessman tapping a market. He just happens to be Irish.

We have to stop this sulking child approach to our game. Niall Quinn wants bums on seats in Sunderland and sees Ireland as a potential market. We have to compete with that, not sulk and go but but but he is Irish, he should invest in our league. He didn't so what are we going to do about it. I know moaning about it wont convert any fans.

**eirebhoy** · 13/04/2007, 5:49 PM

Originally Posted by Steve Bruce

A bit like Celtic then?

Celtic are signing an Aussie in the summer and are all over the MLS looking for players which will mean they'll have a player from every continent in the first team squad. With Nakamura signing they're trying to make as much as possible. They've made a Japanese version of the official site, will play a friendly there every summer and are planning on opening a Celtic shop in Tokyo. Football is a business.

**Niall** · 13/04/2007, 6:50 PM

Look this is embarrissing but we are a re a very insecure nation so we have to deal with this. Bottom line a few years back Peter Reid was touted as the next english manager - and Now ? Keane will go the same way. The fickle Irish obsession with Sunderland will pass and bland normallity will prevail.

**The Man Himself** · 13/04/2007, 7:10 PM

Originally Posted by Steve Bruce

The ambition is to make Sunderland the biggest Irish supported English club.

Whether this happens or not I don't know, but I think that Sunderland will soon be a major player in the Irish Market.

not a hope, united, Liverpool and celtic have the irish market wrapped up,
no room for sunderland here.

**superfrank** · 13/04/2007, 10:02 PM

Originally Posted by pete

Why was there not the same interest when Mick McCarthy got them promoted on a shoestring budget?

Cos he's not Irish-Irish. Niall Quinn and Roy Keane are two local lads.

**Billy Lord** · 13/04/2007, 11:29 PM

The kind of people who are being sucked in by the Sunderland hype will never support an Irish club so they are irrelevant. We need to focus on those who have a slight affinity to local clubs, who might go to the odd game, and make them more open to the notion of coming to games more often.
The LOI has nothing to offer daytrippers, unless they're English football fans on a weekend away looking for a reminder of how it used to be before the plastic seats and plastic people took over and ruined their game.
I've met loads of Brits who think the LOI is great because they can stand at games here and even switch ends at half-time.

**bohsRap** · 14/04/2007, 3:00 AM

Originally Posted by shelbourne1904

I think everyone is missing the point.Niall Quinn is in business so he has to look after his business interests in the UK.

they are spending their money in England on an English club!!!

Like it or not, Niall Quinn is doing a terrible dis-service to LOI and for that he should be ashamed. Everyone is swept up by his idea. No congratulations is due to either Keane nor Quinn as they are both limiting the league's expansion by promoting a british club. If they or the sunderland investors put half the money they are investing, into a Irish club we would see real progress. Makes me sick!

**Gaillimh Al** · 14/04/2007, 7:14 AM

Originally Posted by CharlesThompson

This has all the potential of a potatoe eating dwarf signing for Barcelona as their centre forward

Lionel Messi would have been a dwarf only for they had him on growth hormones at an early age and I'm sure he likes an oul spud.

**Gareth** · 14/04/2007, 8:51 AM

Billy Lord is the only post in the last number that I would agree with. I wish people would stop looking and moaning at this. Negitively rarely attracts fans to games. Niall Quinn and Roy Keane are not ruining Irish football. Will ye listen to yourselves. Its more about us marketing our league cleverly. Maybe we should take a leaf out of their books and implement smart marketing campaigns rather than saying sniff sniff quinny stole our game?

**Soper** · 14/04/2007, 10:38 AM

I cannot see how anyone can be defending Quinn or the 'Drumaville(sp?)' consortium over this. However saying that, Scottish club managers are Irish footballs no.1 enemy at the moment, in my eyes, because they are trying to get players on the cheap. This is far more detrimental to our clubs and league.

This is worse than Lurch, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the others North Eastern play thing.

**bohsRap** · 14/04/2007, 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by Gareth

Billy Lord is the only post in the last number that I would agree with. I wish people would stop looking and moaning at this. Negitively rarely attracts fans to games. Niall Quinn and Roy Keane are not ruining Irish football. Will ye listen to yourselves. Its more about us marketing our league cleverly. Maybe we should take a leaf out of their books and implement smart marketing campaigns rather than saying sniff sniff quinny stole our game?

As Irish people you would think they could show a little interest, in the game the love so much, at home, not just the odd friendly. Instead they are taking fans away from the league with massive marketing that is very hard to compete with when budgets are so small for all LOI clubs.

How do you know they won't ruin Irish football. They'll definetly have a negative impact on the game here, attracting potential customers away from our league!

**osarusan** · 14/04/2007, 3:14 PM

Originally Posted by Billy Lord

The LOI has nothing to offer daytrippers, unless they're English football fans on a weekend away looking for a reminder of how it used to be before the plastic seats and plastic people took over and ruined their game.

How very bitter you must be.