Discuss, more thinking about the last 20 years
Positive, most Irish players (with a few notable exceptions) wouldn't have been good enough to play in the top leagues of Spain, Italy and Germany and been as successful as they have been over in the overhyped Premiership. Had the Premiership not been up to scratch they would have been flundering in a poor English division, a poor Eircom League or at a poor Celtic side
a more pressing matter might be whether it has been a positive influence on the next 20 years. having crippled the eircom league, english football now appears happy to discard irish players should they not match the best of the world's youths at former hotspots like arsenal's youth system.
Speaking of the premiership. I wonder how the Irish lads will get on at City with Eriksson likely to take over. I can't see Ireland nailing down a permanent spot tbh..
I think I should the parachute, because I'm great.
In fact, I think I should get both parachutes, in case one doesn't work.
It worries me the way so few of our players actually get out of the Premiership i.e. onto Continental Europe. Take a look at the Denmark and Czech team. Players in leagues all over Europe and i think this is a very positive thing for an international team
Very true, however Irish soccer partially has itself to blame for that and your history does shape your future.Originally Posted by GavinZac
I think that has a lot to do with the fact that Ireland and England have a very similar culture and share the same language, often Irish players come over and feel very settled
I'd love to see some Irish players playing on the continent irrespective of the fact that they generally don't prosper there.
It could give the squad variety and European experience.
I think I should the parachute, because I'm great.
In fact, I think I should get both parachutes, in case one doesn't work.
Undoubtedly positive. If it wasnt for our proximity to England we would be nowhere near the level we are. A country with 3-4 million people where football is not the no.1 sport would normally be nowhere near qualifying for tournaments.
Denmark has a pop of over 5 million and Czechs have 10 million people. Football is the number one sport in both. Unless you really think we are 'better' at sport the main thing we have over other countries is a close neighbour who has historically been happy to import our players.
Crippled the eircom league? Hardly the fault of the Premiership. If they fault lies anywhere, it is with SKY, or closer to home with lazy "fans" who cant be bothered to go to a game, because it "isnt real football" or, because of the lack of efforts by some clubs to market themselves, people are not really too attracted to eircom league. Also, in a period where eircom league teams' European results are stronger than ever before, leading some to compare the eircom league favourably to the Championship, it is hard to say that it has been "crippled".
And English football has always been happy to discard any footballer, Irish or otherwise, who don't make the grade. The same thing happens at every club in the world, as they try to stay competitive.
postive. i dont think its so important now that irish lads get to play in the european leagues with the number of foreign managers and coaches in england. i think the premier league is the strongest in europe and suits the "irish" players natural strengths.
i cannot agree that the premiership is the strongest league in europe but i do think it has given great experience to the irish players who are good enough to make the grade there.
Was he crazy!! Yeah , in a very special way , an Irishman.
I slept, and dreamed that life was Beauty;
I woke, and found that life was Duty.
I would agree. I cant say that weaker european countries with a strong neighbouring league would generally have the would have the same links.
To be fair, a lot of the better players from the Danish/Belgian/Swiss/Austrian leagues will make their way to the French/German/Dutch league.
There isnt the same concentration of players from one specific country to another specific league as there is Irish players to the premiership, but I dare say that has more to do with simple distance, and similarity language, as anything else.
English football or SKy hasn't crippled soccer in Ireland. It's historic going back to the ban on foreign sports and the hold the GAA, especially in rural Ireland, had on sport. The GAA was also going to be the No 1 sport after independence and it saw off soccer and still does.
Thanks heavens for English soccer for those of us who loved the game. I followed Rovers for years but going to half empty Dalymount to see Rovers play Bohs or Milltown behind the goal with a couple of thousand others was never going to compete with the huge crowds at big games which we could watch on Match of the Day and the Big Match. Soccer was emasculated by the GAA except in certain working class areas in Dublin and Cork and has never been able to catch up and never will.
Our top players then had no choice. Go to the Uk to progress or stagnate. Luckily the former was the option.
Forget about the performance or entertainment. It's only the result that matters.
[QUOTE=OwlsFan;711541]English football or SKy hasn't crippled soccer in Ireland. It's historic going back to the ban on foreign sports and the hold the GAA, especially in rural Ireland, had on sport. The GAA was also going to be the No 1 sport after independence and it saw off soccer and still does.
Can some one remind me when the ban was lifted, over 40 years ago and we are still blaming it. Rugby was also a "foreign" game least we forget. Did we take FULL advantage of the Euro 88 and Italia 90 positive fallout. In hindsight, we didnt even touch the edges of what was a wonderful opportunity, especially as the GAA was particularly weak during that period and only saved by the famous and amazing Dublin/Meath replays. However, back to topic the premiership was/is a good thing for the Irish team, exposure to a high level of coaching that is available at most clubs can only be good.
I think it's a bit of a double edged sword. As the Premiership has progressed from a renamed Division One to the massive money making machine it is today, the top Irish footballers (Duff, both Keanes, Given, etc) have all benefited from both playing top class opposition and being given access to international standards of training. On the other hand, less talented players who may have still played in the old Division One have found themselves discarded at a much earlier age in a results driven business.
In a technical sense it has benefitted Irish players. Overall our current crop are far better technically than the players we churned out 20-30 years ago even if when all their qualities as footballers are considered in an overall sense, they possibly aren't as good.
On the whole I'm not sure it makes much of a difference to the Ireland team. While it means we no longer have the luxury of having 5 or 6 of our starting line up playing for the top teams in England I think that the imporvement in quality on the whole means that many of the players in mid-table teams (Duff, Doyle, Given) are just as good as some of the Irish players that played regularly for the Liverpool, Arsenal, Everton and United (they weren't great anyway until the Premiership kicked off) teams of yesteryear.
What it does mean though is that we have a smaller selection pool of players playing at the top level in England to choose from but I'd argue that the top Championship clubs these days are just as good, if not better, than the poorer Division 1 clubs 20 years ago considering all the foreign imports into that league also and the resulting improvements in quality.
Last edited by youngirish; 26/06/2007 at 9:29 AM.
i'm not "blaming" the premiership for it, but the undeniable truth is that since the 70s the main obstacle to irish football has been english football. all im saying is that where once irish players had a great opportunity to be part of one of football's best leagues, now very few make it and are in competition with players from all over the world. the national team has relied upon english clubs to train and educate its best players, and if that ever stops, or "slows down", can the national team rely on the national league with its, frankly, pathetic infrastructure?
The atmosphere is pretty good at some EL games...why do you need a load of other people there to enjoy a game? The league is totally different now than it was back when you were going to milltown.... you should go to a few games now before commenting.
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