Cliftonville V KAA Gent- Intertoto cup

[SolitudeRed]

Aye 4-0 not exactly a great result then but we should have had a goal from it I felt! couldn't believe it when Francis Murphy hit it straight at the keeper when he was through on goal! then a gent player got sent off near the end for pulling down mark holland when he was through on goal don't know why he did it cos they were already through! Aye their midfielder Adékambi Olufadé scored a cracking goal near the end as well!

suppose it shows the weakness of the Irish League in general! any ideas on how it can improved then?

Wouldn't make much difference, in those 100 years they'll only get to use it a handful of times. Hardly the most prolific of Irish League teams

Aye well that can be said for just about all IL teams about from Linfield Glentoran and the sadly now defunct Belfast Celtic! well Unfortunately not all teams have friends in high places and recieve the lucrative backing of the IFA as a result! Anyways good luck against Elfsborg!

[Steve Bruce]

Aye 4-0 not exactly a great result then but we should have had a goal from it I felt! couldn't believe it when Francis Murphy hit it straight at the keeper when he was through on goal! then a gent player got sent off near the end for pulling down mark holland when he was through on goal don't know why he did it cos they were already through! Aye their midfielder Adékambi Olufadé scored a cracking goal near the end as well!

suppose it shows the weakness of the Irish League in general! any ideas on how it can improved then?



Aye well that can be said for just about all IL teams about from Linfield Glentoran and the sadly now defunct Belfast Celtic! well Unfortunately not all teams have friends in high places and recieve the lucrative backing of the IFA as a result! Anyways good luck against Elfsborg!

Belfast Celtic never played in Europe. They ceased to exist long before the European/UEFA/CUp winners cup where played.

Also I have to say, your response is so predictable their is hardly any point in giving it.

Oh and we don't have any backing, we just have year rental paid to us as per our contractual agreement.

[Graemerz]

JEALOUS!

[OneRedArmy]

How long is Derry City's deal with the Council?

The one where the Council were gifted the land by the Honorable Irish Society in the mid-80's to keep for the sporting good of the people of Derry and have wholeheartedly failed to keep their end of the bargain?

Hopefully that particular deal will end soon and we will be in control of our destiny, otherwise we are in danger of going to the wall permanently.

[SolitudeRed]

Well did Belfast Celtic not win lots of league titles and trophies as well as beat the Scottish national team in an American tour! or are you saying Europe is the true test of a good club? Plus there were European competitions before UEFA etc came along, didn't Glentoran win the Vienna cup in 1914!

Look a lot has been made of this Windsor debacle and It seems to most people apart from Linfield fans that there was something is not quite right with it! For a start one must ask themselves did the IFA forget whose interests they were supposed to be representing when they negotiated this contract as it seems heavily weighted in Linfields favour and almost impossible for the IFA to get out of! and despite claims that it has not been that lucrative for Linfield I find it difficult to believe that they would have accepted such terms if it was going to damage the club financially and overall Linfield has surely benefited from this 'contract' if you would call it that! I'm sure if the IFA was a company out in the real world they wouldn't last very long if they conducted business in such a fashion!

Also for your Information Cliftonville have played made a fair few appearances in Europe in the last 10 or so years, I think we've played in the Intertoto 3 times and the Champions league once about a dozen matches in all. But hopefully this new stand will be built soon and we'll not have to play any more matches at Windsor!

[Steve Bruce]

Well did Belfast Celtic not win lots of league titles and trophies as well as beat the Scottish national team in an American tour! or are you saying Europe is the true test of a good club? Plus there were European competitions before UEFA etc came along, didn't Glentoran win the Vienna cup in 1914!

We where talking about Europe, but domestically they where very close to Linfield in honours. Although they where still behind The Vienna cup was an invitational competition. It's like the Carlsberg Challange a few years back at Windsor with Glentoran, Linfield, Liverpool and Feyenord all in the competition. It's hardly European standard though

Look a lot has been made of this Windsor debacle and It seems to most people apart from Linfield fans that there was something is not quite right with it!

Because Linfield supporters are in a more qualified position to comment on it. I'm a Linfield full member, I get the accounts every year and I can assure you, it is only now that Linfield are getting a wee screw out of the rent we get from internationals

For a start one must ask themselves did the IFA forget whose interests they were supposed to be representing when they negotiated this contract as it seems heavily weighted in Linfields favour and almost impossible for the IFA to get out of!

The government forced the IFAs hand with this. Also ALL clubs had the opportunity to put in a business plan etc to the IFA. No one did apart from Linfield.

and despite claims that it has not been that lucrative for Linfield I find it difficult to believe that they would have accepted such terms if it was going to damage the club financially and overall Linfield has surely benefited from this 'contract' if you would call it that! I'm sure if the IFA was a company out in the real world they wouldn't last very long if they conducted business in such a fashion!

I never said it has damaged Linfield financially. Not in the long term anyway. The short term we have struggled as we had to put 2 million towards the Kop. But now that the international side is doing better and we are getting better tv money and more people watchin in the ground. It is only now that we are seeing the benefits. I know this for a fact as I get the years accounts for Linfield every year.

Also for your Information Cliftonville have played made a fair few appearances in Europe in the last 10 or so years, I think we've played in the Intertoto 3 times and the Champions league once about a dozen matches in all. But hopefully this new stand will be built soon and we'll not have to play any more matches at Windsor!

To be fair, my jibe was more of a joke than a jibe.

Read bold in quote.

[SolitudeRed]

I thought Belfast Celtic had won as many titles (18 or 19 each or something like that) as Linfield at the time of their second and final withdrawal from the league pretty sure I read that somewhere on the net although they could have been wrong!

Aye I accept your point about the rent being paid you are obviously more In the know than I am, but will this effect how much compensation is paid to Linfield if it comes to that? 30 million is a figure being bandided about however this would seem a bit excessive to me!

I did law for a year at university but didn't really like it so quit and decided to change course but if my memory serves me correctly If the terms of the contract are not being fulfilled by one party then the other can ask the courts to rescind the contract meaning that both parties should be put returned to the same situation they are in before the contract was signed! this could be worst case scenario but I can't see the IFA pushing it this far even if they can get a court to agree that Linfield were in breach of contract by not keepinmg the ground in good repair! I'm suprised that the IFA left themselves with so little room to manouvre on this one which is what makes me think that the ones who negotioated and signed it for them must have been wearing Linfield pins on their jackets if you catch my drift!

[Steve Bruce]

I thought Belfast Celtic had won as many titles (18 or 19 each or something like that) as Linfield at the time of their second and final withdrawal from the league pretty sure I read that somewhere on the net although they could have been wrong!

Aye I accept your point about the rent being paid you are obviously more In the know than I am, but will this effect how much compensation is paid to Linfield if it comes to that? 30 million is a figure being bandided about however this would seem a bit excessive to me!

I did law for a year at university but didn't really like it so quit and decided to change course but if my memory serves me correctly If the terms of the contract are not being fulfilled by one party then the other can ask the courts to rescind the contract meaning that both parties should be put returned to the same situation they are in before the contract was signed! this could be worst case scenario but I can't see the IFA pushing it this far even if they can get a court to agree that Linfield were in breach of contract by not keepinmg the ground in good repair! I'm suprised that the IFA left themselves with so little room to manouvre on this one which is what makes me think that the ones who negotioated and signed it for them must have been wearing Linfield pins on their jackets if you catch my drift!

The IFA will get out of the contract any way they can. I do not think they care how they screw Linfield over. They just want out.

[NY Hoop]

Aye 4-0 not exactly a great result then but we should have had a goal from it I felt! couldn't believe it when Francis Murphy hit it straight at the keeper when he was through on goal! then a gent player got sent off near the end for pulling down mark holland when he was through on goal don't know why he did it cos they were already through! Aye their midfielder Adékambi Olufadé scored a cracking goal near the end as well!

suppose it shows the weakness of the Irish League in general! any ideas on how it can improved then?

Get in sync with our season and you'll see a vast improvement. Could have been a different game had Murphy scored alright but Gent were too street wise. Foley took the banter about playing for the minnows well though!

KOH

[SolitudeRed]

Yes I think going to a summer season would be a good start in trying to improve the Irish league, however the problem is this would coincide with the silly season with all the parades however the past few julys have been peaceful so maybe this option could be seriously considered now!

[NY Hoop]

It's a win win situation. Better results in Europe, no more annihilations in the Setanta Cup, better pitches and even a slight increase in crowds here.

KOH

[David]

It's a win win situation. Better results in Europe, no more annihilations in the Setanta Cup, better pitches and even a slight increase in crowds here.

KOH

Suits those at the top and not those at the bootom from what I can see and to me Europe is the only advantage of going to a summer season. Many more disadvantages.

[NY Hoop]

Suits those at the top and not those at the bootom from what I can see and to me Europe is the only advantage of going to a summer season. Many more disadvantages.

Wrong. Those who rail against the summer season were the ones holding the game back here.

KOH

[paudie]

Suits those at the top and not those at the bootom from what I can see and to me Europe is the only advantage of going to a summer season. Many more disadvantages.

I see your point but clubs "at the bottom" (presumably lower half of Prem Div & First Div) don't exactly seem to be thriving at the moment.

In the EL I'd say First Div clubs are now no worse off than they were when we had winter soccer.

[Steve Bruce]

Suits those at the top and not those at the bootom from what I can see and to me Europe is the only advantage of going to a summer season. Many more disadvantages.

David can I ask what the disadvantages are?