What club would you buy?

**dcfcsteve** · 07/09/2007, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by galwayhoop

nonsence. if a move was touted it would be a push for joining the EPL and not an All Ireland League imo!!!

Any talk of Linfield joining the English premiership is laughable. The EPL would never have them - and rightly so.

If they changed leagues, it would be into some sort of all-island structure.

**jebus** · 07/09/2007, 10:07 AM

Originally Posted by micls

We're already bought and according to the new owners those are the plans, as well as building up the 'Rebel Army' brand hugely

Lord almighty would people stop calling their club a brand already!?!?

**Risteard** · 07/09/2007, 12:27 PM

True. If Shels had beaten Deportivo, it wouldn't have added on a 1,000 fans for their league matches imo.

**Dodge** · 07/09/2007, 12:32 PM

it would if they beat them 3 years in a row...

**dcfcsteve** · 07/09/2007, 1:48 PM

Originally Posted by Rogue Trader

Totally pointless thread, a small village team would have no issue filling any ground for Champs league group stage so it would not matter the size of the population as you won't be getting the barstollers back for the league games.

That seems to suggest that Irish football is fecked, will never have decent crowds, and we should all give up ?

The bandwagon obviously rolls out for big games - there isn't a team in the world where this isn't the case. But a conurbation of 20-30,000 people cannot sustain a team at a level where it is competing to a decent level in Europe regularly. A city of 1.5m like Dublin can. And you can be sure that if an Irish team was competing regularly at a high level in Europe it would add to it's ordinary matchday appeal

Just look at Derry City - one good year in Europe and our season ticket sales rocket. That shows you what can be achieved. As I mentioned before, however, it is easier to do it with a team outside Dublin, as those clubs have affinity and a residual appeal within their communities already. Shels didn't add to their gate post-Deportivo, as Shels means nothing to the overwhelming majority of people in Drumcondra, let alone Dublin. The same is not true for provincial clubs. But give Shels a few years of consistently performing at a good level in Europe and they would undouibtedly have picked up some new fans (though again - not at the same rate of conversion as a provincial club).

Hence why I said Dublin clubs offer the greatest potential return on your investment - but also the greatest risk in achieving it.

So population is absoluitely key here - as shown throughout Europe (success and catchment area are very closely linked across all leagues).

**pateen** · 07/09/2007, 1:55 PM

Originally Posted by osarusan

with a decent stadium near the station.

Yeah, loads of room for development there all right

**passerrby** · 07/09/2007, 2:17 PM

if i won billions i would buy tallagh finish the stadia and give it to TD .only joking give it to rovers just to shut them bogballers up

**sonofstan** · 07/09/2007, 2:41 PM

Originally Posted by Vitruvian Man

If any EL club looked like it was getting its act together I'd buy it using proxy agents. I'd pick the dopiest losers to run the club for me and I'd stop any investment into it so it had to keep scratching a miserable existance in its run down stadium in front of a few hundred fans.

Then, when I finally controlled all the clubs. I'd buy a second hand rain jacket and sleep rough long enough until my hair was all straggly and grey. Then I'd just spend my time visiting my clubs at random games and talking gibberish to the locals and otherwise glorying in my very own personal league. And even though those common fans might look down on me I would own those beatches lock stock and barrel.

And install your weird fat English friend as serial 'manager' to run each club into the ground in turn.....

**micls** · 07/09/2007, 3:14 PM

Originally Posted by jebus

Lord almighty would people stop calling their club a brand already!?!?

I'm not, i'm recounting what Aidan Tynan said.To him that's exactly what it is. He is not by any means a football man, he is a business one

**CuanaD** · 07/09/2007, 4:12 PM

Galway - 75k population, 250k overall in the county - good potential fanbase, with no other eL teams to compete against. A fast-growing population. A popular destination, for the away-fans to 'make a weekend of it' - & a popular place, so the bandwaggoners can hop on easily.
A well-recognised name for promoting world-wide - the Galway 'brand name'.

Most of the above also works for Cork - also larger population & the fact that about 40 million americans think their granny came from cork! - but it looks like someone got there before me

**kingdomkerry** · 07/09/2007, 10:50 PM

Id buy Belfast Celtic or whatever is left of them. Get them up and running again, develope a decent stadium. Put them in to the LOI and watch them take off.

**Da Real Rover** · 08/09/2007, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by kingdomkerry

Id buy Belfast Celtic or whatever is left of them. Get them up and running again, develope a decent stadium. Put them in to the LOI and watch them take off.

Good idea, but would they not be competing against Donegal Celtic for their fanbase?? And look at the crowds they get.