What were the attendances like for the Irish games in the Unity Cup thingy at the Valley?
What were the attendances like for the Irish games in the Unity Cup thingy at the Valley?
On the way into the stadium, an elderly San Marino Steward waved us in and said "Tonight, may the best team win"
And they nearly did.
very very poor....
'How can I hate women, my Mums one!!!' Chris Finch
that is actually a fair point. london would traditionally have been a host to many thousands of irish immigrants but nowadays it would be very few annually making the move. london is also a city which is so cosmopolitan that 2g's and 3g's would not be as inclined to go to a game featuring the national team as the 2g's and 3g's of Glasgow would.
Yeah, shocking, about 5-7,000 max.
The Valley is an awkward ground to get to but even still it was embarrassing. Fair enough if fans wouldn't want to travel from at home, especially as there was a game in Amsterdam days later, but there is such a large young Irish population in the greater London area.
In a way it was lucky though that my rugby supporting mates didn't attend. The standard was woeful apart from a few good Nigerian players, Martins being one I think.
Figured as much. I'd assume the respective associations would have thought that Ireland & Jamaica in London would have been a nice little earner after costs.
The only way to get a decent crowd to Croatia V Ireland outside Dublin (or , admittedly, maybe Glasgow) would be to hold it in Sydney. In a small capacity ground. And give free beer.
On the way into the stadium, an elderly San Marino Steward waved us in and said "Tonight, may the best team win"
And they nearly did.
I really don't get why the FAI wouldn't organize this fixture to be played away, considering how bad we are away from home, and not least the bleedin Croats are neighbours of Montenegro.
Really why do we always seem to have 4 friendlies at home for every friendly we have away? I know the dosh it creates, but surely we might just pick up a bit of experience from playing in the East. And particularly considering the choice is between a neutral ground and Croatia![]()
San Marino are going to be a handful as the group goes on." - Steve Staunton reacts to performance against San Marino.
Most countries get very poor attendances for friendlies. Unlike us fools who fork out our well earned cash as part of a package. No other countries fans would put up with that. So maybe it suits these countries to play us away and take a nice appearance fee above and beyond what they would take in home gate receipts and tv revenue.
I think there'd be more interest in this friendly than the tournamant Ireland played in London. That came at the end of a season and it was generally thought that the players wouldnt be too bothered and the standard would not be good (these assumptions were correct)
This friendly is coming in the middle of a season and will be the second game of the new managers' reign (presumably) which will surely generate more interest.
I agree that we should be looking to play away games in eastern europe though. These are the banana skin fixtures that Ireland need win to be able to qualify.
Scotland will face Croatia in a friendly at Hampden Park on 26 March, the Scottish FA has confirmed.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...ls/7199882.stm
They'd be as well to play Macedonia, Bosnia or Albania away at this stage. Horrible places to go to (in terms of getting a result) and good prep for the likes of Georgia and Montenegro.
Bookmarks