Roddy on Off the Ball (Newstalk) last week

**paudie** · 16/04/2008, 1:00 PM

Quote from passinginterest on the MNS thread.
He said the same on Newstalk last Thursday night. Didn't have a positive think to say. Meant to start a thread about it then. He said he didn't think the league had improved at all, in terms of skill, in the last 5 to 10 years.

Don't think it's the kind of thing to be saying, when you're basically supposed to be promoting the league.

didn't hear it last week but if people did hear and disagree (I presume thats most people here) they should email the show offtheball@newstalk.ie with reasoned arguments (I suppose personal abuse will be ignored) to contradict Roddy (eg players in current Irish squad who came from EL etc)

TBH McDevitt has no interest in the EL and couldn't be bothered arguing with Roddy since he's so damn entertaining

.
However if a good few people emailed them I'd say they might put those points to him tommorrow night. It would also let them know EL fans do listen to the show and might encourage them to have more EL coverage.

**Jerry The Saint** · 16/04/2008, 2:28 PM

Originally Posted by paudie

TBH McDevitt has no interest in the EL and couldn't be bothered arguing with Roddy since he's so damn entertaining

.
However if a good few people emailed them I'd say they might put those points to him tommorrow night. It would also let them know EL fans do listen to the show and might encourage them to have more EL coverage.

McDevitt sneered at the very thought of players in our own league being considered for a 40-man Ireland squad - "Ah no, they didn't ask the obligatory eircom league question, did they???". As if the very question itself offended him for being such a waste of time. Feck's sake, it's a question, what's wrong with putting it out there? At least it was better than the "Will you miss your dog?" line of questioning that they usually ask on their Football Show.

If anyone does email them - try not to sound crazy

. You know they will lap up any crazy-sounding emails they get and ignore the sensible, thoughtful messages.

**Seagull** · 16/04/2008, 2:43 PM

Poll on RTE's MNS page http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/mns/index.html

Roddy Collins believes there are no players in the eircom League good enough for the Republic of Ireland squad. Do you agree?

Go and vote, don't forget the 'return to poll' button!

**Jerry The Saint** · 16/04/2008, 2:50 PM

Originally Posted by Seagull

Poll on RTE's MNS page http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/mns/index.html

Roddy Collins believes there are no players in the eircom League good enough for the Republic of Ireland squad. Do you agree?

Go and vote, don't forget the 'return to poll' button!

13% in agreement with The Rod - that's his highest ever approval rating

**Kingdom** · 16/04/2008, 3:08 PM

Originally Posted by Seagull

Poll on RTE's MNS page http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/mns/index.html

Roddy Collins believes there are no players in the eircom League good enough for the Republic of Ireland squad. Do you agree?

Go and vote, don't forget the 'return to poll' button!

Ha well spotted. Abuse it and pass it on!

**paudie** · 16/04/2008, 5:05 PM

Originally Posted by Seagull

Poll on RTE's MNS page http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/mns/index.html

Roddy Collins believes there are no players in the eircom League good enough for the Republic of Ireland squad. Do you agree?
Go and vote, don't forget the 'return to poll' button!

Shouldn't go on one performance but Fahey's play last night was brilliant, except for his shooting

Overrall you'd have to say there probably aren't any players in the league up to international standard but for Roddy to say the league hasn't improved in 5 to 10 years is obviously rubbish.

**Schumi** · 16/04/2008, 6:27 PM

Originally Posted by Seagull

Poll on RTE's MNS page http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/mns/index.html

Roddy Collins believes there are no players in the eircom League good enough for the Republic of Ireland squad. Do you agree?

Go and vote, don't forget the 'return to poll' button!

I never listen to Roddy Collins! 78%

**Shedender81** · 17/04/2008, 9:04 AM

Name one player

**gustavo** · 17/04/2008, 9:06 AM

Keith Foy

**pete** · 17/04/2008, 9:09 AM

Originally Posted by Schumi

I never listen to Roddy Collins! 78%

Exactly.

There big difference between saying the league hasn't improve in the last 5-10 years (the last time Roddy competed) & saying no International quality players.

For regular 22 man International qualifier squad there is LOI player near good enough. I think the best few LOI players would struggle with the extra pace & physicality.

**SunderlandBohs** · 17/04/2008, 11:05 AM

It's typical Roddy. Causing a stir on the radio. If everyone was saying the league hadn't improved Roddy would say it has!

**Jofspring** · 17/04/2008, 11:44 AM

Originally Posted by SunderlandBohs

It's typical Roddy. Causing a stir on the radio. If everyone was saying the league hadn't improved Roddy would say it has!

very true

**Ronnie** · 17/04/2008, 3:10 PM

For once I kinda of agree with Roddy. In the last ten years what has happened is that a lot of clubs are gone full time and this has improved the fitness levels and the quality of those who have gone full time. But, basically its the same standard of player. There are only isolated examples where we have attracted in a higher standard of player into our league, because we've gone full time, than we were able to attract in before, when part time was the norm.

**Jerry The Saint** · 17/04/2008, 3:27 PM

Originally Posted by Ronnie

For once I kinda of agree with Roddy. In the last ten years what has happened is that a lot of clubs are gone full time and this has improved the fitness levels and the quality of those who have gone full time. But, basically its the same standard of player. There are only isolated examples where we have attracted in a higher standard of player into our league, because we've gone full time, than we were able to attract in before, when part time was the norm.

Don't forget the economic state of English football. Premier League youth setups now scour the globe for promising youngsters, as well as paying top price for any half-decent player from outside these islands. English players are getting squeezed out, so the days of their clubs developing Irish talent when we couldn't/wouldn't do it ourselves are gone. Also the downturn in lower league football across the water following the ITV Digital collapse has meant a lot of players that would have stayed overseas coming back. The isolated examples you mention are the high-profile ones but I think there's been a more quiet revolution that we will hopefully see the benefit of for a long time to come as fewer players go over to England in the first place and those that do go, wait longer and gain valuable experience here before they make the move.

**paudie** · 17/04/2008, 4:57 PM

Originally Posted by Ronnie

For once I kinda of agree with Roddy. In the last ten years what has happened is that a lot of clubs are gone full time and this has improved the fitness levels and the quality of those who have gone full time. But, basically its the same standard of player. There are only isolated examples where we have attracted in a higher standard of player into our league, because we've gone full time, than we were able to attract in before, when part time was the norm.

Five of the 40 man Ireland Prelim squad were signed from EL clubs (Doyle, Long, Murphy, O'Donovan, Hoolahan).

Surely this is an indication that the standard of the league has improved skill wise as well as fitness wise.

**Pablo Escobar** · 17/04/2008, 5:07 PM

Originally Posted by paudie

Shouldn't go on one performance but Fahey's play last night was brilliant, except for his shooting

Overrall you'd have to say there probably aren't any players in the league up to international standard but for Roddy to say the league hasn't improved in 5 to 10 years is obviously rubbish.

I disagree. How come O'Cearuill was deemed good enough before he'd even played a senior game, but now he's playing constantly and you get feeling he wasn't even considered. That's only one example. Healy and Gamble are IMO better than some of the 'talent' being brought into the international setup from UK clubs.

**paudie** · 18/04/2008, 8:38 AM

Originally Posted by Pablo Escobar

I disagree. How come O'Cearuill was deemed good enough before he'd even played a senior game, but now he's playing constantly and you get feeling he wasn't even considered. That's only one example. Healy and Gamble are IMO better than some of the 'talent' being brought into the international setup from UK clubs.

Was O'Cearuill in the squad after the US trip that Joe went on? Surely that jolly can be ignored if you're being realistic.

TBH I think the pace of the international game would be too much for Joe. Colin is a solid strong midfielder but I don't think he's up to international standard. It's all a matter of opinion obviously.

Plus neither of them ever ever ever score, which is a particular bugbear of mine. 3 league goals between them in over 120 games

**paudie** · 18/04/2008, 8:44 AM

Listened to Newstalk last night and they started the EL preview by reading an email from someone giving out about the negative coverage in Independent Group newspapers of the minor incidents before the pats linfield game.

Just shows that by getting contacting the programme during the week fans can "set the agenda" if you like.

Daniel McDonnell sounded pretty apologetic about the whole but said he didn't have the final word on what went in the paper and the photos of the blood covered fan were too much of an attraction to be left out. Pretty honest of him overrall.

That moved on to a discussion on an AIL in which O'Donnell said that the most important thing was to get it right from the start especially from a security and stadium development point of view. He said it would be better to take time and get the setup right from day 1.
AIL more or less inevitable but more in the medium term.

**thischarmingman** · 18/04/2008, 11:23 AM

Originally Posted by paudie

That moved on to a discussion on an AIL in which O'Donnell said that the most important thing was to get it right from the start especially from a security and stadium development point of view. He said it would be better to take time and get the setup right from day 1.
AIL more or less inevitable but more in the medium term.

Surely he's dead right- the most important thing is to get the security right. And judging by events outside certain grounds in the league recently, that's not hapepinig at all. It's great that we have a league where fans can mingle quite freely, but that's bound to have change if we get Ian AIL or once we reach a certain level of support. Security is something clubs find hard to get right because most of the time there isn't much of a threat.

I mean, our fans were handed free razor blades as part of a Gillette promotion going into Belfield a year or so ago. Can you imagine that happening in any other league?

**micls** · 18/04/2008, 11:27 AM

Originally Posted by thischarmingman

I mean, our fans were handed free razor blades as part of a Gillette promotion going into Belfield a year or so ago. Can you imagine that happening in any other league?

We got them in Sligo last year too. And by the end of the 4-1 drubbing they were lucky we werent using them....