League of Ireland Football - Why don't you attend?

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The_Banker

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Everyday day over the last 6 months we have heard about the financial trouble faced by League of Ireland football clubs.
Dublin City and Kilkenny City have gone to the wall and a host of other clubs are in severe financial difficulty. These include Galway United, Waterford United, Cobh Ramblers, Sligo Rovers, Shelbourne and indeed my own club Cork City is now facing into the abyss of extinction.
There are all sorts of reasons for the financial failure of Irish clubs but ultimately it leads back to the lack of crowds at games.
People support GAA, Rugby and the Irish National soccer team in vast numbers but for some reason the crowds are just not there for League of Ireland football.
More Irish people support English Soccer Clubs and spent fortunes going for weekend soccer breaks to the likes of Old Trafford and Anfield yet cheer when the English National side is beaten.

Therefore, this question is aimed at sports followers on ABM. Why do you not support the LOI clubs? If the authorities that be understood why the Irish people are not supporting Irish domestic football then maybe they could do something about it.
 
I support an english club side and don't watch loI soccer. I don't think the standard would bother me all that much cause i enjoy watching junior soccer, 6 aside anything but to support a LoI side I think it would have to be from my local area or at least away from the city. I think a few more rural clubs like a Clare/Tipp team would capture the imagination and take away the perception that it is basically a Dublin league.
 
That perception would be incorrect - only 4 of the 12 Premier Division and 2 of the 10 First Division clubs are Dublin based. Admittedly there are indeed large tracts of the country not represented in the eircom League at the moment.
 
I was involved for a number of years with a LOI side on the administration end. While I am not in touch with current practices, based on my past experiences I would count the following as some of the reasons LOI football is not supported:

1. Lack of glamour
2. Lack of publicity
3. Lack of professional standards in administration.
4. Lack of facilities

Running a LOI club is like any other business. If one had to present a business plan to a bank, they would ensure that all the building blocks were in place. Few LOI clubs would tick all the boxes required to convince the bank that their "business" will be a success.

The OP says lack of crowds are ultimately the reason for financial failure of clubs. I disagree. Most successful football clubs do not rely on "gate money" as the mainstay for financing themselves.
 
I'm a Corkman living in Carlow who used to live in London and now lives in Carlow

Growing up I went to Ramblers or Flower Lodge on occassions, but living 20 miles from the city with a Dad who was not into soccer it was difficult

When I moved to Dublin I used to go to UCD on occassions, if the weather was good. Frankly the old Belfield was a a dump and was not an attraction for anyone to go and watch a game. Not sure what the new one is like

I don't go now as there are no clubs to go to in the Carlow region, simple as that. In addition, if you go outside the top clubs in the Premier division, from what I've seen of kildare and Wexford Ys, the standard is pretty poor, so why pay good money to stand in the rain watching bad football for clubs I have no affinitiy for or ties to.

However I am going to London on Sept 20th to watch a game. C'mon Leyton Orient !!!!!!!!!!!

And before anyone asks, that comes from living for 10 years within half a mile of the ground.
 
I don't follow English football, but have been drawn into Monday night football on RTE(atleast until the rugby season starts). Which I think will do great things for the game.
 
Welfarite said:
I was involved for a number of years with a LOI side on the administration end. While I am not in touch with current practices, based on my past experiences I would count the following as some of the reasons LOI football is not supported:

1. Lack of glamour
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Bohs have had the News of The World dancers on the pitch at half time a few times this season in case that piques your interest - or anything else belonging to you! :D
Running a LOI club is like any other business. If one had to present a business plan to a bank, they would ensure that all the building blocks were in place. Few LOI clubs would tick all the boxes required to convince the bank that their "business" will be a success.
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Mick Wallace (of Wallace Construction and Wexford Youths) spoke a lot of sense on Newstalk last night in saying that eircom League clubs really should have business plans, non football revenue streams and a budget making sure that they live within their means.
The OP says lack of crowds are ultimately the reason for financial failure of clubs. I disagree. Most successful football clubs do not rely on "gate money" as the mainstay for financing themselves.
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Exactly.
 
ClubMan said:
That perception would be incorrect - only 4 of the 12 Premier Division and 2 of the 10 First Division clubs are Dublin based. Admittedly there are indeed large tracts of the country not represented in the eircom League at the moment.
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I realise that and it more than likely has come from the success of the Dublin teams aswell. I do think people want to support locally and it is nice to go watch a match in the flesh and can be great for kids too but the biggest stumbling block i would see is lending support to your nearest team as they would most likely be a rival in another sport.
 
MrMan said:
I realise that and it more than likely has come from the success of the Dublin teams aswell. I do think people want to support locally and it is nice to go watch a match in the flesh and can be great for kids too but the biggest stumbling block i would see is lending support to your nearest team as they would most likely be a rival in another sport.
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What about Limerick 37 or FC? (don't know if they dropped the 37 yet!)
 
MrMan said:
I realise that and it more than likely has come from the success of the Dublin teams aswell.
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None of the major competitions last year were won by Dublin teams:

eircom League Premier Division Championship (Drogs), First Division Championship (Cobh), FAI Cup (Cork), FAI League Cup (Derry), Setanta Cup (Drogs)
 
I go to the occasional LOI game. There are many reasons why a lot of people don’t. Game needs reform along the following lines:

1. The FAI lacks professional organisation. Their officials may be full time and well paid, but as far as organisational ability goes, they lack a lot. The league has a very amateurism feel from an organisational point of view and could benefit from expertise from outside the FAI.

2. Standard of players. Apparently the top clubs in LOI pay their players c.100-150k per annum. This equates to 200-250k per annum when you take into account that the income is tax free. There are a lot of Eastern European, Scandinavian and African full International players who would bite you hand off for this level of wage. How many of the Belgian players we saw playing Liverpool last night would be on this pay? Team managers need to consider whether or not they are getting good value for money for their wages. I’m not saying Irish players should all be replaced (on the contrary – see point 3), but if you are going to pay these wages, get the right players.

3. Many clubs are in a boom bust cycle. They spend crazy money trying to win league, get promoted, qualify for Europe etc. and if the plan fails and sometimes when it doesn’t, they end up going bust. Teams would be better spending a more affordable amount of money and getting more value for their spend. Investing a lower amount in top quality coaching to develop local talent and spending the wage budget more wisely (see 2 above) would get better results long term.

4. The fixtures are very very repetitive. Same small number of clubs playing same fixtures. Too many extra competitions i.e. Leinster senior cup, league cup etc. LOI would be better having just 1 division of 16-18 clubs with home and away fixtures. I understand why there is all this talk about trying to reduce the number in the top flight & have a higher standard of play, but there is a limit to what you can do with a small league. Playing the same teams week in week out is incestuous and doesn’t improve standards.

5. They need to seriously consider advocating an All-Ireland league to build up a bigger critical mass.

6. The teams need to identify more with their local area. I get the impression that a lot of LOI clubs are sort of detached from their potential fan base.
 
They are still 37 alright but I'm not from Limerick so tis hard to pick up some interest. i think when its more of a local thing you have a better chance of encouraging friends to go aswell and once you get a band of supporters going it would make for a good night out. To be honest I'd feel like a blow in at a Lim 37 game, I know that sounds stupid considering I follow a brit team, but thats kind of instilled in us from a young age.
 
I was allways a Utd fan and never had a local LoI side, being from Wexford and all. When we were kids we tried to have an intrest in Wateford Utd & Bray, we even we to see Kilkenny City a few times, which was tough for yella bellies but thats how desperate we were.
I moved back last summer after 11yrs abroad and while i had heard about the Wexford Youthsi didnt give it a whole lot of tought. I did planon going to a few games but i've enjoyed it so much ive now been at most home games and find myself more concerened about how they're getting on than Utd! Were 2nd last in div1 but loving every minute of it. I think the youths thing is unique though, what with it being local and amateur. Were in the league cup final now and i cant wait for it.

As for the standard of football ppl keep complaining about, rubbish. You'll see as entetaining football as 90% of the trash in the premiership in your local jnr league. I was planning on making my first trip to Old Trafford this season but now i dont think ill bother.
 
ClubMan said:
None of the major competitions last year were won by Dublin teams:

eircom League Premier Division Championship (Drogs), First Division Championship (Cobh), FAI Cup (Cork), FAI League Cup (Derry), Setanta Cup (Drogs)
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Ok then traditionally sucessful, say to random punter 'name 3 LoI teams', pats, bohs and shamrock rovers will feature in most answers.
 
MrMan said:
Ok then traditionally sucessful, say to random punter 'name 3 LoI teams', pats, bohs and shamrock rovers will feature in most answers.
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Just to clarify - I don't disagree with you on the perception front. I'm just trying to balance some of the perceptions with actual facts.
 
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