Sometimes
we League of Ireland supporters feel the most set-upon group of fans. Where
other organisations seem to have their branding spanking new house in order, we’re
out with the Polyfilla frantically covering over the cracks. This point was
rammed home by Pat Dolan on MNS with a scathing attack on the League. Love him
or hate him the man makes a good argument. None more so then the shameful fact
the Aviva Stadium sold out in a matter of minutes for the upcoming Celtic v
Liverpool match.
Sorry but that’s a
kick in the stones with a steel toecap. A full force smack in the face for
League of Ireland football. We defend it as much we can. Point at the
barstoolers and beat our chest in pride or kiss the crest to spite them, but
the battle seems futile. We are a group of several thousand defending our
clubs, our league whilst all around nobody cares.
Does a Kilkenny hurling
fan give a toss about a club from Buckley Park who cease to exist after 40 odd
years for a paltry €45,000? Why should he?
Does
a devout Deise GAA supporter care that Waterford United almost went to the wall
this week? No.
Does
any of our hardcore Republic fans lose sleep over the fact we are one of the
best supported football nations yet shockingly neglected by the same people
when it comes to our national league?
I’ve
talked to people from England who just doesn’t believe me! I unfortunately had
to drive the point home by bringing them to a Waterford United game recently,
watched by less than 500. Even they were scratching their heads. Sure the standard
of football wasn’t great, but it was the summer..it was a fine stadium and it
was €10.
2013
represented the first time since 1997 that no League of Ireland side has won a
game in Europe. That statistic is worrying.
Yes
opposition was hard, but hey guess what? Bar a few lucky dip draws against
smaller nations we will always be up against it in Europe. Now it seems the
event of summer soccer (which in fairness did help at first) coupled with poor
crowds, and stadia being neglected along with a return of our inferior complex
seems to have pushed us, and more importantly or co-efficiency ranking back
(currently 33)
We
always had morale victories back in the day. The close but no cigar to lament
about. For Dundalk v Celtic in ’79 see Bohemians v Rangers in ’84. Derry City
got through some rounds to face Paris St Germain. Drogheda almost ousted Dynamo
Kiev. Shelbourne tried the impossible against Deportivo.
But
there were beatings. Plenty of them.
Finn
Harps, Dundalk, Athlone Town all took hammerings abroad. Ditto Waterford and
Shamrock Rovers.
Football
in the country can only really exist on a part-time basis. Feet on the ground,
staring at the sky. Thinking big, however grandiose, has led to the downfall of
many League of Ireland teams. But how we’ve got ourselves in a situation of a
club almost going to the wall every other year is totally insane. There surely
can’t be a league existing anywhere in Europe with the same amount of teams
that have almost gone to the wall in recent times?
It
reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of ‘Oh No!’ Cork City reforming with FORAS. The
Candystripes of Derry. Finn Harps needing 50K to survive. Continuing money
problems at Dalymount. Athlone Town, Drogheda, Limerick, Shelbourne and now
Waterford.
That’s
not counting Kilkenny City, St Francis, Sporting Fingal, Kildare County, Galway
United and Monaghan who have gone to the wall.
That’s
not a history lesson for the ages....That’s the last f***** five years!
Dolan
is right when he says we’ve got no plan...no industry and (for those outside
our small confines) no self-respect.
We
have thousands who flock to a foreign side in Glasgow, playing in effectively a
one-team league which many see as sub-standard, not only by European but
British standards.
Even
Celtic’s biggest rivals don’t even play in the same Division. Happy slugging it
out with the might of East Stirling and Alloa Athletic.
BUT......The
Scottish League is, per head of population, one of the best supported Leagues
in Europe!
So
what in the name of Christ as our Caledonian friends doing right that we do
wrong?
What do we
do to change it? Ask Mr Delaney? A radical overhaul of the system has been long
overdue. 16 team league or not it needs to be part-time so we can work within
our confines. 35 years ago we had journeymen coming to the league for a big pay
packet and a piss-take. George Best, Bobby Charlton, Geoff Hurst. For Banks see
Brooking.
A
telling quote Finbar Flood gave in JFTF was;
“I remember before the
Deportivo match, chatting to Ollie about the prize-money for getting to the Champions’
League group stages. We thought it was £10 million, which we’d get pretty
quick. Ollie said we’d need 3 players extra to compete. I asked how much that
would cost, Ollie said ‘About £25 million” That’s great I said. We qualify for
£10 million and spend £25 mill!”
Yes
we can laugh about it. It never would have happened, but it was sad to see a
club like Shels’ who represented us so well, fall to its knees in 2007 – a
handful of years later. What should have set them up to dominate for the ages
became their undoing.
I
know many Bohemians fans whose lifelong support of their club has seen them
through good and bad, but nothing as to the despair of this season. Nothing.
Commendable
as it was to have Kildare County and Kilkenny City give LOI a shot it was as
sad and possibly predictable to seem their demise.
In
Kildare’s case the fans had to club together the money just so the team could
play it’s final ever game at Station Road (a 5-1 defeat to Shelbourne) after
the management had all resigned and walked away. Can you imagine the
humiliation for their poor fans?
We
got a long awaited glimpse of light with Rovers in the Europa League. Like Pat
Dolan, love the Hoops or hate them, it gave us something to shut the
barstoolers up.
Favourite
moment of their campaign? Rovers fans singing ‘Does your TV know you’re here?”
to Tottenham Hotspur fans.
A
rage against the dying of a light moment – probably.
Funny
– undoubtively!
Alas
there seems no back-up plan. No look at the manual for Plan B. We just go on as
we do. Clicking the turnstile, buying the programme, supporting a half-time
draw or maybe a cup of tea.
At
very least it still ours and for as long as we really really want it, it should
always be.
“Our Greatest glory consists not in never falling, but in
rising every time we fall”
Confucius
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