The_Banker
Registered User
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YesIs this a separate development from the debate going on about players from NI being allowed declare for ROI?
Can't think of any. A few Welsh teams play in the English league but I doubt if the Welsh FA have any control there.Anyone know if such a cross-border arrangment (the league set-up, I mean) exists anywhere in Europe?
Is this a separate development from the debate going on about players from NI being allowed declare for ROI? I heard something about the NI Minister for Sport saying such a thing could lead to an all-Unionist team in NI.
I think so
Anyone know if such a cross-border arrangment (the league set-up, I mean) exists anywhere in Europe?
Is this a separate development from the debate going on about players from NI being allowed declare for ROI? I heard something about the NI Minister for Sport saying such a thing could lead to an all-Unionist team in NI.
Is this a new debate? I thought FIFA sorted this out for us last year. They allowed a young lad from the north (Darron Gibson) declare for us even though his parents/grandparents were not born in the Republic.
They then stated it was not to happen anymore. A player, a parent or grandparent must be born in the country.
Setanta Cup results
Ah come on... the whole concept of the idea is to merge and make club football in Ireland better than what it is at present. Lets not start fighting before it even gets off the ground.An All-Ireland league is a good thing - if done properly should be a stronger league that either the Eircom or IFA leagues.
My big concern would be that it is done correctly and that the FAI does not get a bad deal in the interested of "North South Cooperation". The reality is that the Eircom League is ON AVERAGE a higher standard of football than the IFA league. This is essentially because the FAI part of the island has 3 times the population of the IFA part. If done correctly, then each division should have 3 times as many FAI teams as IFA teams e.g. a 20 team Premier Division would have 15 FAI and 5 IFA teams. Problem is that the northerners will look for what they see as an equal merger with IFA teams getting half the spots in the top division. In their ignorance, they will claim that both leagues are on a par with one another, even though Euro results, Setanta Cup results and player movements (Eircom rejects/retirees who venture north of the border seem to be among the better players up there) say otherwise. The FAI are notoriously bad at getting a good deal, so chances are that the IFA will dig in over the equal no. of teams issue with Eircom League teams losing out. Any new league should be on the basis that entry into it is on merit, not politics.
I think it's mere kite flying from the interested parties (a couple of LOI clubs and Belfast's big two as well as some interested business parties).
If the "merger" were to go ahead with the agreement and support of the FAI and IFA , then the calls to merge both international sides would be so strong as to kill any interest from the IFA.
A breakaway by the clubs from their domestic organisations would doom the thing from the start as they'd never be allowed into UEFA competitions. UEFA's big fear is European breakaway league led by the G14 which would kill their cashcow the Champions League. Any such Irish breakaway competition could be used as a precedent by Europe's bigger clubs.
I'd love an All Ireland league but I think there's a lot of work to be done before it happens. It's the one thing that could really rejuvenate domestic football and be a massive boost to football on this island.
A better and simpler solution to an All-Ireland league would be for the Eircom League to accept applications and admit a couple of clubs in Belfast and a couple more elsewhere in the north. Would effectively relegate the IFA league to the status of the e.g Leinster Senior League.
Thinking out loud, a lot of the northern clubs have a secterian following. If the above was done, the newly admited clubs could all be newly founded clubs without the secterian baggage that cross the community divide e.g. "Belfast United". I accept that existing supporters of northern teams may not jump on board and would not be happy, but you have to take the long term view. The All-Ireland league would be much better and youngsters in the north in future generations will invariably support the higher profile league.
Remember that when the League of Ireland was originally founded, the clubs participating were in competition with the Leinster and Munster Senior Leagues and many of the original LoI teams were newly founded in competition against more established better supported LSL & MSL teams. Eventually the higher profile LoI won out.
Monaco in the French League.Anyone know if such a cross-border arrangment (the league set-up, I mean) exists anywhere in Europe?
A better and simpler solution to an All-Ireland league would be for the Eircom League to accept applications and admit a couple of clubs in Belfast and a couple more elsewhere in the north. Would effectively relegate the IFA league to the status of the e.g Leinster Senior League.
Thinking out loud, a lot of the northern clubs have a secterian following. If the above was done, the newly admited clubs could all be newly founded clubs without the secterian baggage that cross the community divide e.g. "Belfast United". I accept that existing supporters of northern teams may not jump on board and would not be happy, but you have to take the long term view. The All-Ireland league would be much better and youngsters in the north in future generations will invariably support the higher profile league.
Remember that when the League of Ireland was originally founded, the clubs participating were in competition with the Leinster and Munster Senior Leagues and many of the original LoI teams were newly founded in competition against more established better supported LSL & MSL teams. Eventually the higher profile LoI won out.
To be honest what you are suggesting will never happen. This will only work if clubs like Glentoran, Linfield and Portadown and there fans support it. There can never be one island league without the support of these clubs. The southern clubs and northern clubs will have to come into this on equal terms and to be honest if any of there supporters read your comments I wouldn't be surprised if they were offended.
As for sectarian trouble? The Setanta Cup has been run for the last few years with Protestant clubs going to the Brandywell and Derry City going to Winsor Park without issue.
I know Cork City fans have gone to Belfast and been given a warm welcome on The Shankill Road.
I would be interested to know the opinions of any Irish League supporter from Northern ireland who might post on this site?
Do they actually let the Peelers into Brandywell these days or is matchday security still contracted out to, er, "local community activists"?There will always be a big police presence around these matches but they generally pass off fairly well.
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