Conroy Report

GoneToShowgies wrote: pre Madonna wrote: gufct wrote: Instead of actually looking at real change where the league would be marketed and financed properly the Fai decide to change the deckchairs on the titanic. 10 team premier didn't work before Won't work now.  We have teams already spending crazy money to ensure survival or of whom Bray has probably the smallest support in the league . The last 2 reports that the fai have published have done nothing bar saying that JD and the fai are brilliant in the way they administer the league and it's all the clubs and supporters fault that the league is struggling. Another person saying that without explaining why, saying it doesn't make it so. It is very much moving the deckchairs on Titanic, but there is far more logic to having a ten team league.   Maybe the question should be: It if was working the first time, why did they change back? Probably cause because it didn't work. In fairness PM it's pretty obvious I would have thought. Off the top of my head ... teams spending more to stay in top division, more games against the same teams becomes boring, smaller geographical spread can happen.   As I said before - it's change for change sake. It's the FAI looking like they are mixing it up and changing things around. But in reality this option costs them nothing to implement and that's why it gets the nod imo. They need to look forward and be progressive, not look back and repeat a ditched model.

Haven't posted on here in forever but just heard the news that they plan to relegate 1/4 of the premier league next season. Seems daft to me.

corkery wrote: Ten teams isn't good. Lack of variety.

Totally agree. The fact it's been tried before and failed speaks volumes. Relegating a quarter of the league is farcical. If they were insisting on bringing it to ten then it should have been done over two seasons.

The number of teams doesn't matter! Corkery, we have been on busses together, what difference will a change really make? You avoid Longford instead of Ballybofey(or, right now, very much vice versa) problems are deeper. Leave the best teams at the top

Bitored wrote: Drumcondra 69er wrote: corkery wrote: Ten teams isn't good. Lack of variety. <br abp="786"><br abp="787">Totally agree. The fact it's been tried before and failed speaks volumes. Relegating a quarter of the league is farcical. If they were insisting on bringing it to ten then it should have been done over two seasons. <div abp="788">How would you do that? Go to 11 and then 10?<div abp="788"> <div abp="788">As with everything in the league the FAI did nothing as they couldn't care less.<div abp="788"> <div abp="788">The PCA went to them with the 10 team idea. The FAI said grand lads do whatever you want, we`ll put a spin on it that makes it look like its our revolutionary idea.<div abp="788"> <div abp="788">"Following a proposal from the Premier Clubs Alliance (PCA), the Board of the Football Association of Ireland ratified the change of format for the 2018 campaign."<div abp="788">https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2016/1222/840733-league-of-ireland-to-switch-to-ten-team-format/

Yeah, if they had to do it then relegate 2 teams this season, play one season with 11 and relegate 2 again. Relegating a quarter of the league is laughable. Even when the premier league in England went from 22 teams to 20 they didn't cut by 2 teams in a single season.

If it was down to me I'd have one national league with 2 regional leagues underneath at the top of a pyramid system like practically every other country in Europe. Even the IFA have a pyramid in place. Make it so it's worthwhile for clubs like Sherrif in the non league system to aspire to be part of it as opposed to the current situation where it suits them better to stay where they are.

Bitored wrote: Drumcondra 69er wrote: Bitored wrote: Drumcondra 69er wrote: corkery wrote: Ten teams isn't good. Lack of variety. <br abp="786"><br abp="787">Totally agree. The fact it's been tried before and failed speaks volumes. Relegating a quarter of the league is farcical. If they were insisting on bringing it to ten then it should have been done over two seasons. <br abp="786"><div abp="788">How would you do that? Go to 11 and then 10?<div abp="788"> <div abp="788">As with everything in the league the FAI did nothing as they couldn't care less.<div abp="788"> <div abp="788">The PCA went to them with the 10 team idea. The FAI said grand lads do whatever you want, we`ll put a spin on it that makes it look like its our revolutionary idea.<div abp="788"> <div abp="788"><em abp="787">"<strong abp="788">Following a proposal from the Premier Clubs Alliance (PCA), the Board of the Football Association of Ireland ratified the change of format for the 2018 campaign."<div abp="788">https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2016/1222/840733-league-of-ireland-to-switch-to-ten-team-format/<br abp="790"><br abp="791"> <br abp="792"><br abp="793">Yeah, if they had to do it then relegate 2 teams this season, play one season with 11 and relegate 2 again. Relegating a quarter of the league is laughable. Even when the premier league in England went from 22 teams to 20 they didn't cut by 2 teams in a single season. <br abp="794"><br abp="795">If it was down to me I'd have one national league with 2 regional leagues underneath at the top of a pyramid system like practically every other country in Europe. Even the IFA have a pyramid in place. Make it so it's worthwhile for clubs like Sherrif in the non league system to aspire to be part of it as opposed to the current situation where it suits them better to stay where they are. <div abp="796"><div abp="797">That would be worse. You`d have one team with no game every game night. It would have to be an even league. Relegating 3 is undoubtedly the best way to do it.<div abp="798"> <div abp="799">There are currently 6 Dublin clubs in the league. The quota is filled. Sherrif would also have zero interest in being in the league. Nothing stopping them partnering with a LOI club and contributing that way.<div abp="800"> <div abp="800"> <div abp="801"> For what its worth my ideal league structure (as its always how these threads go) would be:<div abp="801">10 team PD<div abp="801">2 Regionalised FD <div abp="801">4-5 intermediate sub leagues (Dublin*, Roughly leinster , Connaught with Donegal and a bit of Leinster, Midlands, South)<div abp="801"> <div abp="801">*Max 6 Dublin clubs. If a new one wants to join they play off with the lowest place Dublin club in the league.<div abp="801"> <div abp="801">That would make the FD the head of the junior game and mean a team could happily compete there without any need to have aspirations of playing PD football but still contribute heavily to young player development. Leave PD football for teams with excellent grounds who can get 4 figure attendances on a regular basis.

Each team would miss one gameweek in every ten for one season, hardly as big an issue as you suggest. Teams often have blank weeks these days whether it's due to their scheduled opposition being involved in Europe or later rounds of the cups, it's not a big deal.

I was only using Sherrif as an example of a strong non league club, I agree that they have no interest in joining the loi, that was my point. There's plenty of non league clubs out there across the country that are run better than a lot of loi clubs for whom the current set up isn't attractive, I think making it more attractive would be beneficial in the long run. I agree the amount of Dublin clubs would need to be managed somehow.

Playing the same 9 teams 4 times a season plus possible cup games against the same opposition has been tried and doesn't work, it's ludicrous to keep flipping the same failed formats back and forth and to expect a different outcome.   

Drumcondra 69er wrote:   Each team would miss one gameweek in every ten for one season, hardly as big an issue as you suggest. Teams often have blank weeks these days whether it's due to their scheduled opposition being involved in Europe or later rounds of the cups, it's not a big deal. I was only using Sherrif as an example of a strong non league club, I agree that they have no interest in joining the loi, that was my point. There's plenty of non league clubs out there across the country that are run better than a lot of loi clubs for whom the current set up isn't attractive, I think making it more attractive would be beneficial in the long run. I agree the amount of Dublin clubs would need to be managed somehow. Playing the same 9 teams 4 times a season plus possible cup games against the same opposition has been tried and doesn't work, it's ludicrous to keep flipping the same failed formats back and forth and to expect a different outcome.

Edited by Bitored - 23 Dec 2016 at 12:02am

Will a 10 team league be better? Probably not. Will it be worse. Again probably not.

Yes but it would mean people actually working together and far less power for the old gits in blazers. We must have the oldest management board in the world where you have to die before your replaced.