SHAMROCK ROVERS COULD potentially have two teams in next seasonโs Airtricity League.
According to reports in this morningโs Irish Independent, the Hoops are in discussions with the FAI about the possibility of entering a reserve side in the First Division.
With Mervue United and Salthill Devon being replaced by Galway Football Club, there will be a vacant space in the second tier for 2014.
While a club spokesperson has told TheScore that they not in the position to comment on the matter, it is believed that an agreement is close to being finalised.
So, do you think the move would be good for the Airtricity League?
Poll Results:
No (958)
Yes (534)
Unsure (424)
Give us your thoughts in the comments section below
So next year, teams in both divisions will have their stadiums wrecked
The league below the Premier needs to be regionalsed like they have in the Spanish 3rd tier(Segunda B).Over there they have 4 groups of 20 teams with the top team in each group gaining promotion.Now im not saying there should be 4 groups of 20 because obviously we havent got that amount,but if they did 2 or 3 of groups of 10 teams then invite some team like for example,Sheriff YC,Crumlin,Castlebar,Tralee etc etc into these groups then have a northern,southern and Leinster sections.Id be up for the idea of a โBโ team being put in aswell if that is possible,but not just one clubs B team but every clubs..B teams are seen in the German,Dutch and Spanish leagues to name a few and it is succesful over in them countries.It helps develop the players. The FAI are clearly just trying to make up the numbers here rather than sort out the real problem in our league.
Thereโs plenty of patriots in Ireland who spend their life following an English team ( me included ) maybe itโs about time we support out own league. The standards would improve if everyone supported local teams. To be fair epl has a lot of money but unless u support certain teams you have no chance of winning any thing
Would be nice to see a Mayo based team given the vacant slot or any other county that isnโt currently involved at that level.
Thereโs good local leagues in North Tipp. Be nice to see a team make it through from there too.
How about clubbing together a team from the elite performance thing and putting them in? Get them some experience.
Schoolboy clubs would likely go ape though.
Our league isnt as poor as most people make it out to be. The downfall to our league is only the stadia, lack of support and quality of pitches โ which have improved massively.
The top 5 teams in our league play great football, anyone that says our league is boring or lacks quality knows absolutely nothing. Pats vs Sligo rovers is a game that comes to mind from this season, it was a great advert for the league. It had everything from great passing, wonder goals, crunching tackles and the result ultimately decided who won the league. I traveled down from Derry just to watch it.
I see no problem with rovers having a B-team, it would strengthen the championship.
One thing Iโd like to see would be that every team invests in an astroturf surface like dundalk. The modern astro surfaces are great and have a significantly lower risk of injury than the older synthetic pitches.
The LOI should mimic the GAA and have one team per county & 2 Big Dublin clubs, which encapsulates the whole county rater than a town/city.
Its crazy for a medium European size city like Dublin having 5 teams, the league will never prosper in Europe with these small parochial clubs.
Look at the sponsorship Dublin GAA got from AIG & vodafone before, while the LOI Dublin clubs are counting loose change to survive.
2 BIG Dublin clubs is var more viable financially (a rangers & celtic if u like). Galway saw sense, either merge or create 2 new BIG Dublin clubs.
100% agree. The problem is the rivalries are too strong now so the Dublin teams will be unwilling to merge with eachother. Its a shame really, typical of Irish sport though unwilling to let things go in order to improve everything. Same has to be said for the Northern Irish teams, they are too proud to agree to an all-ireland league which would undoubtedly improve the football on this island.
No astro turf pitches do not work and cost more to keep also have to be relayed every 4-5 years at great cost. Dundalk pitch is in worse condition then most 5 a-side pitches as the canโt afford to keep the club running let a lot the pitch and the fact we play a summer league thereโs no needโฆ
This GAA idea wonโt work as most countyโs have had teams in the league and have failed due to lack of crowds Kilkenny Kildare and Monaghan are 3 that pop to mind,
As for 2 dublin teams out of all the teams playin in the league premier and 1st division only 1 Dublin teams average attendance was in the bottom 3rd that been ucd. Dublin teams bring in the crowds but yet there what people see as a problem when there not.. Dublin is a lot more populated and can facilitate more teams.
3 of the 5 Dublin clubs are fan owned save from extinction would you give up your well earned cash and time to merge with your rival..
I donโt tink people would support st pats rover the saintly hoops or the bohboures of north Dublin..
The issue is not the teams itโs the advertising of the league and the stadiums need an overhaul FAI need to invest there drinking money in there league not delaneys pockets.. His wage for a year would keep one of are teams going for 5 years what dose that say foe the shame organisation that is the FAI
We need another team in the first division. Itโs the only reason I would agree.
the spainish model works pretty well, look at what they produce
The Spanish model where Madrid and barca get about 60 percent or more tv money and the rest are riddled with debt
If a team can afford to put a second team in then I think itโs fine.
But they need to find more teams to play in both divisions and more money needs to be spent on the league. anyone who says the league is shit needs to look through the irish team and see whoโs vibe through the league in the last few years
League of Ireland is awful awful stuff, Iโm NEVER going to one of them matches again
Nobody cares what you think you childish attention seeking gimp !
Yip, spent the last hour trolling. Lacks the ability to comment on anything. Time to ignore the troll.
Why wouldnt they play in the 1st division. Only way to improve the premiere division is to a competitive league for the squad players. Id love to see the bigger clubs 2nd string squads play competitively but maybe regionalised. Only problem i see is financesโฆ
Iโm a Rovers supporter and thatโs not on, look how the โAโ Championship worked out we need to sort this out properly once and for all.
Love them or hate them, they bring the biggest away support in the league, would benefit some hard pressed clubs in the first division.
Happens in other countries so why not, the more teams the better
Or we could change things completely. http://www.sportseconomics.org/2/post/2013/11/a-radical-proposal-for-change-in-the-league-of-ireland.html
Best suggestion yet on how loi could prosper.
Im liking that Declan, that said 2 Big Dublin clubs is the only way forward.
Richie Sadlier article, quote
The changes that might work would require a complete overhaul, the surrendering of power bases and the ending of petty rivalries. A franchised league controlled by the FAI with two clubs in Dublin and another eight to ten in cities and towns across the country could provide something people want to watch. Players could be centrally contracted and transfer fees from sales to foreign clubs would work much as they do in MLS with the money divided between the club and the league itself. Ultimately, the best young players in the country will gravitate towards the academies of these clubs.
http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/domestic-game-faces-overhaul-or-extinction-29507775.html
This article is about getting more teams not less so please stop with the 2 Dublin teams it will never happen.
The previous reply was to Declan Jordans idea to improve the loi and no I dont believe Shamrock Rovers should be allowed a reserve team in 1st div
league of Ireland is poor, no taken away from that
Your grasp of English is poor. There is no taking away from that.
The problem is there are plenty of teams around the country good enough to play in the league but dont enter due to the financial demands such as stadiums etc. If they can do it why not.
Are Shamrock Rovers really able to financially support two teams, I think this more of the living beyond means thatโs been going on in the league. If you cant keep all your players happy than let some of them go. There trying to get away with stockpiling players a la Shelbourne in the ninties/noughties.
Hasnโt happened before has it?
Non-league teams donโt want to enter the league. You canโt blame them the way the FAI are carrying on. Went terrible for Salthill and Mervue. Need the likes of Tralee and Kildare back but something has to be done to incentivise them
Why not there would have to be certain rules , works well in the Netherlands and Spain amongst others