Streaming to Screaming...

Firstly I’d like to apologise to all the holidaymakers who came into Keely’s Bar Lanzarote to watch the recent LOI matches which we are usually in a position to stream.  Unfortunately due to an “upgrading” of  the 1XBet.com site these matches were not available.

The F.A.I sold the rights of LOI matches last year to this site.  I believe each club received the paltry sum of €15,000 from this sale.  I stand to be corrected on this.....  I would like to know what is going on?  Why are we now 3 games into the season and not in a position to watch a streamed LOI game.

To compound this problem we now have Soccer Republic reduced to 25 minutes showing only the goals and with no discussion on any of the games.  Again the 1^st division is totally ignored.  The FAI continue to dumb down our League.  The launch was kept as a secret and now it appears that it wants to keep the LOI matches a secret too.

It is time for the F.A.I. to do the honest thing and let people who want to run a vibrant league run it.  This death by a 1000 cuts cannot be allowed to continue.

The season so far has not gone to plan, with the big Two  – Dundalk and Cork struggling a little bit.  The surprise packet ; Bohs, with  9 points out of  9 are the early pacesetters. I believe it will settle down in the next few weeks and I hope Dundalk’s efforts will not be hampered by Management by Committee.

Speaking about different Management structures, what about the manic performance of Chelsea’s Management staff and the Chelsea goalkeeper.  Nobody seemed to know what they were doing..... I have never in all my life witnessed a player refusing to come off.  I watched it and smiled at how different the game is now. God be with the days when players had respect for and fear of the manager!  I’m afraid had it been me the keeper would be in hospital and I would have been arrested for putting him there!

My Reaction    -     KEPA   I'm going to F...ing KILL YOU

To end on a positive note League attendance went from 43,256 for first 3 games in 2018 to 50,576 in 2019. This is due solely to the League Clubs marketing themselves.  Imagine how good it would be if the people running the League did the same thing.

A few days after the Best League in the World kicked off I have to say first what a great feeling it was to be alive to watch a LOI match on TV. The match itself and the coverage of it was top class so too the amount of time given the game and LOI in general.
This should be the standard that we teddy to achieve each week. Why can we not have Friday night soccer every Friday of the season? What are the obstacles to one game a week being televised. Surely the FAI can negotiate a deal with RTE to promote our League. The game itself was a great advertisement for the league, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Dundalk against a surprisingly resilient Sligo Rovers. Not what I expected from a team managed by Liam Buckley.
Despite the veil of secrecy thrown over the opening of the 2 league's the attendances were really good. I think there is a feeling that this year the duopolyj of Cork/Dundalk will end. Supporters of St. Pat's, Rovers, Waterford all feel they have a chance this year. This is good for the league and for supporters starved of success in recent years. Let's hope they are right. A truly competitive league it's what we all want.
Just a mention about the poor performance of the Referee. While nobody wants to see players sent off or booked unnecessarily rules are rules. How the keeper did not get a yellow card is beyond compression and two other Sligo Rovers were lucky to stay on the pitch.

2019 League of Ireland Season                       

Hello again to all my football friends and foes in the League of Ireland Family.  I have not spoken to you for 18 months. I may not have voiced my views but I have been following the LOI assiduously.

As we have just had the “Launch” of the new season I thought it might be nice to comment on the said “Launch”......

How can you launch a League competition for 2 divisions by starting one on the 15^th and the second tier of the same League on the 22^nd.  Surely the 1^st Division is discriminated against enough without further insult by starting it a week later. Where is the marketing for the 2 Leagues???

Is the FAI trying to keep our Leagues a secret.  This is just a further indictment of the FAI and it shows how little they think of Irish Football.  The Status quo remains we have a governing body that shows no interest in promoting a League they are running, a League where the only chance of surviving it to qualify for Europe because there is no real sponsorship or real prize money.

Every season it seems that some team gets into trouble.  We have a licensing system that is supposed to ensure that clubs are fit for purpose. How could Bray Wanderers possibly get licensed last year when even Stevie Wonder could see that a huge increase in wages and no increase in income had to fail.

I Love the “Problem Child” that is our League.  Like most problems it can only be solved if there is a will to solve them.  This desire has never been shown by the people who “Run” our League and nothing looks like changing.  But as person who loves the League and the League of Ireland fans I cannot wait for the League to start again.  It has been sadly missed by myself and my LOI family.  I know we are a niche market but that too can be promoted.  It can be turned from a negative to a positive if the will is there – unfortunately it is not.

I have to comment on the decision of the Competition Director Fran Gavin to announce plans for a competition between League Winners North and South but forgot to tell their Northern counterparts about it. If it wasn’t so crazy it would be funny.

I will be posting a weekly blog and hope you will read and comment as we go forward in the season