Football

[Eddie]

On 03/03/2025 at 08:36, Gerrumonside ref said:

Surprised no-one has mentioned it, but now that Brighton have found a bit of form they’ll be looking for revenge against Forest for that 7-0 slamming they got at the City Ground not so long ago.  This is assuming Forest don’t get turned over at home to Ipswich tonight.

The first game I can remember watching the whole way through is Man Utd v Brighton in the 83 cup final - would be good to see such a well run club get their reward by winning the cup. 

[JohnM]

55 minutes ago, Eddie said:

That was when you were a proper football club and not a franchise though (sorry )

We have maintained that ability throughout our history righ up to the present day.

[tonyXIII]

On 06/03/2025 at 13:33, JohnM said:

We have maintained that ability throughout our history righ up to the present day.

We have, indeed.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

Crusaders v Linfield on iplayer and bbc sport website tonight, 7.45pm, for those of us who don't have sky for the RL!

[gingerjon]

1 hour ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

Crusaders v Linfield on iplayer and bbc sport website tonight, 7.45pm, for those of us who don't have sky for the RL!

#AnyoneButLinfield 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

25 mins gone and still goalless down Turner's Cross in Cork, both teams pretty equal so far.

Edit. And just about the exact second I submitted this post, Sligo scored..!

Edited March 7 by The Hallucinating Goose

[The Hallucinating Goose]

We had a much better second half, pulled it back to 1-1 pretty quickly then Sligo had a man sent off which meant we got on top of them and managed to get the draw. After the slow start, I'm sure Cork will be happy with the point.

[Gerrumonside ref]

A bad night for Saints everywhere in sport as St Patrick’s Athletic come up short against Shamrock Rovers 1-0 in a Dublin derby watched by a decent crowd.

In a tight game of a few shots on target, Danny Grant made a driving run from halfway beating a couple of men before lashing it in the roof of the net for Rovers winner.

Here’s some 5 minute highlights on YouTube:

 

Edited March 8 by Gerrumonside ref

[Gerrumonside ref]

9 hours ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

We had a much better second half, pulled it back to 1-1 pretty quickly then Sligo had a man sent off which meant we got on top of them and managed to get the draw. After the slow start, I'm sure Cork will be happy with the point.

Here’s the highlights mate:

 

[Father Gascoigne]

Blimey City are rubbish. It's impressive how devoid of creativity they've become. Foden and Bernardo are offering nothing at the moment, at a time when they really should be stepping up. 

They had David Silva, they had Kevin de Bruyne, and they're going to need to find someone of that calibre fast otherwise we're officially moving into the age of Arsenal for the rest of this decade.

Edited March 9 by Father Gascoigne

[gingerjon]

On 08/03/2025 at 07:04, Gerrumonside ref said:

Here’s the highlights mate:

 

They also do a nice wrap up video with just the goals from the round.

One thing I'm noticing is that the crowds are decent. Average still a bit distorted by the game at the Aviva, but the *lowest* so far this year is still over 2,000.

[Gerrumonside ref]

1 hour ago, gingerjon said:

They also do a nice wrap up video with just the goals from the round.

One thing I'm noticing is that the crowds are decent. Average still a bit distorted by the game at the Aviva, but the *lowest* so far this year is still over 2,000.

Thanks mate, I didn’t know - here it is for anyone else interested:

You’re right about the attendances and every game looked packed.

Makes you wonder what the upper limit is for the teams in a clearly growing league.

It’s not like the national team are fuelling the boom either and Irish rugby union/GAA seem as strong as ever.

 

[OriginalMrC]

2 hours ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

Thanks mate, I didn’t know - here it is for anyone else interested:

You’re right about the attendances and every game looked packed.

Makes you wonder what the upper limit is for the teams in a clearly growing league.

It’s not like the national team are fuelling the boom either and Irish rugby union/GAA seem as strong as ever.

 

One word : Brexit 

While not totally down to that it means English clubs can't poach all the best young talent they used to be able to. It means standards have gone up and the football more attractive.

The post Brexit boom in the Irish economy means more disposable income and with the League of Ireland suddenly seen as hip people are going in numbers.

The Northern Irish clubs should have joined an all Ireland League years ago. There's been some growth there too but they are being left behind and will never catch up now.

[Father Gascoigne]

4 hours ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

You’re right about the attendances and every game looked packed.

Makes you wonder what the upper limit is for the teams in a clearly growing league.

It’s not like the national team are fuelling the boom either and Irish rugby union/GAA seem as strong as ever.

 

Not high, no? Everything I've seen on the matter suggests the Premier League monopolises all footballing interest. 

Edited March 9 by Father Gascoigne

[Gerrumonside ref]

4 hours ago, OriginalMrC said:

One word : Brexit 

While not totally down to that it means English clubs can't poach all the best young talent they used to be able to. It means standards have gone up and the football more attractive.

The post Brexit boom in the Irish economy means more disposable income and with the League of Ireland suddenly seen as hip people are going in numbers.

The Northern Irish clubs should have joined an all Ireland League years ago. There's been some growth there too but they are being left behind and will never catch up now.

Good post and it’s definitely building over there.

[Gerrumonside ref]

2 hours ago, Father Gascoigne said:

Not high, no? Everything I've seen on the matter suggests the Premier League monopolises all footballing interest. 

I’m not sure that’s as true as say ten years ago - something is happening over there.

 

[Gerrumonside ref]

Really enjoyed the Spurs-Bournemouth match for it’s attacking football on Sunday whereas the Man Utd-Arsenal game was s hard watch.

 

[gingerjon]

On 09/03/2025 at 10:59, OriginalMrC said:

One word : Brexit 

While not totally down to that it means English clubs can't poach all the best young talent they used to be able to. It means standards have gone up and the football more attractive.

The post Brexit boom in the Irish economy means more disposable income and with the League of Ireland suddenly seen as hip people are going in numbers.

The Northern Irish clubs should have joined an all Ireland League years ago. There's been some growth there too but they are being left behind and will never catch up now.

Brexit doesn't impact Irish people in the UK, though. Your* Irish passport is treated, for ability to work in the UK purposes, as identical to your British one.

Not discounting it entirely - Ireland is doing very well as the English speaking country in the EU - but I'm not 100% sure it's the trigger.

Agree with you about the Northern Irish clubs. It's a real shame there is no island of Ireland league.

[OriginalMrC]

59 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Brexit doesn't impact Irish people in the UK, though. Your* Irish passport is treated, for ability to work in the UK purposes, as identical to your British one.

Not discounting it entirely - Ireland is doing very well as the English speaking country in the EU - but I'm not 100% sure it's the trigger.

Agree with you about the Northern Irish clubs. It's a real shame there is no island of Ireland league.

It does effect football as you have to be 18 now to sign for an English club. Years ago people used to get snapped up at a younger age

 

[gingerjon]

Just now, OriginalMrC said:

It does effect football as you have to be 18 now to sign for an English club. Years ago people used to get snapped up at a younger age

 

Didn’t know that - thanks.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

1 hour ago, gingerjon said:

Brexit doesn't impact Irish people in the UK, though. Your* Irish passport is treated, for ability to work in the UK purposes, as identical to your British one.

Not discounting it entirely - Ireland is doing very well as the English speaking country in the EU - but I'm not 100% sure it's the trigger.

Agree with you about the Northern Irish clubs. It's a real shame there is no island of Ireland league.

Is there an Island of Ireland cup? If not then it would be good if there was at least one of them.

[OriginalMrC]

58 minutes ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

Is there an Island of Ireland cup? If not then it would be good if there was at least one of them.

There's been various iterations of an all Ireland cup but the Northern Irish sides aren't competitive enough to make it worthwhile 

[gingerjon]

9 hours ago, OriginalMrC said:

There's been various iterations of an all Ireland cup but the Northern Irish sides aren't competitive enough to make it worthwhile 

Their seasons being out of alignment is the final hammer blow even once you get past that imbalance.

There was an all-island women's cup in 2023 and 2024 but I can't see that it's being played in 2025.

EDIT

In fact, I can't even see the result of the final of 2024.

Edited March 11 by gingerjon

[gingerjon]

I think my arthritic dog knows more about sports investment than Jim Radcliffe.

[OriginalMrC]

One minute you are sacking dinner ladies and telling everyone the club would have been bust at Xmas. The next minute you are announcing a 1bn stadium