LETTER: Franchise league is not the solution
Wednesday March 17 2010
Dear Sir, AS one of 'the few thousand deluded fanatics' who support League of Ireland football, I believe it is imperative to respond to your correspondent Gerry Kelly, who wishes 'the league to die' ( March 10th).
I agree the League's image has been tarnished by the reckless management of clubs like Shamrock Rovers, Shelbourne, Cork City, Drogheda and Derry, that nearly brought them to their extinction. Nor would I disagree that the FAI have a laissez-faire attitude at times to their own rules. Dundalk's loyal supporters have been victims of this attitude in the past.
Mr Kelly's dismal dissertation contains one glaring flaw. He obviously believes that the league only consists of off-field activities. League of Ireland fans attend games because they believe passionately in real live football and supporting their local team. They enjoy the comradeship of fellow supporters at home and while travelling away. They share the joys and disappointments.
The critics of the League of Ireland conveniently forget that it has provided a launching pad to many players who pursue their careers at a higher level, even to international level. It has also proven a safe haven for many players who were plucked at an early age by English clubs, only to be discarded ruthlessly onto the football scrapheap.
Mr Kelly's diatribe will resonate with the bar-stool pundits who are hypnotised by Sky football. With wide-open mouths, they'll listen to monosyllabic analysis of Super Sunday 'live' football from what Mr Kelly believes is the greatest league in the world. A Premier League consisting of 20 clubs with a cumulative debt of £2.7bn and one club in administration!
These critics who possess an endemic antagonism to the LoI will never give credit to those clubs who are striving to promote the league. Dundalk, for example, are undertaking to build a youth academy. They have raised the profile of the club by making it family and community orientated.
Mr Kelly's proposal for a franchise league must have been suggested by somebody who shouldn't be left out alone. A franchise league reads like a planning application for a McDonalds take-away. He would have this league 'run by business pros with the credentials and proven ability to succeed'. Where does Mr Kelly hope to find these professionals? From the banks?
The suggestion that there should be one team covering Newry, Dundalk and Drogheda is laughable. Does he seriously think any soccer fans would support such a hybrid team?
Switch the machine off? Yes – on the cynics with their sneers, gloomy prognosis and negativity.
Yours faithfully,
Nicholas McCourt, Avenue Road, Dundalk.
