Just after reading the Independents full back page splurge on St Patrick's Athletic going part time. Apart from a handful of diehard supporters, does any body else care. The League of Ireland has been on a life support machine for the last thirty years, a joke really.
Players paid way above the average industrial wage but viewed by paltry gates. Athlone Town, Finn Harps and Drogheda all have financial issues of varying degrees. The sad thing about it is this, the money each owes would not repair Ronaldo's car but somehow or other the Press keep telling us all about their plight. If there was a meaningful following for Irish professional soccer domestically we would not be reading about such trivia. More than likely an average junior county G.A.A team would have better facilities, more supporters and a better cash flow than most of the L.O.I sides.
The only answer is a meaningful All-Ireland league run by a group totally free from the mess that currently persists. Two Belfast teams, two Dublin teams, one from Cork, Derry, Larne, Galway,Colraine and a midlands consortium. That would start a Premier league of ten teams. One can imagine going to see Dublin Blue's v Belfast City or Cork United V Belfast Rovers.
That would be better than the present farce wher one had until recently figure out where Shamrock Rovers were domiciled and try and figure out a league table covered in asterisks over points deducted for various infractions of the rules.
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