Earlier this week John Delaney described the League of Ireland as the “difficult child” of the Association. The throwaway remark was poorly chosen within a brief but largely straightforward summation of the League’s issues. Supporters and clubs won’t be happy with the description and rightly so, but Delaney was correct that much of the negative attention the league receives is self inflicted, and much of the improvement within our own grasp.
Inspired by Daniel McDonnell’s thought provoking list of ten realistic ways the league can improve [link at bottom] and with Delaney’s “difficult child” comment in mind, here’s my top 6 parenting tips in addition to those Dan discussed.
1. Let the kids play together.
Clubs must take responsibility but it must be within an environment where they can do so collectively. There are great people in the FAI who give daily support to clubs however the Annual Clubs’ Convention is the only time that the association sits down formally with ALL clubs; and it’s happened only twice in the last 24 months.
The convention function is to elect, on alternating years, the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the league. The 2013 clubs’ convention was the worst I’ve been at because of the apathy, from all parties. The meeting took under 90 minutes with an agenda so packed that clubs got little opportunity to discuss anything at length with the association.
Clubs meeting outside of this forum is treated with suspicion yet the association simply don’t hold sufficient meetings. Clubs should be meeting each other, with or without the FAI, on a monthly basis to discuss the league, it’s direction and issues. It’s basic; nothing works without effective communication.
2. Encourage the children to share
At a clubs meeting in 2011 I was still new to the boardroom level of the game and naive. I raised the topic of collective bargaining and sharing best practice. A rep of another club said “come on John, you’re talking about clubs that steal footballs from each other at matches”. Happily, it’s improved and the FAI have helped, running workshops through the licencing department on specific topics such as media practices, where clubs present case studies.
In the last 12 months clubs have acknowledged the need to share but it’s hard to shake the notion that the association don’t really like clubs talking to each other without an FAI presence. It is vital that clubs work together effectively (including collectively bargaining) to build solutions from within rather than creating an environment where they consistently look to external support, and let’s admit it, a blame culture.
19 clubs collectively negotiating with e.g. billboard providers will create better deals and better opportunities. Clubs must cooperate and the association must encourage it.
3. Pin your kids’ pictures to the fridge
We have genuine success stories and they should be celebrated. One of the simplest selling points the league has today, of which every supporter is aware, is the domestic background of many of our National Team. At the upcoming home game against Gibraltar you will have 12 former LoI players in one spot.
Photograph and film the 12 players in Irish kit, their former club scarf around their neck with a simple message “Seamus Coleman, former Sligo Rovers player” etc., and distribute those clips to clubs for use in advertising. Use them on the FAI’s central website, social media outlets and on the big screen at games. Make them available as stings, pre- and post- advert breaks, on Televised National matches.
4. Have rules for time in front of the TV
A televised home game costs money. That’s a fact. It can be a nice to inform sponsors of television exposure but it means little ultimately. In the absence of compensation for clubs, it’s long been clear that changing your kick-off time for TV costs you money. In Limerick’s first Premier Divison home game, after 19 years way, we conservatively estimated the cost to the club in changing the KO from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon at over €20,000.
Soccer Republic is a great highlights show but we just don’t need 30 live games per year. What’s more important is the games that are chosen, particularly European games.
As I said, chopping and changing kick-off times costs, European Football and TV are the primary causes of these changes; planning of both can be better. If league games are going to be televised, pick Friday night with a 7.35 KO to limit impact on those getting to the ground. if this doesn’t work for RTE, stop choosing time slots such 3pm Saturday or 5.30pm Sunday, that decimate crowds. Don’t show a game for the sake of it.
Also, clubs who put clips of goals etc., online should not be punished, they should be advised how to do it in a way that drives viewing figures for Soccer Republic.
5. Ensure kids clean their rooms
People hold up better stadia as an attendance solution and they’re right, Infrastructure in the league is admittedly poor. As much as I love the league, there are grounds I can’t visit with my kids due to poor toilet facilities or lack of a roof on rainy days. Large scale capital investment is a long-term project but grounds being clean and safe would be a start; some aren’t.
Add to this, most LoI clubs do nothing to encourage away fans. We hope Rovers, Cork & Dundalk will bring a crowd, we expect UCD to bring no-one. There’s a soft €20,000 per annum for any club who proactively puts effort into welcoming away fans. Make sure the ground is as clean and comfortable as possible, give them a roof, some decent hot food, a cup of tea and train stewards specifically to cater to away fans. Treat people well and they might come back. Treat them poorly, they won’t.
6. Don’t use their pocket money to buy cigarettes.
The League of Ireland is not a financial burden on the FAI. It couldn’t be.
The starting position of most European top flight football is the allocation of TV money. In Ireland, after coming through a lengthy licencing process you hand over €19,000 for the right to play the game. That’s €228,000 into FAI coffers from the Premier Division clubs alone.
After this, clubs pay officials for each game [including inter-club friendlies, which is causing clubs to play ‘behind closed door’ friendly games so save referee fees while getting fringe players some game time]. Clubs pay a significant fine structure [Dundalk have stated they’ve paid €5000 to the FAI for flare offences in 2014 already]. Every yellow card is a minimum €25 which opens up a double punishment in terms of finance and loss of player for bans.
Then clubs must pay professional players for a week long holiday over the unnecessary mid-season break which compounds fixture congestion. This despite the Standard player’s contract guaranteeing sufficient time-off for professional players.
The League Cup is a huge cost and also compounds fixture congestion. It’s a competition on which Cork City just broke even in 2011 despite hosting the final and finishing runners-up. It cost Limerick FC significant money in 2013 with two poorly attended home games [with split gates], Limerick actually made a few euro on it in 2014, losing away to Cork City in the first round The share of the gate covering the cost of the bus and pre-match meal. The Association get money from EA for sponsorship, but I don’t know a single club who value the competition and that’s reflected in supporter apathy.
All of the above sources of club expenditure have to be debated with the association; I’m not saying there should be no consequence for offences but would a single flare be lit by Dundalk fans all season if they were facing a 3 point deduction rather than €500 fines on each occasion? I doubt it, so look at alternatives, communicate!
Cherish your child
When your child is being difficult, the parenting books I’ve skimmed [and pretended to read] state the most effective process is to get down to your child’s level, look them in the eye, listen, understand the difficultly and communicate. It might take a while before you can all walk down the aisle of a supermarket without a tantrum, but in the end, you get there.
The Daniel McDonnell piece referenced earlier; http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/league-of-ireland/ten-realistic-ways-we-can-improve-the-league-of-ireland-30623058.html
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