The League of Ireland thread

i doubt it…wexford and celtic would be far ahead i would say…

wexford maybe , Celtic fans defo not - only 2 here - rock & larry

:smiley:

how full of shite are you

[quote=“north county corncrake”]more people in Ireland play soccer than gga & stick hurling put together
more people in Ireland watched man utd vs chelsea than the all ireland final
the esri said he gga is in decline

deal with it

:D:D[/quote]

oh yeah, this much

Loaded and weighed to the boults.
In fairness though, he’s supporting Leitrim in our upcoming championship clash with Roscommon - Jun 09.

[quote=“Boxtyeater”]Loaded and weighed to the boults.
In fairness though, he’s supporting Leitrim in our upcoming championship clash with Roscommon - Jun 09.[/QUOTE

i shall indeed be supporting leitrim

Congrats

Drogheda United 1-2 Bohemians
Friday, 10 October 2008 22:39

Bohemians are the new eircom League of Ireland champions after a dramatic victory over outgoing champions Drogheda at a packed United Park.

Two goals from Jason Byrne, the second of those deep into stoppage time at the end, made absolutely sure of the crown as nearest rivals St Patrick’s slipped up at home to Cobh Ramblers.

For Drogheda, the manner of the defeat was hard to take, given the well documented financial problems which have emerged in recent days

The opening exchanges were understandably tense and scrappy, but it was Drogheda who settled eventually and carved out the first two chances.

Adam Hughes stooped to head a Paul Keegan free kick into the arms of keeper Brian Murphy, and then Eamon Zayed scorned a great opportunity in the 13th minute.

Ollie Cahill burst onto a Fahrudin Kuduzovic pass and made ground up the left flank before delivering a perfect cross into the six-yard box for Zayed who scooped the ball high over the crossbar.

Jason Byrne had a shot deflected wide by Joe Kendrick, but the Drogheda defence were otherwise untroubled until the 23rd minute when the Gypsies grabbed the lead against the run of play.

Graham Gartland’s pass to Cahill was intercepted by Owen Heary who immediately wrong-footed the Drogheda defence with a back-heel to Anto Murphy. The ball was quickly transferred to Byrne who spotted Jamie Ewings off his line and brilliantly chipped the keeper from 20 yards.

A relatively uneventful 15 minutes followed, but Drogheda showed a steely resolve and got back on level terms with a fine goal of their own on 37 minutes.

Cahill did well to keep the ball in play and picked out Joe Kendrick in the box, and the left-back’s attempted pass bounced kindly for Kuduzovic who blasted a 15-yard shot beyond Murphy.

Right on half time Bohs thought they had regained the lead, but the terrace-side assistant had flagged for an infringement before Heary bundled the ball past Ewings.

The second half began in the same fashion as the first, with much of the play condensed into the middle third of the field.

Neither keeper was tested until the 61st minute when Ewings comfortably clutched a skidding 35-yard free from Byrne, and then Byrne shot into the side netting after a superb cross-field pass by Murphy.

As news filtered through from Richmond Park of a second goal for Cobh Ramblers, the away supporters burst into voice, and their side almost conjured a winner in a remarkable 73rd-minute sequence.

Byrne’s initial shot was blocked by Kendrick, Gary Deegan’s follow-up was brilliantly parried by Ewings, Byrne fired against the post from the rebound and JP Kelly’s effort was deflected away to safety.

Drogheda rarely troubled the Bohs defence in the second half, but almost got their noses in front when Paul Keegan’s free kick was headed off the line by Mark Rossiter.

It seemed at that stage as if the Boynesiders might hold out for a draw, but then Adam Hughes was sent off for a second bookable offence, both fouls committed on Stephen O’Donnell.

Zayed had a shot deflected wide for Drogheda after being put through by substitute Declan O’Brien, but more than a minute into stoppage time Bohs delivered a sucker punch to send their supporters into ecstasy.

Glen Crowe exposed the tired Drogheda defence with a pass to Byrne, who beat the offside trap and dribbled round Ewings before shooting to the empty net.

Drogheda United: Ewings, Robinson, Tambouras, Gartland, Kendrick, Baker, Hughes, Keegan, Cahill, Zayed, Kuduzovic. Subs: O’Brien for Kuduzovic (62min), Ristila for Baker (88min).

Bohemians: Murphy, O Heary, McGuinness, Burns, Rossiter, Murphy, Deegan, O’Donnell, Brennan, Byrne, Crowe. Subs: Kelly for Murphy, Oman for McGuinness (60min), Kelly for Murphy (69min).

Referee: Anthony Buttimer (Cork).

[quote=“north county corncrake;81432][QUOTE=Boxtyeater”]Loaded and weighed to the boults.
In fairness though, he’s supporting Leitrim in our upcoming championship clash with Roscommon - Jun 09.[/QUOTE

i shall indeed be supporting leitrim[/quote]

Every pro Leitrim voice/message/text will count on the day.
Don’t aspire, just yet, to a TFK invite from us poor impoverished folk in “the forgotten county” for the "Super Sunday next June.

Congratulations to Flano, Souldressing, Sledge and all those who support the big club. Always great to win a league.

It was pretty nice alright. We knew the league was over with how the Pat’s game went but it winning the league after drawing the game wouldn’t have been half as sweet as it was getting the title after winning the game with a last minute goal.

What did the neutrals think of the game? Thought Bohs were sloppy on both wings but were worth the win. I wa very happy with Byrne. Heary was class as always.

Any chance of paying us out on Bohs winning the league Flano ffs?

It should have been paid out weeks ago, have ye a cash flow problem in there or what?

[quote=“SHANNONSIDER**”]Any chance of paying us out on Bohs winning the league Flano ffs?

It should have been paid out weeks ago, have ye a cash flow problem in there or what?[/quote]

Maybe the St. Pats lads had a few bob on Bohs as well.
The government should withdraw all funding from those LOI criminals

all good football leagues have a whiff of corruption - it adds to the mix

not sure if any LOI clubs get gov funding

read the esri report fucko - it says clearly that the gga gets way too much funding considering how few people play it

[quote=“north county corncrake”]all good football leagues have a whiff of corruption - it adds to the mix

not sure if any LOI clubs get gov funding

read the esri report fucko - it says clearly that the gga gets way too much funding considering how few people play it[/quote]

Yeah, and we all know how high the quality of Government Economic and social research has been in this country

RTE.ie

Report claims Saints bet against themselves
Friday, 7 November 2008 08:45
A report this morning has claimed that players from St Patrick’s Athletic have been allegedly betting against themselves in recent games.

The allegations, made in the Irish Daily Mail, relate to recent defeats for Pat’s against Cobh Ramblers and Galway United.

The games in question saw Pat’s lose 3-0 at home to Cobh and 1-0 when they hosted Galway, both candidates for relegation.

The club’s Chief Executive, Richard Saddlier, has revealed that he is ‘extremly concerned’ about the allegations and confirmed that he held a meeting with the players last night in connection with the report.

The club will be launching a full investigation into the claims and have declined to comment further until more details emerge.

Pat’s are currently second in the eircom League of Ireland Premier Division table with two games left.

[quote=“Georgy Comerford”]Yeah, and we all know how high the quality of Government Economic and social research has been in this country

RTE.ie

Report claims Saints bet against themselves
Friday, 7 November 2008 08:45
A report this morning has claimed that players from St Patrick’s Athletic have been allegedly betting against themselves in recent games.

The allegations, made in the Irish Daily Mail, relate to recent defeats for Pat’s against Cobh Ramblers and Galway United.

The games in question saw Pat’s lose 3-0 at home to Cobh and 1-0 when they hosted Galway, both candidates for relegation.

The club’s Chief Executive, Richard Saddlier, has revealed that he is ‘extremly concerned’ about the allegations and confirmed that he held a meeting with the players last night in connection with the report.

The club will be launching a full investigation into the claims and have declined to comment further until more details emerge.

Pat’s are currently second in the eircom League of Ireland Premier Division table with two games left.[/quote]

id say the fact that Pats had a cup game meant they didnt put too much effort into meaningless league games but as i said betting scandals happen all the time in european football - so what

what LOI funding are you talking about???

[quote=“north county corncrake”]id say the fact that Pats had a cup game meant they didnt put too much effort into meaningless league games but as i said betting scandals happen all the time in european football - so what
[/quote]

Yet again LOI settles for being a poor imitation of a proper league. It happens everywhere else - so what?

No wonder Irish soccer is stuck in the dark ages.

There are currently a number of games under investigation due to suspicious betting patterns.

[quote=“north county corncrake”]id say the fact that Pats had a cup game meant they didnt put too much effort into meaningless league games but as i said betting scandals happen all the time in european football - so what

what LOI funding are you talking about???[/quote]

Government/Council/Corporation …semantics. Giving tax payers money to fuckers who’ll throw a game in front of the people that pay their wages

im not sure if any games are under investigation by the FAI

Longford played a reserve team vs monaghan - the fools in paddy powers wernt aware of that & were caught out- LOI fans knew more about the game - it was a rick

From the top of the premier division to the bottom of the first the league corruption runs rife.

From the indo:

Paddy Power Bookmakers was hit by a loss of close to €30,000 when a wholesale gamble was landed in an apparently insignificant eircom League first division match on Friday night.

Monaghan United trounced Longford Town 5-1, costing bookmakers in Ireland and England a considerable sum of money after what are being viewed in the industry as suspicious betting patterns
United, who prior to the match had scored 27 goals in their 32 league games, were slashed from 6/5 into odds-on by all bookmakers, with Paddy Power eventually forced to suspend betting in the hour before kick-off.

The bookmaker’s spokesman, Paddy Power, estimated that the match attracted approximately 20 times the turnover he would normally expect for a low-grade first division game in the eircom League.
…

…

Contacted by the Sunday Independent yesterday, a spokesman for the FAI confirmed it would be looking into the matter.

you have lost me - which LOI club getting funding are you talking about

if LOI fans know more about LOI teams & the importance of matches than bookies do then it should be welcomed