Norn Iron Local Saccer - What is the point?

[Eamonnca1]

Isn't the Windsor Park arrangement a big obstacle to progress in northern soccer?  Surely if Linfield didn't have such a convenient source of revenue from internationals then the league would be a bit more balanced and there'd be more interest in it.

(Open to correction here, I'm not a dedicated follower of soccer no matter where it's played.)

[ExcellentDriver]

Isn't the Windsor Park arrangement a big obstacle to progress in northern soccer?  Surely if Linfield didn't have such a convenient source of revenue from internationals then the league would be a bit more balanced and there'd be more interest in it.

(Open to correction here, I'm not a dedicated follower of soccer no matter where it's played.)

Eamon (my old DebCen Mucker),

The whole 'Blues Brothers' (ie. Rangers, Linfield and Chelsea) melarchy was simply a 'Badge of Honour' for the idiots from Shankill, Sandy Row, etc. NI Soccer had to fight against it in order to appeal to a greater footballing audience.

There are actually NI Fans who attend Windsor Park who also support Celtic and attend Parkhead. Unfortunately their voices were ignored by the Rangers Morons who heckled Niel Lennon against Norway back in 2001 and the Celtic Morons who refuse to wish NI well simply because Steven Davis and Kyle Lafferty play for them.

As a Mid Ulster Culchie, I have a much greater affinity for Niall McGinn than I do for Darron Gibson or Aiden McGeady. Paddy McCourt also gets in the NI team, in spite of being overlooked at Celtic by Lennon. Having ONE Celtic player in the NI Squad (never mind two) was unthinkable even 5 Years ago. It's a measure of how far the 6 Counties has progressed in terms of attitudes.

[J OGorman]

Isn't the Windsor Park arrangement a big obstacle to progress in northern soccer?  Surely if Linfield didn't have such a convenient source of revenue from internationals then the league would be a bit more balanced and there'd be more interest in it.

(Open to correction here, I'm not a dedicated follower of soccer no matter where it's played.)

100% correct...when you've got guys from Cliftonville getting up a stupid o'clock to bake through the night holding down a full time job, try to squeeze in a few hours kip before a match and train a few times a week. Compare this to Linfield spending their guaranteed IFA rent money on conditioning their huge squad of players, it really is a joke.

I manage a soccer team affiliated with the IFA, and nothing surprises me anymore when you see how shambolic the whole setup is in Belfast

[Bingo]

The Norn Irish soccer results don't appear on the Livescore App on the Iphone. Says it all really when every other imagineable league is listed.

[deiseach]

As a Mid Ulster Culchie, I have a much greater affinity for Niall McGinn than I do for Darron Gibson or Aiden McGeady. Paddy McCourt also gets in the NI team, in spite of being overlooked at Celtic by Lennon. Having ONE Celtic player in the NI Squad (never mind two) was unthinkable even 5 Years ago. It's a measure of how far the 6 Counties has progressed in terms of attitudes.

So if NI played the Republic, who would you support? Honestly not trying to act the maggot here, there's no 'right' answer

[red hander]

'Paddy McCourt also gets in the NI team, in spite of being overlooked at Celtic by Lennon'

For a very long time he didn't.  He's 28 and has only 8 caps, I believe.  While he was by far one of the best players in the League of Ireland with Derry City he was totally ignored by Are We A Country, while any amount of Irish League pohills were picked.  FFS, even Andy Smith, one of the worst footballers I've ever seen play, was capped.  The only reason Paddy McCourt is being hailed by Are We A Country is because of two goals - one an excellent score despite the fact his opponents didn't put in a single tackle - in a match against the Faroes.

On the more general point, I've been at loads of Irish League games and enjoy them.  The League of Ireland standard is defintely higher, though. I've a soft spot for Cliftonville and can honestly say my most enjoyable day at a sports event, bar our three All-Ireland victories and the semi-final win against Armagh in 2005, was the day Cliftonville won the league at Solitude in 1998