Podcasts

[Fwats]

If he thinks oriel is that bad, then he shouldn't attend any games there..

He has to keep up his agenda Niall, whatever that may be only he know, certainly has a chip on his shoulder when it comes to the team he claims to support..... hated our previous owners, now he thinks our games shouldn't be on TV ... what next? Should Oriel be closed to the general public? He may have founded this page, however maybe the lad should think about outing himself as a closet Rovers diehard, seems to have settled perfectly into his new fine Dublin surroundings.
Agree with you, if he doesn't like Oriel, he should stay away.

He gets too much slack on this site because he founded it . We aren't perfect, oriel is far from perfect, but we don't need hounding constantly by him. It detracts fans from attending.

I'd say the facilities are a bigger factor than what Dan McDonald writes in the indo or says on OTB or Loi weekly.

[Fwats]

If he thinks oriel is that bad, then he shouldn't attend any games there..

He has to keep up his agenda Niall, whatever that may be only he know, certainly has a chip on his shoulder when it comes to the team he claims to support..... hated our previous owners, now he thinks our games shouldn't be on TV ... what next? Should Oriel be closed to the general public? He may have founded this page, however maybe the lad should think about outing himself as a closet Rovers diehard, seems to have settled perfectly into his new fine Dublin surroundings.
Agree with you, if he doesn't like Oriel, he should stay away.

Hated the previous owner? Hardly a stain on his character.

[Fwats]

An average game can look better in a modern stadium. A average game surrounded by Chip vans can look a lot worse.

Turners Cross is a very good stadium, it's a blow for th3 league having a big club in the 1st Division. One of th3 few clubs with a good stadium with Rovers,. The Bradywell is good but would look better if fully complete all way round. Sligo have good plans for their stadium and Finn Harps should be decent.

Completely agree and again the average game attended in a decent modern ground (designed well, with decent toilets, food/drink offer and without deafening muck from the speakers so you can't have a conversation) makes for a much better match experience.

[thecaptain]

Christ, what's with all the DMcD abuse? Fair comment is fair comment lads ffs and as someone else said up thread, basically what we need to do as a club and as a league is make sure the camera facing side in all grounds is up to snuff to look ok on TV.

He's always been more than fair to us and has given us more than our fair share of good coverage, even in the graveyard years outside of the SK golden era. I've always found him equally ok with his coverage of all clubs, positive and negative with fair points behind each. He never has a pop or a ridiculous go at any club, any criticism of any club in the league is always tempered with the fact he's a supporter of the league and wants to see things improve and do well. Even in the P6 lunacy there's a hape of stuff he could of went to press with and didn't as he's not a clout chaser or local media sh*t stirrer (anymore!)

Anyway, as was asked earlier, any chance for those of us not able to get up to the Store or abroad the Sharkey & James are recording the show to put out as as pod special or a two parter even a couple of weeks later? Would love to be able to have a listen and they can edit it to cut out any bits that should be live in person only, or that are legally suspect!

[niall_hearty2000]

Christ, what's with all the DMcD abuse? Fair comment is fair comment lads ffs and as someone else said up thread, basically what we need to do as a club and as a league is make sure the camera facing side in all grounds is up to snuff to look ok on TV.

He's always been more than fair to us and has given us more than our fair share of good coverage, even in the graveyard years outside of the SK golden era. I've always found him equally ok with his coverage of all clubs, positive and negative with fair points behind each. He never has a pop or a ridiculous go at any club, any criticism of any club in the league is always tempered with the fact he's a supporter of the league and wants to see things improve and do well. Even in the P6 lunacy there's a hape of stuff he could of went to press with and didn't as he's not a clout chaser or local media sh*t stirrer (anymore!)

Anyway, as was asked earlier, any chance for those of us not able to get up to the Store or abroad the Sharkey & James are recording the show to put out as as pod special or a two parter even a couple of weeks later? Would love to be able to have a listen and they can edit it to cut out any bits that should be live in person only, or that are legally suspect!

Since we started winning he has constantly knocked us or tried to spin the negative. That's his agenda.

[Shoco]

He said the same about Drogheda when we played them up there first time this year, that was on TV and he said it should never be on TV because of how poor the ground looks.

No agenda, just calls it as it is which obviously upsets a few on here

[Fwats]

Christ, what's with all the DMcD abuse? Fair comment is fair comment lads ffs and as someone else said up thread, basically what we need to do as a club and as a league is make sure the camera facing side in all grounds is up to snuff to look ok on TV.

He's always been more than fair to us and has given us more than our fair share of good coverage, even in the graveyard years outside of the SK golden era. I've always found him equally ok with his coverage of all clubs, positive and negative with fair points behind each. He never has a pop or a ridiculous go at any club, any criticism of any club in the league is always tempered with the fact he's a supporter of the league and wants to see things improve and do well. Even in the P6 lunacy there's a hape of stuff he could of went to press with and didn't as he's not a clout chaser or local media sh*t stirrer (anymore!)

Anyway, as was asked earlier, any chance for those of us not able to get up to the Store or abroad the Sharkey & James are recording the show to put out as as pod special or a two parter even a couple of weeks later? Would love to be able to have a listen and they can edit it to cut out any bits that should be live in person only, or that are legally suspect!

Since we started winning he has constantly knocked us or tried to spin the negative. That's his agenda.

Since we started winning or in the period the club was sold to the Americans? There was plenty to criticise at that time, it was a a shit show for ages, and spinning the negative can also be seen as forewarning which did come to pass. Our club is not above criticism from people who want the overall league and offer to be stronger. As the for the closet rovers comment above, DMcD is also quick to point out that their ground was built for them. His point is that this should be happening elsewhere too so the general standard improves. It is embarrassing that our European runs were played in Tallaght and will be again next year and for some time to come. Not just embarrassing but completely shortsighted from town and county council and Fai who should be backing upgrades at OP.

[niall_hearty2000]

Christ, what's with all the DMcD abuse? Fair comment is fair comment lads ffs and as someone else said up thread, basically what we need to do as a club and as a league is make sure the camera facing side in all grounds is up to snuff to look ok on TV.

He's always been more than fair to us and has given us more than our fair share of good coverage, even in the graveyard years outside of the SK golden era. I've always found him equally ok with his coverage of all clubs, positive and negative with fair points behind each. He never has a pop or a ridiculous go at any club, any criticism of any club in the league is always tempered with the fact he's a supporter of the league and wants to see things improve and do well. Even in the P6 lunacy there's a hape of stuff he could of went to press with and didn't as he's not a clout chaser or local media sh*t stirrer (anymore!)

Anyway, as was asked earlier, any chance for those of us not able to get up to the Store or abroad the Sharkey & James are recording the show to put out as as pod special or a two parter even a couple of weeks later? Would love to be able to have a listen and they can edit it to cut out any bits that should be live in person only, or that are legally suspect!

Since we started winning he has constantly knocked us or tried to spin the negative. That's his agenda.

Since we started winning or in the period the club was sold to the Americans? There was plenty to criticise at that time, it was a a shit show for ages, and spinning the negative can also be seen as forewarning which did come to pass. Our club is not above criticism from people who want the overall league and offer to be stronger. As the for the closet rovers comment above, DMcD is also quick to point out that their ground was built for them. His point is that this should be happening elsewhere too so the general standard improves. It is embarrassing that our European runs were played in Tallaght and will be again next year and for some time to come. Not just embarrassing but completely shortsighted from town and county council and Fai who should be backing upgrades at OP.

Bottom line is we won't have an updated stadium unless Dundalk and Louth county councils and FAI come onboard. Cost is prohibitive for any owner to bring oriel into 21st century let alone a brand new greensite build. We would need group stages for at least 10 yrs running for that to be more than a pipe dream. Yes the rewards are great, but how much do travelling expenses cost for each game, not to mention hiring tallaght the Aviva? Player bonuses etc. They all have to be factored into any profits a club make. Plus to kick on we then need to sign better players each and every season. So unless the government create an initiative or the FAI come onboard (btw with their current debts, not a hope!) then we will simply still be talking about this in ten yrs time.

[oldfogey]

Some simple facts around a new stadium.

4500 seats is the minimum for QR3 games.
8000 seats is the minimum for QR4 (playoff) and Group Stage fixtures.

There would seem little point in building/upgrading to Cat 3 (3 home games), to then go to Tallaght for the remaining 4.

People on here keep preaching "build it and they will come". How often would a domestic fixture fill 50% of an 8,000 seater stadium. Given the catchment area surrounding Dundalk I think we are already within 10% of our core support. If you accept the above points, how do you recover the cost? How many of those people who pay €15 to sit outside the Shed or on the town corner will pay €20 because there is a roof and better toilets and more expensive concessions? They are likely to pick and choose their games instead of missing the bad weather ones.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favour of an upgrade or something new, but we need to accept the downsides of a half empty stadium and higher prices.

[Martin Lawlor80]

Still don’t think the one of the foremost journalists reporting on Irish football should be saying that no TV games should ever be broadcast from certain LOI grounds!!
I wouldn’t mind but when it’s a big game, with something on the line, the good atmosphere from OP can come through on a broadcast. There’s also no obstruction to viewing the game from the camera position!

[TrevDaRev2]

Some simple facts around a new stadium.

4500 seats is the minimum for QR3 games.
8000 seats is the minimum for QR4 (playoff) and Group Stage fixtures.

There would seem little point in building/upgrading to Cat 3 (3 home games), to then go to Tallaght for the remaining 4.

People on here keep preaching "build it and they will come". How often would a domestic fixture fill 50% of an 8,000 seater stadium. Given the catchment area surrounding Dundalk I think we are already within 10% of our core support. If you accept the above points, how do you recover the cost? How many of those people who pay €15 to sit outside the Shed or on the town corner will pay €20 because there is a roof and better toilets and more expensive concessions? They are likely to pick and choose their games instead of missing the bad weather ones.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all in favour of an upgrade or something new, but we need to accept the downsides of a half empty stadium and higher prices.

Given the sheer cost and elaborate requirements of a category 4 stadium it would be daft from an economic point of view to even consider it. A category 3 stadium needs to be the next step, anything short of that and we may as well leave it as it is. I think there's some truth in building it and them coming too, I know at the minute my partner and a number of friends have no interest in making Oriel part of a Friday night out. The matchday experience is key to attracting and retaining any new fans and without drastic improvements we'll be forever caught in a cycle of unfulfilled potential

[oldfogey]

Not a podcast per se, but Gavin Cumiskey in the IT jumps on the DMcD bandwagon with a piece about LOI Stadia. No prizes for guessing which ground gets hammered first.

[TrevDaRev2]

This piece https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer ... dark-ages/ i thought it was excellent and he hit the nail on the head

I dunno why people have such a chip on their shoulder, it's hardly harsh to say facilities in Oriel are below par its one of the worst in the league and hasn't changed in 50 years with the exception of the removal of a big puddle and the building of the YDC. Completely fair comment and if you think otherwise you're wearing blinkers. I dont think theres an agenda to it either journalists are just calling it as they and the vast majority of people see it. Oriel Park is unfit for purpose

[oldfogey]

This piece https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer ... dark-ages/ i thought it was excellent and he hit the nail on the head

I dunno why people have such a chip on their shoulder, it's hardly harsh to say facilities in Oriel are below par its one of the worst in the league and hasn't changed in 50 years with the exception of the removal of a big puddle and the building of the YDC. Completely fair comment and if you think otherwise you're wearing blinkers. I dont think theres an agenda to it either journalists are just calling it as they and the vast majority of people see it. Oriel Park is unfit for purpose

You have obviously read my other posts as you replied to them, so you know my views on the need to upgrade/replace Oriel Park. It is, however, difficult to give credence to your arguments, given your proposal that the owners spend millions on a Cat 3 stadium in order to host just one more qualifying round over and above the current position. It appears you are in favour of

(a) investing for little return.
(b) playing home games Tallaght.

With respect, I think I'll back Andy and the guys from Statsports.

[niall_hearty2000]

This piece https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer ... dark-ages/ i thought it was excellent and he hit the nail on the head

I dunno why people have such a chip on their shoulder, it's hardly harsh to say facilities in Oriel are below par its one of the worst in the league and hasn't changed in 50 years with the exception of the removal of a big puddle and the building of the YDC. Completely fair comment and if you think otherwise you're wearing blinkers. I dont think theres an agenda to it either journalists are just calling it as they and the vast majority of people see it. Oriel Park is unfit for purpose

Drogheda is a kip. The "new" stand in tolka is condemned. You have no shelter from elements in the away end and you are wading in rivers of piss in the toilets. Dalymount half the ground is currently condemned and the away section should be. Finn harps and Sligo are hardly state of the art. Get the government involved. The gaa get multi multi millions of government funding yearly. As do the IRFU.