Disaster Dates
Credit:
The Carling Nations Cup is back in town again this week for four nights, and while the first round of games was best described as subdued, this week’s action is set to be another underwhelming series of events.
Then, to top it all off, the full league programme set for Friday has been changed to Thursday night, solely to accommodate the magic that will be created when Wales play Northern Ireland at the Aviva.
Admittedly, it could benefit the players because they’ll have an extra 24 hours to recover before Monday night’s matches, but apart from that, Thursday games are likely to be disasters.
When the home nations tournament got underway in the spring, Sky Sports’ introduction said it was a chance for all four sides to get their hands on ‘one of the most elusive things in football: international silverware.'
Typical hyperbole, then, from the corporation that have changed not only how we watch football but also dictate the timing of games.
Whether the dry-witted Julian Warren was aware of the ridiculousness of that statement on his autocue remains to be seen, but the message certainly wasn’t sent to the legions of supporters from all four countries that have given the tournament a wide berth to date.
Tuesday’s game between the Republic and Northern Ireland should draw a substantial crowd, just because they’re neighbouring opposition, but at €75 for a seat in the East or West stand, many will still stay away.
Indeed, plenty of fans from north of the border plan on giving the rest of the tournament a skip anyway after they were told last week that they would be escorted to and from the ground with no opportunity to roam around Dublin. The only reason for that was because a minority of morons caused a bit of disruption, meaning the rest now have to suffer.
It is a sad reflection of the mindset of the team behind the competition that they would rather move ten games around the country forward by 24 hours in the hope that a few will bother to turn up to what will be far more boring than any LoI game as the dour Welsh face the ‘other’ team in green.
The sad truth of it all is that LoI clubs will now be robbed of a chunk of their usual attendances due to the Thursday night move. Take Cork City as a prime example. They’ve cleared 2000 for each home game so far, but will be expecting around a 25% drop because of the Thursday night factor.
The club have done a terrific job in marketing Friday night football as being the perfect place to start your weekend, but the shoddy work of the Carling Nations Cup organisers means they will suffer a loss in gate receipts.
It will also have a further impact, seeing as the equally stupid bye system that was put in place just before the start of the season has meant City have had just one home game in over five weeks. It’s little wonder that some clubs around the country have trouble paying bills.
Further to that, the desperation of getting bodies through the ‘stiles at the Aviva for the games not involving the Republic was very evident last week when the FAI announced that anybody with a ticket to Tuesday’s match would also gain free entry to the games on Wednesday and Friday night.
While it would be nice to get our hands on such elusive silverware (Yeah, I’m being sarcastic with the elusive bit), it is the qualifier away to Macedonia on June 4th that is of far more importance and Trapattoni will be hoping none of his stars get injured this coming week.
Then, to top it all off, the full league programme set for Friday has been changed to Thursday night, solely to accommodate the magic that will be created when Wales play Northern Ireland at the Aviva.
Admittedly, it could benefit the players because they’ll have an extra 24 hours to recover before Monday night’s matches, but apart from that, Thursday games are likely to be disasters.
When the home nations tournament got underway in the spring, Sky Sports’ introduction said it was a chance for all four sides to get their hands on ‘one of the most elusive things in football: international silverware.'
Typical hyperbole, then, from the corporation that have changed not only how we watch football but also dictate the timing of games.
Whether the dry-witted Julian Warren was aware of the ridiculousness of that statement on his autocue remains to be seen, but the message certainly wasn’t sent to the legions of supporters from all four countries that have given the tournament a wide berth to date.
Tuesday’s game between the Republic and Northern Ireland should draw a substantial crowd, just because they’re neighbouring opposition, but at €75 for a seat in the East or West stand, many will still stay away.
Indeed, plenty of fans from north of the border plan on giving the rest of the tournament a skip anyway after they were told last week that they would be escorted to and from the ground with no opportunity to roam around Dublin. The only reason for that was because a minority of morons caused a bit of disruption, meaning the rest now have to suffer.
It is a sad reflection of the mindset of the team behind the competition that they would rather move ten games around the country forward by 24 hours in the hope that a few will bother to turn up to what will be far more boring than any LoI game as the dour Welsh face the ‘other’ team in green.
The sad truth of it all is that LoI clubs will now be robbed of a chunk of their usual attendances due to the Thursday night move. Take Cork City as a prime example. They’ve cleared 2000 for each home game so far, but will be expecting around a 25% drop because of the Thursday night factor.
The club have done a terrific job in marketing Friday night football as being the perfect place to start your weekend, but the shoddy work of the Carling Nations Cup organisers means they will suffer a loss in gate receipts.
It will also have a further impact, seeing as the equally stupid bye system that was put in place just before the start of the season has meant City have had just one home game in over five weeks. It’s little wonder that some clubs around the country have trouble paying bills.
Further to that, the desperation of getting bodies through the ‘stiles at the Aviva for the games not involving the Republic was very evident last week when the FAI announced that anybody with a ticket to Tuesday’s match would also gain free entry to the games on Wednesday and Friday night.
While it would be nice to get our hands on such elusive silverware (Yeah, I’m being sarcastic with the elusive bit), it is the qualifier away to Macedonia on June 4th that is of far more importance and Trapattoni will be hoping none of his stars get injured this coming week.
About Alan Smith
Alan Smith works as a sub-editor for the Guardian newspaper in London. Originally from Cork, he freelances for several other newspapers and websites. Follow him on twitter @alansmith90. View Full Profile