Less games, more training
Credit:
Alex Ferguson’s reasoning that Barcelona beating Manchester United in the Champions League final was because the Spaniards get more time on the training pitch to perfect their technique and shape, as opposed to his United team playing games all the time, holds fire with what all our own league managers are complaining about on a weekly basis. Teams in our league are playing too many games in too short a period of time.
I honestly believe a 16 team premier division is the way forward for our league. A thirty game league programme has all sorts of advantages on and off the pitch with the most important advantage being that the quality of the games will improve dramatically.
Managers and clubs in our league are paying out thousands of euros on coaching qualifications but are currently being denied the opportunity to utilize their acquired knowledge apart from what they have learned on cool down and recovery sessions and if they are lucky they may get to do a bit of shape work and set pieces.
We have a lot of very good managers plying their trade in both divisions of the LOI but I believe they are being denied the opportunity to fully prepare their teams physically, technically, tactically and mentally by virtue of the ridiculous amount of games they are been forced to play.
In what is a part-time league, the quality these managers are producing from their teams now is a credit to them all but for me they have so much more to offer but they need the correct environment and that means giving these lads more time on the practice ground.
In my opinion the EA Sports Cup should return to the league format of old consisting of premier teams only. A regionalized grouping of four teams playing each other once only can be run to its conclusion before the season starts with the final as the curtain raiser for the league campaign. The league could allow trialists play in the group stage reverting to registered only players for the semi-final and final. All cautions such as yellow and red cards should only come into effect for both cup competition and not carried through to the league.
The FAI cup is everything that is good about our league and deserves respect. I cannot believe it is that difficult to organize three rounds of games. The final itself deserves a summer date on the calendar; there are enough dark clouds over our league without playing our showpiece final on a dark cold rainy night. A revised league format would allow for a domestic season off one match a week including cup competitions with both senior finals receiving the attention they deserve. The only midweek games should be European and Setanta cup games.
In my opinion there HAS to be automatic relegation and not just one team but two. If a sixteen team league was introduced I would suggest the bottom two of the premier division being automatically relegated with 13th and 14th playing 3rd and 4th from the first division in a one game playoff with home advantage to the First Division team.
The winners of these games would participate in the premier division. I believe the possibility of having four new teams in the premier division every season would keep the league fresh but also increase the demands on the clubs to produce quality attacking football every week in both leagues.
Increasing the number of teams in the league will reduce the number of games per season. For me this format not only helps the quality of the league, it also helps the managers.
More time on the practice ground will ensure fitter, stronger well coached teams taking the field every Friday night. Better teams would mean better matches. That would mean a better more vibrant league that we can all be proud off.
The first division in my opinion also needs a drastic overhaul; next week we can have a look at how the division can become more vibrant.
I honestly believe a 16 team premier division is the way forward for our league. A thirty game league programme has all sorts of advantages on and off the pitch with the most important advantage being that the quality of the games will improve dramatically.
Managers and clubs in our league are paying out thousands of euros on coaching qualifications but are currently being denied the opportunity to utilize their acquired knowledge apart from what they have learned on cool down and recovery sessions and if they are lucky they may get to do a bit of shape work and set pieces.
We have a lot of very good managers plying their trade in both divisions of the LOI but I believe they are being denied the opportunity to fully prepare their teams physically, technically, tactically and mentally by virtue of the ridiculous amount of games they are been forced to play.
In what is a part-time league, the quality these managers are producing from their teams now is a credit to them all but for me they have so much more to offer but they need the correct environment and that means giving these lads more time on the practice ground.
In my opinion the EA Sports Cup should return to the league format of old consisting of premier teams only. A regionalized grouping of four teams playing each other once only can be run to its conclusion before the season starts with the final as the curtain raiser for the league campaign. The league could allow trialists play in the group stage reverting to registered only players for the semi-final and final. All cautions such as yellow and red cards should only come into effect for both cup competition and not carried through to the league.
The FAI cup is everything that is good about our league and deserves respect. I cannot believe it is that difficult to organize three rounds of games. The final itself deserves a summer date on the calendar; there are enough dark clouds over our league without playing our showpiece final on a dark cold rainy night. A revised league format would allow for a domestic season off one match a week including cup competitions with both senior finals receiving the attention they deserve. The only midweek games should be European and Setanta cup games.
In my opinion there HAS to be automatic relegation and not just one team but two. If a sixteen team league was introduced I would suggest the bottom two of the premier division being automatically relegated with 13th and 14th playing 3rd and 4th from the first division in a one game playoff with home advantage to the First Division team.
The winners of these games would participate in the premier division. I believe the possibility of having four new teams in the premier division every season would keep the league fresh but also increase the demands on the clubs to produce quality attacking football every week in both leagues.
Increasing the number of teams in the league will reduce the number of games per season. For me this format not only helps the quality of the league, it also helps the managers.
More time on the practice ground will ensure fitter, stronger well coached teams taking the field every Friday night. Better teams would mean better matches. That would mean a better more vibrant league that we can all be proud off.
The first division in my opinion also needs a drastic overhaul; next week we can have a look at how the division can become more vibrant.
