Media Watch: The League of Ireland and the Recession

A glum week here on the media watch, given the unsurprising yet nonetheless sad demise of Setanta Sports in the UK. While Setanta Ireland is still on air (at the time of typing), thus meaning that we should still see League football from over here, this week has seen the indefinite postponement of the Setanta Sports Cup. Though never, I felt, the most cherished of competitions, there’s no denying that the loss of its substantial prize money will hurt the finances the League of Ireland clubs you and I adore.

Setanta’s demise comes on a week in which the finances of those same clubs have been under the spotlight. Limerick F.C’s case was widely reported after a public meeting was held in the city on Sunday night. A not-so-sexy 69 people showed up (exactly 500 less than were at Limerick’s 1-0 loss to Shels on Friday) but while the attendance was not the best, the media did their bit to save the Super Blues. By Monday, there were stark headlines in the local press that the club could go out of business this weekend unless €70,000 was found. Right now, again at the time of typing, it looks like the club will stave off the Grim Reaper thanks to a kind offer from a local businessman and the club have the media to thank, in part, for bringing awareness to Limerick’s issues.

While this is one positive way in which the financial woes of a League of Ireland club have been reported, it is in the minority. Also on Monday, the Irish Independent previewed the draws for the Qualifying Rounds of the Champions League and UEFA Cup Light a.k.a. the Europa League, focussing on Bohemians and explaining how a long European run was just what the bank manager, and not hte doctor, had ordered for the Gypsies. Alongside the article was a ‘helpful’ table which detailed the financial situations of the four clubs in the pot. Derry’s was the most positive even though, depressingly, the paper detailed vague rumours about their finances. The less said about Cork, Bohs and Sligo, the better. Was this really necessary? Could the Indo not have examined our improved European performances in recent years and wondered if this was the year that we would see a breakthrough for an Irish club?

Limerick and the European 4 aren’t the only clubs in trouble, of course. There have been problems at my own Galway United and at Drogheda also. We’ve heard all their stories, all topped with bleak headlines, particularly in the national press. While we hate to read or hear about these problems, the case in Limerick this week shows that on a local level at least, there is a groundswell of public will that wants to see our clubs survive these tough times. No League of Ireland club has yet gone to ground during this recession and long may that statement remain factually correct. We have a vibrant league, we have teams who play good football and we have players who are very, very talented. We’re just not told about them.

The League of Ireland needs an injection of positivity. The media can and should do its bit.

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This was originally posted over on http://www.extratime.ie

The FAI Cup on MNS

It was a Late Late MNS this week as the show was booted from its usual 8:00 p.m. slot by a group game from the most pointless international tournament of them all. Con told us that it was the ‘first Late Late since Pat’s departure’ and that Rico, Pat Morley and Steve’s big brother had all stocked up on the coffee to get them through it. I found beer worked better myself. Con the conman then went on to explain in his online blog that the show was actually pre-recorded so it seems that he was lying to us. TV fakery from Montrose? Surely not.

It’s a shame that this week, of all weeks, was shunted into the wee hours as it was FAI Ford Cup Third Round time, a weekend crammed with more one-sided victories than your average Harlem Globetrotters World Tour. There were some juicy ties though, and to be fair to the MNS crew, they were covered well.

Tony O went Leeside to report on the Cork – Sligo game. Yours truly thought it a bit odd to see the managers interviewed before the game, giving their thoughts before an event that had already happened days previously. Paul Cook told us unequivocally that he didn’t want a draw at Turners Cross, yet we all knew that a 2-2 was on the way. It was like watching a particularly deadly knockout punch for the 12th time on YouTube – you know what’s coming, the victim doesn’t.

Speaking of boxing, it’s clear that Paul Cook’s voice went through a tough 12 rounds during the 90 minutes. Cook’s match day bout of laryngitis is as regular as sunset but the two interviews, either side of the match, shows the battering the genial Liverpudlian puts himself through for the Rovers’ cause. It was as if Stevie G himself had munched on a kitten. Hope there were plenty of Hacks on the team bus home.

It was nice to see a feature on the Tralee Dynamos. Their 2-1 win over Salthill Devon was described as ‘the biggest game in Kerry soccer history’ and no doubt the locals, interviewed before the game, will be happy that the Dynamos are one step closer to picking up the “Heineken Cup, Super 14 trophy or ‘McCarthy’” as they identified one of Irish soccer’s most important trophies.

The match itself seemed to give good entertainment to the 14 or so souls who forgot that there was a game going on in Pairc Uí Chaoimh. Reporter Eamonn Donohue took full advantage of the unusual inclusion of the Dynamos on MNS by using as many tortured puns as possible... a tactic that this reporter thought he had an exclusive hold upon.

To ensure that RTE got their full value from the trip to Kerry as this week’s Karaoke King came from Tralee’s David O’ Leary. If there’s been a more annoying feature on a sports show anywhere in the world, ever, then it would surprise me. This week’s King should be dethroned as soon as possible. Warbling isn’t the word that one should use to describe his version of Sex on Fire from the Kings of Leon. Heck, even Paul Cook sounded better.

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This week's edition of MNS can be seen by clicking here. This article was originally written for the nice folks over at http://www.extratime.ie/