From what i seen tonight in the league of ireland 1st div match between mervue(1) and kildare(4) the standard of junior football is a lot better than people think and theres a lot better players in it than people think. Mervue have some quality players but the bulk of them are engine room players who would run all day give great commitment but have the footballing vision and skill of stevie wonder. How is a team meant to win if they cant get goals with r browne (retired from junior 2 seasons ago) g traynor (came from olbc ) m harty (not exactly gazza) in midfield how are they meant to create goals never mind score them. I pitied mike tierney who is lovely player and goldby up front. Johnny Glynn needs to start lookin for more footballers and less athletes. West utd squad is better than mervues by a mile and i would be goin around tryig to get quality players down and trying to get them up to a certain fitness level which is easier than gettin fit people down and trying to make them footballers. As i said they still have some quality and they must miss noelie mc who i regard as 1 of the best i have seen in galway over the years. I would be down to watch the likes of young fahy crowe and lawless (athenry) west have players i would go down and watch in loi and few others from junior league. anyway just saying junior league isnt as bad as i thought or everyone else thinks good luck rant over:sunny:

Some very good points bubba and i have to agree the interest in the Eircom A league is almost non existant in most quarters........big weight of your mind after that , you will sleep well tonight mate.

Bubba,

Was at the match as well (am a Mervue United season ticket holder). The the standard at the bottom of the First Divsion is very poor. Longford were brutal in Terryland at the start of the season, worst Longford team if have ever seen in 18 years of watching LOI. Kildare are also very poor - 14 losses in a row before last night.

Mervue got off to a great start, but over a 35 game + season, its inevitable that fatigue will set in. Travelling to Wexford and Donegal, combined with training 2/3 times a week, will take its toll.

I'm sure that there are better junior players in Galway, but many are unlikely to have the fitness or discipline for this level. The three players you mentioned have all been on the books at Galway United and failed to make a significant impact (Lawless was decent enough for one season in the First Divsion).

buddy, West would be mad to attempt to enter the A League. There are already three Galway teams operating at senior level, and it is obvious that the interest is not there for more than one team (approx 70 people at last nights match).

There are pros and cons to every situation , but as i said many times before would a new Conn Senior league be more beneficial to the 3 clubs playing Eircom A ????? As you said the travel, the money needed to maintain each individual club (circa 500,000 pa i hear in Mervues case ) , and playing in front of 70 people in return. No one likes to travel the length and breath of the country , to travel back after being beat and in some cases beat well??? I know some people will say they will improve for the experience of playing other teams in this set up , but im not a believer in that ........Im a firm believer in a proper run Conn Senior League , with the same experience gained, with far less cost and possibly more interest shown by the general public. This would also suit clubs like West who bubba thinks could give these teams a run for their money ????