Today will see the start of this seasons Airtricity League in Ireland. Yes the season starts now, but I know that might confuse a lot of people but this league runs throughout the summer until the autumn. The supporters have been waiting patiently for the start and it all kicks off this Friday. This league is close to my heart as not only is it the top football league in our country; it’s also the league I refereed in for a few years. I have been asked on a few occasions over the years, what sort of standard is in the league ?. Well in my opinion the standard is extremely high and if the crowds were bigger and the TV stations gave it a bit more airtime it could be a super league.
The Airtricity League consists of two divisions, which are the Premier and Division One. Over the coming months I will be keeping you all up to date as to whom the winners and losers are. I am excited about the journey and I hope I can take you all along with me. Let me below just do a brief preview of the coming season and fill you in as to who the teams are.
The Premier Division consists of twelve teams including Bohemians, Bray, Cork, Derry, Drogheda, Dundalk, Galway, Limerick, Longford, Shamrock Rovers, Sligo Rovers and Saint Patrick,s Athletic. Reigning champions Dundalk will be a hard side to knock off there perch and if anybody can topple the team from Louth I feel Cork City, Shamrock Rovers or Saint Patricks Athletic. Each of these teams I just named could give them a good run for their money. The Rovers team are managed by former Hibernian manager Pat Fenlon, who has returned home to try and win the title with one of footballs most iconic clubs. All in all the Premier League looks like it is set up for a few exciting months. The actual TV stations have given it some air space, although not to sky’s proportion, it should be good and extremely competitive.
The First Division consists of only eight teams and all these teams will be battling it out to get back to the summit of the Premier. In this league there are a few teams who over previous years have played in Europe. The eight teams are Athlone Town, Cabinteely, Cobh Ramblers, Finn Harps, Shelbourne, UCD, Waterford United and Wexford Youths. In fact on the European front, if you go back to the seventies the great AC Milan played Athlone Town in the UEFA CUP. Athlone kept the Italian side to a nil all draw in Ireland and lost the second leg three nil but only after holding out for an hour with no score in the San Siro. In my opinion the three teams that will battle it out in this division will be UCD, Shelbourne and Waterford. These three should lead the pack and it is a toss up between them as to who gets the promotion.
As I said from the outset on this blog, I hope to bring you all the news from the Airtricity League as the season progresses. Stick with me and I will fill you in on all the ups and downs. It may not be promoted, as much as the Barclays Premier League but with these blogs it has to be a step forward. I shall be in attendance most weekends at games and I am really looking forward to seeing live football again; looking forward to the smell of the freshly baked pies and reading through my match day program. Any way that’s my preview done, next week I shall bring you all the news from the first weekends round of matches, Until then enjoy your week and may your team bring you happiness. Good Luck.
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