I have to say I am most definitely not a fan of Monday night matches in the Airtricity League. It pits the games right up against our programme. It means those working on the show can't get to the fixtures on that night, and it also means that those attending the matches obviously can't watch MNS as it's broadcast. Many fans have contacted us to voice their displeasure at this situation, but unfortunately it's not RTÉ that schedules the games.
Of course, between the NTL digital system, Sky-plus, the MNS website rte.ie/mns, and the RTE Player, it's now easier than ever for supporters to watch the programme back at their leisure, so it's not the end of the world, but it does impact in a small way, on our overall viewing figures, and is far from ideal from our point of view.
Paul, Roddy and Colm were on the couch with us this week. Our Birmingham City supporting editor, Brummie Steve, still insists on putting settee into the script instead of couch, but maybe that's just because couch sounds like Crouch, who played for Aston Villa in the past, and settee sounds like City....what he sometimes calls his team. Anyway, I'm sticking to my guns, and it will be a couch while the panel and I are sitting in it.
And before you panic about a Birmingham City fan at the helm of an Irish football programme, he also claims to support St Pat's and Bray Wanderers depending on which way the wind is blowing.
Paul McGee was basking in the glow of success having coached the Barna under Under 11A side to success in the Galway and District League with an unbeaten 10-0-0 record so far. Those kids don't know how lucky they are top have such an esteemed coach at the helm!
It's ironic that while we were talking on the programme about Bray Wanderers and the fact that they were struggling for goals and points, that they should go to at team at the summit like Dundalk, and grab a 3-2 win away from home.
I couldn't believe it when I heard the news. They'd only scored four times all season, then suddenly three away from home against a team jointly top of the table on points.
Pat's are now at the top all on their own after another win, and another clean sheet. Both Colm and Roddy agreed that Pete Mahon's system is very simiar to Giovanni Trappatoni's with the Irish squad. Stuey Byrne and Dave Mulcahy providing protection in front of the back four, and it's proving very effective, even if Roddy hasn't been thrilled by the quality of the football played by the Saints this season.
Two goals conceded in over 900 minutes of football speaks for itself. Gary Rogers in goal has to take some credit for that as well, as our highlights from the Pat's v Sligo match showed.
Over the last couple of weeks I've been a bit disappointed by the size of the crowds turning out at the games around the country. Galway deserve to be getting more punters through the gates, but maybe the pitch is militating against good football at the moment.
Certainly the results haven't been too bad, although Paul had an interesting take on this issue off air. He was saying that Galway is quite a party town and there always seems to be a festival of some sort taking place in the city, and in that scenario it's hard to drag punters away from the centre of the city when there's such a buzz on the streets and in the pubs and restaurants.
I also expected bigger crowds at Inchicore with the Pat's team going so well at the moment.
I suppose Friday's game against Shamrock Rovers should see a bumper crowd at Richmond Park, but really the big crowds are only revolving around Rovers, Dundalk, Bohs sometimes, and occasionally Pat's and Sligo Rovers in the Premier Division. For the other clubs it seems to be a hard slog.
Mind you at some venues the supporters are in stands underneath our camera positions and out of view, but the numbers are still relatively modest.
Better facilities is the way to go. But that costs money, and dosh is in short supply, not only in the football business, but the country as a whole. It is the classic chicken and egg situation. The facilities aren't great as a rule and the people aren't coming. If the people aren't coming the money isn't there to improve the facilities. If you have the solution to this particular conundrum, answers on a postcard to MNS, RTÉ, Dublin 4 or email mns@rte.ie or go to Monday Night Soccer on Facebook or rtemns at Twitter.
On a different matter, Paul McGee was telling me before we went on air that he and Roddy had played in the same Sligo Rovers team under Dermot Keely. they both did an excellent take off of Dermot, and that could become a feature in our end of season programme, or maybe before that indeed. What Paul didn't tell me was who was the better player, himself, or the Rodmeister!.
Unfortunately the programme was rammed this week and we were forced to drop Good Bad and Ugly which was a pity, because there was a classic Jason Byrne free kick in it from Oriel Park. I won't tell you whether it was Good Bad or Ugly, but we may get to use it agains at some stage later in the season, and if you were at Oriel, you know which category it fits into.
Next week's programme will also be really busy with all the goals from this week to include as well as all of next weekend's action too. It's great that the goals are flowing again, and lets hope that continues on Friday night. That's something that should help drag the fans back to the matches. Here's hoping.
Fogra:
I received a copy of a DVD this week that celebrates the life of the late Noel O'Reilly, with footage and photos of Noel at Work marking the impact he made on soccer in Ireland at all levels, along with music by some of his favourite artists as well.
Funds raised by the sale of the DVD, will be in aid of Dystonia Ireland. Dystonia is a neurological disorder that affected Noel in latter years.
If you want to support the charity, and remember a great Irish football man, you can get a copy of the DVD from www.dystonia.ie for €10. For more information you can email info@dystonia.ie
