yes the usual begrudgers are out in force

ffgg (Longford) - Posts: 2571 - 30/11/2012 15:23:19    1304861

Even if it is real and it may well be I am surprised that Lacey would be so blown away by it. It's more than likely a letter thrown together by some secretary at Aresnal and probably signed by Wenger without even reading the content.

If I was a kid it would be nice, I'd probably frame it but I don't see why a man who has achieved what Lacey has would be so in awe of Wenger. GAA lads are generally very modest and unassuming and Karl Lacey seems to fit that bill too. If I saw Karl Lacey and Arsene Wenger walking down too opposite sides of the street. I'd be more likely to cross over and have a chat with Lacey about Donegal's incredible journey than talk to Wenger. I'd see them as equals - two great sports men. The pedestal that we tend to put players and managers from the English Premier league up on is far too high

I suppose it all comes back to he massive hype machines behind the Premier League. There is no doubt there are some great teams over there but it's not all that fascinating is it? So fascinating that we should be falling over ourselves for scraps from the premier league table like this letter. Or am I missing something?

dahayeser (Cork) - Posts: 366 - 30/11/2012 17:04:05    1304912

its a letter lacey obviously felt bothered up..why is there a need to take shots at the man for it..just leave it be

ffgg (Longford) - Posts: 2571 - 30/11/2012 17:39:16    1304927

ffgg

why is there a need to report it to the world on laceys behalf like its some kind of award he won?

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 30/11/2012 19:29:42    1304978

bennybunny
County: Cork
Posts: 1499

1304812
hill16no1man
County: Dublin
Posts: 3218


no its just sad that people worship a soccer manager who has not achieved anything in recent years letter as unbelievable and such an award to achieve its clearly another example of people having an inferiority complex towards soccer.

I am not sure anybody is worshipping Wenger. The whole thing started because Karl Lacey seemed genuinely happy that Arsene Wenger signed a letter to him. As Ruanua said what is all the begrudgery about? Why burst his bubble (it is harmless whether it is windup or not)? The inferiority complex is on your side Hill16 as it seems to upset you that people follow the premiership. About 170,000 Irish people travel over every season. Would the attendance of every single game combined in the ound robin series of the national hurling league have a bigger attendance figures? (not by much I would say). Obviously the championship has more people attending. The fact is Irish people love premiership soccer. Whether they prefer it more than the GAA is hard to judge as it is difficult to accurately compare the two. Either way it is as much a part of Irish life and Irish sport as anything else.

well lacey is and the media are by running this story like its an achievment or an award he got.
he posted it on twitter bragging about it so is he not putting it on a pedstal by doing that?
no begrudgery about it i couldnt care less that he got it i just dont see why the need for the media to covet the story or for a thread on it like its an achievment.
no it annoys me why they follow the premiership and ffgg im sure can explain that for you.yeah 170 thousand and most of them will be protesting in my city against government cuts to this and that but can still afford to go over to britian at weekends and spend their money there.whats your point comparing the overall travel to hurling round robin attendances if you then say obviously the championship has more attending? the fact is irish people love premiership soccer but why do an elemant of irish people love it is it not down to our media glamourizing it and promoting it more then any of our won sports.
its not irish sport and never will be irish sport so i disagree.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 30/11/2012 19:37:08    1304983

well thats up to lacey himself is it not..he tweeted it or whatever...its up to him..leave it be

ffgg (Longford) - Posts: 2571 - 30/11/2012 19:37:37    1304984

i didnt start the thread or post the picture on my twitter account so dont blame me hes putting himself up to be shot at by doing that so im entitled to have an opinion on it after that.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 30/11/2012 19:42:24    1304991

how is he putting himself up there to be shot at?...i dont see how a man liking something is a reason for somebody take shots at him?..its just a bit sad really have you nothing better to do?

ffgg (Longford) - Posts: 2571 - 30/11/2012 19:48:30    1304997

So your issue is that he has boown this up by posting it on twitter.
A social forum where tweets include such controversial groundbreaking headlines as
im watching eastenders
Im glad to be home
Im ordering a takeaway
Im going to bed.

You are right he should be put in tbe stocks and humbled

ruanua (Donegal) - Posts: 4966 - 30/11/2012 20:08:01    1305021

well ffgg i do not engage with the medium of twitter so i found out by reading about this as a headline in sports newspapers that to me is blowing it up like an award.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 30/11/2012 20:11:53    1305027

What newspaper is Lacey writing for ? Or did he take out a double page spread in the New york times ?
Or did some journalist decide to pick up on a trivial post that someone made on twitter

ruanua (Donegal) - Posts: 4966 - 30/11/2012 20:21:03    1305037

COPY,PASTE,SIGN & SEND :-)

dubbydave. (Dublin) - Posts: 3927 - 30/11/2012 20:25:54    1305039

Hill16

My point about the round robin of national hurling was more indicative of the popularity of the premiership compared to the GAA. I did qualify the remark by stating that is very difficult to make a comparison between the two.

You said that of the 170000 that attend premier league games in the UK, most of them will be protesting about government cuts. You know that this statement is a throw away remark. How do you know this?

You have a point about our media 'glamourizing' the premiership, however. I would look at it from a different angle as you though. The fact is the premier league (and their sponsors and constituents) all have a very well oiled marketing machine. They can create 'Super Sundays' and 'Destiny Days' and other such concoctions of the imgagination from run of the mill games between Norwich and Wigan. I say, us GAA folk have a lot to learn from them. I have argued, on this forum, many times that the GAA won't know good marketing if....(choose your own expression here). The GAA and the media had/have an awful relationship. Whilst it takes two to tango, I would lay most of the blame squarely at the door of the GAA. It is up to the GAA to sell itself in a competitive market. The, independent profit orientated media, will write what sells newspapers. If that happens to be soccer then can you blame them? Are they supposed to fill ten pages on Oulart-the-Ballagh v Ballyhale?

bennybunny (Cork) - Posts: 3917 - 30/11/2012 21:22:26    1305065

Harmless fun whether its true or not. Two of the biggest contractors in London are Donegal men who have boxes at Arsenal. In fact one of them lives on the old Highbury statium site. I expect one or either of them are the source of this . It is probably true,both would have social inter action with Wenger post match on certain Saturdays whilst entertaining their clients.

Brinsley Swartz (Mayo) - Posts: 2225 - 01/12/2012 11:10:37    1305102

Have to say some of the crap people want to have a go at people about is ridiculous! I have not been a huge fan of donegal football but credit to them they performed all year this year playing better football than last year! I don't think they are the unbeatables that some people are trying to make them out to be and think like every other team I think they will struggle to retain sam in 2013!

Thats my begrudgery done with...I think Lacey has every right to be damn proud & chuffed with recognition from one of the worlds best managers & a top european club of one of the worlds largest sports! Why the hell wouldn't he??? And why would anyone feel the need to knock him for it!

Before anyone says anything I am not a huge soccer fan and have only ever been to 1 soccer match while in barcelona I took in a game at the nou camp...

pigonastick (Dublin) - Posts: 487 - 01/12/2012 12:15:35    1305115

My wife got me one of these letters from wenger when I got married and whilst I don't think for one minute he writes every single letter to fan requests I do know he personally signs them all. I have a friend who works in the marketing department at arsenal and she confirmed he takes 15 or so mins every few days to sign them. Probably doesn't read them though ;-)

Cmills Fan. (Antrim) - Posts: 508 - 01/12/2012 14:01:16    1305139

bennybunny

oh i agree with you 100% that the gaa marketing is awful but i think the media has duty to report the biggest sport in each country in its media the most its only common sense,they put foreign sport over our own sports and i dont just mean gaa im talking irish soccer too and horse racing.we have the best horses in the world from ireland we have the best jockeys in the wrold from ireland but you would hardly think it the lack of coverage it gets in comparison with british racing.
gaa is the biggest sport in ireland and on a news bulletin it will nearly always come last and in papers it takes nearly an all ireland final to get on the headline pages unless of course its a negative story it will nearly always make front page.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 01/12/2012 14:55:56    1305166

The papers dont have a 'duty' to report to report anything, they have an obligation to work towards making their shareholders wealthy. They will write what sells, people clearly want to read about rugby and premiership soccer for 9 months of the year and GAA during the summer, it's why they do it

bad.monkey (USA) - Posts: 4649 - 01/12/2012 15:30:39    1305181

bad.monkey
County: USA
Posts: 3226

1305181 The papers dont have a 'duty' to report to report anything, they have an obligation to work towards making their shareholders wealthy. They will write what sells, people clearly want to read about rugby and premiership soccer for 9 months of the year and GAA during the summer, it's why they do it

Papers sometimes are more concerned with keeping wealthy shareholders happy, very easy to make something look more attractive than it actually is.
Admitedly the GAA have to share the responsibility for stucture and the competitiveness of the league and marketing it, they are very slow and set in their ways when it comes to a bit of imagination for getting exposure,

AthCliath (Dublin) - Posts: 4347 - 01/12/2012 16:31:51    1305197

Its incredible this sort of rubbish gets into the media.Who apart from Karl Lacey actually gives a fiddlers about this.

It just goes to show insecure some people are about GAA and that even the slightest bit of recoginition from someone outside of Ireland seems to create such a reaction see the recent Jim McGuinness story for more of the same.

offaly317216 (Offaly) - Posts: 12 - 01/12/2012 17:07:02    1305214