Dublin Should Be Included In Plans For Premier League 2.

Coming To A Dublin Near You Soon? I don't think so, Roy.

The Bolton Wanderers Chairman Phil Gartside has proposed a second tier to the English Premier League which would include Celtic and Rangers but why stop there? If any drastic changes are going to be made to the English league then they should include teams from Dublin and possibly Belfast as well. There is no satisfactory answer as to why Swansea and Cardiff are allowed to compete in the English league but the old firm are not. It is equally unsatisfactory that thousands of Irish people travel to England every week to support Premier League teams yet there is no team in Ireland. There is no logical reason for Ireland's exclusion from the Premier League.

All of our best players play in the Premier League. None of our best players play in the League of Ireland. Most of our best young players go to England as teenagers to try to earn professional contracts with English clubs. It would surely make sense if a Dublin-based team could provide this opportunity instead. The presence of a Dublin team in the Premier League would not be a threat to the League of Ireland because it would primarily cater for the thousands of fans who travel to Premier League matches in England and don't go to League of Ireland games anyway. For League of Ireland supporters, it would be the best of both worlds.

I think there is a perception among Irish football supporters that having a Dublin team playing in the Premier League would be a bit like allowing abortion in Ireland. While it's in England, people have access to it without the rest of us having to deal with the consequences such as falling attendances at Richmond Park, English football supporters on a weekend jolly, women going to matches on whim they might regret for the rest of their lives. If they're going to make such a big decision, at least force them to book tickets, get flights, hotels and make long trips to foreign countries where they can mull over it on the way. If they still feel like going to the game after all that, then fair enough.

Football of course is not like abortion. It is simply entertainment fuelled by a seemingly endless appetite by the public. The English Premier League is English only in name. It is already an international league involving players from all over the world.

Ireland is however in a special position in relation to the English Premier League. Ireland is too small to have a full time professional league therefore England represents the best possibility for our young players to play at the top level. Ireland already shares a common language with England and culturally Dublin is similar to Glasgow, Birmingham, Cardiff, Newcastle or Liverpool.

Dublin missed out in a big way when we let the opportunity to bring Wimbledon to Ireland pass us by. The new proposals for the Premier League 2 should see us get another chance. It is one we really should take. It would be worth a whole lot of money to the country increasing tourism and trade significantly, surely.

It would allow Irish people to support an Irish team and give Dublin a football team the city deserves. All great European Cities have great football teams, well most of them anyway and there is no reason why Dublin should be any different. A Dublin team has to be part of any PL2 proposal. It would be far too beneficial a union for everyone involved for it to be ignored.