Players missing the 12th man
“Of course you want to see it full, every player wants to play in front of a packed stadium,” the Fulham defender said.
“Actually, we had a chat about going back to when we qualified for tournaments and Lansdowne was always sold-out, always packed.
“But for a lot of people, a game against Macedonia probably isn’t as appealing, as much as it is a huge game for us and it is a massive game in the competition. You don’t take it for granted at all, but fans probably don’t see that as a game they are that keen to come and watch.
“Different things need to be done to try to entice the fans, maybe marketing or maybe changing the price of tickets, but obviously the more people at the ground, the better the atmosphere.
“We always say about the 12th man and Irish fans have always been known for that, so to have a full stadium would definitely be to our benefit, especially at the Aviva.”
The official attendance for Saturday night’s game was just over 33,000 in the 50,000-capacity stadium and, for tonight’s friendly game against Uruguay, there are sure to be more of those empty rows of seats which have become such an unwelcome feature at football matches in the new ground.
The FAI has already reduced ticket prices for Irish games from €70 and €50 to €60 and €40 for competitive games and from €55 and €40 to €45 and €30 for friendlies.
FAI chief executive John Delaney also said recently that the association plan to review their policy of bundling — which requires supporters to buy tickets for two games at a time — at the end of this campaign.
And Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni said this week that smaller attendances have become a feature of football matches all across Europe, and not just in Ireland.
However, in the last couple of days, the FAI has come under considerable public and media pressure to cut the existing prices of tickets to make the international match experience a more affordable one for people at a time of deep recession in the country.
Wolves manager Mick McCarthy is also under pressure and he may blame the FAI if his side get relegated.
Trapattoni described Kevin Doyle’s injury as “not good but not bad, bad,” in his inimitable way. But while the Ireland manager can feel confident the striker will be available for the return match in Skopje in June, McCarthy will have to wait and see just how much of the club’s relegation fight will have to be conducted without Doyle.
The results of a scan suggest that Doyle will not, as was initially feared, miss the remainder of the Premier League season though his recovery could yet run to two months.
“The scan has confirmed that Kevin has torn his MCL (medial collateral ligament),” said Steve Kemp, head of Wolves medical department.
“The likely time span is anywhere between four and eight weeks.”
Wolves chief executive Jez Moxey says the club are philosophical about the injury.
He said: “Everyone wants to play for their country and common wisdom says when they play for their countries their values go up.
“But players run the risk of getting injured. Kevin is a quick healer, he has done it before, we have started the rehabilitation process so we hope he can be back sooner rather than later.”
“We are trying to be positive and we hope to have Kevin back before the end of the season and that he can play a part in helping us stay in the Premier League.”
Moxey confirmed the club will not receive any compensation. “We get diddly squat,” he said. “Unlike England and Scotland, the Republic of Ireland don’t offer insurance or compensation for players who get injured.
“FIFA’s guidelines do not require them to do so.”
Meanwhile, although not officially confirmed, it’s looking increasingly likely that the proposed summer friendly in the USA between Ireland and Italy will now take place on June 11 in New Jersey in the new 82,000-seater Meadowlands Stadium.
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