London Irish Online Q & A

by **Ozzy3213** Tue 28 Aug 2012, 6:11 pm

London Irish CEO Andy Martin and DOR Brian Smith have just held an online Q & A with fans on the clubs website.

http://www.london-irish.com/qanda.ink

I have to say I think this sort of thing is great, and hope they do it again in the future. He's the questions and answers as posted.

Q. Do you want away support? what has happened to away ticketing and travel? The club would appear not to care if they have a travelling fan base.

A. Travelling support is of course very important to us and seeing and hearing our supporters at away games gives the team a massive boost. We are proud to have some of the most passionate supporters in the Premiership! We have organised away travel in the past, both within the club itself and through the London Irish Supporters Club, however demand was not sufficient to make it viable to continue. Tickets for away games will be made available through the Sales Office ( 0844 249 1871) as soon as we receive tickets from the away clubs and the London Irish website will be updated as soon as tickets become available.

Q. Where realistically do you see London Irish at the end of the season, play offs ?..... Heineken qualification surely is a minimum aspiration?

A. We want to be a top four team in the Premiership and we want to be competing for Silverware in all three competitions. The JP Morgan 7s win demonstrates our ambition.

Q. From the performance shown at Munster on Friday, Shaun Edwards has clearly had a massive impact at the club, a large amount of points were lost last season in the final 10 minutes of games, are you confident we can abolish any lack luster performances and kick off the season with a spirited performance on Saturday? Come on you Irish.

A. That is very much the plan - we all recognise the huge contribution Shaun can make to the club this season and look forward to reaping the rewards.

Q. Having booked a weekend in Bordeaux.Where does the Amlin figure in your plans this year?

A. We aim to be competitive in all competitions and the Amlin represents an additional opportunity for us to qualify for the Heineken Cup again. I hear the wine's not to bad in Bordeaux too!

Q. Why was there not an open training session this year? last year's was a huge success and a great opportunity for fans to meet players?

A. Because of the issues we had holding it at Reading last season, we're planning to do something in Sunbury mid-season (in addition to the Nottingham friendly) and will let you know details soon.

Q. Why are our seats for the Twickenham Double Header so poorly situated when our season tickets at the Madejski are premier seats on the half way line?

A. In response to feedback from home club season ticket holders over the past seasons, this season home club season ticket holders (Saracens and Wasps) have been given priority and allocated more central seats than the away club season ticket holders so that as many home club season ticket holders as possible can sit in prime positions reflecting their seats in their usual home ground. This means that next season, when London Irish will be a home team, we will have a larger allocation of premium tickets than ever before allowing all season ticket holders, based on current numbers, to have premium seats.

Q. Most pundits have us down to finish 10th :-0
Does LI have an active relationship with them and the press in general? They seem to be listening to the hype coming from other teams but not us? Why is that?

A. It's always good to be the underdog and surprise a few people - including media!

Q. Has there been any significant contact with Reading FC's new Russian owner?
If so, is he a Rugby fan?

A. Not yet but we look forward to welcoming him down to a game very soon.

Q. Which departing player from last season do you think you will miss the most this season ?

A. I think we'll miss them all and if we could wind back the clock it would be nice to have all of the Armitage boys still at London Irish.

Q. Will there be anymore big name signings that will add to the already talented squad we have?

A. We're pretty happy with the squad we've assembled but we're still looking at one or two players. Stay tuned!

Q. A League runs between now and Christmas...

a) Who decided to drop off the home and away format with games all season? What is our view of this decision?

b) Do we have the squad to play now?

c) What happens after Christmas in terms of keeping the fringe players happy? with no A league?

A. It was a collective decision made by all clubs. Our approach this season will be very different in that a lot of the players will come from Academy and triallists. The best of which will be retained after Christmas.

Q. What's happening with Jebb? Are we going to see him in an LI shirt again?

A. Jebb is still currently on loan with the Stormers. He'll be returning to the club at the end of the Currie Cup.

Q. Not a question as such, just thanks for doing this Q & A for the fans, and for putting a smile back on our faces through the signings that have been made, after what was a pretty miserable time last season.

Hope the boys can really stick it to Saracens on Saturday and look forward to roaring the team on!

Come on you Irish!!!

A. Thank you! We look forward to hearing you on Saturday and when we return to Madejski on 8th!

Thanks everybody - it was great to get your questions and please look out for details on further sessions coming soon.
Andy and Brian

There were a few more but the page has gone funny, so I can't copy them all here now. In essence thought he main one is that there is another tighthead coming in from South Africa, so presumably at the end of the Currie Cup. Also I have highlighted in red, that if Brian stays in charge, who knows, we may well see the Armitages back at the MadStad at some time in the future.