Any thoughts on this?
Apparently the GAA say that the FAI walked into Croke Park with ‘an air of triumph’
I don’t think that it is unreasonable not to allow them to train on the pitch the day before a big GAA match.
It doesnt bode well for the future relationship anyway
As well the GAA and IRFU are getting on like a house on fire apparently
PS What a stupid saying the last line is - it could fit into the annoying cliches thread
Posted on this somewhere else - probably the Soccer prices at Croke Park thread. Anyway the FAI are being arseholes about the whole thing and I’ve no time for their complaints. They wanted to train in the stadium in February in the week in between the the Dublin Tyrone game and the Ireland France rugby game. With all the pitch changes that need to take place and the IRFU’s requests for training time it was inevitable and sensible that the GAA would reject the FAI’s request considering their game is away from home.
The FAI don’t seem to realise that they are short-term tennants, the beneficiaries of a gesture of goodwill. It’s not like the commercial relationship they had with the IRFU over Lansdowne and I don’t think they’ve copped onto that at all.
I think that ‘air of triumph’ quote came from one of these end of year annual GAA convention reports. I may be wrong but I think it came from Munster Council Chairman, Sean Fogarty, and is typical of the fools that are in the majority of senior positions within the GAA.
He’s trying to use the current spat to suggest that it was a grave error to allow the IRFU and FAI to use Croke Park in the first place and is operating off his own, stuck in the middle of the 19th century, agenda. He should build a bridge and get over himself.
That said the FAI have been totally foolish in this case. As has been pointed out the logistics of setting up the ground for the Six Nations game after the Dublin-Tyrone match doesn’t allow for the FAI to use the pitch on the Monday. Aside from these logistical reasons it is quite right that our rugby team should have priority access to the pitch given their game is that weekend and the soccer side are not playing in Croker until the following month.
I have been wholly unimpressed by Nickey Brennan’s GAA presidency so far but in this instance he’s correct. He simply said it wasn’t possible to accomodate the FAI in this case but if they came back with an alternative and more realistic request then there wouldn’t be a problem. You’d have to wonder who’s leaking the story to the press though.
While I don’t think that the current debate is relevant to the opening of Croke Park to soccer and rugby in the first place I do disagree on two points Bandage:
I don’t see why any GAA official in a position of authority would keep quiet over their beliefs and fears for the organisation. He’s not a fool for having an opinion, and it’s an opinion a very large minority of GAA members share.
I do think there’s an “air of triumph” from the FAI. They’re talking about Croke Park like it was their stadium all of a sudden. Asking to play a B international there was taking the piss. Asking to train there when they’ve an away match is also ridiculous. And putting up prices to charge more to the fans for use of facilities that they didn’t even build is bullshit. They are carrying on like they’ve put this great stadium in place for us to enjoy. In reality they are fortunate to be allowed use it and they’d do well to remember that.
This is the same shower that allowed Milltown to be sold, are allowing Dalymount to be sold, are allowing Tolka Park to be sold and cannot build one stadium, be it in Tallaght or whever the fuck Eircom Park was supposed to be. Some of those decisions were made by individual clubs but all have huge influence in the FAI - look at Louis Kilcoyne for example. The guy who single-handedly ruined the biggest and best soccer club in this country gets the top job in the FAI. Fuck them and any comments they dare to make on any stadium anywhere. They have no right until they get their own house in order.
Fair enough points on the inadequacies of the FAI - they are without question.
I also accept, the guy has a right to his opinion, as of course everybody does and I’m not saying he should keep quiet. I just feel he’s being totally opportunist and twisting things in order to prevent the modernisation of the GAA from continuing pace.
Sean Kelly seemed to enjoy the limelight quite a bit and that grated at times but he was a positive president. He got things done, he was a players’ president and his pushing for Croke Park to be opened reflected the feelings of the majority of people in the country and not just the conservative and staid mindset of, and I choose my word carefully, the idiots that we see voting at Congress on these issues. It took a lot of balls for Kelly to take these lads on and to win was beneficial for both the GAA and the other sports involved from a financial and sporting perspective and was excellent PR for the GAA also.
Yet still there’s a pack of old curmudgeons gathering in the long grass waiting to pounce and this guy Fogarty is one of them. The decision on Croke Park has been taken - deal with it you bitter old fool. The likes of this guy are to be found trawling the official rule book every weekend trying to find a loophole to prevent these games going ahead and are always looking at things from a negative angle. The worry is that these people are the decision makers shaping GAA policy going forward. That was my concern in the previous post and The Sunday Tribune did a decent piece a couple of weeks ago showing extracts from the county secretaries’ reports from the conventions around the country and they made for hilarious reading only for the fact these guys hold positions of power. Dicks.
The rulebook challenges and interpretations piss me off because they meddle with proper sports results. It’s a bit of a national past-time in this country and is indicative of our insurance claim culture (which mirrors that of the US). It is by no means unique to GAA.
Last season we had far too numerous legal decisions and appeals in the Eircom League to name them all but the Dublin City debacle probably took the biscuit.
In rugby the promotion and relegation from Division 1 of the All Ireland League went to court as far as I know.
Horse racing authorities here are constantly dragged to court by jockeys seeking injunctions against riding suspensions.
So while I acknowledge that the problem exists in the GAA and is overwhelmingly to the detriment of the GAA it is a nationwide issue. I tried to run a soccer team for the last couple of years and in the end I had to give up. Getting players was an issue but the bggest problems were always with the league and the club we were part of. We were constantly threatened with expulsion for offences ranging from using the wrong shade of yellow/gold on our jerseys to an implied allegation that 1,000 had gone missing from our subscriptions. In the end we were able to prove we gave the 1,000 to the club so it seems they either lost or embezzelled or didn’t account for the money. Corrupt fuckers and I honestly doubt I would have experienced the same with a GAA club.
Finally you are drawing a parallell between the Munster secretary’s comments on the FAI’s “air of triumph” and the same individuals rulebook studies. I don’t think you can judge his actions on one topic by his actions on an unrelated issue. He is both entitled and correct to air his grievances on this issue I believe and I agree with him on the general point. The FAI are acting like arseholes and I’ll support anyone who tells them that.
I am not talking about rulebook challenges to results of games but sad bastards who know the GAA’s rulebook off by heart and try to prevent debates and votes on issues like the opening up of Croke Park. Old bitter fooks trying to prevent forward thinking and trying to find loopholes that prevent these decisions being taken. Like a few years ago the past presidents of the GAA were able to prevent the Croke Park discussion taking place after some old fook saw they had the power to veto what was discussed at Congress. Most of these old presidents are pushing on in years now and would hardly be the voice of most GAA members, let alone modern Ireland as a whole. That set back the process by a year and every time Congress comes around there is some conservative fook spouting outdated opinions and quoting the rulebook to prevent the GAA modernising itself. It’s like a job for life for these guys and is really depressing; none more so than the Cork Secretary, Frank Murphy. The only way to change this is for all clubs to take their AGM seriously so that they are prepared to air their views to their own County Board in a clear, logical way. Then the County Board representatives at Congress should vote based on the mandate they have received from their clubs. From discussing this with people who have attended Congress there has been instances where counties haven’t discussed the issues in advance at County Board level so they have not absolved what way to vote on certain motions or the old fooks who who comprise the majority of voters at Congress simply go against what was decided at County Board level and vote off their own conservative bat. That’s simply not on.
I don’t think the FAI have come in with an ‘air of triumph’. I’d say more a typical air of ineptitude and disorganisation that characterises their organisation. This guy is just jumping on this in trying to further his own agenda. He’s expected to run for Presidency next time round on the back of this hard line conservative stance and to be honest that would sicken me.
Why should the GAA feel the need to represent modern Ireland as a whole? The members at Congress should be trying to represent the lifeblood of the GAA not some arsehole PD voting west Brit fuckbag from Rathgar.
I’m not saying they should be resisting change because it’s change, and I’m not defending your man Murphy in particular. I do think though that:
a) there is a transparency and democracry in the GAA that is prevalent in no other sporting organisation in this country. It is because of their higher standards that they are judged more harshly.
there is no doubt in my mind that the FAI have brough an air of triumph and an air of aggression to this affair. I have provided examples of that above.
I think there is an intransigence in the GAA that is quite ridiculous at times. The Croke Park debate and the fact that so many obstacles were put in place in discussing it emphasised that.
My previous post highlighted that many of those voting at Congress do not represent the lifeblood of the GAA by ignoring the mandate they have received from the relevant County Board and sticking to their own outdated guns.
The vast majority of GAA members were in favour of opening up Croke Park especially younger members, who I would class as representing the views of modern Ireland. I’m not sure who the likes of these administrators think they’re representing but in my mind it’s clear they have no agenda other than to prevent any change or medernisation within the GAA. Not just on the Croke Park issue but by any debate or attempt to address the likes of player welfare and they’re up in arms purely for the sake of being so and to maintain the status quo they feel comfortable with.
I still don’t see an ‘air of triumphalism’ in the FAI’s actions.
Raising prices is opportunism at worst and a way to cover the cost of hiring Croke Park in the first place at best. Asking to train there and play a ‘B’ game there at inopportune times doesn’t strike me as triumphalism, more a lack of judgement. I have yet to hear any comment or read any article involving FAI personnel to display triumphalism. Again, I maintain it’s a choice of words used by a bitter beauocrat to try push his own conservative agenda forward in GAA circles.
Interesting stuff.
Could spout for weeks on the merits and demerits of each organisation but keeping to the topics of the thread I think the FAI are taking the piss, completely and utterly. Not that I’m too au fait with the life of a pro footballer but its fair to say that they play in different stadia all over Britain and Europe on a regular basis so why the fook should they need to get into Croke Park a month before hand in the first place? Isn’t the norm to train in your opponents stadium the day before the game or maybe 2 days before? Slimy bastards trying to get some cheap photo ops, and now trying to stir it up against their arch and bitter rivals the GAA.
The GAA hierarchly and soccer equivalents despise each other, and its a situation that is replicated in many county set ups. It doesn’t seem so bad with rugby though to be fair. Saw it at first hand this year when one of our underage club teams qualified for a co final which clashed with a soccer match. Absolutely no chance of a postponement as it was a GAA match. Sickening as the same kids were involved, and it wasn’t the local officials to blame but the league chairman and secretary. Cunts and I doubt the GAA would’ve been much better had it been the other way round.
As for Bandage’s sentiments on “officialdom”. Bang on the money there my friend. Maybe you know of the disillusioned (relatively) young officer that recently stepped down in your own county? Interesting to hear his thoughts on this.
That Fogarty fella is representative of a shocking number of “die hards” that haven’t a fooking clue about what they’re talking about. Sad, bitter and twisted (generally) old men who would alienate the organisation from the public if they got their way. That said there are some top class officials around keeping the show in the road. Read some absolutely comcal covention quotes myself. Co secretaries with no back ground in physical preparation(or fook all else it seems?) bemoaning the amount of training going on. What a pile of cock. Better prepared teams have a better chance of being successful. What they really mean is that its costing too much money and if the players train like pros or semi pros then they’ll want to be paid and we can’t have that? Shit heads.
Methinks the orgnanisation has gotten too big for alot of those guys insofar as the big jobs ie co secretaries need a well educated, possibly uni educated people as opposed to someone who has the job because basically he loves all things GAA and has had it for as long as anyone can remember.
As for the FAI, well their hierarchy have sickened me for as long as I’ve had an interest. Their list of past leaders would be do well in CJ Haughey’s cabinet I reckon. As for Delaney, I just don’t know. Don’t like his public persona but he’s a smart fook yet he’s been there before Genesis as treasurer and now he’s the top man. If he sat in the 3rd most influential postion and saw all the shite that was going on then surely he shoul’ve shouted stop? Then those codjers fook off and he slimes his way into the top job.
Still very open minded about Brennan’s presidency, pre the vote he did a u turn on Croke Park to follow the lead of the pblic opinion which probably helped get him in. At least he took action on the rules series although not having seen the games I can’t comment. And he is meeting the GPA which is good.
Bit of a ramble there in the end.
I agree with pretty much all of that Appendage.
Delaney is very interesting. It went pretty much unreported recently but the FAI Board of Management have extended his contract until 2012. That is totally unprecedented and I don’t know on what basis this was earned to be honest. I wouldn’t mind more transparency here or an explanation as to how his performance in the role has been so impressive to merit this incredibly long contract.
Nickey Brennan’s presidency hasn’t impressed me for a few reasons:
The disciplinary shambles that he oversaw last summer (this might be harsh as it’s an age old problem and not necessarily his fault) where the disciplinary committees were covering their asses by calling up lads, like Paddy Campbell, retrospectively over a month after committing offences to prevent other players using their cases as a precedent and basically making a mockery of the players in question, their team and their supporters. Then they let off lads like Anthony Lynch who did commit offences and banned other players without even having the decency of giving them a hearing. Surely the President must stand up and sort out this mess and provide direction to his disciplinary committee to act with much more expediency and (the dreaded word) professionalism.
Again, I haven’t seen anything progressive or forward thinking from him. He major statements have concerned negative issues. He’s launched an attack on managers/trainers receiving money as being against the ethos of the GAA and said how proud he was that the 2 All Ireland winning managers, Cody and O’Connor, were doing the job for the love of it. By saying this he implied that the rest of the managers around the country weren’t. I know Harte and Kernan were well pissed off and came out and said this.
Also, these new regulations he’s bringing in preventing selectors from sitting on the touchline are ridiculous. A team will be allowed 5 personnel on the touchline next year: manager, doctor, physio, runner and admin guy to write substitute slips etc. He’s adamant this will see a decrease in unseemly behaviour as the less people on the line the less chance of a fight. Yeah, maybe in a Junior B game between local, neighbouring parishes but surely in Croke Park the manager has the right to sit beside his selectors to discuss tactics, changes etc. Baffling stuff.
Also, his first instinct was to call a halt to the compromise rules series rather than find a solution to its problems as Dessie Farrell and the players wanted to do. Instead of drafting up new rules with a tougher stance on foul play we’ve just taken the ball home with us for a year and said we’ll send the AFL a document in the ‘near future’ outlining our stance and concerns.
It’s a presidency characterised by negativity. You can’t do that, we won’t do that etc.
A bit of perspective from Ireland’s best and most forthright journalist. Ha ha ha!
GAA WANTS NOTHING MORE THAN TO SEE RIVAL SPORT DISAPPEAR COMPLETELY
Stadium shambles leaves soccer in an almighty lurch
Cathal Dervan - The Star
It is the time of year to spare a thought for the homeless so lets wish the FAI well as the world gangs up against them yet again in their search for a new home for Irish soccer. Lets face it folks, those of us in the Irish football family are facing into another spell as the nomads of the nations sporting community. From the Lansdowne Road residents to the Michael Guiney suits in Drumcondra and on to the Tallaghtban of the West Dublin GAA, no one likes us - but we do care. We care so much that the FAI really should cut their losses, move the Wales game in March to Tolka Park and tell the begrudgers to stick their Fainne badges where the sun dont shine.
It is time for a reality check and a wake up call as the implications of all those decades when previous FAI regimes brushed the stadium issue under the Merrion Square carpet come home to roost.
Truth Number One - the GAA dont want us at Croke Park. Theyre not brave enough to stand up and admit it in Irish or English, but the Pioneer Pin brigade in Croker would be quite happy if soccer just disappeared off their agenda altogether. Theyd rather welcome a 32 county rugby team to their North Dublin headquarters, some of whom wont sing the national anthem and all of whom will openly stand to attention in February as they play God Save The Queen for their English visitors.
The GAA cant even let the soccer team train on their patch. They would rather have Donnacha OCallaghans red underpants on the sacred ground than Damien Duffs silky skills. And theyre not alone.
Truth Number Two - their GAA brethren out in Tallaght want to prolong the suffering of Shamrock Rovers fans everywhere and delay their arrival in the satellite town as long as possible. The Thomas Davis Club are seriously worried that the presence of the Hoops in their catchment area will undermine their attractiveness as an outlet for the youth of Tallaght. Well lads, the behaviour of your GAA bosses in Croke Park towards Tallaghts finest Robbie Keane and Richard Dunne isnt doing you much good on that score. And just in case you havent noticed, soccer long ago passed gaelic football and hurling as the biggest participation sport for the youth of this country.
Truth Number Three - many of the residents in and around Lansdowne Road arent all that keen on the idea of a super stadium literally springing up over their doorsteps as their deliveries at this weeks oral hearings would seem to suggest. The FAI and the IRFU still believe in the Lansdowne Road project. They still believe the GAAs rent boys will take their money in 2007 and in 2008, even if the price goes up year on year.
Shamrock Rovers and Thomas Davis, if they are truthful, know that the new Glenmalure Park will open as a soccer only ground as soon as the barristers stop earning handsome fees on the back of it.
They all believe in Lansdowne, Croker and Tallaght because they have to. Those of us who dont subscribe to the manifesto though are allowed think otherwise and we should. Why are we building a new Lansdowne when there are green field sites all over Dublin county that could easily accommodate a national stadium with transport links and car parks that dont come complete with the clampers? Why does the national stadium have to be built in traffic jam Dublin? Why does everything in this country have to centre on a capital city that is now a nightmare to get in and out of? And why didnt the FAI solve their own problems when they had the chance to build eircom Park almost a decade ago?
The sad reality here is that Bertie Aherns interference stopped eircom Park in its tracks, the same eircom Park that would be up and running now but for the bullying acts of the government of the day. All Bertie succeeded in doing when he stopped eircom Park was splitting the FAI down the middle and leaving us hanging onto this hope of a new Ale Lansdowne when really he wants Irish soccer to move elsewhere.
The amazing reality is that the Bertie Bowl site out in Abbotstown is still untouched by human hand. They are in the process of building all around it but have yet to build anything on it.
Ill bet theyre waiting for the Lansdowne Road project to collapse and the GAA to finally come clean and admit they dont want soccer on their Holy Ground though theyre quite happy to accept 3.5m from the soccer-playing tax-payers for their floodlights. When all that falls into place Bertie will tell us he told us so and build his bowl. Five years from now well all be watching the Ireland team in Abbotstown remember where you read it first.
That is a quite unbelievable article even by the impoverished standards of an absolute prick like Cathal Dervan. The article is factully incorrect, incredibly biased and really badly written. Arsehole.
Anyway to pick him up on a few points:
This was Dion Fanning’s effort on the same subject in the Sunday Independent spit last weekend. The bits in green are just some of the comments I wanted to make after reading this crap.
Bleating designed to pacify militant wing
Sunday December 17th 2006
WHEN the fixtures for the European Championships were agreed, when it became known that Wales would be the first country to play soccer against Ireland in Croke Park, the Welsh manager John Toshack privately expressed some delight. It wasn’t very private if he allowed an Irish “journalist” to hear it was it?
The game, he believed, would be in danger of becoming a circus. In the build-up to the match next March, he anticipated Irish players and management being questioned all week about hope and history. There would be presentations on the pitch and a gala dinner the night before. When Wales arrive in Dublin next March, Toshack will believe his side can steal the points as Irish attention is diverted by the symbolism of old enmities being discarded. However, by the time the game arrives, it may be the FAI and the Irish team who are entering hostile territory.
The circus has rolled into town much sooner than anticipated. Three months before the game, just as negotiations are due to begin over Ireland’s residency in Croke Park in 2008, there is a sense from some within the GAA that the FAI are getting uppity.
There are those within the GAA who believe they are being forced to comply with a media agenda driven from within Merrion Square. They speak darkly of a stream of photo opportunities, of a well-orchestrated media campaign designed to allow the Irish team to train in Croke Park before the game in March. The media campaign has been proven by the absolute shite that both Fanning and Dervan - and others - have written. Where are all these unnamed sources coming from? Somebody’s telling them what to write - they just haven’t admitted it or named the individuals in their articles.
They point out that this was not possible, purely for logistical reason. The FAI had hoped to familiarise themselves with the pitch and the stadium before travelling to San Marino in February. The GAA open their diary to point out how this would be impossible. The FAI stay quiet, believing there are some high-level people within the GAA who would like the playground spats to escalate into a full-scale shouting match. The FAI have done anything but stay quiet. They’ve caused this furore in the first place and they’re expressing their disappointment to every lick-arse excuse for a journalist in this country. Anyway Dion what about addressing the logistical issue? Do you not believe them? Have you not looked at the fixtures?
For reasons of history and competition, the hostility between the GAA and the FAI is greater than anything either association experienced with the IRFU, who have observed the recent developments with patrician disdain.
The streets of Ireland are full of children wearing Premiership merchandise
Soccer is the GAA’s main rival. Munster may have won the Heineken Cup and Ireland may be tipped for success in next year’s rugby World Cup, but the streets of Ireland are full of children wearing Premiership merchandise. They may not go to training at their GAA club in a Chelsea jersey, but the combination of the Premiership’s seductive appeal and the success of the FAI’s regional development officers threatens the GAA.
The ancient hostilities are returning too. The GAA were unhappy when a senior soccer figure made remarks a couple of years ago that Croke Park was “built on bigotry”, so unhappy that they complained to the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism about the comments. The complaint was passed on to the FAI.And passed on to you by your source obviously. Even though the FAI have stayed quiet as you said earlier.
But the GAA, too, pays lip-service to the concerns of some of its members who view Croke Park as some sort of sacred battleground in the fight for Irish freedom.It’s not “some sort of sacred battleground.” There were people murdered there for fuck’s sake.
In their determination not to further antagonise those who voted against the abolition of Rule 42, the GAA has no wish to appear too comfortable with the FAI - it is a position that comes naturally to some within the organisation.
That the Irish soccer team, with its confused notions of identity, its essential devotion to the English game, a devotion that was unselfconsciously observed by generations of soccer fans in Dublin in particular, should appear to be making demands may rankle with a minority.
Yet, in part the GAA is irritated because it views the FAI as the feckless prodigal, unable to fund a stadium of its own, now returning to the top table and making demands.That bit is bang on.
There are those within the FAI, such as chief executive John Delaney, who consider themselves strong fans of Gaelic games. Delaney has established a good working relationship with Peter McKenna, stadium director of Croke Park, and with the former president Sen Kelly. It was Kelly who invited Steve Staunton and Bobby Robson to Croke Park for the photo opportunity which appears to have rankled with another wing of the GAA hierarchy. What the fuck has Delaney’s interest in Gaelic Games got to do with anything?
Some within the FAI point out that Jack Charlton attended the 1989 All-Ireland hurling final, providing a photo opportunity everyone was happy to exploit. But it is an indication of the suspicion of some within the GAA and the hesitancy as the historic abolition of Rule 42 now comes close to reality that these latest pictures are the subject of complaint.
The FAI believe they are being toyed with as the GAA tries to appease the militant wing of their association. It was agreed last July by management at Croke Park that Ireland would train at the stadium last month before their game against San Marino. Ten days before the date in November, the FAI were informed that the plans were changed. This is incredible stuff. Are we seriously to believe that the FAI believed that they were allowed to train at Croke Park when Lansdowne Road was still open? And who’s telling you all this Dion? Don’t forget the FAI have “stayed quiet.” That’s twice you’ve referred to a “wing” of the GAA now as well. It wouldn’t be like the Sunday Independent to have a dig at republicanism would it? Militant wing my fucking hole. There was a clear agreement in place.
The FAI quietly hoped to re-arrange their schedule and train in 2007 and are sceptical, given the mystery surrounding the November cancellation, about the logistical pile-up which has been put forward as a reason to prevent them entering the stadium in February.Again you’re suggesting the FAI were quiet on the matter. They went running to their favourite “journalists” though did they not? And again you bring up the logistics of February in a half-hearted dismissive way. Care to explain how they could train there Dion?
But they will soon be in, at least temporarily. The FAI’s certainty that all outstanding stadium matters will, in some way, be resolved in their favour may also irritate the GAA which has invested wisely in building the only presentable stadium in the country.
The New Year will bring a decision on planning permission at Lansdowne Road, determining where Irish football is played in the long term. While high-level sources within the FAI are confident local objections will be overcome, they feel they are not the only association concerned with the decision, and they’re not talking about the IRFU.
Far from being pushed around, the GAA are simply being asked to co-operate
“The GAA will be hoping we get planning permission,” said one FAI source last night, outlining a vision where Croke Park may be more than a temporary home if Lansdowne Road is refused permission or is allowed only a restricted redevelopment.Staying quiet? Croke Park will never be more than a temporary home and no amount of whingeing from the FAI will change that.
The FAI feel that their continued growth at every level around the country irritates the GAA as much as anything. Their primacy is being challenged, the FAI believes, and far from being pushed around by the soccer association in Croke Park, they are simply being asked to co-operate. “The GAA don’t do partnerships,” added the FAI source.This is one mouthy source for an organistaion that is quietly going about their business, even though the GAA upset them so much.
Yet while the GAA see the negotiations for residency in 2008 as being jeopardised to a certain extent by the latest spats, there is a general feeling within the FAI that once the first games are played and history is made, there would be outrage in the country if an Irish team was forced to play games in Glasgow or Liverpool.
But the GAA are at best apathetic as to whether the Irish team will be a success playing in Croke Park rather than just meek and well-behaved tenants.I’d wager the GAA couldn’t give a shit whether the soccer team are successful in Croke Park or not.
In his interview with Damian Lawlor on these pages, Nickey Brennan points out that when the Irish soccer team play away from home, they only familiarise themselves with the stadium a couple of days before the game. The FAI hope to have a few training sessions at Croke Park in the week leading up to the double-header against Wales and Slovakia, but Brennan’s comparison of Croke Park to a foreign stadium is revealing. Ireland may be at home in March, but the FAI are unlikely to feel too welcome and Toshack may yet be proved right.The FAI will have as much training time in Croke Park in March as they would in Lansdowne before any international. Their routine is to train at the stadium once before a match.
Every year is a year of living dangerously for the FAI, but with guns being pulled on Steve Staunton and Merrion Square the scene of alleged arson and immolation last week, 2006 has been particularly fraught.
The New Year may yet bring more chaos as they try to acclimatise to their new, but very temporary, home.
You see this is why I believe that the GAA are perfectly right to complain about the behaviour of the FAI. There is no doubt that the FAI are upset that they didn’t get their own way on the training. Nobody here thinks they should have been entitled to training time in November or March. So why the complaints? It’s obvious that they complained to their favourite journalists like Dervan and Fanning and asked them to put their views out there. The GAA were happy to release statements on the issue and to talk to the media whenever they were asked because the facts speak for themsleves. The FAI on the other hand adopt this pathetic crying, hurt persona and ask two of the lowest, most pathetic jouranlists in the media to fight their battles for them. Fuck them.
That is quality stuff Rocko. Exalt.
I cannot believe that any right minded and decent journalist would defend the FAI - after all that has gone on with them over the last few years. Is he seriously arguing as to their credibility? The whole ‘FAI remained quiet’ slant had me in absolute stitches when he mentions sources all over the shop. All that serves to prove is that the FAI are a shower of sneaky bastards that are obviously too afraid to be questioned directly about it. They are such a mess of the organisation and they are afraid that will come across as such - so they call up Dervan and Fanning
I cannot believe that Dervan made it so far. Does he have a following? Who gives him the right to put his bullshit opinions out there? I know - The Star.
Fanning clearly hasn’t a clue either. Seductive charm of the Premiership? Get t’fuck. There is nothing seducive about it. It’s there because of mass media and you you fuck have bought right into it. As a ‘journalist’ you have a duty to see past the hype - to get to the real issue.
You sir have failed miserably. Quit now and get a job working alongside Miiiiiiichael McMullen on Today FM
In fairness to Dion why would he quit writing for the paper that his father is editor of? It’s not as though anyone else would employ him. Pathetic.
Isn’t there another son (Evan?) that writes for it too?
The Deputy Editor of the SINDO is called Anne Harris. Her daughter writes in it too. She did an expose a while back on how she had a week of romance with John O’Shea in Spain. It was like a ‘kiss and tell’ story that you’d see in some English rag. Truly pathetic.
Dervan and Fanning are two of the biggest muppets in Ireland and their respective articles are hilarious.
Fookin hell, never really read much Dervan before but that article is gash. Bandage, can you email him in a similar vein to which you’ve challanged Hogan and McEvoy over the years? Bet the cooont wouldn’t be capable of a reply. Aside from his obvious bias, the article is so badly written it that the cooont would struggle at pass English in Leaving, let alone be a journalist.
What alarms me is that alot people who buy the red tops tend to believe alot of what they read so his shit stirring campaign will have the desired effect.
Fanning’s article is quite funny too, completely contradicting himself all over the shop. What a goon, is it a pre requisite to be an utter tool to get a job as a soccer correspondent in this country?
The GAA meeejia by and large, can be quite balanced and objective in their out looks. Sometimes they beat their own drums but never stooping to the pap that those 2 have come up with. Pure fookin fabrications!
Good call on Brennan, now that I consider it a bit more, but it is typical of old style GAA admin to think like that, can’t and won’t and then when its gone long enough they come back with an issue and pretend its their idea. Gash - and I’ve seen it happen. He did it last year at congress when a Wexford motion was defeated, without him speaking on it and then he announced it in one of his speeches as being a great idea. I think it was bringing the All Ireland’s forward to August to free up club games but I’m not sure.
Some of the new recommendations are absolutely ridiculous, and he of all people should know having been the manager of Kilkenny. How often has there been trouble on the sideline of an inter county championship match?There was a spat this year with Armagh and Kerry and that involved a fookin runner. Utter bullshit. Why the fook they want fix something that ain’t broken is beyond me, they’d be far better to sort out the rule book and of course start paying players like smellthebenjy.
There seems to be alot of jealousy and begrudery out there about the GAA, the Grab All Associaton etc which is quite unfair. The people who generally come up with these jibes generally ignore the value for money offered by other sports and general entertainment outlets. Its hard to understand and while the GAA is far from perfect the greedy, sneaky persona being created by those idiots(Dervan and Fanning) is pathetic.
Seriously? Aengus Fanning is his old fella? This gets better…
Yep. It shines through in his writing as well - I’ve never seen such anti-republican bias from a sportswriter before. He’s writing Daddy’s opinions for him.