Ungrateful FAI Delaney

[T Fearon]

It has taken you 11 pages to discern that? Why would a thread debating the continued use of GAA Headquarters for other sports not merit inclusion on a GAA Board?

Don't throw a hissy fit just cause you lose an argument!

[INDIANA]

It has taken you 11 pages to discern that? Why would a thread debating the continued use of GAA Headquarters for other sports not merit inclusion on a GAA Board?

Don't throw a hissy fit just cause you lose an argument!

I'm still trying to fathom why an alleged GAA fan defends soccer more vehemently than any interest he's had in the Gaa and then tries to claim he's a Gaa Fan.
Seems to me Tony you don't know what side of the fence you're on. You and dublinfella must be drinking buddies.

[T Fearon]

Its not a question of sports competing for my criticism. I believe that soccer and gaa are very strong in Ireland, therefore both governing bodies are doing an awful lot right.

I think the GAA erred big time on this issue (ie of not designating Croke Park as the National Sports Stadium, just as the FAI erred big time on the Eircom Park fiasco) and resent the gratuitous insults meted out to the FAI and soccer supporters in general (including the outrageous labelling of us all as "knackers" by one poster who has been quick in the past to draw attention to others who have used terms of abuse on this Board and who sees himself as some sort of moral guardian), by some posters.

As I have said previously I put my money where my mouth is and am a current GAA season ticket holder and FAI Blockbooker, and generally admire the work of both associations.

By the way you are not the "addressee" I was referring to in my post to Main St.

[saffron sam2]

Happened upon this. Mr Fearon has obviously forgotten it.

Diarmuid Doyle - Viva Aviva – but a stadium by any other name would still beat Croker

If you have to sell the name of your stadium for wads of cash, then you could do worse than have it called 'the Aviva', as Lansdowne Road (under construction, above) will be known from now on.

There's a soft, unthreatening, sound to it; the last four letters make up a word that is often heard in sports grounds, albeit in Spain and Italy. It could have been called the Burger King Stadium.

Whatever it's called, it can't open soon enough. Last Wednesday's match between Ireland and Georgia proved yet again that Croke Park is not fit to be a modern soccer stadium. A terrible surface and unusable terracing contributed to a scrappy match and a terrible atmosphere, and highlighted the mistake the FAI made in not investigating the idea of playing our home matches in fully equipped, atmospheric stadiums in England.

We've plundered the diaspora for players long enough. When we had the opportunity, we should have given them a look at the team.

http://www.tribune.ie/article/2009/feb/15/diarmuid-doyle-viva-aviva-but-a-stadium-by-any-oth/?q=croke%20park%20surface

[Hardy]

A state of having no fixed abode; an attitude that society owes you something, of expecting as a right access to the property and premises of others, of doing little or nothing to provide yourself with an abode but waiting for others to provide it for you; being so ungrateful, when you are provided with a place to play as to suggest "well, you had to let us in anyway"; perpetrating and tolerating abuse of members of visiting teams, something that no other set of Irish sportsmen I can think of has ever been guilty of; embarrassing the country with a global whinge about the outcome of a game and even begging to be admitted to a tournament as a special case; encouraging supporters to abuse their own players.

We have experienced all of the above from various strata of the Irish soccer community from officials to players, journalists and supporters. This kind of behaviour rings a bell with me. What can it be?

[T Fearon]

You are joking right?

You obviosuly didn't see Joe Kernan's post match tv interview after Armagh's game in the NFL with Derry at Celtic Park a few years ago,when he claimed about the torrent of foul mouthed abuse both he and the Armagh team received from grown men and young kids.

And of course the death threat to the then Cork Hurling manager last year never happened?

Or haven't you heard Hill 16 resonate with "You'll never beat the Irish" whenever Dublin confront a Northern team?

The FAI or its supporters never expected anything from anyone and they hired Croke Park, as did the IRFU, at exorbitant rates, principally because even the rednecks within the GAA were intelligent enough to realise the folly of depriving Dublin city of millions of euros in the event of big sporting occasions being transferred to the UK.

As for "whingeing"  (or as I would prefer, airing a legitimate grievance at an obvious injustice with terrible consequences), ffs Tyrone are still whingeing about Charlie staying on the field for a few minutes back in 1995 and Peter's disallowed "equalising" point, and practically every red card issued by a referee in a major Championship game is disputed and comes before the DRA.

Pot, Kettle and black comes to mind

[INDIANA]

You are joking right?

You obviosuly didn't see Joe Kernan's post match tv interview after Armagh's game in the NFL with Derry at Celtic Park a few years ago,when he claimed about the torrent of foul mouthed abuse both he and the Armagh team received from grown men and young kids.

And of course the death threat to the then Cork Hurling manager last year never happened?

Or haven't you heard Hill 16 resonate with "You'll never beat the Irish" whenever Dublin confront a Northern team?

The FAI or its supporters never expected anything from anyone and they hired Croke Park, as did the IRFU, at exorbitant rates, principally because even the rednecks within the GAA were intelligent enough to realise the folly of depriving Dublin city of millions of euros in the event of big sporting occasions being transferred to the UK.

As for "whingeing"  (or as I would prefer, airing a legitimate grievance at an obvious injustice with terrible consequences), ffs Tyrone are still whingeing about Charlie staying on the field for a few minutes back in 1995 and Peter's disallowed "equalising" point, and practically every red card issued by a referee in a major Championship game is disputed and comes before the DRA.

Pot, Kettle and black comes to mind

I object to being called a redneck by a hypocrite like yourself Tony. If it was somone making rational reasoned arguments then I'd say fair enough. But not by someone who isn't quite sure what he is and has constantly contradicted himself in the course of the 11 page thread.
Shall I put up some youtube footage of Shamrock Rover fans and Bohs fans to remind you of the people you call "fans". I've yet to see 2 gaelic football sets of fans outside a pub engaged in a pitched battle with the Gardai throwing empty kegs at each other. And you have the temerity to call me a red-neck?
Away with you you gombeen.

[saffron sam2]

You are joking right?

You obviosuly didn't see Joe Kernan's post match tv interview after Armagh's game in the NFL with Derry at Celtic Park a few years ago,when he claimed about the torrent of foul mouthed abuse both he and the Armagh team received from grown men and young kids.

And of course the death threat to the then Cork Hurling manager last year never happened?

Or haven't you heard Hill 16 resonate with "You'll never beat the Irish" whenever Dublin confront a Northern team?

The FAI or its supporters never expected anything from anyone and they hired Croke Park, as did the IRFU, at exorbitant rates, principally because even the rednecks within the GAA were intelligent enough to realise the folly of depriving Dublin city of millions of euros in the event of big sporting occasions being transferred to the UK.

As for "whingeing"  (or as I would prefer, airing a legitimate grievance at an obvious injustice with terrible consequences), ffs Tyrone are still whingeing about Charlie staying on the field for a few minutes back in 1995 and Peter's disallowed "equalising" point, and practically every red card issued by a referee in a major Championship game is disputed and comes before the DRA.

Pot, Kettle and black comes to mind

I object to being called a redneck by a hypocrite like yourself Tony. If it was somone making rational reasoned arguments then I'd say fair enough. But not by someone who isn't quite sure what he is and has constantly contradicted himself in the course of the 11 page thread.
Shall I put up some youtube footage of Shamrock Rover fans and Bohs fans to remind you of the people you call "fans". I've yet to see 2 gaelic football sets of fans outside a pub engaged in a pitched battle with the Gardai throwing empty kegs at each other. And you have the temerity to call me a red-neck?
Away with you you gombeen.

Interesting. Probably did little to quell the disturbances between the rival fans.

[T Fearon]

I didn't call you a redneck. Neither did I say every soccer fan in Ireland is a saint. I have constantly said that the rednecks on both sides are as bad as each other, but are thankfully in an ever decreasing minority

It really is time to move on, I believe the overwhelming majority of sports fans in Ireland are like myself,and  follow GAA, Soccer and Rugby, and bear no ill will to any of the three sports mentioned, and want to see them all thrive, like they are doing currently. All three have made mistakes in the past but whats the point in dwelling on these?

[T Fearon]

Very Good, Saffrom Sam 

[INDIANA]

I didn't call you a redneck. Neither did I say every soccer fan in Ireland is a saint. I have constantly said that the rednecks on both sides are as bad as each other, but are thankfully in an ever decreasing minority

It really is time to move on, I believe the overwhelming majority of sports fans in Ireland are like myself,and  follow GAA, Soccer and Rugby, and bear no ill will to any of the three sports mentioned, and want to see them all thrive, like they are doing currently. All three have made mistakes in the past but whats the point in dwelling on these?

I follow all 3 but I have no time for anyone within the FAI  and the way they have conducted their affairs since the late 80's. Where did all the money go that they generated from 88-94. Yet the same people turn around and criticise the GAA that allowed them the use of their premises and yet never asked any questions of their own organisation and where all the money went. How a professional organsiation can't build its own stadium and can't even sell the corporate boxes to go with it when the Govt builds one for them. I find people involved in junior soccer in Ireland are the only ones who ever ask any questions of the FAI - which is the very reason they are generally abandoned by the FAI.
How anyone can have any respect for that organisation is beyond me.

[T Fearon]

Where did all the money go?

I would suggest a lot of it has gone on soccer infrastructure (Like Abbotstown, Tolka Park, Dalymount Park etc, not too mention a whole hosty of junior clubs) just like the GAA, and don't forget that soccer is a professional sport, unlike the GAA, and had far less opportunities to make money in comparison to the GAA.

Can you provide proof of the FAI officially criticising the GAA, because I am unaware of this?

[Main Street]

I have read a lot of transsubstantion, a process of transforming dubious opinions about the FAI to factual status,
has anyone got one quote (from drunken FAI official perhaps?) to even mildly allude to a substantiation of said opinions?


The FAI and IRFU both rejected recent overtures from the GAA asking them would they consider to play some games there after the new Lansdowne was built.
Both the FAI and IRFU said thanks but no dice.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2009/0110/1231515468207.html

'"The reality is Lansdowne Road has been built on the premise that we will play our full fixture list there. It is funded by way of commercial contracts with our suppliers, our 10-year ticket holders, with our box holders, potentially with a naming rights holder and with our catering franchise, all of whom have entered commercial arrangements on the basis that there is going to be a full set of rugby internationals and a full set of soccer internationals and a number of concerts every year."'

Now that the estimated Eur35m earned from the FAI and IRFU has been realised,
the reality for the GAA is that vast majority of members would accept the renting out of Croke Park for non GAA events and empower the CC  to decide, as long as it did not interfere with GAA schedule or pitch condition.
The GAA woke up too late from its strict condition of usage after the Congress vote and both the FAI and IRFU have moved on to be contracted to play all games including the block busters at the new Lansdowne.

[INDIANA]

Where did all the money go?

I would suggest a lot of it has gone on soccer infrastructure (Like Abbotstown, Tolka Park, Dalymount Park etc, not too mention a whole hosty of junior clubs) just like the GAA, and don't forget that soccer is a professional sport, unlike the GAA, and had far less opportunities to make money in comparison to the GAA.

Can you provide proof of the FAI officially criticising the GAA, because I am unaware of this?

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-football/gaa-puzzled-by-delaneys-croke-park-claim-2017428.html

[lynchbhoy]

Or haven't you heard Hill 16 resonate with "You'll never beat the Irish" whenever Dublin confront a Northern team?

first I have ever heard that Tony - though I would expect that if any Hill 16 fans did, it woul dbe tongue in cheek
I recall them baa-ing like sheep in 1991 at the Meath fans and everyone had a good laugh at it rather than take it as an insult to sexual preferences etc..