Letter from IFA

[T Fearon]

Opened my post box on Friday evening and lo and behold there was a letter inside from the IFA with two complimentary tickets for the Cup Final, Cliftonville V Crusaders (I had entered a competition believe it or not).

So I made a return visit to the old shit hole (aka as Windsor Park) for the first time in close on ten years. What a disaster. You couldn't sit in loads of seats in the upper deck due to them being soaking wet, with leaks in the fecking roof, and the game itself was dire, well at least Cliftonville were, Crusaders had four or five players who looked as if they'd kicked a ball before, though having said that the pitch was a nightmare that not even Pele or Maradona in their prime could play on, I can see now how the North of Ireland beat so called good sides there.

On the plus side, the atmosphere was quite good, with both sets of fans well behaved and the Cliftonville fans, among who I was seated, took their defeat graciously.

If I had paid £15 to watch it,I would have been suicidal and now I'm wondering was the IFA simply getting their own back by sending me the complimentary tickets?  Is Irish League football as dire as that all the time:

[Norf Tyrone]

2 complimentary seats... In the upper deck? In with the Cliftonville fans?

Surely there would be a central corporate zone?

[Gnevin]

For a man who claims to hate the IFA you've no problem taking tickets off them or attending games, strange.  Have the IFA and Linfield parted ways?
Would you take the 30 pieces as quick ?

[longrunsthefox]

Guess you had one of those weekends Tony... Donegal Celtic, that great Oirish team Glasgow Celtic and Cliftonville all losing    On the subject of flags etc.. why did Cliftonville fans bring tricolours to the final. Does that not make them flip side of Linfield bringing their union jacks?   

[A Quinn Martin Production]

I watched the first 20 mins of this match...dire would not describe the standard adequately.  It's probably 25 years since I've been to an Irish League game, but do people actually pay to watch this??

[ziggysego]

I was expecting sooo much from this thread and it just turned out to be another competition winning thread again 

You forgot to add Fox - Celtic losing to Rangers in the SFL, enabling to top the table.

[full back]

You forgot to add Fox - Celtic losing to Rangers in the SFL, enabling to top the table.

Guess you had one of those weekends Tony... Donegal Celtic, that great Oirish team Glasgow Celtic and Cliftonville all losing    On the subject of flags etc.. why did Cliftonville fans bring tricolours to the final. Does that not make them flip side of Linfield bringing their union jacks?  

That sore wrist is having an effect on your eyesite

[ziggysego]

  shut up full back.

[longrunsthefox]

You forgot to add Fox - Celtic losing to Rangers in the SFL, enabling to top the table.

Guess you had one of those weekends Tony... Donegal Celtic, that great Oirish team Glasgow Celtic and Cliftonville all losing    On the subject of flags etc.. why did Cliftonville fans bring tricolours to the final. Does that not make them flip side of Linfield bringing their union jacks?   

That sore wrist is having an effect on your eyesite

Foxes don't have wrists... duh!

[full back]

You forgot to add Fox - Celtic losing to Rangers in the SFL, enabling to top the table.

Guess you had one of those weekends Tony... Donegal Celtic, that great Oirish team Glasgow Celtic and Cliftonville all losing    On the subject of flags etc.. why did Cliftonville fans bring tricolours to the final. Does that not make them flip side of Linfield bringing their union jacks?   

That sore wrist is having an effect on your eyesite

Foxes don't have wrists... duh!

Who said they had?

[ziggysego]

You forgot to add Fox - Celtic losing to Rangers in the SFL, enabling to top the table.

Guess you had one of those weekends Tony... Donegal Celtic, that great Oirish team Glasgow Celtic and Cliftonville all losing    On the subject of flags etc.. why did Cliftonville fans bring tricolours to the final. Does that not make them flip side of Linfield bringing their union jacks?   

That sore wrist is having an effect on your eyesite

Foxes don't have wrists... duh!

It was a reference to me fox and the wrist pain I was experiencing last week. Still hasn't cleared up properly yet.

[ludermor]

You forgot to add Fox - Celtic losing to Rangers in the SFL, enabling to top the table.

Guess you had one of those weekends Tony... Donegal Celtic, that great Oirish team Glasgow Celtic and Cliftonville all losing    On the subject of flags etc.. why did Cliftonville fans bring tricolours to the final. Does that not make them flip side of Linfield bringing their union jacks?   

That sore wrist is having an effect on your eyesite

Foxes don't have wrists... duh!

Pat Fox was pretty handy at hurling for a lad with no wrists

[T Fearon]

Flags and emblems displayed by both sets of fans mirrored the different political outlooks, but is was gratifying to witness the virtual absence of sectarian/political chanting at the game. Also the Boucher Road , with Cliftonville fans outside Browns pre match,  and huge traffic tailbacks after the game,did slightly resemble Clones on Ulster Final day, and had a bit of a carnival atmosphere about it, which was good in my opinion.

The standard of football (basic skills lacking from semi professional players that are presumably well paid relatively speaking) and the physical state of the stadium (I was last there in the year 2000 and it hadn't changed one iota) would be my main bugbears. How and why do people pay and put up with wet seating at a so called international arena due to leaks in the roof in this day and age???

I accepted the tickets from the IFA gladly, as to do otherwise would have made no difference. It was also gratifying to note that the English National Anthem wasn't played, presumably in deference to the Cliftonville support. As a result I will now soften my previous hardline attitude and acknowledge progress.

[girt_giggler]

Wish I'd of paid the £15 to go see the final......would of been a far better option than enduring 90 mins of Fullerton & big DJ on commentary 

[nifan]

Funny it is only the IFA you where accepting tickets off.
Usually you refer to linfield\IFA


In seriousness though, yes the stadium is still a bit shit - the roof is in need of work, but for me the most annoying things are the small, and not expensive things, like the painting of row numbers that people can see so they can find their seat. (certainly in the kop its a disaster anyway).