McDonell in Indo has a pop at Thomas Davis

[dublinfella]

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/rovers-ring-of-confidence-can-test-juve-super-stars-2275748.html

The local Thomas Davis GAA club, who took their grievances to the High Court, weakened their hand by expressing the concern that the youth of Tallaght would be 'restricted to a diet of association football'.

Right now, with another European footballing giant on their doorstep, the diet is tasting pretty damn good.

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Ouch!

[AZOffaly]

No harm dublinfella, but that McDonnell fella is a completely anti GAA writer anyway. I'm not surprised he has a pop, but maybe he'd be better off having a pop at the FAI / League about the shambles their 'professional' clubs are in. Bohs are facing a firesale because they lost one game to TNS. They can't afford to pay their wages because they missed out. That's not a sustainable strategy. McDonnell has written some very disparaging comments about the GAA, bogball etc.

[magpie seanie]

No harm dublinfella, but that McDonnell fella is a completely anti GAA writer anyway. I'm not surprised he has a pop, but maybe he'd be better off having a pop at the FAI / League about the shambles their 'professional' clubs are in. Bohs are facing a firesale because they lost one game to TNS. They can't afford to pay their wages because they missed out. That's not a sustainable strategy. McDonnell has written some very disparaging comments about the GAA, bogball etc.

Exactly the type of stuff Dublinfella believes. Why even bother engaging with him AZ? This is someone who has been caught out on numerous occasions telling lies. He has absolutely zilch credibility.

[dublinfella]

No harm dublinfella, but that McDonnell fella is a completely anti GAA writer anyway. I'm not surprised he has a pop, but maybe he'd be better off having a pop at the FAI / League about the shambles their 'professional' clubs are in. Bohs are facing a firesale because they lost one game to TNS. They can't afford to pay their wages because they missed out. That's not a sustainable strategy. McDonnell has written some very disparaging comments about the GAA, bogball etc.

Don't give a rashers about Bohs or the LoI.

Point I took from this is that TD's worst fears about being blown out of the water in terms of local interest  have come true and then some. Full houses most weeks, kids all over the area in Rovers gear, players and their mascot in schools etc and on top of that games against Real Madrid and Juve and the associated hype.

[AZOffaly]

So have Thomas Davis 'F*cked off and Died' then? Or are they still thriving as well? Or are you saying that the unfairness Thomas Davis complained about, whereby building a stadium in a locality that could only be used by the 'professional' soccer club has in fact led to their fears being realised?

[dublinfella]

So have Thomas Davis 'F*cked off and Died' then? Or are they still thriving as well? Or are you saying that the unfairness Thomas Davis complained about, whereby building a stadium in a locality that could only be used by the 'professional' soccer club has in fact led to their fears being realised?

Are they thriving? They still haven't paid the legal bill as far as I know. Not much in terms of success on the pitch either.

I'm saying this was never about stadium access - they admitted as much. It was about trying to keep Rovers out of the area. They didn't want the 'diet' to be LoI games, so I can only imagine the dark mutterings when Juventus or Real Madrid hit town. How can they compete with that to attract kids?

[NAG1]

The fact is that the association football clubs and people associated with it are filling the kids heads full of BS that they will make it to the EPL and have the money and the wags and all the fame. Then when they dont grow enough or dont progress skill wise they way they should have they are rejected and thrown on the pile of the 'could-have-beens'.

Its happening all over Ireland to their credit the GAA in small communities works with kids of allabilties and types and does not discriminate against them.

Yes the cream make it to the county teams and beyond but the guy who togs out also has a place just as important within the club.

Been a total bug bear of mine for years, dangling this carrot infront of loads of kids that they know will never make it to fulfill their own their own ends!

[dublinfella]

The fact is that the association football clubs and people associated with it are filling the kids heads full of BS that they will make it to the EPL and have the money and the wags and all the fame. Then when they dont grow enough or dont progress skill wise they way they should have they are rejected and thrown on the pile of the 'could-have-beens'.

Its happening all over Ireland to their credit the GAA in small communities works with kids of allabilties and types and does not discriminate against them.

Yes the cream make it to the county teams and beyond but the guy who togs out also has a place just as important within the club.

Been a total bug bear of mine for years, dangling this carrot infront of loads of kids that they know will never make it to fulfill their own their own ends!

Nothing wrong with ambition, kids should play GAA with the dream of pulling on the county shirt in Croker.

So you are saying that Irish soccer clubs dump kids as soon as they realise that they aren't good enough to make it as professionals?

I suppose it would be a waste of time asking for an example or two?

[NAG1]

Im not saying they should dump them dublinfella Im saying they DO dump them when they realsise they are good enough.  ca think of numerous examples within my own area without having to think too hard.

Nothing wrong with ambition at all no my point.

My point is that they are dangling a carrot infront of them which is unrealistic to 99.99999999999999999% of them!

[AZOffaly]

So have Thomas Davis 'F*cked off and Died' then? Or are they still thriving as well? Or are you saying that the unfairness Thomas Davis complained about, whereby building a stadium in a locality that could only be used by the 'professional' soccer club has in fact led to their fears being realised?

Are they thriving? They still haven't paid the legal bill as far as I know. Not much in terms of success on the pitch either.

I'm saying this was never about stadium access - they admitted as much. It was about trying to keep Rovers out of the area. They didn't want the 'diet' to be LoI games, so I can only imagine the dark mutterings when Juventus or Real Madrid hit town. How can they compete with that to attract kids?

I can't remember all the facts now, you are obviously more interested in it than I, but I thought one of the complaints was the stadium being provided for a professional football club should be fit for use by other clubs in the area, including Thomas Davis? And the fact that it wasn't meant that effectively SR were being given a completely unfair advantage. Are you saying that Shamrock Rovers' success (relative to Thomas Davis) since then, including this glamour tie against Juve, is actually proving that to be the case?

[Declan]

Nag1 -The "dumping" as you put it of young lads who aren't good enough is mostly confined to the "bigger" schoolboy clubs who see themselves as academies for the professional game. The vast majority of local clubs look after kids of all abilities. Unfortunately I've also seen GAA clubs do the same.

I was up in Tallaght twice in the last couple of weeks looking at Rovers. Enjoyable experience but there are still plenty of what I would call thugs around the place despite the noble efforts of the club. Still can never understand the venom and abuse thats hurled at players myself 

[AZOffaly]

Thomas Davis were involved in a long running series of objections relating to the Tallaght Stadium. Thomas Davis initially objected to the original planning permission almost ten years ago. More recently, they sought to overturn a council decision that assigns a sports stadium under development in Tallaght with a playing surface unsuitable to the dimenesion of a senior GAA pitch. The minister for sport and SDCC have indicated that Junior GAA games will be accommodated in the current design as junior GAA games would not require an increased pitch size.[4] South Dublin County Council initially decided that the stadium would be multi-use containing a soccer sized pitch. This was reversed in January 2006 when SDCC sought to include a Senior GAA pitch also. The council reverted back to the original plans after they were informed by the Minister for Sport that he would not fund the stadium unless it was designated as soccer only (RTÉ, 2007). The intention of the council is that the League of Ireland soccer team, Shamrock Rovers would play in the new facility. The Rovers chairman stated on the 13th of March 2007, "But we're also amazed that a local GAA club - that already has superb, publicly-funded facilities in place - can begrudge us the opportunity to complete the club's move to the new stadium."[5].

In a High Court application to have the design of the Tallaght Stadium changed Thomas Davis argued that they would be placed "at a severe disadvantage in attracting the youth of Tallaght to our club, our sport and the GAA culture".[6]

This is from Wiki, the fountain of all knowledge, so the usual caveats apply. However this is as I remember it as well, that basically TD's argument about attracting youth was predicated on the fact that the stadium design precluded them from using it, ergo SR had an unfair competitive advantage in attracting the youth.

You seem to be saying they are right.

[dublinfella]

This is from Wiki, the fountain of all knowledge, so the usual caveats apply. However this is as I remember it as well, that basically TD's argument about attracting youth was predicated on the fact that the stadium design precluded them from using it, ergo SR had an unfair competitive advantage in attracting the youth.

You seem to be saying they are right.

Of course the stadium design precluded them. Simple physics - a GAA pitch can't fit in a soccer ground. Where in the rules does it say that municipal sports facilites have to be multi sport? They knew this and cracked on anyway, delaying their own court case at every opportunity.

I'm saying that €1.25m in legal fees that TD are liable for could and should have been used for coaching etc and meet the challenge head on, rather than a sneaky and nasty court case to block. Not very sporting etc.

[Hardy]

The 2 million lie is only a couple of posts away.

Folks, this chancer and liar is not to be taken seriously. Most here know that - just letting newcomers know.

[AZOffaly]

Alright, you've shifted the ground here now. Do you accept that TD's complaint about the 'youth' was because the design of the new stadium precluded them, regardless of how logical that seems to you?

If so, I'll sign off here, because I have no intention of 10 pages discussing the case again. It's over, Rovers won the case. I also won't presume to speak for Thomas Davis' use of their own money, even though I have my own opinion on it.

Finally, it seems to me that all you are saying, and all that McDonnell is saying, is that what Thomas Davis were afraid of has come to pass. So they lost the case, but they were correct.

(I don't know if that is actually the case or not, but that is what you and McDonnell seem to be suggesting).