Open Letter to David Kelly

[Stuttgart88]

Dear David,

If you don't have anything positive to say about Irish football, please don't bore us with your tedious attempts to undermine it.

There was nothing "lily-livered" about not playing a football match in Tbilisi when Russian tanks were firing on the streets only 3 weeks previously.

Nobody cares about Robbie Keane's popularity relative to Brian O'Driscoll's. Has anyone in Spain, Germany or Japan ever even heard of Brian O'Driscoll? If Brian could earn Robbie's income by moving outside of Ireland, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

I support my country in all sports, regardless of whether they are successful or entertaining. I grew up watching a perennially unsuccessful Irish football team. I gave fair criticism where it was due, and took the rough with the smooth. In 35 years I never once developed an agenda and stuck to it whether the facts fitted it or not.

Your constant digs are tiresome and subjective, and make you sound like a joyless, bitter man.

All - please feel free to add your name, and also add examples of the ridiculously over-the-top subjective negativity that this pathetic journalist has come up with in the last few years.

[BonnieShels]

As I don't read him or the Indo that often because its gash. I tend to read only what Ye post here but more often than not, its moronic.

[paul_oshea]

Dear David,

If you don't have anything positive to say about Irish football, please don't bore us with your tedious attempts to undermine it.

There was nothing "lily-livered" about not playing a football match in Tbilisi when Russian tanks were firing on the streets only 3 weeks previously.

Nobody cares about Robbie Keane's popularity relative to Brian O'Driscoll's. Has anyone in Spain, Germany or Japan ever even heard of Brian O'Driscoll? If Brian could earn Robbie's income by moving outside of Ireland, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

I support my country in all sports, regardless of whether they are successful or entertaining. I grew up watching a perennially unsuccessful Irish football team. I gave fair criticism where it was due, and took the rough with the smooth. In 35 years I never once developed an agenda and stuck to it whether the facts fitted it or not.

Your constant digs are tiresome and subjective, and make you sound like a joyless, bitter man.

All - please feel free to add your name, and also add examples of the ridiculously over-the-top subjective negativity that this pathetic journalist has come up with in the last few years.

I hope you didn't just post that here and emailed it/put it on the comments section.

[shakermaker1982]

The rugby w**kfest will be over if they crash out in style like 2007 and the football side qualify for Euro2012. Watch all the hacks and barstoolers come crawling back.

[jbyrne]

the letter is very good. short and sweet is best. please email to him and his editor and keep us updated of any response. thanks

[Sullivinho]

I'll second that.

Haven't read him in ages apart from the snippets of uber-negative drivel that are quoted here from time to time, mainly because I've settled on superior writers who come sans agenda maintainance.

[Stuttgart88]

Can anyone provide the email addresses of the hack in question and the letters section?

I'll do it later from my home email, rather than from work.

[jbyrne]

Letters to the editor: independent.letters@independent.ie

couldnt find his own email address

[boovidge]

I take it this (http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/keane-miles-behind-orsquodriscoll-in-popularity-stakes-2863678.html) is the offending article? What a ****.

[the bear]

I take it this (http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/keane-miles-behind-orsquodriscoll-in-popularity-stakes-2863678.html) is the offending article? What a ****.

"To know him is to love him," says the old song. Such a pity so many never got the chance.

what a tosser

[Spudulika]

I don't see a whole lot wrong with the article, in fairness it's quite positive, but maybe it's an anti-St. Pats thing since Mr. Kelly is a die-hard Saints fan. He can never win. He went to a rugby school, played it but loves LOI and football, so goms in rugby slag him as a soccer hack, while the in crowd slag him for trying to write about football. If thigns don't go well this weekend, it won't be DK we've to worry about!

[EastTerracer]

Can anyone provide the email addresses of the hack in question and the letters section?

I'll do it later from my home email, rather than from work.

dkelly@independent.ie should get to the man in question.

Spudulika, that is a very generous description of Mr. Kelly. He has been one of the worst offenders (along with Hyland) with regard to personalized attacks on Robbie Keane and a broader campaign of denigrating the Irish football team and management. Unfortunately it seems to be a common thread in Independent Newspapers (with the notable exception of Eamon Sweeney and sometimes Daniel McDonnell). This piece from last year was one of the absolute worst from John O'Brien in the Sindo (http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/echoes-of-henry-in-robbies-theatrical-fall-from-grace-2372854.html) - especially when there was clear video showing that Robbie didn't dive (3.03 into this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs9oVcZNGVY))

I linked elsewhere to Dion Fanning's interview with Robbie Keane last Sunday - it was actually a surprisingly fair piece (not always the case with Fanning) but unfortunately it is the exception rather than the rule with this particular group.

[EAFC_rdfl]

you can comment directly on the article linked a few posts up, and some people have done already, all laying into Kelly. Brilliant.

[Stuttgart88]

dkelly@independent.ie should get to the man in question.

Spudulika, that is a very generous description of Mr. Kelly. He has been one of the worst offenders (along with Hyland) with regard to personalized attacks on Robbie Keane and a broader campaign of denigrating the Irish football team and management. Unfortunately it seems to be a common thread in Independent Newspapers (with the notable exception of Eamon Sweeney and sometimes Daniel McDonnell). This piece from last year was one of the absolute worst from John O'Brien in the Sindo (http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/echoes-of-henry-in-robbies-theatrical-fall-from-grace-2372854.html) - especially when there was clear video showing that Robbie didn't dive (3.03 into this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs9oVcZNGVY))

I linked elsewhere to Dion Fanning's interview with Robbie Keane last Sunday - it was actually a surprisingly fair piece (not always the case with Fanning) but unfortunately it is the exception rather than the rule with this particular group.
Agree, and Vincent Hogan did a decent piece too.

[tetsujin1979]

(with the notable exception of Eamon Sweeney and sometimes Daniel McDonnell).
I tore into Sweeney after this article - http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/vendetta-is-an-italian-word-2382953.html
with this open letter - http://tetsujin1979.blogspot.com/2010/10/open-letter-to-irish-independent.html

[Kingdom]

Tets, if it was possible to go up any further in my estimation, you'd have done so. Excellent stuff young man.

[SwanVsDalton]

I tore into Sweeney after this article - http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/vendetta-is-an-italian-word-2382953.html
with this open letter - http://tetsujin1979.blogspot.com/2010/10/open-letter-to-irish-independent.html

Maybe we should e-mail Sweeney a link to that article, Ireland's record since he wrote it and Andy Reid's current playing profile.

[tetsujin1979]

Tets, if it was possible to go up any further in my estimation, you'd have done so. Excellent stuff young man.
Cheers, I have my disagreements with McDonnell also but not on the level that I'd feel compelled to take action against anything he's written.

Stutts, have you blogged or made the letter available anywhere outside the forum, or is it ok to link directly to this thread?

[co. down green]

Don't think he's on Twitter, but the indo sport page is @Indo_Sport

[OwlsFan]

O'Driscoll's is popularly available, easily discernible; Keane's is almost wholly invisible, publicly distant.

Wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that O'Driscoll lives in Dublin while Keane lives outside the country? O'Driscoll is playing for a local team plus an international teams that seldom goes further than Paris.

[Stuttgart88]

Cheers, I have my disagreements with McDonnell also but not on the level that I'd feel compelled to take action against anything he's written.

Stutts, have you blogged or made the letter available anywhere outside the forum, or is it ok to link directly to this thread?I'm an old-fashioned bloke. I sent it to the letters page. This is actually what I wrote:

Dear Sirs,

If David Kelly doesn't have anything positive to say about the Irish football team, please don't let him bore us with his continuous attempts to undermine it. International match week guarantees two things these days: I get excited about flying home, and Mr. Kelly takes a needless snipe at our team in your newspaper.

There was nothing "lily-livered" about not playing a football match in Tbilisi when Russian tanks were firing on the streets only three weeks previously.

Nobody cares about Robbie Keane's popularity relative to Brian O'Driscoll's. Has anyone in Spain, Germany or Japan ever even heard of Brian O'Driscoll? If Brian could earn Robbie's income by playing rugby in England, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

I support my country in sport regardless of whether we are successful or entertaining, well-paid or amateur, media-friendly or aloof. I grew up watching a perennially unsuccessful Irish football team and kept coming back. I went to the rugby throughout the 90s, a particularly grim time for us. I gave fair criticism where it was due, and took the rough with the smooth. In 35 years I never once developed an agenda and stuck to it whether the facts fitted it or not.

Mr. Kelly's constant digs are tiresome and subjective, and make him sound like a bitter man.

Yours etc.

[paul_oshea]

....Or like a man who has nothing to write about and just uses the same old easy angle to write a piece. Regurgitating the same old gruff everytime.

Anyway very well written. I don't think its because he is bitter per se, just that he actually has nothing to write about, his articles are few and far between and they are never dense with facts or details, just the same old crap.

I'm surprised that he still has a job there to be honest.

[geysir]

I'd say Stutts had a fierce struggle with the boundaries of restraint.

[Noelys Guitar]

Has anyone ever had the displeasure of bumping into Kelly? I have. Laughable character. Don't take this moron seriously. Give him no oxygen. As he is already a serious thief of O.

[gastric]

Going against the tide here, but are we becoming a bit precious? Let's be honest there are many quiet days in sports journalism and while the article is crap the level of venom displayed here is a bit ott. The other issue I have here is those who give other sports a hard time. Very myopic IMO and when you insult other sports, expect it to come back at you.

[Crosby87]

Its great how this website comes alive before a big match. People come out of the woodwork, people are aggressive. Really well thought out, clearly vetted, long posts. I love it.
I don't know what the hell people are talking about half the time but I still think it's great.

[Fixer82]

Who's gonna write the letter to Roy Curtis telling him he's not funny?

[AlaskaFox]

Who's gonna write the letter to Roy Curtis telling him he's not funny?

I would but I wasted all my ink comparing Keane's "declining" career to Sean Quinn's recent business endeavours.

[Sullivinho]

Its great how this website comes alive before a big match. People come out of the woodwork, people are aggressive. Really well thought out, clearly vetted, long posts. I love it.
I don't know what the hell people are talking about half the time but I still think it's great.

Nervous tension is the business. :D

I was just thinking how the confine recovers the equal ice while an icon pumps in the opera! But the numeral onion fiddles. 442. How can the intense consent bank the beer? Withdrawn striker.