How the rest of the world see us....

[dynamo kerry]

The panel on RTE commented on Michael Robinson, and put him firmly back in his box.

what did they say? Found his article very disappointing in tone...(correct but just been a (insert swear word) about it.)

[sullanefc]

what did they say? Found his article very disappointing in tone...(correct but just been a (insert swear word) about it.)

Not word for word but:
Giles: The comments were disrespectful.

Dunphy: Dunphy himself disagrees with some of the decisions Trap makes, but the man deserves respect and what Robinson said was disrespectful.

On the players being second rate:
Dunphy said: Robinson was no Pele himself.

Brady: Robinson is a bit of a mouthpiece for the Madrid media, and is a big football pundit on Spanish Tv. Said he wouldn't expect anything less as Robinson plays up big time to the Madrid media as they are his employers.

To which Dunphy replied:
Don't you hate those second rate Ireland players who are pundits now and talk a load of rubbish.

Cue much laughter as Eamon was obviously extracting the urine out of himself as well.


As I said, not word for word, but that was the gist of it.

[boysingreen]

Gutted to have witnessed and say it, but the rest of the world was right.

[irishultra]

All the haters were correct, we were absolutely abysmal. Look at Spains WC 2010 results, you won't see any hammerings in there, but little old Ireland lay down for them.

[tricky_colour]

Scotland did better against them in qualifying - twice. Lost 3-1 and 3-2.
Liechtenstein held them to 4-0 at home!!

Shocking stuff!!

[Eminence Grise]

Apart from a certain tone of snideness - which may or may or not have been Robinson's intention (are these his actual words, or as translated and then culled for quotes?) - there's not much to disagree with what he said. Our style of football hasn't progressed at national level; I've seen LoI teams show greater tactical nous against continental teams in recent years. When honest endeavour, or a gladiatorial conflict with an expected honourable defeat, is the limit of your expectations, it's time to take stock.

[Murfinator]

what did they say? Found his article very disappointing in tone...(correct but just been a (insert swear word) about it.)

Judging from his article (and what charlie quoted) I'd say Ireland was never his country to begin and he's a fine example of the people we shouldn't be handing out caps to.

[Murfinator]

Some comments (on the negative spectrum of things) from 4chan. Mostly Americans and western europeans. Thoughts on people who view our supporters like this?


The Irish are fake supporters. For them it's just a trip to Poland and yet another reason to get drunk all day every day. They don't give a **** about the football itself, just about playing dress-up and being blindly nationalistic.
Sing when they're losing? Thats implying they cared about winning to begin with.


Implying the Irish actually support their local teams. That's how good a bunch of supporters they are, their league's dead and they rarely push attendances beyond the 10k mark. ****ing pathetic.


The reason why Irish and Scottish are so good is because they know they're ****. You won't see English/German/Spanish fans act like that when they're being thrashed because they feel ashamed, the Irish expect to be thrashed.


>Come to support their country
>Wearing Scottish club shirts
You ****ing idiots


>not being passionate about sports and just wanting to get drunk
>best supporters


Thank god they're gone by next week. They're only in it for the drinking anyways.

[Charlie Darwin]

Implying the Irish actually support their local teams. That's how good a bunch of supporters they are, their league's dead and they rarely push attendances beyond the 10k mark. ****ing pathetic.
"Rarely"?

[nigel-harps1954]

Some comments (on the negative spectrum of things) from 4chan. Mostly Americans and western europeans. Thoughts on people who view our supporters like this?

Hard to disagree with a lot of what's being said there though.

[SkStu]

It's all true.

[Stuttgart88]

Judging from his article (and what charlie quoted) I'd say Ireland was never his country to begin and he's a fine example of the people we shouldn't be handing out caps to.I think he actually a few years ago said that playing for Ireland was purely a career move and something that meant little to him.

[OwlsFan]

Some comments (on the negative spectrum of things) from 4chan. Mostly Americans and western europeans. Thoughts on people who view our supporters like this?

The Irish are fake supporters. For them it's just a trip to Poland and yet another reason to get drunk all day every day. They don't give a **** about the football itself, just about playing dress-up and being blindly nationalistic.
Sing when they're losing? Thats implying they cared about winning to begin with.
Implying the Irish actually support their local teams. That's how good a bunch of supporters they are, their league's dead and they rarely push attendances beyond the 10k mark. ****ing pathetic.
The reason why Irish and Scottish are so good is because they know they're ****. You won't see English/German/Spanish fans act like that when they're being thrashed because they feel ashamed, the Irish expect to be thrashed.
>Come to support their country
>Wearing Scottish club shirts
You ****ing idiots
>not being passionate about sports and just wanting to get drunk
>best supporters
Thank god they're gone by next week. They're only in it for the drinking anyways.

These comments sound like begrudery to me. These clowns don't understand the meaning of support. So support only matters when you win? If you lose you are suppose to turn on your team? The meaning of the word support: to sustain (a person, the mind, spirits, courage, etc.) under trial or affliction: (They supported him throughout his ordeal).
-----------
"The Irish are fake supporters. For them it's just a trip to Poland and yet another reason to get drunk all day every day. They don't give a **** about the football itself, just about playing dress-up and being blindly nationalistic"
-----------
Blindly nationalistic yet we applaud other people's anthems? Hard to get to the games without making a trip to Poland and if they were only in it for the drink, why bother go to the game as there is no drink allowed. As fake supporters, they did very well to make noise throughout the same supporting the team even though the team was being thrashed.
---------
"Sing when they're losing? Thats implying they cared about winning to begin with"
----------
If the support was great even when we lost, that idiot should have seen the scenes IF we had won. WOuld have been unbelievable. Ridiculous comment.
------------
Implying the Irish actually support their local teams. That's how good a bunch of supporters they are, their league's dead and they rarely push attendances beyond the 10k mark. ****ing pathetic.
------------
Where is the implication that this has anything to do with local teams? This is international football. Where are all the Spanish and English who support their local teams? At home not supporting their country. ****ing pathetic.
--------
The reason why Irish and Scottish are so good is because they know they're ****. You won't see English/German/Spanish fans act like that when they're being thrashed because they feel ashamed, the Irish expect to be thrashed.
----------
No, English fans thrash the place rather than expecting to be thrashed. Of course our expectations are not as high as countries with 10 times our population or more. The English must feel ashamed a lot of the time since 1966. We don't expect to be thrashed but we regard it as a hazard of the trade.
---------
Come to support their country
>Wearing Scottish club shirts
You ****ing idiots
>not being passionate about sports and just wanting to get drunk
>best supporters
Thank god they're gone by next week. They're only in it for the drinking anyways
----------

Didn't see that many "Scottish club shirts" but I don't see any problem wearing a shirt of a club with a huge Irish tradition especially since they are green and white. I wore my Shamrock Rovers jersey. Perhaps it was me he was talking about. Many fans love to drink and enjoy themselves. Is that a crime? A very small proportion come only for the latter but if they go to games and support the team, good luck to them. Life is to short for the curmudgeons of this world.

Jealousy is a terrible thing. Stand up for the boys in green....

[horton]

I'll probably get a grilling for saying this but all this talk about the Irish fans being the best in the world etc. is rubbish. When Manchester United came to town, how many United jerseys were on show compared to the Select XI? we have our fair share of barstoolers who enjoy the chance for a good ****up abroad but would struggle to tell you anything about the club history of any of the players or even venture near their local football stadium. Getting the tricolour out doesn't necessarily mean your really a supporter of Irish football.

[SkStu]

What about a tri-color with "Ross County" emblazoned on it? True story. Christ almighty.

[barney]

I'll probably get a grilling for saying this but all this talk about the Irish fans being the best in the world etc. is rubbish.

Dead right, it's garbage and patronising. Everytime I hear it it reminds me of the latest teeny bopper pop star saying "Oooooh I have the best fans in the world" to mass high pitched cheers from a crowd with an average age of 11.

I know people who went to the Euros who wouldn't go to the Aviva to watch any of the qualifiers - much less go to an away game. The same people have never seen the inside of an LOI ground or, save for once or twice, travelled to see the team they support across the water. They are event junkies, pure and simple.

We're a pathetic nation with a pathetic mentality for lapping it up and hearing people like Delaney and some of the players peddling this cr@p makes me cringe.

[Charlie Darwin]

Dead right, it's garbage and patronising. Everytime I hear it it reminds me of the latest teeny bopper pop star saying "Oooooh I have the best fans in the world" to mass high pitched cheers from a crowd with an average age of 11.
Is this a regular occurrence for you, barney?

[barney]

Is this a regular occurrence for you, barney?

;)

Yes, most of the crowd are about 9 but I drag the average age to 11. My username isn't my real name - it's the costume I wear most days.

[geysir]

What about a tri-color with "Ross County" emblazoned on it? True story. Christ almighty.
I don't see what the issue is with that, at least no more of an issue than any other Irish flag with the name of an Irish town or club emblazoned on it.
There are plenty of Irish fans born in England and now we know some come from Scotland.

[Deckydee]

Me too. Jealous if you ask me

[Stuttgart88]

They are event junkies, pure and simple.

We're a pathetic nation with a pathetic mentality for lapping it up and hearing people like Delaney and some of the players peddling this cr@p makes me cringe.I heard Stephen Kelly on SSN saying the players owe the amazing supporters something. No cr@p being peddled whatsoever, straight from the heart of a very likeable very honest player who went to Lansdowne just as we did.

As for event junkyism, I take the point but only to a degree. I just finished a postgrad degree in sports business & economics (focusing almost 100% on football - and with a lot of focus on marketing) and I read a lot of published research into fan behaviour and motivation for attending matches. There's no one type of fan - which is important for the commercial people to identify so they can target different groups of fans with different products for example - but the key is that there are different motivations which we should recognise. One of these is being part of the event itself - some fans are more likely to attend as being part of the crowd is part of the matchday experience. Without this it's less appealing. I think this is a justifiable motivation, even though I don't need it myself, but as a guy who has gone many many times to small events I have to admit that when I get a chance to be an "insider" at a big event I love it. I don't feel a part of an Arsenal or Celtic event for example.

Other fans are loyal locals - like LOI fans. Some are even dysfunctional nutters, some are just casual occasional fans etc. (There's a concept known as "the escalator" - marketers at clubs needing to get the casual occasional into a semi-regular, getting the semi-regular into a regular etc. The analogy breaks down at the top - you don't want people to fall off!).

There are many ways to skin a cat basically, none being superior to the other. In rugby AIL attendances have always been poor, yet when the context changes and the product improves, crowds turn up all of a sudden. Apart from the national team there is not a football product that appeals to large and varied segments of demand. The loyal locals and dysfunctional nutters (:)) seem to be the only segments attracted to Irish domestic football. I think Trap's style has turned people away too. We got 65k against Cyprus and 40k+ against Andorra not too long back.

PM me if anyone wants me to send the fan research studies.

[Stuttgart88]

The Examiner provide a synposis of the Spanish press:

“Silva always wanted to win the game with his intelligence,” wrote San Martín. “He approached the Irish penalty area with intent, looking for gaps, lifting his head and searching for the best passing option, as the great players do. That is how he scored the night’s ‘golazo’, and that is how Spain played one of their greatest games, to the wonder of the world.”

Marca’s match report said that the Irish team had been completely overrun, especially in central midfield.

“Ireland suffered a calvary,” wrote Santiago Segurola. “The Irish are still stuck in the stone age. Far from advancing, they provoke nostalgia for the likes of Johnny Giles or Liam Brady, excellent midfielders who would have been disappointed in their national team. Ireland could not string two passes together.”

After all the pre-match talk of Xabi Alonso’s brief experience of Gaelic football in Meath as a teenager, El Mundo analyst Julían Ruiz chose another sport to make his point about Ireland’s lack of quality.

“Ireland seemed like a rugby team because of the shape of their players and the roughness of their technique,” wrote an unimpressed Ruiz. “But they could not invent a try or a scrum. The Irish ‘potatoes’ ended up in the sack made by the Spanish team.”

There was more reasonable analysis from Julio Maldonado in AS.

“There was little Ireland could do,” he wrote. “They began with a high defensive line, but Spain pushed them back with their passing game. That left McGeady and Duff without any options, and it was even harder for Robbie Keane. The centre of Ireland’s defence was powerless against Torres’ movement. Only Given saved Ireland from a hammering.”

Former Spain coach Luís Aragones was nicer to Ireland in his Marca column: “There was only one team on the pitch,” argued the Euro 2008 winning boss. “You cannot belittle the win because the opponent was not as good as they might have been. This is also to Spain’s credit, they knew how to magnify their own virtues and minimise those of their rival.”

All the papers agreed that Ireland’s fans had outperformed their team by singing through to the final whistle.

“Spain spent the last few minutes showing off, and it was then we understood that the true representatives of Ireland were their supporters,” wrote Juanma Trueba in AS. “They were exceptional.”

http://euro2012.irishexaminer.com/analysis/the-irish-are-still-stuck-in-the-stone-age-197688.html

[OwlsFan]

Dead right, it's garbage and patronising. Everytime I hear it it reminds me of the latest teeny bopper pop star saying "Oooooh I have the best fans in the world" to mass high pitched cheers from a crowd with an average age of 11.

I know people who went to the Euros who wouldn't go to the Aviva to watch any of the qualifiers - much less go to an away game. The same people have never seen the inside of an LOI ground or, save for once or twice, travelled to see the team they support across the water. They are event junkies, pure and simple.

We're a pathetic nation with a pathetic mentality for lapping it up and hearing people like Delaney and some of the players peddling this cr@p makes me cringe.

Like that covers all the people that went there and supported the team. Of course there are event junkies who go to games. That doesn't mean that there are thousands of fans who go to support the team and enjoy themselves (the two are not mutually exclusive). There are also thousands of LOI supporters who don't support the national team. DOes that make them any less of a football supporter. As I mentioned above, the definition of "support" is to sustain (a person, the mind, spirits, courage, etc.) under trial or affliction: (They supported him throughout his ordeal). Support does not mean to turn your back on someone when times get difficult. Of course this "best in the world" supporters is hyperbole but the support has been phenominal and to knock it is so typically Irish for those who weren't there. As was said by Vincent Hogan in Saturday's Inndo, the singing was not a celebration of failure but people lifting themselves beyond the immediacy of failure.

[SkStu]

There are also thousands of LOI supporters who don't support the national team. DOes that make them any less of a football supporter.

that's just a myth thats peddled about. Plus you don't talk about LOI fans in terms of thousands!! :)

[Closed Account 2]

I don't think that's a myth at all, at least judging by what some people post here.

[SkStu]

so you judge by the number of fruitcakes on this forum as opposed to the erm, thousands, of fans who travel to tournaments wearing their local teams jerseys...

Im sure theres on or two nutbars who dont support the national team, as there are in England, but its not representative of LOI fans in any way and therefore is just a myth that a lot of barstoolers buy into to make themselves feel better about not supporting the local game.

[dong]

Supporters not fans.

[Stuttgart88]

a myth that a lot of barstoolers buy into to make themselves feel better about not supporting the local game.I love how even when I point to academic work just 3 posts earlier profiling football fan motivation and categorisation, you still see only 2 kinds - local fans and barstoolers. C'mon Stu, you're smarter than that. I'm not sure I understand Dong's distinction between fan & supporter, but I presume the same point applies to him (apologies if not).

Get this into your heads lads - there are many types of fan, varying degrees of attachment and many ways to support the game or be interested in it.

Also, I don't think I have ever heard a fan of the national team say he's not interested in the LOI because LOI fans aren't interested in the national team. Surely a myth has to be widely believed to be considered a myth. I know of several other reasons why many don't support it.

[SkStu]

im not sure why you have more problems with my generalisation, which simplifies things for the sake of readability and do not take umbrage with Owlsfans categorisation of what can only be described as the majority of LOI fans... harrumph.

As a supporter of an Irish team in flesh and in spirit for almost 20 years now, i fully understand the fact that there is more than two categories of fan. I found myself nodding in agreement at the points you made in your post vis a vis floating fans, regular fans, diehards etc... if i tried to capture those intricacies in my posts id be here all year!

Ive heard that myth from a lot of people over the years as a reason for not supporting an Irish team. Its a myth and its bizarre logic!

[Stuttgart88]

OK, fair enough but I've never heard it and I also hate the term barstooler. I hated Brian O'Connor's patronising article about the LOI a while back but he does have a point about the "righteous indignation of the LOI fan"!

Outside the glory days of big tournaments I think our media (and the editors are to blame, not the hacks - something Brady alluded to in the RTE debate), except maybe The Examiner, patronise ALL of Irish football while they are in thrall to all things English. As DCFC Steve (where is he these days?) said ages back it's some bizarre post-colonial reverse psychology thing.

[Closed Account 2]

so you judge by the number of fruitcakes on this forum as opposed to the erm, thousands, of fans who travel to tournaments wearing their local teams jerseys...

Im sure theres on or two nutbars who dont support the national team, as there are in England, but its not representative of LOI fans in any way and therefore is just a myth that a lot of barstoolers buy into to make themselves feel better about not supporting the local game.

Well, it becomes a debate about numbers, maybe its thousands, more likely hundreds, but I think it does exist.

[Murfinator]

Some reaction to our fans booing of Balotelli

http://www.oasisblues.com/2012/06/noels-ireland-fans-premature.html


The Irish fans booed Mario Balotelli when he entered at the end, clearly nervous. Congratulations for the "people known as anti-racist"... another false myth. All the Irish people I talked to, they were all racists. Also, the other day fighting against Croatians.
Roy Keane was right, ****e crowd, they're childish. Also, booing when gentleman Pirlo was injured, they don't know anything about football. Go back to your sheep. You can see why in England there are so many jokes about them...someone should teach them some lesson about how to behave in public...
Of course all the people go: oh credit to the Irish... they deserved. Yes, a kick in the ass.

[BonnieShels]

Were they not booing Andrews' innocuous red card?

[Stuttgart88]

No matter how cynical one is about our support, that post barely deserves comment. Does Murf really believe Irish fans were booing Balotelli?

[CraftyToePoke]

Toyed with the idea of not even replying to this, one guy on an obscure 'all things Oasis/Man City & England' forum decided to cry race because an Ireland gallery stacked with Man Utd men boos Balotelli, and decided we need we need a lesson on how to behave in public into the bargain. An England fan, can throw no stones in our direction on that front I can assure you. Just because they haven't wrecked the place yet, this time round over there.

Murf, nothing damaged here but your own credibility as a poster.

[Murfinator]

Balotelli was quite clearly booed as he entered the pitch, the Andrews red card was 14 minutes later so I'm not sure how you'd get them mixed up.

2:06 on the RTE player, perhaps they were all saying "boo-urns"? Shameful of your character if you try to justify it or deny it happened.

[nigel-harps1954]

Balotelli was quite clearly booed as he entered the pitch, the Andrews red card was 14 minutes later so I'm not sure how you'd get them mixed up.

2:06 on the RTE player, perhaps they were all saying "boo-urns"? Shameful of your character if you try to justify it or deny it happened.

Sure what do you expect? Of course all the United fans were going to boo the City player?

[Charlie Darwin]

Throwing flares would have been a more suitably ironic reception, albeit it would have been ludicrously dangerous.

[Murfinator]

Sure what do you expect? Of course all the United fans were going to boo the City player?

I would imagine thats all it is, the rival of our fans "local team".

Given the tensions around Balotelli and what happened in previous matches the rest of the world will not have seen it like that, I don't think it was a wise move for our fans reputation to boo him on the sidelines like that.

[Stuttgart88]

I didn't hear it but if it's true it's nothing short of moronic on every count - how it could be perceived and because English /Scottish club football is an irrelevance to following Ireland.

I told my missus before the event that I was worried some of the newer fans wouldn't respect the old traditions and understand the nuances of following Ireland over a club team. Obviously I was right to worry. I think something special was lost in the Swiss home match post-Saipan in 2002.

In general I think the fans were great. I agree that mutual back slapping about being great is naff though, but the fans themselves are not the sinister antithesis of "real" football fans that many make out.

[geysir]

Some reaction to our fans booing of Balotelli

http://www.oasisblues.com/2012/06/noels-ireland-fans-premature.html
That has to be the shíttiest piece of juvenile garbage I've read in years.
Fair play to your endeavours to dig up some dirt, that one takes the biscuit.

[O'Shea's Boot]

Hi guys - havent posted for a while as been away with work and started family etc - just back from Poland and all in all it was good craic - the football was dire though - we looked like a tired clueless bunch at times - most annoying was the Italy game even though it didnt matter for anything - we've drawn twice and beaten them once in last three meeting but at the tournament we rolled over.

Overall again our fans were superb - one problem i do have though are some of the supporters from the North (Im originally from the North) - some of them are intent in dragging up sectarian crap at every opportunity. The vast majority of Ireland fans dont give a toss about the North, the politics or the sectarian chanting. Give it up lads or please stay at home

[bennocelt]

A lot of them dont seem to care about anything really only where the next pint is coming from:p

Just wondering who they were trying to offend - in Poland playing against Croatia, italy and Spain - Jeez you couldnt get more catholic,lol!

[O'Shea's Boot]

A lot of them dont seem to care about anything really only where the next pint is coming from:p

Just wondering who they were trying to offend - in Poland playing against Croatia, italy and Spain - Jeez you couldnt get more catholic,lol!

totally agree - support Ireland end of - all this sectarian/political **** has no place in our support

[bennocelt]

Does that include a song about the famine as well?:D

(TBH - dont mind the odd rebel song in a bar after a good few beers myself, but its not to everyone taste, but not at a game)

[DannyInvincible]

I didn't hear it but if it's true it's nothing short of moronic on every count - how it could be perceived and because English /Scottish club football is an irrelevance to following Ireland.

I told my missus before the event that I was worried some of the newer fans wouldn't respect the old traditions and understand the nuances of following Ireland over a club team. Obviously I was right to worry. I think something special was lost in the Swiss home match post-Saipan in 2002.

Weren't Rangers players (and players mistaken for Rangers players) roundly booed in Lansdowne for years, including pre-2002?

[Charlie Darwin]

Yes. On one memorable occasion, the stadium announcer indicated that Peter Lovenkrands, then of Rangers, had come for Denmark in a friendly to a chorus of boos. Unfortunately, the announcer had made a mistake and it was in fact a different player.

[geysir]

Yeah, I wouldn't trust a Nordie if my life depended upon it. How on earth have the Nordies escaped our wrath after this Euro debacle? They should be the first to go.

What's a sectarian song these days, 'Come on you boys in green'? 'The boys of the green brigade'? 'A Trap lullaby'? 'I love 442' ?

[BonnieShels]

Also, booing when gentleman Pirlo was injured, they don't know anything about football.

This is what I was referring to with regards to Andrews' red card.


Balotelli was quite clearly booed as he entered the pitch, the Andrews red card was 14 minutes later so I'm not sure how you'd get them mixed up.

2:06 on the RTE player, perhaps they were all saying "boo-urns"? Shameful of your character if you try to justify it or deny it happened.

Ballotelli was so clearly booed I didn't feel the need to comment on it.

[Bucky-O'Hare]

Hi guys - havent posted for a while as been away with work and started family etc - just back from Poland and all in all it was good craic - the football was dire though - we looked like a tired clueless bunch at times - most annoying was the Italy game even though it didnt matter for anything - we've drawn twice and beaten them once in last three meeting but at the tournament we rolled over.

Overall again our fans were superb - one problem i do have though are some of the supporters from the North (Im originally from the North) - some of them are intent in dragging up sectarian crap at every opportunity. The vast majority of Ireland fans dont give a toss about the North, the politics or the sectarian chanting. Give it up lads or please stay at home

This post is just as much of a generalisation as the one on the oasisblues site.