The John Delaney Thread

[DannyInvincible]

Interesting. That blogger comes across a bit chippy and narrow minded himself there

Indeed, is it impossible for him to even remotely envisage a perspective from which this incident, whilst ill-judged, might not be "a good bit of plain old sectarianism"? Is he insinuating that it's a sectarian scandal simply because the song sung was explicitly republican? Such an assumption in itself might well border on the bigoted. He dismisses so blithely with unctuous sarcasm the possibility that other interpretations different from his own might exist or possess validity. He demonstrates a considerable lack of nuance in his loaded descriptions of those (of a republican hue) involved in the Troubles and the hunger strike. Anyone who uses simplified black-and-white or broad-brush terminology when it comes to a decades-long political conflict so complex just comes across as dogmatic to me. That's not to say it invalidates their opinion; I just take them a little less seriously.

Am I right to sense a needless and smarmy dose of sarcasm here too?:


During these heart felt interviews [Delaney] went on to tell us that it is not just him who sings songs about republican terrorists, but it is common place on the Republic of Ireland team bus. Yes, you picked that up right. The non-sectarian Republic of Ireland team routinely sing pro-IRA songs on their team bus. A team bus that contains none other than former Northern Ireland captain, Martin O’Neill.

He goes on to quote a few anti-discriminatory/anti-harassment articles from the FAI's rulebook, but I'm not really sure why they would be relevant. Delaney hasn't harassed or discriminated against anyone.


Without wanting to second guess the plot, a quick flick to Rule 70, which is detailed below, should make for an interesting starting episode,


1. As the Governing Body of Association Football in Ireland, The Association is responsible for setting standards and values to apply throughout the game at every level. Football belongs to, and should be enjoyed by everyone equally. Our commitment is to confront and eliminate discrimination whether by reason of gender, sexual orientation, race, nationality, ethnic origin, colour, religion or disability.

2. The Association is an equal opportunities employer. They are committed to equality of opportunity within the organisation and to encouraging similar commitment for every organisation or individual acting within the game.

4. The FAI shall not tolerate sexual or racially-based harassment or other discriminatory behaviour, whether physical or verbal, and shall work to ensure that such behaviour is met with appropriate disciplinary action in whatever context it occurs.

5. The FAI is committed to the development of a programme of ongoing training and awareness –raising events and activities to promote the eradication of discrimination within its own organisation and, in the wider context within football as a whole.

Fans are already speculating whether Rule 103, which states ‘Any complaint made in writing may be investigated by the Disciplinary Regulations Officer (DRO) and may result in disciplinary sanction if not otherwise provided for’, will feature in any future scenes.

Not sure why number 3 has been omitted...

There's also the stupid accusation of Delaney "pillaging" IFA youth squads "for their best players who attend mass on a Sunday". I don't think I need to respond to that. :)

I'm not sure why he feels UTV owe him an explanation as to why they haven't covered it either.


1. The sectarian nature of the song is open to debate, as is its potential to offend.
2. The fact that it is debatable asks serious questions of JD's judgment
3. People who sing songs about irish independence presumably support democracy and self-expression. The FAI treatment of the fans' protest that same night contradicts those principles.
4. The cyber bullying appears to have been minor and whilst unforgivable it is clearly a smokescreen, a deflection tactic.
5. The whole episode reflects badly on Irish football and this stems from the FAI CEO deliberately seeking to elevate his public profile. The more recognisable you are the more likely your behaviour will be scrutinised.
6. Whilst the FAI has done some good things, the episode copperfastens the widespread belief that it is a badly run organisation whose senior figures close ranks to defend their own privileged positions from external threats.

Also, what was the background to the FAI statement? Were all of the BoM members in agreement? We're they even asked?

Don't forget the calamitous denial, the attempted gagging of the Guardian, Telegraph and Balls.ie, the qualified "apology" that completely failed to grasp the actual issue here and the shifting of the blame on to the "sly" camera man (because the busy public house was a "private" setting).


He seems to be very much the victim amongst any casual observers I've spoken to. "Jaysus, what's the world coming to? An Irish man can't even sing an Irish song in a pub anymore". They don't seem too fussed about the threatened legal action either. That's not my own view btw.

There's nothing wrong with a private Irish citizen singing and enjoying a political/republican/Irish song in a pub. It's not illegal. Anyone can do it. The distinction in Delaney's case is that he's the public face and CEO of the FAI; that invokes an extra duty to behave in a sensible, sensitive and responsible manner in public or in a manner that won't draw unnecessary negative attention to the association or give the media and others a golden opportunity to level accusations of political prejudice or wrongdoing. You wouldn't even catch Gerry Adams drunkenly singing rebel songs in a pub, because he's very careful, self-aware and he manages his public persona. I'd be surprised if he didn't enjoy such songs during private gatherings, but he knows he'd only provoke needless trouble by singing some of those that might be judged more contentious in public.

[GypsyBlackCat]

To be fair, I never assumed she was a bimbo, I just inferred it from her exact words and behaviour.

In fairness Charlie, I think she's far from a bimbo!

She has managed to turn this thing around to make all her Twitter follows think her poor Johnny Bear or whatever she calls him is the victim of a witch hunt. 'All he did was sing a ballad in a pub. It's PC gone made!!!'

It's not so much the song that is grating people it's his actions. He treatened the Guardian, Telegraph and Balls.ie with legal action and then denied it was him and now he's victim.' He loves his woman and his country. Is that a crime?!!!' That's just a taster of what the man is like. A grade cretin, creep and bell***!

In the words of Paul Weller 'The public gets what the public wants!'

[DeLorean]

There's nothing wrong with a private Irish citizen singing and enjoying a political/republican/Irish song in a pub. It's not illegal. Anyone can do it. The distinction in Delaney's case is that he's the public face and CEO of the FAI; that invokes an extra duty to behave in a sensible, sensitive and responsible manner in public or in a manner that won't draw unnecessary negative attention to the association or give the media and others a golden opportunity to level accusations of political prejudice or wrongdoing. You wouldn't even catch Gerry Adams drunkenly singing rebel songs in a pub, because he's very careful, self-aware and he manages his public persona. I'd be surprised if he didn't enjoy such songs during private gatherings, but he knows he'd only provoke needless trouble by singing some of those that might be judged more contentious in public.

Couldn't agree more Danny.

[DannyInvincible]

Another blog piece here written yesterday that makes some good points and outlines a few of the genuine issues that have been swept under the carpet: https://amancanhavenogreaterlove.wordpress.com/2014/11/27/fai-statement-fails-to-address-the-real-issues/


The [FAI board's] statement was posted to the FAI website at approximately 10.45 last night. I assume the time was chosen to ensure they avoided tomorrow’s newspapers but that is largely irrelevant. It isn’t just a case of the FAI brushing a mess under their carpet, more a case of them not knowing what the mess is.They have cleaned out the rabbit hutch while completely ignoring the elephant in the room.

...

Well Mr Delaney may argue that he was singing amongst friends and is allowed to let off steam occasionally, I do not believe it is acceptable that a man in his position can be ever truly ‘off duty’. In fact, it was Mr. Delaney himself who pointed out that the job is ’24/7′. It also should be noted that this was not an ordinary night in a local bar in rural Waterford but post-match drinks, in a public house that is a mere stone’s throw away from the Aviva Stadium.

...

Mr. Fitzgerald also points out that the board are happy with how the CEO is running the association. I have no expertise in running any major organisation but had never heard of a CEO running any company or association single-handed.

...

However, there are still other matters outstanding that have not been addressed. During the ‘Godfather of Irish football’s’ tenure the profile, UEFA coefficient and prize money of the FAI run national league, or the ‘problem child’, as he referred to it, have all dropped considerably. Many clubs lose money by simply entering a team in the league while others have had to drop out of senior football altogether during his reign. You may recall Monaghan United having to abandon Irish football’s Premiere Division during Euro 2012, around the time that the CEO was again making headlines for non football related matters.

Then there is the chaotic state of Irish schoolboy football where a complete lack of structure is severely hampering player development. The panacea prescribed for the ills of underage football a decade ago, the Emerging Talent programme, has made little difference. A quick glance at the birthplaces of players in our under 17 and under 19 national squads shows we are still overly reliant on our diaspora, essentially relying on other associations to develop our players. It seems a long time since Brian Kerr was bringing through a ‘golden generation’of Irish talent.

As I mentioned above I am no business expert so perhaps the FAI could explain to us laymen, the logic in offering such a lengthy contract extension to the man ‘running’ this operation. A man who in the past month has jeopardized the safety of Irish fans in Glasgow by refusing to accept responsibility on behalf of the FAI for ‘ticketgate’ and passing blame on to his Scottish counterparts. There has also been a failure to answer any of the questions put to Mr Delaney regarding ticket allocation, to go along with the heavy-handed stewarding at the USA match and the ‘singing in the Bath’ scandal.

One has to question why a football administrator has such a high-profile public persona, his peculiar search for adoration and celebrity through late night chat shows and that self promotional documentary that was so very Alan Partridge.

Apart from Irish Water due to their widespread media coverage, I don’t think I could name another CEO in the state and certainly not a member of any other sporting organisation.

[DannyInvincible]

Ok. If anyone wants to help draft a wording for a petition pm me with your private email address.

I'd be happy to help where possible, although tets' talk of a mere one-page limit has me concerned! :p

Pretty sure you'll have my email address already. Lemme know if you need it again.

[DannyInvincible]

In fairness Charlie, I think she's far from a bimbo!

She has managed to turn this thing around to make all her Twitter follows think her poor Johnny Bear or whatever she calls him is the victim of a witch hunt. 'All he did was sing a ballad in a pub. It's PC gone made!!!'

She's been "hounded off social media" now too, of course...

[Stuttgart88]

Start the ball rolling. You have mine sir.

Also here's my latest on it:
http://www.krank.ie/category/opinions/john-survives-statement-supreme-presidium/very good. I tried tweeting it but it didn't work.

[The Fly]

What are the odds he'll be on The Late Late Show tonight?

[Stuttgart88]

The Late Late. That reminds me of when Peter Brooke had to resign due to pressure from unionists ecause Gaybo shoe-horned him into singing Oh My Darling Clementine, despite obvious shyness and reticence. It was the same day a IRA bomb killed innocent people.

[KK77]

What are the odds he'll be on The Late Late Show tonight?

Dressed as a cuddy teddy bear? lol

[Charlie Darwin]

Dressed as a cuddy teddy bear? lol
He doesn't need to dress up apparently.

[Eminence Grise]

she works in PR - they're given extensive training on securing their social media accounts

Anybody can put up a brass nameplate and call themselves a PR consultant. But – and stating a bias here: I’m a member – joining the PRII (https://www.prii.ie/ ) is one indicator of a PR person’s view of their role. There are educational or experience requirements to meet before applying, which weeds out those who call their work PR, but are primarily in puff and low-level promotions. Of course, a lot of good people don’t join and, as of today, EE isn’t listed as a member.

One thing PR professionals do is avoid becoming the story. The best have no public profile, but are known to every journalist in their field. I’ve taught PR/pol comms to over 1,000 students over c.15 years and afaik, only one became a media story (for writing the worst press release in Wales, iirc!)

Using cyberbullying as a smokescreen was risky, but clever: it confused the narrative. The hounding of a photogenic young businesswoman is a juicier story than the downplayed ‘man sings song’. (Incidentally, it’s not an approach I’d take or suggest – but them’s my ethics.)

Meanwhile the backlash against Emmet Malone smacks of orchestration, by whom I couldn’t say (Adam probably has a team of lawyers poring over this thread already!) but adept in managing communications - and that, along with the threats to the Guardian and balls.ie is disturbing.

It means that no journalist afaik has asked, or is likely to ask, the FAI’s sponsors, corporate partners and private backers if they approve of JD’s stewardship and are happy to continue their supporting. I’m sure they would be keen to distance themselves from songs about hungerstrikers. You won’t get regime change within the FAI, but without…?

[Stuttgart88]

I'd imagine several potential sponsors have been put off the FAI long before this episode. Association with a backward looking organisation that lurches from shambles to shambles isn't an alignment with most firms'' brand values. Removing JD won't be the solution to much unless a new CEO initiated a review of the organisation's structures.

[Gather round]

There's nothing wrong with a private Irish citizen singing and enjoying a political/republican/Irish song in a pub. It's not illegal. Anyone can do it

Many things are wrong, not all of which are illegal.


You wouldn't even catch Gerry Adams drunkenly singing rebel songs in a pub, because he's very careful, self-aware and he manages his public persona. I'd be surprised if he didn't enjoy such songs during private gatherings, but he knows he'd only provoke needless trouble by singing some of those that might be judged more contentious in public

That is a slur and you may expect a visit from Sinn Fein's lawyers. For 30 years or more Deputy Adams has consistently denied touching a drop, much less working in a licensed establishment.

[DannyInvincible]

Many things are wrong, not all of which are illegal.

Whilst that is true, I was just making clear it is neither inherently wrong nor illegal.


That is a slur and you may expect a visit from Sinn Fein's lawyers. For 30 years or more Deputy Adams has consistently denied touching a drop, much less working in a licensed establishment.

Ah, I got a sneaky suspicion that Adams was teetotal after I'd posted that. I should have checked it out to refresh the memory. Although you could say that his teetotalism is a big part of the reason why you won't find him drunkenly singing rebel songs in pubs. You know what I mean though; you wouldn't find even the Sinn Féin leadership - active republicans - clumsily setting themselves up for a fall like Delaney did.

[Eminence Grise]

In fairness, Grizzly doesn't need to be drunk to call some people ba5tards.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/gerry-adams-s-*******s-remarks-clumsy-for-sinn-f%C3%A9in-leader-1.2014416
But that's perhaps best left for another thread.

[DannyInvincible]

In fairness, Grizzly doesn't need to be drunk to call some people ba5tards.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/gerry-adams-s-*******s-remarks-clumsy-for-sinn-f%C3%A9in-leader-1.2014416
But that's perhaps best left for another thread.

As is acknowledged though in the piece, that perceived lapse was seen as uncharacteristic of Adams. Meanwhile, Delaney being video-recorded whilst drunk, dishevelled and engaging in unprofessional, ill-judged or laddish antics is entirely in-character. It happens fairly regularly.

[Eminence Grise]

True. And one was the power-hungry fanatical leader of a cut-throat group, a state within a state, if you like, that sought to impose its will within its own community in a ruthless way.

The other was allegedly Chief of Staff of the IRA.

[BonnieShels]

very good. I tried tweeting it but it didn't work.

Copy and Past my dear boy. I'll inform the powers that be that it didn't work however.


The Late Late. That reminds me of when Peter Brooke had to resign due to pressure from unionists ecause Gaybo shoe-horned him into singing Oh My Darling Clementine, despite obvious shyness and reticence. It was the same day a IRA bomb killed innocent people.

Imagine that, someone resigning whilst technically doing nothing wrong but something insensitive that causes offence. Mad!

[geysir]

Balderdash, the offence taken was because "Oh my Darling Clementine" was the popular song of a film bearing the same name, directed by John Forde, who was perceived as a republican terrorist propagandist film director.

[Stuttgart88]

Is Geysir's post for real or a caustic take on the response? I suspect it's the latter. Is that what they really said?

The guy was asked about his personal interests. He was put on the spot and said singing was one. Gaybo then said sing a song. He was completely flustered and couldn't even think of a song and under stress came up with a very common song he barely even knew how to sing. The unionists got the hump because they thought it was wrong because a NI Secretary was so insensitive as to enter into a sing song in the Republic when terrorists killed several of their own in NI. That's how I remember it anyway. I had no truck with his government but he seemed a decent enough humble guy who didn't do much wrong.

[bennocelt]

Is Geysir's post for real or a caustic take on the response? I suspect it's the latter. Is that what they really said?

The guy was asked about his personal interests. He was put on the spot and said singing was one. Gaybo then said sing a song. He was completely flustered and couldn't even think of a song and under stress came up with a very common song he barely even knew how to sing. The unionists got the hump because they thought it was wrong because a NI Secretary was so insensitive as to enter into a sing song in the Republic when terrorists killed several of their own in NI. That's how I remember it anyway. I had no truck with his government but he seemed a decent enough humble guy who didn't do much wrong.

Pretty much how I read it too. Nice guy in one heck of a tough job at the time. Wonder what he made of it years after?

[ArdeeBhoy]

Many things are wrong, not all of which are illegal.

The irony being, is that you yourself has joined in such songs, in years gone by. When drink has been taken.
Much to the bemusement of all. And then a later African river fixation.


That is a slur and you may expect a visit from Sinn Fein's lawyers. For 30 years or more Deputy Adams has consistently denied touching a drop, much less working in a licensed establishment.
Correct, as you acknowledged when the great man acknowledged us, er, both. In the public domain. A number of years back.

And no drink had been taken...

[BonnieShels]

The republican issue was obviously because it was an ode to an orange. Sheesh geysir.

[geysir]

But clementines can have a bitter orange flavour, maybe the offence taken by the brethren was that it was perceived that Brooke was parodying their orange order and their bitterness,

[ArdeeBhoy]

Nah, he was just another clueless Brit out of his comfort zone...

[The Fly]

In what sense do you say that, Fly? Just interested in hearing why you think that. Is it that you think the opinions expressed here are "off-kilter" or is it that fewer posters from here tend to attend games as regularly as, say, a larger proportion of posters on YBIG?

In so far as online forums are ever representative of the wider fan base, it's logical to assume that YBIG has greater claim to that mantle as it's centred around the national team and has a larger membership. Foot.ie's primary focus is the domestic league, and the majority of posts made in the Ireland subsection are by a group of around 10 to 15 regular contributors. The sample size is too small.

I don't visit YBIG that often but it does draw upon a much greater number of regular contributors.

[Charlie Darwin]

In so far as online forums are ever representative of the wider fan base, it's logical to assume that YBIG has greater claim to that mantle as it's centred around the national team and has a larger membership. Foot.ie's primary focus is the domestic league, and the majority of posts made in the Ireland subsection are by a group of around 10 to 15 regular contributors. The sample size is too small.

I don't visit YBIG that often but it does draw upon a much greater number of regular contributors.
I'd accept that (although I think the national team has predominance over the domestic league here too), but I suspect neither are particularly representative of Irish football fans as a whole. My suspicion, based on experience paul o'shea-style, is that outside of the diehards Delaney is seen as a more benign figure and in many quarters as a really great guy. More to the point, within the small subsection of people who have real influence within Irish football (ie not us, nor LOI clubs), Delaney has a lot of support.

[The Fly]

I'd accept that (although I think the national team has predominance over the domestic league here too), but I suspect neither are particularly representative of Irish football fans as a whole.

Really? I've only viewed the League and Club sections of the forum 3 or 4 times since I became a member so I can't attest to that at all. I'm only going by the statistics provided alongside each subsection, but certainly my impression has always been that they are more active than the International section.

I mostly agree with your latter point. It is hard to gauge how representative online forums are of a wider support base and it's probably only the likes of redcafe which can make such a claim or at least provide a narrative on certain issues.

[bennocelt]

Id love to meet the guy, perhaps Ardee cud help me set up a meeting.:p

[Charlie Darwin]

Really? I've only viewed the League and Club sections of the forum 3 or 4 times since I became a member so I can't attest to that at all. I'm only going by the statistics provided alongside each subsection, but certainly my impression has always been that they are more active than the International section.

I mostly agree with your latter point. It is hard to gauge how representative online forums are of a wider support base and it's probably only the likes of redcafe which can make such a claim or at least provide a narrative on certain issues.
I don't think any online forum is representative, to be honest. We're the people with a greater interest in the specific goings-on of Irish football, but we're the minority.

As for foot.ie, there are many more threads in this forum bumped every day than in the LOI forums and the bigger threads have greater participation than anything the LOI forum could muster. Which is not surprising given the relative levels of interest in Ireland.

[The Fly]

I don't think any online forum is representative, to be honest. We're the people with a greater interest in the specific goings-on of Irish football, but we're the minority.

I'm going off on tangent now but I would suggest that certain club forums may be representative to a degree given the stronger and more consistent level of interest in the club game.


As for foot.ie, there are many more threads in this forum bumped every day than in the LOI forums and the bigger threads have greater participation than anything the LOI forum could muster. Which is not surprising given the relative levels of interest in Ireland.

I'll have to take your word for that given the reasons outlined in my previous post. Thanks for info though.

[Charlie Darwin]

I'm going off on tangent now but I would suggest that certain club forums may be representative to a degree given the stronger and more consistent level of interest in the club game.
I'd say they're still pretty specific. I think if you're going to get an accurate gauge of how people feel, you have to go out of forums. Much as I'm loath to admit it, Paul O'Shea has a point when he says the opinions on here aren't consistent with the fan at the matches. Any forum is liable to fall into a form of groupthink, and when you have ultra-charismatic figures like myself and geysir around well people are bound to be influenced by our superior opinions.

For instance, the eligibility thread is probably the biggest thread on this forum, but I wager it's not an important consideration to the majority of Irish football fans - they just want the best footballers around playing for Ireland, whether it's Curtis Davies or Mark Noble or Seamus Coleman. In foot.ie's case, I'd say we have a fairly even split of domestic fans, Irish-based fans with no affiliation to an Irish club, and ex-pats.

Likewise, the consensus on here for some time has been that Delaney is a waster, and that's a common opinion around the country, but it's only recently it's been an issue for YBIG, and I'd say the greater quantity of Irish football fans who don't post on forums would have a more favourable opinion of him because he has a little bit of charisma and is a country boy come good. Add to that the much less appreciated aspect that the power and influence in Irish football is disproportionately represented in areas where the sport isn't actually particularly popular - the same areas that tend to get the benefit of grants and FAI funding - you can see why he has the power he does.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Id love to meet the guy, perhaps Ardee cud help me set up a meeting.:p

What Fly & Chuck? They are two people AFAIK...
:rolleyes:

[Stuttgart88]

I don't think any online forum is representative, to be honest. We're the people with a greater interest in the specific goings-on of Irish football, but we're the minority.

As for foot.ie, there are many more threads in this forum bumped every day than in the LOI forums and the bigger threads have greater participation than anything the LOI forum could muster. Which is not surprising given the relative levels of interest in Ireland.I was at a concert in my daughter's school on Thursday night. She's new there and I don't know many of the parents. I got talking to one guy and very quickly we both went off on a tangent, football related but more to do with football politics. It turned out he was part of Greg Dyke's commission into changing English football to be more advantageous for English players - you know, the EPL B teams to be entered into the lower leagues etc. I mentioned my idea of inviting some B teams into the LOI and he said it was something that was actually considered. We agreed that it was nice to meet someone else interested in talking about footbal beyond "my team's better than yours".

[ArdeeBhoy]

Imaginative, though can see a few heads on here complaining...

[osarusan]

I mentioned my idea of inviting some B teams into the LOI and he said it was something that was actually considered.
EPL B teams in the LOI?

[Stuttgart88]

Yep, it was something I mentioned here several months ago, around the time it was announced that the FA Commission recommended they play in the English League One or Two. A couple of the LOI fans here (bennocelt and Nigel?) thought it was a decent idea!

Anyway, a topic for another thread. I was just drawing a similarity between the type of thing we debate here and my conversation on Thursday - prompted by CD's comment above about "the specific goings on".

[bennocelt]

Yep, it was something I mentioned here several months ago, around the time it was announced that the FA Commission recommended they play in the English League One or Two. A couple of the LOI fans here (bennocelt and Nigel?) thought it was a decent idea!

Anyway, a topic for another thread. I was just drawing a similarity between the type of thing we debate here and my conversation on Thursday - prompted by CD's comment above about "the specific goings on".

I did! Was I drunk?:confused:

[DannyInvincible]

I was at a concert in my daughter's school on Thursday night. She's new there and I don't know many of the parents. I got talking to one guy and very quickly we both went off on a tangent, football related but more to do with football politics. It turned out he was part of Greg Dyke's commission into changing English football to be more advantageous for English players - you know, the EPL B teams to be entered into the lower leagues etc. I mentioned my idea of inviting some B teams into the LOI and he said it was something that was actually considered. We agreed that it was nice to meet someone else interested in talking about footbal beyond "my team's better than yours".

The FAI had considered inviting the 'B' teams of English Premier League clubs into the LOI or the FA had considered approaching the FAI about it?

More crucially though, whose team was better?

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

"Marginalising Protestant fans how exactly? Do you feel marginalised, Bonnie? Irish republicanism isn't anti-Protestant, nor is it pro-Catholic. It's an entirely secular ideology."

Irish republicanism and anti-Protestantism often go hand in hand, and are often times intrinsic, unfortunately.

There would be a lot of consternation if Jim Boyce was stupid enough to get caught singing The Sash or Billy Boys so all things equal...

Anthony Stokes got a lot of flak for his supposed sympathies but what do you call this?

Delaney's actions aren't that malicious but they are incredibly stupid considering his position as chief executive of the FAI, taking into account the well publicised behaviour of Celtic & Rangers fans when representing their clubs abroad and keeping in mind the Josip Simunic incident.

As for YBIG. They finally got mainstream attention because of the stupidity of the people that contribute to that forum, they finally got caught and they apologised. Hopefully they will finally implement some firmer moderation on that site. Some of the stuff people (including the mods) come out with on that forum would get them sued if they said it on Twitter. Hopefully it's a wake up call for them.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Irish republicanism and anti-Protestantism often go hand in hand, and are often times intrinsic, unfortunately.
Hardly ever tbf in my experience. Most republicans aren't that ignorant.


There would be a lot of consternation if Jim Boyce was stupid enough to get caught singing The Sash or Billy Boys so all things equal...
Unlikely, given his club is Cliftonville? Though their few fans on here may tell us otherwise.

[BonnieShels]

Irish republicanism and anti-Protestantism often go hand in hand, and are often times intrinsic, unfortunately.

They really don't. There's not much that can be said in addition to that. Sure some people resort to terms such as "Papist" or "Prod" when referring to Republicans/Nationalists or Unionists/Loyalists but they aren't the majority and it's hardly often and rarely serious. I'm sure you think all Republicans are "Up the Ra-shouting Celtic tracksuit wearing idiots" and all Loyalists are Willy Frazer.


There would be a lot of consternation if Jim Boyce was stupid enough to get caught singing The Sash or Billy Boys so all things equal...

Of course they would. But Jim is not a moron.


Anthony Stokes got a lot of flak for his supposed sympathies but what do you call this?

Irrelevant. Was Ray Kennedy abusing Anthony?


Delaney's actions aren't that malicious but they are incredibly stupid considering his position as chief executive of the FAI, taking into account the well publicised behaviour of Celtic & Rangers fans when representing their clubs abroad and keeping in mind the Josip Simunic incident.

This is the point, Delaney's actions were stupid. Nothing malicious was ever implied or inferred.

Keeping in mind the Simunic incident I haven't seen how you can compare the two.

Have you managed to find maliciousness?


Hardly ever tbf in my experience. Most republicans aren't that ignorant.

Ah sure, what would your experience or my experience or any other's experience matter, when TOWK can just make stuff up?


Unlikely, given his club is Cliftonville? Though their few fans on here may tell us otherwise.

And the fact he's not a total idiot.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Amen to that Bonnie.

[DannyInvincible]

Irish republicanism and anti-Protestantism often go hand in hand, and are often times intrinsic, unfortunately.

Something is either intrinsic to another thing or it isn't, and anti-Protestantism is not intrinsic to Irish republicanism. [I have removed some of the more political content and posted it here (http://foot.ie/threads/196215-Debate-on-nationalist-and-loyalist-anthems?p=1795235&viewfull=1#post1795235) instead as I suspect tets isn't too keen on seeing it in this thread.] Even if what you said above were actually true, it wouldn't make Delaney's singing of 'Joe McDonnell' an anti-Protestant gesture.


Delaney's actions aren't that malicious but they are incredibly stupid considering his position as chief executive of the FAI, taking into account the well publicised behaviour of Celtic & Rangers fans when representing their clubs abroad and keeping in mind the Josip Simunic incident.

Godwin's law?... I think you're blowing things out of proportion a bit now.

[ArdeeBhoy]

You're wasted on here Danny...

[Drumcondra 69er]

http://afalsefirstxi.blogspot.ie/2014/11/thetrouble-with-john.html

Few thoughts on the whole story from the Scotland tickets allocation to now for anyone interested.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Good work as ever TC.

[geysir]

If we had not lost to Scotland, just how much of the content would have a different edge to it. Drums?

The balance of criticism of Delaney is getting bogged down in style, not substance which is much more important, add to that all the whining and a ton of scapegoating him for all the ills in irish football.
Just how a measly 3,000 or so tickets were distributed and not handled well overall, is an issue, but that's about all.
Delaney had a point, the FAI should have gotten more tickets for the FAI to distribute themselves for the one area in the grounds. The SFA went out of their way to prevent Irish supporters getting tickets and made sure the one single area populated by Irish fans was not very large and that whole attitude was personified by Strachan himself, who basically dictated that the SFA do everything in its power to prevent irish supporters getting tickets, and this was borne out by every action that followed.
Was that the worst treatment since Paris 1980 when fans were deliberately scattered around the ground to affect their impact? Just because it's the SFA's right to just offer less than the bare minimum cooperation, in no way excuses their attitude.
There is a standard by associations all over Europe to accommodate the visiting support. Even in the Europa league competition, on occasions when tickets are in high demand, you will see the visiting fans being treated generously with ticket allocations, time and time again.

Delaney use to be on top of these issues and also the superficial PR issues, but since he's got connected with that bimbo he's lost the plot and made poor decisions.

[Charlie Darwin]

Delaney had a point, the FAI should have gotten more tickets for the FAI to distribute themselves for the one area in the grounds. The SFA went out of their way to prevent Irish supporters getting tickets and made sure the one single area populated by Irish fans was not very large and that whole attitude was personified by Strachan himself, who basically dictated that the SFA do everything in its power to prevent irish supporters getting tickets, and this was borne out by every action that followed.
Nah, the SFA did right by their fans and restricted Ireland to their rightful allocation. I'd be disappointed if the roles were reversed and the FAI hadn't done the same.