FAI troubles

[seanfhear]

FAI has to go bust. Feck it, lets re-join the IFA and their league.
John Delaney Unites Ireland.......inadvertently !

[wexfordned]

Shane Ross and Brendan Griffin durimg the week were a perfect example of the majority of football fans in this country.

LOI is irrelevant to them and all that matters is how this affects the senior team. It's gas how a thread on survival of FAI has barely 100 posts but a thread on players who might be eligible for Ireland team because of some family relative has over 3k posts.

[tetsujin1979]

It's 3,000 posts in a little over ten years.
Or about 300 posts a year
Or about one a day.

This thread is less than a month old and is averaging about three replies a day.

[Stuttgart88]

And there are other threads on Delaney & the Governance of the FAI. WexfordNed didn't contribute to any of them.

[wexfordned]

And there are other threads on Delaney & the Governance of the FAI. WexfordNed didn't contribute to any of them.

I do apologise for not publicising my work.

Unlike the majority of football fans in this country I have been worked in LOI and junior soccer teams. Its not as glamorous as watching Liverpool/Utd/Arsenal etc. or looking at a english/Scottish/welsh footballer because his granny was born in Galway, but what can you do?

[Closed Account]

I do apologise for not publicising my work.

Unlike the majority of football fans in this country I have been worked in LOI and junior soccer teams. Its not as glamorous as watching Liverpool/Utd/Arsenal etc. or looking at a english/Scottish/welsh footballer because his granny was born in Galway, but what can you do?Sounds like you're a good Irish supporter and are rightly annoyed about the current situation. But maybe you're ire is misdirected here. The select group of people who post here are not a/the problem in Irish soccer and I think you know that.

[elatedscum]

Shane Ross and Brendan Griffin durimg the week were a perfect example of the majority of football fans in this country.


LOI is irrelevant to them and all that matters is how this affects the senior team. It's gas how a thread on survival of FAI has barely 100 posts but a thread on players who might be eligible for Ireland team because of some family relative has over 3k posts.


Do you really think Shane Ross is actually a football fan? Don't know anything about Brendan Griffin but Shane Ross doesn't strike me as someone who really cares about the game at all and this all seems like a game of politics and political point scoring to him.


Number of posts are reflective of very little. The eligible players thread is a catch all for hundreds of players spanning a decade, probably plenty of debate surrounding Grealish and Rice and plenty of simple factual posts about players which clock up numbers but aren't substantive.


This thing is such a mess and so complex that it takes time to construct my thoughts in a coherent way.






Unlike the majority of football fans in this country I have been worked in LOI and junior soccer teams. Its not as glamorous as watching Liverpool/Utd/Arsenal etc. or looking at a english/Scottish/welsh footballer because his granny was born in Galway, but what can you do?


No offence to you personally but I’ve always found that attitude to be totally ignorant. I don’t support a LoI club, I didn’t as a kid and as a consequence there was never any honest passion there but I go to plenty of games every season. I go see every Dublin side. I’d like to go to some games further afield (Dundalk, Derry, Cork, Waterford) but it’s not easy to make it work… Equally I’ve been to every underage Irish match in Dublin for the past 4 years (except the Italy game a few months ago) and most full international matches and I’ve been involved in more schoolboy, junior and intermediate games than I can count. As for TV, I’ll watch mostly Premier League, Champion’s League, LoI (if I’m not at a game - televised games generally Friday nights), international and a bit of Bundesliga (as a 15 year old, I trained with a Bundesliga side and I made friends there through a host family who still have a connection to the club, so I’ve always supported them to a certain extent from that point onwards).


Anyway, I make no apologies whatsoever for supporting a Premier League team. The dynamics of the situation mean the best players leave this country, generally to go to England. Plus, I was given my first jersey on my 6th birthday and since that moment the connection hasn’t deviated or lessened.


I make no apologies for framing my appreciation of the national league around the national team and around the players more-so than the teams. I wouldn’t chastise others for the choices they make. It’s a ridiculous inverse snobbery.

As for grannies, we're a nation of emigrants, it’s a huge asset to us. We need to explore why it is that Zaha chose to play for Ivory Coast but Steven Gerrard chose to play for England. Why players with American parents or grandparents are choosing the US over Germany or Turkish-German kids picking Turkey but there are very few lads choosing Ireland over England when they’re given the choice. Yet when I meet English people with Irish parents or grandparents, they’ll often say they feel Irish more than they feel English. I also don’t really understand it. If I had a child or grandchild who grew up or was born outside Ireland, I couldn’t imagine him not playing for Ireland if he was good enough. My attachment is so strong that I know it would pass through to him. So I find it hard to comprehend how rare it is for players to make the same decisions.


I really want the national team to succeed. And if Andy Robertson and James Maddison and Harry Kane considered themselves proud Irishmen, we’d be in a much better situation than we are now. So when Ryan Johansson chooses Ireland over Sweden or Joe Hodge chooses Ireland over England or Conor Noss chooses Ireland over Germany or Anselmo Garcia McNulty chooses Ireland over Spain or Michael Obafemi chooses Ireland over Nigeria, that really means something - it points to hope for the future. Equally, Ethan Ampadu choosing Wales or Josh Ireland or Liam Delap choosing England, those are feel like little blows.


There’s a whole different battle regarding improving the players we develop here, but they’re not mutually exclusive. We can win both.

Anyway, keep up the work at LOI and junior level.


But honestly, there are many ways to love the beautiful game…

[Fizzer]

Brilliant post e-scum

[John83]

It's 3,000 posts in a little over ten years.
Or about 300 posts a year
Or about one a day.

This thread is less than a month old and is averaging about three replies a day.
Just to add to that, the site now has a fraction of the traffic it had ten years ago.

[Colbert Report]

Just to add to that, the site now has a fraction of the traffic it had ten years ago.

Yeah, why is this? I remember this place buzzing any time there was an Ireland match coming up.

[irishfan86]

The reason why we get less traffic here is the evolution of the internet. The next generation coming up doesn’t use forums. They use various forms of social media.

Basically they just participate in discussions/debates by Tweeting things with hashtags — those hashtags act as a sort of massive thread connecting thousands of interactions at once.

I prefer the forum format because the discussions generally seem to be better. Would be nice to get a bit of fresh blood in but what can you do?

[Stuttgart88]

I do apologise for not publicising my work.

Unlike the majority of football fans in this country I have been worked in LOI and junior soccer teams. Its not as glamorous as watching Liverpool/Utd/Arsenal etc. or looking at a english/Scottish/welsh footballer because his granny was born in Galway, but what can you do?you made the point that there was relatively little criticism or scrutiny of the FAI. When that point is fairly rebutted just have the decency to accept it.

Lots of us here have also worked in and supported domestic football too. You're nothing special in that regard.

[geysir]

And what glamour is there in watching Arsenal these days?

[wexfordned]

It's ok. Everyone can validate themselves saying I objected to the FAI because they liked some post in the past. No wonder Irish football is f**ked. At least individuals on on other MB like YBIG can accept they screwed up and allowed Delaney do what he wanted.

To all the idiots here who have refused to criticise Delaney/FAI I hope santa brings everything you deserve as so called Irish football fans

[Stuttgart88]

That’s about as disingenuous a post as any I can remember on this forum, and there have been many.

[Closed Account]

Agreed.

[Stuttgart88]

Let’s recap the last few posts. You said that it’s bad the the Eligible Players thread has more posts than the FAI Troubles thread. It was then pointed out that over the time the Eligible Players thread has been alive there have been multiple threads critical of the FAI and Delaney. You didn’t contribute to any of the FAI threads so while not a big thing in itself it doesn’t put you in a good position to be critical of others.

I don’t recall any threads on YBIG examining the weakness of the FAI’s governance. I did my best to start a proper analytical look at how the FAI was being run. Who was it that wrote to the then Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar, in 2014 asking for an Oireactas Inquiry into the running of the FAI? Who was it who wrote to John O’Mahoney TD (now Senator) in his capacity as Chairman of the Oireachtas Committee for Transport, Tourism and Sport listing multiple causes for obvious concern at the FAI? I’ll help you answer, it was a foot.ie poster not one from YBIG.

As said above, why direct your ire at foot.ie? It’s been one of the public places where criticism of the FAI has been consistent and targeted. We’re all on the same side here so why the confrontation?

By all means have a dig at “barstoolers” who turned a blind eye to Delaney and the FAI’s failings, but I think you’ve come to the wrong place if you think this forum is the place you’ll find them.

[tetsujin1979]

At the very least you could search the site
https://foot.ie/threads/193572-The-John-Delaney-Thread
https://foot.ie/threads/139017-Delaney-s-wages
https://foot.ie/threads/70917-Idea-for-Protest-against-Delaney
https://foot.ie/threads/43101-The-John-Delaney-Discussion-thread
https://foot.ie/threads/168322-Governance-of-the-FAI
https://foot.ie/threads/52841-Delaney-Out-t-shirt-protest

[Closed Account]

Equally, wexfordned is not the problem

[Stuttgart88]

Equally, wexfordned is not the problem

This didn’t age well.

[wexfordned]

Clowns like Stuttgart 88 got drink from Delaney on Irish international games and that made him the man and wouldn't hear a word against him.

Irish football is clearly in a great place going into 2020. I await the press release in the new year from all these wise ones like Stuttgart88 to announce they have taken a place on the board of the FAI and will start the process of bringing Irish football into the modern century

[Closed Account]

It appears I've given more credit than was due. Thankfully it seems the recipient can either accept his ignorance or claim ignorance...both work.

[tetsujin1979]

Ah lads there are none as blind as none that cannot see. LOI fans new few years Delaney was full of crap. The rest of of you no marks were only interested in the performances of the senior international team. Keep waffling on how you care about Irish football you clowns.

To the few LOI fans who still post on this MB amongst the idiotic mongs happy new year and bring on 2020 season
You know there is a league of Ireland section on the board, where league of Ireland fans discuss league of Ireland issues.

[paul_oshea]

<MOD EDIT - quoted post removed>

General consensus here correct and well said but can you back up Stuttgart 88 defending Delaney or saying he was doing a good job? A quote or two would be nice to prove what you are saying because I do remember him saying he was very cunning and astute or words to that effect to still be in power but I don't particularly remember him defending him.
And don't quote ybig. Those lads loved Delaney until their noses were disjointed by the Scotland thing. It had absolutely nothing to do with how he ran the FAI. They thought they should have been put on a pedestal with some special VIP treatment. I go to the games unlike those on here and I know all those ybig lads that go to the games.

[Stuttgart88]

<MOD EDIT - quote of unacceptable language removed>

Another deeply disingenuous post really.

I never took a drink from Delaney in my life.

"I don't particularly remember (Stuttgart88) defending him". Damned with faint praise. You know full well I didn't defend him and you also know full well I was highly critical of him and unlike anyone here or on YBIG I actually backed this up by writing to the competent authorities in government, as far back as 2014. I also practically stalked Big John O'Mahoney on twitter asking him to stop ignoring the obvious failings if the FAI. So yeah you'd be right for not particularly remembering me defending him.

"I go to the games unlike those on here". Who in particular? Tedious beyond belief.

You're right about YBIG and the Scotland tickets.

To save anyone the trouble of digging up my thoughts on Delaney and the FAI over the last 15 years to the best of my knowledge I have consistently criticised the FAI's workings. That said I didn't just condemn everything the FAI did. I generally think Dokter is doing a decent job. I think the Emerging Talent Programme is a necessary but insufficient improvement. I think the transfer of power to the LOI clubs and away from the schoolboy clubs is a good thing.

I don't think I was ever convinced by the Aviva arrangement and I wished we had something like eircom Park, a smaller purpose-built home to call our own. I partially defend the Vantage Club fiasco because the world's biggest sports agency IMG devised the strategy. When Charlie D and people like Dan McD in the Indo revealed details of the prices I changed my mind. The people I know in the FAI ticket office are brilliant.

The closest I can remember to defending Delaney was over his drinking in Sopot. I thought the reaction was a bit OTT. He was already an embarrassment, being a drunk embarrassment didn't change much. But I was very critical of him being filmed singing rebel songs in a pub in Bath Avenue, not least because we were due to play NI and Scotland soon and anything even remotely associated with sectarian politics was tone deaf to say the least. I thought Delaney's reaction to his dolly bird being abused on social media was Stalinist, as was the statement from his FAI cronies at the time.

So there you go.

[NeverFeltBetter]

FAI owe Garda 360k: https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2020/0103/1104204-fai-fails-to-pay-for-policing-operations/

Pointedly stated that GAA and IRFU always pay up.

[geysir]

As Stutts probably did on the football pitch, he has deftly kicked innuendo into row Z.

A large portion of FAI shennanigans were concealed under the cloak of non-disclosure, also actual accountancy deceptions such as the recording of €6.5m as income instead of a loan to be repaid, difficult to detect unless one had accces to and could decipher the terms of contract.

To top all that, the bluffers repeatedly believed their own bluff ,that under the lurking shadow of the grim reaper, the delusional FAI gave the temporary new manager a 2 year contract - €1.2m p/a, with 8 competitives games upcoming in the first year, probably 2 in the 2nd year. That's a stupenduos annual salary for an occasional manager. Compare that with full time epl managers annual salary in 2018, Eddie Howe €590k, Chris Hughton €620k, Sean Dyche €700k.
'tis no wonder that even the overlords (Fine Gael) of the new children's hospital were gobsmaked by the extent of the financial mismangement and improper accounting practices of the FAI.

[wexfordned]

Claiming non disclosure is a mickey mouse defence. While LOI clubs were consistently late receiving their prize money Delaney was buying beer for Irish fans.

Even now it took LOI fans on Twitter to shame Shane Ross into meeting with LOI players when he so casually claimed LOI would go if LOI went.

Irish football owes a debt to LOI clubs and their fans. How many players in the current squad have come from LOI rather then claiming allegiance through some forgotten granny or grandad.

Alas LOI will be forgotten again by the average gombeen Irish fan come the summer when the Euros come to Dublin.

The only way real change will come is if Ireland don't qualify for the Euros. If they somehow qualify it will be all aboard the bandwagon and all the mismanagement will be ignored.

Only if Ireland fail to qualify and the average Irish fan is denied his/her **** up watching the international team might there be a demand for change

[geysir]

Claiming non disclosure is a mickey mouse defence. While LOI clubs were consistently late receiving their prize money Delaney was buying beer for Irish fans. Who's claiming a defence? a defence to what? Your post is clueless innacurate bull.

[osarusan]

As Stutts probably did on the football pitch, he has deftly kicked innuendo into row Z.

A large portion of FAI shennanigans were concealed under the cloak of non-disclosure, also actual accountancy deceptions such as the recording of €6.5m as income instead of a loan to be repaid, difficult to detect unless one had accces to and could decipher the terms of contract.

To top all that, the bluffers repeatedly believed their own bluff ,that under the lurking shadow of the grim reaper, the delusional FAI gave the temporary new manager a 2 year contract - €1.2m p/a, with 8 competitives games upcoming in the first year, probably 2 in the 2nd year. That's a stupenduos annual salary for an occasional manager. Compare that with full time epl managers annual salary in 2018, Eddie Howe €590k, Chris Hughton €620k, Sean Dyche €700k.
'tis no wonder that even the overlords (Fine Gael) of the new children's hospital were gobsmaked by the extent of the financial mismangement and improper accounting practices of the FAI.

Comparison with international managers is interesting too, and McCarthy's €1.2 million puts him above 19 of the managers at 2018 world cup.

Managers of Eurpoean teams such as Belgium, Switzerland, Iceland, Croatia, Sweden, Serbia and Poland were all earning less.

Ridiculous money really in comparison to what our idea of football 'success' is.

I guess it went up dramatically (with assistance from DOB) to get Trap in and has stayed comparatively high ever since.

I expect it will be seriously slashed if and when Kenny takes over.

[NeverFeltBetter]

All very Celtic Tiger thinking, in the reckless spending and waste of money.

Would Kenny's contract terms not already have been set? Of course maybe the money isn't there to pay him anymore.

[pineapple stu]

Another question then is if Kenny is on a (reduced) senior contract while manager of the 21s...

[Stuttgart88]

Only if Ireland fail to qualify and the average Irish fan is denied his/her **** up watching the international team might there be a demand for changeThat's right. Nobody thinks any change is needed as of today.

[osarusan]

https://scontent-dub4-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/s960x960/81533539_2697560326999949_5459263716547624960_o.jp g?_nc_cat=102&_nc_ohc=X5PZfLJA-cQAQm0BDBsmrj8gWswiIO0fFMvPjZ0gv4Kzayd3yrg_cDkGA&_nc_ht=scontent-dub4-1.xx&oh=11aaf451ede377e0280d12ee248730a9&oe=5EA6F28B

Who is on the Council currently and is there anybody that can be trusted to get on with the reforms needed needed if elected president?

[Scrufil]

I think now is a good time to rearrange the way the LoI and International teams get their support. Make it a condition that no home supporters get entry to the Aviva for Irish games unless they have attended a league of Ireland match in the last 4 months.

[tetsujin1979]

Why stop there? Why not an away game in the last four months?

[NeverFeltBetter]

I think now is a good time to rearrange the way the LoI and International teams get their support. Make it a condition that no home supporters get entry to the Aviva for Irish games unless they have attended a league of Ireland match in the last 4 months.

The FAI needs to increase revenue, not decrease it.

[Diggs246]

I think now is a good time to rearrange the way the LoI and International teams get their support. Make it a condition that no home supporters get entry to the Aviva for Irish games unless they have attended a league of Ireland match in the last 4 months.

Are you on coke? Cheers though needed a laugh today

[pineapple stu]

The FAI needs to increase revenue, not decrease it.
It probably needs to decrease its expenditure more to be honest - look at issues like the national team manager's salary and the seemingly excessive number of coaches being employed around the country.

But yeah, if nothing else at all, if you start forcing people to go to LoI games, or using a stick to "encourage" them to go, that'll only lead to a backlash sentiment tbh.

[Scrufil]

Incredible!! The replies to my suggestion just display the small mindedness that is the bane of this country. Without the LoI there is no National team. Honour the locals first or you have no business being at an Irish International match.

How is this any different to people being given first pick of tickets at Euros or World Cups because they had proof of going to games in the Aviva? Exact same principle.

I liken the FAI to the Civil Service in this country. They are meant to act on your behalf and be glad they have jobs not act as if they own the money and we are the dirt beneath their feet.

<MODEDIT>
Don't try to get around the obscenity filter

[nigel-harps1954]

Incredible!! The replies to my suggestion just display the small mindedness that is the bane of this country. Without the LoI there is no National team. Honour the locals first or you have no business being at an Irish International match.

How is this any different to people being given first pick of tickets at Euros or World Cups because they had proof of going to games in the Aviva? Exact same principle.

I liken the FAI to the Civil Service in this country. They are meant to act on your behalf and be glad they have jobs not act as if they own the money and we are the dirt beneath their feet.

<MODEDIT> Quote from deleted text removed
</MODEDIT>


Incentives to attend more matches, yes.

Forcing people to go.....eh..no.

Reduced price tickets for LOI season ticket holders, or some other sort of nonsense might have a small affect on attendances and support for the league, but straight out forcing people to go if they want to attend national team matches will have no benefit whatsoever to anyone.

I remember when Finn Harps hosted a few glamour friendlies, Celtic came over, there was a Man United v Liverpool legends game too, and they sold tickets inside the ground on match nights. You had to pay into the ground to get the ticket for the other games. People would pay into the match, get their ticket for the other game, and just leave again.

[Charlie Darwin]

It probably needs to decrease its expenditure more to be honest - look at issues like the national team manager's salary and the seemingly excessive number of coaches being employed around the country.

But yeah, if nothing else at all, if you start forcing people to go to LoI games, or using a stick to "encourage" them to go, that'll only lead to a backlash sentiment tbh.
What do you mean by the excessive number of coaches being employed? Do you mean national team coaches or RDOs, etc?

[irishfan86]

Watching from afar (Irish-born, Canadian raised), it’s difficult to see a path to mainstream relevancy for the League of Ireland.

If you can watch the world’s best (Premier League) on the TV, why would you go down the road to watch what are essentially semi pros duke it out?

It will no doubt be dismissed as something like a “terrible yank idea,” but if I won the lotto I’d attempt to have a Dublin-based team compete in the Scottish league or preferably start at the bottom of the English system and work its way up.

The top Welsh teams play in England, and I appreciate Ireland is not part of Britain, but there are precedents for leagues involving multiple countries.

We have three Canadian teams in MLS for example.

Having a Dublin-based team playing against higher level opposition on a regular basis, would provide a place for a core of our national team players to compete regularly at a high level, while offering supporters a chance to attend elite matches live without leaving the country.

The League of Ireland will never convince “barstoolers” to reject Man Utd, Liverpool, etc. I believe an elite Dublin-based team could change that conversation, especially if this team were competing at Championship level or higher.

Under this model, there would still be a place for the League of Ireland, more in terms of a development league to feed that Dublin team.

Before you lose your minds, it’s not going to happen, so relax !

[pineapple stu]

What do you mean by the excessive number of coaches being employed? Do you mean national team coaches or RDOs, etc?
I'm really going off sbgawa's post in the other forum here (https://foot.ie/threads/251652-Potential-ramifications-for-LOI-after-todays-FAI-accounts-debacle?p=2027375&viewfull=1#post2027375). Seems a well thought-out post, and the unfortunate reality is that it's going to be far easier for the FAI to cut costs than raise income at the moment.

[pineapple stu]

It will no doubt be dismissed as something like a “terrible yank idea,” but if I won the lotto I’d attempt to have a Dublin-based team compete in the Scottish league or preferably start at the bottom of the English system and work its way up.
It's a terrible yank idea.

Do you know what the bottom of the English system is? AFC Wimbledon started at the fifth non-league tier. They're a little bit bigger than an LoI side (4k average attendances now) and they've reached the lower rungs of the third tier. That won't generate any interest in Ireland - and once you lose interest, you'll start going back quick enough I'd say.

You can't just enter the Scottish league either; bottom rung is the Highland/Lowland leagues.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Ah, the Dublin Dons idea. It was unwise then, and unwise now. Some dinky 4th tier outfit will be a source of derision for the same people who treat the LOI like dirt while jetting off to Anfield, Old Trafford and the Emirates every few weekends.

To add to Stu's point about being mired in the lower tier, any any such team would be under no requirement to actually play Irish-born players. The Welsh clubs in the English system were mentioned. Cardiff have just four Welsh players in their 32-man first team squad, Swansea have five (Newport, in the 4th tier, have 9, Wrexham, in the 5th, have 12, but mostly teenagers).

And, if I may elaborate, forcing fans of the national team to attend LOI games would be counter-productive to the extreme. I would wager you'd see falling attendance at international games as a result, and increased resentment of the LOI. You can't point a metaphorical gun at someone and force them to like something. It reminds me of the idea that we should ban TV coverage of the EPL here.

[Mr_Parker]

<MODEDIT>
Quote from removed text deleted
</MODEDIT>

You are mistaken if you think that, imo. The bulk of the power in the FAI rests regional and grassroots football. That's who hold the most votes and positions.

[pineapple stu]

Exhibit 1 to back that up - the entire disorganised mess the FAI is in at present, on and off the pitch.

The international team cannot by any remote stretch of the hallucinogenic imagination be termed the LoI's bitch

[backstothewall]

Incredible!! The replies to my suggestion just display the small mindedness that is the bane of this country. Without the LoI there is no National team. Honour the locals first or you have no business being at an Irish International match.

How is this any different to people being given first pick of tickets at Euros or World Cups because they had proof of going to games in the Aviva? Exact same principle.

I liken the FAI to the Civil Service in this country. They are meant to act on your behalf and be glad they have jobs not act as if they own the money and we are the dirt beneath their feet.

<MODEDIT>
Don't try to get around the obscenity filter

My closest league of Ireland ground is over 60 miles away from me in Dundalk. As someone from Co. Antrim I feel about as much affiliation with Dundalk as I do with Boca Juniors or Galatasary.

And it's not just northerners who make this idea daft to the point of being offensively ignorant. There are 19 counties out of 32 where there is no LOI club to support (Antrim, Armagh, Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Down, Fermanagh, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Tipperary & Tyrone). The people living in those places have as much right to be at an Ireland match as you or anyone else.

None of this is my fault. I'm already making a 220 mile round trip to Lansdowne Road. So why should i have to pay more than the guy next to me because of where I live? I'm not going to tolerate being charged more than a fella who goes to the odd Bohs game on a friday night and can get to Ireland games by taking the bus from the city centre after work. I'd be sitting in the house watching on telly and spending my money on something else.

[Kingdom]

I liken the FAI to the Civil Service in this country. They are meant to act on your behalf and be glad they have jobs not act as if they own the money and we are the dirt beneath their feet.


You're talking through your hoop. There's absolutely no need for that. Do you know what the role of the Civil Service is? It's to advise Minister's on how to run their departments, and subsequently to implement government policy. The government is made up of politicians that people such as yourself elect. The FAI board is essentially made up of elected officials from around the country. So equate the FAI to the govt, not the CS.

"Be glad they have jobs" - that old chestnut.

What I would do though, in reference to your original post, is give free entry to anyone with a LoI season ticket - or the option of Irish home tickets for €5/€10. That rewards LoI clubs and fans. The weekly LoI attendance is roughly, around the 10k mark each week: it is achievable.