Bright New Dawn of FAI Leadership

[Mr A]

See here http://www.derrycitychat.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=11339

Makes me sick to be honest.

[harpskid]

Truly sickening! I really wonder what goes on in Merrion Square - do they just trawl through the various websites looking for petty little things like this - I mean there isn't even anything bad in the article...

[Dazzy]

Truly sickening! I really wonder what goes on in Merrion Square - do they just trawl through the various websites looking for petty little things like this - I mean there isn't even anything bad in the article...

Guess the truth hurts, well i havent read Maribors article yet but will now.:o

[dcfcsteve]

This is really taking the pish now. Something has to be said or done about this.

In the absence of the now-defunct NLSA, seems it's up to interested ordinary individual fans to act on this.

Anyone interested in taking a stand on Delaney's control freakery - please PM me.

I am based out of the country, so am limited in what I can do myself, but I'm happy to coordinate activities discreetly so something can and does happen.

P.S. If I don't recognise you as a regular on here, I'm afraid I won't involve you in any such discussions. Discretion is key to success here, so apologies in-advance to anyone affected by this.

[gufct]

can someone copy and paste this as i dont want to register for the site.

[lofty9]

http://www.derrycityweb.net/index.php?blog=2

click on this , you dont have to register. this is the article that has been moved at a certain persons request.

[OneRedArmy]

There are jobs ready and waiting for the Ministry of People's Thoughts (aka the FAI) in North Korea, Turkmenistan and Myanmar.

There are going to be so many protests in Croker next month the FAI may need to bring back the tanks and machine guns if they are going to supress all of them.

You're on your way out John.

[soccerc]

You couldn't make it up - nobody would believe you!

[Soper]

Can someone give me the gist of what it says?I can't register with the forum.

[soccerc]

Can someone give me the gist of what it says?I can't register with the forum.

No need to register


http://www.derrycityweb.net/index.php?blog=2&p=27&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1#more27

[dcfcsteve]

Another Fine Mess

"Well here's another fine mess you've got me into me Ollie"

It may have been a catchphrase for Laurel and Hardy but it may have been uttered around FAI headquarters in recent weeks.

The media coverage surrounding the serious financial problems at Shelbourne has dominated the news in domestic football terms in recent weeks. However rather than pick at the carcasses of what was Shelbourne FC, surely the more pertinent questions should be directed to Merrion Square.The Football Association of Ireland appear to have overseen yet another fiasco in the domestic game whilst whistling dixie in the other direction.

The make up of the new league was announced on the 12th of December 2006, and yet come the start of February 2007 a major club is apparently days from dissolving as a viable entity. Just how did this come about?

In this, the first year of the "FAI National League" where the domestic league falls under the direct control of the governing body, we were promised that days like this were in the past. Indeed League chairman Paddy McCaul declared it "the dawn of a new era" at the start of December. The Independent Assessment Group studied the clubs on a number of sporting and non/sporting criteria and the clubs were ranked on a points basis, with the top twelve clubs gaining admittance to the new top flight competition. It all seemed as if we were moving in the right direction, and the luminaries who made up the group seemed to have the requisite experience across a variety of fields.

The IAG appeared to be a refinement of the UEFA Licence process, which had been in place for several years and yet it appears the FAI learnt little from what had gone before. The UEFA Licence had its credibility shredded due to the failure of the League authorities to properly implement it and let the issue be fudged

The plight of Shamrock Rovers exposed the process to be little more than a farce, with Rovers nearly going to the wall despite being in possession of a licence. It came to light that the club submitted the same accounts for two consecutive years, were awarded a licence despite debts of around 2.36 million euro at the time they went into administration. Shamrock Rovers were saved by their own fans and were deducted eight points for their financial irregularities.

In the middle of 2006 Dublin City ceased trading, with serious ramifications for the rest of the League. The outcome of that decision was to have serious repercussions for the title race and shone more negative light on the League. Dublin City had been granted a Premier Division licence and yet they folded mid way through a season. Serious questions were again posed by fans of clubs throughout the League about how had been allowed to happen, given the safeguards that the Licence process was supposed to provide.

At that time John Delaney commented "The loss of any eircom League club from football is very unwelcome. The issues affecting all eircom League clubs in terms of viability and securing a sustainable future within the league are similar and are very much behind the rationale for the planned merger with the FAI."

Mighty words Mr Delaney, but it appears as if they were little more than hollow sentiments, as it appears that nothing has changed.

In late June 2006 the clubs voted the ratify the merger of the domestic league and the overall association. Forgetting of course that before that the eircom League office had also been based in Merrion Square, in the FAI offices. Yes, it was all going to be different now under the FAI.......

However six months later, after another independent assessment group has approved club applications we have Shelbourne on the critical list. The club had been in the news several time in 2006 for non-payment of players and outstanding tax bills. On several occasions it looked as if it was curtains for Shelbourne, yet Ollie Byrne also managed to come up with the cash at the last minute. However despite all this Shelbourne had their boxes ticked and were admitted to the new League.

Meanwhile in the 2006 season we had the normal circus involving suspension fiascoes, unregistered players and the general shambles that appears to go with any domestic season in recent years. As Neil Riordan, chairman of the Soccer Writers Association of Ireland noted

"The licensing system and the new-look League are part of a drive for better standards off the pitch. While undoubtedly well-intentioned, their credibility has been somewhat undermined by the fact that one licensed club went out of business mid-season while another went on to win the league title but was unable to pay its players. To the players and backroom staff at Shels, I extend my congratulations – as I do to the other winners of silverware Drogheda United, Derry City and Shamrock Rovers – for their success in extremely trying circumstances. But that a club can be crowned champions when they cannot fulfil the basic requirement of paying their employees is deeply worrying. Shels, of course, have not been the only offenders in this regard but the extent of the problems at Tolka Park was simply shocking."

The SWAI had the temerity to mention the negative impact of the Sean Hargan affair during their annual dinner, an event that Delaney attended.

Delaney responded by releasing a statement criticising the speech. Nero fiddles while Rome burns eh John?

We should have known that little had changed in the "new regime" when the make up of the new top flight was announced. The IAG and FAI refused to reveal the off the field criteria scores for the teams, which led to accusations of fudging. Seasoned league observers just shrugged and wondered "plus ca change". It's believed that the figures weren't released in order to protect top clubs who had poor scores in the off the field criteria. This would have come as no surprise to anyone involved in the game and surely transparency was one of the things that fans were promised. Instead we got the same old FAI doublespeak and bluster.

We had Dundalk and Waterford very angry at the outcome, we had legal action which ended only this week and all the resultant negative publicity that garnered.

People may say that they new structure has yet to bed in, but this has been planned for over a year and yet it has turned into a fiasco before the League has got under way. No doubt things will get better, as they sure can get no worse, but how long will it take to remove the stains of this inauspicious start. The appointment of members of the IAG to the Executive of the new league hardly fills us with great confidence.

No doubt, in the spirit of the "new" FAI, we'll receive an email asking us to remove this article as it is critical of the organisation. To whoever is drafting that email remember this; I'm writing this because I care. I care about Derry City and I care about domestic football. Negative publicity such as that surrounding Shels hurts us all, but most of all it hurts those who volunteer their free time at clubs up at down the country. Next time we go and try and sell sponsorship, raffle tickets, merchandise or indeed anything related to the domestic game. People will throw the idea that Shelbourne are at death's door, despite being approved to play in the Premier Division in 2007, as a means not to put their hand in their pocket.

[NY Hoop]

This is really taking the pish now. Something has to be said or done about this.

In the absence of the now-defunct NLSA, seems it's up to interested ordinary individual fans to act on this.

Anyone interested in taking a stand on Delaney's control freakery - please PM me.

I am based out of the country, so am limited in what I can do myself, but I'm happy to coordinate activities discreetly so something can and does happen.

P.S. If I don't recognise you as a regular on here, I'm afraid I won't involve you in any such discussions. Discretion is key to success here, so apologies in-advance to anyone affected by this.


This is really incredible stuff but not surprising really.

BTW the NLSA is "defunct" because of sh1t like this. They are more concerned with censorship than actually doing anything with the league.


KOH

[Jerry The Saint]

No doubt, in the spirit of the "new" FAI, we'll receive an email asking us to remove this article as it is critical of the organisation. To whoever is drafting that email remember this; I'm writing this because I care. I care about Derry City and I care about domestic football. Negative publicity such as that surrounding Shels hurts us all, but most of all it hurts those who volunteer their free time at clubs up at down the country. Next time we go and try and sell sponsorship, raffle tickets, merchandise or indeed anything related to the domestic game. People will throw the idea that Shelbourne are at death's door, despite being approved to play in the Premier Division in 2007, as a means not to put their hand in their pocket.

So did they send this e-mail asking for it to be moved:confused: Is the text of it available anywhere?

[dcfcsteve]

This is really incredible stuff but not surprising really.

BTW the NLSA is "defunct" because of sh1t like this. They are more concerned with censorship than actually doing anything with the league.


KOH

The NLSA is defunct because it didn't have the balls to stand up and do anything....

NO-ONE controls the fans in Irish football !!! Yet a body set-up to help represent those fans bent over for the FAI to fcuk them as and when they wanted.

Of course the FAI won't just roll-over if the fans tell them what to do. They have to be forced to take the views of the fans into account, and act on them. The FAI has numerous well-known weak spots. How many of those did the NLSA actively put pressure on in order to make the FAI give a sh/!t about that which is important to the fans ???

The NLSA therefore failed because it let the FAI push it around. You can't blame the FAI for pursuing their own interests here - the NLSA let itself down.

LOL - Thank God the NLSA-approach to representation and change isn't followed by those people and groups around the world who do get things done :

Nelson Mandela : "We asked the white government to end apartheid, but they just said no. They have no interest in equality. So what can we do.......?" :rolleyes:

[Dazzy]

So did they send this e-mail asking for it to be moved:confused: Is the text of it available anywhere?

They contacted the club for it to be removed.

[khoop]

It's bizarre to think that some Delaney puppets are employed to rummage through league websites to see if they can spot anything defamatory requiring of removal. Why can't these wasters actually DO SOME WORK instead???

[Jerry The Saint]

They contacted the club for it to be removed.

Unbelievable... no, forget that - all too believable. :(

[NY Hoop]

The NLSA is defunct because it didn't have the balls to stand up and do anything....

NO-ONE controls the fans in Irish football !!! Yet a body set-up to help represent those fans bent over for the FAI to fcuk them as and when they wanted.

Of course the FAI won't just roll-over if the fans tell them what to do. They have to be forced to take the views of the fans into account, and act on them. The FAI has numerous well-known weak spots. How many of those did the NLSA actively put pressure on in order to make the FAI give a sh/!t about that which is important to the fans ???

The NLSA therefore failed because it let the FAI push it around. You can't blame the FAI for pursuing their own interests here - the NLSA let itself down.

In your opinion. All wrong however. They werent "told" to do anything and nobody was "pushed" around. Thats not how meetings go. More balls than hammering away on a keyboard anyway. So you go "coordinate events discreetly" and see how far you get.

KOH

[Poor Student]

The FAI has numerous well-known weak spots.

Such as?

[OneRedArmy]

Such as?Its management.

[Soper]

And Delaneys hair stylist

[Poor Student]

Its management.

All joking aside, it's the second time Steve has said this and I wonder what he's referring to.

[Jerry The Saint]

It's bizarre to think that some Delaney puppets are employed to rummage through league websites to see if they can spot anything defamatory requiring of removal. Why can't these wasters actually DO SOME WORK instead???

Yeah.

Or else give me a job.

[BrayUnknowns]

It's bizarre to think that some Delaney puppets are employed to rummage through league websites to see if they can spot anything defamatory requiring of removal. Why can't these wasters actually DO SOME WORK instead???

Agreed, but at the end of the day i don't think Offical club web sites should allow posts like that on them, after all the FAI no govern the eL. Couldn't see the likes of Celtic, Utd, Liverpool etc... slate there governing bodies.

[Poor Student]

Congratulations Maribor, your article has been mentioned in the Irish Daily Mail on Sunday. Mark Gallagher is lapping up the whole FAI fudge term too.:D

[dcfc_1928]

Expect more about this in the media over the next few days........................

[lofty9]

Expect more about this in the media over the next few days........................

Yep, Delaney has fined DCFC 5k for the article. Looks like Des Doherty (our solicitor) is going to take him on legally. Bring it on!!

[gufct]

About time someone challenged this censorship.

[pól-dcfc]

Brilliant. We'll win too. Des is a hero.

Hopefully this will prove some sort of watershed moment for the FAI ridiculous censorship agenda.

[blackholesun]

an absolute disgrace ...
these people are bringing shame on football ...
sooner the three stoges of Delaney, Gavin and Stan are gone the better ...

bhs

[Jerry The Saint]

Yep, Delaney has fined DCFC 5k for the article. Looks like Des Doherty (our solicitor) is going to take him on legally. Bring it on!!

The size of their fines are crazy given the size of the league. The FAI gave €10,000 to the clubs to employ a full-time club promotions officer and they take half of it back because they disagree with an opinion piece:confused:

[niamh]

Yep, Delaney has fined DCFC 5k for the article. Looks like Des Doherty (our solicitor) is going to take him on legally. Bring it on!!

Good to hear. The article itself contained nothing more than what most eL fans are thinking.

[carrickharp]

Make you sick the bull boy approach the FAI are taking, hopefully Derry will win this appeal, at this rate the FAI will have some amount money raised by the end of the season in fines if this carry’s on, it’s ok for them to fup up but dare question them are your in trouble:mad: .

[LukeO]

Get the spare bed sheets and pots of paint out lads. This is a ****ing disgrace and we're not going to take it lying down.

[Magicme]

Hold your horses, if you ran a McDonalds & you went on the radio sayin that the resturants are a disgrace & that the guys in head office are muppets, do you not think that you would be in serious trouble?

The FAI run the league and all clubs are a part of that, they agreed to that, they voted for that, so how can they not expect sanctions if there are official websites etc

[Lim till i die]

Hold your horses, if you ran a McDonalds & you went on the radio sayin that the resturants are a disgrace & that the guys in head office are muppets, do you not think that you would be in serious trouble?

The FAI run the league and all clubs are a part of that, they agreed to that, they voted for that, so how can they not expect sanctions if there are official websites etc

MAGICME OUT!!!

DELANEY OUT!!!

NO TO FUDGES, FINES AND FREELOADERS!!!

Yes the banners coming along nicely :)

[Block G Raptor]

Magicme I Like you your one of my favorite posters on here but you are in serious danger of becoming a mouth peice for the FAI and I for one would hate to see that happen

[lofty9]

Hold your horses, if you ran a McDonalds & you went on the radio sayin that the resturants are a disgrace & that the guys in head office are muppets, do you not think that you would be in serious trouble?

The FAI run the league and all clubs are a part of that, they agreed to that, they voted for that, so how can they not expect sanctions if there are official websites etc

The site is run independently by a supporter. The article was written by a supporter. I don't think the club pays anything towards the upkeep of the site. The supporters called them MUPPETS.

Free Speech to all!!

[bluemovie]

Another Fine Mess

"Well here's another fine mess you've got me into me Ollie"

Maybe it was the misquoting of Laurel and Hardy that the FAI objected to - clearly they're big fans! It was Hardy who always said to Laurel, "That's another fine mess you've gotten me into, Stanley".

Not that anyone named Stan could possibly get you into a mess either! :eek:

[soccerc]

Hold your horses, if you ran a McDonalds & you went on the radio sayin that the resturants are a disgrace & that the guys in head office are muppets, do you not think that you would be in serious trouble?

The FAI run the league and all clubs are a part of that, they agreed to that, they voted for that, so how can they not expect sanctions if there are official websites etc

..but it wasn't the club who wrote or published the so called offending but wholly truthful article.

Nor was it posted on an official club run or financed website and to add an extra 1000 yoyoys per day since 14 feb when it was moved to a completely different website/server/url is beyond comprehension.

[WeAreRovers]

Hold your horses, if you ran a McDonalds & you went on the radio sayin that the resturants are a disgrace & that the guys in head office are muppets, do you not think that you would be in serious trouble?


Your analogy is wrong though - it's more akin to McDonalds customers having a pop. Something they would have every right to do in a free society. Will we see a McLibel style Eircom League court case? ;)

KOH

[Magicme]

The site is run independently by a supporter. The article was written by a supporter. I don't think the club pays anything towards the upkeep of the site. The supporters called them MUPPETS.

Free Speech to all!!

My mistake! I thought it was the club website. Fair enough then! I have no prob with anyone saying anything, just from previous experience of opening my big mouth I know how damaging things can be for a club if its said officially and I understand that concept now.

Block G thanks for the compliments.....am not being a mouth piece for anyone, I just hate to see injustice. The people I have met in the FAI and the things I have seen give me reasons for stand up for them in some posts but other than that I dont necessarily toe the party line.

[Block G Raptor]

The people I have met in the FAI and the things I have seen give me reasons for stand up for them in some posts but other than that I dont necessarily toe the party line.

Thats fair enough I suppose
There was probably a few good egg's in the nazi party too so I guess we shouldn't tar the entire FAI with the same brush as their fearless leader

[wws]

its a nut and a sledgehammer job

does anyone in the FAI not have the brains to see that in its attempt to control opinion to make it positive they only succeed in generating widespread bad opinion from within the LoI support base and from observers in the media who rightly are highly critical of this approach

its a lose lose situation - yet they keep coming back for more

by highlighting it (the article) they've given it far more credance and a far greater audience than it would ever have achieved had they left well enough alone

this new "fai" is destined for serious failure IMO as the people running it haven't learned a thing from the past

[daniel]

Steve ive tried pm'ing you.i cant as you've exceeded your limits

[Steveoc]

I was full of hope for the future of league as a result of the F.A.I. takeover but, alas, it would appear from their action on this issue my hope has been sadly misplaced. Another "fine" mess methinks.:mad: :mad:

[LukeO]

I think the real issue with regards to this article is what happened to Neil Riordan's O and apostrophe.

[Burnsie]

wws hit nail on head with those remarks

[Tenderloins]

No Disrespect to the Derry site,but how many people would have read the article other than it was publicised by the FAIs actions?
This fine is going to make a lot more of an impact on the image of the FAI than anyone else.
The usual will happen in that people will want to read what all the fuss was about.
Delaney is not exactly Mr Popular or held in any esteem by the media (and the public) at the minute. This action will only draw attention to himself that frankly he doesn't need at the minute.

[OneRedArmy]

Steve ive tried pm'ing you.i cant as you've exceeded your limitsIn more ways that one!

:D