Alan Hunter - the voice of Irish football

That joker Alan Hunter was on the news again tonight with his so-called supporters organisation, saying they warned the FAI in 1995 that trouble was on the cards !!!

He's been regularly given prime airtime for at leats the last 4 years to comment on issues affecting Irish football fans ! Un-feckin-believeable !!! I can't believe that the media turn to him for anything. That man needs to be outed as a complete fantasist. His organisation doesn't exist, doesn't do anything, and in 19 years of close-interest in Irish football I've yet to even hear of, let alone meet, a member of his Irish Supporters whetever thing.

It's shocking that he gets media space to inflate his fantasist ego, whilst the real issues about Irish football never make it onto TV (FAI incompetence, funding, licensing, the impact of English/Scottish football etc etc).

I say we out him to the press somehow. Any thoughts ?

I remember even back in the EL messageboard days numerous threads about Alan Hunter and we all know he has no organisation but how has the man any credibilty left?! He's done a remarkable job of hanging on in there with no-one supporting him, or at least nobody anyone's ever met

Pure gutter journalism by RTE to keep using this guy when the know the facts.

Funniest thing was when the home games were sold to Sky and "our fans" representive said he always looked forward to watching our game son RTE with the kids. Surely a fans rep would at least go to home games.

What do you mean no members? What about P. O'Neill and Harvey the Rabbit?

It's not "gutter journalism" - it's something much worse. It's lazy journalism - you know -"who do we usually talk to on these matters? ah yes get old Hunter on the phone".

They're the same in every other area as well - just look at their fawning reliance on that idiotic AA Roodwatch.

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Originally Posted by Conor74

I wonder how much that guy from the AA Roadwatch is paid to go on shows and make really incisive comments like 'tests in Norway showed that reduced road speeds results in less accidents'...

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Oddly enough, that guy does havesome credibility - what gets me is their self-important, breathless,inane, and utterly USELESS so-called information bulletins. And every radio station in the land uses it and promotes it as somehow important and useful.

And, btw, he's right about Norway!

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Originally Posted by Conor74

I wonder how much that guy from the AA Roadwatch is paid to go on shows and make really incisive comments like 'tests in Norway showed that reduced road speeds results in less accidents'...

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Actually, the AA do have paying members, it's not just a go it alone organisation... The actual roadwatch birds though, clueless...

The AA is a fckin commercial insurance company with a sideline in the tow truck business they shouldnt be allowed on every 5 minutes - conor friggin faughnan giving his views on everything from driving tests to toll roads - THEY ARE NOT A MOTORING LOBBY GROUP they are a business with a vested interest in that market! :rolleyes:


its like getting Michael O Leary on to give a free ad for ryanair during a review for The Aviator :rolleyes:


back on topic Hunter is possibly the funniest man (vaguely) connected with Irish football - the brass neck of this bloke is hilarious as it is astounding I liken him to that fella who poses as players at big events and gets in the team line ups! :D

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Originally Posted by wws

back on topic Hunter is possibly the funniest man (vaguely) connected with Irish football - the brass neck of this bloke is hilarious as it is astounding I liken him to that fella who poses as players at big events and gets in the team line ups! :D

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While you mention that lad that poses in the team photos, Karl Power, he's in jail now so no more stunts for him for a while.

Its not just RTE....

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/irela...759189,00.html

His view on Keano.

http://breaking.tcm.ie/story.asp?j=1...n=108747083&x=

His views on whether fans should go to the Israel match. Very clear and concise arguments presented. :)

http://roissc.com/IFSA.HTM

Ha ha. :)

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Originally Posted by wws

The AA is a fckin commercial insurance company with a sideline in the tow truck business they shouldnt be allowed on every 5 minutes - conor friggin faughnan giving his views on everything from driving tests to toll roads - THEY ARE NOT A MOTORING LOBBY GROUP they are a business with a vested interest in that market! :rolleyes:

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agreed. the man does speak some sense at times, but thats always tempered by the fact that the AA are an insurance company, and a **** of a one at that. last time I asked them for a quote, they said they didn't quote anyone under 28!!! :rolleyes:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wws

back on topic Hunter is possibly the funniest man (vaguely) connected with Irish football - the brass neck of this bloke is hilarious as it is astounding I liken him to that fella who poses as players at big events and gets in the team line ups! :D

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:D Not far wrong. I can't believe the press keep using him though :rolleyes:

he has a mailing list of fans aparently.hardly qualifies him as anything.
knob end

Lads, the thing is though .... he is the ONLY person putting themselves forward for supporters of Ireland.

He IS representing us ..... he IS the voice of the Irish fans ..... and only until someone clarifies this and sets people straight, then he will STILL BE and will ALWAYS be the voice of the Irish Fans !!

The legend that is Hunter, the cardigan tie combination, classic.

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Originally Posted by A face

Lads, the thing is though .... he is the ONLY person putting themselves forward for supporters of Ireland.

He IS representing us ..... he IS the voice of the Irish fans ..... and only until someone clarifies this and sets people straight, then he will STILL BE and will ALWAYS be the voice of the Irish Fans !!

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Very true - the press have no-one to turn to, unlike that fat bloke that legitniate fat bloke who represents English fans.

However - we do have bodies like the ROISSC who have large memberships and could easily provide spokespeople as and when needed.

Whateevr happend to NLU ? What's the chances of a fan-based representative body getting off the ground (slim...?) ?

I've done-up a press release to 'out' Hunter that I'm keen to send round the media. I'm not convinced many of them would run the story unless the 'hook' is right - but at least if they read it it should hopefully casue them to question him in future.

I'll post it up for feedback, and to get some other names to put against it. There's no point it going out without having at least, say, 10 names form different clubs.

Right - the first draft of the press release I've done about Hunter is below.

The 'hook' for the media is that ordinary fans are worried that giving one unrepresentative person a voice is dangerous, and may even cause problems for Irish footie.

If I was to send this out I'd only do so with at least 10 genuine fan names appearing on it - preferably from across a good range of clubs. If you'd be interested in this, PM me your e-mail address and I'll liaise with all interested on creating the final version of the text. I'd then also need help in getting it faxed out.

Hunter once claimed that a single team representing Dublin in the English Premiership (a la Dublin Dons) would be a good thing for the game here !!
A joke's a joke, but this guy needs to be stopped before he says anything that can really damage our game..... :

Serial Imposter ‘outed’ by Irish Football Fans

Fans of the Ireland soccer team and from across a broad range of Eircom League clubs, have today come together to alert the Irish media to the presence of a fictitious fan’s representative organisation which they believe is putting Irish football fans in danger.

For a number of years, a Mr Alan Hunter has appeared in both print and broadcast media claiming to be the head of an organisation called the ‘Irish Football Supporters Association’ (IFSA). Mr Hunter claims that this body has been in existence since 1970 and has 50,000 members – representing soccer, rugby and GAA supporters. As a result of his claims, Mr Hunter has been regularly turned-to for ‘fans eye’ interviews and quotes by the Irish and English media on matters concerning Irish soccer – appearing most recently on RTE television on Tuesday 15th February*.

Mr Alan Hunter and his ‘Irish Football Supporters Association’ (IFSA) are well-known amongst Irish football fans for fronting a bogus organisation that constantly seeks to hoodwink the Irish sporting media into broadcasting his views.

The facts are as follows :

- Mr Hunter in no-way represents Irish football supporters.
- There is no such representative organisation as the ‘Irish Football Supporters Association’.
- The IFSA is not recognised by the FAI, nor does it engage in any of the activities one would expect from a representative body. It does not have an organising committee, an AGM, a constitution or a website. It doesn’t recruit members, hold meetings or run events.
- The organisation is a ‘spoof’ body that Mr Hunter uses to present his own views on Irish football.
- Genuine representative supporter’s bodies (e.g. the Republic of Ireland Soccer Supporters Club) have actually published statements to distance themselves from Mr Hunter and the IFSA : http://roissc.com/IFSA.HTM
- Mr Hunter claims that his organisation “has a list of 50,000 supporters”. However, it is unclear whether this list actually exists, or if those named on it are even aware that they are ‘members’ of such an organisation.
- To-date, only one media outlet (www.soccercentral.ie) has questioned Mr Hunter’s credibility as a fan’s representative


Previously, Mr Hunter’s ability to secure media attention for his fictitious organisation was merely viewed with amusement and raised eyebrows amongst Irish football fans. However, there is now a growing fear amongst fans that his ability to gain unquestioned media space could actually damage the interests and reputation of Irish football fans.

“He used to merely be viewed as an eccentric or a nut-job - someone who was making a joke of the Irish media. Some supporters even likened his ability to gain no-questions-asked media access to that guy in England who sneaks into the middle of major sports events (Karl Power)” said XXX XXX, a St Patrick’s Athletic fan and regular attender at Ireland games home and away. “Everyone thought that it would just fizzle out or he’d be exposed. Instead, he seems to be getting more and more coverage. There’s now a growing fear amongst fans that he’ll say something that will really cause us damage. What if he was to say something negative about the people of Israel before 3,000 Irish fans head over for our game there ? It’s the ordinary fans who’d bear the flack for one man’s attempts to hoodwink the media. You can’t have a loose cannon like that out there – it’s very dangerous ”.

XXXX XXX a Cork City fan and regular in the North Stand at Lansdowne Rd, added “ I’d be more worried that he’d misrepresent the views of real Irish football fans. He could say anything he wants and the media would simply broadcast it. There’s some really important stuff happening within Irish football now – the Lansdowne Rd redevelopment, Club Licensing, Rule 42. We can’t afford to have it jeopardised by the unaccountable views of a single Walter Mitty character".

With the fictitious IFSA still appearing regularly in the media, concerned fans of the Ireland team and a number of Eircom League clubs have come together to alert the media. The fans are all regular users of a number of Irish football websites, where concern regarding Hunter has reached a peak recently.

END OF RELEASE NEEDS FINALISING

HAVE LIST OF WEB-LINKS OF HUNTER COVERAGE TO ADD AT END AS WELL.

Hunter is a bad dream or more lilkely a nightmare. :(

Excellent Press Release, sent you PM, If you manage to finalise PM with final version.

He doesn't come up with much these days but in his hayday was being consulted for serious issues such as Sepang, McCarthy, Bertie Bowl etc...
I can't remember but i'm sure i mailed several media outlets at that time I think they all know he is a nutter but for some reason continue to use him. I suppose RTe should be the most embarished as they are supposed to be the National Broadcaster.

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Originally Posted by dcfcsteve

Whatever happend to NLU ? What's the chances of a fan-based representative body getting off the ground (slim...?) ?

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You say it as if you were dimissing it ??? Of course there are chances of it happening, as long as there are no fruit bats like Hunter involved.

ROISSC ... whats their sceal ?
Are they actively looking for members ?
What is their agenda ?

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Originally Posted by A face

You say it as if you were dimissing it ??? Of course there are chances of it happening, as long as there are no fruit bats like Hunter involved.

ROISSC ... whats their sceal ?
Are they actively looking for members ?
What is their agenda ?

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I only know of them through being a member of the London branch.

Has about 500ish members from memory. Exists primarily to organise trips and disemminate information, but is well run and does have clear democratic structures so could easily become more 'political'. Not sure if they'd want to though, and it would obviously be their call.

We've had discussions on here and Johnny Ward's old site before about setting-up a fans body, and it all amounted to nought. The bottom line is that people are happy to grumble, but reluctant to get-up off their arse and do something.

I think there's scope for a 'federalised' fan body, based around current supporters structures. Have members signed-up to a local 'group/chapter' based around each of their Eircom Clubs/existing supporters clubs. Would be fairly easy to set-up in that respect. The tough bit would be to get 2 or so active members from all/most clubs to do things centrally/nationally. You'd only need Joe Average supporter to join up and give you moral support and the occassional e-mail/petition etc. It's the 'leaders' nationwide that are crucial and would be difficult to get forthcoming.

Would be happy to give it a bash if 5-10 other people at different clubs were serious about it though ?