Good piece from A2Zsoccer.com

What is the story with Thomas Davis and the GAA? It is time to see some sense and end this embarrasing episode.

Apparently the Southside GAA club are now looking to make Tallaght Stadium an election issue. They have already commented that they woud be the "last man standing" in any bout with Rovers. Maybe they are in the wrong code and should be arguing with Boxing Union of Ireland about the use of the National Stadium.

Shamrock Rovers need a home. They have already invested large sums of money (despite claims from GAA sources) and energy in the Tallaght project.

I don't thnk it is unreasonable for Shamrock Rovers to demand that the capacity is not reduced from the present proposed 6,000. The average attendance at any eircom league premier division game is around 1,500 - 2,000. Bigger clubs such as Cork City and Derry City regularly attract double that. Rovers have the potential to be Dublin's largest supported club...although many already believe they are. Tallaght has a population of over 100,000 people and it would not be off the wall to suggest that Rovers could expect attendaces of 3,000 plus for home games.

Will Thomas Davis regularly attract anything close to that number for any of their league or championship games. I don't think so. So why are they insisting on having a Parnell Park type stadium on the Southside?

The Rovers board have consistantly maintined that they have no problems with other codes being played at the stadium once such an outcome does not substantially affect or delay the project. This seems very reasonable indeed.

Further Fianna Fail TD Connor Lenihan, who has been banned from Thomas Davis' clubhouse, revealed that the GAA club have already recieved €600,000 in donations from the Sports Capital Programme.

Could it be that Thomas Davis' actions over the Tallaght Stadium are nothing more that a cinical ploy to prevent Ireland's most famous soccer club from gaining a foot hold in their back garden. Let us not forget that both codes often find themselves competing for our best sporting sons.

I'm afraid that this colum has come to the above conclusion and call on the rational thinking members of that great club to stand down in this "bout".

What a joke. And to think my local TD - Jack Wall - is looking to get all GAA players government grants. Making it an election issue I hear. More than I'm going to get for a student grant too.

Man, sometimes this country drives me mad. It's still run by the Catholic Church and GAA really.