Originally Posted by
patsdad
I appreciate you probably didn’t watch the press conference or read the detailed press release. This is a project originated by the Pakistani Government as part of a strategy to raise the standard of their game. The number of people who will be involved is small - 4 coaches now, and about 20 Pakistani players over 3 years. St Pats were approached because these kids would have a better chance of doing well by starting in an Irish club rather than an English one and the standard of our academy is known to be very high. It’s a honour for St Pats to be asked to do this, it will help us build links with the Pakistani community here (most of whom live in our catchment) and if we end up finding a player who can go on to have a good career, all the better. It’s basically a good news story and to try and turn it into a story about a tiny number of flights is, frankly, petty in the extreme.
I have to say I’m very surprised because over the years I’ve found you to be one of the most sensible and balanced posters on this forum. But I really feel you’ve got the wrong end of the stick here.