Trouble in the FAI

The lads in Merrion Square are at it again. It seems Rooney & Delaney have fallen out (weren't they best buddies when they ran Dillon and Fahy out?) and there's going to be a vote of confidence on Rooney tomorrow.

What do people think about this?

I thought he was doing a good job. He's brought interesting friendlies to Lansdowne Road this year (and we have Portugal next year), he's more prominent at eL matches than any other CEO I remember, he seems to have a very good relationship with Kerr and let's not forget that he was a major player in bring Roy back.

Comments please. . .

I think Rooney's doing a great job.

At least he's running the thing like a business

I think Rooney is doing a great job. I hope he wins this vote of confidence.

There was a report in the Phoenix a few months back about the FAI and the internal fighting. Seems like he is winning every fight and has cleared out a savage amount of the old FAI heads.

The Genesis report seems pretty comprehensive and looks good for the future of Irish soccer but its going to take a right while yet until Rooney implements all of it.

Rooney's doing a better job than the clowns who were there before but the cosying up to the corporate sector, which, to be fair, was there before him, is getting worse. Real fans are still being denied access to the international games at Lansdowne. It seems to be more efficient now although I'm sure the organisation is only months away from making another huge blooper.

Yeah he's trying his best to change an association that doesn't want to change. It's a difficult one because certain staff have to change their role or even leave the FAI for everything to be implemented. Naturally this is going to cause friction. Up to two years ago some of these guys thought they had a secure long-term future in a well-paid job. I know you can say they should help the process along by accepting the fact that the changes can only be good for Irish football. However, it's difficult to be that objective when these changes result in you losing your job or changing your status. As Two Face said "You can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs"

I can't remember the exact details of the Genesis report but didn't it give a list of recommendations and a timeframe within which these recommendations should be implemented?
Was that it as far as the people who compiled the report are concerned?
Will someone come in at some stage and review the progress?
IMO this definitely needs to be done as the FAI can't be trusted to regulate how well they are doing. They need someone external with an objective view and no links with the FAI to assess how they are progressing. Where they are doing things right and where they have failed to implement the recommendations.
Rooney appears to be doing a good job on the face of it but for all we know he could a real boll!x behind the scenes.
He's definitely having too man free meals. He must have put on two stone since he started in the job :D

Well if the concensus is that he's doing a great job then that doesn't bode very well for him with that shower, does it? ;)

Donie

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Rooney primed for 'confidence' vote
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independe...issue_id=11565

FAI Chief Executive Fran Rooney is facing a vote of confidence from his fellow directors on the association's board of management.

An emergency meeting of the board has been called for Friday after FAI President Milo Corcoran received letters of complaint about the CEO from senior members of the Merrion Square staff last week.

It is believed that the letters contain damning criticism of Rooney's management style and outline major problems that have emerged in the day-to-day running of the association.

Some of the staff are also understood to be unhappy that they have yet to receive employment contracts from the association despite repeated requests to the CEO. Relationships between some members of the FAI staff and their boss are believed to have deteriorated to such an extent that they are no longer on speaking terms and only communicate by e-mail.

But Rooney has proved himself an able fighter in the 16 months he has been at the helm of the FAI and has won every major battle fought in the corridors of power at Merrion Square.

He declined to comment last night on the upcoming meeting but his supporters say he will meet the various complaints head on. Rooney is expected to argue that they stem from disagreements over the way he wants to run the association.

The CEO is likely to claim that he is meeting resistance because he is trying to implement the Genesis Report and some staff members are not happy at the prospect of having to face public competition for the jobs they are currently engaged in.

He will also argue that his removal would undo a lot of the work he is currently engaged in, like the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road and the moving of the association's headquarters to Abbotstown.

Several directors are also believed to be concerned about comments by Sports Council chief executive John Treacy at a recent meeting of the Public Accounts Committee in which he expressed his unhappiness at the way the FAI is implementing the recommendations of Genesis Report.

Treacy threatened that the association could see up to €500,000 worth of Sports Council grants due this year withheld if they fail to publicly advertise the four directors jobs that formed a key part of the Genesis Report.

Rooney will claim that he wants to advertise the jobs but is being prevented from doing so by people within the association.

This latest FAI row has once again polarised the association and could lead to several departures no matter who comes out on top.

Rooney is believed to have lost the support of several key directors, like honorary treasurer John Delaney, which could leave him with a major fight on his hands.

But Rooney, who is half-way through a three-year contract, does have a vote himself as he is one of nine members currently serving on the FAI Board. There should be ten but a replacement for former Honorary Secretary Kevin Fahy, who was voted out of office in August, will not be elected until Friday week's National Council meeting.

The nine Board members are President Milo Corcoran, Vice-President David Blood, Honorary Secretary Michael Cody, Honorary Treasurer John Delaney, Declan O'Luanaigh (Eircom League), Eddie Murray (International Committee), Maurice Fleming (Under-age Committee), Jim McConnell (Domestic Committee) and Fran Rooney (CEO).

Gerry McDermott

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Its a tough one alright. Some of these clowns have been in the FAI for years, and as Irish_Praha said they dont want to change their roles or loose their jobs. They still see the FAI as some mickey mouse type organisation that can give them a job for life, doing nothing but making life difficult for the soccer team, supporters and stunting development of soccer in the country.

IF they were more competent then it wouldnt come to this. Rooney is opening up the jobs and going to advertise the positions in papers etc. Basically it will be like a business where people get hired and fired for positions depending on their ability.

The FAI wont get €500,000 in grants if it doesnt press ahead with the reforms so it looks like they will. I just wonder will Rooney get re elected when his contract runs out

Fran Rooney knew what he was walking into, IMO. He has done a wonderful job to date, getting rid of a lot of dead wood people and amateur practices.
But he has probably been scarred by the experience, and has probably left some in the association with the knives out for him.
I think he will win the vote of confidence, but then I think he should go soon afterwards, hand over to a fresh set of hands, for the positive reason that the association could benefit from new energy.
Look at Donal O'Grady with the Cork hurlers. Now there is a guy who has left the Cork County hurling set up in far better nick than when he took up the job. It will be a pleasure for the new boss to take up the post. Why not look for that positive progression within the FAI?

I think the only way to stop FAI squabbling would have been for the government to tie the funding for the new stadium to the full implementation of the Genesis report, that is the important thing, whether muppet A or muppet B is in charge doesn't matter so much as long as their sand box is small. Having said that Rooney at least has some vision of what the organization could and should be. Corcoran is a jerk***. :mad:

One more question - on the new stadium will the FAI be part owners or still tenants, I don't recall if this was clarified?

What annoys me about all the internal FAI politics is that you never hear what the reason for anyone being fired is. There was someone (Fahy?) fired recently and the reason given was that he didn't take minuites ar meetings properly. That reason is too ridiculous to contemplate.

It there is turmoil in the organisation I would have liked to think that there is disagreement over where to invest money or what the priorities of the association are going forward. At least that would be healthy debate. The problem with what is going on at present seems to be that it is all personality driven.

i think the lads from apres match said it best when they described the fai as

"the best football association in merion square"

sums them up, they are a joke organisation, no structure, no vision and worst of all no idea

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FAI top jobs row puts €2m taxpayers' payout in danger
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independe...issue_id=11568

THE Football Association of Ireland risks losing €2m-a-year in public funding amid indications of another internal feud.

The row could threaten the position of its chief executive Fran Rooney at a crucial meeting tomorrow.

There were clear signals last night that government ministers are dismayed and deeply concerned that the FAI is about to embark upon another round of internal upheaval.

An emergency meeting of the FAI board has been called for tomorrow on foot of complaints about Mr Rooney's management style.

In government circles, however, there is a strong view that there is an attempt to prevent him completing the full implementation of the Genesis report.

That report was commissioned by the FAI after the Roy Keane controversy in Saipan at the 2002 World Cup.

A crucial recommendation was the creation of four key new posts, directors of finance, performance, football operations and marketing.

Last week at a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee the Chief Executive of the National Sports Council, John Treacy expressed serious concerns at the lack of progress in implementing these reforms.

He was particularly critical of the fact the FAI did not wish to advertise the jobs externally. The Council regards advertising externally as critically important - especially when filling the finance post.

Mr Treacy pointed out the FAI got €2m in public funds this year and €300,000 of this was earmarked specifically for these posts. His concerns, and warnings that the Council might withhold public funds, were monitored closely in government circles.

Mr Rooney said last night that he was hired by the FAI to implement Genesis in full and remained totally committed to that process. He confirmed he has encountered difficulties in recent weeks.

He supports advertising the posts externally to ensure the association attracts the best possible candidates and pointed out that existing staff would be entitled to apply.

Mr Rooney said he will urge his fellow board members to maintain the focus on implementing the Genesis report and seeing through the reforms they have begun.

Last night, a Government spokeswoman said the government's position was very clear and that Sports Minister John O'Donoghue had publicly stated it was fully supportive of the complete implementation of the Genesis report.

"Through the implementation of this report we have seen a lot of progress over the past year and this is very welcome, and we want to see that progress continued," she added.

Her remarks about the progress made and the government's desire to see it continued are seen as a clear endorsement of Mr Rooney's approach.

While the Government says the issue of public funding is solely as a matter for the National Sports Council, which is an independent statutory body, there is little doubt that ministers will have no difficulties if the council decides to withhold or withdraw funding.

Brian Dowling
Political Correspondent

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I reckon Fran is going to kick ass especailly when there is such amount of money invovled.

maybe not, he could be out on his ear

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21/10/04

Eircom league to write to IFA over Rooney comments
By Mark Gallagher

http://www.irishexaminer.com/pport/w...q-nXlDAyFE.asp
THE Eircom league are to send a letter to the Irish Football Association (IFA) and the Irish football league disassociating themselves from FAI chief executive Fran Rooney’s comments about Northern Ireland soccer.

Rooney has been at the centre of controversy this week, after an ill-advised joke about Northern Ireland football at a function last week. The letter is the first move taken by anyone in the FAI to distance themselves from the remarks that incurred the wrath of many top figures in Northern Ireland soccer.

The Eircom league’s decision has intensified pressure on Rooney, who will attend a specially-convened FAI board of management meeting tomorrow that could mark the end of his high-profile reign in charge.

Rooney’s remarks last week about Northern Ireland and this week about women’s football has turned the tide against him within the association.



It is also believed that senior FAI figures want answers as to how the association’s key alliances with the IRFU and the Government have deteriorated in recent weeks.

Some figures in the association believe Rooney could be facing a vote of no confidence tomorrow afternoon, although the chief executive is prepared to strike back.

Central to Rooney’s argument is that he has been thwarted in his plans to implement parts of the Genesis Report that came out in the aftermath of Saipan.

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Originally Posted by thejollyrodger

Mr Rooney said last night that he was hired by the FAI to implement Genesis in full and remained totally committed to that process. He confirmed he has encountered difficulties in recent weeks.

He supports advertising the posts externally to ensure the association attracts the best possible candidates and pointed out that existing staff would be entitled to apply.

Mr Rooney said he will urge his fellow board members to maintain the focus on implementing the Genesis report and seeing through the reforms they have begun.

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This is where I’m getting confused. The FAI are annoyed that Fran wants to advertise positions externally. It is a strong condition of the governments that the FAI do this in order to get their funding.

It sounds like he's been trying to implement the Genesis Report, yet other board members won't let him and are blaming his 'management style'. Is it that his management style is to implement the report in full and the FAI old hats are trying their level best not to let this happen for fear of change.

After all, aren't they an association that love to talk about getting things done and then putting it on the long finger for as long as they possibly can. Is it that Rooney actually wants to move forward and run it like the business it should be? I think this scares the rest of them, again going back to the point that they all want jobs for life where they sit around, talk Sh*te, do nothing and want a big fat paycheque for it all.

Again think he's doing a good job. Bottom line he's a businessman and he knows the cut and thrust but he must be worn out dealing with the structures in there.

He has been the most open CEO probably ever. Never a problem with allocating tickets for the EL end of lansdowne. Also seen at EL games.

And crucially he hasnt come out in the papers saying he loves x english club like some of the muppets in the past. One **** even named his house after a certain english ground FFS.

Dont think he'll last his contract but with the money he has he wont starve. Anyway he's the only one who gave me confidence in an organisation that promoted lucifer kilcoyne to president :mad:


KOH

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Originally Posted by NY Hoop

Again think he's doing a good job. Bottom line he's a businessman and he knows the cut and thrust but he must be worn out dealing with the structures in there.

He has been the most open CEO probably ever. Never a problem with allocating tickets for the EL end of lansdowne. Also seen at EL games.

And crucially he hasnt come out in the papers saying he loves x english club like some of the muppets in the past. One **** even named his house after a certain english ground FFS.

Dont think he'll last his contract but with the money he has he wont starve. Anyway he's the only one who gave me confidence in an organisation that promoted lucifer kilcoyne to president :mad:


KOH

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Jesus,......against my will I find myself agreeing with you...again!
This has gotta stop!! ;)

There are 9 people on the board including Rooney who will vote on a motion of No Confidence in the CEO. If they are going to propose this motion they must feel they have a chance of unseating him. I certainly hope he manages to survive. Its a case of breaking up the “Jobs for the boys” scenario.

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Originally Posted by Robinski

It is a strong condition of the governments that the FAI do this in order to get their funding.

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This is a 'power' game and you only need look no further than that boll**ks, John Delaney, a man with an grudge and an agenda (I'll get the b*sta*ds for how they treated my oul man, the bould Joe!).

Delaney is the one, who, in a an 'enlightended moment' (there may have been drink involved, your honour!), agreed Mick McCarthy's WC bonus, without any reference to his fellow officers.

Rooney has brought a commercial culture to the FAI and the diehards are scared of their sh*te that the gravy train has hit the rails. The thoughts of anyone who has half a brain and a moducum of integrity in a position of power frightens the old guard to death.

If Rooney is not allowed to implement the Genesis recommendations (being funded by the taxpayer) then the Government should insist that the FAI are not allowed access to the redeveloped Lansdowne Road.

I suspect that the vote of confidence will go Rooney's way and there will be a communique of harmony and accord issued. I fervently hope that Rooney gets his vote of confidence and then insists that Delaney f**ks off back to Waterford and if Milo sulks in sympathy with his townie he should f**k off with him.

An interesting day tomorrow methinks!

Agree 100% re John Delaney, I think he is a scheming, power-hungry flucker. I'm not convinced by Fran Rooney either, but I think Delaney has been angling for the top job for himself from day 1.

Another thing, according to the Herald tonight(so it must be true :) John Treacy has been laying down the law regarding a new director of football role in the FAI. Now forgive me, but who the hell is John Treacy to start getting involved with football matters ?. He is quoted (Herald again) as saying he hoped the new position wouldn't conflict with Brian Kerr, but that there didn't have to be a 'top dog' Now this is ballcocks of the highest order. Football is not a democracy!! There has to be one person in charge, and Kerr has to be the man.

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Originally Posted by TonyD

Agree 100% re John Delaney, I think he is a scheming, power-hungry flucker. I'm not convinced by Fran Rooney either, but I think Delaney has been angling for the top job for himself from day 1.

Another thing, according to the Herald tonight(so it must be true :) John Treacy has been laying down the law regarding a new director of football role in the FAI. Now forgive me, but who the hell is John Treacy to start getting involved with football matters ?. He is quoted (Herald again) as saying he hoped the new position wouldn't conflict with Brian Kerr, but that there didn't have to be a 'top dog' Now this is ballcocks of the highest order. Football is not a democracy!! There has to be one person in charge, and Kerr has to be the man.

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Problem is Treacy is head of the Sports Council and they have given the F.A.I. 2 million in grants to appoint these people. Hence the Public Accounts Committee questions hence Treacy looking like an idiot in front of the Dail.

Having said all that I though Kerr was going to get the job or was that Packie's one - not sure.