Just because you had not seen any mention of it on social media or any forum before Kennedy published his article, you cannot be sure that it had not been mentioned in some place you don't frequent.
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I searched several forums (fora?), Twitter, Facebook, and there's no mention of it before the article
There's two posts that mention tennis balls on YBIG from last November, but that was for the Denmark game and the discussion went no further than those two posts.
Alan hunters forum.
Well thats that then.. If you didn't know about it and it wasn't put out on the for internet for everyone to see (including the FAI) it must have been unplanned
Well it seems Brian Kerr was right when he said teams are still waiting on Uefa prize money considering what has come out in recent days and today.
The whole board should be removed, not just Delaney and a forensic audit carried out over the last 6 years. (Anything earlier is more than likely deleted or shredded as the FAI dont need to keep documents any longer)
If the current board are still in place for the home game in June I'd expect major protests
Today, Senator Ó Ríordáin said the purpose of today's meeting was to look at the future of the sport, investment in the game and analyse why it gets little investment in comparison with other sports.
He said: "John Delaney and the current board represent the past, we need now to talk about the future."
Speaking on the way into today's meeting, Tony Considine from the football fan group YBIG said there's a "further lack of clarity" following last night's FAI statement.
He asked: "Is he still being paid while he steps aside, what does step aside mean?"
He said that YBIG has ideas as to how the game in Ireland can progress, and that there's a "lot of common sense stuff" that can be done.
Funnily enough I dont see any foot.ie expertise there or invited. :D
To be fair one of the moderators here refused to believe the tennis ball protest was pre-planned and thought it only happened because of a story in the paper so its pretty clear whoever is in charge is well out of the loop to whatever is going on behind the scenes
Very true. The proper fans are all over in YBIG we discovered that years ago. That and people like me who actually go to games and know the "guys on the ground". The grassroots of Irish fans so to speak.
That's why I never go over there and generally avoid them on away trips :D
Not having a go at you Tets here but when we had the Jack grealish discussion it was tin hat mentality around that too, for me and a couple of others it was pretty clear he was gone, but opinion was limited cos no one had proof and the general acceptance was he would stick with us because of no proof. I think theres nothing worse than being ignorant to things going on around you, citing lack of hard evidence. The mafia flourished because of this kind of mentality.
There are many things like abuse stories for example where the rumours and others are quashed. And the consequences are dire. I know this is only a football forum but the concept is the same. Rumours usually point to some truth.
I agree Paul, the presence of reasonable evidence is enough to support an opinion and have a discussion about most any topic.
There are some people here, a clique who dogmatically refuse to do research, who claimed that it was not a requirement to make note of a director's loan in a company's annual report and viciously mocked those (much smarter people) who thought different.
At the risk of this getting back on topic...
Does anyone have any thoughts on the structure the new board should take? Or names of people they think should be considered?
Niall Quinn is obviously on most lists. I read an interview with Gareth Farrelly on 42.ie earlier who seems to be making his expertise known. Other Irish working at board level in football are Pádraig Smith at Colorado Rapids and Susan Whelan at Leicester.
Kevin Moran is a name I'd like to see discussed
There should be a player liason from the international sides on the board who travels with the players when possible. I think it was Stephen Kelly who I heard saying Delaney made sure the international team had whatever they needed. There must be no return to the pre-Saipan situation in his absence. Jon Walters' previous experience with the PFA and very recent retirement would seem to recommend him but it could easily be one of the women who so successfully organised the protest last year.
It would also seem to be best practice to have a representative from Sport Ireland and an independent director from the business world on the new board to keep an eye on them.
The PFAI, League of Ireland, grass roots football and supporters should also be represented.
I believe he has an Accountancy degree and he has experience in business. Definitely worth looking at. He might bring the brains and Quinner could bring the public relation skills.
I have my doubts about Niall Quinn, when he played for Ireland he always came across as a moaner, he spent more time giving out for not getting frees than just actually getting up and on with the play. He is given the chance to co-commentate on matches and he is painful to listen to, like an Irish Terminator. I think he is not as capable as many think. A chancer in my opinion who sits on the fence but only pops up when prompted to do so.
His current high profile comes across as politics and I believe I know which political party is driving that narrative. Never a good idea to let someone in who is manipulated by politics. He is about 10 years older than Delaney who is regarded as the 'old brigade.' No, I want the new board to start with a younger profile. All who have played the game to be under 40 when coming in. Otherwise you are inviting in Brady, Giles, Dunphy types.
I would want all the League of Ireland clubs have a voice each at board level but once again only after a root and branch review of each club is carried out. Who around here trusts Bray's or Athlone's boards? The junior clubs and senior non LoI clubs should have less sway.
Board members in total only be allowed two 4 year term stints each max. That is more than enough. There are other aspects of the game they could help in after that.
There should be a arcitect and a builder on the board and someone who has served in a bank or finance position who knows the market.
There is a need for a good middleman or middlewoman on the board that can persuade councils and town planners that new stadia are not just for the locals but will cater for sports tourism and bring in conferences and small business operating within their confines.
I am not much good at naming names but hell you could throw in Conor McGregor as a wildcard on the board - anyone who can do the deals he has needs to be respected.