
Originally Posted by
CharlesThompson
IMO the animosity between Bohs and Dundalk is 100% down to Sean Connor. Why in the name of God would Bohs just pick one team - at random effectively - that have been just promoted to completely and utterly despise?
Loads have clubs have been promoted from the 1st Div over the years and never a cross word - that is to say outside the general 90 minutes of a football match and general and normal banter - has been uttered. There is basically no other reason for this.
When you look at it logically, why, as has been suggested by Dundalk supporters, would Bohs (Champions, FA Cup Holders) change their game tactics to play (at best) a run of the mill, mid table side when we play completely differently against every other side. I'd think it hard for anybody to justify this simply because there is no justification for it. It's not actually the situation. Bohs have a very straight forward game plan that doesn't change except when the other team's main focus is to antagonise and kick lumps out of our players - hence the reaction from Deego to that thug of a centre forward Williams. Wrong and all as he was, he REACTED to a dangerous challenge.
The situation is this - Sean Connor hates Bohs because we did him over. Fenlon didn't, the players didn't, the fans didn't. Our board did him over. He took the case to court and won - fair play to him (small little man that he is). Sean Connor also knows deep down that he needs some sort of disctraction to buy him time before he gets his inevitable marching orders from Dundalk. He has used the ex-Bohs players he has at his club and convinced the whole town apparently that the league are out to discredit Dundalk and that at the top of the shooters list is the Bohs board/club/players/fans/tea lady, etc. He has in effect created a seige mentallity at Oriel Park that the locals have bought into, conveniently excusing their record thus far in the season that they have played Bohs 5 times and haven't as much as scored a goal against us.
In order to play into his little plan, he has encouraged his players to 'get physical' in order to stop the big city slickers, who have the FAI on their side and are out to steamroller good, honest, provincial little clubs like Dundalk - knowing full well that they run the risk of losing players to red cards along the way. This all after Connor was the manager of Bohs himself and 'it' never seemed to bother him then, although I remember as manager of our club he used to go on about exactly the same kind of bias against Bohs at that stage. Which one is it Sean??
Anyway, this however plays into Connors hands as it only goes to 'PROVE' that everybody is out to get them/him whenever somebody is sent to the line (or from the line as Connor himself has earned already this season).
Only last night though, Bohs had a player sent off first - straight red - no arguments from this seat. Of course, this went completely against Connors game plan, ensuring that he cannot blame the referee or deflect attention from his own shortcomings and effectively his deep seated fear of failure. Sure enough, Dundalk get their man sent off (again) redressing the balance somewhat and the justification for more 'we were done!' calls from the cheap seats was re-established.
It was sad to see players like Mansaram and Rowe, who with other clubs have historically played the game of football for what it is, diving in recklessly and both earning yellow cards they probably wouldn't have with other clubs they previously played for. In fact Rowe was lucky to stay on the pitch following a very on one of our players in the second half.
No matter what the Dundalk supporters espouse on this thread or any other pertaining to Bohs, they have bought into Connors fairy stories and have been completely blinded by his rhetoric. The problem is when it all ends in tears they will have a harder fall than either Bohs or Sligo before us, when they realise that the Emporer really is wearing no clothes.
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