Dunphy has trouble letting go!

[applehunter]

Joe Kinnear talked last week of his anger over Wimbledon’s ill fated proposed move to Dublin. Interest in Irland in soccer would have risen to an unprecedented level with the Dons playing Premiership, FA Cup and possibly even Champions League games on a regular basis.

This project was completely funded, there was planning permission for a stadium in Neilstown, there was even a plan for a special rail link to the airport to assuage fears over hooliganism --- and all that was needed was the consent of the League of Ireland clubs but that wasn’t forthcoming. They chose to stick to the status quo and the result is that the League is on its deathbed. You have clubs spending over a million euro to win a fraction of that in prize money.

Clubs are more interested in PR moves ---- like Waterford United bringing Paul McGrath on board---- than real progress. Lets not forget that Waterford Utd. have had 17 managers since 1985, that’s two more than Man Utd. have had in their entire history. Last season, the FAI had to give clubs loans to pay their day-to-day expenses which just proves that the league isn’t viable. Only one club, Derry City managed to get their EUFA A license, despite the clubs getting a couple of years’ notice. If you look at the requirements of the licensing scheme---things like hot water in toilets---they aren’t that difficult to meet but the clubs weren’t capable of delivering. The League of Ireland should really be called the Dublin and District League anyway. 5 of the 10 Premier Division clubs are in Dublin and Drogheda is just up the road. It’s hardly a national league. The bottom line is that the public aren’t going to go out and watch poor football when they can see the best in the world on television. I’ve seen League of Ireland matches scheduled against Champions League games and FA Cup replays--that’s madness.

Bringing Wimbledon to Dublin was the greatest opportunity ever to promote soccer in Ireland and it was squandered. A national stadium would have been handed to the country on a plate but self-interest shot the project down.

If the Wimbledon move had gone ahead, you would have had a national stadium with an anchor tenant that provided a regular revenue stream. The other big attraction from my point of view was that excellence in terms of coaching expertise would have been coming to Ireland.

Irish kids would have had the option of staying at home if they wanted to be top class footballers. If you look at the Irish players who have made a big impact in the last decade, Roy Keane went to Notts. Forest, Robbie Keane to Wolves and Damien Duff to Blackburn. There’s a valid argument for getting Irish kide not to go to the Man U’s or Arsenals but to learn their trade at a smaller club. Wimbledon in Dublin would have provided that opportunity.

I was directly involved in the project as I knew Owen O’Callaghan and Paul McGuinness on this side and Joe Kinnear and Sam Hamman on the other and liased between the two. Our plan was to get the best young Irish players and play them in a Premiership team in their own country.

There was absolutely no downside to the project. It would have given huge employment to the Neilstown area and regenerated an area needing regeneration. I think if we had been dealing with the current FAI that things might have been different. Fran Rooney has a great background in business and knows the way the laws of gravity in business operate.

The League of Ireland clubs would actually have benefited because there would have been an upsurge of interest in soccer. Look at the impact that Tiger has had on the black kids in America taking up golf.

There were people in the League who supported us like Damien Richardson but others like Brian Kerr and Pat Dolan were very much against the project. I have great admiration for both Pat and Brian but they were talking about their fantasies --- but now their fantasies are lying in the dust. Pat did as much as any man could at St. Pats but he was brought down by the mediocrity around him in the League of Ireland. It is very hard to rise above that mediocrity.

There were existing precedents of clubs from one country playing in another, like Cardiff in England, Berwick in Scotland and Monaco in France. Now Sepp Blatter is making noises about Celtic moving to England so that wouldn’t have been insurmountable problem.

This week, there had been talk about Celtic and Rangers being invited to join the powerful G14 group of clubs and the ultimate goal of that grouping seems to be a European Superleague.
If Wimbledon had made the move to Dublin, there would have been a very strong chance of the club competing with that elite because of the finances, support base and the people behind it.
It was the greatest opportunity ever for Irish soccer to make a great leap forward but self-interest ultimately shot it down.
(THE STAR 8th March 2004)

[A face]

Originally posted by applehunter
There was absolutely no downside to the project.

Is that all Dunphy ... it is so fragmented, you cant tell.

I am sorry but the guy sounds more and more like a bumbling idiot ever time i hear him.

The guy has no shame ... We should be looking at ways to get him off our airways and paper columns ... he is disgracing us. Is this really the best pundit the country has to offer. The guy is clutching at straws and we all cough and splurt out our laughs, trying to smooth over the lastest ridiculous statement.

We are worse for puttting up with him. I really think that the only reason he is where he is, is because he tries too hard and people dont expect that ****e out of anyone.

Please Eamon, do us a favour and make like your TV talk show.

[brendy_éire]

That man's an absolute prat. The more he speaks, the more he annoys me. Why RTÉ continue to employ him is beyond me.
He sees football through his TV and clearly hasn't a clue what's happening beyond his world of Roy Keane and ManUre. A total waste of oxygen if ever there was one.

[Bald Student]

If he thinks all that is needed for a license in hot water in the taps he's in for a suprise when his beloved Leeds United are told that they won't be allowed compete in any european league with outstanding wages or transfer debts.

[John83]

Originally posted by Bald Student
If he thinks all that is needed for a license in hot water in the taps he's in for a suprise when his beloved Leeds United are told that they won't be allowed compete in any european league with outstanding wages or transfer debts.

They have to stay up first. And then there's the whole finishing 6th or better thing.

[pete]

Irish people always want a quick fix & don't seem to be able to commit to anything on a long term basis.

If each club got only 2-3k extra home fans per game would probably support a fully pro premier league in this country.

[Bald Student]

Originally posted by John83
They have to stay up first. And then there's the whole finishing 6th or better thing.

I presume that the english league clubs all the way down to division three will need a license the same as all eircom league clubs do. Speaking of which, I've heard very little talk in the newspapers of foreign leagues getting licenses. Does anyone know when all european clubs will need one? Does anyone know if Real Madrid will be able to get one, seeing as they are a few hundred million in debt?

[John83]

Originally posted by Bald Student
Does anyone know if Real Madrid will be able to get one, seeing as they are a few hundred million in debt?

I think they're in the black these days, though only jsut. Barcelona on the other hand, are fvcked, and Celtic and Rangers are both heavily in debt.

[fergalr]

As ever with Mr Grumpy, logic and consistency go out the window when he gets worked up.

In yesterday's Star (just one week after the article quoted above), he goes on and on about how going to a premiership match is nowadays such an unpleasant experience!

Beats me how watching Wimbledon in Neilstown was ever going to be fun ....

[fergalr]

Originally posted by John83
I think they're in the black these days, though only jsut. Barcelona on the other hand, are fvcked, and Celtic and Rangers are both heavily in debt.

Real Madrid cleared their debt completely a couple of years back. Something about a sale/leaseback arrangement with the local council for their training grounds.

[Macy]

Originally posted by fergalr
Real Madrid cleared their debt completely a couple of years back. Something about a sale/leaseback arrangement with the local council for their training grounds.

Yeah, but the EU is looking into that. If it was above market price, it will effectively be state support so they'll have to pay the difference back.

[fergalr]

Originally posted by Macy
Yeah, but the EU is looking into that. If it was above market price, it will effectively be state support so they'll have to pay the difference back.

Glad to hear it.
As a supporter of the poorest club in Dublin (and the richest club in England), I'm all for level playing fields

[pete]

Dunphy is an idiot so wouldn't waste time talking about him but always disappointing to see someone like Giles completely abandon the eL. He on dublins newstalk regularily & been meaning to get around to mail them to dare Giles to attend 1 eL match given he was predicting Noel Hunt foir the full international team based on 45mins of an SPL game...

[Breifne]

Originally posted by pete
Dunphy is an idiot so wouldn't waste time talking about him but always disappointing to see someone like Giles completely abandon the eL. He on dublins newstalk regularily & been meaning to get around to mail them to dare Giles to attend 1 eL match given he was predicting Noel Hunt foir the full international team based on 45mins of an SPL game...

In defence of John Giles, I'm not his biggest fan by any stretch of the imagination, but his contribution to Dublin City's cause by attending the 2004 season launch night was fantastic, his interaction with one of Ireland's more recent captains Andy Townsend was a joy to watch, you could see each of them enjoying the others company, and although both were more than likely getting some sort of appearance fee, it was one of the best nights entertainment a football fan could have asked for.

Giles reminisced about his days in the eL, and seemed genuinely interested in the comings and goings, he was fairly knowledgeable about what was going on at the moment as well. I think with Giles it might just be a case of once bitten twice shy, with me too young to know about his days with Rovers, he just may be disillusioned with the whole thing.

He was still brilliant on the night.

[drummerboy]

I'm quite sure that if there was a team here in Dublin playing in a European League against all the big names, they would manage to attract attendances into the 30 and 40,000s. However at the moment we are a football backwater, thats probably why ROI international friendlies attract decent crowds, fans are starved of top class football. In saying that I'm a regular at eircom league matches, having no alliegance to any one club, and I still enjoy it. However it would be fantastic to see the top teams coming over every other week

As regards Giles and Dunphy. A few years ago the local junior team had a questions and answer session with Giles, Dunphy and Noel King. They all gave their services free (well the club had to throw a few g&t into them) and they were hilarious.

[John83]

Originally posted by fergalr
Real Madrid cleared their debt completely a couple of years back. Something about a sale/leaseback arrangement with the local council for their training grounds.

This was explained to me by a Spaniard last year. Madrid's training ground was bought decades ago, and is still listed as farmland (it was an orchard!), so its value was quite low. However, it's in a pretty nifty part of Madrid, and the government are building four skyscrapers on the land now - they'll make a nice profit off of it. Of course, the guy who told me all of this is a Madrid fan, so you can take it with whatever quantity of salt you like.

[Éanna]

Originally posted by John83
This was explained to me by a Spaniard last year. Madrid's training ground was bought decades ago, and is still listed as farmland (it was an orchard!), so its value was quite low. However, it's in a pretty nifty part of Madrid, and the government are building four skyscrapers on the land now - they'll make a nice profit off of it. Of course, the guy who told me all of this is a Madrid fan, so you can take it with whatever quantity of salt you like.

sounds about right. the thing that annoyed most people about it though is that apparently the city council will allow real to redevelop a training ground on one part of it for which they will pay rent to the council.