FAI Cup games

[Martinho II]

I am delighted for Shamrock Rovers that they won the cup. From reading the pre match interviews and post match interviews I detect a smugness in a few of the Dundalk players especially Dundalks manager Vinny Perth.

I think Shamrock Rovers will be a stronger challenger to Dundalk and with this Dermot Desmond investment I think they will go from strength to strength. I do be critical of certain Dublin clubs especially at the conduct of Shels fans late last season when a number of our seats were broken but I do like a good news story regardless of my beliefs.

[Dalymountrower]

Had no idea there was any sort of kerfuffle 're Manus. We would all really need to get a grip about respecting religious and cultural diversity and not look to take easy offence.
We should be a million miles away from the mentality where you have the
DUP sending out flyers to Rangers fans attending their Europa league match on polling day 12 December, to contact the DUP to cast a postal ballot!!

[RathfarnhamHoop]

Would ya ever **** off Marino. Why would he turn to face a flag that's not his? Not like he spat on the ****ing thing. How many Irish players turn to face the other nations flag during anthems at the aviva? Exactly none. Grow up and get on with the fact not everyone has the exact same view on life as you.

[pineapple stu]

Had no idea there was any sort of kerfuffle 're Manus.

I'm not altogether sure there was. Seems to have arisen from a few Twitter comments which the Belfast Telegraph decided constituted a "row erupting"

Sounds more clickbait than anything else.

[Nesta99]

I never even noticed nor would I have cared a dot!!

[seand]

I think in light of the Mannus situation the cup final should be replayed or Rovers kicked out, with whatever team it was they played in the final awarded the trophy

[SkStu]

I think in light of the Mannus situation the cup final should be replayed or Rovers kicked out, with whatever team it was they played in the final awarded the trophy

I don't see any other realistic options.

[sbgawa]

The only thing the Manus "issue" if thats what you could call it says for me is we shouldn't be playing National anthems at sports events anywhere, or wearing poppies fwiw.

Fantastic to get the cup monkey off our backs i didn't even realize how much it bothered me (and it really did bother me) until this morning when i realized i won't ever have to listen to someone saying 32 years etc etc again.
Very unlikely i get to live to see another 32 year famine but i was starting to think i might die before seeing us win again

Consensus seams to be we deserved to win it and that was my feeling as well.
Wonderful occasion and well behaved fans mixing without any hassle which was great (with exception of the numpties with he flares)
Long off season now with only the news that Dane Massey is coming to Rovers to keep us going

[seand]

Well that was a tough watch. Five successive finals and I don't think Dundalk have come close to playing well in any of them. Rovers were deserved winners, Dundalk were defensively solid for the most part (as always) but poor in midfield. Would Shields have made the difference? Unlikely with the rest of them performing like that. A bit of complacency slipping in to Dundalk's support... not a huge crowd down and not the noise we produce sometimes. As I joked beforehand "you have to cherish these big days.... they only come around a few times a year"

Rovers were good, Mannus, Lopes, O'Brien, Byrne all impressed. The Rovers support was superb, the south end looked magnificent pre-match. I'm sure they enjoyed the night! Congrats to the Rovers contingent on here. My fear now is that it'll inspire them in the way the 2016 final win inspired Cork for 2017. For the love of god let's hope not ;-)

[pineapple stu]

The only thing the Manus "issue" if thats what you could call it says for me is we shouldn't be playing National anthems at sports events anywhere, or wearing poppies fwiw.

I don't really agree with that. Ok, national anthems aren't normally played at club level - you'd never hear it at a European game for example.

But this wasn't the FA Cup Final, where you might hashed 2/3 English players starting. Was there anyone apart from Mannus from outside the 26 counties?

I'd say for most of the 22 starters, having the anthem played for them made the event that bit more special, even for the guys who'd been there before.

Why take that away because of one person who wasn't interested, but didn't go making a fuss either? If we start removing every part of our culture because it offends one person - and that's the way things seem to be going the past few years - then we soon won't have any culture at all.

Nobody would have commented on this beyond matchday before social media came along.

[sidewayspasser]

Even as a non-Irish person, I think playing the anthem at the cup final adds to the occasion, so I don't think that should be taken away. In some other countries, their national anthem is also played at their cup finals.
Does everyone have to turn to face the flag? If it's not their flag, I wouldn't say so, and Mannus obviously doesn't consider it to be his flag. I wonder would he get the same stick if he was Canadian only?

[pineapple stu]

Does everyone have to turn to face the flag? If it's not their flag, I wouldn't say so, and Mannus obviously doesn't consider it to be his flag.

Good point actually. I don't know what the etiquette is. Fairly sure the home side face the flags at the Irish anthem only at internationals (and the away side face it for their anthem)

McClean has also taken stick before for disrespecting a national anthem, and while again I can understand his reasons, he deliberately bowed his head during the song (as did a team at the NI Cup final last year I think). Mannus did nothing like that.

[osarusan]

This Mannus thing is nothing at all, a non-story.

[sidewayspasser]

Fairly sure the home side face the flags at the Irish anthem only at internationals (and the away side face it for their anthem)

Actually, most other sides don't turn to face their flag. It seems an almost exclusively Irish thing to do. I'm pretty sure you won't see the Danes turning towards their flag when their anthem is played in the Aviva later this month.

[EatYerGreens]

I don't really agree with that. Ok, national anthems aren't normally played at club level - you'd never hear it at a European game for example.

But this wasn't the FA Cup Final, where you might hashed 2/3 English players starting. Was there anyone apart from Mannus from outside the 26 counties?

I'd say for most of the 22 starters, having the anthem played for them made the event that bit more special, even for the guys who'd been there before.

Why take that away because of one person who wasn't interested, but didn't go making a fuss either? If we start removing every part of our culture because it offends one person - and that's the way things seem to be going the past few years - then we soon won't have any culture at all.

Nobody would have commented on this beyond matchday before social media came along.

Surely you know your LOI better than that PS ? McEnuff and Duffy from Derry?

Never mind not facing the flag. Most of the players don't even know the words to the Irish anthem. Which is surely the most embarrassing thing of all here.

[EatYerGreens]

Even as a non-Irish person, I think playing the anthem at the cup final adds to the occasion, so I don't think that should be taken away. In some other countries, their national anthem is also played at their cup finals.
Does everyone have to turn to face the flag? If it's not their flag, I wouldn't say so, and Mannus obviously doesn't consider it to be his flag. I wonder would he get the same stick if he was Canadian only?

The turning to face the flag thing is just tokenist bull****. It's only started in the last few years. An import from the US I think.

They'll have their fecking hands on their hearts for it next. Load of daft shiite tbh.

[Scrufil]

In light of the fact Mannus shook the President of Irelands hand and was aware he was present, and in light of the fact that English players were subject to race jeers at a recent international and a big fuss was made then even by some Irish commentators, then the goalkeeper's action was fully racist.
He ought be suspended or fined, or both for ungentlemanly conduct.

[wonder88]

We all face the flag at GAA games. Some also take their cap off, very few around me did this yesterday during amhrán na bhfiann. I may be wrong but I think the Irish soccer team started facing the tricolor during Jack Charlton's time. Even before the political protest by Mannus, I had the feeling that the occasion had no Irish or national identity to it. Their is not one Irish word in any of the signage in the Aviva, nor in yesterday's programme apart from the anthem.
You could be at any provincial English football ground yesterday. Well one difference, a group of english fans who I overheard at the bar, were not impressed with no seat numbers being on their tickets meaning that they had to finish their pints quickly in order to get good seats. "Ireland init" was their verdict.
Sport is about identity, maybe the lack of it and meaning attached is a reason why Irish soccer finds it difficult to attract substantial crowds.
I found the game itself poor enough, but a great atmosphere was created by the fans. I managed to get a ticket(free) for the premium level and I also took a look at the sailing boat down the quays, before crossing over to Ringsend to sample the pre-match vibe, so it was a good day.
We need a longer league of Ireland season.

[pineapple stu]

Surely you know your LOI better than that PS ? McEnuff and Duffy from Derry?.

Ah, the Derry lads don't count

[SkStu]

The turning to face the flag thing is just tokenist bull****. It's only started in the last few years. An import from the US I think.

They'll have their fecking hands on their hearts for it next. Load of daft shiite tbh.

I am almost sure that tradition started during Italia 90, if not before. There was a big hullabaloo about facing the dignitaries in the stands so the Irish team all thumbed their noses at that and faced the flag. Something along those lines anyway... i read about it in a book (some diary) about that World Cup. It is a tradition that we have had since then and i am sure it carried on through our managers and teams since then. Or am i high again?