'No soccer in Croke Park'

[pete]

so say the GAA...

RTE

no surprise really.

[Xlex]

The ****ing FAI decided not to include them on the consultation and no wonder their feeling sore. Did the FAI explain what they were doing including them. We don't deserve the Euro championships. How many people will attend soccer in this country this weekend? It s the people who don't who really want it.... More later when I have time.

[pete]

I don't even think its the FAI that really driving the euro 2008 bid in this country anyway - the government seems to the main force behind it.

Of all the things wrong with the bid & reasons why i think actually a bad idea the main one is that i haven't heard or read the reason the FAI wants to host euro 2008. Its clear scotland are using it to upgrade their stadia & increase the interest in the sport in the country yet 'we' appear to have no idea why we want to host it...

[MikeW]

Of the few people I've talked to about this bid, all of them are very suspicious of it. It seems to have been thrown together with little or no thought - the Scots asked us and we said OK- that seems to be the extent of the planning here. Personally I think it could be a disaster if we get it, we have no stadiums - Croke Park is not available (whether right or wrong why won't people just accept this?), they want to rebuild Lansdowne Road (for what? it'll never be used for anything meaningful afterwards if Abbotstown ever happens), and the National stadium still isn't underway.

All of these proposed stadiums are in Dublin too making this a joint Scotland - Dublin bid weighted 75-25 in the Scots favour. The rest of the country will get nothing out of this bid. The more I think about it the more I believe that UEFA would be negligent to award the tournament to this bid. I haven't even mentioned that the Scots plan on using three stadiums in the same city (Glasgow) which is just asking for trouble. If this bid wins the competing bids must be horrendous altogether.