Originally Posted by
"Neil O'Riordan
Dear John,
On October 18, 2005, you explained why you and your board of management had decided to dispense with the services of Brian Kerr.
You cited the international team's fall in the rankings and seedings and the failure to qualify for the World Cup as the main reasons behind the non-renewal of his contract.
With Kerr at the helm, Ireland slipped from 14th to 21st and dropped from second to fourth seeds.
By the time Steve Staunton was appointed in January, Ireland had dropped a further five places through non-activity.
Since then, we have plummeted to 49th with those renowned world powers of Uzbekistan, Cuba and, er, Northern Ireland ahead of us in the list.
With just seven points from our first five games, there is virtually no chance that we will obtain a higher seeding for the 2010 World Cup campaign.
Qualification? Need I dignify that with an answer?
I will admit that there were not too many people - myself included - shouting from the rooftops 15 months ago that Kerr should be kept on.
But then I and others were foolish enough to believe you when you said you would appoint a "top-class manager" as his successor.
You have since tried to modify that quote and claim that you have a top-class management team in place.
Really? There was precious little evidence of that on Wednesday night. Or against Cyprus in October. Or Holland in August. Bobby Robson has a peripheral influence. If he is part of the management team, why was he sitting in the stand and not in contact with Staunton during the game?
Even more worrying was the fact that Robson was wheeled out on radio yesterday for more than an hour to cop the flak for you and Stan.
Shame on you. A man who has carried himself with dignity throughout his career did not deserve to be hung out to dry like he was.
Its crassness was appalling and the public were not slow in letting you know exacty what they thought of it.
That should not have come as a surprise to you but I suspect that the way in which fans turned on you in Serravalle on Wednesday came as a shock.
After all, you were not on the pitch making hard work of seeing off a Hillside XI. Nor were you the one attempting to direct proceedings from the dug-out.
Why should they turn on you?
It is because you misled people. You misled people into believing that you would land someone of the stature of Martin O'Neill.
At the time, you said: "We want somebody who can get the best out of the players we have, somebody who can make tactical adjustments at the highest level when things need to be changed during matches and somebody who is committed to managing the side."
Staunton is committed alright but, as for the other characteristics, I have yet to see them.
When Kerr was shown the door, you insisted that the players were good enough. You have since changed your tune and speak of a transitional period which had never been previously mentioned.
The team hasn't altered that much. Wayne Henderson, Stephen Ireland and Shane Long were the only players who started on Wednesday night to have been brought in by Staunton.
You have lent support to Staunton's much-vaunted but as yet unclear four-year plan. Kerr was given two years and nine months.
You can of course say that the decisions that were taken were not by you alone but the dogs on the street know that you were the driving force behind Kerr's departure and Staunton's arrival.
Since you became chief executive you have emerged as the dominant voice in Irish football.
But you must have been perturbed by how the supporters who paid good money to see their team take on the worst team in Europe decided that you were to blame for what was unfolding before their eyes.
And what will you do now John? Stan is your man, will you stand by him? It's a tough one, isn't it?
On the one hand, to get rid of him would be an admission of a bad call on your part but, on the other hand, can you afford to be identified with someone who has such low credibility?
There isn't much consolation for Stan in all of this, of course. He may have been relieved that most of the anger was directed at you rather than him.
But the underlying message is that 'we think you are clueless but it's not really your fault you because you should never have got the job in the first place'.
It was you, John, who appointed him and it is you who will decide his fate. If you were to follow the example of a club chairman, then you would already be making plans to bid adieu to Stan.
Whenever fans turn on a chairman, it usually means bad news for the manager because there is usually only one outcome. The manager is sacked to take the heat off the chairman.
And, if it comes down to a choice between you and him, I am pretty sure that you have no intention of walking away from that nice and juicy six-year contract of yours.
I suspect that you won't give Stan the bullet today, tomorrow or even next week. But how are you going to react if we lose to Wales at Croke Park in six weeks time which is beginning to look like a distinct possibility?
On Wednesday night, you had a small smattering of people calling on you to resign. Can you imagine what it would be like to have more than 70,000 doing the same?
You can talk about technical development plans and emerging talent programmes all you like.
They have been positive initiatives for which you and others deserve credit, especially as the grassroots development of the game had been neglected for so long.
But, while you might see the senior international side as only one aspect of the FAI's activity, it remains by far the most important one.
The team's fortunes can lift the nation's spirits or plunge them into despair. The glory days of Euro 88 and the World Cups in 1990, 1994 and 2002 seem like a very long time ago now.
You must accept your share of responsibility for that. At best, you went with a gut instinct with Stan and got it horribly wrong. At worst, your priority was to get rid of Kerr at any cost.
Whatever your reasoning, you made the wrong call. It's up to you sort it out before we become an even bigger laughing stock than we already are.
Yours sincerely
Neil O'Riordan
Does that count as a display?Best display by a set of eircom league fans this year.
coach who had only worked with kids and gombeen paddies in the Irish League of Domestic.
)Whatever peoples opinions on Kerr are the fact is that John Delaney thought Steve (Sorry, STEPHEN,) Staunton was a better man to manage the Irish football team. Any other takers for this choice ?
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