Delaney on Today Fm......

[Réiteoir]

Can't we lobby our club reps on the Board of Control to hold a vote of no-confidence in Delaney to get rid of him?

[khoop]

Well ok but notice your use of the word "should be" which is present tense and "would have" which is past tense , in other words you are saying we should be one of the best teams in Europe because of what the squad we sent over to Japan acheived 4 and a half years ago

With all due respect - hair-splitting.

Germany and Holland - for example - are good now, because they were good years ago. They kept that - and built upon that. Ireland built up and built up over several decades and had essentially caught up with the likes of Germany and Holland - but that's all now been thrown away through incompetence and stupidity.

Delaney is live now with Des Cahill. More and more waffle. He has a collection of standard sentences which he keeps rolling out AGAIN AND AGAIN.

And he can't even pronounce San Marino. Keeps confusing a country with the Chelsea manager.....

[BohDiddley]

We should have one of the best teams in Europe.

There is no earthly reason why we should have one of the best teams in Europe. In fact, given our quite atypical sporting set-up, mass support for GAA and total neglect of football, it's a wonder we're not one of the worst teams in Europe.
Irish football fans have an inflated notion of their country's footballing prowess. That comes from historically having some of the best players in the English league. Those days are gone, and we are left with a sadly inflated opinion of ourselves, and a lot of hot air, most of it originating from the national broadcasters' studios, about 'playing to win.' In our dreams.
We are now, according to John Delaney, a fourth seed. Looking at the amount of effort we put in, as opposed to waving bananas or whatever at Lansdowne or wherever, that's about right.

[khoop]

There is no earthly reason why we should have one of the best teams in Europe

Not only should we have one of the best teams in Europe - we almost actually did a few years ago.

But if you prefer to regard the situation a few years ago as bizarre and uncharacteristic, and prefer to grasp mediocrity with both hands because it suits us better - then fire away.

[BohDiddley]

You sound like an Eamon Dunphy phrasebook.

[bennocelt]

did you not see the last 2 world cups

s h i t e

ireland should be doing better, its football not rocket science

[khoop]

You sound like an Eamon Dunphy phrasebook

So you also think that the FIFA rankings were/are rubbish?

Or where would you like us to be?

Around number 120 - is that okay for us?

Or is that aiming too high???

[BohDiddley]

I think we should be expecting as high as is proportionate with the effort we put in. At the moment, on a bad day, that's Cyprus/San Marino territory.
We and our pompous football pundits want to be competing with Spain, France, Germany, Holland, and Portugal, yet we spend most of our sports money on English franchises, GAA, and horses. Then we have a quite hilarious national tantrum when things unravel.

[dcfcsteve]

All footballing nations have their good spells and their bad spells.

Just because we were sh!t for decades, didn't mean we had to stay that way. Likewise, just because we had a good spell recentlty, doesn't mean it must always be so either. Northern Ireland were setting the world stage alight long before the ROI could even qualify for a tournament. Does that mean they shoudl always be better than us ??

The Republic of Ireland has a population of 4m, and is therefore much more dependent upon the fluke of having a decent number of players coincide with each other age-wise than many otehr nations are. Even with a population of 80m, the Germans have had their relatively sh!t years recently - despite the fact that a country that size will be producing quality footballers each and every single year. Add to that the fact that football faces much stronger competition for kids in Ireland than it does in most other European countruies, and it's a bloody wonder we've managed any sort of success at all. We have no right to anything in world football.

All of that said - needing a 5th minute of injury time goal to stop San Marino getting their first ever point in a Eureopan qualifier is nothign short of a disgrace. Stan should feck off, and take Robson and Delaney with him....

[Billy Lord]

Because we've relied on British clubs to develop our international playing pool, and the game at home has been woefully neglected on all levels - the coaching is dire and it's a fluke when a decent player comes along - it's inevitable that, when British clubs are no longer as interested in our players as they used to be, that our international standard would fall.
I think that's the longest sentence I've ever written.
The bottom lines are: a) we need better coaches, especially at 'starter' level, b) we should end competitive football for young players, and focus on developing technique, c) we need a proper pyramid system for clubs at all levels, along with regional development plans that focus on the local EL club(s), and d) we should encourage teenage players to stay at home, finish their education, and move up naturally through the various levels before moving abroad at a more mature age. Sending kids to British clubs at the age of 15 is child abuse.
We also need EL clubs to stop acting like a nutcase at a Vegas roulette wheel putting the deeds of his house on black. Or red.

[Mr A]

We also need EL clubs to stop acting like a nutcase at a Vegas roulette wheel putting the deeds of his house on black. Or red.

Indeed. EL clubs should bet the house on Zero.

Agree with your other points too, although I don't think there was any deliberate policy to rely on British clubs, it just happened though incompetence and neglect.

[wws]

Not only should we have one of the best teams in Europe - we almost actually did a few years ago.

But if you prefer to regard the situation a few years ago as bizarre and uncharacteristic, and prefer to grasp mediocrity with both hands because it suits us better - then fire away.

KHOOP - it was bizarre and uncharacteristic, an anomaly if you will, and even at the height of our standing in world football we were nowhere near top of the class in Europe in terms of quality.

[BohDiddley]

The fact of the matter is that, apart from being a small nation, which always seems to be forgotten, we also are not a footballing nation.
Other than a minority whose sanity is doubted by everyone else, we do not support football past underage level, and our sporting and media establishments actively sabotage senior football.
We are, collectively, a spoilt child in a footballing McDonalds, demanding the sugar-rush of USA-EPL 'glory' and WC and Euro qualification, without ever eating our spuds and veg and doing our homework.
I have no problem with someone getting upset about John Delaney and Stan and the players, but in order to have tantrum rights they should be able to demonstrate a minimal commitment to the sport on this island.
My bet is that 95% of the those ludicrously whinging that we're the laughing stock of Europe, all the while dressed in a tricolour afro wig, do not support national league football.

[eirebhoy]

http://media.putfile.com/Delaney-and-Robson-on-Today-FM

[bigmac]

It's not about the Irish team being able to hammer every other team in Europe, it's about playing to their potential on an international scene that is by and large devoid of real quality teams. The World Cup in Japan and Korea was possibly the first such competition that was really wide open, but the belief did not exist amongst the smaller teams that they really had a chance.

Two years later, Greece arrived in Portugal as rank outsiders and won the competition, despite the fact that they were probably far from the best team in the tournament. The fact of the matter is that they were well organised, they knew what their game plan was, and they executed it well. The credit for that win can be solely laid at the feet of the manager, who took an average to decent international team and won the second biggest trophy in the world with them. Why shouldn't Ireland aspire to this?

I find myself (as I get older) agreeing more and more with some points of Dunphy's. Mainly, it's that there aren't any great international sides out there. Italy (world champions) drew 1 all at home with Lithuania. France (finalists) lost to Scotland, Germany (semi-finalists) drew with Cyprus (no comment on that one), Portugal (semi-finallists) lost to Poland and drew with Finland. The over-riding impression from these results is that pretty much any team has a decent chance of taking points from any other team if they are organised and well managed. However, we are neither well-managed, organised or motivated, and I feel that the dip in performance that each player suffers when he pulls on a green jersey can be mainly laid at the feet of the manager.

[BohDiddley]

I find myself (as I get older) agreeing more and more with some points of Dunphy's.

You must be in reverse

[NY Hoop]

Because we've relied on British clubs to develop our international playing pool, and the game at home has been woefully neglected on all levels - the coaching is dire and it's a fluke when a decent player comes along - it's inevitable that, when British clubs are no longer as interested in our players as they used to be, that our international standard would fall.
I think that's the longest sentence I've ever written.
The bottom lines are: a) we need better coaches, especially at 'starter' level, b) we should end competitive football for young players, and focus on developing technique, c) we need a proper pyramid system for clubs at all levels, along with regional development plans that focus on the local EL club(s), and d) we should encourage teenage players to stay at home, finish their education, and move up naturally through the various levels before moving abroad at a more mature age. Sending kids to British clubs at the age of 15 is child abuse.
We also need EL clubs to stop acting like a nutcase at a Vegas roulette wheel putting the deeds of his house on black. Or red.

Spot on. Very sad to pic up the herag and see competitive under 8 kids games. Under 8 ffs. Kids that age should be playing for fun.

At this stage when an EL club wins in Europe it means more than the national team winning.

KOH

[WeAreRovers]

Here's the thoughts of an English bloke on the Guardian blog, he backs up Billy Lord and Boh Diddley's points and sums up exactly why I don't support FAIreland.

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/20...o_another.html

"Irish fans make me laugh. They have no right to expect anything - they don't support their own league, expect English clubs to take their youth and train them into footballers and (like Humphries) only think about football when the GAA isn't on. Irish fans have no right to expect anything. What Ireland need is good English manager, preferably northern like McCarthy or Charlton, and a few English players like Aldridge and McAteer, and go back to the days when they were grateful for anything. It would at least be more honest."

KOH

[Billsthoughts]

Sending kids to British clubs at the age of 15 is child abuse.
.

hurrah....am glad someone finnaly mentioned the elephant in the room....does nobody else feel sending kids to england at that age is fundamentally repulsive?

[bigmac]

hurrah....am glad someone finnaly mentioned the elephant in the room....does nobody else feel sending kids to england at that age is fundamentally repulsive?

Completely agree. Nobody to blame but the parents I'm afraid - obviously kids can get seduced by the bright lights but their parents have to do what's best in the long term, unfortunately a lot of them are too concerned with getting them into an English club asap. Hopefully an increase in Irish players moving over at an older age will help convince parents that not going to England at 14 or 15 is a good thing. At the end of the day, if a club wants a player at 16, they'll probably want him when he leaves school as well.

On a positive note, Eoin Hand has always said that he thinks Irish kids should stay here until they've finished secondary school, so at least there's someone who isn't pimping Irish kids around mediocre clubs in England. Anyone got a list of Irish players who went to England following secondary and still "made it"? I'd imagine that there are fewer cases of players completely dropping off the radar when they're older. John O'Shea is one that did his Leaving before going. Stephen (I think) and Noel Hunt, Roy Keane - there must be more.