The Gravy Train Rolls On....

Sorry about missing the Blog for the last 2 weeks.  Cheltenham week and St Patricks Day are huge on the Island of Lanzarote .  We were flat out in the bar and when the work is there you have to take it.  Serving as many pints as possible and not drinking them!!  Unlike some we have to pay rent for the bar and our apartment etc, we do not have someone to pay OUR rent unlike our esteemed CEO (sorry EX CEO) John Delaney.

I have been more than critical of John Delaney and the control that is the FAI for more than 20 years and have commented on it extensively when I had the column in the Irish Sun.  Finally all the Chickens have come home to roost.

I would like to paraphrase the reply of ST. Pats to the ludicrous 5,000 Euro clubs received in 2016.  What prevails in the FAI is an approach where it dictates policy with an occasional PR flurry to try and create a public image that its senior executives are committed to change and improvement.  In fact the FAI abandoned the LOI.  They were allowed to do this by the majority of the clubs.  Let us hope that the PROBLEM CHILD with receive the love and attention needed for it to grow and prosper under the new CEO.

Is this likely to happen?? NO  is the answer because as it stand now nothing has changed.  The new CEO will have to work “very closely with the new Executive Vice President”, a newly created role not publicly advertised in an organisation in receipt of significant public financing.  This new Executive Vice President just happens to be none other that our beloved ex CEO John Delaney.  Plus Changes Plus La meme choses. (excuse my French lol).The more things changes the more they stay the same..... It is time for a complete change, all the nodding dogs that have kept the man in power and are now continuing to try to do so need to go.

John Delaney needs to answer to the public about the financial affairs of the FAI.  Are they in breach of Company Law due to the non declaration of Loans/Benefits to/from Directors of the organisation? For example, how was the loan paid back, was it out of Grant Money?

There is a huge need for transparency in all bodies that receive significant public funds.  There needs to be an end to the reign of John Delaney. A reign where the man himself goes around giving out grants to the Clubs at grassroots level as if it is his own personal cash, not your money and mine.  By keeping the grassroots happy he kept himself in power. In fairness to John Delaney he was good at pressing the flesh like politicians of old, but we do not need a CEO that has a cult following.  Or  where reporters cannot ask questions at an AGM, indeed AGM’s which are basically held in secret.  We need a CEO that runs the business as a business and not a vehicle that enables him in inflate an ego that is already at bursting point.

It is time for John Delaney and his minions to do the right thing for Irish Football and resign en bloc, if they do not do this voluntarily then they should be forced to resign en bloc.  Let the people who want our League to grow and flourish run our League.

Congratulations to Tom Mohan, his staff and the Under 19’s squad on qualifying for the European Championship.  A fantastic achievement to do it with one game to spare.  I hope Mick Neville is passing on all my coaching tips - NOT!!  Also congratulations to Stephen Kenny on his great start, already you can see his style of football coming through after a couple of days.

 Seriously well done to all, you have brightened a cloudy week in Irish Football.

Travelling Band

Despite  my love of all things Dundalk I have to say it is great to see other teams challenging them in the race for this years League title.  Bohs have done fantastically well in the first couple of matches, Keith Long deserves great credit for his work  both last season and this one.  His young team are doing him proud.

Rovers currently on top of the League, though with a match extra played must be giving their fans hope that they can challenge for a League title this year.

Speaking of Rovers what about the decision of the Competitions Director to make Finn Harps travel to Tallaght on a Monday evening after playing at home on the previous Friday.  Finn Harps are a semi-professional team with players having to take time of work for midweek matches.  No consideration was given to this.  It was not Harps fault that Tallaght will not available in May, nor  indeed was it the fault of Rovers.  But Rovers have a full time set up.  Why could the fixture not have been swapped?  Only the Competition Director knows.....   I am sure he will be delighted to explain his decision to us all.  I don’t think so!!

I read with interest the comments of Stuey Byrne during the week and I suppose they are particularly relevant to to-days footballers seeming to have greater power than the Manager.  Stuey wrote that I cured him of that! In fairness to Stuey I don’t think he was challenging the authority of the Manager, he just thought he knew better and he could have been right.  But as a Manager I knew that I had to get results to survive and I always took the view that if I was going to get sacked I would get myself sacked.  This meant that players did as they were told because in the end I was the one going to get the bullet.  For that reason it was my way or the highway.  I do not think this philosophy would survive in this day and age.