“Long” Time coming for Boh’s

Special Congratulations to Boh’s on qualifying for Europe.  I have to admit that Bohs and Dalymount have never been favourites of mine.  Not I hasten to add through any fault of the Club but just bad memories of breaking my leg there and trying to get out on a stretcher! It’s a long story but its for another day.  Speaking of Long what a job Keith Long, Trevor Crolly and the staff have done.  It is unfortunate for them that they are competing against a great Dundalk side who continue on relentlessly.  If it wasn’t for Stephen Kenny last year and Vinny Perth this year I believe Keith would have received the Manager of the Year award this year. Keith Long however has had an outstanding year, with Bohs punching way above their weight.  They have put their faith in youth and it has paid off handsomely.

I am also over the moon for one of my football babies.  Derek Pender, one of many unsung heroes of League of Ireland.  I had the privilege of managing Detser and what a pleasure that was.  I never thought back then that he would play for a further decade with Bohs.  The game has changed so much but he has adapted his game to suit.  Mind you he still likes the odd tackle.

The All Ireland League is due up for discussion again this week.  I have to admit I am not a big fan of this idea.  I believe that we would be far better off fixing our own League.  We should I believe set up an independent body to run and market the League of Ireland.  If we got the right people involved I think our league has a bright future.  We need to step away from the FAI  and run our League, for and  on behalf of ourselves.  It will be a struggle to get people of the right calibre to do this, we need to concentrate on getting our League up to speed before we contemplate an All Ireland League.

I had the pleasure of having dinner with Eoin Hand last night.  Had a great night talking all things football and then of course had the pleasure of hearing the great man sing.  Needless to say the crowd loved him.

DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD

John Delaney finally departs stage left, but not before negotiating a sizeable payoff from the F.A.I. I understand that legally this might have had to be done but it galls me,

It infuriates me that a man who was paid a huge salary, negotiated with himself, A Golden Handcuff agreement, went on paid gardening leave and then leaves with a wedge.  All paid for by us the Tax Payer, not the F.A.I.  This point seems to get buried in every conversation about John Delaney and the F.A.I Can I say that the money being spent by the F.A.I. is OUR money, not the F.A.I.’s money.  John O’Regan just last week came out to bat for John Delaney once again.  He was one of a number of people who came out to tell us how good John Delaney was when all this mess started.  How good he was to Kerry, Limerick et al.  But he fails to comprehend that the largess distributed by John Delany personally on many occasions was not his money, it was OUR money.  The fact that he has “young kids” and “old parents” is unfortunate and we must be careful to distinguish family from business.  These problems are John Delaney’s problems, he is responsible for his own actions, his actions determined that he resign.  May I say to John O’Regan that I am one of the whinging and moaning League of Ireland guys I just don’t wear a blazer and there are many like me who are appalled at the actions of John Delaney.  It will take more that a Chicken Dinner to change my mind.

Shane Ross’s politics would not be my politics.  I don’t know what he knows about any sport but particularly Soccer.  I would hazard a guess that unlike Michael D. Higgins, he wouldn’t know whether the ball was pumped or stuffed.  His performance in Dublin Airport when Katie arrived home was cringe worthy and I believe made him a laughing stock.  Reminded me so much of Charles Haughey’s dash to the Champs Elysees in 1987 to be there when Stephen Roche won the Tour de France, but these people are politicians and they do what politicians do.  The thing is they have to put themselves up for election and the people decide their fate.  This obviously is not the case in the F.A.I.

In an article recently Shane Ross described what it was like to take on the F.A.I. going on trips with the F.A.I., who then offer to pay your bill, you refuse, but it is paid anyway, you then pay the F.A.I. back the money for the bill.  Later on a “source” leaks the fact that you were a guest of the F.A.I. and that they paid the bill.  If you don’t have proof that you repaid the money to the F.A.I. you are in trouble. This is sinister in the extreme.

What about the “new” F.A.I.? Don’t make me laugh. The new F.A.I. (N.F.A.I.) is very similar to the old F.A.I. They have the draw for the cup, named after their association, early in the morning on radio so no one knows who is playing whom.  This is how they promote this PRESTIGEOUS and historic competition.  Oh and by the way the Boss of the N.F.A.I.  Refuses to go on air in someone asks him a question.  The N.F.A.I. then announces the resignation of John Delaney at 11pm on Saturday night, and refuse to give details of the package. Old F.A.I. and N.F.A.I – Similar

Lastly the N.F.A.I. doesn’t want to appear before the Oireachtas committee on the 16^th October because it is the day after the Switzerland match in the Euro’s.  Why can they not attend, I saw Mick McCarthy’s squad and none of them are in it! OH maybe there is a “Jolly Up” planned for the new BLAZERS.

The 2019 Season so far

Missed the last couple of weeks of the Blog.  Sometimes I just get fed up with the way the league is “Run”, the people who “Run” it or maybe I should say RUIN our League. I seem to be banging on about this for a lifetime and nothing seems to change.  It gets to me and I have to take a step back. I have to take myself out of the bubble that is the L.O.I. for me.  I am not going to let the John Delaney payoff get to me. 

I am going to try to be really positive about THE BEST LITTLE LEAGUE IN THE WORLD.

Congratulations first of all to Shelburne on their return to the Premier Division. I really do believe that they are returning to their rightful place in the big time.  Obviously the injection of cash from investors was vitally important to them. But I’ll have to say that without the work of Joe Casey and his band of dedicated workers there would have been no club around to inject cash into. These people were around in 2007 when the club was on its knees and within days of going out of football. Without their efforts the Club would have died. I think it is important to remember that the past creates the future.  I hope they can raise the necessary Capital that the Club will need to compete in the Premier Division.  It is going to be a steep learning curve for all involved.

What about my beloved Dundalk.  What a season,  what a job Vinny Perth and his staff have done. I was worried at the start that there were too many Chiefs and that  might hamper the decisions being made. I am glad to admit that I was totally wrong on this. This team and the Management are on the way to a record breaking year no matter what happens. A League Cup already won, a League Win with 4 matches to spare and a place in the Cup Final. What a Season.

The task of following Stephen Kenny was daunting.  Most new Managers would have tried to “put their stamp” on the squad.  It takes a huge amount of belief and confidence in your own ability to leave well enough alone.  He knew he had a really good squad and he managed them magnificently.  Unlike most managers it was not about him, it was about the team.  He put his faith in them and they have repaid his confidence in them. We have seen what has happened in clubs where a really good manager has left.  It has taken years and many managers to get back to where they were.  Dundalk are lucky that they had an assistant big enough and brave enough to carry on the mantle of Stephen Kenny and still do it his way. Well done Players, Staff and you Vinny Perth.

All eyes now on Cup Final Day.  I have been impressed with Rovers every time I have seen them this year.  I thought they performed better in Europe than the other League teams.  Because of their history in the Cup playing Rovers in the final will add spice to an already great occasion.  They will be disappointed that they could not push Dundalk in the League.  They will see this as their chance to prove that they can compete with the best Dundalk Team in history.  For Stephen Bradley it is important that the Club win some silverwear.  It will give them the belief that they can go and compete to win the League next year.  It is going to be a fantastic occasion, with two huge clubs involved, Clubs that have a huge fan base. The two top teams playing, lets pack the Aviva. What a TV showcase for our League that would be.

I have purposely stayed away from commenting on Gardens, Gardening Leave, Pension Funds, Grotesque Salaries, Rent Allowance and Pay Offs.  I will be back on that horse next week