Ireland Vs Cyprus- a laugh and a half of Irish milk

international | miscellaneous | opinion/analysis Thursday October 18, 2007 04:01 by jim travers jimtravers at eircom dot net

The day after tomorrow

Back in February of this year (09-02-2007) I wrote an article in Indymedia about the Ireland, San Mario match and what I though was Ireland’s darkest day, until tonight or is it today going into tonight. Is it possible that Irish soccer could plunge to such a debt where the playing of such, was in itself an insult to the standard required in order for one to play on a pitch as fine as that which is in Croker. The Cyprus match has given us food for thought, not about Staunton but about the FAI itself.

Republic of Ireland Vs Cyprus- a laugh and a half of Irish milk

Back in February of this year (09-02-2007) I wrote an article in Indymedia about the Ireland, San Mario match and what I though was Ireland’s darkest day, until tonight or is it today going into tonight. Is it possible that Irish soccer could plunge to such a debt where the playing of such, was in itself an insult to the standard required in order for one to play on a pitch as fine as that which is in Croker. Ticket touts were in tears, their dreams of making further killings crumbled all around them, as they witnessed the ending of a once thriving and lucrative business of black market ticket sales to eager Irish fans. From the start of the match it was evidently clear to all, that the decline in Irish soccer was a signed and sealed deal, played out on the playing field for all to see. Irish soccer has gone full circle and we are all to blame for its downfall. If Staunton’s men had come away with a one nil win over Cyprus, then we as fans would have sung and danced, heaped praise on Staunton and castigated those who criticised Staunton by calling them be-grudgers and knockers. The doctors and consultants would have quickly resuscitated Staunton thereby extending his life to fight another day and everybody would be happy enough to go home and let him carry on and experiment with his side while he gained the experience to manage it.

The team played crap, no it was lower than crap, it was crap on crap, a thicker form of crap that is made up from the same crap ingredients. On tonight’s demonstration of Eskimo tom foolery, Irish players must feel a sense of despair as they make the trek home to their clubs in full knowledge that the managers in every one of those clubs will be looking at the performance of their players and relating that performance to the requirement of the club. Is it that the players really do not want to play and are indicating to their club managers that their availability to the bread and butter team is now secure on a permanent basis? I said it before and I’ll say it again Robbie Keane is not a bad player but he is not a good player, he happens to play for Ireland so therefore he is seen as a great player, when in actual fact he is not. Nobody shined enough to warrant giving them the cork from the bottle of champagne, in reality nobody shined at all. Honestly, is this the sum of our parts? Is this really where's we're at? Cyprus are nothing more than an average side punching above their weight in a group, for the most part, lacking quality. Twice this campaign they've shown us up and clearly the Irish team and its manager are now the ones living beyond their means.
Steve Staunton's tactical naivety was once again brutally exposed and the time is nigh for his removal. How he, and more importantly his employers, will justify this diabolical, embarrassing performance remains to be seen but clearly he is no longer the man for the job. He promised his players would be motivated, and some were, but the collective failure to execute the basics once again beggared belief and responsibility falls at the manager's feet. 1

Throughout the match Ireland failed to heed many warnings and continued to struggle in every department. Cyprus grew and grew in confidence and should have taken the lead just before the break. Hunt who was uninspiring, lost possession in midfield as Marios Nikolaou galloped onto a through ball. With Given off his line Nikolaou ignored his supporting team-mates and sent a lob high and wide.

During the week Staunton repeatedly reminded us that Cyprus were a good team, not to be underestimated. His comments smacked of insecurity and desperation. Hyping up weak teams can't have benefited his squad and the negativity he has shouldered all campaign manifested itself here in a performance that offers little hope for the future. Finnan's goal was the only positive input on a shocking night for Irish football. Nicosia was bad 12 months ago, this was no better, perhaps even worse.2

But let us not jump to the final conclusion that Staunton must go, Staunton should not have been there in the first place, so therefore somebody else or possibly the board of the FAI must go, along with Staunton. In the corridors of power within the walls of the FAI, lies a dark and sinister band of brothers who on the face of it and from past experiences could not manage a piss-up in a brewery never mind make an appointment that reflects the professionalism of the organisation that it is supposed to be. It seems to be a trait of Irish society, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know that will get you the job first. When you think of all those possible candidates who may have fitted the job to perfection, the FAI pick Steve Staunton. Now before we continue trying to bash poor old Staunton we must remember that Steve done his country proud when he wore the green jersey, a good committed player that gave it his best when called upon to do so, and then he drank the FAI poison.

Staunton was sucked into a web of divisiveness that placed politics ahead of sport which in turn rewarded those who stood aside when the FAI was shown up for what it was during the Saipan fiasco. Steve Staunton should never have been considered for the job as international soccer manager. It should have been a simple and straightforward decision made by the FAI, that Steve did not have the experience necessary to manage an international soccer team at the highest of level. McCarty was another who just about managed to impress and then disappear as quickly as toilet duck unblocks your drains.

Never before has it been seen in Irish soccer where a double whammy occurred all at once in the form of a booing session combined with a walk out. Have Irish soccer fans suddenly plunged to the expectations of their British fans, win or face the consequences?
Have we long forgotten about the comradeship, companionship, the craic and the song that followed an Irish team around the globe irrespective of the outcome on the pitch? Or has the FAI played into the corporate hands of profit by attracting fans who only want positive results so that the yuppy bars and restaurants throughout Ireland can be congregated by those who know more about corporate Ireland, less about sporting Ireland, but go on as if they spend the last five years studying in order to mix victory with alcohol in order to come up with a pin striped soccer fan that drinks 500 Euro bottles of plonk and shouts Ireland, Ireland, Ireland as if addressing potential Japanese business clients.

In the dying minutes of the match up popped Robbie Keane, no I mean Kevin Doyle or was it Liam Miller, ah no it was Steve Finnan who scored and spared Ireland’s blushes, just in case we all decided to commit mass suicide thereby bringing a real seriousness of concern into the proceedings. On the final whistle the nail was solidly placed in Staunton’s coffin and unless a miracle occurs, we are not about to see a resurrection similar to what happened over two thousand years ago. It is grossly unfair to both the fans and to Steve Staunton for the FAI to allow this fiasco to continue beyond the closing of Ireland’s participation in the qualifications for Euro 2008. Steve gave it his best shot, he once again done his own personal best and its now time to move on. Once again the spotlight is placed on Merrion Square, and once again the FAI will face the media with another cock and bull story, that will allow another few years to cement the authority and power of those within its walls. Appointing Steve Staunton as international soccer manager was not a professional decision to make. If a similar decision was made in the boardroom of any corporate business then the result of such a decision would mean heads would roll at the highest of level.

If we go on the FAI’s strategy for appointing an international soccer manager then it’s within our power to enrol on a first aid course with the Order of Malta and then later apply to the Mater Hospital as a consultant in its intensive care units. Why not take up flying model aeroplanes and then apply to Aer Lingus as a pilot who is prepared to train others to fly the Belfast route. Why don’t we all apply to the FAI for the position as international soccer manager, we all play soccer or have played soccer in the past. You may have a few dusty medals stashed away in a cupboard or even the odd trophy you purchased in O’Rourkes jewellers in Dawson Street many years ago. Take them out, clean them up and march towards Merrion Square where the lads inside will be only to willing to consider your application once your wage demand is below the national rate.

Irish soccer is now becoming a laugh, if only the laugh was in good jest and humour. The glory of the Jack Charlton era and the FAI blunder with Brian Kerr has now taken its toll and has left Irish soccer in a sad state of affairs. Supporters are showing their frustration like never before by walking out of the stadium before the end of the match, but this not only indicates a decline in Irish soccer, it also indicates a change in loyalty towards the international team and the type of people who now support that team based purely on consistent positive results alone. This is also seen in Merrion Square where the financial interests of the FAI is enhanced by the so called loyalty and duty to your country on the international soccer stage, as players are asked to perform professionally on the pitch while at the same time are handed sub standard facilities and equipment in order to provide their services to their country. Roy Keane exposed a scandal that is the FAI and everybody denounced him for his stand, simply because Irish soccer was in full swing and everybody was basking in its success. When professional players sat in second class seating on planes and grovelled in third rate motel accommodation, members of the FAI, their families and friends basked in top class accommodation with all the trimmings and perks.

Why should any professional soccer player give it al his best, for what, his country, his pride. The GAA is making thousands out of leasing its stadium to the FAI. The FAI is making millions on the names of the players, television rights and all the other paraphernalia that goes with securing wads of cash. Ticket touts are having a field day as hotels and bed and breakfasts are swamped with potential fans willing to part with their cash in order to lay their heads down for the night. Travel agents are at their peak and the green army downs gallons and gallons of stouts, ales and spirits that make the publicans tills ring loudly and Diageo smiles all the way to the bank. And what would happen should Robbie Keane have a serious injury, loose his place on the Tottenham team and sit side lined for God knows when. The answer is simple; he is dropped from the Irish line-up and quickly forgotten about.

So has the draw with Cyprus in Croke Park signalled a stage in Irish soccer that has reached the lowest level of the cellar and has now begun digging itself even deeper into the ground below? There appears to be no quick solution to the problem and definitely there appears to be no long term strategy or meaningful solution to the problem either. The constant underlying factor that seems to dominate the problems associated with soccer and I mean local, national and international soccer, is the FAI. The FAI appears to be completely out of touch with reality on the ground. It is either not picking up on what the grassroots is saying or else it is ignoring anything or everything that comes from the grassroots as not relevant to its own corporate needs.

At international level the match with Cyprus was nothing more than a sham. It exposed the relationships between manager, players and the FAI. It cemented into everybody’s minds a belief that the players had not got the heart to give it their best and by doing so expressed their discontentment with the management of the team. The argument has raged on for years. Charlton brought us the long ball and we wallowed in partial success but got fed up with only reaching the quarter final of a world cup, we wanted more. We got Mick McCarty and we got even less. We had the potential to succeed to greater heights under Brian Kerr but time and Kerr’s outspoken mouth soon rattled the FAI who made time a scarce commodity for Brian. We now have Steve and his assistant manager come adviser, who by the way just happened to be a former England manager. In this arrangement we got two for the price of one and a half but still the strategy and tactics failed. Steve’s great plan is for the 2012 World Cup, a grand plan that by-passes the 2008 Euro, what do you call it, and dumps all our efforts into attempting to qualify for the World stage when we cannot even get out of the qualification stages in European competition.. Yes sir, it’s a grand plan, something you would not find in a Harry Potter story but is alive and active in the corridors of Merrion Square. The chants from the crowd of ‘We want Staunton out’ is but a blessing to the FAI by allowing John Delaney the opportunity to appear to side with the supporters while at the same time refraining from appearing to strike the decisive blow that sees Staunton out of a job. The chants by the fans for Staunton’s head is a badly timed tactic that allows the FAI of the hook by placing the emphasis on Staunton and away from those within the FAI being made accountable for their decision to appoint Staunton in the first place.

This problem, if left to continue unchecked, will degrade the potential of our international soccer team to reach future success on both the international and world stage. The match with Germany gave us some hope for the future, but like past experiences we cannot rely on a one stop shop type of success without making provision for our future objectives. When we thought Irish soccer was definitely on the way up, we were suddenly brought back down to a reality that some of the meat is smelling and nobody is prepared to throw it out.
Team.

Rep of Ireland: Given; Finnan, McShane, O'Shea, Kilbane; Keogh (McGeady 63), Reid, O'Brien (Miller half-time), Hunt (Murphy 75); Keane, Doyle.
Cyprus: Giorgallidi, Satsias (Maragkos 70), Okkarides, Christou, Charalambides, Ilia, Garpozis, Makridis (Theofilou 86), Nikolaou, Okkas, Yiasoumi (Michail 73).

References

1. Irish Times
http://www.ireland.com/sports/soccer/2007/1017/11925656....html

2. Eircom.net news
http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/breaking/1131...iew=E