Last week was memorable for Cork City fans, for absolutely no reason at all. Karl Sheppard scored in Limerick as we won one nil. Here is a brief recap of what happened in Limerick and at home to team Tallaght Shamrock Ballers.
Can we try to score please Johnny?
After all the hype that accompanied the Dundalk match, it was very much back to normality in the world of the Cork City fan this week. People who previously believed that football started and ended in Holyhead lost their once in a green moon interest in all things City and to be fair , the rest of us who live in our own planet inhabited by Dave Barry, Johnny C and that night in November, we didn’t seem overly enthusiastic either.
I didn’t write about the Dundalk game due to a hangover, both drink induced and result induced, depression(unrelated to the first two, though they hardly helped) and the fact that everyone in Cork was there to see it themselves. It makes more sense to write about the past two fixtures anyway, seeing as around four and a half thousand dedicated City fans were unfortunately otherwise occupied for them.
Those of us who did show up were hardly partizan in our support or even Red Star. I think I sat for the entire Sligo game, I think I have only previously sat at a City match due to being legless and I was hardly the sole impassive supporter, in fact at times in both matches, it felt like there was quite a few of them on the pitch.
The outside observer might think I am being unnecessarily harsh here, a fine example of the stereotype that Cork people are awkward and difficult to please. I mean, 2 games, six points, seven goals and I am still not happy and it would be churlish to suggest that I would be anything but ecstatic had we achieved this had we beaten Dundalk, but we didn’t. Losing for a fourth time in succession, to a team we want to see as rivals, left many of us staring at a harsh realisation,one that many of us that turn up loyally to the ‘box’ out of a sense of loyal duty seem to have accepted, though few have admitted.
At times this seemed to have filtered down to the players at various stages. We couldn’t have asked for a better start against Sligo, a goal up inside a minute as the Sligo defence decided to turn up a couple of minutes late and let Karl Sheppard stroll in for the opener. When City were awarded a penalty for a foul on the industrious Gavin Holohan after just 12 minutes, it felt like game over. Unfortunately Shep walked to the spot reminiscent of a man who was about to be shot from 12 yards and his kick was hardly a bullet, Richard Brush saving easily. (I really wanted to make a good pun here so I could go boom!boom!. I failed).
After that the unease set in. Even when Shep reacted quickest to Miller’s shot hitting the post to make it two nil, it just didn’t feel comfortable. When the Rovers pulled one back before half time, it seemed inevitable they would equalise. When Holohan’s header came back off the bar, there seemed an unusual acceptance that this wasn’t going to be our night and when Sligo’s pressing led to that inevitable equaliser, there was a fear we might lose to a team managed by Owen Heary. Again.
But then a hero comes along and like so often before it was him of the cult variety, our very own Marky Sull. There are times when City can be harder to follow than dreams (I will stop the Mariah Carey references now, promise) but if everyone tried as hard as this man, it would be so much easier. Three points rescued in dramatic fashion, yet despite the thirty second euphoric release, I left the ground feeling underwhelmed.
And I entered it three days later in a similar mood. Firstly because I don’t think I had every been in the ground so early, an early tea depriving myself of a second Dino’s in a week and not drinking meant being in the ground forty five minutes before the game started and about 90 before City started. I spent most of the first half thinking of places I would rather be than watching footballers who obviously felt the same, trying to feel my feet (summer football my arse!), punny names for anarchist businesses (the plumber’s firm called ‘cistern of a down’ being my favourite) and the most accurate word to describe city’s performance. Louche was what I came up with as the whole first half evoked memories of Monty Python’s philosophy football sketch;everybody thinking deeply, nothing happening and if you were a neutral probably quite amusing. I was definitely under the impression there was more than one Kant on the pitch though.
To make matters worse, all round bad boy and City reject Daryl Kavanagh was making a better fist of being a footballer than any of his other previous appearances at the cross. This is a man who got six days for armed robbery with a fake gun but escaped scott free from Cork after six months robbing a living. He was involved in the opening goal that came from a City corner that was cleared down field, a missed header from John Kavanagh and there suddenly appeared to be several claret shirts and very few City defenders. It was the sort of goal you would normally see conceded by a team chasing the game in injury time, not midway through the first half. While there was a few half chances and an improvement of effort before the break, I would have gladly swapped every player bar Nults and him with the strength to carry on. As it turned out, Caulfield felt the same and replaced the imposters that were strolling about like Jean Paul Sartre in the first half with the more regular footballers. There was an immediate change in attitude as City penned Drogheda back in their own half.
Billy Dennehy equalised with an excellent free kick, curling the ball, over a wall that appeared to be playing ‘statues’ with the ref. No fancy shaving foam in the league of Ireland! The pressure continued and an outswinging corner from Dennehy saw the otherwise anonymous Sheppard stab home. Ten minutes later saw the games first red card for an awful tackle on John Kavanagh by S. Dunne. The player himself started walking before being shown the card, then realised he didn’t know where he was going before finally remembering what colour he was shown and began to see red. More Monty Python, Dunne’s antics more of an homage to the Ministry of Silly Walks. Then all to predictably, complacency set in and Drogheda had a couple of half chances before the night’s finest comic performance. Gavin Holohan’s shot was charged down by C. Brady in a style more suited to the game played at Musgrave park. In a bizarre attempt at pleading innocence, he rolled around the ground in a dance style I would describe as the ‘dying mackerel, before getting up to see a yellow card for the second time. His response to this was to show everyone in Turner’s Cross a seemingly non existent mark on his chest before waddling off, still pointing at himself. Dennehy slotted home his second dead ball of the evening and spent the remaining ten minutes looking like a man willing to shoot from anywhere to claim his first senior hat trick. After a couple of long range efforts, the chance he craved fell his way in injury time and he seemed rather happy about it! To add to the enjoyment, pantomime villain Daryl Kavanagh become the third man to be shown a red card for something he said after the final whistle .
Again all this would point to leaving the cross content and I suppose I did. Just that it was the kind of contentment you get from listening to a Smiths song. You know it was good and you know why you should be happy but you wanted to know why it was good and why you should be happy. More questions than answers. I think we, the fans, had become comfortable with our position. That position being second. The position seemed to eternally finish as I grew up following the club, sandwiched between our two league titles, always just missing out. It is like a relief that we know early this year, a sense of order being restored. We know it will be the same two and a half thousand there every second week. We know we won’t be bothered by people feigning interest, at least until Europe and we know that we will carry on regardless, comfortable in the knowledge that we will have none of the baggage that comes with hope. That is what kills all football fans is hope. Without hope and fear we are left comfortably numb. So you can imagine the excitement of this weekends trip to Jackman Park!
What a difference a week makes in football. Last Saturday night, I drunkenly stumbled from the Carlisle grounds in need of a pint, the Hawaiian shirt a reminder of a day that started to the sound of Summer Holidays and ended with many City players shadows of their normal selves. Questions were being asked of John Caulfield and his tactical decisions;Dan Murray is many things but midfield enforcer he is not. Not to mention lumping the ball into the box worried the low flying seagulls more than ten man Bray. The three points more huff and puff than tiki taka.
Fast forward six days and I soberly joined an official crowd of 5,104 (plus the VAT) who all walked away in agreement of one thing; you can’t beat the Cross on Good Friday.
This was the best football we have played under Johnny C and resurrected a belief in him that should never have been in doubt. Despite missing the calming influence of Colin Healy in midfield, a man who evokes more religious devotion from me than the love child of Jehovah and the Easter Bunny, City completely dominated possession from the first minute. While Buckley was industrious and Dunleavy intelligent , it was man of the match Miller who really pulled the strings. That old cliche about class being permanent rang true last night. This was the Miller of his youth, that lit up European nights at Celtic Park and moved to Old Trafford. In a league where it can often be fast and furious in the middle of the park, he had what seemed like an eternity on the ball, picking and probing at the Derry defence. With the boozers shut, he had crates of ‘Miller time’. (Sorry about that one) With Caulfield finally seeing the irrationality of kicking it over the head of the league’s most technically proficient footballer, spaces began to appear, many at the feet of the rampaging Ross Gaynor. The first two times an inability to lift his head left the crowd frustrated, the third time he got lucky but he really made his own. His first cross blocked, he was then brilliantly tackled but instead of cursing the aforementioned, he sprung to his feet where the ball broke for him and in one touch he left one defender on his ‘Derryair’ in the penalty area and finally decided to pick out John O Flynn for one of his easiest goals in a City shirt. The dominance continued, Miller let fly with an effort reminiscent of his one international goal against Sweden all those years ago. Unfortunately this time the Shed’s pantomime villain, Ger Doherty, was equal to it with a brilliant save. Moments later Doherty tipped over from Dunleavy with Gaynor’s spectacular effort from the resultant corner blazing over. Six minutes from half time and the second came. Darren Dennehy’s header from a corner from the right was going in,Karl Sheppard, standing on the goal line, decided to cash in his goal bonus, confusing the pa system in the process.
The second half saw Derry come into it, as you would expect. Peter ‘pizza hut’ Hutton clearly gave them a hot and spicy with all the sides at half time. Cork City remained in charge of proceedings, goalkeeper McNulty not having to make a save of note and you always felt the rebels could up the ante. When they did it lead to a wonderful third goal. John Kavanagh played a perfectly we7ghted ball for Billy Dennehy down the right wing where he crossed it perfectly for Sheppard who volleyed accurately into the corner of Doherty’s net.
All that was left was for a cameo from new cult hero, Kieran Djalili and for Derry’s Patrick McEleney to hit the bar with what would have been a goal of the season contender.
We joined the crowd filing out into the cold Good Friday night without overhearing one player being crucified (last one) and without needing a pint, thankfully. It was the most satisfied I have felt leaving a football match in a very long time. Three points, three goals, a clean sheet, a large crowd and stellar signing really shining.The only gripe being yet another abject refereeing performance in our league.
Equally as heartwarming as the performance, was the conversation overheard by the three generations of the one family standing behind me. It was clearly the first game the third generation had been brought to, the father lovingly highlighting every instance well occasionally reminiscing with his own father about his first game in the early nineties. That summed up everything about being a football fan, passed from generation to generation and was the cherry, on the icing of the hot cross bun(that one doesn’t really work, does it?)
Statement from Tony Fitzgerald on behalf of FAI Board Tony Fitzgerald, President of the Football Association of Ireland spoke this evening on behalf of the FAI Board in relation to John Delaney, 26th Nov 2014
“Following recent coverage of the cyber bullying of his partner Emma and the fact that John has publicly apologised if he offended anyone for singing the nationalist song in question, we are happy to bring the matter to a close.
“The Board is more than pleased with the way John Delaney is running the Association. He has done an enormous amount for Irish football. In the past year alone the winning of EURO 2020 bid for Dublin adds to a number of very important developments he has helped oversee during his tenure. We recently awarded him a contract extension to 2020 and he is fully deserving of that.”
The above statement was posted to the FAI website at approximately 10.45 last night. I assume the time was chosen to ensure they avoided tomorrow’s newspapers but that is largely irrelevant. It isn’t just a case of the FAI brushing a mess under their carpet, more a case of them not knowing what the mess is.They have cleaned out the rabbit hutch while completely ignoring the elephant in the room.
The opening line is an immediate deflection of the issue at hand. Any cyber bullying which occurred is of no relevance to the Chief Executive Officer’s garnering of headlines, here and abroad, for his unprofessional behaviour. One could argue that his happiness at parading the relationship in gossip columns and magazines is what lead her to be such an easy target for internet trolls. There is of course no excuse for such actions and am aware of how upsetting this event must have been for Miss English, but should the partner of a member of staff really be name dropped in any official statement, in such an amical fashion?
Furthermore, the idea that the sole problem here is Mr. Delaney’s choice of song is diversionary in the extreme. I am aware that certain sections of the media, especially outside the Republic of Ireland, will find hypocrisy between Mr Delaney’s past seat on UEFA’s Body of Discipline and Control and his song choice, but it is evident to many here at home that the problems lay much deeper.
Well Mr Delaney may argue that he was singing amongst friends and is allowed to let off steam occasionally, I do not believe it is acceptable that a man in his position can be ever truly ‘off duty’. In fact, it was Mr. Delaney himself who pointed out that the job is ’24/7′. It also should be noted that this was not an ordinary night in a local bar in rural Waterford but post-match drinks, in a public house that is a mere stone’s throw away from the Aviva Stadium. Inside that ground, just a few hours before,a peaceful pre-match protest questioned the FAI leadership, specifically about the distribution of away tickets but there are other pertinent grievances, was met with unnecessarily strong policing from FAI security. Seeing as Mr Delaney has gone to great lengths to point out that he is happy to accept criticism on football related matters, perhaps he can apologise to those who were not allowed their freedom of expression and the right to criticise.
Mr. Fitzgerald also points out that the board are happy with how the CEO is running the association. I have no expertise in running any major organisation but had never heard of a CEO running any company or association single-handed. In fact a quick web search backs this up.
“A chief executive officer (ceo) is generally the most senior corporate officer(executive) or administrator in charge of managing a for-profit organization. The of a corporation or company typically reports to the board of directors and is charged with maximizing the value of the entity.The CEO generally reports to a Board of Directors. The CEO serves at the discretion of the Board of Directors. If the CEO is also the company founder and/or chief stock holder and owner, the Board of Directors is largely an advisory role.”
I would therefore like the FAI to provide some clarity here regarding the role of the board of directors within the association and indeed that of the CEO.
The FAI President goes on to praise his CEO for his achievements, especially that of securing Dublin’s place as a host city for Euro 2020. I too would like to offer my congratulations to all involved at the FAI, this is a massive feat for a country of our stature and is sure to whet the appetite of the Irish public. However, there are still other matters outstanding that have not been addressed. During the ‘Godfather of Irish football’s’ tenure the profile, UEFA coefficient and prize money of the FAI run national league, or the ‘problem child’, as he referred to it, have all dropped considerably. Many clubs lose money by simply entering a team in the league while others have had to drop out of senior football altogether during his reign. You may recall Monaghan United having to abandon Irish football’s Premiere Division during Euro 2012, around the time that the CEO was again making headlines for non football related matters.
Then there is the chaotic state of Irish schoolboy football where a complete lack of structure is severely hampering player development. The panacea prescribed for the ills of underage football a decade ago, the Emerging Talent programme, has made little difference. A quick glance at the birthplaces of players in our under 17 and under 19 national squads shows we are still overly reliant on our diaspora, essentially relying on other associations to develop our players. It seems a long time since Brian Kerr was bringing through a ‘golden generation’of Irish talent.
As I mentioned above I am no business expert so perhaps the FAI could explain to us laymen, the logic in offering such a lengthy contract extension to the man ‘running’ this operation. A man who in the past month has jeopardized the safety of Irish fans in Glasgow by refusing to accept responsibility on behalf of the FAI for ‘ticketgate’ and passing blame on to his Scottish counterparts. There has also been a failure to answer any of the questions put to Mr Delaney regarding ticket allocation, to go along with the heavy-handed stewarding at the USA match and the ‘singing in the Bath’ scandal.
One has to question why a football administrator has such a high-profile public persona, his peculiar search for adoration and celebrity through late night chat shows and that self promotional documentary that was so very Alan Partridge.
Apart from Irish Water due to their widespread media coverage, I don’t think I could name another CEO in the state and certainly not a member of any other sporting organisation. It makes me wonder if Oscar Wilde was right, as I cannot see how this type of publicity can be beneficial to Irish football at all.
Another ‘week of football’ over, a week that like much of O’Neill’s time in charge, has left us with more questions than answers. Sure, we can take positives from an excellent second half display against the US but there still seems to be a genuine lack of pattern or direction to our play. The management team have now been in charge for 12 games and appear to be getting further away than ever from being able to decide on who should be in their best eleven. They also seem to pick teams based on their perception of the opposition. Well I can appreciate the reasoning behind this, by doing it regularly it gives other manager’s a chance to tweak things slightly, a tweak that can make all the difference.
Last Friday, O’Neill went for Walters and Long up front. It was like he was trying to turn back the year at Celtic Park to the days when Larsson and Sutton dominated big games for him there. Walters and Long are no Larsson and Sutton though and to be fair, neither would the old Celtic strike force have been if every ball was launched at them from 60 yards. In midfield we were completely overrun, Hendrick is till very naive at this level of football and as the senior partner Gibson had an extremely poor game. Afraid to get on the ball and nowhere near fit enough to deal with Scott Brown. The only reason the score was kept low, was through a mixture of luck and decent performances at the heart of the defence by Keogh and O’Shea. Our main difficulties came from our inability to be a live to the Scot’s inventiveness. The goal came from a corner where we were asleep to the danger and lacked organisation, an aspect where we greatly missed Glenn Whelan. Likewise, when Naismith and Maloney dropped into space from open play, they seemed to have too much time.
The start of the second half was our brightest period. Walters dropped deeper and instead of being used mainly as battering ram, he became a roaming defensive shield. Ireland were able to get a foothold in the game and get McGeady on the ball more.
Ultimately it was fruitless though and we must start looking to the future. There are still points to be played for and Tuesday night at least instilled a renewed optimism. Not one player that started in Glasgow , started against an American side that featured five players involved in their heroic defeat to Belgium in the last 16 of the World Cup.
The most unusual choice by O’Neill was the decision to start Shay Given in-goal. What was it Roy Keane said about him a few years back? Something about giving other goalkeepers a chance?
There was clearly a dual purpose to the full backs and wide midfielders chosen. Two attacking full backs, well one and a winger, showed he expected Brady and Christie to bomb forward past two wide men in Stokes and Pilkington who liked to cut inside. It was likely to expose any faults in the full back’s positioning. In the first half Brady’s weaknesses in this regard were exposed several times. When McClean came on in the second half he looked more comfortable, in fact McClean’s back tracking means he may be worth a look in this position. He may fill in, in a similar style to Killer Kilbane did a few years ago, although that wasn’t without its problems then. Christie, on his debut, impressed me the most. I really thought he looked assured and it seems his career is going to continue on an upward trajectory. Strong, quick and skillful he looks an ideal back up for Seamus Coleman, it would have been interesting to have given him a half an hour on the left. Who knows, maybe he is the solution to what seems an age-old problem. In the centre I thought Pearce did ok, especially in physical tussles, Clark’s positioning leaves a lot to be desired. I know the American goal came from Dave Meyler dwelling on the ball, but the centre back was too slow to get back into position after taking the throw in. His headless attempts at rescuing the situation were straight out of the Keystone Cops’ defending manual.
For long stretches of the first half the midfield was outplayed and outfought. In the second half the game lost all shape and the end to end nature suited us. Dave Meyler was caught dawdling in possession a few times, most obviously for the American goal. He offered far more in his appearance at right back, a position where his poor distribution may not be as a critical. To be fair to him, he is lacking match sharpness. Quinn was the busier of the two midfielders but again he has some very frustrating habits. He is extremely slow to close down long-range shots and he regularly chooses the wrong option in attack. Three times he had a chance to release Shane Long’s pace late in the game, three times he chose a ball to the flanks instead. Another noticeable aspect and it is something I would hold the central midfield pairing to task for, is the somnolence at set pieces. After Scotland’s winner on Friday night you would think we would be switched on but looked susceptible at every set piece as the US tried a few variations.
Stokes pressed well, especially at the start of the second half before being substituted but was out of position. So many managers keep insisting on trying him on the wing, for club and country and every time he looks lost, whereas Pilkington looked much more assured on the right. He is full of energy and a good crosser of the ball, took his goal excellently too. McGoldrick and Murphy up front clearly have an understanding. Murphy, as he has been doing all season, really surprised me in the target man role. His knock downs are always weighted perfectly and was unlucky not to take one of the 2 chances that came his way. McGoldrick had the most crowd pleasing performance with two wonderful assists. His languid style means he can drift in and out of games but he clearly has ability as well as physicality.
There are plenty positives here, Robbie Brady’s two excellent goals including a wonderful free kick, the massive improvement in set piece delivery as a result of him, 2 encouraging debuts, but there are still several questions. What does O’Neill feel is his strongest eleven? How can we manage to win 4-1 yet still manage to go long periods of the game without any pattern to our play? Is Shea Given our second choice keeper now? Having options is no bed thing but he needs to be clear in selecting his team for our next game, the crucial home fixture against a rejuvenated Poland.
Here is how I see things and how I think O’Neill sees things.
Goalkeeper: Forde is clearly first choice and hasn’t done anything really to deserve losing his place but I feel he is our third best keeper. Westwood has been absolutely superb for Sheffield Wednesday this season and think he will be back in the English top flight soon enough. Perhaps if he had stayed around at Sunderland he could be number 1 there now. I also think Rob Elliot is a fine goalkeeper but he needs first team football. I was really surprised he didn’t start against the Americans. Despite Given making a few decent saves, he is clearly no longer the player he was and we really need to move on.
Right Back: One of those assured of his place is Seamus Coleman. No matter the disagreements between Keane and the powers that be at his club side, Everton, we know who is our number 2. He has yet to reproduce his club form in green, though that might be down to the tactics employed. His deputy is now likely to be Cyrus Christie, despite just the one start. A dearth of options and an impressive debut ensures that.
Left Back: A riddle, wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in a mystery. The biggest conundrum in Irish football. Everybody knows that Steven Ward isn’t good enough to play there at the top-level, the problem is we can’t seem to find anybody better. Mark Wilson looks terribly uncomfortable when employed there and appears even more fragile in possession than the Dubliner. Brady was tried there Tuesday night and picked up a man of the match award. This hides the fact that d6efensively he was awful, Bedoya the American winger caused him a lot of problems and was regularly out of position. He regularly plays left-wing back for a Hull though, perhaps an experiment with O’Neill’s favoured 3-5-2 in the future? For now it seems Ward stays in situ, at least until Christie and James McClean are given a chance there. Joey O’Brien’s ship has sailed I’m afraid, he has missed far too many chances due to injury.
Centre half: It is safe to assume that the hero of Gelsenkirchen, John O’ Shea, has to start. He has been one of Ireland’s most consistent performers of recent times and his experience is invaluable. The question is who will be his partner. Wilson would have continued there in Glasgow, until injury ruled him out. It would be very unfair to Richard Keogh if he were to step straight back in. Keogh was arguably our best player in Glasgow and O’Shea seems more comfortable with him than Wilson. I would stick with Keogh. Having three decent centre halves does make that 3-5-2/5-3-2 a viable option.
Central Midfield: So many options, so few working. The one thing that the past week has made absolutely clear is that when fit, McCarthy and Whelan have to start as the defensive two. For all those who criticise Whelan for his lack of mobility and his cautious nature, he is vital to the way this team sets up. We conceded five minutes after he got injured in Germany and I am certain that we would not have conceded the goal we did in Scotland either. He is our midfield general, McCarthy is a quiet player as are all our other options it appears. Whelan is not afraid to shout and talk and we need somebody like him. McCarthy is absolutely brilliant at what he does and plays in a similar duo for Everton every week with Gareth Barry. This has to now be our midfield bedrock against Poland and Scotland. I also hope McCarthy is fit for the Scottish game to put all this speculation about his commitment to rest. If we are to continue as a 4-5-1 then, who will be the more attacking of our central three? I don’t think Darren Gibson can handle this role, in fact judging by how he looked on Friday night, the only ‘roll’ he could handle would be of the sausage variety. Quinn and Meyler are probably ahead of him for the two sitting midfield roles.
That leaves a choice of Wes Hoolahan, Jeff Hendrick or Andy Reid. It appears that O’Neill, like many others for club and country, are wont to play ‘Wessi’ in big games because of his sleight physique. I think this is a little unfair, he is certainly full of energy and has vision that no other player available to us has, apart from possibly Andy Reid, who cannot see playing due to his long-term absenteeism from competitive international football for a myriad of reasons. That leaves Jeff Hendrick, who O’Neill seems to like but who I feel has a bit more development to do. He melted in the heat of the midfield battle with Scotland and can make some poor choices on the ball.
Right Wing; Assuming O’Neill recognised that playing him in a central role in Germany failed, McGeady will take the right-wing spot. Aiden has natured a lot as a footballer. Even though things were not coming off for him last Friday night, he still stuck at it and helped cover Coleman at right back. Despite being utilised there by club and country, I don’t like seeing John Walters on the wing. Sure he is great defensively but he offers little creativity. I think Pilkington may have palyed his was in as second choice the other night, great movement and is a fine crosser of the ball.
Left Wing: Has to be Robbie Brady’s now. Even for set pieces alone he should be on the pitch. He is the first Irish player since the days of Ian Harte, that I feel can put every free kick within shooting range in the top corner. His corners are also superb. We really are failing to capitalise on set pieces, I know everybody wants us to try to play a bit more but that doesn’t mean forgetting the bread and butter. We have several decent headers of the ball and in Brady, we have someone to supply them. As an impact sub, I think McClean still has loads to offer. Was excellent in Germany but lost his personal duel with Whittaker the other night. He does offer excellent cover for the full back, something Brady may struggle with.
Sriker: The,presumably, lone striker role is still a straight battle between Long and Keane to and invariably be substituted for the other. I don’t think Keane offers anything from the bench, Long on the other hand does. Long’s movement when he came on Tuesday night was superb. Forget the opposition, if Quinn had released him a couple of times he could have had a couple. I would therefore go with Keane to start, with Wes Hoolahan behind him. They are two intelligent players who link up well and if Wes can give Robbie one chance, odds are he will take it. If we do switch to two up front we also have more options. Murphy really impressed me as a target man on Tuesday, Walters still has a lot to offer and hopefully McGoldrick keeps impressing at Ipswich to keep his name in the mix too.
The Team I would pick, in a 4-5-1 formation, providing all are fit and available is: Westwood, Coleman, O’Shea, Keogh, Ward, McGeady, Brady, Whelan, McCarthy, Hoolahan, Keane.
The team I think O’Neill will go it, more importantly is, in the same formation; Forde, Coleman, O’Shea, Wilson, Ward, McGeady, McClean, Whelan, McCarthy, Hendrick, Long
At least we have options, let us hope what ever team is picked they can get a badly needed result.
Joe McGlue is a name that sticks in the mind but it really shouldn’t be one on the tip of many Ireland fan’s tongues . McGlue is the Football Association of Ireland’s head of Security and the resin( no more, I promise) his name is being discussed, is the massive security operation that took place at the Aviva stadium for the Boys in Green’s victory over the USA earlier this week. Before you get too concerned, there wasn’t a massive political demonstration against US foreign policy or indeed the water charges, nor had the large American crowd been influenced by Elijah Wood and his Green Street escapades.It was in fact a few very naughty boys and girls, in what is known as the ‘ Singing Section’ , trying to display a few banners of protest against Our Dear Leader ,John Delaney and his current FAI regime. Thanks to the myopia of Magoo, sorry McGlue and his team, a ramshackle display of banners and a few chants has kept Delaney in the headlines, despite an impressive performance on the pitch. The Croatian fans must be furious. They went to extravagant lengths in Milan the previous Sunday, holding their game with Italy up for ten minutes, to protest about their association. All it took in the Aviva to garner the same media response was a few bed sheets and of course, an emperor who appears to be a few hands down in strip poker.
It would appear that McGlue is quite attached to Delaney (last one, I swear), but I don’t believe the feelings are mutual. One cannot help but sense that with the celebrity loving chief executive in hiding, nearly a full week out of the spotlight, that he has merely sent McGlue out to face the music while he scuttles in the shadows. It would appear that our dear leader has fallen for that old adage;you can fool some of the people some of the time but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time; even the most placid Ireland fan has been enraged by Tuesday night’s actions.
The obvious course of action would be to leave this all die down and that would appear what Our Dear Leader was about to do. With the national team not having a fixture until March and the ‘problem child’ that is the League of Ireland put to bed for the season, it looked like this could peter out. But not to Mr Delaney, he is like a moth to the spotlight. On Friday the FAI released a statement providing new information for ‘Fans Direct’. A new entity created for independent supporters which leads to more questions than answers about the ‘ticketgate’ saga( for more information see here; http://www.ybig.ie/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=50517&title=new-fai-ticket-club-fans-direct ). This however was not to be the highlight of our CEO’s activity.
Later on that same evening, I received a grainy video clip of our dear leader singing a song about H-Block hunger-striker Joe McDonnell, taken after Tuesday evening’s game. Now I should make it clear here that I have no problem with the song itself, I have often sang it myself. To be honest it isn’t really the song that is the problem, although I am sure some blazer in the IFA (the northern counterpart of the FAI, not the farmers), will find something to be offended by. If the event was a once off from a man doing a successful job it would also be laughed off. The regularity at which his name is mentioned is frightening. He has a media personality that can only be beaten in Irish sport by certain ex players. There are more column inches dedicated to the Chief Executive Officer than to the current Irish captain. There are hardcore football fans in Germany, France and Italy who would struggle to name the CEO of their respective associations, here in Ireland my mother, who has little interest sport, can name his girlfriend!I read somewhere this week that is due to appear on the TV3 show, ‘Late Lunch Live’. The sort of anodyne mid afternoon rubbish that makes the long term unemployed search the classifieds. It will be another low for the FAI to see Delaney chop vegetables open shirted, while discussing football with a former weatherman.
He has gone to extraordinary lengths to protect his image in this instance. Videos of his tuneless warbling have been disappearing from people’s social media statuses while a thread on the ‘you boys in green’ forum was deleted after a few unsavoury comments about Emma English (that is his partners name by the way).
I am in no way condoning what were frankly unnecessary comments aimedcat Miss English, but like the over the top reaction to a few banners at the Aviva, Our Dear Leader is a man seemingly struggling with the pressure. By constantly feeling the need to build up his own celebrity persona it is likely to be the very thing that helps bring his tenure to an end. Hoisted by his own petard , if you will.
These are the actions of a man in the last days of power, they merely serve as strengthening the resolve of those who feel that there needs to be change within the FAI, not just in the distribution of away tickets but in the whole structure.
In the last few weeks , he has managed to upset a large section of the hardcore support, the Scottish Football Association who he called unprofessional, without a hint of irony, while continuing his own personality cult while enforcing silence of anything that doesn’t paint him in a favourable light. In the middle of all this the FAI released a statement that caused further confusion regarding ‘ticketgate’ and Max Hamilton, the association’s commercial and marketing director returned to London. The walls are slowly coming down slowly but it is absolutely vital that this topic gets as much as limelight as Delaney gets himself, for the good of Irish football. Ask any decent chef, teflon only lasts so long.
I already know what you are thinking. Left-wing Celtic fan writing a blog entitled political football just a few days after ‘Remembrance Sunday’, what a cliché. I was really going to avoid it though; I had been researching a piece on Gibraltar’s ‘international’ status. Honest. But then I came across, by chance, a small paragraph by Dave Kidd in the Irish Daily Mirror and I felt the need to counter his poppycock. His piece in full reads:
“James McClean, a second-choice midfielder for a Wigan side in the Championship relegation zone, always remembers Remembrance Sunday as it is the only time of the year he gets spoken about.
“The Irishman does not wear a poppy – the sort of choice he has every right to make, thanks to the millions who laid down their lives in world wars to keep this country free.
“We will thank him for bringing the fact home to us again, when we next hear of McClean, next November.”
It really is very difficult to comprehend how somebody can manage to be so wrong and be able to so completely miss the point in a hundred odd words. I am sure I don’t need to point out the irony in him talking about McClean; if he needs that pointed out to him then the problems are even deeper than first thought. I am also perplexed by the relevance of James’ standing as a footballer. His career in England is hardly going to flourish as a result of such a stance and as the letter he sent to Wigan Chairman Dave Whelan makes clear (that would be Dave Whelan who played in the 1960 FA Cup final and broke his leg. He may have mentioned it somewhere), he would really rather not be talked about. The full letter can be seen here (http://www.wiganlatics.co.uk/news/article/14-11-07-statement-regarding-james-mcclean-2070059.aspx) Some internet wags have doubted whether a boy from the Creggan could write such a well worded piece but this snobbery is also irrelevant. Whether a friendly wordsmith typed it up or not, he still had the courage of conviction in his beliefs.
Mister Kidd then proceeds to tell us, in the Irish Daily Mirror, that millions laid down their lives to keep this country free. He seems blissfully unaware, or at least the editor of the ‘Irish’ edition of his newspaper is, that all of Ireland was a colony of the British empire for the first World War and that the Irish Free State was neutral in the Second. That is the country that McClean identifies with, now called the Republic of Ireland, the one he will be proudly representing in Scotland this week. Perhaps if the Mirror bothered to hire reporters interested in the national team of the state they are trying to flog papers in, somebody there may hear his name mentioned again before next November.
The problem with ‘Remembrance Sunday’ and all that it entails, is that it is a jingoistic occasion. The poppy is ubiquitous, the centre of all this. It is seen on inanimate objects such as newspapers, cars, buses, windows etc. If you stand still for long enough in certain towns and cities of England, you could become so covered in the things that you are likely to be arrested for peddling opium. If you choose not to wear one you are liable to be accused of being, like McClean states in his letter, a “war monger, or anti-British, or a terrorist”. I think many fail to see the paradox in accusing someone who doesn’t wear the poppy as a warmonger. Firstly the origins of the symbol do not stem from peace. The poppy was adopted as a symbol to commemorate soldiers who had died at war by the American Legion shortly after the First World War. It was taken from the poem ‘in Flanders’ Fields’ by Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. The poem, written in 1915 when the romantic idealism of war was still commonplace among soldiers, is hardly a pacifist’s mantra. The simple message of the poem, written from a dead soldier’s viewpoint, is to continue to fight the good fight. To quote the final verse;
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
In 1921 it was adopted by the Royal British Legion, who can claim amongst its’ founders, that all round peace-loving gentleman, the Butcher of the Somme, Field Marshal Douglas Haig. (the poppy badges are still made in a factory he established).He earned the aforementioned moniker by sending thousands of ordinary soldiers to their demise. He was even criticised by that other well-known pacifist, Winston Churchill, for the number of men who died under his command.
Today the poppy is, according to the Legion’s own website, “worn to commemorate the sacrifices of our Armed Forces and to show support to those still serving today”. This includes all those who served and died in the North of Ireland where the British Army caused so much misery and despair in the nationalist community, after being originally welcomed as peacekeepers in August of 69. This includes the murder of 14 innocent civilians in McClean’s home town of Derry. I am not going to continue list all the crimes committed across the world by British Crown forces, I have a birthday next year, but I would like to take the chance to remind you that the poppy isn’t exclusively in tribute to the men who fell at the Somme or Gallipoli. It isn’t worn just for men who we are told fought for freedom, but also for many who fought against it.
It should therefore be clear to any rational person that this is an item not suitable for sporting events, that it is a divisive, often offensive political symbol. But no, the politicians who run football in England and Scotland disagree. The type of people who give out about a political banner in the crowd or fine Robbie Fowler for supporting the dockers, tell us it is about respect. These people tell us that it is perfectly normal to have fully uniformed soldiers on a football pitch and all the pomp and ceremony that goes with it. This sideshow seems all so American, so reminiscent of the US on ‘veteran’s Day’ as they urge American Football fans to ‘support our troops’. They too, like the British, forget them for the rest of the year. An article from Dave Kidd’s own paper, this time the English version, shows that ex servicemen account for 10% of rough sleepers in the United Kingdom.
The British government are more than happy to go along with all this hysteria as it blurs the lines between ‘our boys’ and the state. Lads from northern towns destroyed by Thatcherism and forced into fighting uncalled for wars, become the face of conflict. This leaves many people who were once vociferous in their opposition of invading Iraq and Afghanistan to proudly get behind their ‘brave young men’.
In using football grounds and clubs they have a ready-made, often nationalistic audience, who are prepared to emotionally invest in the propaganda they are being sold. These are the people who often enforce their views on people, the ‘poppy fascists’, who completely fail to see the irony of telling people what to wear out of “respect” for the people who “died for our freedom”. These are the type of people who want to be offended, often thinking the world has gone too politically correct and what about all this immigration? These are the sort of people who protest they are not racist. They can’t be because they buy the Daily Mail from Mister Patel. The media are implicit in this, the poppies on the front of newspapers, the BBC insisting on every guest on every show wearing a poppy, the need to mention anyone who doesn’t wear one in tones usually reserved for sex offenders. Personally, the most bizarre aspect of all in the media is the commonly known placing of extra microphones around Celtic fans so further hysteria can be whipped up if one coughs during the minute’s silence. Talk about looking to be insulted! Then of course there is the furore if some ‘second-choice’ midfielder refuses to wear one.
Football is a world where a player can be booked for revealing a message saying hello to his mother or remembering his late pet guinea pig, but by choosing to wear a football jersey without a flower on it, he can be condemned as a terrorist. It is a world where too many players are wrapped in a bubble, with no realisation of the world around them, fame and fortune making their upbringing redundant. It is a shame that a player like James McClean should be condemned by going against this, by being himself. He clearly remembers where he comes from and cares about his people enough to think twice before following the herd and doing something that may offend them. Considering the world of the average footballer, that is true remembrance.
Chutzpah is a word I have always liked. Like many words with Hebrew origins, it has an almost violent comedy to it. In recent times the word, particularly in business parlance, has taken on an almost positive quality, an almost audacious courage. It has a much more negative history however, meaning conniving, someone who has have overstepped the boundaries of decency. Leo Rosten in his excellent book ‘The Joys of Yiddish’ describes it as “that quality enshrined in a man who, having killed his mother and father, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan”. Chutzpah is, essentially, the denial of personal responsibility.
It is funny that whenever I see John Delaney that this word springs to mind. Our Dear Leader could in fact be rechristened, ‘Chutzpah Delaney’. It has a certain ring to it. Last week it appeared that the Godfather of Irish football was on the ropes, the revolution was coming, could this be his Waterloo? Our John is not a man to admit defeat easily however. He knotted the green tie and showed chutzpah, cojones, cunning and words not printable, coming out fighting, almost as if he was the victim. Taking to the national airwaves on the Ray D’Arcy Show the day following ‘Ticketgate’, Delaney laid the blame firmly at the door of the Scottish Football Association. It is difficult to ignore the Alan Partridge comparisons when he has in essence chosen ‘Mid-Morning Natters’ to discuss a subject of such gravity, before proceeding to prove himself to be almost beyond the realms of reality. Not only did he say that the FAI would be “more professional”(a word never before associated with the association!) in their dealings for the return fixture in Dublin, he added they would also do so “in a neighbourly fashion and not in a manner in how they have dealt with us.” I think many Irish fans were happier to deal with the SFA!
It is fair to say this Friday’s game that was always going to have a bit of an edge to it. The familiarity of the players to each other, both sides having former Celtic managers at a game in Celtic Park, the large Irish Diaspora in the city always ensured a certain amount of spice. Add in the Scottish furore around the 2 Scottish born Irish players, made worse by the Scottish manger Gordon Strachan’s comments last week, as well as the importance of the match for European Championship qualification , this was never going to be a Celtic(witha K),love in. Was there really a need then for Delaney to incite further reaction? The obvious thing to do here would be to try a bit of diplomacy, but that was never really on the cards. In an interview with Radio Kerry on Monday evening, the Godfather of Irish football really fears nobody, he merely confirmed his previous comments. “This is a derby game, it’s a Friday night in Glasgow and there’ll be tension in the air. To have pockets of Irish fans stuck in Scottish areas is not the correct thing to do”.
We are back to that word again, chutzpah. He has completely ignored his own responsibilities here. He was given a 5% allocation, mismanaged it and then said he expected the SFA to have increased the allocation and that they had told him the game was sold out, incorrectly. Perhaps they should have increased the away section, but that is extraneous to the fact that he effectively gambled with tickets that were never his to stake.
One reason why the SFA refused the increase anyway was the fact that many of these fans had already begun to purchase tickets through Scotland. Irish fans were left with little alternative but to try and get them this way while the Scots didn’t want to encourage further away supporters in.
There will be an estimated seven to ten thousand Irish fans in the stadium as is; you can understand the Scottish concerns. Surely the sensible thing for the Chief Executive of the away football association would have been to have organised this better in advance? Or then, having realised the error of his ways admitted some culpability? He could have acknowledged the serious flaws in the way tickets are distributed away games and look at ways of addressing this issue. He could certainly have managed to avoid causing further anxiety for those who have to sit in the ‘home’ sections of Celtic Park.
The fans left most disgruntled by Delaney’s actions are those from the YBIG.ie fans forum. (YBIG stands for ‘You Boys in Green for those outside the loop). Many contributors to this website were those left empty handed by the FAI, lads who have travelled the globe as goodwill ambassadors for the FAI. It is evident from their reaction to the CEO’S attempts to lay the blame outside Hampden Park that they are not willing to let this matter lay.
“YBIG have clearly proved that the FAI system to allocate tickets spectacularly failed, irrespective of the size of the allocation. Many of the hardcore supporters that the Chief Executive mentions will be sitting with the Scottish supporters are a result of the fact that the FAI have no clear and transparent system in place to allocate tickets. These supporters have acquired “home tickets” for other games due to the same failures in FAI ticketing which occurred here.
In previous statements the FAI confirmed that tickets were allocated to “known away supporters”. As outlined in our previous statements, YBIG have shown that there were fundamental issues with the allocation. This is not the first time this has happened and without significant change it will not be the last.”
The group had previously sent an e-mail to John Delaney himself, outlining ten clear questions they wanted answered on the issue ticket allocation. The response to this letter was sent by a newly appointed ‘Supporters Liaison Officer’. As we have now come to expect, not one of those ten queries were addressed. (You can find the letter and response here http://www.ybig.ie/forum/ticket-allocation-letter-to-the-fai_topic50389.html )
Throughout this debacle, Delaney has portrayed himself as a valiant hero. He has made constant reference to how the association bought corporate tickets for fans out of their own coffers and at a loss.
“We went out and bought 150 tickets personally at £125 sterling and we’re selling them to those fans at £45 sterling”. He fails to mention that these tickets, like all modern corporate outings to a sports event, come without a marked price, not that we have any reason to distrust Our Dear Leader.
In the finest traditions of Irish politicians he has managed to flit in and out of the media spotlight without ever properly discussing the serious matter at hand. There were far more suitable platforms to debate this issue than local radio or a trivial morning radio show. It would even be more fitting if a man on his gargantuan salary could manage to respond to emails that are addressed to him. Instead we are still left wondering what this salary gets Irish football, because it certainly isn’t answers or solutions.
It hasn’t been the best of midweeks. Only one of my 4 tips came through, Shakhtar duly putting 5 past BATE. Arsenal, having been 3-0 up and Alexis Sanchez having done his job by scoring the second, made it a particularly difficult pill to swallow. Fulham too looked like recovering their disparate situation, 2-0 down at home to Blackpool, a red card for the visitors and a goal back just before half time made the comeback likely against such a brittle side. In fact, I was tempted to delve into the second half market. Thankfully I decided against it as Fulham could only manage one more goal, the game ending in a 2-2 draw.
The Real Madrid game showed up all the dangers of handicap betting. Real were brilliant, until they went a goal up. After that the game was played like a testimonial. You could never see Liverpool scoring and Ronaldo was having, by his standards, an off night. It really was as comfortable a one goal victory as you will see though.
Alas, it is the punter’s folly to be optimistic and having studied the form across Europe this weekend there seems a surprising amount of value, often in unusual places. Let us start in England.
The standout fixture in England this week is a rematch of the game that ultimately gave last season’s title to Manchester City, the famous Gerrard slip and all that. On form it is very difficult to see beyond a similar result this season. Diego Costa, who was surprisingly left out of the Spanish squad this week, will lead the line on return from injury so Chelsea are at full strength and have a first eleven that nearly picks itself. Of far more interest will be Rodgers team selection. Many players were ‘rested’ in Madrid during the week but Rodgers protested they were dropped. It would be churlish to suggest dropping Kolo Toure, who despite losing his place due to many mistakes last year, was a calming influence on the Liverpool defence in the formidable surroundings of the Bernabeu. One would also assume that, so far less than Super Mario, will return upfront, but will Liverpool actually play to his strengths by giving him a partner or a few crosses into the box? Everything still points to an away win, my only doubts being the 2 games Chelsea have drawn, they have won the other 8, came as a result of very late goals on both sides of Manchester. These were both as a result of Chelsea’s inability to finish off games in which they looked comfortable. They have also conceded in their last 6 away fixtures. I make this a 3/5 punt @13/10.
I also like the look of West Ham at home to Aston Villa. The Irons have had an impressive start to the season and have picked up ten points from their last 12. Meanwhile, Villa not only crumbled to a sixth straight defeat at Tottenham last Sunday, there 11th in 12 games in the capital, they last their most likely source of goals as Christian Benteke picked up a red card and a 3 match ban. Villa have scored just one goal in those six games as they waited for Benteke to return from injury and it is difficult to see where they will get them from in his absence. West Ham are 3/4 to win the game but my tip is West Ham to win to nil@15/8 3/5
Elsewhere in England sees a first for Joey’s gamble as we strongly recommend you keep away from the Blackpool match as they come head to head with the championship’s other basket case, Leeds United, at Elland Road. With the off-field shenanigans continuing at Leeds and an improvement in performance from the Tangerines midweek, I would avoid this game as anything could happen.
The only game in the championship that jumps out is Blackburn’s trip to Brighton. Blackburn are unbeaten in 6 and have had some impressive results in that run, most notably winning 3-1 at Nottingham Forest. A strike partnership of consistent goal botherer Jordan Rhodes and in form Rudy Gestede should cause problems for Sami Hyppia’s side, whose only win in the last ten was a midweek victory at home to Wigan. Blackburn can be got at 5/2 to win the match but 6/4 draw no bet, is safer. 3/5 Blackburn draw no bet@6/4
Scotland: With Hearts and Rangers both expecting facile victories I will focus mainly on the Spl (there is however a little value on Hibs at 7/10 to win at lowly Cowdenbeath) Here the big fixture sees Celtic facing a stern test in Pittodrie. Aberdeen go into this game just a point behind the champions. Apart from a dismal result at Hamilton a few weeks back (3-0), Aberdeen have been in good form, winning 5 of the last 7. Celtic, having drawn 1-1 in Romania in difficult conditions on Thursday evening could be suffering from a Euro hangover; otherwise the 5/6 for them to win might be more enticing. What does look attractive are the odds given to John Guidetti in the goal scorer market. In his 6 league starts he has netted 5 times, 4 of those goals breaking the deadlock which makes the 4/1 to do so again on Sunday great value. Even money to score at any stage is also a fair bet. 4/5 to score anytime@ 1/1 and 3/5 to score first @4/1
Europe: The most interesting game on the continent this week is the French ‘classique’ as Olympique Marseille travel to Paris. From a betting point of view though it is best avoided, unless you fancy an interest bet and if so I would suggest a draw or narrow home victory. Elsewhere there is an abundance of teams with what appears to be very generous prices across Europe this week. I have picked out the 5 that represent the best value.
Last weekend my outside bet contained Dortmund to win, this week I am forecasting them to lose. Borussia Mochengaldbach travel to Dortmund unbeaten this season. In fact their victory over Hoffenheim last week was their eighteenth league game without defeat. Despite a very good but endlessly fruitless performance in Munich, Dortmund still have only 2 wins this season. They are only spared the ignominy of being bottom thanks to Werder Bremen’s inferior goal difference. Dortmund have really struggled to score this season, while Gladbach have the second best defence in the league, conceding just a goal every second game on average, 11/8 for under 3 goals is inviting and worth a punt. But 9/2 for M’gladbach to win seems generous and 11/4 with the draw no bet, seems too good to be true. 3/5 M’gladbach to win, draw no bet @ 11/4
In neighbouring Holland, the big 3 all seem to be very well priced for their away fixtures on Sunday. We will start at leaders PSV who have what seems an away banker at second bottom Heracles. The light bulbs have won their last 4 games with an aggregate score of 12-1. Memphis Depay, who impressed many on Holland’s run to the semi finals of the world cup, has seven goals from his seven appearances while Adam Maher is just one short of his best ever season having notched six already. Considering Heracles have conceded 3 or more in five of the last ten games and whose 6 points come from wins over teams around them in the table, this should be a sure thing. 5/5 PSV to win @ Heracles 7/10
SC Cambuur have impressed since being promoted to the top flight last season. They sit in fifth spot with 17 points and just two defeats. The problem is those two defeats have come at home to Feyenoord and a 4-0 thumping in Eindhoven. They can compete with the rest but not with the best, or so it seems. Cambuur’s main goal threat is Bartholomew Ogbeche with 6 goals. Ugbeche is a journeyman who struggled in Spain’s second tier, while Ajax seem to have goals all over the team and midfielder Lasse Schone has equalled Ugbeche’s tally of 6. 1/1 money for Ajax to win @ Cambuur seems a good bet. In fact even money for Ajax to win any domestic game seems a reasonable option. 4/5
Third place Feyenoord travel to mid-table Vitesse on a run of 5 straight victories and the only reason I can see for them being slight outsiders is that Vitesse have outscored them by ten goals. However 16 of those goals came in a three game run where they blitzed 3 struggling sides. Like Cambuur, Vitesse have lost comfortably when facing the other 2 of the big three, losing 2-0 in Eindhoven and 4-1 in Ajax. Considering that Feyenoord’s three defeats have all come in front of their expectant home support, 9/5 is unbelievable value. 4/5
Our last port of call is San Sebastian where Real Sociedad play host to defending champions Atletico Madrid. Atletico’s only defeat has come at second place Valencia. Sociedad’s sole victory was a freak 4-2 victory over Real Madrid. They are currently without a manager and have one point from twelve at home. The mattress makers have won five and drawn one of their last 6 matches against them and at 5/6 is worthy of an investment. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Frenchman Antoine Griezmann come back to haunt his old club. He is 13/8 to do so anytime and 5/1 to open the scoring.
5/5 Atletico to win @5/6
1/5 Griezmann to score first @ 5/1
Gordon Strachan was a very successful manager at Celtic, leading the club to the last 16 of the champion’s league and winning the league in three out of his four seasons at Celtic Park. Despite this, Strachan was never universally loved among the Celtic support. One reason that is regularly put forward for this, is that he was overheard calling Celtic ‘ Fenian b*st*rds’ while playing for Aberdeen a quarter of a century before. You would think then that Gordon would be sensitive to the subtleties of the social, political and religious divide that football can cause in the west of Scotland. His response earlier this week to questions on the two Scottish born players, Aidan McGeady and James McCarthy, in the Irish team would suggest otherwise.
When asked if he would like fans to show some restraint, Strachan replied; “No, they can do what they want. Are you going to ask them to pay 60 quid then tell them they can’t say something? As long as it doesn’t have any nastiness about it, that’s fine. It’s part of football, pantomime humour.”
While I am aware that he is hardly advocating burning the tricolour or singing witty ditties about a gentleman in Rome, he did pass up the chance, as manager of his national team, to persuade supporters that this behaviour is uncalled for. A wily old campaigner like Strachan is well aware how his response would be construed by the media and thus be seen as an endorsement to abuse these two boys in green. The headlines, on both sides of the Irish Sea, confirm this. “Scotland boss Gordon Strachan urges Tartan Army to treat Aiden McGeady and James McCarthy like panto villains” ran Scotland’s Daily Record while here the Irish Independent went with; “Tartan Army entitled to boo Aiden McGeady”.
With many other managers I would write this off as merely a poor choice of words and the media doing what they have to do to sell papers and get website hits, but not with Strachan. This is a manager who understands how the media works in a way that seems to suggest he has an Uncle Rupert in Australia. As an unpopular choice with the Celtic fans he would not have survived the pressure of the first season without his media savvy. He has of course worked within the media himself, a regular and knowledgeable pundit on ITV, which is quite a rarity from the channel that gives us Andrew Townsend. He is a crafty and articulate individual who’s acerbic wit has made many an experienced hack frightened to question him;
Reporter: “Bang, there goes your unbeaten run. Can you take it?”
Strachan: “No, I’m just going to crumble like a wreck. I’ll go home, become an alcoholic and maybe jump off a bridge. Umm, I think I can take it, yeah.”
He is therefore more than canny enough to know how his comments would be portrayed, in other words he wanted to add an extra edge to this game.
That seems so unnecessary to me. There is going to be plenty of edge to a game that is vital for European qualification, between two teams that know each other well and two sets of supporters with similar reputation and passion .It is also, as he goes on to point out himself, have very little negative influence on either James’ or Aiden’s performance. In fact, judging by his reaction to the vitriol he regularly received while playing for Celtic around Scotland; it will possibly spur him on.
This should be an important derby day in Glasgow without all the baggage that usually brings. I am in no way suggesting that this game is now going to descend into scenes reminiscent of Lansdowne road in 95, but with an estimated 7000 Ireland fans in designated home sections of Celtic Park, there could well be isolated incidents. Irish fans who travelled to Hampden Park for Brian Kerr’s first game in charge have told how their coach was bottled and they were treated to some of the nastier ditties from the Rangers’ song book. Already the Scottish media are obsessing with a game between Celtic and Rangers which is two months away, it being their first meeting since the latter re-formed. The sad part is that the Scottish media thrive on such hatred, highlighting petty incidents to sell papers and increase the tension. They would love to turn Ireland and Scotland into another ‘Old Firm’ derby
Is there really a need for the Scottish boss to fan the flames beneath Glasgow’s football cauldron?
No Greater Love 