Crazy World of Soccer

An Introduction to the Crazy World of Irish Soccer

By Geariod Devitt
August 10, 2010

Reader’s Note: To avoid confusion I will try and stick to the following rule of thumb: Soccer
will refer to association football and football will refer to Gaelic football(G.A.A. football).
Unfortunately, I usually cringe at the use of the word soccer so apologies if I fail to maintain
my intentions.

The past week has seen a major milestone in the history of Irish soccer. The opening of the
new Landsdowne Road (or Aviva Stadium if you want to submit to capitalism) means the F.
A.I. (Football Association of Ireland) has a stake in the national team’s home for the first
time and will now give the association the chance to compete financially with its two big
rivals, the I.R.F.U. (Irish rugby’s governing body) and the G.A.A.. It should be a time of
optimism for the future of Irish football, a time for a fresh start after the “Hand of Thierry”
affair and the embarrassing aftermath. As well as the stadium in the past few years they
have also required an official HQ in Abbotstown completing all executive infrastructure yet
the commonplace saying among supporters and followers of Irish football remains more
valid now, more than ever: “You can’t spell failure without the F.A.I.”

Their rugby counterparts, who have reaped the rewards in recent years due to exemplary
management since the advent of the professional game, had the right to open the new
stadium as they were the traditional owners. They chose to showcase the best in upcoming
Irish talent as they organized a mixed game with two of the four professional franchises in
the country providing players for each side. The result was a mismatch as a much stronger
Leinster/Ulster side hammered a Connacht/Munster selection 68-0. However the intention
was exemplary and showed that maybe there is the talent coming through to replace the
current “Golden Generation” at senior level. Surely the football association would follow suit
and organize a marquee Premier Division League fixture in the new ground to re-open their
residency?

Alas no. As an active supporter and patron of a local club for a number of years my heart
sank when it was announced last May that instead of a top-of-the-clash from the domestic
league, Manchester United (PLC) would be facing an Airtricity League XI. For those of you
unfamiliar with Irish soccer, this guaranteed a number of embarrassing moments would
ensue.

Firstly, the presence of a Manchester United eleven (even if it was their third choice side)
would guarantee a crowd that would by far outnumber the combined attendances for three
weeks of fixtures in the domestic league as the “football mad” Irish public leave their
barstools and armchairs to support “their” team. This unfortunate tradition of importing our
football culture from Britain can be traced back to the arrival of television on this island.
Once BBC’s flagship soccer programme, “Match of the Day”, reached these shores this led
to most Irish men and women adopting an English club side to follow and the inferior
product of the domestic game, which can never match the financial muscle of the U.K.
leagues, suffered drastically. The league has recovered significantly in profile in the last
decade and has a provided a number of internationals to the senior side, most notably
Kevin Doyle and a side made up of those ex-Airtricity players now plying their trade in the U.
K. could have been a significant advertisement for the league.

Next, the composition of the side to face United was a recipe for disaster. This is the
middle of the domestic season and dragging three or four players from each club for one
week of preparation before facing a very strong Premiership side would always be a hiding
in waiting (the match finished 7-1 in favour of the Red Devils ™ ). Results in Europe in
recent years have highlighted the League position and choosing last season’s champions,
Bohemians or cup winners, Sporting Fingal would have provided a more telling challenge
for United and in turn promoted the league in a positive light. Instead the Airtricity XI
performed like a side that had just met (because they had) and this led to some comical
defending which will gratify the “barstoolers” view of the game here for years to come. In
fact the friendly game completly overshadowed an admirable showing by last-seasons
league runners-up, Shamrock Rovers, who lost no honour in losing 3-0 on aggregate to
Italian giants Juventus in a Europa League qualifier.

Finally, it explained the motives of the recent arrival of league sponsor Airtrictiy and their
intentions. They seem to have decided to sponsor the league as a front for amassing
publicity in fixtures when the wider football public are forced to be aware of domestic
soccer’s presence. This is not a major negative as prize money has increased since they
have become involved but it fits in with the F.A.I.’s tradition of selling product to the highest
bidder with no consideration of the long-term benefits.

The improvement in standard over recent years has been underlined by some
embarrassing financial collapses of big sides like Shelbourne, Derry City, Drogheda
United and Cork City as they over-reached for the Holy Grail that is qualification for the
group stage of one of the major European competitions. Unfortunately those sides’ budgets
were unsustainable on meagre attendances (consistently below 5,000 paying customers)
and poor financial management led to their demise but some very good results were
achieved on the continent with mostly Irish players. Bohemians were the latest standard
bearers but after a disastrous result against the Welsh champions could spell the end of
their extravagant squad and the mantel will pass on again to Shamrock Rovers, a club with
a somewhat chequered financial history itself, to put it mildly. In the last two years a rule
where only 65% of club overturn can be spent on wages has been introduced and coupled
with the recession the recklessness has been checked but not completely eradicated.

The national team has always been the cash-cow or saving grace of the F.A.I. but again at
key times the executive have let the nation and players down. The Saipan debacle led to
probably Ireland’s greatest ever player, Roy Keane, leaving a World Cup squad on the eve
of the tournament in 2002. The appointment of the inexperienced Steve Staunton led to
dismal performances and basically nullified two years of international careers for what has
proven to be a very competitive side before and afterwards. There are worries now that
they have also mismanaged their ticket sales for the premier seating at the new venue,
offering major discounts on unsold seats leaving a bitter taste for those who got in early.
When you see the financial crippling cost of a stadium which will only 50,000 people you will
see why the C.E.O. and chief incompetent, John Delaney, was so desperate for inclusion at
the World Cup that he memorably asked FIFA to allow Ireland compete as a 33rd team!

Just another reason why, although soccer is the most participated sport in the country, the F.
A.I. remains black sheep of the Irish sporting family.

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