A distinct lack of compassion

Sickening! That's the only word to describe a refereeing decision that has no place in the professional game that occured at Old Trafford last night, and, it was a decision for Manchester United, not against them, so what you are about to read is a criticism that I cannot see being repeated here very often.

In the early stages of the League Cup, the big clubs from the premiership get paired up against the lower league opposition, and it's a memorable experience for these lower league players, normally in their late teens, to compete in a big stadium and play 90 minutes against the Man Utd's, the Arsenals and Chelsea's. Sometimes, there's even the giant killing story, but mostly they are there for the experience. Last night, Barnet, a team fourth last in the English 4th division (Premiership, Championship, League One, League Two) came to do battle at Old Trafford.

After 90 secondsa hopeful ball was caught by Ross Flitney, the 21 year old Barnet keeper, with no United Player within 20 yards of him and his momentum took him a foot over the 18 yard line. The referee sent him off. The United manager Alex Ferguson was livid. The Barnet manager, Paul fairclough was incolsolable as his 21 year old 'keeper wiped tears from his eyes on the walk to the tunnel. Fairclough then had to substitute Louis Soares for reserve keeper Scott Tynan. The Referee ruined what should have been a memorable night for two young players.

United went on to score from the resulting free kick to rub salt into the open wound. The game was effectively over after 2 minutes. United went on to win 4-1 but that's not the point.

The point is that football should be about the spirit of the game and the application of the laws in that spirit. In this case a yellow card would have been more than enough and if we want to apply the letter of the law every time we don't need subjective referees, computer programs can do that. Referees are there to exercise judgement, in this instance, the complete lack of compassion resulted in a destruction of a contest before it even begun.

Mr. Richard Beeby, you are a disgrace to the refereeing profession..

Full story at http://football.guardian.co.uk/Match_Report/0,1527,1601465,00.html

Notes taken whilst supervising an exam in telecommunications

These 8 people that sit before me are all irish third level students, yet only half of them are Irish. We truly are moving towards a multicultural society at last. 6 of the eight register their country of birth as Ireland. Out of that 6 there is a Luigi and a Said, both of their accents are more Dublin than mine. the remaining two are American and Polish and both are accompanied by the national newspaper, The Irish Times. These young students represent a cross section of our society today who have integrated fully with society and yet retain their ancestral culture. The only real shame is that their taste in music is abysmal. Eminem, 50 Cent, Black Eyed Peas..pfah!

The Irish of more than one generation, the Sean's, Sinead's and Siobhan's are more American than the American. It is them that has the poor taste. It is them that are the MTV generation. It is the immigrants who bring the richer culture. Last month in class someone confessed not to know what Ramadan was. She knows now. Ten years ago she would never have found out. They have been together as a class for 6 long weeks now and they have learnt to take the piss out of each other. Said waits for someone to tell him when the sun goes down and Siobhan throws him a bar of chocolate. The endless Godfather jokes keep getting squarely pointed at Luigi who, on one occasion, unfortunately brought his guitar case to class. Pavel, the pole, constantly reminds the others that he'll be travelling to Germany for the world cup and came in last week in a swiss football shirt to mark the end of Ireland's chances (he knew even though England did beat Poland in their last game no self respecting Paddy would turn up in an England shirt). The American, Charlie, gets constantly barracked about Iraq, last week Said arrived with his scarf around his eyes, crawled to Charlie on two knees and asked him to spare his life.

It is through humour that this ugly tendency for rascism will be quelled. And God knows, this Celtic race is pretty succeptible to humour, after all, look at who the Taoiseach is..

Cuban Baseball and the GAA

Driving home last night with my head full of insomniacal mush that mostly kept driving at 'Why, Why, Why, Why, Why, Why do my window wipers always need replacing when it rains?', Newstalk 106FM, which broadcasts in the greater Dublin area, ran a piece about....

The World Series of Baseball.

And in particular, The Chicago Whitesox. From the Cuban perspective. They had a Cuban sports reporter on, who's name I didn't catch, (I think his first name began with an 'E'!), explaining that because of the communist regime, that there is a news blackout on the world series in Cuba because the Sox have two cuban players who are doing really well!

Well fuck me. Y'see, this is completely contradictory to the Irish mentality. When we have someone who does well in Sport, and when I say say sport what I am really saying is "Sport, and anything that could be stretched definition wise to include Sport in the same sentence" like 'Snooker' for example, and is remotely Irish (qualification under this rule can be stretched as far as having a liking for Irish Coffee's) it's on every newspaper, TV show, Radio show, for at least a month. Because we are normally crap at sports. We're not too bad at the Arts, but we suck big time at sports.

But the Cubans, they don't want the populace knowing that their boys are doing well in the pro's. Because, they don't agree with professional Sport, it's amateur only in Cuba, and that's the way it's going to stay.

Now we can identify with this regime. We have our own Cuban Dictatorship over here. Only we call it the GAA. The Gaelic Athletic Association. GAA is responsible for Gaelic Football and Hurling. Our National Sports. A Sport which draws regular crowds of 80,000+ to provincial and Irish national finals. Tickets for these games are like hen's teeth. The GAA have sponsorship deals with Guinness and Bank of Ireland. They are raking it in. Millions and Millions of Euro every year. The players however get a paltry mileage expense and go back to their job in the Opticians office when Monday comes around.

One or two of these players has seen the light in recent years and headed off to Australia to try their hand at the Aussie version of Gaelic Football. It's roughly the same skillset involved, but it pays. Funny how we never hear how they get on over there.

If Fidel wants to know how to be a little bit more subtle and profitable whilst ripping off the players who provide the drama. Give the GAA a call, they've been cleaning up for well over a hundred years..

Miserable but predictable / Christmas Shopping Conundrum

The one all draw with Spurs at Old Trafford this weekend left a rain soaked Dunshaughlin Village under a bigger cloud than the cirrus and cumulus grey ones that blotted out the yellow sun from which I normally attribute my superpowers. First off I lost my first transatlantic wager when Jermaine Jenas struck a wonderful free kick past Edwin Van Der Saar as United continued with their season long strategy of pressing the self destruct button in the dressing room at half time.

The problem is Portugese. Carlos Quieroz the second in command at Old Trafford is assuming a more prominent role in the post Galzer power struggle. In this mornings guardian he is quoted as saying , "We know if we defend properly and keep a clean sheet there will be chances to score one goal and we can win the game. And after that win we can get another win. More wins lead to more wins and when you have a couple of 1-0 wins they start to become two, three or four. This is the story of the game."

If you listen closely you can hear the evil laugh that follows this outburst. Gone are the swashbuckling days of yore, when the cavalier knights of Salford, cut and thrust their way through defenses all over europe in the glory crusades that led to a European Cup in the Catalan capital. Gone I say, but gone forever? Please God NO!!

You score 2, we'll score 3. You score 3, we'll score 4. That was the battle cry when Ferguson held the reigns. Now it's more methodical, more scientific, more clinical. My ARSE! It's less artistic, less entertaining, less of everything. The word 'more' doesn't belong at Old Trafford, unless the word immediately following it is disappointment!

The curtailing of the adventurous spirit of the Ronaldo's, Van Nistelrooy's and Rooney's will eventually lead to one thing. Another mediocre season in the exhaust fumes of Chelsea.

It's almost Halloween, which means it's almost the changing of the CD in Dublin's retail outlets. Gone will be the easy listening of Norah Jones, Joss Stone, Sheryl Crow and the poppy ditties of Kylie Minogue, Mariah Carey and Westlife. In will be "The Most Irritating unloved and all time schmaltzy Christmas Songs of all time, from the 50's to the 90's and beyond..ever (except for The Pogues and Kirsty Macoll song)" which is available to buy on a 12 CD set from K-Tel, not available in stores, but have your credit card ready and ring this number now..yadda, yadda, yadda!

So this year, I'm not doing it. No siree Bob. Not subjecting my aural receptors to any Christmas Song's No! This year I will either get a small Hindu boy to stealth shop for my Christmas gifts, or better still, not shop for them at all. So how does one actually pull off this anti-consumerism coup!

The Internet is too easy. Going online to shop is still shopping. A cop out. The Post Office came to mind. You can buy gift vouchers for almost everywhere at the Post Office, but, you are still shopping. I know most females would not even attempt to define a visit to the Post Office as Retail therapy of any description but it is technically shopping.

I could become a non Christian. This turning of the back on the Catholic Religon was actually done decades ago when I sloped off from the morning excursion to mass every Sunday to play street football, so the actual declaration of Atheism wouldn't be too unexpected amongst most of my inner sanctum, but it would kill my mother! I'm not going to have blood on my hands in the quest for a Christmas song free festive season.

So What?

Answer is simple. Stay indoors with an imaginery flu from the 24th December to the 1st January. Go to the stores on January second when the poptastic stylings of Mariah Carey et al have been returned to the in store entertainment roster and buy even cheaper Christmas gifts in the January Sales.

In case you haven't twigged, this is all just bravado, I'll cave just like I do every year and give Marie a list and send her into town and then complain when she won't gift wrap them at 2am on Christmas Eve.

Deck the halls with....

Top of the table clash...with Spurs!

Didn't think I'd be writing under this headline anytime this century, but, well, hats off to Martin Jol. The Dutchman has turned Spurs into a half decent team. Any side who has the foresight to bring an albeit slowing Edgar Davids to their team deserves to be where they are. My only disappointment is that a broken metatarsel prohibits Davids and Roy Keane renewing their decade long hostilities at Old Trafford tomorrow.

Instead, Spurs, one point ahead of United in second place will face an almost apathetic United team. The injury list is like a roll call with Giggs, Keane, Saha, Fortune, Solksjaer, Heinze, Neville, Richardson and on the mental disability list you could add Ferdinand, Silvestre, O'Shea and Fletcher. United don't look like a cohesive force anymore. The head of the beast has been severed by a broken metatarsel and the focus, drive, ambition and tanacity of the team has been replaced by a bunch of contract wielding apathetic prima donnas. Only Wayne Rooney and Park Ji Sung look remotely interested in playing football these days. It is for this reason, and the solidity of Spurs' defensive unit with Davids sitting in front of them, that I am predicting a dull drawn affair. Maybe a 1-1, but more than likely a nil all, bah humbug affair.

It is during these dark days of non stop TV football and constant reminders on how good Chelsea are that we of the red fraternity must sit in darkened rooms at 4:52pm consoling ourselves on the back of another Chelsea win and a half hearted drawn game up north. And I'm not just talking about United fans either, the fair city of Liverpool is under the same dark blue cloud, but at least they're used to it...

Champions League Injury hopes

That time again as we lick our International wounds and combine all our 'goat staring' energies in a national telekinetic energy force to cripple England's World Cup hopes. WE now support every single team in Germany 2006, except, of course England.

Not one to wish physical harm on another human being, except if he has a fundamental part to play in either Chelsea winning the Premiership or England doing the unthinkable and winning the World Cup.

Step forward John Terry..

Now if he was to do his cruciate ligament a serious tear (I'm not looking for a broken leg here, so my conscience is clear.) in tomorrow nights champions league encounter with Real Betis, I don't think there'd be many tears shed in Dublin. Or for that matter, Manchester. Even though it would be a serious blow to the English assault on the world cup, I think United fans would put club before country.

Terry, I feel at this stage, is the only true irreplacable in Chelsea's line up. If they keep him fit, I fear the worse, and with him going from strength to strength with the national team I fear another 1966, and I ain't talking about another historic Dylan tour...

They should roll Betis tomorrow. Roll em like eleven drunks coming out of a 4am dive bar. It should be beyond simple for them. Manchester United have a tricky enough tie, without the boy wonder (Wayne Rooney) it's time for the ancillary players to take centre stage and Cristiano Ronaldo, it's your time. Your place. Your Carpe Dieum moment.

Liverpool's european form should see them dispose of lowly Anderlecht and even with Cisse's 12 misses per game average, he should get at least 14 chances so I'm predicting a 2-0 scouse victory.

Fingers crossed for injuries to any or all of the following. Terry, Lampard, Beckham, Gerrard, Carragher, Joe Cole. Later on in May we'd be looking for minor setbacks for Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, and Gary Neville. That should be more than enough to guarantee a non english world cup winner...

Dunphy for Manager!

Last night after another lacklustre, actually, lacklustre is a gross understatement, from Ireland it is now blatantly obvious that Brian Kerr must go. He doesn't have the motivational skills to manage a team of athletes to their highest potential.

So who does?

What about Eamo?

He hinted at the end of last nights broadcast that he'd be interested. He has the coaching qualifications. I say give him a bash.

I didn't forsee turning this site into a campaign, but, hey, thats what it needs. So get posting and record your comments. We'll pass them on to the media and maybe the FAI can redeem themselves. Who knows, pigs may fly!

Judgement Night in Dublin!

Don't play this down. There's a lot more at stake tonight than qualification for Germany 2006. If we don't get a play off spot tonight (and we need a win Mister Kerr, none of your famous draws will do tonight), we are being relegated to the doldrums. We become an also ran in FIFA's eyes and our seeding position for tournaments going forward drop a level, making it harder and harder to realise our ambitions for God knows how long.

A word of warning! Look at Northern Ireland. In 1982 and 1986 they qualified for two world cups, but successive failures immediately afterwards means they are ranked alongside Cyprus (who we barely beat last weekend) and Malta. Their groups have been tougher than tough since the 90's and now they are talked of in nostalgia terms only.

There but for the grace of God go...

"Completely out of sorts without the talismanic Roy Keane". How often have we heard that? Switzerland came from behind against France to earn a 1-1 draw on Saturday. They look like we did 4 years ago, but now we are "completely out of sorts wi..."

Compounding the scale of the task is also the injury to Damien Duff, add to this the dire loss of form of Tottenham's Robbie Keane, and the 9 journeymen who make up the numbers and we're in deep shit.

We're gonna need a heluva lot more than the famous Lansdowne roar to stem a confident Swiss team tonight.

I fear the worst, but then again, I always do...

A Return to the United of Old! / Cyprus Weekend

I sat down, albeit with an unusually heightened sense of aprehension, on Saturday afternoon to watch United take on Fulham at Craven Cottage. Now, normally, I should be sans worry when a Manchester United team take on a struggling Fulham side in the premiership. But as recent posts have detailed, United's strict adherence to a disastrously negative 4-5-1 formation is grounds for grave concern.

Imagine, the communal sigh of relief accross the global village when immediately after kick off, it was glaringly obvious that we had switched back to the attacking winged 4-4-2 formation that every United fan had been campaigning for since the season's start in August. Then Fulham went and scored in the second minute!

What sort of God of Sport is mocking me! This was the very point Alex Ferguson had been consistently making. That 4-5-1 protects the defensive unit. He seemed, almost immediately to have been justified. However, I was determined to stay true to my beliefs, and, exercise what few United fans had been exercising in the last few months, belief. Belief in the proven system of yore.

It wasn't long before dividends were reaped. The game was so much more entertaining. Giggs and the Korean Park, had given us the width that was missing, whilst Rooney tormented a defense that admittedly was struggling from the time they went ahead. After 25 minutes we were level. Park was upended in the box and Van Nistelrooy cooly stroked the penalty home. Two minutes later Wayne 'Golden Boy' Rooney, put us ahead afetr a sublime build up of one touch football on the edge of the area. Hands were now placed firmly behind the head, legs were crossed and a smug 'I told you so' demeanour must have been evident on every United fan in Christendom.

Then Rio Ferdinand reminded us why he will never live up to his 30 million price tag by 'forgetting' to clear a simple free kick. Level again. But we were still great to watch. A draw against Fulham would not do, but we were better, we afforded the opposition more space, granted, but we exploited more space behind them. I'd watch this anyday, and it got better.

Rooney picked out Park's run down the right hand side with a pass that split the defense, he squared to Van Nistelrooy who put us ahead again. This is what football should be like. This is the way the Ajax team of the 70's played. This was how it should be played.

The second half brought more chances and the game could've ended up 8-7. It ended up 3-2 in United's favour, and it wasn't just the result that counted, it was, how my father used to say, how you played the game. Saturday was good.

Sometime contributer, and Totenham Hotspur fan, Timothy Bracy, could also be excited with the way Spurs went about their business against second place Charlton. Coming from 2-0 down to win 3-2, with Irish substitute Robbie Keane grabbing a late winner, definitely made for the match of the weekend, and Spurs are looking at their best season in a dogs age, and could very easily oust a particularly mediocre Liverpool team for a Champions League spot next year.

A break from the premiership now for 2 weeks, with Internationals taking centre stage and Ireland in need of two wins from Cyprus on Saturday and Switzerland the following Wednesday. The ramifications of non qualification would mean we slip down the FIFA seedings and would be hard pushed to qualify as 3rd seeds for the next European Championships and World Cup. The days of wine and roses may well be behind us...