Staunton fiasco - We should be so ruthless with ministers

STEVE STAUNTON is gone and those who appointed him lined up the firing squad as soon as it was apparent that the consequences of their rash appointment would soon have an impact on their own security.

A decent and well-liked man, like most of his predecessors, Staunton has been dumped after 21 months, despite all the FAI’s “emphatic” promises that he would “absolutely” serve a four-year term.

All of this embarrassing, humiliating, dishonourable shambles despite — as well as because of — Staunton’s managerial inexperience.

The FAI have acknowledged their shabby part in the affair by conceding that they will subcontract someone, as yet unknown, to identify prospective candidates for the accursed position. Just like so many of our government ministers, the FAI have decided that they cannot discharge one of their primary duties — the organisation and management of our national team. You can hear the cries when it comes time to axe the next man: “We sought the best advice and followed it, we can do no more...”

Though the FAI have developed a keen and effective sense of spin, the hide-and-seek nature of Tuesday night’s farce, culminating in an announcement of Staunton’s sacking just before the dawn yesterday, once again showed the organisation in a poor light.

This is surprising as the organisation has such tremendous experience in dumping national team managers. After all, most of the bureaucrats involved have had several opportunities to learn how to dismiss managers with dignity. A pity they did not avail of them.

This pantomime could remain on the sports pages if it did not reflect so badly on us as a nation. Allied to the very poor showing of our rugby team at the World Cup, we have once again damaged our reputation and credibility internationally.

It is not that we expect to win world cups or European championships. However, we do expect our representatives to bring endeavour, dignity and credibility to their performances, qualities sadly absent in the most recent adventures of our soccer and rugby teams.

Messers Kerr, McCarthy — and indeed Gatland — may offer Staunton a shoulder to cry on but they are unlikely to assuage the anger he will feel at being one of the few Irish managers to have had to face the consequences of unacceptable performances by his charges.

A series of government ministers try to convince us each day that black is white and that they have nothing to do with the performance of their departments.

Outside of politics Staunton, an exemplary player for Ireland, will look with envy at rugby coach Eddie O’Sullivan. Despite having unlimited power and resources — as well as some decent international players — his World Cup performance was at least as poor as Staunton’s, yet he is still, amazingly, cock of the walk.

Our Taoiseach expresses justifiable outrage at the failings of our health system, our educational system and transport bungling. His outrage is seen for what it is — cynical, party-piece gesturing and phoney — because it is expressed as if the failures were nothing to do with him.

As if the Bertie Ahern in charge for the last 10 years was someone other than the decent fella from Drumcondra, up in the Hogan Stand watching the Dubs. Like the FAI, he cannot see the link between authority and delivering acceptable performance.

Most of our ministers have been at the cabinet table for a decade or so but the prospect of one of them being removed because their department is not delivering is as remote as the prospect of Eddie O’Sullivan taking over the soccer team.

If we are to salvage something from this sorry mess it might be that if we bring some of the passion we reserve for sport to matters of much greater importance we might not have to endure a government as arrogant and as smug in its inefficiencies as we do.