Keane and Irish soccer team bring out the best and worst in fans
Man 1: Well, Iām with Roy Keane, anyway.
Man 2: Of course you are. You always are. Roy says this, Roy says that and it seems that you canāt even think for yourself, you blindly take whatever position Roy takes.
Man 1: Itās because heās right, because he thinks what I think but is one of the few people man enough to say it in this politically correct age when you canāt say anything in case you offend people.
Man 2: Say what thatās so brave? Slag people enough for having a good time, for being happy like the Irish fans in Poland who made the most of things? Because he wallows in what āmight have beensā, because he has unreal expectations for what this country can do?
Man 1: So are you happy with the way the Irish team played in the Euros?
Man 2: No, but Iām realistic enough to know that our players werenāt good enough, that weāre a very small country with a small playing pool and that itās made worse by the numbers playing Gaelic football, hurling, rugby and a host of other sports. In fact, I think it is remarkable that we do so well.
Man 1: Excuses, excuses. This small population mullarkey is just a cop-out. Greece has only 11m people and the country is bust and they won the Euros in 2004, and they might just beat the Germans tonight because theyāre organised and proud. They didnāt go out of their group with a whimper, they beat the Russians. And before you tell me about hurling and the rest, they have a massive interest in basketball and other sports. And Croatia only has our population and they beat us easily.
Man 2: We do well with what we have but we never had a World Cup group like the one we had this time in the Euros. And when we won and drew a game in 1988 it was with the best pool of players we ever had, all of whom were playing at the top level in England unlike the lot we have now.
Man 1: Well that might be true but it hardly justified all of the singing and dancing on the terraces in Poland did it? It was embarrassing, all the āyouāll never beat the Irishā rubbish when everyone was beating us out the gate. And then to get patronised by everybody, with all the āarenāt the Irish the greatest fans in the world?ā guff, as we looked like a bunch of eejits with no ambition for ourselves and no belief or pride in ourselves? Roy was right.
Man 2: Oh, so what did you want our fans to do? Riot? Fight? All credit to the fans that they remained good-humoured in adversity. That takes real character, instead of sulking. They were admired across Europe for taking it on the chin.
Man 1: Thatās it, the compliant Irish, just like our Government is getting done at present by the EU over the economy.
Man 2: Sometimes you just have to suck it up.
Man 1: Or suck up like that John Delaney bloke in the FAI? Have you been listening to him? He wants a special award from UEFA for our fans, to be acknowledged for being great losersā¦
Man 2: Thatās not what he saidā¦
Man 1: Itās close enough. I heard him on Today FM last week looking for UEFA to recognise the fans with an award because he says the FAI gets fined if the fans do anything wrong, so why not give them something for doing it all right? What does he want? To be the ninth team in the quarter-finals, like he was mocked for wanting to be the 33rd team at the last World Cup?
Man 2: The fans did not deserve to be slagged off by Roy Keane.
Man 1: They werenāt. But it seems now that you canāt say anything critical of the fans, even those who were off their heads drunk. And John Delaney isnāt exactly setting a good example is he?
Man 2: What are you on about now? How can you blame Delaney for some fans for getting drunk?
Man 1: Well this is the man who launched a drink aware, safe drinking campaign before the Euros but who goes partying at every away match, drinking away and buying drink for all around him.
Man 2: Are you that much of a prude that you wonāt allow a man enjoy a drink?
Man 1: Look at the videos on YouTube and tell me if you think itās all right. Go back to Estonia when heās leading a raucous sing sing in the pubā¦
Man 2: So singing is a crime too now is it, as well as having a drink?
Man 1: Itās about how many. Itās about what it says about the chief executive of the FAI that he is photographed with big red eyes on himā¦
Man 2: It could have been the flashā¦
Man 1: It wasnāt and in any case hear him on the videos, cursing and swearing and playing the big man by buying drinks for the little people.
Man 2: The little people, is that what you call the fans? Do you want Delaney to be aloof from them like some sort of toff, a member of the officer class among the plebs? The fans clearly love the fact that heās one of them. They donāt feel let down.
Man 1: Heās a Bertie, thatās what he is. Copper-fastening his power by buying drink for everyone at the circus.
Man 2: Well, at least Delaney was there, among the people. And donāt forget your friend Roy walked away ten years ago, didnāt see out the job at the World Cup.
Man 1: Thatās outrageous, Roy didnāt walk, he was thrown out by Mick McCarthy.
MAN 2: Wrong. Thatās typical of you Roy loyalists, changing the truth to suit yourselves. Keane told journalists only a month ago that nobody threw him out, he left.
Man 1: And he came back later to play under Brian Kerr. He came back because he loves Ireland.
Man 2: And would you have him manage the team now? What sort of manager would he be given what happened at Sunderland and Ipswich?
Man 1: He got Sunderland promotedā¦
Man 2: You canāt buy players at international level. You have to work with what you have. You have to be able to get on with people, not slag then. He said he would have dropped all 11 players who started against Spain for the match with Italy. How stupid is that? Hereās what his team would have been: Westwood, Kelly, McShane, OāDea, Hunt, Green, Gibson, McClean, Long, Walters, Doyle. That would have been brilliant, wouldnāt it? Two left wingers, three strikers and only three defenders, including Paul McShane. Thatās just nonsense talk.
Man 1: He didnāt mean it like that.
Man 2: How do you know? Of course, he thinks what you think. You used to be like that with Dunphy too. Well what do you think about what he had to say about Keane this week? Go onto your beloved YouTube and have a look at what Dunphy said about Keane in 2004 just before Alex Ferguson had to get rid of him because of what Keane had said slagging off United players. It was on RTE and Dunphy thought Keane was greatest. And ask yourself why even Dunphy has given up on Keane, why he no longer believes.
Man 1 (smiles): Roy got the tackles in first in his tv analysis after the Spanish match. Heās quicker to the ball these days. He wasnāt a tv competitor when Dunphy loved him.
* The Last Word with Matt Cooper is broadcast on 100-102 Today FM, Monday to Friday, 4.30pm to 7pm.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
