Need to unite in our football goals

In relation to the coaching structure the Germans have, it is definitely something that the Republic of Ireland need to copy and implement. However, there are certain issues that will impact on us following the German model, albeit on a much smaller scale.

(1) This country has a massive following for four sports: (both codes of the GAA, rugby and soccer) and soccer is competing with two much better organised associations in the GAA and IRFU. It could even be argued that the brilliantly-run amateur boxing scene is making inroads on soccer in the traditional soccer working class areas of Dublin and Cork.

(2) The domestic league is in a constant crisis: Much of this problem can be laid at the incompetent FAI, but the so-called Irish soccer public needs to take a lot of the blame also. The Setanta Cup was in my opinion the forerunner for a possible all-Irish league. Attendances were poor at games and it probably has ended any hope of there being an All-Ireland league. Many of the Irish soccer fans only give a damn about what is happening at Anfield, Old Trafford or the Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. They don’t care about what is happening at Turner’s Cross or at Tallaght Stadium, with the result that clubs have no money to invest in proper coaching for6-year-olds upwards. Ideally, the FAI would implement a national schoolboy league, where the best young lads in Cork play for Cork City and each club would have a UEFA Pro Licence Coach working with the kids in each age group, but given the lack of money in the game in this country, this is about as realistic as Burnley being crowned Premier League Champions come next May. Which leads me to the next and arguably the biggest problem...