Angry fans
FOUR MORE foreign games approved for Croke Park by Central Council for 2008, (friendlies no less). It appears that it’s money over values at this stage. -
THE ORIGINAL Congress motion was on the basis that it was for competitive games only, to stop Irish teams going overseas to play important games. These friendlies are purely about making money and we are again helping a competing sports organisation to generate unprecedented profits from games. I was against opening up Croke Park, but once we ceded the point, well I’m not too bothered about what games are played. Plus they have started on their new HQ so it’s not going to be a permanent arrangement. -
I’m with you on this one, Scalder. The original decision to open up Croke Park was a bit like losing your virginity. You can only do it once and it’s harder to refuse a second time. I hear that one of the games may be against the New Zealand All Blacks. As a concession to the GAA traditionalists will they replace their Haka war dance with a version of ‘The Walls of Limerick’ or tog out in the all-black Sligo strip?
I DON’T know why the guys in Croke Park bother making the place available for soccer or rugby internationals. A pitch where the ball skips, jumps and bobbles is not suitable for football. It’s fine for GAA where players walk with the ball and belt each other. A stadium where the spectators are forty yards from the action is not suitable for football. Ihave been to several of the big stadia around the world, so would be able to tell the difference. You don't need to be a consultant to realise that Croke Park is not up to scratch compared to other grounds
What other grounds do you have in mind Beckman? Maybe the Shamrock Rovers one in Miltown, on the Southside of Dublin, which was turned into an apartment complex? Or the unfinished Rovers place out in Tallaght? Then, there’s Dalymount and Tolka Park that are being sold to developers and will soon enough go the same way as the legendary Miltown? Would you rather the GAA had turned you down, leaving you to host soccer internationals at, say, the luxurious Richmond Park beyond in Inchicore? Comments like yours make some GAA people sorry we ever opened up Croker to other sports.
AMID ALL the people tripping over themselves to fawn nonsensically about Croker being the best stadium in Europe, a few points should be noted. Croker doesn't have ANY public transport infrastructure whatsoever. The City of Manchester Stadium has 10,000 parking spaces. Croker has about 20 for the office staff.
You can hardly expect Danny Lynch or An tArd Stiúrthóir Liam O or his successor – I wonder who that’ll be? – to cycle in and out to work? They need that modest number of car parking spaces. Croke Park is almost a city centre stadium. It’s a relatively short walk from Bus Aras, Connolly Station, the Luas line and thousands of car parking spaces. Whenever the new Metro is built in Dublin it should include a station very near Croker and a lot more use could be made of the Drumcondra Irish Rail station on big match days. We could also do with more park-and-ride facilities on the outskirts of Dublin linked with more shuttle buses.
HOW COME the GAA recently opened its doors to adidas for a photo opportunity in Croke Park but won't give them a licence to produce kits for counties and clubs? Surely now that Croke Park is open to foreign sports, it can also be opened to foreign kit manufacturers?
A fair question. But, then, consistency is not something Dis Great Association of Ours is sometimes noted for. The GAA are skating on thin ice on this issue.. The restriction on ‘non Irish’ kit is clearly against EU law but no one has dared challenge it … yet. Luckily for Croke Park, the man in charge of this kind of thing in Brussels is Kildare’s Biggest Official Football Fan, Monsieur Charlie McCreevy, so they might just get away with it.
NOW THAT Páidí is gone, good luck to Seamus Clancy or Noel Roche or whoever else takes it on the job of Clare football manager. They will certainly need it. Although things can hardly get worse after the disaster that has been P O S. I was happy with his appointment as I thought it would encourage everybody to get involved because of his track record, particularly as a player, but the whole experience turned into an unmitigated disaster.At the league game in Carlow I was very surprised that he didn’t seem to know the names of any of the players. His only tactic seemed to be ‘Will ye get rid of the damn thing’. Whoever gets the job needs to get the commitment of clubs and particularly players, something that now appears to be lacking.
There seems to be some problems with an East versus West footballing divide in Clare. In that case, maybe Condoleeza Rice could broker an agreement between the two sides next time she stops over at Shannon for a Gaelic coffee. Nor does the county have a proper system for scouting new talent at club level. It’s sometimes alleged that merely average players from clubs like Kilrush or Miltown Malbay could get their place on the county side ahead of better players from the likes of Shannon or Ennis. That’s an obstacle even the Great Paw D Himself couldn’t overcome, despite all those All Ireland medals jangling in his pockets.
SO NOW, who’s in favour of scrapping the Under 21 championships? The recent Leinster under 21 hurling final Dublin versus Offaly was one of the best games of hurling we’ll see this year. The football final earlier in the year was equally impressive. The GAA hierarchy should keep their grubby hands of the Under 21 !!
Scrapping the Under 21 competitions is not the solution to player ‘burnout’ that some people imagine. Another GAA example of ‘If ain’t broke … leave the damn thing alone!’ Yes, the Dublin Under 21 hurling victory seems to have been a truly memorable evening. Apparently, grown men were seen to cry afterwards. Though it’s not clear if they were success-starved Dub hurling followers or Biffos facing a dreary drive home toTullamore or Banagher. Allied to a good run by their Seniors, Dublin have a Leinster ‘double’ at Minor and Under 21 this year. Many neutrals would love to see them top those achievements with an All Ireland. But don’t forget. Wexford won Leinster Under 21 titles in 2001 and 2002 and look at their current predicament at senior level.
AFTER SPENDING millions on doing up Semple Stadium would you not think the Munster Council could have spared some money to put in proper toilets? I had my young son with me at the Munster final and the crush into the Gents under the Old Stand at half time was positively dangerous.
Was that the new Old Stand or the old New Stand at Thurles? Apart from the toilets, they need to fix the names on the stands to avoid confusion. I remember that Sunday under Ardán O Coinneáin (old Old Stand) and there was a huge squash at half time. But then some lad who must be a county council engineer in his day job took over and got everyone to adopt an unofficial one way traffic system. They need to build them bigger and put in more exits and entrances.
AFTER THE awarding of a totally unjust penalty to the Galway footballers on Saturday, I think that there’s an urgent need for our forward thinking GAA officials to introduce a video referee. The GAA have overcome greater stumbling blocks that have presented themselves in the past such as the controversial opening of Croke Park to other sports. It’s a logical progression, and one assumes there would be no such opposition, or similar taboo-ism as in the Croke Park issue. What’s the delay?
That penalty decision almost turned the game against Meath but they won out in the end – deservedly. A video referee might reduce the week in week controversies over scores or non-scores. But I wonder how it would work in practice. Instead, how about putting a little microchip inside the ball that would emit a clear sound when it penetrated an electronic field between the goal posts? The signal could even update the scoreboard automatically. Then everyone in the ground would know if it was a score or not.
MANY YEARS ago Mick Holden of Dublin went to a team mate rolling around on the ground, pulled him to his feet, shouted at him to get on with playing the game and stop his antics. Micheal O'Hehir commented that he wished other players would do likewise and thereby eliminate the theatrics. Players should realise that they are on the field (like all the other players) to represent their county and play a game and not to shout into the faces of other players who are only trying to do their best in representing their county. Mick Holden showed the way which many of our present day players can follow with profit. The "heat of the moment" excuse is also unacceptable. Teams and players of the past went through many heated moments. Such moments never led to "shout in your face" antics.
goes to Scalder for his sensible comments on the once highly controversial topic of opening up Croke Park to rugby and soccer internationals.
