Saipan the catalyst to Menton’s departure

LIKE Mick McCarthy, the end of Brendan Menton’s tenure was not a case of if but when.

As with the former manager, the fate of the economist who rose through the footballing ranks to become chief executive of the Football Association of Ireland, was decided on a less than exotic island, a week prior to the World Cup.

It was the catalyst to close a chapter in an entire life which is steeped in football. His father, the late Dr Brendan was co-founder of Home Farm FC, the most successful underage club in the country. He worked his way to the top post, merging his career as an economist with his love of the game, which he played until injury prematurely ended his career in the 1970s.