IN the end it might have been the worst kept secret but after 113 days of waiting we were more than happy when Giovanni Trapattoni let the cat out of the bag hours ahead of the FAI’s big announcement that the 68 year-old Italian had agreed to become the manager of the Republic of Ireland and for me at least it was music to the ears.
This man’s record as a manager is second to none. It is quite simple staggering, over 34 years as a top manager, in that period he has won no less than 22 trophies as a club manager as well as guiding Italy to a world cup (where they reached the last eight) and a European Championships.
He is also, unlike most of the other candidates whose names were continuously leaked to the media, very much in the game and pictures of him training with his team in Salzburg showed that he is a very fit and lively man for one who will turn 69 on St Patrick’s Day, a good omen or what.
For the FAI this coup, and that is what this is, has been an absolute Godsend. Over the years they have it seemed bundled from one mess to the next and one mistake to the other but this time around they have done everything right and have come out smelling of roses. John Delaney was like a cat that got the cream on Wednesday evening and fair play to him. He deserves this for all he has done for Irish football. This is a huge shot in the arm not just for the FAI but for Irish football. Of course it doesn’t follow that just because we have landed ourselves a top class manager that success will follow side by side. But it does give us a great chance.
I can’t help though but believe that now finally the ball has been landed squarely in the players court. With the last two managers coming in for so much stick from the media and every quarter it seemed to take the heat off the play-ers, now my friends that safety net has been removed and now the time has come for the players to stand up and be counted. The FAI have done their part by getting them just about as good a manager as they could have hoped for and now it is time for them to deliver.
Unlike some people I think we have a very good squad of players and now hopefully ‘Trap’ will get the best out of them, something which definitely didn’t happen under Kerr and Staunton and let the glory days return to Irish soccer.
O’BRIEN’S GESTURE
One thing that I thought took the gloss off what should have been a momentous day for Irish soccer was the hoopla that surrounded the donation of half the wages of the new coach and his assistant by billionaire businessman Denis O’Brien.
You’d swear the way people reacted that he had done something wrong. Instead of castigating him and asking (as one paper did on it’s front page on Thursday) ‘what’s in it for Denis?’ We should be show-ering him with thanks.
John Delaney made it quite clear in his statement that Ireland would not have gone for someone of the quality of Mr Trapattoni if they had not got the commitment of this money from Denis O’Brien. Therefore we would have been paying peanuts and you know what you get when you pay those.
To get someone of this calibre you need to splash the cash and so thanks Mr O’Brien. Also I think people are forgetting that the money that the FAI will save (at least 3-4 million euro) will now be able to be ploughed back into the game at the grassroots level and so everyone’s a winner.
I was waiting for it all day and then it came on the Vincent Browne show on TV3 that night when he asked Denis O’Brien would it not be better giving the money to a charity instead of spending it on a wealthy football manager.
I thought O’Brien gave a good answer when he said that a lot of people prefer to donate to charity in private. It’s his money for God’s sake, it’s up to him what he does with it. Would it not be a lot worse if he was blowing it on drugs or such likes. Begrudgery raising it’s ugly head in Ireland once again. Fair play to him I say.
CORK BACK IN BUSINESS At long last it looks like we have come to the end of the strike in Cork. Thank God because I for one am sick of it. You can’t go anywhere without it being talked about it and it will be great to finally move on and talk about something else, maybe even Cork playing a match. Wouldn’t that be something?
I must admit that when I heard that the County Board had voted to enter binding arbitration I thought it was a very clever move on their part.
It was the only way of getting rid of Teddy Holland with out getting rid of him but in the end Mr Holland wasn’t willing to walk and in the end the county board had to remove him on Monday night.
I was though very worried that the players would not follow the County Board into the binding arbitration but thankfully they did and Mr Mulvey rightly said that the only way forward was for the football management to walk off into sunset. Could they be the only management team to be relieved of their duties without a ball being kicked?
The sad part about it is that a lot of people, especially outside Cork, seem to be blaming the Cork players for everything and labelling them as ‘spoilt’ and ‘trouble makers.’ I think that this is very unfair and wrong. These are a great bunch of players and have done great things for the GAA not just in Cork but on a national level as well.
They have gone through hell in all this but sometimes you just have to stand up for what you believe. Remember too that without the players the GAA would be nothing. There would be no GAA.
KAUTO STAR FRIGHT
Did you see Kauto Star’s performance when winning at Ascot on Saturday? Brilliant or what. National Hunt racing is all about super stars and watching them perform at their best and this fella sure is a superstar.
There was of course a big scare on Saturday night when news filtered out that the had injured himself in the race, was lame and was a doubt for next month’s Gold Cup. However, Paul Nicholls dismissed such rumours on Sunday saying that it was just a minor infection and nothing to worry about. Good luck to the punters who got 4-1 on betfair Saturday night. Roll on Cheltenham when Kauto will lock horns with stable mate Denman. Should be some battle but for me Kauto is still the Star.
