A WORTHY CAUSE?

I publish this one hour since Northern Ireland's 2-1 defeat to Estonia in Belfast. One long, lonely, depressingly quiet hour (improved marginally by Montenegro's equaliser against England) to let the result at Windsor Park sink in.

The Green and White Army are in complete disarray.  (Michael O'Neill of Shamrock Rovers - are you watching?)

Whilst 2 wins in 22 may tell it's own tale, there have many contributing factors in Northern Ireland's spiralling fortunes of late. For example, take in the apparent increase in defections form the Northern pool of talent to the South. Take in the cry-off's from the likes of Kyle Lafferty who conveniently withdraws from the NI squad to play Serbia and Estonia, yet only to net the winner three days later for his club Rangers. Barring Lawrie's spat with George McCartney, our former expectation-less manager had it easy.

I myself, saw this belly-flop finale from Nigel Worthington's lads coming since the Faroe Islands back in October 2010.  It was that abysmal 1-1 result against Brian Kerr's minnows that highlighted all that is wrong with Northern Ireland under Nigel's leadership.  A defensive display in Italy or Spain can be excused, but to go to the mighty Faroe's with such tactics is nothing short of international footballing suicide.

At that moment Nigel's intentions were clear... "Should we score then, defend what we have."  It was an idea based on the great Arsenal sides of the 80's and 90's. "One-nil to the Ar-sen-il" was the frequent chant at Highbury.  The difference being though, Arsenal had the quality to back this footballing philosophy up. Northern Ireland simply don't.

As one of Northern Ireland's greatest ever left-backs, Nigel Worthington will go down as one of his country's most decorated players to wear the green and white shirt.  As the country's 9th most capped player with 66 appearances he can quite rightly be proud of his record.   It was unfortunate to listen to some of the home support calling out for the return of former manager Lawrie Sanchez to the fold. A cry for help, and some people turn to our greatest ever turncoat, second only to Darron Gibson.  These so called fans were quick to forget Sanchez's loyalty to his country whenever Fulham FC came calling.  From that perspective, Nigel's loyalty to Northern Ireland has been impeccable.  Yet, the Ballymena man has found it almost impossible to follow up on the days of Lawrie's legends doing a David versus Goliath job on the international giants of Spain, Sweden and England.

The placards of "Nigel Out" being waved around Windsor Park following the final whistle in the 2-1 dedeat to minnow Estonia however come as no surprise.  The fans frustration was always going to boil over into something a little more than a rant on the Nolan Show.  Yet, whilst this "Nigel Out" mentality resonates throughout large numbers of the green and white army, I do note the strong support for Nigel within large sections of the fan base.  It's an approval however that doesn't shout Nigel's approval, but instead nod's.

The problem for Nigel is, no-one can hear the nods.

THE WILD SLIGO ROVER UPSETS THE ODDS

The very first FAI Cup Final at the Aviva Stadium was a battle of the Rovers; Sligo and Shamrock.

A far from eventful game went all the way to 'peno's' (otherwise known as a penalty shoot-out) with Sligo Rovers goalkeeper Ciarán Kelly becoming a hero for the night saving a remarkable FOUR penatlies in total to deny league champions Shamrock Rovers a much anticipated 'Double'.

Not the greatest advertisement for the local game but the 36,101 in attendance is truly astonishing.  A phenomenal turn-out from the locals - many of whom didn't support either Sligo or Shamrock Rovers!

But for me, a special mention must go out to the Northern contingent from 'the Hoops'. Alan Mannus and Tommy Stewart in-particular can count themselves very unlucky not to have been selected for Nigel Worthington's Northern Ireland squad.  Certainly, both are due a call-up considering the amount of the expected withdrawals from the squad from next Wednesday's visit of African outfit Morocco.

And as it pains me to say it, I too will be absent from Windsor Park for the up-and-coming friendly international.

"Thigh strain..."

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PS: Have to point out... there were an awful lot of neutrals in attendance today (a good thing for the local leagues IMO).  However the two lads in-front of me (not exactly 'soccer buffs' as the GAA gear might suggest) headed home after 90 mins of FAI Cup Final itself. Clearly thought the game was going to a replay...


Oh dear...


Foreign games eh?

SPIRIT OF '82 CAN SINK ITALIAN RISING

25th June 2010 - This day marks 28 years since Northern Ireland upset hosts Spain at World Cup '82. 

"A match straight out of a Boy's Own comic. Arguably the best performance by a British team in any World Cup.  Needing to beat the Spaniards to reach the second stage, Northern Ireland took the lead two minutes in the second half, when goalkeeper Luis Arkonada could only push out a low cross and Gerry Armstrong fired it back underneath him.




As if playing the hosts wasn't hard enough, the Irish had to face a Paraguayan referee who hadn't taken charge of an international for two years. With half an hour to go, he sent off Mal Donaghy for a push. But veteran keeper Pat Jennings was cool as ever, and the ten men held out. Northern Ireland couldn't have picked a better time, a more vibrant night, to record their first win over Spain."

So, 28 years later, to quote the Scots, "When Will We See Your Likes Again?"

Certainly not this year anyway as our lack of World Cup participation might suggest.  However, last night saw the astonishing exit from this years competition by current World champions Italy.  Northern Ireland can take great satisfaction especially seeing as it was the much under-rated Slovakians who put the final nail in the Italian coffin.  It was Slovakia who topped the Northern Ireland group for qualification.  Wins in Bratislava and Belfast went a long way to assuring their progression to this years World Cup finals and last nights win over Italy certainly wouldn't have come as a surprise to supporters from the Emerald Isle.

But what next for Northern Ireland?  Should expectations from the Green & White Army take on an even greater significance having seen arguably both their toughest opponents in the up-and-coming Euro 2012 qualifiers; Serbia, and now Italy eliminated in the first round?  The end of the road is clearly within range for an ageing Italian side still very much living off the spirit of Marco Materazzi's 'gift of the gab' in THAT match against France in 2006.  And as for Serbia, for me they have been a big let-down in South Africa.  My decision to stick a few sneaky quid on them at partybets.com completely back-fired.

Which brings me back to Nigel Worthington's men.  Hot off the heels of another ever-improving, yet unsuccessful qualifying campaign, Northern Ireland can go into September's qualifiers with a considerable level of confidence.  The Italians should be treated like a wounded animal - be wary, but be ruthless. 

As many have found out to their detriment in the past, Windsor Park is not the ideal place to try and pick up points as you try and pick up the pieces from a shocking World Cup campaign.  Just ask the Spanish.

BLATTER TAKES THE PISS

Just when we thought the whole elligability row over Northern born footballers representing the Republic of Ireland had been put to bed once and for all, up pops the man in charge of football's world governing body FIFA Sepp Blatter to add to tuppence worth to the debate. The latest can of worms has been well and truly ripped opened this week and you have to wonder, what motivated the outburst?

To quote Blatter "As the Fifa legal committee understood the issue, the situation in Northern Ireland is such that all Northern Irish players could opt to play for both Association teams, given that they have a birthright to an Irish passport."

So there you are, Northern Ireland-born players can now opt to represent the Republic of Ireland if we are to take the comment at face value. NI's football association, the IFA, now get the opportunity to get young players involved in football, train them up and make them potential superstars of the game. And the punchline? Well, the FAI, who represent football in the Republic reap what the IFA have sowed. The Northern Ireland player defects to the Republic and the IFA are left to pick up the pieces. An Ireland of equals, and all that...

But only time will tell whether there will be more Darron Gibson or Mark Wilson's of the world or whether those who have thought about switching actually reverse their decision to do so as reflected in cases involving Michael O'Connor and Tony Kane. One thing is for sure, allowing players to pick and choose what side of the border they want to play in simply isn't feasable. A return to the 50's and 60's methods of both associations naming themselves 'Ireland' and choosing from the whole island made a mockery of international football on the island, and FIFA soon copped on. My advice to Sepp Blatter would be to take a step back and think about the situation for a while instead of bringing politics into it. To put in plain footballing terms, border's are there for a reason - to distinguish footballing nations from one another. There is a border in Ireland (whether you agree or disagree, that is not the issue) and associations must repect that. The FAI and IFA must work closer together on this issue and should the current Northern defections continue without FIFA santions imposed then surely the IFA should make sure there is some kind of compensation scheme put in place. That way at least when Northern Ireland lose a player to the Republic, they will be rewarded with coaching expenses etc.

But then again FIFA's official statement mentioned that the Gibson case was a 'one-off' and that in order to be eligable for a country the player must have lived in the country for at least two years or had a grandparent from that country, of which incidentally Gibson met neither condition.

So who do we believe, FIFA? Or the man in charge of FIFA?

You decide.

UP THE DUBS!!!!

Well, it's been over a year since I last blogged. And, me oh my how time flies. For a start I'm now no longer a Belfast-boy living in Liverpool studying journalism. That's because as of 17/08/08 (my birthday) I'm a Belfast-man now residing in... wait for it... DUBLIN! Ha. Yes, the big-smoke has yet another 'Nordie' to put up with these days - times, they are a-changin' folks. So far I have found the locals to be very warm and hospitable, but I have to admit the language barrier has been a real pain in the ass sometimes! Who would have known 'dowidzenia' means 'hello' in Irish? Not me, that's for sure.

On a serious note, I found getting set up with a job extremely difficult. I mean where do I start? I chose not to aim high from the start, and instead opted for the like's of Spar, HMV etc. just to get started. Even had an interview with Centra on Camden Street (I worked in their Holywood store a week previous)... a job I didn't get in the end! 'Maybe it's cuz I wasn't Polish?' But bear no grudges and all of that malarky. So, after a month or so running around the city centre I land this job with The Academy - Dublin's hottest new music venue/nightclub (allegedly...). Never pulled a pint before in my life before, so I was thinking this could be fun! It was, and still is. Got to see Sterophonics, some Abba lookalikes, Tom Baxter (who?), Johnny Vegas (he drinks heineken), Bono (he drinks budweiser... bottles mind), Glasvegas, Staind, and yer man that does Galway Girl (I'm sure that wasn't all he's famous for). But the calibre of talent they've attracted of late has been brilliant. I mean, a 20 minute set from the world renowned Eoghan Quigg, where else would you get it?

At the minute life is good. It's alot different from last year in Liverpool. For a start, the majority of Dub's don't think/talk/sleep football 24/7 like the Scousers - unless they're politely discussing last night's United v Liverpool game on Sky TV of course. That's where the problem lies. Local football is dying on it's feet, no matter how much the FAI try to cover it up. Yes, St Patrick's Athletic did fantastic last season in the UEFA Cup but trying to tempt the fans out of their houses to actually watch them was like trying to get the Orange Order down O'Connell Street - it just wasn't happening.

I was fortunate enough to be North of the border where All-Ireland fever struck East Belfast (never thought I'd be saying that!). That night St Pat's took on a resurgent Glentoran team, where the winner would qualify for the Sentata Cup semi-final (and incidently knock out Linfield in the process!). However, I counted 26 travelling fans in total. It was later confirmed to be by someone at the club that in actual fact 27 tickets were sold. I can just picture that one poor Dub wandering around Sydenham by himself asking the local hoods "alllll-roight bud howz it gooooin', story wit cha lads... now tell me dis an tell me no-more.. where's dis oval kip???"

But as I said before, we Irish don't take any pride from supporting our local game in the same way Liverpudlians do. I remember 'Red or Blue?' was the message coming out of the European capital of culture in 2008, displayed on giant billboards etc. The city was buzzing on match-day. The clubs took turns for example, it tended to be Everton at home one week, then Liverpool the next. No matter who it was, a vibrant atmosphere was guaranteed. And don't get me started on the Merseyside derby. It's puts Glens/Linfield, Bohs/Rovers to absolute shame.

Speaking of shame, what was Boxing Day all about? Yes, thats right the annual clash between Belfast's 'Big Two' was marred by violence - surprise, surprise! This time though 99% of the blame lied on so-called Glentoran fans. I say so-called because this fixture seems to be the ONLY Irish League game these young chaps attend each season. No time whatsoever so these people. It was 3-0 to the Blues at the time, why humiliate ourselves any more?? Answer: because they are not actual fans. However, along with the condemnation, came the fantasists on the Nolan Show on Radio Ulster spewing their usual 'anti-anything Northern Irish' crap. Nolan himself had to laugh. The abuse started off with the usual - "Eamon from Poleglass says the fighting between Linfield and Glentoran fans should mean we just disband the league and join with the League of Ireland, and while we're at it have an all-Ireland team" - boring, heard it all before, it's ok we know where you're from and what you're about - it's to be expected. But then, as I was starting to nod off, on comes Geraldine from the Falls to tell the country "Glentoran and Linfield fans are just as sectarian as each other, that's why there were fighting each other, they're just sectarian" - a bold statement from someone who clearly knows nothing about Irish League football (wonder if shes a DC fan?!). I'd say even Cliftonville and their prodominately catholic fanbase must have been scratching their heads at the thought of Linfield fans having a change of faith and shouting 'ya orange bastards' to the Glentoran fans! Geraldine from the Falls, we salute you.

Right, so that's the football covered and Christmas covered. At the minute it is Saturday afternoon. I'm not long out of bed (still carrying a bit of that student-itous). Getting ready to watch the Champions of the World take on the pride of Merseyside - Everton (a big thanks to Timmy Cahill for further wrecking the Red-shite's season!).

Back to work at 10pm tonight where my tips are fucking fantastic. Another big thank you all the pilled-out Dubs/Eastern Europe blow-ins. However a big thanks for nothing to all you cheapscate northerners asking me 'hay much is yer cheapest drink hi' and I say '5 euro' and you're face drops like a lead balloon. Not only am I not getting a tip off you, you're not getting drunk tonight, shit one all round.