Welsh Loss Set To Haunt Ireland's Greatest Ever Players

Losing’s a bitch.  Losing out on what is probably your last chance must be ten times worse.

As fans of the Irish rugby team, today we hurt.  This morning was a crushing disappointment that we feel even more because it was unexpected, and because of the euphoric highs that preceded it.  Yet as fans, we will have another day, many more in fact.  The Irish people will cheer for us in World Cups in 2015, 2019, 2023 and so on.  Four years is a long time, but time does pass.

But when that happens, things change.  Players get old, some of them too old.  2015 will probably be a bridge to far for the likes of Paul O’Connell, Rory Best, Donnacha O’Callaghan, David Wallace, Gordon D’Arcy and Brian O’Driscoll who by then could be mere fans like the rest of us.  That list is not exhaustive – there may be more, but it may also be the case that some of those men hang on.  I imagine the manner of today’s defeat, and the way it robbed Ireland’s stars of a swansong on the global stage will perhaps induce second thoughts and a drive to continue.

Some will go however, perhaps not straight away, but they will.  The Ireland team of the 2012 and 2013 Six Nations will look very different to the all-too-familiar squad of recent times.  It’s still too soon for a post-mortem, when we don’t even know who is leaving, but when change is most certainly coming, one thing has to be said – today is the most disappointing day any one of them will have experienced in an Irish jersey.

We have lost Grand Slam deciders, blown chances to beat Southern Hemisphere giants, even lost Quarter Finals before today.  However on virtually all of those occasions Ireland were underdogs, valiant battlers who attempted to stave off defeat.  Today, that was not the case.  We were a team poised to deliver the sport’s finest hour.  Take into account the brilliance of the win over Australia, and the economic circumstances in which this country finds itself, and today’s defeat is even more heartbreaking.  More so than on virtually any other occasion, today we knew that victory was tangible and realistic.  We could taste success, we could dream of a final, and yet it never came.

 Perhaps it was nerves.  Perhaps it was a poor tactical performace.  Perhaps it was plain bad luck.  No matter really, because it was most certainly the most gut-wrenching defeat for an Ireland rugby team in many a year.  Look at Brian O’Driscoll’s face in the post-match press conference.  In a word, it is grey.  He knows it as much as anyone.  After the win over Australia, I wrote that the victory was an opportunity that had to be grasped.  Today was the chance to do that and it was not taken.  I don’t say that as a criticism – no one man could have tried harder – but as a fact.  That’s what hurts most of all.

An opportunity like today might not come for another twenty or thirty years.  Then again, it could come in four, but even then that will too far away for some of the golden generation.  We laud then.  We thank them.  We appreciate their efforts, toast their successes and today, of all days, we share the pain of their defeats. 

Some of these players tasted victory in places that Irishmendo not win.

More of them spoiled the homecoming of World champions and slayed the old enemy all in the one day.

Many of these players made what once seemed unobtainable the norm.  They came to the cusp of success, before falling short and trying once more.

Yet more were humiliated on the biggest stage of all, and still returned.

They showed the best of a 21^st Century Ireland – our maturity, our facilities, our tenacity and the pride we have of this nation – in one of the greatest sporting days of recent years.

They gave us a day the likes of which comes once in every 61 years.

Virtually all of them did the unthinkable just three weeks ago against Australia - in a very different way, what happened today was equally unthinkable.

This is not a post-mortem, but they are the achievements of the Irish national rugby team 2000-2011.  

Today marks the end of an era.

Podcast - No. 3

I do these sometimes, albeit not enough.

Still, for your ears, here are my thoughts on Ireland v. Italy this Sunday, why Ronan O'Gara is the right man to start...but only for now.

Ireland Must Keep Cool After Oz Wizardry

There’s no doubting that Ireland’s Rugby World Cup win over Australia on Saturday was a monumental event in Irish sporting history.  The first victory over a Southern Hemisphere side in the global competition is the latest in about 6 matches which shower our ‘wonder generation’ of stars in the glory they deserve, and it also has fantastic consequences for the remainder of the competition.

However, is there a danger that Ireland’s sporting media over-stating the win?  Today’s Irish Independent, to cite one example, ranked it at the top of a ‘Top-Five Ireland Rugby Wins of All-Time’ list.  Our grand slam clinching wins of 2009 and 1948 were second and third, ahead of a win over Australia in Dublin in 2006 and the Five Nations win at Twickenham in 1994.  However, in my opinion it doesn’t belong there.

To look at another sport, as an example, the Republic of Ireland’s greatest soccer win, in a World Cup at least, was against Italy at Giants Stadium in 1994.  The 1-0 win in our opening group game could have set up a fantastic odyssey in the USA, but it did not, and now that World Cup is a failure.  If our rugby stars do not capitalise on the win in Auckland Saturday, then the 2011 Rugby World Cup will also be a failure.

We need this win to be a springboard, and not the finished article: a step in the road, and not the destination.  A quarter-final loss to Wales, when we have already proven ourselves to be above their level, would be worse than an insipid defeat to Holland in Orlando in 1994 as it would come in a game where we would rightly be favourites.  And that’s before we even consider a potential defeat against Italy.  Our media need to realise this, and while we rightly celebrate Saturday’s achievement, we must move on, look forward, and dare to dream of more.

The one thing that does please me in all of this, however, is the reaction of the players.  There were scenes of joy following the final whistle, but it was not unbridled.  It was controlled, and refined, and in the interviews the players struck the right tone.  One even called it ‘the start of our World Cup.’  Ronan O’Gara aside (and his situation is unique), emotions were in check.  It was a job done, a column ticked, and there are many more to follow, or so we hope.  And dream.  And pray.  And, just a little, expect. 

Irish Cricket Knocked For Six By ICC Buffoonery

Let’s re-imagine sports history, briefly.  It’s July of 1966 and on the back of a successful World Cup, won by the hosts, FIFA is meeting to outline the future of the tournament and has decided to streamline their event, limiting it to ten teams.  England is invited –defending champions after all – as are previous winners Uruguay, Italy, West Germany and Brazil.  Czechoslovakia, Sweden, Hungary and Argentina have all lost finals – that’s 9 teams - and the tenth team will be Portugal, who have just won the third-fourth place playoff.  These countries, say FIFA, will contest the next two World Cups, up to and including 1974.

It seems bizarre.  What about Holland, who went onto reach the ’74 Final, or USSR or France or Spain or the USA or any team from Asia or Africa?  These teams don’t meet the selection criteria now but maybe they will in time.  Well, they’ve been excluded, and won’t be given the chance to qualify for another eight years.  The same applies to North Korea, despite being the sport's Cinderella just weeks previously.

Such a move is illogical, yet this is the sort of decision taken today by the International Cricket Council.  36 years after their first World Cup (like in the fictional football example above), cricket officials have decreed that only the sport's ten full member nations will take part in the 2015 World Cup excluding associate teams like Ireland.  Ten teams will also participate in the 2019 Tournament, and while Ireland and others will have a chance to qualify on that occasion, the ICC have effectively put the brakes on the sport's development here and in the likes of Canada, Holland and dozens of other nations.

Officials, players and fans here, unsurprisingly, are disgusted at the decision which has been described as a ‘travesty’ and an ‘outrage’.  Warren Deutrom, chief executive of Cricket Ireland, says this “as a black day for cricket.”  Irish captain William Porterfield said of his team that they “have done everything they asked of us over the last few years in terms of restructuring Irish cricket and I can’t come to terms with how they can just shut us out, do away with the qualification period and then try and call this a World Cup.

“We are currently ranked 10th, ahead of Zimbabwe, and there is no reason we can’t move up another position, if not two, by the next World Cup. Instead, the door has been closed in our face. It is an embarrassment."  

Other players have also taken to their twitter pages to give out, even some not playing for Ireland.

What would a World Cup, or any sporting event for that matter, be without minnows?  If FIFA had taken the above decision, there would have been no Quarter Final appearance for Peru in 1970.  The stagnation in the growth of football elsewhere would have also had disastrous consequences, meaning it less likely for other small nations to experience some of the best days in the history.  Football is a very different case to cricket, absolutely, but the difference between the best ten teams in 1966 and the best of 2011 shows how sports evolve and how giants can fall and minnows soar.  The ICC’s policies, which have already seen some of Ireland’s best players line out for England, effectively kills our national team and any chance of the sport making further inroads in this country, following wins over Pakistan in 2007 and England just weeks ago. 

It smacks of hypocrisy, of protectionism and narrow-mindedness.  It is choking a sport, rather than letting it grow.  Ireland are not calling for automatic qualification, just the chance to compete, something which our nation has done on every possible occasion at 50- and 20-over World Cups in recent years.  The win over England in Bangalore shows the potential of our players, and the media response to the victory demonstrates the genuine appetite for the sport here.  There is no rational reason for destroying that, but that is what the ICC have effectively done today. 

Shame on them. 

Home Nations Return Could Spell Ruin For FAI

A report that the Home Nations Championship, last contested over 25 years ago, may be set for a return could spell very bad news for the FAI.

The BBC claims that Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England are set to renew the competition, last contested in 1984, after the four home nations separately agreed to be sponsored by Vauxhall.  The contract with the motoring company, which has yet to be announced but has been mooted for some time now, could be the vehicle through which the tournament, once a mainstay of the football calendar in the British Isles, makes its return.

The English FA is continuing to feel the brunt of the ongoing recession, and the collapse in 2009 of Setanta.  The Irish broadcaster had been paying £150m for its portion of the rights for the FA Cup, a figure which has been reduced by around £70m under the new contract.  ITV, meanwhile, is reportedly paying £275m for FA Cup and England international rights, and this too is expected to fall when their contract comes up for renewal at the end of next season.  Sponsorship revenues have also fallen, while the coffers at Soho Square have also been hit by a poorer-than-anticipated World Cup performance.

Ireland's footballers could be facing further disappointment

Collectively, these factors have brought about what appears to be a change of heart for the bosses of English football.  Initially, they declined the opportunity to appear in what is now the Carling Nations Cup but now, they look set to spearhead this renewed Home Nations Championship, one which could leave the FAI and the Republic of Ireland out in the cold.

Today’s report does state that the Republic may be invited to take part, and for financial certainty going forward, that will need to be the case.  However, the inclusion of a fifth team means that sides will have to play an extra game each, and while this has financial benefits, it will also mean the requirement of two additional international dates in the already congested football calendar,

Therefore, should this competition make it’s suggested return without the Republic of Ireland, then one of two disastrous outcomes appear to be the most likely.  Either the renewed Home Nations competition would exist in tandem with the Carling Nations Cup, or the new tournament between the Celtic nations would be snubbed by Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, who would swap the Aviva for Wembley Stadium and the extra funds this entauks.  The former appears unlikely at best, as it would lead to a duplication of fixtures for the three other nations, and the latter would mean that one of the FAIs primary revenue streams for the years ahead would be no more, before it had barely begun.

Coming at a time when its own financial situation has come under scrutiny, and, indeed when it has been forced to take corrective action to balance the books, the FAI cannot afford this headache.  Even if it does not transpire, the mere rumblings surrounding this competition have served to undermine the Carling Nations Cup just weeks before it makes its debut.  Should the suggestions become something more concrete, then the FAI must do all it can to get the Republic of Ireland added to the ticket, or else the consequences for Irish football will be much worse than the loss of one friendly competition.

A Blog Post...For Your Ears

I did this once before, but it's going to become more regular. I introduce you to the Almost Daily Sports Blog Podcast. Here's my thoughts on the Republic of Ireland, following wins this week over Armenia and Andorra.

I'll have another one of these on the start of the NFL season tomorrow.  Please leave feedback below.

More Hard Luck For Trap's Men

The draw has been made in the last hour for Ireland’s Qualification Group for the European Championships of 2012.  We already knew our opponents, yes, but today’s draw dictates our schedule as to when and where we play our games.  The draw was necessary after the Armenian delegation vetoed all agreements at the recent fixtures meeting in Russia.  The outcome of today’s draw can be seen here.

This will be said later on this afternoon, but allow me to be one of the first to say the following...FUCK.  Everything that Giovanni Trapattoni would not have wanted has been granted.

• The glamorous opponents for Ireland’s first football international at the Aviva Stadium...Andorra.  

• We will have to play four different ‘double-headers’ which will involve a game on a Friday night followed by another the next Tuesday evening.  All of these involve one game at home and the other away, and on three occasions the squad will have to make long trips between Dublin and countries in Eastern Europe, namely Armenia, Slovakia and Russia.

• We have a match in June, traditionally a time when we struggle due to the relatively early finish to the English season, and it will be away to Macedonia, where the heat will be an isse.

The fixtures can be changed, and there are two free dates.  However any such change requires the consent of all of our group opponents, something which is believed to be unlikely given the difficulties encountered in the fixtures meeting in Moscow.  Therefore we are likely to be stuck with the hands with which we have been dealt.

Disaster is not the word.  Our qualification hopes have just taken an almighty blow.

Bobsleigh Beats Henry

Good news.

Irish sport has avoided a “catastrophe.” Seriously. That’s the assessment tonight of the esteemed President of our Olympic Council Pat Hickey.

Ireland are sending a small team to the Winter Olympics, which get underway this weekend, and among our contingent are our first female bobsleighers, Aoife Hoey and Claire Bergin. Their place was under threat as the Australian team argued that they should be entered into the competition instead of them as they were the finest sledders in Oceania (which is, I imagine, akin to being a tall midget) and brought a case to CAS, or the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Thankfully for all involved the case has been decided and now both teams will compete. Crisis averted, common sense prevails. Mainly.

Here’s Hickey’s quote in full:

"It would be outrageous if those girls were stripped of their accreditation and sent back home to Ireland...(all ok so far)...We're already suffering from the football situation of Thierry Henry scoring a goal with his hand and eliminating us from the World Cup finals....(true but what has that got to do with this?)...if something like this happened it would be a catastrophe altogether."

For Pat’s sake, I hope that was said with his tongue firmly in his cheek.

The Case For A Replay

The fallout from last night's game has been astonishing.  All around the world, Henry’s handball is the centre of sport attention.  Here in Ireland, it is the lead story on front page and back.   It’s been spoken about in the Dáil while the BBC have held a live blog about the fall-out, the sort of treatment they usually only give to actual matches.

The demand of the Football Association of Ireland today is simple – a replay.  They’ve lodged an official protest over last night’s result, a move I agree with because to accept it without kicking up a fuss would insult the two-million Irish fans who watched the game.  FIFA have so far said no to this and (in my opinion) rightly so.  Decisions of referees should be sacrosanct, even when they are wrong.  Nonetheless, like a lot of Irish fans, I am clinging to the hope that such a replay should be given.  It’s what my heart wants, even if my head says that it shouldn’t happen.  Like all Irish fans, I have no problem when my side are beaten fairly – I just want to be given the honour of fairness.

FIFA have released a statement on the matter this afternoon, referring to Law Number 5 in their Laws of the Game which can be seen here.  It is both long and convoluted but essentially FIFA are standing by it to say that the referee’s decision is final, and cannot be tampered with.  However, there is precedent which may work in our favour.

In 2005, Uzbekistan and Bahrain played a World Cup Qualifier in which the referee made an incorrect decision which averted the course of the game.  Essentially, a player encroached into the box as a penalty was taken and the referee ordered a free kick for the defending team, rather than allowing the penalty to be re-taken.  To me, that’s a less significant mistake than last night’s but it was nonetheless regarded as important enough to render the game null and void.  That judgement was made under article 12.4 of the 2006 FIFA World Cup regulations, which essentially gives organising bodies the right to make such decisions.  It should also be noted that this decision was made despite Article 14.4 (amended slightly for the 2010 World Cup, under the title Article 13.6) which states that 'no protests may be made about the referee’s decisions regarding facts connected with play. Such decisions are final...'

It would seem that, as they say, would be that.  The FAI look likely to have no way of protesting last night.  I’ve read through any relevant legislation that I can find and can see only one course of action.  Article 5.g says 'all participants...including players...should observe the principles of fair play.'  Those principles, under the FIFA Fair Play Code, call on players to ‘play fair’, to ‘observe the laws of the game’, to ‘respect opponents, team-mates, referees, officials and specators’, to ‘honour those who defend football’s good reputation’ and perhaps most crucially, ‘denounce those who attempt to discredit our sport’.  Last night, Thierry Henry discredit football by his actions and it is now up to FIFA to take action.  I don’t hold my breath.

***

Ireland’s only other hope is that the French FA step in on our behalf.  The public in France, I’ve been told by people there, are unhappy with last night’s match.  They want to qualify with honour, like the other 30 countries who won their way through to join South Africa in the World Cup.  However, given the large financial bonus that comes with playing in a World Cup, I wouldn’t expect this to happen, nor would I believe that the French authorities should go to bat for Ireland.  We may just have to walk away from this incident with a very bitter taste in our mouths.

Hand Gaul

I want to sleep badly but I can't.  Too troubled by the match this evening.  Instead of a rushed post about the game, here's an audio blog post capturing how I feel about the Irish team, tonight and that goal.

PS Thanks to all who came out for the live blog.  After this, and Dunne's KO in September, I'm not sure if I'll ever do another.

France v Ireland LIVE blog

Only 31 or so hours to go... loads of time!  Live blog is below.  Do take part but in the lead-up to the match and, of course, during the game itself.  There'll be plenty of posts about the match over the coming days so be sure to come back and check out The Almost Daily Sports Blog.

Ireland's World Cup Qualifying History - Part 2, Things Get Better

At the beginning of Qualification for the 1990 World Cup, Ireland’s fans were more optimistic than ever before. The long wait for a major tournament was broken months when Big Jack led us to Euro ’88. England had been beaten, and Ireland were within ten minutes of the semi-finals before an agonizing defeat to the eventual champions, Holland.

So as one of the best teams in Europe, Ireland’s fans no doubt believed that they would be in Italy two years later. They nearly didn’t get there. Ireland drew two and lost one of their opening three games, all away from home, against Northern Ireland, Hungary and Spain (where we lost 2-0). Four home games in succession got our campaigns back on track however, as Spain, Malta, Hungary and the Northerners all came to Lansdowne and lost between April and October of 1989. The final qualifying game, twenty years ago last Sunday, was held in Valetta and qualification, already virtually secured, was clinched with a 2-0 win. Ireland were headed for Italy, having kept seven clean sheets in the eight games. We all know what happened there...

Four years later, an Ireland side which missed out on Euro ’92 were faced with a tough group which included Spain, Denmark and Northern Ireland. Things started well, with wins over Albania and Lithuania and draws away to Spain and Denmark. However, one point from home games against the Spanish and the Danes left Irish fans with a nervy ending to the group. The equation facing us in November 17th 1993 was simple. Ireland, taking on Northern Ireland in Belfast, needed a win to guarantee qualification. A draw would be enough, but only if the game between Spain and Denmark in Seville wasn’t a draw. The Northerners wouldn’t make it easy for us, even if they were unable to qualify themselves.

Spurred on by Billy Bingham, the home side took the lead thanks to a wonder strike from Jimmy Quinn. All looked doomed, before Alan McLoughlin, a bit player in the team, scored an equalizer which ended up being one of the most important goals during the tenure of Jack Charlton. This, and Spain’s win over Dublin, meant that we were on our way to America and eventual revenge over Italy at Giants Stadium.



The next qualifying campaign, beginning in 1996, saw Mick McCarthy in charge of an aging Irish side that was in need of new blood. Drawn in a weak group, qualifying for France shouldn’t have been out of the question. It was an unimpressive campaign however – results included 0-0 draws at home to Iceland and Lithuania and a defeat in Macedonia. A late resurgence in form – Roy Keane manhandled us to a 4-2 win in Iceland – meant that we finished a million miles behind Romania, albeit in second position. A play-off with Belgium ensued, and we drew the first leg in Dublin after a Denis Irwin free-kick. We went to the Heysel Stadium but were ultimately undone by Luis Oliviera and lost 2-1, despite a Ray Houghton header. A loss to Holland at Anfield two years previously may have ended the tenure of Jack Charlton, but it was defeat to Belgium that ended the careers of many of the players who had given him and us so many great memories.

As a result of this, the team that entered the 2002 Qualifying campaign had an entirely different look but the same manager in the form of Mick McCarthy. Where four years previously we had been inept in many of our games, this wasn’t the case here as Ireland qualified out of a tough group which included Holland and Portugal. Along with the 1990 campaign, this was as good as Ireland ever performed. Estonia, Cyprus and Andorra were all dispatched with, home and away but the best performances came against the group’s superpowers. In our opening game we drew 2-2 in Amsterdam (a match we should have won having gone 2-0 ahead) and then 1-1 away to Portugal while in June 2001 we managed another 1-1 draw against the Portuguese. The group’s highlight though, came on September 2nd 2001 (I didn’t have to look that up) where Jason McAteer scored to sink the Dutch and give Ireland a second-place finish in the group. This set up another play-off, this time against Iran. Ireland won the first leg 2-0 and then battled hard in the tough atmosphere in Tehran, losing 1-0 to a late, late goal. It didn’t matter though, and we were on our way to the Far East, via Saipan.



McCarthy was gone by the time our next qualification group got underway, and again we were up against France. Many fans were critical of Brian Kerr’s negative approach, given that we had some creative players. There were draws in Switzerland and in Israel, and the campaign’s highlight was a 0-0 draw in Paris. However the negative approach hurt us at home, most notable when we blew a two-goal lead at home to Israel. A Thierry Henry moment of magic handed us our only defeat of the campaign at home to France, but we could have reached another play-off with a win against Switzerland. That match finished 0-0 and Brian Kerr’s contract was not renewed.



Since then, Stan has been and gone and we know all about Trapattoni this time out. Comparing this campaign to all of our others, as I’ve done today, a number of things stand out. Ireland struggle, regularly, and to get as far as we have is the exception rather than the norm. Also, comparing this set of players to some of the ones which have been successful, it could be argued that our current team is not as good as any of the ones which have qualified in the past. We’ve also had several amazing moments and fantastic wins over some of Europe’s greatest football powers. Tomorrow night, if it went well, would be the best of all.

Allez Les Verts!

C'Mon You Boys In Green

The countdown is on to Ireland v Italy.

Four and a half hours now!

I'm not sure how big a game it actually is - Ireland can wil and still not overtake Italy at the top of Group 8.  Nonetheless, it would be brilliant to beat the World Champions in our own back yard and give us four days of dreaming that Cyprus might, just MIGHT, do us a favour against the Italians in Italy.

To get you in the mood, here's a reminder of THAT day in Giants Stadium on the opening weekend of the 1994 World Cup.



It really was fifteen years ago... Christ.  I'm old.

A Venture Into The Unknown

Last March, on the same day that our rugby team won their first Grand Slam in 61 years, another remarkable sporting event occured in Ireland.

Bernard Dunne became WBA Super Bantamweight Champion in one of the best fights you'll ever see, knocking out Panama's Ricardo Cordoba in the 11th Round at Dublin's o2 Arena. I, along with the boss, was lucky to be there and we're going back to the o2 this Saturday for Dunne's first defence, against Poonsawat Kratingdaeng.

We're going to be blogging all day, about the journey up, the food, the cost, the fights and those quirky things that make a day like this memorable (this time I WILL figure out just how Marty Morrissey gets a crowd excited).  Our start time is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. but you can expect the comments to come in long, long before that and then they'll ramp up nearer to and during fight time.

I have some idea about how this will work, but not a massive amount! There will be issues, technical ones, but I hope that we'll be able to convey a sense of what's going on and give you a bit of the atmosphere live from Dublin.  I hope this will be the first of many live blogs here on the site.

To get you in the mood for the fight there'll be plenty of Bernard Dunne related stuff here on The Almost Daily Sports Blog all week. Sign up below if you want an email reminder about the event, and be sure to check back here on Saturday for all the shenanigans!!!

Stephen Ireland - A While Elephant, Not A Great White Hope

One of the most crucial games in Ireland’s qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup takes place on Saturday, but you’d hardly know it.  On paper, a trip to Nicosia for a clash with Cyprus should be more than winnable for Ireland.  Cyprus are ranked 73rd in the FIFA World Rankings, and they’ve only ever won 22 of their 176 competitive games.  However, any Ireland fan knows that this is no simple trip to a Mediterranean outpost.  One of those 22 wins was a humiliating 5-2 drubbing of Ireland in 2007, while Cyprus also held Ireland to a 1-1 draw at Croke Park later that year, a game the minnows should have won.

Those games, unfortunately, took place under the not-so-watchful eye of Stan so with Trap now in charge, surely Saturday’s game is an opportunity for revenge for those games and a chance to affirm Ireland as a rejuvenated football power.  Add to this a need for three points as Ireland continue their march towards second- or (perhaps) first-place in Group 8 and the importance of Saturday’s match is clear.  Someone should point that out to our national media because, when it comes to the Ireland National Football Team, there’s only been one story told this week.

Stephen Ireland.

The Cobh native is a curious case, to say the least.  He’s a man with dubious taste in cars, odd tattoos and a phenomenal natural talent for the beautiful game.  Robbed of the Premier League’s Young Player of the Year for the 2008-09 season, Ireland should be the talisman of Trapattoni’s midfield.  He’s a man who defied logic and outshone the likes of Robinho at the Middle Eastlands last season.  Indeed, Ireland was named as the club’s player of the year.  What could he do for his national side?  One wonders.

Yet Ireland doesn’t play for Ireland, and hasn’t done so since Grannygate.  A dubious exit, to say the least, but the underlying point is that this incident has robbed Irish fans of one of our finest talents in the position where we are most lacking, the centre of midfield.  On the pitch, we feel his loss – his presence would have been telling in the clashes with Bulgaria and Italy – but the lack of Stephen Ireland could hurt Ireland in an altogether different fashion come Saturday as it seems that he's proving to be a distraction.

Already, two players have spoken openly about his absence.  At least.  Journalists are persuing the Stephen Ireland angle, even though the player himself slammed shut the door on a possible return in an interview over the weekend.  He’s moved on, so why can’t we?  We miss Stephen Ireland, sure, but we have to let him go.  Trapattoni should draw a line under the entire affair, rule out bringing back Ireland for the remainder of this campaign at least, if not his entire tenure as manager, and most importantly tell his players not to comment on a man who's not a member of their team and does not want to be.  It's time that Trap and his players focus on Ireland and not Stephen.

***

Edit:  It looks like Trap is an Almost Daily Sports Blog reader!!!

A Youtube Gem

So for reasons I won't get into here, yet, I've spent most of today looking back on Ireland's trek through Italia '90. I've been reading, listening, watching everything I can find and while digging through it all, I came across this on Youtube. Christy Moore, performing Joxer Goes To Stuttgart, in the RTE Studios during the build-up to the Quarter-Final against Italy.

As Irish As Big Jack

Like many of my countrymen, I’m proud to be Irish. Being Irish brings certain traits with it: a general (and abhorrent) dislike of them from across the water, a pride in our arts and heritage, and a devotion to our sports teams. We love being Irish and we love following our sports teams. No matter where we play, there is always a large and vocal presence of Irish people to support our own and while I’m in no doubt that the importance/uniqueness of this is overstated by ourselves, we are a nation of sports lovers.

In return for this devotion, we expect many things in return, most notably pride in the shirt/flag. We want our sports stars to represent Ireland with dignity, honour and most importantly passion because they are representing more than just the island of Ireland; they’re representing the sport mad community that lives here too. Be it rugby, football or Gaelic games, when our men/women represent Ireland, they become an extension of each sports fan in this country.

Yet the essence of this Irish-ness, and indeed of other nationalities, has become weakened in recent times. In athletics we have seen Africans such as Rashid Ramzi, Stephen Chorono (Saif Saaeed Shaheen) and Albert Chepkurui (Ahmad Hassan Abdullah) defect from their home nations and instead compete for Asian countries such as Qatar and Bahrain, often for no reason other than financial reward. We here in Ireland aren’t immune to allegiance switching – who can forget the ‘Oi-rish’ football legends such as John Aldridge, Ray Houghton and Terry Phelan. These are players who were adored by the Green Army for their exploits on the field, as was their English manager, even if their passports and birth certs weren’t from this country.





So does it matter where someone comes from? There are reports that Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni will look to take advantage of new citizenship rules from FIFA and invite players such as Kevin Nolan to line out for Ireland. He’s become available now that FIFA say he and other players are eligible, even if they’ve played for other nations at an underage level, in Nolan’s case England. He qualifies for Ireland under ancestry rules, though oddly he also qualifies to play for the Netherlands. Would the Dutch be happy to see a Scouser called Nolan lining out for them?


In an increasingly globalized world, people’s nationalities have become less defined than they once were. A growing number of athletes will have a choice between two or more countries, as Aldridge and Houghton had in the 1980s. They chose Ireland, and represented us well, so maybe being from this little island isn’t that big a deal after all. Maybe we just want our sports stars to play as if they are one of our own.

Bangladesh Stumped

Just a quick comment about Ireland's Twenty20 World Cup win over Bangladesh today. I know that cricket purists don't like Twenty20 and that's fair enough, but Ireland's win at Trent Bridge this afternoon means we're into the Super Eights no matter our result against India in our remaining pool game. After our exploits in the Carribean in 2007, this is the second successive Cricket World Cup that Ireland will be a last eight participant, an achievement that (my reckoning) has only been matched on a global level by our rugby players, and even then not for 14 years. Congrats to all, in particular Niall O' Brien who kicked ass on one leg today. Great sport.

6:22 a.m. Thoughts From An Early Bird

Random Thoughts

Formula One is back. Coverage is fantastic, as I've already pointed out in my last post, but the racing is looking equally hot. There is a New World (Championship) Order and the biggest loser seems to be Lewis Hamilton. The much-beleaguered Team Formerly Known As Honda (Brawn GP) have started on a flyer, as have Williams and Toyota. The common link - a controversial and potentially illegal diffuser at the rear of the car. The cars have cleared scrutineering but an objection from the Red Bull team will be heard next month. I hope that the authorities see sense and ban the diffusers. For my reading, they controvene the spirit of the rules if not their letter. However, the last thing the sport needs is for a winner to lose a race win in a court one month after the event. I'm not sure if what I propose is possible, but Formula One is technical enough as it is and does not need help to exclude a casual fan. Let's hope the FIA agree.

***

We've had one week since Ireland won their first Grand Slam in 61 years. Sweet isn't the word. The ending gave a new definition to squeaky bum time but a win's a win and we would have taken it, and then some, two months ago. By and large, little has changed in the team under new coach Declan Kidney, yet everything has changed - nine of the fifteen men who started in Cardiff last Saturday were also in the starting lineup for Ireland's abject performance against Argentina in the 2007 World Cup. So what has changed? What X-Factor does Declan Kidney have that has led him to success wih Ireland now and previously with Munster? His self-effacing manner makes that difficult to figure out, but Kidney's strong backroom staff of Gaffney, Smal et al must have a lot to do with it. Kidney has surrounded himself with the best, and it has paid off. However, those who are hailing Kidney must remember the role Lady Luck played in this Grand Slam win - if Stephen Jones slots over his penalty at the end last Saturday, if England have a few more minutes left after they score their try at Croker or if Scotland's defence holds out like it oh-so-nearly did, we're discussing another 'what-might-have-been' season for Irish rugby. Thankfully, the oval ball bounced our way.

***

The rugby wasn't our only sporting success last Saturday. Bernard Dunne's fantastic win over Ricardo Cordoba got a lot of attention, but on any other weekend it would have been the biggest story in town. You may have noticed that I've been nudged to write about this topic - that would be my not so subtle better half who joined me in the magnificent O2 Arena last Saturday night. It was a truly amazing fight, but I do have some comments to make. I've rewatched a lot of the fight between a TV repeat and on RTE.ie - I was right about Jimmy. And the legitimacy of the WBA as a sanctioning body must be called into question when Dunne is not their only Super Bantamweight Champion of the World. But don't let that take away from last Saturday. Dunne done good.

Oh yeah, Marty Morrisey is a great warm-up guy. I kid you not.

Thanks Hellie.

***

March Madness has reached the Elite Eight stage. My bracket is ruined but Blake Griffin of Oklahoma has continued his regular season form. Last night's 30 points and 14 boards against Syracuse left the Orange feeling Blue. I just took 9-1 on them to go all the way and I was glad to do so. A kiss of death? Probably.

***

Part Three of Qualifying is on. Back to live timing. I won't leave it as long before I return next time.