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Still they pass the buck over Staunton’s appointment THERE’S
competence, there’s incompetence and then there’s sheer bloody-mindedness.
Step forward the FAI and its chief executive John Delaney on two of those
counts (decide for yourselves which ones).
Steve Staunton’s tenure as manager of the Irish soccer team has
come to an end less than halfway into what was supposed to be a studied,
planned four-year term aimed at breathing life back into the squad.
He was sacked due to a lack of success. The panel who appointed him have
tendered their regret that things haven’t worked out the way they
expected.
So now they are going to gather together a brains trust of soccer experts
beneath them to decide who should be the next boss.
Lucky for them they don’t get judged on results. If they did they’d
all be following Steve down to the Job Centre.
The most unedifying part of this whole affair has been the sight of the
people who first appointed Steve Staunton to the task rushing to distance
themselves from a decision which has proved to be a mistake.
After the dismal 1-1 draw with Cyprus at Croke Park Delaney was at pains
to point out he was only one of a three-man sub-committee who decided
Staunton was the man for the job.
When the announcement of the sacking was made FAI president David Blood
was also quick to say it was the decision of a sub-committee. No matter
that he was a part of that sub-committee and, we must therefore assume,
was in agreement with his two colleagues on the appointment.
Now these same men have decided to hand the decision-making over to, in
their own words, “people with considerable football experience in
the professional game”.
It might seem a rather blinkered view, but the average fan would rather
hope the people at the top of the FAI were themselves in possession of
considerable experience in the professional game.
And if they weren’t why the hell did they think they were in a
position to pick a manager for the national side in the first place?
John Delaney, David Blood and the third man on the original selection
panel FAI honorary secretary Michael Cody got it wrong.
There’s no shame in that. We all make mistakes. But anyone with
any guts is prepared to admit to that and not hide behind the lame excuse
that it was a committee decision.
But never mind if the next Ireland manager fails to get the results
we crave at least this time the officials can honestly say it wasn’t
their fault.
Instead it will be the panel of top football boffins now being appointed
to do the job they so patently flunked. |
