Arm Harm!

Over the last few season’s our game has been blighted by the blatant use of the arm in tackles. Never was this better illustrated than in Norn Iron’s last two International games. Norn Iron’s Keith Gillespie was rightly cautioned in the game against Liechtenstein for blatant use of the arm, a caution that forced him to miss last night’s victory over the hitherto unbeaten Swedes. The referee on Saturday night came down hard on Gillespie, but there were few incidents of that nature in the remainder of the game. Then we had the complete contrast last night, when the Dutch referee (who’s one claim to fame, is that he allowed Manchester United to take a quick free kick in a recent Champions league game), allowed the Swedes to get away without caution for incessant use of the arm. Indeed the game was barely started when home player Warren Feeney was deliberately elbowed in the eye by a Swedish defender. This elbow was so deliberate that under normal circumstances it should’ve warranted a straight red, but not only did it not earn the culprit a caution, but the final insult was the awarding of a free kick to the visitors. Feeney for his troubles had to have two stitches inserted on a wound above his left eye, but returned to play a memorable role in a magnificent victory for our wee country. Sweden obviously encouraged by the referee’s ignorance of the elbowing rule continued to put the arm into our boys and I’m sure there are quite a few bruises being nursed today. But tempered with the referee’s reluctance to issue cautions to the Swedes for their arm play, he harshly booked home player Damien Johnston for a late tackle. The time has come for the authorities to come down hard on this foul play and where better to start than at international level. Use of the elbow or any part of the arm should merit an automatic sending off, if this rule was introduced I believe it wouldn’t be long until it was completely absent from the game!

Davey Directs!

I guess Davey Jeffries has just got to prove how powerful he and Linfield really are. Not only did he move ‘hell and high water’ to get the Irish cup replay put back, he’s now talking about inducing the ‘4 day’ rule which would allow them to cancel their league game this Saturday against Loughgall. Don’t believe for one moment that Davey thinks Loughgall have ‘a cats in hell’ chance of beating the Blues. Even a team made up of their reserve and third strings would still be too much for the doomed County Armagh team. No Davey just wants to ‘rub the noses’ of the other Premier league teams, by demonstrating just what they are up against. Davey sneezes and the I.F.A. rush forward with the proverbial ‘handkerchief’. He has easily the biggest panel in the league, as he buys up almost every striker he can lay his hands on, not because he needs them, merely to keep them off other teams. In midfield he has so many options it’s embarrassing so it’s not surprising he sometimes gets it wrong and hopefully he will continue to do just that. At fullback he has three players battling for two positions and if he’s short a couple he can call on a versatile midfielder. The one position he is weak on is goalkeeper, Alan Manus is the man in position but when he’s missing, I’m afraid there’s only Greg Shannon for back-up and we Sky Blue fans know all there is to know about his shortcomings. Will the I.F.A. succumb to Davey’s wishes and postpone Saturday’s game? Of course they will, it is the I.F.A after all and they are so beholding to Linfield football club, it’s embarrassing. What happens if they do decide to postpone the game is even more interesting than if they don’t. Where is there a date on which the game can take place and could Linfield be faced with the prospect of playing four games in eight days in order to get the league wrapped up at the appropriate time? Maybe of course the Irish league will just decree that the season is extended by whatever weeks are necessary in order to accommodate Linfield, it wouldn’t be the first time the rules were bent, would it?

Doubly Certain!

I tend not to go back over anything I’ve said previously but in this case I think it’s prudent that I comment on last week’s article, Blunder Boots. I did accuse the Irish F.A. of making a complete ‘horlicks’ of the cup replay, but they were in fact ‘aided and abetted’ by the senior clubs committee. The old saying goes that it ‘takes two to tango’ and it certainly proved correct on this occasion. Now we have the even more farcical situation of the cup replay taking place on Saturday March 31, the date set aside for the semi-finals, with the semi-final down for decision on either Tuesday 17 April or Tuesday April 24, depending on which team wins through. I’m sure I don’t need to tell anybody of the fixture chaos that’s a distinct possibility, if there are any interruptions to the league progress due to adverse weather conditions over the next few weeks. Every time you think it can’t get any worse it usually does and this cup saga is proving no exception. I.F.A. chairman Jimmy Boyce actually attempted to get the game played this week, by suggesting that any suspensions due to start this week, should not apply to the two teams involved as their match should’ve been already played. But it was all to no avail and once more the local game has been held up to ridicule. If that’s not bad enough we have the continuing saga of the outdated Windsor Park, which is in need of serious structural repairs if it is to pass a F.I.F.A. inspection (the ancient Railway Stand can no longer be used). Now who is to pay for these repairs I hear you ask, but in reality you know the answer already, it’s the I.F.A. of course. Linfield own Windsor Park, but in fact spend nothing on its upkeep, that’s all down to the I.F.A. Linfield are the Landlords, but have exclusive use of the ground for their domestic games, while charging the governing body excessive rent for their use of it, e.g. Internationals, semi-finals and finals. Just what shrewd person negotiated that contract, obviously a top class con artist who’s now living in luxury in the Bahamas or some such place? One thing’s for sure, if the I.F.A. wants to stage more Internationals at Windsor Park, money will have to be found in the short term. Just a wee idea, why don’t they approach world Champions Italy for a friendly match in order to raise funds to bring the Park back up to standard? This still has a ways to run yet and it’ll be interesting to see what the final outcome really is. But one thing’s certain, the one organisation who won’t lose out, are Linfield F.C., of that you can be doubly sure!

Blunder Boots!

What a farcical situation has arisen because the I.F.A. is so busy bending over backwards to kiss the arses of the directors of Linfield football club that they’ve made themselves a complete laughing stock. Ballymena and Linfield had agreed that if a replay of their Irish cup match was necessary, it should take place next Tuesday 13^th March. Then of course the I.F.A. has to stick its nose in by quoting that the rule states that the game must be replayed within 4 days (Sundays don’t count seemingly) and therefore the match could take place no later than tonight, Thursday 8^th March. Either date was acceptable to Ballymena, but alas Linfield were not happy with the new date and appealed against it and their appeal was upheld. I foolishly assumed that the match would go ahead next Tuesday as first planned, but no it now seems that the I.F. A. are going to have yet another meeting on next Monday night to decide when the match should be played. Now I hope you’re all following this closely as this means that there’s no possibility of the replay taking place next Tuesday as it’s only being decided on Monday (at least I hope I’m right in thinking this, but with the I.F.A. one can never tell). Now I’m only a layman but wouldn’t it have been wiser for Linfield to have postponed their Setanta cup game with Glentoran on last Monday night and then the cup replay could have been played on the Tuesday as is the norm. This is after all the ‘number one’ competition in our league, especially with the fans and it would be a tragedy if it was demeaned in order to allow the rich clubs to get even richer. Linfield and Glentoran may talk all day about the prestige of winning the Setanta cup, but in truth it’s all about money. Remember what happened a few seasons ago when the mighty Manchester United chose to go play in South America rather than in the F.A. cup? That was the beginning of the end for that great competition and it’s now reached the stage where some of the top teams don’t even field their top players anymore. Hopefully we won’t let our priorities be compromised just because somebody starts throwing silly money about. For the sake of the game please get your act together, local competitions must come first, anything else is just anarchy!

Muddy Waters!

There was a ‘storm in a teacup’ that came about last week when Dungannon Swifts manager Harry Fay moaned about the United board not acceding to their demands, to switch the game to Friday night, in order to give the Swifts more time to prepare for their Setanta cup match. United officials are at a loss as to how this occurred and would like to know whom Dungannon approached, as they have no knowledge of an approach being made. We then had the various statements from officials of teams involved in the Setanta cup, purporting suggestions such as teams being allowed to cancel Premier league fixtures prior to their Setanta games, or the other farcical situation of playing such games on a Saturday afternoon. I think these individuals are getting somewhat carried away by their own self-importance, would we then not have a case of ‘the tail wagging the dog’? After all only 4 of the present 16 teams in the Premier league are involved in the Setanta cup. Opinion in some circles says this is only the ‘thin edge of the wedge’ and the Setanta is actually a forerunner of an all-Ireland league. It has become increasingly hard to get fans to travel to away games in Norn Iron, once we have to travel the length and breadth of Ireland, the away fan will become a thing of the past. The travel time involved would necessitate fans taking time off work as travelling to the centre of Dublin, despite claims of the great motorway, still takes three to four hours and Cork, Limerick and Waterford are even further afield. Hopefully the I.F.A. will seek the views of the people who really matter, the local fans, before embarking on any ‘hair brained’ scheme, dreamt up by the greedy individuals behind certain teams. Of course the I.F.A. have their own plans to reform the present set-up and the criteria outlined for it is as clear as mud, as the saying goes. On one hand they say that certain things like numbers of supporters would be part of the requirement, but if that were the case they’d only be about six teams in the league. Take Cliftonville as a prime example, three days after winning the County Antrim Shield they brought about 50 spectators with them to Ballymena, a perfect example of fans reluctance to travel to games. Will each case be considered on merit or is this criteria just a way of weeding out teams not wanted in the league? A lot more thought will be needed before any major decisions can be made, as the old saying goes, ‘better we learn to walk, before we try to run’!