Jumping Jacks!

Okay I admit it, I'm old enough to remember 'Jumping Jacks', for the uninitiated, 'Jumping Jacks' were fireworks (known to us from the 'high country' as squibs), which you lit and they jumped and banged. The usual ploy was to let them off around the lassies and they would then behave like the 'Jumping Jacks', I tell you it was 'guid gutty'. This is of course was in the good old days when boys were boys and the girls were glad of it and you could buy and let off fireworks till your hearts content. Nowadays we're better educated and realise how dangerous these shenanigans can be. The I.F.A. on the other hand still haven't learned the lesson and continue to make mistake after mistake. The latest of course is the 'pay-off' to our former chief-executive, a six figure sum we are told, in other words somewhere between £100,000 and £999,999. This is from an organisation who admit to being on their uppers and we are led to believe took legal advice before sacking the Chief-exec. One would assume then that this is the lesser of two evils and if they had paid him off legally and above board it would have cost them a whole lot more. Is there then I ask myself no limit to the depths of 'stupidity' the I.F.A. will sink. This is the same (okay the personnel have changed but their still basically the same), organisation who entered into a 100 year agreement with Linfield for the use of Windsor Park back in the enlightened eighties. I can only imagine that they signed the chief-exec with a guarantee of at least a one and a half Million pounds golden handshake. The majority of Irish league fans are of the opinion that 'Goodie bags' are distributed every year by Linfield as a thank-you for the signing of their contract, so I wonder what they get off Howard for giving him his? The I.F.A. are behaving like 'Jumping Jacks', frittering their/our money away and dancing to somebody-else's tune. Surely it's time to put a stop to this gravy train, it has gone on far too long, but enough is enough!