blues six glens nil
13-04-08, 08:57 PM
MARCH 2008
Another week, and another farce at the IFA. The sad truth is, nobody is really surprised.
This week's traumedy concerns the fact that the draw for the Irish Cup Semi-Finals did not take place on Saturday teatime in the aftermath of the Quarter-Final ties, as has been the custom in previous rounds and previous years.
It's a decision which baffles fans, players and officials alike. You may say it's a fuss about nothing, but look at the IFA's options :
A) Hold the draw on the Saturday, live on TV
B) Hold the draw on a Thursday lunchtime, with no TV coverage
Quite what the sponsors made of it, nobody knows. The amazing fact is, they weren't even consulted. Bearing in mind they lost out on a major sponsorship for the Irish Cup in 1999 over the farce of the postponed final, you would think the IFA would be pulling out everything to please the sponsors.
To make matters worse, the sheer arrogance of IFA Chief Executive Howard Wells was beyond belief when he was questioned about it on a fans phone-in on Radio Ulster, adopting a "Not my decision, therefore not my problem" attitude
Well, if it upsets supporters, a key stakeholder of the organisation you are employed by, it very much is your problem
He pointed to the example of the FA Cup draw always being held on a Monday lunchtime. What he forgets to mention is, that the FA Cup has mass media coverage, unlike the Irish Cup.
It's times like this that makes you wonder why you bother going every week when you have faceless and nameless beaurocrats from the IFA making decisions on football issues with little or no regard for the fans.
Fed up with the fact that in 2005-2006, the league season began without a sponsor. Fed up with the fact that in 2006-2007, the Irish Cup began without a sponsor.
Fed up with the lies, scaremongering and propaganda war waged by the IFA regarding the suitability of Windsor Park to host internationals.
Fed up with the fact that the IFA dithered for so long, they put £8m worth of government funding for clubs in jeopardy.
Fed up with the fact that the IFA did nothing for 4 years while Northern Ireland were losing out on young players to the Republic.
Fed up with the bizarre decision making made on footballing issues. The IFA mess up a players registration and Larne get relegated because of it. Don't even get me started on the farce of the Ballymena-Linfield Irish Cup replay from last season.
Both farces which could have been avoided with common sense. Both farces which produced endless and damaging negative publicity for the game here.
Fed up with the fact that the IFA can't make up their minds on the invitational league, and can't even make up their minds on what the grading criteria is.
Fed up with the fact that supporters who attended internationals in the pre-Sanchez era missed out on block bookings to Johnny Come Lately's. Fed up with the fact that for a game against Wales in 2005, genuine fans can't get tickets while they roll out the red carpet for Stephen Nolan. Obviously there are some at the IFA with short memories.
Fed up with the fact that the IFA sold the rights to Irish League highlights to a broadcaster which doesn't show them. Fed up with the fact that the IFA sit about and do nothing about it, whilst other sports (most notably the GAA) are proactive with regards to increasing media coverage, and get it.
Fed up with the fact that for every big league game or cup final/semi-final, restrictions are placed on capacity. Fed up with the fact that when the tickets are sold, no more are made available, even though the stadium capacity can handle it. Fed up with the fact that they hide behind excuses such as "Health and Safety" or "Poilicing Issues", which, excuse the pun, is a cop out.
Fed up with the fact that the IFA's marketing department interact with fans, yet do no such thing with regards to Irish League fans. Fed up with half-assed and badly conceived marketing ideas such as 'Pass On The Passion'
I'm not complaining for the sake of complaining. I complain when I have a genuine grievance. With the IFA, I seem to have one every week.
It annoys me when people slag off the Irish League and label it a "Mickey Mouse League". When you see the way the game here is run by the authorities, you wonder why people get that impression.
Another week, and another farce at the IFA. The sad truth is, nobody is really surprised.
This week's traumedy concerns the fact that the draw for the Irish Cup Semi-Finals did not take place on Saturday teatime in the aftermath of the Quarter-Final ties, as has been the custom in previous rounds and previous years.
It's a decision which baffles fans, players and officials alike. You may say it's a fuss about nothing, but look at the IFA's options :
A) Hold the draw on the Saturday, live on TV
B) Hold the draw on a Thursday lunchtime, with no TV coverage
Quite what the sponsors made of it, nobody knows. The amazing fact is, they weren't even consulted. Bearing in mind they lost out on a major sponsorship for the Irish Cup in 1999 over the farce of the postponed final, you would think the IFA would be pulling out everything to please the sponsors.
To make matters worse, the sheer arrogance of IFA Chief Executive Howard Wells was beyond belief when he was questioned about it on a fans phone-in on Radio Ulster, adopting a "Not my decision, therefore not my problem" attitude
Well, if it upsets supporters, a key stakeholder of the organisation you are employed by, it very much is your problem
He pointed to the example of the FA Cup draw always being held on a Monday lunchtime. What he forgets to mention is, that the FA Cup has mass media coverage, unlike the Irish Cup.
It's times like this that makes you wonder why you bother going every week when you have faceless and nameless beaurocrats from the IFA making decisions on football issues with little or no regard for the fans.
Fed up with the fact that in 2005-2006, the league season began without a sponsor. Fed up with the fact that in 2006-2007, the Irish Cup began without a sponsor.
Fed up with the lies, scaremongering and propaganda war waged by the IFA regarding the suitability of Windsor Park to host internationals.
Fed up with the fact that the IFA dithered for so long, they put £8m worth of government funding for clubs in jeopardy.
Fed up with the fact that the IFA did nothing for 4 years while Northern Ireland were losing out on young players to the Republic.
Fed up with the bizarre decision making made on footballing issues. The IFA mess up a players registration and Larne get relegated because of it. Don't even get me started on the farce of the Ballymena-Linfield Irish Cup replay from last season.
Both farces which could have been avoided with common sense. Both farces which produced endless and damaging negative publicity for the game here.
Fed up with the fact that the IFA can't make up their minds on the invitational league, and can't even make up their minds on what the grading criteria is.
Fed up with the fact that supporters who attended internationals in the pre-Sanchez era missed out on block bookings to Johnny Come Lately's. Fed up with the fact that for a game against Wales in 2005, genuine fans can't get tickets while they roll out the red carpet for Stephen Nolan. Obviously there are some at the IFA with short memories.
Fed up with the fact that the IFA sold the rights to Irish League highlights to a broadcaster which doesn't show them. Fed up with the fact that the IFA sit about and do nothing about it, whilst other sports (most notably the GAA) are proactive with regards to increasing media coverage, and get it.
Fed up with the fact that for every big league game or cup final/semi-final, restrictions are placed on capacity. Fed up with the fact that when the tickets are sold, no more are made available, even though the stadium capacity can handle it. Fed up with the fact that they hide behind excuses such as "Health and Safety" or "Poilicing Issues", which, excuse the pun, is a cop out.
Fed up with the fact that the IFA's marketing department interact with fans, yet do no such thing with regards to Irish League fans. Fed up with half-assed and badly conceived marketing ideas such as 'Pass On The Passion'
I'm not complaining for the sake of complaining. I complain when I have a genuine grievance. With the IFA, I seem to have one every week.
It annoys me when people slag off the Irish League and label it a "Mickey Mouse League". When you see the way the game here is run by the authorities, you wonder why people get that impression.