Hand of Gaul

Well, its Friday the 20th of November. Last Wednesday night the Republic of Ireland were robbed in a world cup Qualifier by blatant piece of cheating by one Thierry Henry and an ineptitude on behalf of one Swedish referee. The nation is up in arms, and rightly so, but there are so many different angles on this whole debacle that I feel compelled to comment on it.

First of all, the goal itself. Though Henry may genuinely claim that the first handball was reactionary or impulsive, the second certainly wasn't! He clearly controlled the ball with his left to enable him to flick it to Gallas who duly dispatched his golden opportunity. Bad and all as this was, he took a chance and it payed off. What really sickened me was the way he celebrated it. It disgusts me to think that a so called icon of the game could derive such immense satisfaction from such an act of gamesmanship! His slight of hand broke the hearts of a team and a nation , and denied all the great things that football represents an opportunity to appear on the games biggest stage, the world cup. And boy did he love it.

What the Irish team did that night was amazing. Against all the odds, they displayed pride, tenacity, honesty, desire, courage, conviction, belief and integrity. They gave every morsel of their beings on that pitch in Paris for their team and their country and to have that taken away from them by such a vile act from a self professed ambassador of the game was devastating. For Henry to sympathise with the Irish players after the game merely highlighted what a coward he truly is. It would be like having a person wrongly convicted for a crime they didn't commit, and visiting them in jail after they had been sentenced to life imprisonment to offer a shallow sorry. It didn't wash with me. It was much to little and far too late.

So what could Henry have done? He could simply have walked over to the ref, told him he controlled the ball with his hand, and ensured the goal didn't stand. By doing this he would have cemented his place in footballing folklore as one of the most honourable players ever to grace the game. Instead, he sold his soul and his reputation for the instant hit of a positive result and the adulation of his fellow countrymen. After the sun sets on his glittering career, he will always be remembered as the man who cheated France to the 2010 world cup.

And would Robbie Keane have done the same if it had happened at the other end? Possibly, but is that the point? Does it make it acceptable if he would have? Of course not. Sport isn't about getting the right results, its about honesty of effort, overcoming adversity, fighting against the odds and always being honest in your endeavours on the playing field, regardless of the result. I may be an idealist but I firmly believe that playing the game right is much more important than getting the right result. Nobody likes a cheat and there can be no satisfaction derived from obtaining a win in a fraudulent manner.

Let us not forget that professional footballers are amongst the best paid athletes in the world. Their actions are mimicked by young children across the globe and they have a responsibility to lead by example both on and off the pitch. Is cheating acceptable as long as you aren't found out? Is a thief or a murderer a stand up member of society as long as they aren't convicted? Of course not. Sadly however, the actions of Henry in Paris on Wednesday seem to represent how society operates in the world today. People feel vindicated to do whatever or whoever they have to in order to get what they want. Football today lacks morality and integrity. All too often, examples of these despicable characteristics are lived out in our daily lives also.

And what of FIFA's role in this whole debacle? Well first of all they rigged the play off draws to ensure the top teams had the easiest possible passage through to South Africa. They bang on about fair play but when it comes to them having to stand up to the plate they hide behind their rule book and give fair play two fingers. Again, they had an opportunity to set a precedent and show that cheating was in no way acceptable in the game of football. What they did however, was show that cheating is ok as long as they get the result that they want. Their hypocritical "do as I say but not as I do" attitude is mirrored by institutions across the world (particularly by our own government) and it makes me sick to my stomach to see it. Drunk with power, they have lost the real value of what the game means and epitomises, sacrificing what is morally right for what they perceive to be the best possible outcome. They are not God. Its a black and white issue, what is right is right and all the rule books in the world can never change that!

There were no winners last Wednesday night, only losers. In spite of their remarkable performance against the odds, the Irish side failed to get the result their performance truly deserved. In spite of his glittering career, memories of Thierry Henry will always be tainted by the fact that he is a cheat. In spite of their promotion of fair play, FIFA have shown that they will get the result that they want, regardless of underhand tactics used to obtain it. There is one major lesson to be learned here. We are all responsible for our own actions. Every one of us should examine how we live our lives and learn how to do what is morally right, even if it means us loosing out on what we really want. At least we can walk off the pitch with our heads held high and our hearts filled with pride. You can't put a price on that.

revolt good people of Ireland

Well nearly two years on and here I am again. Whats happening my 39 viewers? Once again, it's been a long time but I'm here now so what harm. Alot has happened since my last post,I'm back with the woman of my dreams, I've hit the big 3 0 and as I previously predicted, the wheels have fallen off our greed fuelled economy.
Well tonight I am going to get political. Following recent revelations about our banking sector I feel compelled to comment on the state of our nation today. What a mess we are in,what a mess!
First of all let me tell you a story about an experience I had with a prominent Irish bank. In May 2002, my grandmother was on her death bed in Sligo general hospital and I was working out of town.
on learning of her deteriorating condition, I knew it was imperative for me to get home and say goodbye to her asap. Needless to say, I was broke until payday and I approached my bank looking for an overdraft extension of 50 euro for a mere 24 hours. I explained my situation to the loan advisor, to which she showed little sympathy. She flatly refused to grant my request and basically told me that it wasn't her problem. This is the sort of heartless institution that I, as a tax payer, am now expected to bail out?!
How have the banks got us into this situation? In one word, greed. A greed that saw them throw money recklessly at people who they knew were mot in a position to pay it back. We were manipulated into believing that there would be no end to the ridiculous property boom, that one 100%mortgages were an acceptable loan to give extremely young first time buyers, that banks needed less regulation, not more and that they were conducting their business' in a prudent manner. The same greed had them see fit that they could not lend me 50 euro to see my dying grandmother. They made me feel like a pice of dirt for asking for 50 euro while they threw hundreds of thousands of euro at young people to make their bonuses and pay their glutonous salaries! As Bob Dylan once sang, steel a little and they throw you in jail, steel alot and they make you a king.
And what should come of these bankers, the men that conspired to cook their books to deciet shareholders and taxpayers? The men that created this putrid, vile, greed fuelled monster that has brought this country to her knees and made us the laughing stock of the the economic world? Those found guity of corruption or wrongdoing of any kind should face lengthy jail sentences. Maybe they should be tried for treason as their inability to see beyond their own bamk balances has joepradised our national identity and pride to a point where, to be frank, doesn't bare thinking about. Aclear maessage must be sent out that actions such as these will never again be tolerated by the irish pyblic and examples must be made of the offenders.
As for our government, what can I say? It is my belief that a country can only be judged by how it treats the weakest members of its society. when I hear of 119 special needs teachers getting the axe, cancer services being decimated for less affluent regions, medical cards being taken off old age pensioners and I could go on, it enrages me! Wehit the most vulnerble people in the country with taxes and cut backs and yet see fit to give 7 BILLION to banks eho have acted so recklessly to bail them out! This is perverse in the most extreme. Enough is enough, we have to call a stop to this anarchy and regsin control of our country.
What is their agenda for this bail out anyway? call me cynical but i think there is more to all this then meets the eye. are they trying to protect their property developer cronies who they rubbed shoulders with in the fianna fail tent at the Galway races? What would happen if the banks collapsed and these so called entrepreneurs, who have property and land now worth massively less then they were initially valued, had their debts called in? I may be a mile off the mark but my gut tells me that there is more synister to all this.
And what a shower of incompetants they have proven to be also, we have a minister of finance that didnt think threre was anything untoward that billions of euros were hopping around banks like an micheal douglas in a bangkok brothel. A taoiseach who asked to vote yes on one of the most important pieces of legislation ever put before us, despite havin not read the lisbon treaty himself. Let us not forget about the wonderful bertie ahern, the minister of inance who didn,t believe in putting his money in the bank. Maybe he knew all those years ago that only a fool would trust the bank with their savings. With my hand on my heart, I can tell you for as long as I have a vote in this country, I will NEVER, EVER vote for those shower of corrupt bastards again.
So what do we do people? Its time to say STOP. we need to march on the dail and show the clowns in leinster house that we are their masters. They are mandated by us, the people of ireland, and not bankers, developpers or the european commision. It is our patriotic duty to call a halt to this lunacy and reclaim the country that we all love in our hearts, and restore some pride rom what has been the shambolic and disgraceful eras to visit our great state. We have to revolt people and say "no more, enough is enough".

It has been an absolute age I know, but alot has happened with me over the past few months and time has been of the essence to say the least. Anyway, enough of the excuses and time for some serious ranting. Where to start is the only thing.
Well for starters, I splitup with my now ex girlfriend two months ago and it was a complete mess. We have a child together and had been on and off for over 7 years and I suppose we had just run our course. As the old song goes,"breaking up is hard to do". There is no point playing the blame game and its time to move on with our lives now and be the best parents we can for our amazing son.
Well I also had the finals of my journalism course recently which was tough going too and I haven't a clue how I got on. As I read the exam papers I actually realised how underprepared I was and it pissed me off to be quite honest. Some lecturers, who shall remain nameless, let their pupils down gig time as far as I'm concerned and if I fail, I will let them know it. I never had to bluff so much in my life as I did for those exams. I really hope I did enough but I doubt it somehow.
As for the big thing that is pissing me off right now which is the impossibility for a non drinking male to pull a decent woman in this country today. I am far from the perfect package but I am not some kind of Shrek like hidious ogre who picks his nose and screams obsenities at passers by. Can it really be so hard to find a decent, honest, attractive, self respecting, mature, genuine, witty, warm, sincere woman whos head isn't welded up her own arse. I mean what the hell is going on. Am I setting the bar too high or do women like these really exist.
Maybe the problem lies closer to myself. I am quite shy and introverted around fairer members of the oppisite sex. This stems from a distinct lack of confidence which I developed from early childhood and still cary to this day. I am so conscious of how others percieve me at times it is quite sad to be honest. I amslowly learning to let go of my hang ups and I only wish others would give me a chance.
Anyhow, in the immortal words of Jim Morrison,"gonna make it baby in our prime." It will happen sooner or later. In the mean time, Should anybody come across one of these ellusive creatures will they send them in my direction.

Election Disgrace

I am currently watching the results of the General Election and to be quite honest, I am amazed and disgusted with what I am seeing. I genuinely thought that there was a palpable desire for change amongst the people of Ireland and that Fianna Fail would get their just deserts, five years in oppisition.
As I am watching the results roll in and sleazy FF politicians continually being hoisted up on cronies shoulders in a jubilance akin to a syndicate of homeless men winning the national lottery I am asking the people of Ireland, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?.
Our country is at a crossroads. We appear to be reaching the end of an era of unparalelled economic success. For the past ten years there has been more money in the country then ever before but what do we have to show for it. House prices are so inflated that the vast majority of young people cannot afford to get on the property ladder. Those who are on with 100% mortgages are facing inflation hikes, loss of value on their prized asset and also, the proposition of job losses with many multi-nationals pulling out as are wage demands are too great.
Then we have the area of planning. Land has been rezoned all over the country by councillors who care little for the good of the people, but rather line their own pockets to feed their own insatiable greed. Not only that, but the mighty Fianna Fail has absolutely failed to deliver on infastructure. Our pathetic road networks are increasingly being choked by our nations over reliance on private transport while the previous government failed to promote or embrace the concept public transport. As the issue of the environment becomes the greatest international challenge of our time, our failure to make any effort to adress these issues is a disgrace.
Then we have the issue of Government spending. Remember people, we are the tax payers. This is our money. We employ the politicians to spend it in our best interests. And what has the money been spent on? PPars, electronic voting, two luas systems that don't meet in the middle, a tunnell under Dublin that cannot take the biggest European trucks and of course, Bertie's make up. Not only that but the fact that there is no major ministry for Connaught means we are continually underfunded and neglected here in the West.
Its time we wake up and smell the coffee. Fianna Fail have gotten away with murder for the past 10 years and will continue to do so until we, the people, take a stand. Fianna Fail have a hardcore vote and they will always get them out for election day. If people genuinely want change they have to get out and vote themselves. The apathy and malaise must end here. It is imperative that a lesson is learned from today. Every vote counts and every able bodied person should excercise not only their democratic right but their democratic duty

Alot Done, More To Do

What a season. In my wildest dreams I would I would never have imagined that we would be deserved Champions. With only one new addition to the squad from the previous season, Michael Carrick, this must rate as one of Fergies greatest ever achievements.
Like many of my fellow suporters, I couldn't see where the necessary improvement would come from the squad we have to make a genuine push for the title. Fergie saw quality in the squad that we didn't and his belief has been rewarded in spades by their magnificent performances this season.We still have the FA Cup to play for so the season isn't quite over yet.
A number of players have also developed into top class performers for us also this season. Vidic has been a rock for us and his partnership with Ferdinand has been the foundation for our success. Evra and Carrick, the latter in particular, have also been immense for us and have silenced a number of their doubters. They are two players who I believe will only improve.
The real revelation for us this season though has got to be Ronaldo. His rise to prominence is reminiscent to a caterpillars blossom into a butterfly. He was infuriating last year with little end product and a frustrating need to over elaborate. This and his antics in the World Cup made him one of the most reviled characters in the Premiership but he has let his football do the talking. He has emerged to be one of the most exciting talents to come from the league in a long time and I take my hat off to him. I have been one of his harshest critics but if he can repeat or improve his form of this season, we have a lot to look forward to.
All this adulation must come with a word of warning however. We need to strengthen our squad in a number of positions. We need a dominant powerful central midfielder, we need a pacey striker who can last a season and we need a winger as a potential replacement for Giggsy, who has had his best season for us in a long time. It has been a brilliant season for us but it is imperative we don't rest on our laurels. We are very close to having a great squad. (Hargreaves isn't the man for us either but that is for another day)

Happy Days Are Here Again

It has been an absolute age and much has happened since my last post. First and foremost, United have run out deserving winners of the premiership. Having prevailed in a nervy encounter with City, Chelsea failed to win at the Emirates, as I had previously predicted, and it is now impossible for us to be caught. Justice has been done, the best team has won.
We were also anhialated by Milan in the Champions League and Fergies tactical ineptitude away from home in Europe was horribly exposed. As we had seen against Celtic, Copenhagen, Roma and to a slightly lesser extent Lille and Benfica, away from home we are far too negative and uncertain. We lack conviction, invite teams to attack us and offer little in response. Thingd need to change drastically before we can have any genuine aspirations to be European Champions again.
Having said all that it has been a brilliant season, We have achieved more then I could have dreamed of and there is still a strong possibility of a double. It is a great time to be a United fan

Wenger leaving and heading for Spain

While working today a thought struck me and I think I might be on to something. I just want to put it into print as I think I may not be too far wrong on it.
Over the weekend Arsene Wenger made claims in the press that he would personally choose the clubs new sporting director. Now when I see stories like this I usually smell a rat. A manager, employed by a board of directors, dictating to them who they will employ as their sporting director? I think not.
Wenger has claimed his loyalty to the club but when a guy comes out with a statement like he did, there are alterior motives at hand.His statement is an attempt to anger the directors in my opinion. He wants to follow Dein out but does not want to appear to be walking to the fans. He wants to appear to be a martyr, a sacrificial lamb if you like.
With one of the biggest jobs in football soon to be available, the Real Madrid position, Wenger would surely be a possible candidate for the job. Can you imagine the backhander he would get if he were to tempt Fabregas and Henry to join him.
I think Wenger has achieved all he can with Arsenal and wants a new challenge. He will continue to try to make his position untennable at the club and force the hand of the board of directors to sack him, leaving him free to join his new project. Watch this space.