YBIG

Republic Of Ireland vs France - 14th November 2009 - WC Play-off

YBIG november 2009 > reP. IreLAnD v frAnce > ISSUe 21 > free WORLD CUP LATEST You boys In Green fanzine DOMENECH: TAROT CARDS WON’T SAVE YOU NOW, GOING GREEN Make Croker a fortress

A long-standing supporter of the Irish football team. HERE WE GO AGAIN 47595 Carlsberg A5 Boys in Green.indd 110/11/2009 16:07:48

YBIG 21 contents Pages 4-5: EditorialGoing GreenPages 6-7: Cover StoryMatch previewPages 8-9: Blame PelePlay Off WoesPage 10-11: Cult HeroJoe KinnearPages 14: PercyWill Paris be Percy’s final stop before South Africa?Pages 16-17: Fans PicsPicture diary of the Italy gamePages 18-20: A Division of Fans LOI or clubs abroad - who do you support?Pages 22-23: FanzoneA young fan and some funny away talesPages 24-29: League Of IrelandTrips down memory lane for some LOI storiesPages 30-31: Paris 1924The forgotten Olympians CONTRIBUTORS: Donal Cullen, Brian Farrell, Ross Fitzgerald, Derek Harte, Paul Cullen, Tagdh Carey, Anthony Smith, Saint Tom, SPECIAL THANKS TO: Paul Cooke and all at the Star, Carl McNamara, cover design Fred Murray, Isolde, Andy Conroy, Derek Harte, Aidan Mullen, Gary Malone, Louise Mimnagh, Declan Glynn & Kevin Warren and everyone else involved in the Going green cam-paign, Lorcan From Carroll’s and The FAI feedback welcome or join our forum!www.ybig.ie contact@ybig.ie THE lovely Glenda Gilson was one of many models to back the Going Green November 14 campaign

W here to start? The country goes Green as we prepare for the biggest sporting event this island have seen in years.Croke Park, the nemesis of Irish soccer it would seem. The cold cauldron of gloom that can fail to create any sort of partisan atmos-phere! The Italian game kind of changed that — tonight will see something even more spectacular.The YBIG forum has gone into overload since the play-off draw was made — World Cup fever is already sweeping the nation.There is always too many people to thank in any event, even in the previous 20 issues of YouBoysInGreen. But it would be remiss of me not to mention a man by the name of Kevin Warren.What started out as a simple slogan has trans-formed into a Green Giant. And, now, 50,000 views and 1,600 posts later, it has nearly all fall-en into place, just perfectly. We hope!There will be tifo flags in place, giant flags will hog the Singing Section and the players will be greeted by a wall of green when 70,000 fans hold green cards up as the gladiators enter the arena. Patrice evra, look away now. Allez les Verts you handbag.But most importantly, the buzz amongst the fans is as high as it has been since the Dutch came to town.If you have not heard of the Going Green November 14 campaign yet, you must have been living in Jedward land. It’s been backed by nearly every newspaper and radio station in the country and there has also been appearances on many TV channels.Tonight the fans have a huge role to play. The French have constantly talked up our 12th man and now it is time to deliver. Send the French home with their frog tails between their legs. honourable mentions to Andy Conroy, Louise Mimnagh and Aiden Mullen too for their work on the campaign. As for the rest, too many to men-tion, you know who you are.The last few weeks have been special for Irish fans. The unity, willingness to get things done and enthusiasm simply could not be matched in any other country. Since those heady days in the Far east in 2002 it has been, in the words of the classic Luke Kelly tribute song, a long lonely road that’s has no turning.We deserve to go through, simple as that. Since that faithful night when we were beaten by the Spanish on penalties, the loyal band of Irish fans that travel the world to follow the Green Army have been threatened and, in some cases, beaten up by hooligan, loyalist loving scum in Moscow, suffered the agony of watch-ing a pub team score a late equaliser in San Marino (even if we did manage to snatch an even later winner), been charged over six quid for pints in Basel, forced to rearrange flights from Georgia to Germany and lose substantial amounts of money.We travelled to Bari, an industrial town in the middle of nowhere, 6,000 strong. The Italians, world champions, took a paltry 1,000 to Dublin, a capital city on ryanair’s doorstep.The mighty French returned 1,000 tickets dur-ing the week! A World Cup play-off and they return tickets. As you are well aware, no returns went back to Paris!!Our time has come again!Anyway, also a big pat on the back to Del harte (honeyMonster) and Declan Glynn (Sono) who have have organised the pre match party in the Woolshed. enjoy tonight and have a memo-rable trip to Paris.See yiz in the Woolshed. Ger KeVILLe 4 Editorial

MO-VEMBER LOOK-A-LIKES Tom SellickDomenechAxel FoleyThierry Henry Editorial 5 A fter the success of our pre-match meet up for the Italy game, it was agreed that a similar event should be held in advance of the big kick off against the french. Due to the enormity of this game and the recent rapid increase in the numbers on our forum and the popularity of the YouBoyInGreen site in general, a larger venue was required. the Woolshed pub on Parnell Street was decided upon and the staff there were more than happy to facilitate our requests. for all you out of towners, it’s only about a twenty minute walk away from Croker. So, in order to make the pre-match build up on Saturday feel like an away game atmosphere, this is what we have in store from around two o’clock onwards. the pub opens at 10.30am for the early rashers! the upstairs area we have reserved holds up to 500 people and will be decorated with tri colours and bunting etc. Big screens throughout the area will be showing clips of the campaign so far and more importantly, to really get everyone in the mood, we’ll also be show- ing magical moments from euro 88 to the World Cup in 2002. from 4.30 – 6.30, traditional musician Austin Carter will be performing a set. for those of you lucky enough to have been in Luke Kelly’s Bar in Ayia Napa for the Cyprus game, Austin was the resident singer there. He had the fans singing their hearts out on the nights leading up to the game as he belted out some of the best loved ballads. Hopefully on Saturday, Austin can recreate such an atmos- phere which can warm our throats for the night ahead. After Austin finishes up, we hope to get the fans out the door by 6.30 (7 at the latest) in order to give eve- ryone enough time to get into Croker as early as pos- sible to create an atmos- phere worthy of the occasion. for those that are con- cerned we’re leaving a bit too early, there are plenty of offo’s en route from Parnell Street to Croke Park! Hopefully see yis all there! Woolshed Bar & Grill. Parnell Centre. Parnell Street. Dublin 1. tel: 01 8724325 pARtypre-match

F RANCE will arrive in town with all the Gallic arrogance they can muster. Domenech has made it clear he doesn’t rate us and he has a pool of talent to choose from that Roman Abramovich would be proud of. The French will strut their way into Croke Park in confident mood, having finished their qualification campaign in fine fettle, proving that when push comes to shove they can still produce. They will start as overwhelming favourites and believe they have every right not only to compete at next year’s finals but to con- tend for the title. Any why wouldn’t they? A cursory glance over the French side reveals the pres- ence of class in abundance. In goals France seem to have unearthed a gem, as anyone who witnessed Hugo Lloris’ performance in Lyon against Liverpool, will testify to. You only have to look at the club sides – Arsenal, Barcelona and Man Utd – that their back four play for to realise they are among the best in Europe, with two full-backs so attack minded that at times their 4-2-3-1 forma- tion becomes, as Brian Kerr has remarked, 2-2-6. In midfield they are anchored by Real Madrid’s new number 10, Lassandra Diarra and Lyon’s chief enforcer — and arguably France’s best performer at last year’s European Championships — Jeremy Toulalan. While up front, well where do you start? Perhaps with this sea- son’s Champions League’s sur- prise packet’s — Bordeaux — orchestrator supreme, Yoann Gourcuff. Gourcuff may have returned home from AC Milan with his tail somewhat between his legs but the 23-year-old midfielder and reigning Ligue 1 Player of the Year is now an integral cog in the national team set-up after inspiring Bordeaux to the French title last season. He was Les Bleus star man before injury ruled him out of the latter part of their qualifiers but returns for the play-offs. In his absence Messrs Henry and new hero Andre-Pierre ‘Gypsy king’ Gignac have stepped up to the plate. That’s without mentioning the contribution of European football’s most sought after player, Franck Ribery (albeit injured), a rejuvenated Nicholas Anelka, Florent Malouda or the-next-big-thing Karim Benzema... as we know, the list go on. While over in the green corner we have Kevin Kilbane, Sean St Ledger, Keith Andrews, Glenn Whelan et al. But, so the theory goes, surely if the French were that good they’d have already qualified. That, despite the plethora of glamour names, Les Bleus are not without their weaknesses. While they may have finished their campaign well with con- vincing 5-0 and 3-1 wins over The Faroes and Austria respec- tively, they did struggle early on. A reversal of that score-line away to Austria in their opening fixture was followed by an unconvincing home victory over Group 7 winners Serbia. In their next game they came back from two-down to draw with a Romania side that was later thumped 5-0 by Serbia. In those opening three games France revealed a soft centre, conceding six goals - four of which came directly from set- pieces. A chink in the armoury? Much has been made of set-plays being Ireland’s best chance of scoring, but this has been flagged so often you’d really have to wonder if a team at this level won’t have done their homework on the poten- tial threat of Dunne and Co. Indeed the likes of Philippe Mexes and Jean-Alain Boumsong have arrogance? It’s quite simple France have far superior players, and a greater pool of talent to choose from, and a wealth of experience to call upon, so that’s that really, France win game over...but it’s never that simple is it. YBIG’s ROSS FITZGERALD examines the French weak links. The quirky Domenech 6 Previewa justified

been jettisoned from the French backline since the fourth round of matches - suggesting Domenech had already done his best to remedy this problem long before Ireland appeared on the horizon. However whether France have improved suffi- ciently in this area or not, Ireland’s recent set-piece record — two goals against Italy, one against Cyprus, two against Bulgaria — certainly suggests we have an advantage in this area. France’s other Group 7 results included three consecutive 1-0 victories over Lithuania (home and away) and the Faroe Islands. Hardly the sort of results to put the fear of god into Trap’s team. Two more 1-1 draws (Romania at home and Serbia away) followed before Domenech’s side finally began to look the part when they realised their World Cup dreams were in danger of becoming a nightmare. Judging by those results, it seems we face a team with bags of talent but one who have made hard work in getting this far. Their main defensive midfielder Lassandra Diarra, from those of us who remember his time in English football is not quite the world beater that a Claude Makele or Patrick Viera were in their pomp. But perhaps we’re merely clutching at straws here as Diarra appears much improved since his move to Spain while Ribery only actually started three of France’s 10 qualifiers. So apart from set-plays and attempting to pick a few holes in their line-up, where else do Ireland look to have the edge? Perhaps it’s not on the pitch at all, but on the sideline. For the single greatest advan- tage we have over France is our manager. Trapattoni will be looking forward to this game like most people look forward to their first post-work pint on a Friday. For it is these high-pressure games that Trapattoni has lived for over the past 50 years. Looking at it from a certain angle, it is almost as if Trapattoni has been following his own carefully plotted script since the day he took the Irish job. After finding himself drawn in what seemed like a reasonably tough group which Italy were likely to top, he made no secret of the fact he was targeting second spot. Mission accomplished. He then set about building a side that don’t lose — competitive — games. Check. Now he finds himself in the play-offs. Time to simply con- tinue beating the same drum? We all know what to expect from Ireland now. Crucially the players, too, know what is expected of them. Keep it tight, defend in numbers, cede pos- session if necessary — always maintaining 100 per cent concentration and discipline. It’s almost better that it is a top side we’re facing in France — ensur- ing nobody loses focus or forgets their role within the system. Ireland don’t have to win a football match — we just have to follow Trap’s philosophy and make sure we don’t lose. Do that and who knows, we could yet be celebrating another one of our famous 1-1 wins. It’s almost as if they play-offs were created for Trapattoni. For all the talk of boring, unentertaining football this is exactly what Trap has been prepar- ing Ireland for. We don’t win that many games but we don’t lose that many either. The way Trap sets out his stall we are capable of holding any side scoreless at home — be they Montenegro or France. He also knows we can start brightly at a high tempo and nick an early goal, home or away. Now whether we can hold onto that lead is another matter entire- ly… but, staying true to form, it is not incon- ceivable that we could eke out an away score-draw, which — providing we don’t concede at Croker — could mean qualification. If Trap pulls this off it will be his masterplan come to fruition. All the doubters and nay-sayers will be silenced and forced to worship at the altar of the Italian Godfather. In the other dug-out Raymond D’oh- menech is the antithesis of Trap, lacking in authority and bringing only disharmony to his side. Simply put, Domenech has lost the French dressing room. Thierry Henry is their leader now. This is a manager who almost failed to take France (Zidane et al) to the last World Cup before the players took over, bringing them to a World Cup final. A manager who has refused in the past to select Robert Pires simply because of his star- sign and who has alienated other proven world class players — Viera and Trezeguet to name just two. But although Domenech’s weird ways provide us with some Ray (ahem) of light, this is more about what Trapattoni has brought to the table. So Trap hasn’t included either of the Reids or — if you’re to listen to some observ- ers — the suddenly proven world-beater Clinton Morrison. But who are we to argue with 50 years of experience? Or a list of honours longer than Usain Bolt’s stride. Or — lest we for- get the transformation — the posi- tion Ireland now find themselves in Are we finally convinced that Giovanni Trapattoni really knows what he’s doing? Has Trap — after reasoning we’d struggle to top his home nation in the Group. A scoreless game in Croker, followed by a 1-1 draw in France may be the best we can hope for. Is anyone better equipped to deliver those results? Preview 7 New stars in the making... Diarra, Toulalan & Gourcuff

8 FeatureBlame Pele for Play-Off mess! Bloody play offs, they aint been kind to Ireland and don’t get DONAL CULLEN started on the last minute seedings debacle, but the blame for our play offs woes lies at the greatest feet of them all. That bloody Brazilian, why couldn’t he keep his dopey opinions to himself? W hile reading through the forum I came across a posting by that man about town, Erimus, about the World Cup games between New Zealand and Bahrain. This is a two-leg play off and one of these nations (and I don’t have a problem with either of them….yet!!) will qualify for the finals in South Africa. Fair play to them but I think this points out the way FIFA have really mucked up the qualifying competition. By December of this year, 13 European nations will have qualified for South Africa. Among them, hopefully will be Ireland, but really we should have been there already. In 1990, in response to Cameroon’s display in the World Cup finals, FIFA decided to look into the possibility of getting more African teams in the finals as they had an ear to their great ambassador, Pele, who predicted that an African team will win the World Cup in ten years or so. Now anyone who has listened to Pele speak about football for any length of time would realise that he often talks a load of shit despite being the games great- est ever player. His knowledge of the game is based partly on what he reads in SHOOT! Or MATCH! In other words, he’d fit in perfectly with a BBC or SKY panel but not on RTE. But within FIFA he is regarded as a god espe- cially, as unlike Maradona, he does not rock the boat. And so when Pele says that the future of World football lies in Africa, FIFA immediately responded by…setting up a committee, eating a lot of cakes and having the odd glass of wine. The upshot of about four years of this lavish- ness was that there would be less European par- ticipation and more from Africa, less from South America, and more from Asia and the rest of the World. Now for nations like Canada this was a good thing. For nations such as Ireland this was a bad thing. Europe, it cannot be argued, is the most impor- tant region in the world game. Not only are the world’s best leagues and nations here but also the world’s greatest players and you can bet that even the players of Bahrain or New Zealand would give their eye teeth to play there. Therefore when FIFA looked at trimming down to allow more African teams compete on the World’s great- est stage they naturally chose….Europe. Despite the fact that a European team has contested the final of 16 of the 18 World Cups to date (and seven of them have been all European affairs), FIFA decided that it was this region that would suf- fer in order to fulfill Pele’s prediction. So instead of having two teams qualify from all the European groups automatical- ly (as was the norm) they would bring in play-offs for the second based teams and thus eliminate four of them to allow more African teams to take part. Pele and FIFA were delight- ed and went on another binge as the rest of us scratched our heads at such dumfounded logic. Therefore now we should have had at the very least an African team in the final of one of the World Cups and a world shift in emphasis from the sustained focus of the world’s media on the African Nations Cup instead of the European Championship as Pele said that is where the future of football lies. That did not happen. Why? The answer is simple. The African teams are crap. Oh, sure they can produce the odd result and maybe get to the knockout stages but in real- ity they have not fulfilled the prophecy of the Pele after winning a World Cup or something —tell someone who cares!

Feature 9 great Pele and FIFA, like a stock trader holding bad stock, panicked. What to do? What to do? We have the Ivory Coast... but no Russia! We have Ghana but no Poland! What to do? So another committee was formed. An urgent one*. And what did this austere body come up with? Seeding! Seedings for play-offs! God help us! At the start of October there was a chance that neither France or Germany would get to the finals of South Africa. This could not be! So FIFA pan- icked and brought in seedings so the “big” sides would not knock each other out and would instead trample over the “lesser” teams to justify the title of the World Cup as the greatest sporting event in the World. Maybe they would not have made it but FIFA were doing their level best to see that they had the best chances of doing so. But it would have been all so much different if Pele had kept his big mouth shut. For years Europe and South America got by with the win- ners of their groups qualifying for the finals. Nice and smooth. And when they wanted more European teams FIFA then granted the second placed teams qual- ification to prevent one of their “big” sides being upset. So qualifiers from each group didn’t seem to upset many people, especially in Europe, until Pele put in his two pence worth after Cameroon’s surprise showing in 1990. So now we have a play-off which in my opinion are a waste of everybody’s time. Not only do they stop five decent European teams (remember one group does not even have a play off contender) from getting a chance to show their best in South Africa but it means teams like Bahrain or New Zealand get their chance to shine when in reality they will not go far in the competition. This is not to write off the African or Asian teams but let’s take a nation like Russia who could get knocked out in the play offs. Will the competition be better or worse without the likes of Arshaven? Who knows? Maybe Pele’s prediction will come to fruition in 2010 but it is more then likely that a European or South American side will win it. The first time the play-offs were intro- duced for the World Cup was in 1998 and Ireland contested them and the ones for 2002. In reality we should have been in the finals for both these competitions as we should be now as we are clearly better then the rest of our group and a match for Italy (on results). But now we have to sweat a little more and hope we get through the play off games. And this is not sour grapes. If we do make it then I will feel sorry for our opponents as they are in the same boat. And all because of Pele. That bastard! *Urgent in FIFA speak means no cake until AFTER a decision! ‘’ A European team has contested the final of 16 of the 18 World Cups to date With seven all European finals

10 Cult Hero T o listen to Joe Kinnear speak you would peg him straight off as a Cockney. In fact liking him to a Del Boy would not be far off the mark but the fact is that Joe Kinnear was born in Kimmage, Dublin and spent a few years of his early life there before the family packed up and moved to London where jobs were a-plenty in post-war Britain. And so it was that as Joe grew up he developed not into a ‘head’ from Kimmage but a ‘Crafty Cockney’. As a schoolboy he played for Watford schools but when he left school he went straight into an appren- ticeship to be a printer. It was while studying his trade that he also lined out at the weekends for St. Albans City. He also went on several trials with some of London’s leading clubs and one, Tottenham Hotspur, decided to take him on as an amateur in August 1963. This meant that he worked at his trade while playing for Spurs as and when they needed him. In 1966 he signed as a pro for the club and never looked back. Kinnear was to become an integeral part of Spurs successes in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s and in that time he won an FA Cup winners medal, two League Cup winners medals as well as a UEFA Cup winner in 1972. He was perhaps the best Irish defender in the League at that time and a consistent star for Spurs. He spent 13 seasons at White Hart Lane as both amateur and professional and when the time came to move on he chose the south coast of England and Brighton as his last club. He played one season there at the Goldstone Ground before being offered a position as player- manager of non-League Woodford Town. Little did he know that this was the start of a second career for him and one of the most colourful. After Woodford Town, Joe was asked to become manager of a club side in Dubai and after that became manager of the Dubai national team. Then it was off to manage India before a call from his old mate Dave Mackey brought him back to England to become assistant of Doncaster Rovers. Following this he became manager of Wimbledon reserves there to quietly guide the youth of the “Crazy Gang”. However things were not going well at Wimbledon so it meant a cleaning out of the club. Out went Peter With and in came Joe to guide the club back Joe KinnearWe salute you Joe Kinnear’s recent health has prevented him from achieving his managerial destiny- for Ireland he was an ever reliable right back DONAL CULLEN writes..

Cult Hero 11 to respectability. In 1999 after making Wimbledon one of the most respected teams in the Premiership, Joe suffered a heart attack. He returned to manage Luton Town and then had a decent but short spell at Newcastle United before another heart attack forced his retirement from foot- ball….for good? We’ll have to see. The Irish selectors were not slow to recognize the talents of Joe Kinnear and he was first called up for Ireland for the game against Turkey in Ankara in 1967. At the time a visit to Turkey was something to put the fear of God into anyone. The Turks were fanatical supporters and even though their team at the time was useless they still created an atmos- phere which intimidated a lot of visitors. Ireland were no different. It did not help that the Irish adopted a defensive tactic and the Turks tore into them. Kinnear was one of those who revelled in the atmosphere and early on he kicked the ball of the line to prevent a certain goal. Funnyily enough one of the stars of the night was Eamonn Dunphy who almost scored before two mistakes allowed the Turks to win the game despite a late goal from Noel Cantwell. At the time the Ireland selectors had some good full backs to choose from – Shay Brennan and Theo Foley – to name just two and Kinnear would have dif- ficulty forcing his way in. He got a second cap in November of the same year away to Czechoslovakia in what turned out to be a fantastic night for Ireland. The Czechs only needed to draw to qualify but underestimated the Irish and after taking the lead in the second half settled back only for Ireland to come back and win the game with goals from Ray Tracey and Turlough O’Connor, on his debut. Again Kinnear was involved in a goal-line clearance. Kinnear was then in and out of the Irish side as he vied with Tommy Carroll and Shay Brennan for the Right full back position. He eventually nailed down the position when he went with Ireland to the Brazilian Independence Cup in 1972 and played in all four games Ireland were involved in.. He eventu- ally earned 26 caps for Ireland and became a crowd favourite for his dashing run, accurate crossing and fine defending. He was still in Irish minds when the time came for the FAI to appoint a successor to Jack Charlton and he emerged as favourite to take over the Irish team. The FAI went for Mick McCarthy. Kinnear has been linked to the job every time it has become vacant and really should have gotten the chance. Now, it seems, it is too late. But as one of his team-mates used to say “never write off Joe!”. ‘’ The Irish selectors were not slow to recognise the talents of Joe Kinnear and he was first called up for the game against Turkey

12 Feature quick guide to paris metro With Paris only a few days away, the good peo- ple at YBIG have decided to compile a quick guide to getting around the City of Lights. The first rule in Paris is that Taxi's are ridiculous- ly priced, slow and are best avoided. Indications from a Paris based friend is that a taxi from CDG will set you back €70 odd to central Paris. The best appears to be the train from the airport. The Suburban Line RER B runs every 15 minutes, at €9 one way to Gare du Nord or Chatelet les Halles stations. Both of these stations have good metro links. Speaking of the metro. Paris has one of the most extensive networks in the world, with over 300 sta- tions throughout the city. They typically start at 5am and run right through to 2am.The Second Rule is find the nearest metro to your bed. A good point to note also is that a "carnet" or book of ten metro tickets will only set you back €10.50, and changing lines on the same journey without leaving the metro is considered to be one journey. On Tuesday evening, there is a good crowd of regulars going to meet of at The Hideout Bar at Chatelet les Halles station, which has a happy hour from 3pm until 11pm at €3 a pint of lager. Located in Central Paris, there are plenty of other bars about (including McBride’s and one of the O’Sullivan’s chain). All of the following lines - 1, 4, 7, 11 and 14 pass through this station. The pub is open ‘til 5 am normally, so a good chance it won’t close at all next week! Another spot which will be popular is the infa- mous Pigalle Red Light District, home among other things, to the Moulin Rouge and a few Irish bars (O’Sullivan’s in particular). Line 2 will bring you there via Pigalle or Blanche station. Line 12 will also get you to Pigalle. The thought of the game ahead will have us all up bright and early on Wednesday. Thousand will gather at early/mid afternoon at The Eiffel Tower for an impromptu game of a hundred-a-side and general craic. Lines 6, 8 and 13 are your best bet here. Invalides (of which there will be plenty come Wednesday night if we win) on Line 8 & 13 is a short stroll away. Alternatively, Bir Hakim on Line 6 will do the job. Also note there is a suburban line, Line C which may be of use but has limited stops in central Paris. Make note of Invalides Station because you can get from here directly to the ground or to Pigalle by changing at Place de Clichy station. To get to the ground you take line 13 to St Denis Porte de Paris which is right next door to the stadium One final word of advise, print the below map and use it. No metro journey takes more than twenty odd minutes. The Eiffel Tower and the sta- dium are at opposite ends of Paris, and will only take 25 minutes to get from one to the other. Enjoy! A fTER a few years in the making the long awaited “Turfs on Tour” flag made its debut on Wednesday 1April, 2009, in the Italian city of Bari. The Turfs are a group of Irish fans from all backgrounds who meet up home and away to support the boys in green and number up to 20 at full strength.The origin of the term “Turfs” is not clear but the popular version says it came from a television ad for Surf Washing Powder which features actress Mary McEvoy (Biddy Byrne from Glenroe). That said the cry “TURRff” has been heard at Landsdowne, Croker and in places like Bratislava, Oslo, San Marino etc for the past few years. The arrival of the 2.00 train from Roma on match day was eagerly awaited by the advance party of Turfs who had made their way to Bari via Roma on the Tuesday. The train carried the rest of the troops along with the flag which was due to be unveiled for the first time that day. When the party arrived and the green, white and orange “Turfs on Tour ,Ttuuurrrfff” was carried out of the station to the roar of “turrff” that went up it was greeted with a mixture of amusement and bemusement by locals, Irish and Caribinieri alike.The flag made its way to the town square and later was held proudly high in the Stadio San Nicola as Ireland gained a valuable away point against the Azzurri.following the game the Turfs parted in different ways, some by car back to Roma, some by train to plan for the next outing in Sofia. We will be there tonight in force.

Feature 13 TROUBLE SCORING? YouBoysInGreen.ie We satisfy every fans’ needs YOUBOYSINGREEN ireland v bulgaria/italy v ireland ireland’S SOCCer FanZine iSSue 18 free! Can St Trap banish the Bulgarians and Italians? 1. Do ye take butter vouchers? - Vous prenez des bons de beurre? 2. Can I have a cuisine de France baguette with brown sauce please?? - Veuillez pouvoir l'ordre d'I une statoil baguette cuisine de France avec de la sauce brune 3. Have you any Dogtanion and the 3 Muskahounds DVD’s for sale? - Vous avez n'importe quel Dogtanion et les 3 Muskahounds DVD à vendre? 4. Will you be with my mate? - Vous serez wear face avec mon ami? 5. Batter sausage, Hawaiin burger and a can of Iron Brew please? - Battez la saucisse, l'hamburger de Hawaiin et un bidon de Brew de fer svp 6. Givus a kiss? - Peux j'avoir un frenchy? 7 . Is Willie Prunier playing later tonight? - Est le jeu de Willie Prunier plus tard ce soir? 8. Wheres Sarcozy’s corker of a burd live? - Là où fait l'amie de Sarcozy de phase? 9. G’day mate/Please/Thank you - Bonjour/ sil vous plait / Merci buckets 10. Any chance of a ride? - Toute possibilité d'un gallop? 11. Anyone got a spare pair of undies? - N'importe qui a obtenu une paire disponible des pantalloons? 12. Have you got any brown sauce for my frog legs? - Vous faites obtenir n'importe quelle sauce brune pour mes cui- sses de kermies? 13. 8 yaggiemisters and 1 red bull please? - 8 yaggiemisters et 1 taureau rouge svp 14. Your farts bring tears to my eyes! - Votre bombs de stink apportent des larmes à mes yeux 15. you look like Andre the giants sister! - Vous ressemblez à André la soeur de géants vital sayings in french...

16 Pic ’n Mix: Italy Game Photos (above) Super Ledge almost scores against Italy, (middle) The YBIG hat in Kate’s Cottage. (Right) Sligo Hornet’s on the lock No prizes for finding ‘Where’s Wally’ (above) but is that Wally’s dad (left)? Declan (far right) reflects on another non footballing loss. A few on board before the big game (middle right) Who let the ballonatic in (middle right)? (far right) If I just lean that much closer there bound to get a good shot of my shnoozle. (Left) happy punters having a good sup. (Above) ‘This night is just awesome’ thought Declan until...

Pic ’n Mix 17 No prizes for finding ‘Where’s Wally’ (above) but is that Wally’s dad (left)? Declan (far right) reflects on another non footballing loss. A few on board before the big game (middle right) Who let the ballonatic in (middle right)? (far right) If I just lean that much closer there bound to get a good shot of my shnoozle. (Left) happy punters having a good sup. (Above) ‘This night is just awesome’ thought Declan until...

18 Feature Croke Park, 2009, minutes after Sean St. Ledger had Ireland in front against the World Champions. The old stadium reverberated with the sound of cheering Irish fans as a dream that seemed impos- sible at the start of the World Cup campaign actu- ally now seemed a possibility….the possibility of Ireland qualifying automatically for the finals as group winners. As the fans sang and danced and do what fans do when a special moment happens in football, it was a time when we were all Ireland fans (except for those in blue at one end of the ground) in the All Ireland stadium. Men, women, boys and girls decked out in green were as one in that moment. Alas, a fleeting moment, before Italy scored in the dying minutes to send Ireland to the play-offs and their fans wild with delight as they qualified for yet another World Cup. Croke Park, 2009, minutes and hours after Gilardino’s goal. A glum mood among Ireland fans and the old divi- sions manifest. The passionate fans still believing, the grumpy ones bringing up the same old, same old, the suits who came for a look and now will dis- appear until the next “big” event and the dopey bollox’s who turned up in Ireland Rugby shirts to see the “great” Italians. Not so much the seven dwarfs but the many dif- ferent people who are Irish fans. The one thing they have in common is the Irish team (love them or hate them!) but outside that the divisions become more pronounced. It was a comment attributed to Irish manager Giovanni Trapattoni which not only brought one of these divisions to the fore but sparked of a heated debate within the YBIG forum. Now, apparently, Trappa was supposed to have said that there is no League in Ireland and this comment was taken up by the tabloids which always like to stir up a hor- nets nest. And it did. The comment was obviously lost in translation but it brought back an old chest- nut for Ireland fans about supporting their own League and not clubs across the water. From the outset let me say I am a Bohs fan and have been for years. I also support an English club (Arsenal) and a Scottish one (Celtic). Come to that I also support an Italian one (Juventus), a Spanish one (Real Madrid), a Canadian one (Toronto), a……well you get the picture. But above all of that I support Ireland and when it comes to that nothing is more important in football to me. However, when I say “support” in relation to club sides, my loyalty to Bohs is only second to Ireland but for the “support” for the others let me say I am like the suits that turn up at Ireland matches. I like to see Arsenal do well but if they don’t then I am not going to lose sleep over it. There is also one other thing. When it comes to Europe I sup- port any LOI club in any competition (even if it is Rovers in the Intertoto) but would I support any team against a British side (including Arsenal and Celtic). Weird, yes, but it’s something I can live with! But enough about little old me and back to Trappa. His comments, or misinterpreted com- ments, set Irish fan against Irish fan not so much in a Keane versus McCarthy debate but rather a “them” and “us” debate. For there are Irish fans who distance themselves from the National League of their country in favour of the “delights” of the game across the water. Rather like the pros- titute in Full Metal Jacket who picks and chooses her cliental on account of them being “too buchco! too buchco!” (Sorry, I am in the middle of a Kubrick-fest at the moment!) A friend of mine, a Manchester United fan (first and foremost) proudly used to state to me that he “has never been to a League of Ireland match because “it’s crap!”. He used to spend a pretty penny going over ever so often to support Manchester United. He was also an Ireland fan, of sorts, until Roy Keane was shown the door by Mick McCarthy when he stopped “supporting them.” He later came back but in so far as football is concerned he is a Manchester United fan. And, yes, he was in Croker when we played the Italians in October. He is one of “them” (the inference is deliberate!!) When I was in school I had no interest in foot- Ireland fans: United for one brief moment, divided for too long, DONAL CULLEN mulls over the age old debate of supporting your local team as well as ‘your’ team across the water ‘’ The money spent watching the for-eign clubs, and let’s include those paying for a SKY sub here, by Irish fans is helping support English and Scottish football and does nothing for Irish football

Feature 19 l Manchester United fans watch a game from the bar, below Shamrock Rovers fans celebrate a goal as do Bohemians (right ball…or sport for that matter……..but a close friend was a keen football fan, and a Bohs fan at that. While others in the class would be going on about Johnny Giles, or Terry Conroy (yes, I am that old) he would be talking about Fred Davis, Johnny Fullam and Gerry Daly. So I went with him to the odd match at Dalymount and got hooked. He was one of “us” (he died on the way home from a Bohs game one night). So what is the problem with the League of Ireland and why do Irish fans forsake it for the over hyped media frenzy that passes for football across the water? Now, a lot of “them” would point to the fact that the LOI is indeed, as my friend said, “crap!” Some would say that all the Irish players play over there and that’s why they support who they do (it was one of the reasons I picked Arsenal in the 1970s so I can’t disagree with that) while oth- ers will tell you that Manchester United, Liverpool and Celtic are (ahem) “Irish clubs” and wonder why we of the LOI don’t see that and climb on the bandwagon. But perhaps the better argument they make is that the football is of a much higher quality and better football for it. You also get to see some of the world’s best players. So instead of paying into a LOI ground and watching two Irish teams playing they take the boat over to Britain, spend flippin great wads of cash, get to see some decent foot- ball and are back in time to start work on Monday in order to pay for the next trip. Plus the fact they get to regale their workmates about the great time they had and how “we” played brilliantly. Then there is “us” the poor, humble, LOI fan. We are to be pitied! Yes, my friends. Pitied. No trip to “exotic” locations like Manchester or Liverpool. For us it is an away trip to Drogheda, or Cork, or Athlone. No chance of spending flippin great wads of cash as you can buy the same stuff where you live. No great stadiums. No great players. No great stories to tell your workmates on Monday. No inter- est. So what is the attraction of the League of Ireland? The answer is simple…IT’S OUR LEAGUE! The fact that some people, Irish people, write it off as “crap!” is more to do with their support of foreign Leagues then to the quality of players and football of the domestic game. It is said that Manchester United is the most pop- ular club in Ireland. Sure, doesn’t auld Bertie sup- port them also. There could be an argument for the Celtic hordes in Ireland and even the Liverpool fans but the fact is that the majority of football fans in Ireland support a foreign club at the expense of their own LOI team. Therefore it stands to reason that flippin great wads of Irish euro are funnelling themselves into the coffers of English and Scottish clubs so they can fill their guest rooms with prawn sandwiches lContinued on next page

20 Feature l From previous page while LOI clubs struggle to stay afloat in cities that have football fans who could fill their stadium every home game. However, because they give the two fingers to their local club and their 200 notes to an English club who couldn’t give a fig where they are from, they are not only hitting at Irish football but also at the body controlling the game and hence the Republic of Ireland team. Some support, eh? So then the LOI is a charity case? No! But the money spent watching the foreign clubs, and let’s include those paying for a SKY sub here, by Irish fans is helping support English and Scottish foot- ball and does nothing for Irish football. Sure Irish players make a decent living over there and the fact that they are playing there makes the Irish team a much stronger proposition then one composed of LOI players. And because there are Irish players playing there makes the EPL and the SPL very interesting to even us, the LOI fans. I love to see the Irish players doing well (even those at Spurs, yuk!) and we all get excited by an Irishman who is doing very well for his club. But as for going over to see them play…no thanks! And it’s not a question of money. We of the LOI are football fans. The big differ- ence is that we are also Irish football fans. We support Irish football, our football, LOI football. For us the “we” that is used in reference to our club is reflected back by the club we support. We are part of the club that is part of our country that is repre- sented by the Republic of Ireland football team. We are also realists. We would be the first to object to an all LOI team representing Ireland in the World Cup finals in South Africa because we know that we need our best players to do Irish football justice. The fact that some of them started their careers in LOI football is a source of pride. The fact that they play their football in foreign countries, immaterial. So, does that make us better Republic of Ireland fans? No! The guy who refers to his English or Scottish club team as “we” and dismisses the LOI as “crap” is an Ireland fan too. For “them” and “us” club loyalty ends when Ireland play. The problem is that they choose to ignore the home-grown product for a product that is seen as more superior (which it is) and better entertain- ment (which is bull!). The one thing any football fan knows is that there is no guarantee that any game, no matter what the sides, no matter what League it’s played in, is ever 100% guaranteed to be a classic. Indeed, the opposite is true. Those games hyped out of all proportion (i.e. United v Liverpool, Bohs v Rovers) generally turn out to be pure muck. The opposite is also true. A nothing game could turn out to be a classic. The difference is that the money the LOI fan spends to watch a dismal Bohs v Shels game goes back into Irish football whereas the substantially more money spent going to watch Everton v Liverpool goes directly into English foot- ball and English businesses. Croke Park, 2009. Glenn Whelan rifles in Liam Lawrence’s free kick to give Ireland the lead against the World Champions. The crowd at Croke Park goes wild. Shelbourne fans hug Manchester United fans. Liverpool fans dance with Drogheda fans. Shamrock Rovers fans hug Bohs fans. Ok, maybe I’ve gone a bit too far. Celtic fans cheer and sing with Sligo Rovers fans. All as one. All Ireland fans. No matter that only one of the Irish players on the field had played LOI football. No mat- ter that the Everton fan humping the Athlone Town fan is totally ignorant of the LOI. No matter that the UCD fan is dancing all by him- self. We are all Ireland fans and we are on our way to South Africa…or so we thought. Croke Park, 2009, 15 minutes before kick off. An Aston Villa fan yesterday but an Ireland fan always, but especially today, is complaining about the price of the ticket he has in his hands as too expensive. He goes to Villa Park in Birmingham for every home game and the tickets are not as expensive as this one. “Feckin FAI!” he says. He also buys a pro- gramme which is also too much. “The Villa programme does not cost this much!”, he says to anyone who would listen. But who lis- tens to Aston Villa fans? And yet had he spent even half the money he shelled out going to Birmingham every two weeks on his local LOI club he’d probably have gotten the ticket through his club at a reduced price and the fact that him and more like him are putting the money into Irish foot- ball would perhaps make the FAI reduce the prices they charge for international games…. their only real source of revenue. But like the hopes of actually beating the World Champions, it is a slim possibility.

22 FanZone F rance in croke Park will be his 43rd Ireland game. He’s been to see Ireland playing in London, cardiff and Oslo. His name is aidan Maguire and incredibly he’s just eleven years of age. His record of attending games is probably better than quite a few of you reading this who are old enough to be his dad. This lucky young lad is fortunate to have an Irish fanatic for a father who has followed the team home and abroad for years. Brianie, a long time YBIG’er, does his best to make sure his son doesn’t miss a thing when it comes to supporting the Boys in Green — he also makes sure aidan is on hand to give out a few fanzines around Jury’s before each home game in the past for which we are very grateful! aidan is in sixth class in St. Fergal’s Senior School in Bray. He plays for the famous St. Josephs Boys club in Sallynoggin in the DDSBL in the Under 11a league. He was lucky enough to meet Mr. Trapattoni upon his visit to St Joey’s. We decid- ed this young lad deserved a mention in this edition so we asked him a few quick questions before he had to start his homework. YBIG: Your first Home Game? AIDEN: It was against cyprus in 2001 and I was three years old. YBIG: can you even remember it?! AIDEN: no but me Dad says I burst out crying when niall Quinn scored after I heard the roar from the South Terrace! YBIG: Your first away Game? AIDEN: Wales in the Millennium Stadium in 2007. YBIG: Your Favourite Ireland game you’ve been to? AIDEN: Holland in 2005. The team were brilliant that day. YBIG: Your favourite away trip? AIDEN: norway last year because I went with my Dad and my Uncle and it was an adventure! YBIG: Favourite Player? AIDEN: aidan McGeady YBIG: Will your Dad be taking you to South africa if we beat the French or will you have saved enough pocket money by then to go yourself? AIDEN: My Mam says it would be too dangerous but I’m working on it! YBIG: Have you seen your dad cry at a game in your presence before? AIDEN: I have been warned to say no to that! YBIG: Is it true that you’re not able to go to Paris because of school? aIDen: Unfortunately yes. I haven’t missed a day in four years. YBIG: Lansdowne or croker? AIDEN: Lansdowne YBIG: Your Dad’s cooking or McDonalds? AIDEN: McDonald’s even though I do love steak and chips and mushy peas! YBIG: Favourite band? AIDEN: Black eyed Peas YBIG: John or edward? AIDEN: neither YBIG: School or Mass? AIDEN: School focusfan - Aidan Maguire

FanZone 23 Icebhoy5 - Montenegro After an awful trolley load of local booze called Reijka (50 cent a shot) I was walking down the street outside the local police station. Got a massive speed wobble and fell into a mas- sive rose bush outside the station. Looked up and saw six coppers running out of the station towards me. The thoughts of the Montenegrin Mountjoy was looming until one of the cops pulls out a camera and the other five pose for a pic with me covered in blood in the rose bush. They thought it was the funniest thing ever, wasn’t funny when the gargle wore off!!! bIllybob - nIcosIa; the afternoon of the cyprus gaMe. Gang of about 200 strong drinking, singing and dancing in the nar- row streets of Nicosia with all out hats/ inflated crocs/swords/hula skirts etc. An elderly American couple stop to ask me why there are so many Irish about all dressed up? I explain that we were all on our way to a wedding and Honeymonster was the groom. We ask them where they are from and they explain they’re from some little town down south in the heart of America. Billybob and Gerk answer this by "Well then, G'day mate...let’s throw another shrimp on the barby!”...We then go straight into a verse of “Waltzing Matilda" The Yanks, annoyed at this stage, turn their backs and as they walk off they go over to Honeymonster and tell him that someone better tell those guys they are singing about Australia and not America. MIdlands - MIllennIuM stadIuM – Wales vs Ireland In Cardiff, there’s a lad singing “I’m flying without wings” hanging over the front of the tier. His daugh- ter is behind having kittens... She was asking every- one: “How in the name of Jaysis did he manage to survive Saipan by himself”. To which your man turns around and says: “Please excuse my daugh- ter.....it’s her fist away game and her fu*&ing last... The place fell around laughing and the girl scarpered. deIse316 - san MarIno; gettIng there San Marino last year, went on a weeks holi- days, spent the first cou- ple of days in Rome. Collecting a minibus at 9am Monday morning, all of us out on the lash all day Sunday, ended up in some late night pub about 2 am, one of the lads strikes it lucky with a Norwegian bird. Warned him we were going at 9am with or without him (I was driving, can’t stand waiting around) and told him to have a good night (he did). Anyways, our hero wakes up at 6am, but has no idea where in the city he is. No buses running and no taxis to be got, he heads off down the street and spots a fella deliv- ering newspapers on one of those three wheeler yokes, shows him the address of the hotel. He has no Italian, yer man has no English, so he jumps on the yoke anyways and starts giving yer man a hand delivering newspapers. Yer man seems to be happy with this, they spend the next hour and a half driving around cobbled streets delivering newspapers, yer man drops him off at the hotel door at 8.50am we were on our way out, cool as a breeze our mate goes “be with ye in 5 mins lads”. One of the weirder lifts home an Irish away fan has got I’d say....... n In this photo is Sean Gough in between his sons; Andrew on the left and David on the right. It was their first away game together. Sean followed Ireland from the dark days of the 60s through to the glory days of the 90’s and beyond. Sean was a regular at Lansdowne Road, miss- ing only one competi- tive game since 2000 and he was also a regu- lar in Croke Park. He continued going to Croker even after being diagnosed with illness. n Sean sadly passed away in May of this year. Both Andrew and David will both revisit Paris knowing that their Dad is watching from above. RIP Sean. AwayDays

24 Feature When the LOI fried the French DONAL cuLLeN (him again, jaysus) is a fountain of knowledge and here he unearths this forgotten gem of a footballing David v Goliath N ow I know what you’re thinking. Another piece on the Irish team from the 1930s from yer man but you’d be wrong. Na, na you will be surprised to learn this was in the 1980s and the Irish team was playing in an important competition against a French internation- al side that included players from Nice, Nantes, Bordeaux, St Etienne and Paris St Germain. The date was the 18 November 1987 (date sounds familiar for some reason) and the competi- tion was the Olympic games and France were the holders of the Olympic title in football. When it comes to the Olympics, the Irish Olympic Council is an All-Ireland body and the competitors represent the whole island of Ireland. Any athlete from both sides of the border is accepted and so when it came to entering a soccer team for the Seoul Games the FAI approached the IFA to try and enter a team that would be drawn from the LOI and the Irish League. But the IFA, mindful of its position within FIFA where there were moves from other coun- tries to have the four Home nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland lumped into one Great Britain team, declined the offer. Undaunted the FAI decided to enter a team entirely from the LOI. The Irish team was managed by perhaps the best manager the LOI had ever had. Jim McLaughlin had won practically everything as manager of Shamrock Rovers and was now trying his magic on Derry City and his first game in charge of the Irish Olympic team was to be against Hungary at Milltown almost exactly a year before the French game. Ireland lost 1-2 but put up a great show. Next up was a very talented Spanish side and in a tremen- dous performance goals from Noel Larkin and Mick Byrne saw Ireland draw 2-2 with the highly rated Spaniards. Ireland’s first away games came in Sweden and France and they came away from Dunkirk with another point following a 1-1 draw, having lost 0-1 to the Swedes. Sweden were next up at home but the crowds which had been good for the first two home games dropped off to less then 1,000. Stephen Roche came home from winning the Tour de France on the same day and people thought it was more important to go see him in O’Connell’s street instead of a Swedish side, which included Thomas Brolin, at Dalymount! Sweden won 1-0 and next up was France again at Dalymount.A crowd of 4,000 turned up at a cold and damp Dalymount for a match which within LOI circles generated as much interest as the coming ones against the same opponents in the World Cup play-offs. Even Jack Charlton, the Irish manager at the time, turned up at the game. Exactly a week earlier Gary Mackey had scored in Bulgaria to secure qualification for Euro 88 and Irish soccer was on a high. For the LOI it was a chance to shine and they took that chance. The Irish team was composed of the best the domestic league had to offer. In goal was the best keeper the LOI ever had. Alan O’Neill had been an Ireland squad member on many occasions but had never won a full cap. He was an outstanding mem- ber of the dominant Shamrock Rovers team of the 1980s but was playing now for Dundalk. The defence was entirely composed of men from Shamrock Rovers and again was possibly the best the LOI ever had. Harry Kenny and Kevin Brady were the full backs and the central defenders were two powerhouses in Mick Neville and Peter Eccles. Neville was the best defender in the League by a mile and was complimented by tough no-nonsense Eccles who was a legend at Milltown, a villain eve- rywhere else. Eccles was one of two players in the side who had been capped by Jack Charlton; the other was captain Pat Byrne. Byrne, another Shamrock Rovers player, was the key man in midfield and a leader. He had spent some time in England and Scotland and returned to Ireland to become one of the best players in the League. His partner in the centre of midfield was Dave Barry who was still playing GAA for Cork which in other times might have got him banned. The two outside men were the exciting Barry Kehoe of Dundalk and the Shamrock Rovers wing- er Joe Hanrahan who could turn on the magic when he wanted to and he wanted to this night! The two front men were the aging but still deadly — Noel Larkin and Michael Bennett from Waterford, who was in as Mick Byrne from Rovers was injured. The French full side was playing an important Euro 88 qualifier on the same day as this game in Paris against East Germany and the focus of their ‘’ The two front men were the aging but still deadly — Noel Larkin and Michael Bennett from Waterford

Feature 25 media was on that game rather then the one in Dalymount Park. Both French sides were to be in for disappoint- ment as the Germans won 1-0 to knock France out and the Irish team was to deliver a double whammy! The French team, which included future full inter- nationals Paul Le Guen (yep the future Rangers manager) and Patrice Garande, had played four group games winning one, drawing one and losing two were ahead of Ireland in the table by two points. I ReLanD tore into the French from the off and we had our reward after 19 minutes. Barry Kehoe played a short corner to Pat Byrne who swung over a high center which was headed back across goal for Peter eccles, virtually under the crossbar, to head home. Five minutes later Ireland doubled their lead when Mick neville sent a 40 yard pass straight through the packed French defence which had pulled up to play offside. Mick Bennett was onto it straight away and raced clear. as the French defenders funneled back to catch him, Bennett lifted the ball over the oncoming keeper and into the back of the net. The French tried to come back but could not get through a tightly-marshaled defence and by the time Bennett capitalized on a mistake in defence to put Ireland 3-0 ahead in the second half, their heads clearly dropped. Late on in the game the tiring noel Larkin was replaced by the talented Jackie Jameson, who like Hanahran, could turn it on when he wanted to. In the end Ireland ran out easy winners to consign the French to the bottom place in the table while the win lifted Ireland to third place. Ireland finished the qualifying group with two away games. Dave Barry scored in Hungary but Ireland lost 1-3 while Kehoe and Bennett were on the mark when Ireland drew 2-2 with Spain in albacete. Sweden qualified for the finals where they were knocked out in the quarter finals. Just for the record here are the results of the LOI team which represented Ireland in the qualifying games for the 1988 Seoul Olympics: 1. v Hungary (H) L 1 – 2 Mick Byrne 2. v Spain (H) D 2 – 2 noel Larkin, Mick Byrne 3. v Sweden (a) L 0 – 1 4. v France (a) D 1 – 1 noel Larkin 5. v Sweden (H) L 0 – 1 6. v France (H) W 3 – 0 Peter eccles, Mick Bennett (2) 7. v Hungary (a) L 1 – 3 Dave Barry 8. v Spain (a) D 2 – 2 Barry Kehoe, Mick Bennett l Mick Byrne and Pat Burne enjoy a pint together recently

26 Feature Let BRIAN FARRELL transport you back to the days when Harold’s Cross dog track was better known as the haunting ground of Transport FC. A club perenni-ally on the edge of relegation but a club that loved beating the Waterford boys TRANSPORT toTRAck ’N RuiN G reyhound racing has become a very popular and entertaining way of spending a night out, (not to mention the possibility of getting lucky, and making a few bob) and Monday, Tuesday and Friday nights nowadays sees a multitude head towards the Greyhound Stadium in harold’s Cross.There used to be a tiny, cramped pavilion, with a set of goalposts and a pitch in the middle of the park, (the greyhound track sur-rounding it) but, following great work by Bord na gCon, a complete revamping of the stadi-um and grandstand (with the installation of an upstairs restaurant and Tote betting facili-ties) signalled the end of the football connection.Way back in the 1950s and 60s, dear read- er, harold’s Cross boasted its own football team, now, alas (like the pitch) just a fading memory. Transport FC were the resident club in occupancy at the track, and, back in that long-lost age of youth and innocence, I would make regular pilgrimages across the road to see my favourite team battle it out in the League of Ireland.Transport came into the league in 1948/49, and for the first three seasons, displayed their talents to the good people of Wicklow, the home ground being the Carlisle Grounds in Bray.For the remaining eleven seasons that they survived in the League, they were ensconced in harold’s Cross. Transport never won the League of Ireland title (indeed, never even remotely looked like they were capable of winning it) but they were My team, and were followed faithfully, no matter what vicissitudes overtook them.Almost sixty years ago, in 1950, they man-aged, to everyone’s astonishment (except mine) albeit, after a titanic struggle, to win the FAI Cup (the only major honour achieved). l Transport spent time at the Carlisle Grounds

Feature 27 to They captured the trophy by beating Cork Athletic 3-1 (after two 2-2 draws) a situation which wouldn’t be countenanced these days, what with extra-time and bloody pen-alties, punters got value for money then.Transport ran aground on the rocks of rele-gation in 1962, dropped off the radar, sank into the anonymity of the Leinster Senior League, changed their name to CIE/Transport, and managed, in the interim, to win the FAI Intermediate Cup three times (in 1964, 1966, and 1974).O lder followers of Waterford FC will attest to the fact that, back then, the Blues were never crazy about visit-ing Harold’s Cross: Transport were their nemesis, and many’s the all-conquering, multi-talented Waterford team that arrived at the dog-track cock-a-hoop, and were sent south with their tails between their legs (if you’ll pardon the pun). It didn’t much matter that the Decies men often had the Fitzgerald brothers (Jack, Denny, Ned or Peter) in their ranks, Transport (who seemed to spend the best part of every season in a ritual clog-dancing routine on the relegation trap-door) would tear the form-book to shreds, and send Waterford home pointless. The first player from Transport to win inter-national honours with the Republic of Ireland has a direct link to today’s management team in charge of the international squad: Liam Brady’s elder brother Ray, having given sterling service to the Harold’s Cross outfit, left Transport in July, 1957, to sign for Millwall. He would go on to win six full inter-national caps with the Republic in 1963/64.There were some right comedians playing for Transport back then, but there was one player who would take it a stage further, and become a professional comedian on the Irish Cabaret circuit: Shaun Connors, a fine footballer in his time, and (along with Paul Smith) one of the two founding-members of Broadford Rovers (Ballinteer).Other notables to wear Transport’s black and whites stripes were the ‘wonder winger’ Ollie Conroy, (older brother of Stoke City’s and the Republic of Ireland’s Terry) and possibly the most agile goalkeeper I have ever seen, the acrobatic Kevin Blount, in his prime the best goalkeeper in the League of Ireland, and rightly honoured at Inter-League level.*My heartfelt Thanks to Eoin Hand, one of soccer’s true gentlemen, for his willing assistance with this article. The League of Ireland lost one of their dearest friends recently with the sad passing of Shamrock Rovers fan Mícheál Ó Brolacháin (Rennie). Here, Rovers ultras pay their respects at his funeral. RIP Mícheál Ó Brolacháin RIP

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30 Feature T he record books relate that Ireland's first international football side played Italy in March 1926 in Turin.However, two years previously, a group of Irish sporting pioneers made history at the Paris Olympics, where the Irish Free State had entered a football team.Indeed, they were history makers in another sense too.Participating in one of the opening events on the 1924 Olympics Games programme, they became the first to compete in an Olympics under an Irish flag.In short, they were Ireland's first international footballers and original Olympians.Despite these momentous achievements, their story has been largely forgotten; their exploits lost to history.At the time, they were awarded full caps by the FAI, and the matches were regarded as full internationals. In the intervening years, though, these games have slipped from the history books of the game.In 1999, FIFA ruled that Olympic matches of that era could be deemed as full internationals, providing modern-day justification for how those games were perceived in their own time. It allows the story of these trailblazers for both football and the Olympic movement to be retold. They were the starting point for two rich tradi-tions of Irish sport that bring together names like Ronnie Delany and Liam Brady; Sonia O’Sullivan and Roy Keane; Michael Carruth and Paul McGrath. HOW IT ALL BEGAN The story began in June 1922 when the Irish Olympic Council was accepted into membership of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Fourteen months later, the then FAIFS (Football Association of the Irish Free State) was formally accepted into membership of FIFA, thereby pro-viding formal acknowledgement of its govern-ance of football south of the border. The association had been founded just over two years previously, following a breakaway from the Belfast-based IFA, which up to then had administered the game across the island of Ireland. When in late 1923 invitations to take part in the football tournament in the Olympic Games came winging their way from the IOC, the football offi-cials in the Irish Free State sensed a valuable opportunity to stamp their identity on the world game. In April 1924, the FAIFS, which had the respon-sibility of organising and training the squad, organised two trials to help the selection process. Subsequently a sixteen-man squad was cho-sen, representing four League of Ireland sides. It included five from each of Athlone Town, Bohemians and St James’s Gate with the remain-ing player from Brooklyn. The squad was: Paddy O’Reilly (Athlone Town), Bertie Kerr (Bohemians), Tom Murphy (St James’s Gate), Jack McCarthy (Bohemians), Ernie McKay (St James’s Gate), John Joe Dykes (Athlone Town), Thomas (Bohemians), Tommy Muldoon (Athlone Town), Michael Farrell (St James’s Gate), Joe Kendrick (Brooklyn), Paddy Duncan (St James’s Gate), Frank Ghent (Athlone Town), Charlie Dowdall (St James’s Gate), Denis Hannon (Athlone Town), Christy Robinson (Bohemians) and Johnny Murray (Bohemians). The team was coached by Bohemians trainer Charlie Harris. Although the stipulation of strict amateur status must have limited the choice, it was still a rela-tively strong side by the standards of the time. Athlone Town had won the Free State Senior Cup two months previously while Bohemians were reigning league champions. There was also no disputing the quality of the competition facing the Irish. In effect, the Olympic Games of 1924 was the World Cup of its time. The Paris Olympiad represented the first occa-sion that international sides from outside Europe took part in significant numbers in the Olympic football tournament. Indeed, the eventual winners, Uruguay, who retained their Olympic crown in Amsterdam four years later, went on to triumph in the first World Cup in 1930 featuring seven of their squad which took gold in Paris. ARRIVING IN PARIS The journey to Paris was haphazard and gruel-ling with the players embarking on a marathon ‘’ The unfurling of the tricolour at the Arc de Triomphe was the first time the Irish flag had been flown in Paris. Olympicfame Olympics and irish soccer teams don’t ring any bells with most fans, so how is it that one of the most historic sporting occasions for the fledgling New ireland been forgotten? TADHG CAREY rekindles the lost story of our irish Olympians in paris.

Feature 31 journey just days before their first game. The adventure began on Saturday, May 24th, 1924, when the travelling party gathered in Westland Row, for a brief meal. They then trav-elled to Dun Laoghaire from where they caught a boat to Holyhead. A mid-morning train to London followed. They were then given a short break to catch up with some sleep before continuing the journey to France via Dover. W ith 22 teams entered in the competition, Ireland were fortunate to receive a bye to the second round, where they faced Bulgaria. In Paris, it quickly became evident that the play-ers and officials saw themselves as not merely representing their country but as sporting ambas-sadors of a fledgling nation presenting its creden-tials on the world stage. There was a formal tone to much of the engagements. The party made an official visit to the tomb of the Unknown Soldier and they were present at the formal unfurling of the tricolour at the Arc de Triomphe. – the first time the Irish flag had been flown in Paris. TAKING ON BULGARIA Wednesday, May 28th, 1924, was an historic day in Irish football as the side lined up behind the tricolour and paraded in front of the main stand at Stade de Colombes. Of course, political sensitivities were still para-mount and instead of The Soldier's Song, then an unofficial national anthem, it was the less contro-versial Let Erin Remember which was adopted for Ireland's appearances at the Games. Ironically, in Ireland's debut on the international football stage, it was their opponents, Bulgaria, who wore green, with the Irish bedecked in blue jerseys, white shorts and black socks with blue tops. A spray of green shamrocks was worn on a white shield on the breasts of their jerseys. The Irish captain was Athlone Town's Denis Hannon, who, at 36, was the oldest player among the squads of all 22 nations. Hannon had already represented Ireland before the foundation of the FAIFS, as far back as 1908. He was joined by three other Athlone Town players, keeper Paddy O'Reilly and half-backs Tommy Muldoon and John Joe Dykes. The elev-en was completed by the Bohemians trio of full-backs Bertie Kerr and John McCarthy and out-side-left Johnny Murray, three St James's Gate players half-back Ernie McKay, centre-forward Paddy Duncan and outside-right Michael Farrell and Brooklyn inside-left Kendrick. If the Irish media, was for the most part, rela-tively under whelmed by the Games, the players were acutely aware of the importance of the occasion as they represented their country on the international football stage for the first time. This understandable nervousness and their recent arrival in Paris combined to ensure a slug-gish display. Ireland started in over-enthusiastic fashion, embarking on a helter-skelter approach which served little constructive purpose. However, after the break, they began to settle and dominate proceedings and most newspaper reports indicated they were value for a wider margin of victory. In the end, they needed a second-half goal from St James's Gate striker Paddy Duncan to see off the Bulgarians, in front of a sparse crowd of just 1,569 people, of whom more than 1,100 were in receipt of complimentary tickets. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE l The Ireland team that played USA

32 Feature From previous page i f history was being made, there were few there to witness it. But we can at least resurrect it’s poignant memory THe QuarTer-FiNaL Nonetheless, ireland were through to meet Holland in the quarter-final. The Dutch had put six without replay past romania in the second round and were expected to easily reach the last four. The game was set for monday, June 2nd, in the smaller stade de paris. For this clash, ireland made one change with Kendrick replaced in the forward line by athlone's Frank ghent, bringing the midland club's represen- tation to five players. it remains, to this day, a record for the most play- ers provided by a single club to the starting eleven of an irish international side. ghent justified his inclusion by grabbing a 38th minute equaliser after the Dutch had gone into an early lead through Feyenoord striker Formenoy. ireland enjoyed the better of the opening half, but were on the defensive for the majority of the second period. ireland thought they had edged in front late on, but the referee ruled the ball had not crossed the line after a goalmouth scramble. Formenoy though broke irish hearts with his sec- ond of the game towards the end of the first period of the second half. ireland pressed valiantly for the rest of extra time but were unable to breach the Dutch rearguard. ireland had surprised the footballing world by running the Dutch so close. indeed, they were within touching distance of a bronze medal. it was no surprise then that the atmosphere in the losers' dressing room was later captured by Hannon when he said he had never witnessed such a disappointed team. The Dutch themselves went out at the penulti- mate hurdle, beaten by sweden in a play-off for a bronze medal after a replay. THe posTsCripT ireland, though, were not finished with football in paris and played a friendly international against estonia the very next day. The four players who had yet to feature were given a run-out in a side captained by John Joe Dykes, thus ensuring athlone Town had the honour of providing ireland's first two captains. This time, goals from muldoon, Duncan and robinson saw ireland prevail in a 3-1 victory. soon after their return home, ireland hosted the united states olympic side, who were on their own voyage back to the states. ireland added a number of players who had been ineligible for the amateur olympics. among them was Bohemians Ned Brooks who bagged a hat- trick in a 3-1 victory over the americans in Dalymount park. This game, along with those against Bulgaria, Holland and estonia, deserves inclusion in ireland's footballing record books. The irish olympic footballers had taken a signifi- cant step into the unknown and returned with the country's sporting reputation intact. it was to be some time before ireland was again represented at football in the olympics. The cost of the entire enterprise and the Fai's deep unhappiness at that time with its relationship with the irish olympic Council deterred any repeat performance. The story of ireland's first international team is told in a recently published book, When We Were Kings, written by Tadhg Carey. To buy the book visit the site...www.whenwewerekings.ie l The Ireland team that played Bulgaria

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36 Quiz 1: Who is the latest manageri- al vacancy in LOI? 2: Name the two cup finalists? 3: Which is the oldest team in the LOI? 4: Which is the newest club in the League? 5: Which team has completed its 1st year in Div 1? 6: Who is chief executive of St Pats? 7: Which team was in the High Court most often in 2009? 8: Which club had the most dismissals in 2009? 9: Who is leading goalscorer with Bohs? 10: Name any of the four clubs from the Premier Div 2000/2001 season which are not in the Premier Division any more? 11: Who finished in last place 2000/01? 12: Who was last in 2001/02 season premier division? 13: Who was runner up 2001/02 Premier Division? 14: How many games did Kilkenny win in 2000/01? 15: Which league of Ireland team does the current Minister for Justice (Dermot Ahearn) support? 16: How many games did St Pats win in the 2001/02 season but still didn't win the league? TROUBLE SCORING? YouBoysInGreen.ie We satisfy every fans’ needs YouBoYsInGreen ireland v bulgaria/italy v ireland ireland’S SOCCer FanZine iSSue 18 free! Can St Trap banish the Bulgarians and Italians? LOI QUIZ Answers 1: Sean Connor--Dundalk 2: Sligo Rovers and Sporting Fingal 3: Bohs 4: Sporting Fingal 5: Mervue utd 6: Richard Sadlier 7: Cork city 8: Dundalk with 17 9: Glen Crowe 10: Longford, UCD, Finn harps & Kilkenny 11: Kilkenny 12: Monaghan 13: Shamrock Rovers 14: 1 game 15: Dundalk 16: 20 games

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