AGAINST THE ODDS:Our hero dreams of a love song for the League of Ireland, of dead men walking
MOST PUBS in Dublin on a grim Monday night in November were graveyards for punters, and Foley’s in Clontarf was no exception.
With many regulars observing a month’s abstinence in preparation for the serious stuff in December, and it raining cats and dogs on Dublin’s northside, the bar was virtually deserted, save for a hardy crew of six middle-aged men sitting by the telly in the corner.
As they downed the finest of stout, Vinny Fitzpatrick mused about how the quiet, off-the-cuff jar of a Monday often morphed into a right skinfull.
Over the years, some of the finest slurping had taken place in November when Foley’s was a ghost town and the lads had the run of the place.
This night, for example, there was hardly a sinner around, even though Liverpool were on the box against the might of Birmingham City.
As a blueblood Everton fan, Vinny disliked Liverpool intensely and often backed against them, as he had tonight, punting €20 on Birmingham at 100 to 30 to draw.
With Fernando Torres missing, he felt Liverpool were vulnerable, and so it proved.
While he didn’t let on, the dodgy late penalty which enabled Liverpool plunder a 2-2 draw suited his financial needs, and he felt a glow of satisfaction course through his veins as a “result” came up.
Brennie, being Liverpool to the core, ranted on about how Rafa Benitez needed money to spend in the January transfer window if Liverpool were to get back into the title race.
“Excuse me?” interjected Macker, a major Manchester United head. “Have you seen the table? You are nearer the relegation zone than the top. The title race is over, and it was from the day you sold Alonso in the summer. You’re so ordinary you’ll do well to finish ahead of Everton.”
Brennie exploded. “Typical United arrogance,” he thundered. “You only win things because Fergie has referees wrapped around his finger. We got a soft penalty tonight, but how many have you got over the years? I suppose it helps when games at Old Trafford last five minutes longer than anywhere else. Whenever United aren’t winning at home, cowardly refs add on a couple of minutes of Fergie-time. You’ve won titles by default.”
As Brennie regrouped, Fran waded in. A life-long Leeds United supporter, he had borne his club’s fall from grace stoically, but liked to remind the lads of the history of the former Elland Road giants.
“Listen to the pair of you. You might as well fight like cats, because it’s all going to change when Leeds are back in the Premier League,” he warned.
“We were the team United and Liverpool couldn’t cope with under Don Revie, never forget that. You’ve had it too good for too long and it’s time some Yorkshire steel was applied to puncture your egos.”
As was his custom, Vinny listened and observed. There was no point in barking on about Everton because the lads didn’t have a view either way about his beloved Blues. They regarded David Moyes as a sound manager, but the club didn’t stir their emotions the way it did for Vinny, except when they were playing either United or Liverpool.
As the ranting, the finger-jabbing, the point-scoring continued, Vinny wondered why the League of Ireland didn’t evoke a similar passion play among the lads.
In 30 years a-supping with Macker and Fran in Foley’s, he could never once recall having a fiery conversation about the local game.
In that time, he had seen some great teams come and go: Dundalk, Shamrock Rovers and Derry City, all managed by Jim McLaughlin, a remarkable Derryman.
For a spell, St Pat’s, Shelbourne and Cork City had held the high ground, but now it was the turn of Vinny’s adored Bohs to rule as the league’s top dogs.
They’d just won back-to-back titles for the first time in their 119-year history, yet the lads wouldn’t recognise manager “Nutsy” Fenlon if he walked in off the Clontarf Road and ordered a pint.
They didn’t share Vinny’s fervour for a league that was on their doorstep, and had never been to a ground – except when an English club sent a second-string XI over and it cost an arm and a leg to go to see them.
Fran only went to the FAI Cup final at the RDS last year because he was infatuated with a Lithuanian lovely half his age, which, Vinny reflected, was probably as good an excuse as any.
With Brennie, Macker and Fran rowing over who was the greatest English club manager – Bill Shankly, Don Revie or Alex Ferguson – Vinny thought about trying to convert his friends to the joys of the League of Ireland.
He thought about it, long and hard.
Did they really want to experience the joys of the Carlisle Grounds in Bray, where he got absolutely drenched last Friday in an uncovered stand and watched mindless fans fling seats on the pitch and cause trouble? He thought of Cork City players having to go on local radio for a whip around to pay for a bus to go to Dublin; of Kildare County players borrowing gear from a non-league club to play a game; of Dundalk having 19 players sent off in 36 league games.
He thought of the raw passion of the Derry City supporters, only to be reminded that those same fans no longer had a team in the League of Ireland due to financial irregularities.
He thought about taking the lads to Tolka Park before it was knocked down, or to Dalymount, before the wrecking ball levelled it too. He thought of Morton Stadium and shivered.
He thought of J Alfred Prufrock’s “half-deserted streets, The muttering retreats”, and then thought against saying anything.
Unless there was a radical change of mind-set by the league authorities and clubs, the League of Ireland was a dead man walking, and Vinny knew it.
He caught Dial-A-Smile’s eye, ordered a round and rejoined the conversation with the lads.
“For me, the best club manager in England of all time was Howard Kendall at Everton, and here’s why,” he said.
“His beloved Bohs had just won back-to-back titles for the first time in their 119-year history, yet the lads wouldn’t recognise manager ‘Nutsy’ Fenlon if he walked in off the Clontarf Road and ordered a pint
Bets of the Week
3pts Australia to beat Ireland (11/10, Boylesports)
2pts Ireland to draw 0-0 with France in first leg of World Cup play-off
(6/1, Paddy Power)
1pt Lay Ballyboden to beat Ballyhale (6/1 general, liability 6pts)
