Among one of the odd consequences of having more analysis of sport than ever, is that occasionally the supporter, it seems, can now be congratulated or blamed for a result. I only say this as in Ireland at present there’s an awful lot of fan bashing going on in the press and on TV.

In rugby, our supporters are being disowned for not turning up at the airport to welcome home our country’s much maligned squad from the World Cup. Well not all fans, seven kids turned up (the press reports said nothing of their parents, though if they’re not counted as supporters I can only think they stood looking at Paul O’Connell shaking their fists and yelling ‘why I oughta’ until they were removed by security).

Even if Ireland won the World Cup I’d be waiting in town with a pint before the open-top bus comes around my direction rather than heading out through shitloads of traffic to the airport. Is that treason or something? And what’s out there anyway? Large men in suits walking through the arrivals section, that’s what.

The thing is, thousands of supporters went over to France and sang like patriotic drunken idiots for the entirety of games where the team played in a terrible manner unseen for nearly a decade in Irish rugby. But some commentators still defending the side and their manager think that general ill-feeling towards the team since the start of the tournament contributed to their downfall. Rubbish.

Some of these fans were also present in the Czech Republic and Slovakia when Steve Staunton’s men turned in dour, pass-less performances last month. One friend of mine who went to these games as well as the rugby, now claims he’s suffering from an odd form of depression after the whole debacle. Poor git is a Liverpool supporter too.

Yet, if he picked up some Irish papers last week, and no doubt a lot more in the next few days, he’ll be told how he should get behind Ireland again next Saturday against Germany and to feel like traitor should he dare look on the brightside if we lose. That brightside is of course that Stan would be a goner and a new manager – hey why not go crazy and even get a guy with experience this time – could be in place sooner rather than later.

What’s lost in all of this is that the fans have no problem getting behind their country; it’s an in-built thing and they need no reminders. Any ill feeling comes out of frustration that after yet more support, after outlaying yet more of their earnings to follow their team, they are rewarded with the kind of dirge Ireland fans have endured in the last few years.

Liverpool and Celtic fans have been credited with helping their sides to victory in the past. While, no doubt, they have helped, supporters don’t win or lose games. It’s a good topic for pundits but the more intelligent among them (ie Johnny Giles and eh… eh…) tend to dismiss the impact as minimal, and they’re right.

The Emirates has proven a decent hunting ground for Arsenal so far this season where the atmosphere is apparently appalling. Even in the good old days at their former home, the crowd were often referred to as the ‘Highbury Library’. The generally poor support of the Old Trafford crowd is also a well worn topic since Roy Keane’s infamous ‘prawn sandwiches’ outburst some years ago. Although, even I have to admit their rendition of “Ashley Cole’s a Wanker lalalala” is pretty special.

Back to Ireland though and RTE – Ireland’s version of the BBC for those in the UK – have been running ads this week with highlights of USA ’94 and the 2002 World Cup in the Far East, with the tagline “it’s easy to support them in the good times but now they need your support more than ever”. Frankly, shove that sentiment up your collective arse RTE, okay you get the usual bandwagon jumpers at a World Cup but that happens everywhere, even Brazil.

It’s more fun to support in the good times sure, but in my lifetime I’ve witnessed Ireland in four tournaments – Euro 88 and the World Cups of ’90, ’94 and ’02 – and collectively that’s about 60 days in 27 years. Otherwise, generally, it’s been a whole heap of misery, peppered with decent friendly wins and ultimately meaningless ‘moral victories’. I don’t need to be told to support Ireland like some halfwit plastic shamrock waving gobshite. RTE may as well have put an ad out commenting that birthdays tend to be a better laugh than funerals.

Over the weekend Steve Coppell seemed to indicate he may be interested in the Ireland job should it come up. Paul Jewell is said to be sniffing around too. Both of these appointments would be a step up obviously, and let’s be honest here, there’s not a whole heap of options for us to choose from. Put it this way, whenever a newspaper lists the most likely candidates, John Aldridge is still in the frame. If that doesn’t indicate dark times I don’t know what does.

As for Ireland fans, they will turn up at Croke Park next Saturday and support the side, but once the result comes through, if it is anything less than a win, let there be no idiotic tabloid-shouting about the fans being fairweather. We’ve watched plenty of shit down the years with this team, so frankly, fuck the FAI, RTE and assorted column writers if we want something better at this stage.

JJ

Now, not that I would want to dance on the misfortune of a thoroughly awful human being, but by god it’s good to see John Gregory has been found out again as the joker he truly is. I watched the 5-1 drubbing that West Brom handed his tepid QPR side on Sunday and, looking like an eighties vampire as per usual, ould Johnny was not a happy fella. His chairman, Gianni Paladini, would take only 24 hours to give his good friend Gregory the heave-ho and with a heavy heart he told the BBC, “It was a very hard thing to do. I have nothing but admiration for what John has done for the club.” This is the point that you realise that Paladini had long since ceased to be a sensible chairman and instead become an over-protective friend. Gregory’s time in charge saw QPR play 48 games, lose 23, win 13 and draw 12. Yup, with a win ratio of less than 30 per cent, Gregory’s mark will stay with the club for a long time Gianni. I’d say the fans will miss him as much as Nottingham Forest supporters treasure their memories of David Platt’s infamously idiotic time in charge there. The sad thing is, in football,  it’s really not what you know at all, but who you know… and what they can get you and how large can your buy-out clause be. Hiring your friends to positions that are worth hundreds of thousands of euro (and that’s at the lower end of the scale) is common practice in football, yet few chairman seem to realise they’re on to a loser. Being friends with those in charge might get you the job but it won’t keep you there. Just as sure as Gregory will prop up the dole queue in west London in the coming days, John Barnes shall never return to management. The Liverpool legend was brought to Celtic at the turn of the century, during which time his brainwaves seemed to be the only thing affected by the Y2K virus. He was a good friend to Celtic’s then kingpin on football matters, Kenny Dalglish, and got the job because of that and nothing else.  When Barnes was being escorted out of Celtic Park in a police van surrounded by thousands of angry supporters as Celtic crashed out of the Scottish Cup to Inverness, even he had to realise that perhaps he wasn’t up to the job. Bryan Robson was Boro chairman Steve Gibson’s best mate for the guts of a decade before the latter saw the light at last and off-loaded the once great player and his awful brand of football. They became too close and had Robson been given the sack earlier, the talent that was in his side could have been far better utilised. But episodes like this haven’t stopped chairman from ignoring logic and their fans’ wishes when making appointments. Dennis Wise being chosen for Leeds United by his mate Ken Bates springs to mind (nope, seven wins and a draw in the third division does not count as good management when you consider last season). Then there are the obvious two examples that currently have fans of their respective teams tearing their hair out: Avram Grant and Stan Staunton. Grant was hired due to being good company around a dinner table. Stan was hired for being great craic whenever he met up with FAI (god I shudder when I write this) ‘supremo’ John Delaney for a few scoops.  It doesn’t work. Managers should be hired on their record and not a friendship with a chairman. Gregory had not been in management since 2003 before he was hired last year by Rangers; this surely should have said something to his friend. But no, against all sense in the world he hired him and Paladini now must deal with the consequences.  But like Gibson, Delaney, Dalglish and countless others, he can have no one to blame but himself. There are even rumours that another friend of his, Gianluca Vialli, may take over. Well what with his astonishing record in the Championship (a 40 per cent win-rate from five years ago with Watford) who could argue with that.  He’ll be hiring from Facebook next.