Madam, - As the FAI prepares to dispense with the services of Steve Staunton, I think it is important that the following two questions be asked before the search for his replacement begins.
1. Are John Delaney and the FAI capable of finding, selecting and managing a manager of the Irish soccer team?
2. Would a successful or even a partially successful manager who is currently employed be prepared to work for Mr Delaney and the FAI?
As I believe the answer to both questions is a resounding "No", I would like to offer a suggestion which might lead to the Republic of Ireland attracting and retaining a competent international soccer manager. I propose that Minister of Arts, Sport and Tourism Seamus Brennan should intervene in the recruitment process on behalf of the sports-loving people of this country. I think he should appoint a committee of three former Ireland managers and ask them to investigate best practice in the appointment and on-going management of an international soccer manager.
This committee should be asked to report to the Minister within a month and the Minister should adopt and implement its recommendations.
It is sad that a decent man like Steve Staunton has to be let go. However, it would be a travesty if Mr Delaney and the FAI are allowed to have a role in recruiting or managing his replacement. - Yours, etc,
COLMAN COLLINS,
Bushypark,
Galway.
Madam, - Now that FAI chief executive John Delaney has done his Bart Simpson impersonation ("I didn't do it - no one saw me do it"), who is to blame for the fiasco that is Irish soccer? I do not blame Steve Staunton. Who would turn down the chance to manage his country's international team?
Steve Staunton has done his best and it was not good enough. So the FAI will try to blame it all on him. I expect the "blazers" to do their usual thing by protecting their positions and sacking Staunton, They will then bury their heads in the sand and wait till the row blows over and normal service can resume with another so-called world-class manager.
I feel the only honourable thing is for the appointment committee to resign, starting with John Delaney. - Yours, etc,
MARTIN DUNNE,
Portersgate Court,
Clonsilla,
Dublin 15.
Madam, - Irish international soccer is probably at its lowest ebb since the 1960s. It is very difficult to see a return to the heady days of the 1980s and 1990s. The chances of an Irish team taking part in the World Cup in 2010 are extremely remote, unless the root cause of the decline is solved.
Steve Staunton was a great footballer and a great servant of the Irish team in those heady days. But he should never have been appointed as manager as he had no experience behind him to enable him to do the job. The real problem is the amateur way in which the FAI has handled its affairs for many years now.
Unless the FAI becomes a truly professional organisation and employs people who really know about soccer, the Irish team will continue on its downward spiral. If this continues, even old Dalymount Park would be too big a stadium to host Irish internationals as the fans will not continue to pay outrageous prices to watch the dreadful spectacles which have been dished up against Cyprus, San Marino and Slovakia. - Yours, etc,
BRIAN DALY,
Killiney,
Do Dublin.
Madam, - Can we conclude from recent history that there is an inverse relationship between the performance of the national economy and the national soccer team? - Is mise,
RORY O'DONNELL,
Milton,
Massachusetts,
USA.