I understand that John Delaney is lining up Bryan Robson, with Mick Martin as his assistant, to replace Brian Kerr if he resigns in the wake of Fran Rooney's imminent dismissal as FAI CEO. Apparently Kerr has privately informed a number of council members that he'll walk if Rooney is pushed but I understand that most don't think he'll do it. Even so, Delaney has his contingency plan in place. Rooney will be gone by Saturday despite government pressure on the FAI to keep him.
The jury is still out for me with Kerr, but nevertheless, this would be little short of disastrous. Also, the FAI and the government will have to be very careful about undue interference. FIFA has been very quick to act when a government rather than the country's FA is pulling the strings. If memory serves me correctly, I think Greece got into serious trouble on this front within the last year, and many other associations have been suspended for governmental interference.
I dunno it sounds kind of shady. Rooney has been an improvement over the idiots before him so I hope he gets to stay. And Kerr too of course.
Y'know, the more I read and hear about Rooney leads me to wonder if he is the good guy. Any leader (especially one who comes in after a coup) always has a honeymoon period. Rooney seesm to have pissed off all, from his quasi-equals to the staff. This does not bode well, though it does appear that only one side of the story has come out to date. Reports seem to indicate that perhaps he may just have been acting the role of the good guy, whereas in fact it was business as usual for him, especially as it related to Baltimore Technologies - his previous place of employ. Read more in one of these reports here: http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=1274377&issue_id=11590
This must be a joke? If you appoint "Pop", then you'll need Terry Venables to help out when he is indisposed. "Indisposed as a newt" that is. Mick "Zico" Martin has been working as a radio hack in north east England for years - would he be a wise choice, even as assistant? My guess is that his chief qualification is having propped up the bar with Pop in many a Geordie boozer over the last few years.
It has been reported this morning that Frankie Rooney has resigned. He failed to get the backing of the FAI council and took his decision out of neccessity. The suggestion that Brain Kerr may follow would appear to be wide of the mark however as, if newspaper articles are to be believed, the team management side have also been frustrated by Frankie's unorthodox methods and long periods of 'unavailability'. Packie Bonner certainly won't miss him!