From top Champagne Football and its authors Paul Rowan (left) and Mark Tighe
Tomorrow.
Paul Rowan and Mark Tighe, authors of the best-selling Champagne Football: John Delaney and the Betrayal of Irish Football: The Inside Story (Penguin) will take to the piping hot stool(s) of doom to answer YOUR Questions.
Champagne Football devastatingly chronicles the fall of John Delaney and the FAI, taking in a time from before Genesis to the squalid revelations exposed in The Sunday Times last year.
Please leave any questions or queries below for Paul and Mark on the book, Delaney, FAI, League of Ireland or any other matter and we will ASK them, via the medium of ‘telly’.
Previously: Answer A Broadsheet Reader on Broadsheet.ie
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The opening chapter of that book is hilarious. Any time I’m having a bad day, I just give thanks I wasn’t at that party.
curious to know how widely within the grassroots was it known what Delaney was up to? was it just him or is the whole thing rotten ?
Good question.
A few of the grassroots guys I know used to fawn over him. They were on first name terms. They had a mobile number for him and he used to ‘look after them’ with tickets etc. Would be interested to know if this was widespread. They’ve all gone very quiet on him and that relationship just like Michael Healy Rae.
I’ll second that motion.
Anyone else know the Posnan Beer Train story?
Unrelated to the above. But worth the watch.
Warning: Vom inducing
John the Baptist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nhTMK9BemU&ab_channel=GreenArmyNewsTwo
As I can’t afford champagne Bollinger I’ll buy a 2 litre bottle of Ballygowan sparkling next time I visit the local shop.
Broadsheet should run a competition to win this book.
Scottser, I’ll see if we can sort that out. Thank you.
See Bertie’s comment below.
Why did we play Oman all the time? Was there anything uncovered in relation to this
Do you think the actions of Delaney & Co over the years have held back the fortunes of the national team or would they have been rubbish anyway ?
What do they make of Ivor Cummins’ Lion’s Mane fallacy and it’s implications for possible widespread N-cell immunity?
I reckon ivor has a book to sell
What did you make of Michael Healy Rae’s glowing endorsement of him when Delaney was called to answered questions by the government committee? Do you know of any other politicians and public figures that were his fans but have now suddenly gone quiet?
Should Jack Byrne start tonight ahead of Hourihan?
How much do you reckon the PDF of your book doing the rounds on WhatsApp cost you in sales?
Did you create the cover artwork in MS Paint?
What do you think Delaney’s end game was?
Obviously he wanted to get as much money and power for himself as possible, but he didn’t seem to have an exit plan. Was it simply a case that he expected to be able to keep putting out the fires for as long as it took?
Has Niall Quinn done anything to steady the ship since or is he just as big of a spoofer as I’d expected him to be ?
Do Paul and Mark have confidence in the new board of FAI to run it well?
John’s opinion of the League of Ireland as a “problem child” must have been shared in the FAI. How bad was the relationship between the FAI and LOI? Did John isolate them by focusing on grassroots? Is there any other business model that can be matched by the FAI wherein English/foreign clubs develop your players and you reap the rewards?
Programme was disappointing. Nothing in it we didn’t already know about.
Any idea how long their Board Meetings took, where were they held, and did ye get access to the minutes of those meetings?
If so, Were votes taken by show of hands or secret ballot?
Were reports, ie Finance Reports read and discussed, queried at BMs, or just taken as read, and who delivered the Finance Report, the Treasurer, JD himself, or the Finance Director?
Is there any indication in the Minutes to suggest to an outside reader entitled to view the Minutes ie External and Internal Auditors, that JD himself exerted dominant influence over the board.
also
When can we expect YE2019 Accounts? Are they being delayed over ‘Going Concern’ and the need to secure guarantees from Government or a big ticket sponsor before signing off
Are the IRFU is a position, either financially or permitted by their own rule book to act as a Guarantor
Ta, V
Was there any evidence that Delaney was a qualified accountant?
Since you mentioned it
I just checked with my own crowd there now
and he’s not ACCA qualified anyway
Good coup BS.
My question is a 3 parter, if that’s cool.
When PAC ordered Delaney and FAI into government buildings to grill them for their corruption did Mark find it intersting that some TD’s used the GAA as an example of how to properly conduct their financial affairs?
Consjdering the GAA refuse the pay for play concept do they now have questions to answer in regsrds to who actually does get paid and how much they get paid?
And would Mark be intersted in writing an expose on the Grab All Association, as it’s widely known, in a working title ‘Seriously Lads! Where Is All This Money Going? ‘.
To mention their staunch historical and current connections to the catholic church, who coincidently use the sane financial concept when conducting their business affairs. All praise and no pay.
Peace!
here, https://www.gaa.ie/api/pdfs/image/upload/zqzwyx0xnugvpw4zirtp.pdf
out months ago
on time
good luck finding any GAA Employee getting their birthday parties paid for and a 2 mill contract end bonus
How long til Kenny gets the bullet?
I really hope not
but could be Staunton II – and we all look back, scratch heads and think, “wasnt really his fault… just didn’t have the experience for the job”
I think he’s earned his shot but he really needs a change of luck soon, the vultures are circling.
Who attended his 50th birthday party?
Did Brian Hayes and his +3 attend?
There wasn’t much said about the invisible hand protecting JD on last nights programme, or, did I miss the chapter covering Dinny he who can not be named?
There’s plenty of quotes in the John The Baptist video I posted earlier.
“John could run anything. He could run EUFA or even FIFA if he wanted to.”
I think he meant to say ruin, but how or never.
Who were the 3 TD’s that interviewed ( + 2 civilians) that appointed Delaney?
How much juicy stuff did Penguin’s lawyers take out?
Hi all
I met John Delaney a while back
I was giving the cupla focal and presentation trophy n’ medals etc at the Robbie Keane Academy Cup
And he actually shared an Alan Kelly story with me
And it included Willie O’ Dea
If I get the chance I’ll share it when I’m next in BS.tv
Also know Gary Owen and Niall Quinn
Although one privately, the other Niall through the local soccer scene here in Crumlin
Shared loads with me about the Social Dividend and his own experience in that area in Sunderland
And his thoughts on the FAI – pre JD exiting, and his own plans to get on the Board there