GAA Warns About Lansdowne Status

By Cathal Dervan

The Central Council of the GAA agreed to open Croker for another year at a meeting on Saturday, but with the strict proviso regarding work at Lansdowne.

A statement from the GAA said, “It was agreed to accede to the IRFU and FAI’s request to hold three Six Nations rugby and two World Cup soccer qualifier games respectively in Croke Park in the spring and autumn of 2008.

“The use of Croke Park will not extend past 2008, even if the Lansdowne project should experience delays as the 2005 Congress decision in relation to use of the stadium is no longer applicable post 2008.”

The GAA’s decision, however, clearly comes with a warning on the Lansdowne Road project, set to be given the go ahead or vetoed by Irish planning board An Bord Pleanala, within the next three weeks.

Any failure to begin work on Lansdowne by 2008, or any decision to build on a new green field site like Abbotstown, will result in the withdrawal of Croke Park as an option for both international teams.

The IRFU are scheduled to host three competitive home games in 2008, with Ireland’s soccer team set for at least a couple of World Cup qualifiers in Dublin.

The news was welcomed by FAI Chief Executive John Delaney and Irish soccer team boss Stephen Staunton.

Staunton said, “It is a fantastic venue and I know that the players will relish the prospect of our games taking place in such a world class stadium.”

The association confirmed that no other GAA grounds would be made available to the IRFU and FAI, but also that no application had been made by the two associations.

The GAA added that an application to host two friendly games in 2008 by both associations was not discussed at the meeting.

Elliott Injured STEPHEN Staunton’s plans for the European Championship clash with Wales that will make or break his Irish managerial career have been hit with another injury nightmare, with Sunderland striker Stephen Elliott ruled out for six weeks.

Elliott has had surgery on a troublesome ankle injury and will miss the Croke Park dates with Wales and Slovakia that could determine Staunton’s future.

Sunderland boss Roy Keane said, “Stephen had an operation on his ankle yesterday. He has been struggling with it for three or four weeks and it’s similar to the problem he had on his other ankle.

“It’s not a major disaster in terms of how long he will be out. Hopefully he will come back stronger and finish the season well. His goals could be important to us.”

Beleaguered Irish boss Staunton has found an unlikely ally in the shape of his predecessor Brian Kerr as the fall-out continues from the recent 2-1 win in San Marino.

Staunton is fighting for his job after the poor Irish performance and the heavy criticism that followed, but Kerr believes the focus should be on the players who let Ireland down.

TV pundit Kerr told Setanta Sports, “I certainly wondered whether they cared enough at times, given the level they’re playing at every week and so on. That question mark is always going to be there when you have a performance like you had last week and against Cyprus.

“It’s a reasonable question to ask and it’s certainly something that needs to be put to the players at times. I suppose it’s easy for me to say this, but at times there’s too much attention put on the staff, and the manager in particular, rather than the performance of the players.”

Celtic Travel

CELTIC fans will be let into the San Siro for their mouth watering Champions League return against AC Milan in a fortnight and the ground could host a capacity 80,000 crowd.

Recent crowd trouble in Italy, including the death of a policeman before a Catania-Palermo game, has seen major security initiatives launched at all Serie A games.

But UEFA have now confirmed that Celtic will travel to Milan for the second leg of their last 16 tie after hosting AC in the first leg on Tuesday night, and the crowd could be bigger than initially expected.

Milan’s security boss Giovanni Terzi told the Sunday Mail, “We are in the process of installing more turnstiles at the San Siro. There will be 40 for Inter’s game against Valencia this week but, by the time Celtic come, there should be 60, which would let in 80,000 fans.”

Celtic warmed up for the Milan game with a 2-1 victory at Aberdeen on Saturday when strikers Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and goal scorer Craig Beattie earned praise from manager Gordon Strachan after another league win.

“Jan and Craig both played well and I thought Beattie was good and I liked what he did,” Strachan said. “I had a word with him about last week’s performance, but he has taken in what I had to say.

“Jan developed a bit of a strain to his hamstring which hindered him in the second half, but I am hoping that we took him and Craig off early enough, so that they will both be all right.

“I would have liked for it to have been my own choice that they came off, but they had a look at the situation and decided that it wasn’t worth staying on.”

Japanese midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura scored the second Celtic goal with a brilliant free-kick.

Keane’s Dream

ROY Keane believes Sunderland can become a huge club in his native Ireland. The former Manchester United captain, now manager of the north east of England club, expects to attract support from his homeland.

Keane said, “I think there’s a cult growing around the club in Ireland now. Over the years they’ve all been Man United, Celtic, Liverpool and Arsenal fans, but we’re hoping to break into that.

“With the Irish lads here it’s obviously helped, and the fact I’m involved, Niall’s Irish and the owners of the club are Irish. There’s a lot of interest and even if we just become a lot of people’s second-favorite team, that would be nice.

“We’ve discussed pre-season a bit already. We’ll have a better gauge at the end of the season when we know which league we’re going to be playing in. But there have been talks and we’re looking at Ireland.

“But there are no plans for an away kit in green not at this moment in time!”

Keane’s team, who will play in Galway in August, took another step towards promotion to the Premiership with a 4-0 win over Southend at the Stadium of Light on Sunday, with former Irish striker David Connolly again on the scoresheet.

Players Out

CLUB commitments have forced Sunderland striker Anthony Stokes and Sheffield United midfielder Stephen Quinn out of the Ireland under-21 squad next week’s Madeira International Tournament.

Goalkeepers Darren Randolph (Charlton Athletic) and Shane Supple (Ipswich Town) and midfielders Owen Garvan (also Ipswich) and Darron Gibson (Royal Antwerp, on loan from Manchester United) are also out of the initial selection.

Manager Don Givens has called up goalkeepers Rene Gilmartin (Walsall) and James Russell (Chelsea) while Crewe Alexandra’s Michael O’Connor and Sunderland’s Billy Dennehy have also been added to the squad.

Eircom League players James Chambers of Shelbourne, UCD’s Ronan Finn and Gary Curran of Sligo Rovers are also included in the traveling party.

Cork Moves

CORK City boss Damien Richardson has strengthened his squad significantly with the capture of former Bohemians player-manager Gareth Farrelly and Cobh defender Darren Murphy, while he is still hopeful of persuading Irish international midfielder Colin Healy to sign for his hometown club instead of Scottish side Falkirk.

Veteran midfielder Billy Woods has also strengthened Richardson’s hand for the new season by agreeing a new one year deal with the Turners Cross club.

Richardson told the club’s official website, “Billy is an experienced player who knows the club very well. I’m very pleased to have him on board for another season as, along with his proven talent, he will add valuable experience to the squad.”

Shel Shift

SHELBOURNE owner Ollie Byrne is to hand over control to a new management committee at the club led by former chairman Gary Brown, but he will not be selling the troubled outfit.“After 20 years I’m retiring from all that activity permanently,” Byrne told the Sunday Independent. “I’ll still own the club, but the Management Committee will have full autonomy to run it. I will go to the matches, and hopefully enjoy them.”