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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Eamon Doggett

Brian Kerr slams John Delaney's Irish football legacy

Brian Kerr pulled no punches as he slammed John Delaney's time at the Football Association of Ireland.

Delaney's departure from the FAI was confirmed on Saturday night after a settlement was made between the parties. 

Kerr has been a long-running vocal critic of the organisation and he didn't hold back when asked on Virgin Media Sport about Delaney's legacy in Irish football.

John Delaney (Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin)

He said: "I think we are just at the end of a disgraceful era, as far as I'm concerned.

"There was massive reputational damage to football in Ireland, to the association and even ordinary people who are involved in the game have had to take a lot of stick.

"It appears that him (Delaney) and the rest of them that were involved on the board have left behind a complete financial shambles. We don't know the extent of that financial shambles yet until we hear the results of some of the reports.

"They've left behind a staff whose morale is at a very low ebb due to how that have been treated. Some brilliant people were discarded over time and they have found that their pensions were not even paid properly. Yet there appears to have been a big settlement to ensure that John's pension was paid up properly.

"The programmes for underage development were all badly resourced during this period of austerity that was overseen by this regime and I think the game has suffered for that.

"The League of Ireland has suffered, the grounds haven't advanced, the prizes for teams winning the league or the FAI Cup are abysmal. 

"The two qualifications for France (Euro 2016) and Poland (Euro 2012) covered up a lot of problems. I and many others have said for years and years that the organisation lacked leadership and that has now been exposed. 

"It was sad the way it came about. They went into the government buildings and had a chance to explain their stewardship and they decided to shut up shop and hide behind lawyers. 

"Thanks to the brilliant journalism that has taken place over the last while, we now have an idea of what was actually going on during this time.

"Many of us suspected a lot of what was going on. We didn't know the full extent of it, but the game has suffered really, really badly through this era and will continue to suffer."

John Delaney (©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo)

Kerr also sounded a note of caution over the future of the FAI given potential reforms in governance and finance.

He added: "The opportunity is there, but we need a new broom. We haven't got a new broom.

"We have a couple of the same directors still around and some good people from within the game have emerged on the board.

"There seems to be an emphasis on retaining some power from the previous board. They shouldn't have power.

"The chairman of the football management committee, which is supposed to be a key committee for the future of the game, has no football people on it.

"They should have went for some outside expertise in football administration at a high level or management and coaching at a high level to chair that committee.

"We will get a new chairman and a new CEO and hopefully that will give it a new flavour. Hopefully then we can start to get the proper funding and respect in the game again."

Virgin Media Sport will show all Champions League matches over the course of this season, with Liverpool v Red Bull Salzburg and Lille v Chelsea kicking-off at 8pm on Wednesday. 

If you haven't already, be sure to like our Irish Mirror Sport and Irish Mirror GAA pages on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.                                                                                                        

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