Richmond Park is the place to be this Friday as the clash between bitter rivals Pat's and Shels has taken on an ever bigger edge following the saga of the 9 docked points........
Lights, cameras, action. Very often the big TV games don't live up to the expectations of the fans but in this case it hardly matters. Pat's supporters have been eagerly awaiting this fixture to voice their disapproval of Ollie Byrne for his malicious meddling in the Marney case. The Shels secretary who has recently been embroiled in a sordid assault charge following a complaint made to gardai by Derry City fans over incidents at Tolka Park appealed the ruling of the League to fine Saint Pats £1000 for fielding an unregistered player. The end result of Shels' interference in the Paul Marney case has seen Pats, by far the league's best team, chopped out of their top of the table position and deducted 9 points won fairly on the football field. It is on the football field and not in the courts that Pats will be looking for full revenge on Friday.
To add even more spice to this most heated of Dublin derbies Shels boss Dermot Keely has openly charged the league with corruption. Keely , an unemployed school teacher and part-time gossip columnist in The Sun, has complained that his club has been the victim of a vendetta by the league because of FAI displeasure with Shel's stance on the Marney ruling. Allegations of dodgy referees and red cards for Shels players due to some form of "payback" have hardly helped to calm the hysteria.
Indeed, Keely is a past master at controversial media outbursts. In one famous episode he even tangled with Mr. Nice, Dave O' Leary, "You're nothing, you're only a legend in the League of Ireland," said 68-times capped Republic international O'Leary during a pre-season friendly at Tolka Park. "At least I'm a legend in something and didn't spend my career crawling up George Graham's arsehole," replied Keely.
The childish personal feud between Keely and St Pats boss Pat Dolan has rumbled on in their respective tabloid rags. "We are two very different people. I have been at Pats for ten years. Dermot jumps from club to club. So don't ask me to shake your hand, Dermot," barbed Dolan. Keely retorted: "According to him I am a tinker. I'm pretty sure that's what he said, unless of course he was complimenting me on my tactics and wanted to call me a thinker before his diction let him down."
Thankfully for Irish fans, the football world might soon lose Keely back to teaching. The Shels boss is so incensed about a recent defeat to Shamrock Rovers that he is considering his future. We can only hope! In other news Friday will also witness the welcome return of Dermot Looney's popular Saints Fanszine, When the Saints Go Marchin' In. Bring on the $hels. It's Payback time!
The above article, by Peter Ryan is adapted from a piece in Issue 20 of the Fanzine 'When the Saints Go Marchin' In'. Picture and article reproduced with the permission of Dermot Looney, Editor.