The Pen pushers are a serious issue

Some top GAA lads get work in the banking sector and the middle of the road lads will opt for the gardai,army, teaching and local authorities as it sports friendly and you are guaranteed to make training. After all they are unpaid professionals.

Unpaid professionals shame on the GAA if that is the case so gantoo7, these lads deserve a crack at being proper professionals which is why they were shown up againt the Aussies. You see the probably falling in between 2 stones are in decent shape but could be so much fitter with professioanl training and in the meantime not doinf their job correctly in the public sector. I feel sorry for them as in truth some people are saying they are good at neither now since the Aussies beat them having never seen a round ball before. :(

These GAA lads in my opinion would probably prefer to have their jobs at the end of the day as your playing days are limited. But sure by keeping the series alive most of them will get a nice paid holiday to OZ.

The rugby lads are professional... well paid and most of them are fairly well educated and will pick up employment when their days are numbered.

Our paid soccer professionals in this country got a hammering from the Man Utd reserves but at least the fai have a €3 million fund to retrain these lads........lets hope they keep the fund as they are €70 odd million in debt and pay a ceo €435k a year.........savings can be made everywhere.

Was down at my local govt office for a business meeting is right.All the rovers fans go to business meetings I'd say.It would be interesting to see what % of LOI soccer a fans are a burden on the state,it's propably close to 100%,and maybe more if you count the ones who are signing more than once and claiming disability allowances that they are not entitled to.

I was chatting some of the players in the clubhouse last night and they told me only for Fianna Fail 72% of the GAA players that were hammered against thst young Aussie team in gaelic would be unemployed when i went on one of my anti FF rants. I think they were telling me that they were some positive things from FF. I told them to drink their pints win the championship next year and get us a big day out in front of 20,000 people in the club final in 2012. After the FAI cup final it is has whetted my appatite for club finals as we don't have county teams, although that was in a brand new stadium and front of a crowd the GAA club football final could only dream about !!! :(

I would be worried if they said anything else, that % should be higher considering we had almost full employment in this country(bar a few that never worked). If you check the facts the average age was in or around the same so the young aussie team theory is wrong. Now a team of seasoned professionals getting beaten by a reserve team with a lot of youngsters on it as John O'Shea said " a good run out".

Your selling your loi very short comparing ten or so soccer teams to the amount of club teams in the country cork has 300 or more........what would you compare local soccer teams to....very unfair rundown of soccer in this country.

It's well for these lads that have a clubhouse to drink pints in when some local soccer teams don't even have anywhere to change and are playing on mucky pitches all because they wouldn't be able to field a team during the GAA season.

OH mate easy on reserve team Man U soccer ain't your sport now if Man U had never played the sport and had beaten us then i would be worried ala Aussies. :D The average age of that Aussie team was 19 a lot of those players had never even played first team games and some had never seen a round ball.

As one high ranking GAA official said to me with the IMF in and the GAA going the big fear for us will be a more equal handouts of any grants going i.e. Soccer the most played sport will get the bigger grants, worrying times for the GAA and their main product of gaelic football :(.

19 and never seen a round ball....good one...I hope your private business meeting was only to tax your car and nothing to do with facts or figures and it looks like these people worked through lunch to facilitate you.

Get an average of 19 there.......

http://www.gaa.ie/about-the-gaa/international-rules/player-profiles/2/

GAA will be grand it has no competition as you admit yourself.......I would love to see local soccer clubs get a few quid they are hard done by and have terrible facilities.

Sitting down now to watch the champions league.

I think it was 19 most had never played in front of a crowd before, some were even injured and could only use one arm while they learned the new sport of gaelic football in a week and a half.

gant007 i you can't beat us join us :D

Soccer is a great sport glad you are addmitting it :)

The youngest lad was 20 and played for the adelaide crows........big club with big crowds avg. att  35000 per game.

Whats this us business...watched the Chelsea - Zilina match. Heading over on the 27th Dec to the away game at the emirates.

I thought you were a full time gambler, what do the Govt offices want to do with you?

@Squigs private business mate

@Gantoo it football its a beautiful game you must have got the bug for it from watching the cup final, i bet you never thought you'd see a crowd like that at a clubs final in any sport in Ireland esp not even a double header final. Welcome aboard Gantoo you are now a full soccer fan :D

Yeah no worries should respect privacy,

Will have to see this years double header attendence, should be in and around 35,000 as per usual.

Squigs any early value in any of the championship markets? I know it's a little early but i think Louth are ok again this year at 10/1

Didn't watch the cup final but €10 into an adult final will never be repeated.....the loi had to give the game in this country a boost...lets hope it doesn't go back to 6/700 at matches on a friday night.......could the league mix it with other sports by having it's games on sundays at maybe 2/3pm to allow kids to go.

Maybe the league can become more popular and better supported than local club sides....you never know.

Imagine €10 into an adult final in Croke Park - 80000+

Better judges then me around on GAA, but yeah Louth look solid enough for Leinster, they have what looks like a good draw in that they will avoid Dublin, Kildare and Meath untill the Leinster final.

They are the value in the Leinster market though a fancy Kildare to have another good backdoor season and be in and around there come September.

Roscommon seem to have a nice little draw for Connacht as well but and the 12/1 might look big in a few months time, they have an excellent forward line and Roscommon G.A.A has had a great year all round.

I would rather wait though maybe untill the league season or at least the teams are back training  before placing any biggish bets.

@ Gant just checked my email mate guess what i found :D an email offering me a €10 ticket for the All Ireland club finals last year in both Hurling and Gaelic Football. Yes both finals drew a crowd far less than the FAI cup final, the 80,000 mate where were they gant? :D

Oh by the way floodlights are at all grounds so why not use them? :D

I believe this is game set and match :D

Oh i am too cockey at the moment but if people don't think something is value they simply won't go gant no matter how low the ticket prices go.

a chara,

All four corners of Ireland, surprise packages, seasoned campaigners, Joe Canning and Henry Shefflin all for just EUR 10.

But you have to hurry – AIB GAA Club Final tickets are only EUR 10 from 1 pm to 2 pm today (Friday 12th March) and then go back to a still great value EUR 15 until match day. Juveniles remain just EUR 5 at all times.


@Squigs Roscommon was the other team i was looking at Sligo don't seem to have a ot coming up and so of their players are getting a little old. Also have midfield issues that won't be fixed. St B's doing well for Roscommon in the club scene, i think very good chance of them reaching the final at least in connacht.

Good stuff rocketfingers you lads are really on the up.....the pressure is on now to repeat it and not slip back to poor crowds...........Athenry and the village of ballyhale competing with the large provincial town of sligo and a large urban area with a population of 100k plus........not bad for an amateur organisation......don't get too cocky if you want to steal the number 2 spot from the rugby lads.

Squigs...be careful backing Louth a few of their lads have left the country to get work...nearly sure Brian White is gone or due to go in the new year...he will be a huge loss.

A fair few of the younger lads from all counties have to leave...that's life.

Sligo is a town of 19,000 Tallaght is an area with many clubs compare this to Belfast and it really is game set and match, no wonder we are the  most played sport on this island by some way. :)

Now where was the 80,000 you promised if tickets were a tenner Gant?

I'm sure the biggest day of the GAA calender be it hurling or football would fill 2 croke parks for a tenner a pop and free for kids.........Dublin alone would fill croke park for the 1st round of the championship for a tenner they nearly do it for 3 times the price..........for the most played sport in the country as you put it will you lads ever see a 75/80000 crowd.........the international boys did it at croke park........if the game is that big step up to the plate.

As for your question..I would be confident the biggest days of the GAA calender would pass 80000 if tickets were a tenner.

What has belfast got to do with Sligo and Tallaght....I am sure all the players in the many clubs around the tallaght area look upon the rovers players as their idols.

Its really an east coast league with sligo and galway floating about.

Where was the 80,000? Gantoo answer the question or by not answering you are admitting club soccer attracts more than club gaelic

Rocketfingers feeling very smug

what is the question?.......Do I need a crystal ball........Will answer if I can or will I do your party piece and let the thread go dead......

You said if there was an adult final in Croker at 10 euro a ticket there would be 80,000 easy at it, well there was 2 on in one day it was 10 euro a ticket with a team from Belfast in it and there was only 34k at it. So i am asking why was there not 80k at it like you said there would be if tickets had been price the same as the FAI cup final. So come on gant answer the question, if you can??

I am enjoying this gant

Rocketfingers...you win...village club sides cannot compete with the professional premier league clubs....you got me I just can't handle you.

Belfast a village? Since when gant? Amateurism is the sporting ethos of the GAA you're a bit late complaing about it now poor auld gant more chance og Belfast being a village than the GAA going pro

Gant has taken a serious bashing on here

Rocketfingers...I said imagine it was a tenner.....was it not €15. Would you have got 35000 on St. Patricks day.

Daddy has schooled you well.

You got me on Belfast hands up..........like the average age of the aussie team being 19 and the entire international rules team all govt. employees.

GAA is just not popular anymore I can't defend it.......but at least you admit your top teams only compare to club sides be it village, town or city.

I aint complaining about the GAA being amateur. When you lads get a full house on your biggest day I will tip my hat.

Rocketfingers...you are like the punter who always breaks even. Well done.

Sorry...pro punter/trader.

you have to admit gant, he's put the wind up you a couple of times recently

He got me bigtime...forgot about the Belfast club.

But sure it's only a bit of craic....his fact and figures never add up but nobody on here really cares.

You can never get an answer out of him and he always wins........he has a future in politics.

Go on Gant

Decent bet tonight for you two if you have a Billies account Barcelona -1 on the corners handicap at 1.95 ;)

Cheers...Playing up a bit of last nights winnings and did Valencia/Barca double @1.7. Good punting

now thats nice to see  you two .

I have to admit, It amazes me how people sit in judgement of the public service at the moment. There are useless people/spoofers in all walks and areas of employment. Plenty of these people are decent hard working Joes who deserve respect. I work in the private sector and can say without doubt the amount of spoofers is quiet incredible. Middle management being the worst in my experience spending all day talking about X Factor etc.....

Can only agree with Diamond Joe.

Not sure what kind of fairytale you boys are living in, but it is very simple the country is broke we can no longer afford the current pay levels of the public service and the semi states i may add (and the banks, effectively  public service now). Why a 10% cut to new staff ? Keep the status quo happy, yea that seems fair, not. The public/civil service works on length of service nothing to do with ability.

I live in a world where people who do an honest days work are given respect. Just labeling an entire sector as "Overpaid" or "hanging around, kicking back" is pretty naive. No one denies cuts are needed, they are but the demonisation of the public sector has been pathetic when there is just as much waste in some areas of the private sector

at the end of the day though Diamond Joe, the public service answer to the taxpayers , the private sector don't

Forget about the Public Service v Private sector battle, Barce beat Pana 5-1 on corners tonight all is well and good in Ireland

Gant i hope you were on !

I too live in a world where my country is broke, there are half a million of my country men and women unemployed, where the young again are being forced in to emigration and where business are closing every day. But the public service is protected at all costs, cut pay to market levels it is that simple. The cowards in Fianna Fail have left the necessary cuts for the next government.

As for demonising the public sector how is pointing out that we can not longer afford the current levels of pay doing that ? Just common sense really. And if the unions cared about their members equally why a 10% cut for new staff ? are the old staff better because they are there longer ?

at the end of the day though Diamond Joe, the public service answer to the taxpayers , the private sector don't

No they don't. They respond to their employers....The Government/Different Depts/Offices etc....
The Government are answerable to the Taxpayer through the ballot box.

Public service provide a service and deserve a vague bit of respect for doing it instead of the vitriolic 5hite thrown in their direction.
Of course cuts are needed and of course major cuts are needed in the public sector.

As for demonising the public sector how is pointing out that we can not longer afford the current levels of pay doing that ?

The OP pointed how many of the public sector are FF "Friends and are Kicking back etc.....Cushy job....
Sensationalist rubbish

But the public service is protected at all costs

The cuts have been outlined and there will be more over the next decade have no doubt. What else do you want exactly?

Fair enough Joe, thought you were saying i was demonising them. Just to add I have friends in the public service.

No No Barney, sorry for the misunderstanding

the public sector have the only employer in the country which is borrowing to pay wages and pensions. 4 billion was the health budget 10 years ago and it was 16 billion in 2007. the average pay last year was 950 euro for an average 32 hour week. the croke park deal won't last any more than 6 months. it's inevitable pay will be slashed further otherwise we are doomed.

well diamond joe I have nothing against the public sector whatsoever but you can't compare the public sector with the private sector.  The same rules don't apply

What Rules? Genuine question. Not being smart :)

the public sector have the only employer in the country which is borrowing to pay wages and pensions.

And whos fault is that? Many would say the employers, though its still doesnt distract from the fact cuts are inevitable

'Diamond' Joe Quimby Joined: 14 Oct 05
Replies: 4271 24 Nov 10 20:18 
I have to admit, It amazes me how people sit in judgement of the public service at the moment. There are useless people/spoofers in all walks and areas of employment. Plenty of these people are decent hard working Joes who deserve respect. I work in the private sector and can say without doubt the amount of spoofers is quiet incredible. Middle management being the worst in my experience spending all day talking about X Factor etc.....

I know you are not being smart Joe, no problem..  It was more this post I was refering to,  of course their is going to be more stick etc with regard to the public sector in this climate, the same rules don't apply imo.  Regardless of whether there is wasters in the private sector , this information is not public information.  How the public sector is ran ( wages,perks etc etc is )

What else do you want exactly?

To be honest Joe it would take to long to go through. I guess in short it would be Accountability/Responsibility. I deal with a lot of state departments and the lack of it is unreal.On a lighter note i also want the phone answered after 4 :)

There are a lot of very good and able people in the public service and I truely believe that.In my opinion they are hampered by red tape and the "thats not my specific job" type attitude of people who have been there for years and who do not want or encourage change.

I also want the head people and middle management of the department of Finance sacked for gross incompetence.