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Stuey Byrne gets to the heart of the '42,000 morons' remarks

Listen to the full interview via the podcast  Last night former Shelbourne manager Der...



Stuey Byrne gets to the heart...
Soccer

Stuey Byrne gets to the heart of the '42,000 morons' remarks

Listen to the full interview via the podcast 

Last night former Shelbourne manager Dermot Keely opened a can of worms after comments he made on television.

While talking about last week's friendly between Shamrock Rovers and Liverpool which drew a large attendance at the Aviva Stadium, he was critical of the "42,000 morons going to watch Liverpool’s reserve team" when the domestic league is struggling for gate receipts.

Stuart Byrne was on that show last night and tonight he joined us on the line to discuss the fallout from Keely's remarks.

"If one thing comes of it, it's the social media reaction and I think it's a big positive," said Stuey, hoping that Keely's points spark meaningful debate, although he believes the "42,000 morons" comment needs to be parked as it detracts from the crux of the matter.

Stuey spoke about a number of issues that need to be addressed including one-season contracts for players, the reasons why Irish people are willing to fork out for matches in England but ignore the League of Ireland, and the "disconnect between supporters" and their local teams.

He also believes that the profiling of League of Ireland players is inadequate in terms of giving youngsters people to look up to.

Roddy also joined us again for the first time since he left the Derry City job last Sunday and he spoke about aspects of the matter.

"I've never worked for a better chairman. An honorable man. An honest man. A very straight man and a very passionate man. A man who loves Derry and a good Irishman," said Roddy, who was adamant that he had no regrets and that he will remain in management. 

However he also touched about the nastier stuff which erupted as the Derry situation unraveled and how it affected his family.

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