John Giles has shared his delight at the news that a deal that would lead to the redevelopment of Dalymount Park is close to being agreed.
If all goes to plan, Dublin City Council will step in and take control of the Phibsboro ground with the finished stadium set to be shared by Bohemians and Shelbourne.
John was on Off The Ball as always on a Thursday and reacted positively to the latest developments.
"I think a lot of football people, including myself, would have been very unhappy if we'd lost Dalymount and I know a lot work has gone into saving it," he said.
"To lose Dalymount, for soccer people, would have been a very bad day. So, I'm delighted they've saved it and the Council have stepped in and there will be football at Dalymount for the future."
The stadium, which currently serves at the home ground of Bohs, means a lot to John and he recounted his many memories of going to games at Dalymount as a child and then living the dream of playing there.
John also paid tribute to former Republic of Ireland footballer and manager Liam Tuohy (81), who won the Special Merit award at the Airtricity/Soccer Writers’ Association of Ireland awards.
"He was a huge influence on a lot of people in Irish football for a long, long time," he said, looking back at Tuohy's influence before the days of Jack Charlton.
The former Leeds legend also remembered a famous European Cup semi-final against Celtic at Hampden Park from 1970 which attracted over 136,000 people through the turnstiles.
John also turned to the latest action from the Premier League, previewing Arsenal's trip to Manchester City. He also feels that Stoke forward Marko Arnautovic should have been punished for a "definite push" on Arsenal full-back Mathieu Debuchy, while he also thinks that Santi Cazorla should remain in a central role even if Mesut Ozil returns.
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