The focus of this pod is when Jackie Charlton was the boss so we are looking at Euro ’88, Italia ’90 and USA ’94. The golden era for Irish international football.

Because of the limit I set for the pods (keep the length under an hour) it was very hard to select which tunes to include. I once again called upon our football and musical consultant Fredorrarci from the occasionally visited Sport Is A TV Show because it was he who first found all the Ireland-related European/World Cup songs.

I read his reply to my email, took in his thoughts and then pretty much ignored most of it. Apologies to you Fredo, but because of the number of songs and time constraints I had to be tough with the selections.

So here now is the latest FootieAndMusic Podcast – Dreaming of Ireland:

Tracklisting:

1. [audio] Jackie Charlton interview before the 1988 European Cup
2. [audio] Ray Houghton goal v England at Euro ’88 (Danish or Swedish commentary ?)
3. The Pogues – Fiesta
4. [audio] Ronnie Whelan’s goal v Soviet Union at Euro ’88
5. Christie Moore – Joxer Goes To Stuttgart (live)
6. Dublin City Ramblers – The Boys In Green
7. Dermot Morgan – What A Beautiful Team
8. Republic Of Ireland Football Squad – Put’em Under Pressure
9. [audio] Kevin Sheedy’s goal v England – World Cup 1990
10. Watch Your House – Ooh Aah Paul McGrath
11. The Memories – The Game
12. [audio] From the film The Van – the penalty shoot out v Romania at Italia ’90
13. The Dubliners & The Pogues – Jack’s Heroes
14. Charlie O’Neill and the Goal Celebrities – Drive it Jack
15. Against The Grain – On The Ball
16. [audio] Ray Houghton’s goal v Italy at the 1994 World Cup
17. One Hit Wonder – Ole 94
18. Dr Morgan – That Old Jack Magic
19. [audio] Jack Charlton and John Aldridge go mental at the officials in the match v Mexico
20. Born Na Gaeilge – Seo Linn Go Mherica
21. Paddy Reilly, Ray Treacy And Shamrock Rovers Squad – Thank You Jack

Additionally…

I really wanted to include all of Fredorrarci’s suggestions but as mentioned… I have though previously posted the World Cup songs by Dermot Morgan here and here.

Additional to the additional:

The band The Dublin City Ramblers, like Dermot Morgan sang a few songs about football.
One of them was included in the podcast and there’s two more here:

[See post to listen to audio] » Dublin City Ramblers – Que Sera Sera [See post to listen to audio] » Dublin City Ramblers – You’ll Never Beat The Irish

It is with thanks to @Dunnie77 for the suggestion of the Ireland theme.

The F.A. will be counting the cash a week on Wednesday with England hosting Nigeria at Wembley, but before they are away in a Euro 2012 qualifier away to Wales.

Now going on previous results/form of both national teams England *should* walk this one…

Additionally we have the sideshow of the newly anointed Gareth Bale, currently on form. But as you know one man does not make a team.

Before we get to the next Euro competition though I want to remind you about England and their journey in a previous Euro Championship which didn’t go that well…

Ok that’s an understatement. It was in fact an unmitigated disaster.
England went out in the group stage after they played and lost all three games, scoring only two goals and conceding 7 in the process.

My friends in Ireland will remember the first group game well and will not need reminding. For the rest of you though it was when Ray Houghton nodded one in with the only goal of the game.

- As recreated a few years later by Baddiel & Skinner on Phoenix from the flames:

After this the Republic of Ireland drew with the Soviet Union and then narrowly lost to the Netherlands, the eventual winners. It wasn’t enough for them to go through and along with England (but above them in the table !) they went home.

» Via dermothardy.com: A detailed look at Ireland’s progress for Euro ’88.

» Article in the Guardian: On Second Thoughts: England at Euro 88.

In the above article Rob Smyth argues that it wasn’t just a poor performance that was to blame for their results, but some ill-fortune that fell upon the England team.

I myself believe non of it and can pinpoint exactly where it all went tits up. It was even before a ball was kicked and all because of these three:

For those of you of a younger age who never experienced this particular dark part of our musical history: They are Stock, Aitken and Waterman, or S.A.W. as they were also known, and from the mid-later 80′s they were responsible for production line, mass marketed bland music.
In fact listening to today’s music with the Beibers and Jonas and that type, it’s like they never went away.

So because they were the thing at the time and could pretty much guarantee a chart hit* with whatever they were given, (a soap star, a struggling band – or something the manufactured themselves, such as a tea boy) the clueless suits at the F.A chose them.
*For the record: It reached Number 67)

So then shudder at this production that nearly stopped all decent football and music:

[See post to listen to audio] » England Football Team (1988) – All The Way [See post to listen to audio] » England Team (1988) – All The Way (Extra Time Mix) [See post to listen to audio] » Eng Team (’88) – All The Way (On Yer Head Dub)

Oh and joy of joys… here’s the video as well:

Additional Tag: JackieCharlton

Extra Time:

[See post to listen to audio] » Mark Knopfler – Why Aye Man

The webstats are telling me that in the run up to last Saturday many people were looking for an appropriate song to get themselves in the mood before the 1st leg of the WC qualifier at Croke Park.
  The most popular search was for a song originally released for Italia ’90 – Put Em Under Pressure (also The Memories – The Game).   But in the last few days the 2002 World Cup song Here Come The Good Times has leapt up the ranks.

Ah the cruelest luck with that
When searching for an image related to the Rep of Ire v Fra game similar results to the above came up. Such as this and this. Ok maybe not the last one, that was another didn't-qualify-for-that-one-either from four years ago.

So the odds are against them for the Wednesday return bout in what will be a high pressured atmosphere. (Watch yourself there Andrews) But once again, I don’t need to remind you. It is football…

I’ve decided to post something that is a rallying call to the Republic of Ireland squad. I say – as many others I’m sure are saying – go for it lads. Go on give it a lash.

This is one of the plethora of songs released for the 1990 fever and actually made it to number 1.
I’ve paired it with a re-recording of the same that he did four years later.

[See post to listen to audio] » Liam Harrison & The Goal Celebrities – Give It A Lash Jack [See post to listen to audio] » Liam Harrison & The Goal Celebrities – Give It A Lash Again

» Liam Harrison on MySpace

Doin' it fer the kids

The next two World Cup Qualifiers are crucial ones for some teams. By the summer of next year we may or may not see Argentina and Portugal. We most probably will not see Maradona (who is actually promising threatening to quit anyway) and Carlos Queiroz this time next week even if they somehow scrape through.

In Group 8 there is still a chance for the Republic of Ireland to automatically qualify, but they will have to beat Italy at home on Saturday to do that.

At the moment the Italians are top of the group, 4 points ahead of Ireland – who are 5 ahead of third placed Bulgaria. A win would obviously secure it. A runners up spot will put them into a lottery.

- A lottery which now, because of a whim by Sepp Blatter, has a seeding.
From the Irish Times:

Republic of Ireland full-back Kevin Kilbane has hit out at the decision to seed the World Cup play-offs. The 32-year-old could win his 99th cap against Italy on Saturday evening as the Irish attempt to overhaul the reigning champions at the top of Group Eight with just two games to play.

However, with the Italians enjoying a four-point lead as they head for Dublin, the chances are that Giovanni Trapattoni’s men will have to settle for a place in the runners-up lottery, provided they do not allow third-placed Bulgaria to close a five-point gap on them.

FIFA’s decision to seed the draw, which was announced last week, means Ireland would come up against one of the stronger sides left in the competition, and that has come as a major blow.

Sending positive thoughts to them for Saturday’s game which hey, you can actually watch on TV.
Wonder if anybody will tune in to watch this…? Yeah maybe one or two…

Sending positive tunes as well with the official song for the 2002 World Cup.

Not included in that above photo some of you will keenly remember (Ugh !) was a certain person who (what is known as doing a Sarah Palin now) quit the team right before the tournament began.

Actually is he still at Ipsw….? Just checking.

This World Cup was their reappearance after their fantastic time in the USA in ’94, then hitting a low by not qualifying for France ’98. And despite losing a midfield general Ireland still did well…not 1994 Quarter Finals standard… but still they got to the knockout stages and were only beaten by Spain after extra time and pens.

» Relieve all those moments and remind yourself of that time with the Beeb’s World Cup 2002 page.

For the song the FAI asked Dave Couse, who was the singer of the (difficult to Google) band A House, to re-record one of their songs: Here Come The Good Times.

Before hitting the studio (along with guest appearances from Mick McCarthy, Aslan’s Christy Dignam, Dustin The Turkey and some boy band members), listeners to Today FM’s Ray D’Arcy Show were asked to phone and text in to suggest some new football-related lyrics for Couse to record.

One of those lines in the song goes;   "...With Keane to lead us there is nothing to fear..."

[See post to listen to audio] » Irish World Cup Squad – Here Come The Good Times

… and of course the original, which was released as a 2 part CD single collection and included cover versions of songs done by T-Rex, The Damned and err…Donna Summer…

[See post to listen to audio] » A House – Here Come The Good Times

[See post to listen to audio] » A House – Children of the Revolution

[See post to listen to audio] » A House – I Feel Love

[See post to listen to audio] » A House – All We Need

[See post to listen to audio] » A House – Everybody Needs Something

Never leave football again* Never.

Selected quotes taken after the Coventry v Ipswich match - which ended in defeat for the Tractor Boys. :

“I’ll be down tonight but the day my appetite isn’t affected by defeat I’ll be out of the game. I am trying to learn from my experiences at Sunderland and not get too downhearted but I will not get home, put my feet up and have a whistle.

“But I’ve been like that since I was eight or nine years old. the beauty of it is that we have a game on Tuesday night so that can cheer me up.

“There will always be disappointments in football but I will be okay – don’t worry about me.

“This will put a dampener on my birthday for sure but Roy Keane’s birthday is not, and should not be, important in the grand scheme of things.”

Via the BBC

* Of course you can leave Ipswich if you want, but don’t wait too long to come back again next time.

** Image nicked from Fisted Away.

*** Bonus: Something originally posted over on Red Rants:

From the Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show podcast – this is something from those funsters Gift Grub which is sung by quote: “Roy Keane” about that boy Ronaldo. You know the one, just moved to that Spanish club…

[See post to listen to audio] » Gift Grub – Gift Ronaldo (Roy Keane)

Oh and have a Happy Birthday.

Update - The original song:
[See post to listen to audio] » The Kinks – Lola

Yet Another Update: More Keano quotable goodness.

“…I feel capable of running a top, top club. I want to manage teams who are challenging for trophies and playing in the Champions League.

“I need to be a little bit more patient with myself. You have to have a hell of a lot of experience to manage the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea.

“But I am confident that one day I will be manager of one of the big teams.”

» source

No disrespect to his current club at all there…

I mentioned in a previous article that Sir Bobby Robson was on borrowed time. That was August last year.

He defied all the odds and continued to fight, but finally as everyone I’m sure now knows…

I loved that man, so easily likable, approachable and friendly. Which I supposed is all the same thing but I don’t care. When you are eulogizing someone you can get away with it.

He is part of history, of all our history.

He is Ipswich, he is Barca, he is PSV, he is Porto, he is Newcastle, he is England. He is football.

As the man himself said he won bugger all as a player, but as a manager he is unsurpassed.

You can pinpoint exactly where everything started to go wrong for Newcastle. It was when they decided to sack him (they were 5th at the time). But it was Fat Freddy and Douglas Hall, who like Mike Ashley, were running the place into the ground.

But this entry isn’t to dwell on that, it is to celebrate his life.

Newcastle made amends for their past mistake by hosting a charity benefit match for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, in which members of the 1990 England team took on a Germany team.

It was only last Sunday (July 26th) and the man himself was there (as I said, fighting to the end).
Before the match there was a ceremony to present Sir Bobby with the UEFA Lifetime Achievement Award:

Singing Nessun Dorma above was Tenors Un Limited.

When the sun is setting tonight go out and stand on your balcony or on your doorstep or wherever and remember when…

[See post to listen to audio] » Luciano Pavarotti – Nessun Dorma

(If you were going to ask. Yes I do have one song done about Sir Bobby, but it’s so bad that it should remain unknown.)

Further YouTubery:
- BBC Sports Personality Of The Year: Lifetime Achievement Award
- Eircom Soccer: Eircom International Personality of the Year Interview
- BBC Inside Out: Sir Bobby Robson’s 75th birthday
- ChronicleLive: Sir Bobby Robson’s Night of Knights

Lastly…
Donate to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation via the Justgiving page.

Update: The F.A has opened an online Book of Condolence.

Italy. Are worried.

Italy. Playing at home, (down south in Bari instead of up north in Rome, because as Liam speculates in the above article, when they are worried they move the match 233 miles – and not because they want to give the southern Italian fans a chance to see them play I’m sure) are worried…

But then Brady, who had retired from Internationals just before the 1990 World Cup qualifiers and then un-retired once they had qualified – but Jackie chose to take the players who got them there and not a bandwagon jumper, could be onto something there.

Italy are currently 1st in their group on 13 points, which is what the Republic would have had if they didn’t shoot themselves in the foot with the draw last Saturday. It will be a difficult game for the Azzurri on Wednesday night and Brady brings up the memory of the 1994 World Cup match to unnerve them further.

Because yeah, they never recovered from that one loss 15 years ago did they…

- Or it could be simply that Liam Brady is simply doing a bit of comedy and paying homage to the late, lovely Dermot Morgan who included him in this skit from 1990:

[See post to listen to audio]
» Dermot Morgan – Deck Of Cards
Based upon the famous Deck of Cards song

Dermot also sang (Italian style) about the wonderful lads:
[See post to listen to audio]
»Dermot Morgan – What A Beautiful Team

…and followed closely with this very funny riffing on everything Eyetielian:
[See post to listen to audio]
» Dermot Morgan – Not A Great Player

Extra Link: On the Various Ramblings of Danny Invincible blog – Danny gives us A Brief History of Irish International Football, with part three being about World Cup Italia ’90.

…”Pogue is also a derogatory term for an Irish person. In the Irish language, pogue (spelt póg) means “kiss”. Perhaps the most well-known phrase in Irish is “póg mo thóin”, which means “kiss my arse.” The term pogue is not usually considered very offensive.“

The title is obviously like the others done this week, is in relation to the featured artist.

And the song is about the Republic of Ireland team:

As mentioned in the Wreckless Eric post there were 29 songs released in time for England’s appearance in the 2006 World Cup – But years before this when the Republic of Ireland qualified for the 1990 World Cup (in Italy) there were about that many, if not more.

Four years before Jackie Charlton had guided the Republic to their first major championship finals at Euro ’88 and there were a few songs done then, but then they qualified for the WORLD CUP and that got everybody singing…

- The most well known artists of all these are two bands who I’m sure need no introduction whatsoever.

[See post to listen to audio] » The Dubliners and The Pogues – Jack’s Heroes - Lyrics They wear green And they are beautiful And their hearts are filled with love They’re as pure as any lily And as gentle as the dove They’ll sing and cheer in harmony Till their throats are cracked & sore But there is no doubt You’ll hear them shout When Jackie’s heroes score Too-ra-loo Too-ra-loo And we’ll follow Jack’s heroes Whatever they do They’ll come from Dublin And from Cork, from dear old Donegal, From London, Boston, & New York, From anywhere at all, From Parramatta to Fermoy, Strabane to Skibereen (And will) the shout go up When the World Cup Is raised on Stephens Green (Yes it will) And when we’re there in Italy On Sardinia’s sunny shore We’ll be the boys you’ll want to see The boys you’ll all adore We’ll play like perfect gentlemen To win, to lose, to draw For we’re here to take the World Cup To Paddy’s shamrock shore » There’s a video too

You noticed the thumbnail above is from when they performing another song on Top Of The Pops.
Ah g’wan then:

[See post to listen to audio]
» The Pogues and The Dubliners – The Irish Rover

- -

…and going for the hattrick with a solo effort by The Pogues with this one which was featured on another film about football, but had lots of music as well:

[See post to listen to audio] » The Pogues – Fiesta

The Republic of Ireland play a World Cup Qualifier at home against Georgia in a few hours. You may remember the away match which had to be played in a neutral country because Russia were invading at the time.
In that game the Republic pulled off an excellent result, winning it 2-0. They are currently in 2nd place in their group and if they get another win tonight will be on equal points with Italy, who lead the table.

- With thanks to (the now famous) Fredorrarci from Sport Is A TV Show for his input into every Footie&Music&theRepofIreland. Today’s excellent selection is taken from suggestions by him, which involves a bit of storytelling…

THE TIME !

Oh crap… I’ll try to shorten it.

In 1988 the Republic of Ireland qualified for the European Championship finals, which were being held in West Germany that year. This was the first international tournament that they had qualified for and this was the first time most Irish footie fans had stepped on foreign soil to support their team.

The well know Irish folk singer Christy Moore sings/tells us of a story about “Joxer”, who goes over there and… well as the clock is ticking I’m going to c&p from Wikipedia here:

Joxer Goes To Stuttgart is a song by Irish folk singer Christy Moore. It is about a fan, named Joxer, who travels to the Irish football team’s first major international tournament, Euro 1988, in West Germany. It is sung to the tune of the Match of the Day theme music…

The song is as much a comical social commentary on Ireland in the late 1980s as it is a celebration of the Irish team beating England at a major footballing tournament. The main focus of the song is the game that took place in Stuttgart’s Neckarstadion against England on 12 June – a game which Ireland won by a 1-0 score-line, thanks to a sixth-minute goal from Ray Houghton. However, the song also documents the lives of those following the team and the impact of the tournament, and especially the England match, on Irish society during the period prior to the economic boom of the 1990s and development of the Celtic Tiger – a time when the country was largely unprosperous, religiously devout and somewhat insular in out-look. For large numbers of the followers, many of whom would have been what was perceived as working class, the adventure was a totally new experience and their first time abroad. Virtually all would have been illiterate in the languages of continental Europe.

[See post to listen to audio]
» Christy Moore – Joxer Goes To Stuttgart (Live at The Point, Dublin)

- Clicky for the lyrics/full story

In the tournament they P3 W1 D1 L1 and finished 5th in the group stages, but still it was a memorable one for being the first and for the above mentioned Houghton goal.
» Match report here. Sadly there is no video to be found.

…But I did find the black & white photo (as seen below) of the goal here.

Fredorrarci suggested another excellent song, covered by Christy Moore which I wish I knew of it earlier. But now it is discovered it will be added with the other one as the annual Crimbo posting.

It is from an appearance on the Late Late Show and Christy performs a version of Fairytale Of New York.

Video here:

[See post to listen to audio]
» Christy Moore – Fairytale of New York (Live on The Late Late Show)

*looks at clock*

Well I actually managed to get this done with still a couple of hours to spare. And even though I tried to shorten it I didn’t in the end.