THINGS are ticking over nicely as our players are starting to approach something like form, just in time for the Anti-Good Friday Agreement/Carling Four Nations Cup in February. Let’s have a look now and see how our golden wonders did this week….
HE’S THE love-hate figure of the Irish national team. We love him because he’s our captain, our record goal-scorer, a genuinely decent skin, and hope that we can all pull a smoking-hot bird. But we hate him for his histrionics on the football pitch, his flailing arms, his sometimes glaring misses, and the fact that he hasn’t turned into the consistent sharp-shooter he promised in his youth.
“A deal was never really on the table. Maybe Birmingham were looking for a bit of publicity.”
HE’S KNOWN as the Messiah to some (it’s the beard) so it should come as no suprise that Paddy McCourt is in fact bulletproof. Having served his apprenticeship (not as a carpenter) with Shamrock Rovers and Derry City in the League of Ireland, he’s not going to let pressure get to him and ruin his “second coming” as a top footballer.
PORTO Alegre is known as “Cidade Sorriso” or Smile City. It’s appropriate then, that it should export the most famous buck-toothed grin in world football. An odyssey that traversed three of Europe’s most renowned cities came full circle this week whenRonaldo de Assis Moreira returned to his homeland, though this time to the sprawling mass of Rio de Janeiro and the fanatical following of Flamengo.
WE’LL always have Paris ….It’s the beginning of a new year and it’s a massive one for Giovanni Trapattoni and Ireland. Euro qualification lies in the balance. This time 12 months ago, the pain of Paris was all too palatable. We’d do well to remember it as we now look to get over the finish line. Póg Mo Goal returns to that fateful night and journeys with the fans. Those with a weak disposition, look away now.
SPUD Watch becomes a normal job again as I actually have players to report on. I felt like Lieutenant Huxley in Demolition Man there for a while, wandering around yearning for things to happen – usually in the Npower Championship but in the end I’d end up on Chat Roulette crying at a group of black people wearing Yankee jerseys in America laughing at my naked body.
ROY Keane’s tenure at Ipswich Town has come to the end. The 39-year-old has parted ways with the Portman Road outfit following the 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest, their seventh loss in nine games.
WITH Wednesday night’s feeble defeat to Blackburn representing a new low in Roy Hodgson’s brief period in charge at Liverpool , the feeling is that NESV have lost faith in the 63 year old and are actively seeking a replacement. Based on what the New England owners have done with the Boston Red Sox, failure isn’t tolerated for long. We look at the potential candidates to replace Roy and assess each of their chances of actually pitching up at Anfield.
HOW about this for a starting eleven?
Gomes; Johnson, Squillaci, Stearman, Ilunga; Ireland, Cattermole, J Cole; Balotelli, Torres, Saha.
Stephen Ireland takes his place amongst a line-up of Premier League stars….except they’ve been voted the worst players in the division so far.