No Sturridge or Firmino!

10 years ago

Tommy, Tommy Bowe. Tommy Bowe! Tommy, Tommy Booowee! He’s back. @scholesr93 replaces @TommyBowe14 at halftime after a successful 40 minutes. Great to see @TommyBowe14 back on the pitch! — Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) April 7, 2016 It has been a long six months for Tommy Bowe. The Irish rugby legend has been battling against adversity for […]

10 years ago

No room for Rooney?

10 years ago

Freedom, equality, Lafferty. Ukraine, Poland, Germany, here comes the Northern Irish. Michael O’Neill is taking the northerners to France and the fans are determined to have a right ‘Laff’ when they’re there. (Sorry…) Their hitman, Kyle Lafferty, is back in the game after scoring for his new club on loan during the week. Northern Ireland's […]

10 years ago

And what a gesture they’re leaving behind

10 years ago

The importance of defibs

10 years ago

The replies to Aston Villa are hilarious

10 years ago

Mignolet: Yes or no? Lovren: His fault or someone else’s? Sturridge: Injured or not? Benteke: Please God, no. Jurgen Klopp v Borussia Dortmund is magical enough never mind the fact he’s storming back into his old homeland at the head of a passionate and loyal Liverpool support. The Europa League quarter final clash is another […]

10 years ago

Swimming pool, tennis court, golf course – this is a real-life house. God knows what Gary Neville was thinking when he abandoned this sports buff’s haven but, if you have €3.73m going spare in your wallet, you can take up residence in what looks like a genuine dream. The 35-acre plot on the outskirts of Bolton […]

10 years ago

Some interesting groupings too

10 years ago

You probably won’t like the defence

10 years ago

Yeah, yeah, you’re getting relegated and it’s difficult to see if the fall will ever stop. Yeah, yeah, your owner has deserted you, you used to to be a proud, successful club and now you’re being branded as the worst team to ever play in the Premier League. Yeah, life is just one miserable game of […]

10 years ago

Claude Makelele has a lot to answer for. Defensive midfielders are almost a necessity nowadays. Defence-minded players are more trustworthy and God knows when you’re playing in a tight game against a good team, you want men who are going to track back and not leave your side so open. After all, the only way […]

10 years ago

Any sides

10 years ago

Team player

10 years ago

132 not out. Anyone lucky enough to have ever caught even a glimpse of Andy Moran training, they’d have gone away questioning everything about themselves. There’s working hard, then there’s working very, very hard. Then there’s Andy Moran. Back in 2007, the Mayo stalwart used to have the old public gym in Jordanstown shaking on […]

10 years ago

1,000 Premier League goals scored by Manchester Untied at Old Trafford. It’s fitting that it came on a day the club thanked Sir Bobby Charlton for his service and named a stand in his name. Probably more fitting that it came from the new kid in town who will be tasked with leading United back […]

10 years ago

Some saying players, not the clubs, are guilty

10 years ago

So good we want to cry

10 years ago

Highlights of an electrifying final

10 years ago

This is ridiculous. We might as well just ask you to just pick the best team of all time because most of the world’s greatest ever players have pulled on a Real Madrid or Barcelona kit. In this generation, of the last two decades, Spain’s finest has boasted some extraordinary sights and that continues to […]

10 years ago

Jamie Carragher’s not too sure what to make of Aston Villa. He’s indifferent. The former Liverpool player visited Villa Park in February to watch his old team tear strips off them and he despaired. Villa might’ve lost Delph and Benteke – and if you really want to throw Vlaar in there too – but they’re […]

10 years ago

“I’m not physically ready.” Tiger Woods has upset the golfing world with news that he won’t play in the Masters next week. The 40-year-old has won at Augusta four times but hasn’t partaken in a PGA Tour event since last August. Two surgeries on his back have hampered Woods’ comeback and the 14-time major winner […]

10 years ago

Fair play

10 years ago

A few disappointments here

10 years ago

Holy smokes. You go on holidays when your team is bottom of the league, you smoke a shisha pipe and you’re labelled a prat. And that’s the game. Gabriel Agbonlahor deserves to unwind. The 29-year-old has nearly hit the two-goal mark already this season for Aston Villa so he can be forgiven for doing whatever […]

10 years ago

A good club in need of a good manager. A good manager in need of a good club. Amidst all the talk of Jose Mourinho, Diego Simeone, Mauricio Pochettino, and even Ronald Koeman, one name has inexplicably been overlooked. Manchester United fans have hit the panic button and it doesn’t matter how many times Louis van […]

10 years ago

Well, we hope this is an April Fools’ joke anyway. Southampton have unveiled the new club crest to come into effect from the 2016/17 season and beyond and it is definitely different, that’s for sure. The Saints are moving with the times and that old football at the top of their classic badge has been […]

10 years ago

We all knew that Nicklas Bendtner would find his stride when he hit his peak at 28. The former Arsenal superstar – self-proclaimed at least – is on his way out of Wolfsburg with the club looking to terminate his contract 15 months early. At the start of the season, the Danish wonder – self-proclaimed […]

10 years ago

Don’t get ahead of yourself

10 years ago

It all started with a GAA lotto ticket. Three Cork men had three kidney transplants in three consecutive months, and they believe a lottery win with a GAA club set off the fortunate chain of events. Pat O’Sullivan, Hugh Nolan and John Hurley – three friends who each needed new kidneys – chanced their arm […]

10 years ago

The way he faced the media last night was admirable

10 years ago

John O’Shea has marked James McClean – James McClean the striker. He knows he can play there. On a night when the Derry man could just have worked his way right up the attacking pecking order behind Shane Long and Jon Walters with his performance up front – another superb performance – John O’Shea wasn’t […]

10 years ago

A draw, but a decent performance. And a look at a lot of players. After a flat performance in the win over Switzerland with that lifeless 4-4-2 formation, Martin O’Neill reverted back to the narrow diamond setup which has served his team so well since June. 10 changes were made in all as the beautiful […]

10 years ago

Probably the last opportunity for a lot of men. Martin O’Neill has named his team to face Slovakia and there are 10 changes from the starting XI that faces Switzerland on Friday night. With Jon Walters, Robbie Keane, Daryl Murphy and Kevin Doyle having joined the like of Jeff Hendrick and Harry Arter on the […]

10 years ago

The Dutch tell us if he’s ready for Ireland or not

10 years ago

Ireland debutant speaks to SportsJOE

10 years ago

This is not as good as it gets for Shane Duffy. The Republic of Ireland centre half had to wait nearly two years for his second international cap, four years after his first call-up, and he grabbed his chance to shine with both hands – both hanging from two brute shoulders that left dents in […]

10 years ago

If you expected fireworks, you deserve everything you get. It was a dull enough affair at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night as Ireland saw off a meek Switzerland challenge. A second minute Ciaran Clark goal did the damage and, although it wasn’t a riveting fixture, it was a win and there were 17 Irish […]

10 years ago

The Ireland XI to face Switzerland has been named. With just three more games before Euro 2016, this is the last chance for some players to impress the management if they have any aspirations of making the 23-man squad for the tournament. Ireland welcome the Swiss on Friday night to Dublin before hosting Slovakia on […]

10 years ago

Are we missing any?

10 years ago

Talent: check. Experience: gaining. Attitude: learning. Jack Byrne has shown serious growth in a matter of days. The Ireland under-21s suffered a bad defeat in Waterford at the hands of the Italians on Thursday night when they went down 4-1 but their talented Eredivisie player put his hands up again. The Manchester City youngster whipped […]

10 years ago

Martin O’Neill is a witty man. Too many times he has to reassure us that he’s joking. His dry sense of humour is sometimes construed as a withering – even bizarre – response to a question. Then he has to follow it up with, “that was a joke”. Not always a good sign. For the […]

10 years ago

Robbie Keane and Anthony Pilkington have joined the Republic of Ireland casualty list. Five players will now miss Friday night’s friendly with Switzerland but Martin O’Neill is hoping to have as many as three of them back for Tuesday’s clash with Slovakia. Jeff Hendrick and Harry Arter have pulled out of the squad for the […]

10 years ago

Rise of an empire

10 years ago

There’s a big opportunity here – not just for the players, even more so for the manager. Martin O’Neill hasn’t had a chance to experiment with his team since June in what was an exhibition in peace-keeping with England and, three months out from the Euros, he won’t get another one after Friday and Tuesday. […]

10 years ago

Jon Walters will be available for Slovakia on Tuesday. The Stoke player has had to pull out of the Republic of Ireland squad – temporarily – because of a hamstring injury and has returned to the UK for treatment. Martin O’Neill has since confirmed, however, that he thinks the Irish player of the year will […]

10 years ago

Jack Byrne will return to the Ireland under-21s. Martin O’Neill will hold off on giving the 19-year-old Manchester City youngster a full international call-up, despite injuries in the Ireland squad this week. Jon Walters, Harry Arter, and Jeff Hendrick have had to withdraw from the 33-man panel and there were slight expectations that the Dubliner […]

10 years ago

No Jeff Hendrick, no Jon Walters, no Harry Arter. The Derby, Stoke and Bournemouth players have all had to pull out of the Republic of Ireland squad for the international friendlies with Switzerland and Slovakia owing to injury and it leaves a hole in the spine of the team. Hendrick had been struggling all week […]

10 years ago

It’s the last chance for some of the players to claim a spot on the plane to France. It’s the first chance for some of the players too. Martin O’Neill has named a squad of 33 to take on Switzerland and Slovakia on Friday and Tuesday and all eyes are on these March friendlies to […]

10 years ago