Smith asked the fourth official if he had “got juggling balls for Christmas” after allowing City’s opener on Wednesday night Dean Smith used his post-match press conference to express his frustration at the decision to allow Manchester City’s opening goal to stand as his Aston Villa fell to defeat at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday […]

5 years ago

Yes, it really is him Understandably, many of us on these shores haven’t seen too much of Fernando Torres of late. The former Liverpool and Chelsea striker left English football nearly seven(!) years ago, eventually hanging up his boots up in 2019 after returning to Atletico Madrid for a bit and then playing out in Japan […]

5 years ago

The Celtic boss had hit out at criticism of the club’s Dubai trip Neil Lennon’s suggestion that the decision to force 16 Celtic players to self-isolate was driven by Scottish government agenda has been described as “absolutely appalling,” by Deputy First Minister, John Swinney. Lennon and his assistant John Kennedy were made to quarantine along with […]

5 years ago

With Aguero seemingly on his way out, they could do a lot worse Manchester City have reportedly presented Inter Milan an offer in the region of €80 million for striker Romelu Lukaku. Pep Guardiola’s side have gradually built up some serious momentum this season, but neither Sergio Aguero nor Gabriel Jesus have been the focal […]

5 years ago

Did Rafa Benitez actually do any better than Steve Bruce? Steve Bruce is under pressure. That much is obvious. After Newcastle United’s 1-0 loss to Sheffield United, fans brought out the virtual pitchforks, calling for his sacking. Club legend Alan Shearer wrote that watching them hurt his soul. And it’s understandable, Newcastle are by any measure […]

5 years ago

It was his final game in the Bundesliga On Sunday, January 17th, Eintracht Frankfurt defender David Abraham played his final game for the Bundesliga club, in a 3-1 victory over Schalke. After six years at the club, and close to 150 games, he will now return to his native Argentina to finish his playing days […]

5 years ago

Some felt Sadio Mane was through on goal as the whistle blew All the hype, all the buildup, and in the end, Liverpool and Manchester United played out a goalless draw at Anfield on Sunday. Clear-cut chances were few and far between in a game that, despite a lack of goals, still made for an […]

5 years ago

Evra revealed the letter he received in October 2019 Patrice Evra has accused Liverpool supporters of lacking ‘respect and class’ when sharing a letter sent to him on behalf of the club from former CEO, Peter Moore. In the letter, dated October 2019, Moore apologises to Evra for the way in which Liverpool responded to […]

5 years ago

A romantic move that suits all parties Almost ten years after leaving Spain to join Chelsea, Juan Mata could be headed back to his homeland this month, according to La Razon. The Spanish news outlet are reporting that the playmaker could make a romantic return to Valencia, where he spent four years between 2007-2011 before he […]

5 years ago

By Declan Rooney Let there be no debate: Sligo Ladies were the most fortunate team in football in 2020. TG4 Intermediate Semi-finalists in the previous four years, Sligo lost all three of their Championship games and their five Lidl National Football League Division 3 outings. Across those eight games, their scoring difference was -127 points, […]

5 years ago

McClean will miss Stoke’s weekend trip to Blackburn, the club have confirmed Stoke City have taken the decision to suspend James McClean following an alleged breach of the Covid-19 restrictions. The Republic of Ireland international is alleged to have been training in a private gym and will not be included in Stoke’s squad for this […]

5 years ago

The ninth annual edition of the Wooly awards took place on Thursday with the heroes and the flops of 2020 being honoured. There are nine awards in both Gaelic football and in hurling with Colm Parkinson, Conor Heneghan and Paddy Stapleton debating and discussing a variety of topics from goal of the year to individual […]

5 years ago

Can you marry a football boot? (Please say yes) As far as football boots go, few designs come anywhere near close to matching adidas’ iconic 1998 Predator Accelerator. One of the most easy-on-the eye boots ever to grace a football pitch, they were worn by some of the sport’s biggest names in the very biggest […]

5 years ago

‘I will be better Sunday’ Gary Neville has tweeted an apology for his commentary during Tuesday night’s Premier League game between Burnley and Manchester United. The former United captain was co-commentating on the game for Sky Sports, and saw his old side move three points clear at the top of the Premier League thanks to […]

5 years ago

Stephen Kenny will need to find a new goalkeeping coach for the upcoming World Cup qualifying campaign with Alan Kelly deciding to leave the camp. Coming less than a week after Damien Duff had also called time on his involvement, the 52-year-old goalkeeping coach released a statement to the FAI late on Tuesday night in […]

5 years ago

In what is a huge boost for Sligo Rovers, the League of Ireland club have signed a new ‘strategic partnership’ with Premier League side Everton which will see the clubs run summer camps and ‘pre-season’ academies side by side in the coming years. The clubs have had a strong relationship over the years with Everton […]

5 years ago

By Declan Rooney A few extra weeks to recharge might be welcomed in some quarters, but extending the off-season is a form of torture for Armagh captain Kelly Mallon. Four weeks on from their season ending Ulster Final victory she is more than ready to tear into the 2021 season. Claiming a first provincial title […]

5 years ago

Time to answer the eternal question: who should get vaccinated first – Chris Wood or your gran? Burnley manager Sean Dyche has suggested that Premier League footballers receive the coronavirus vaccine early, so that money currently being used to carry out mandatory weekly tests can be reinvested in the NHS. The gravel-voiced manager has stated […]

5 years ago

Van de Beek played for just two minutes on Wednesday night. Donny van de Beek has been urged to hold talks with Manchester United over his lack of game time by former Dutch international Ronald de Boer. United lost their fourth consecutive semi-final on Wednesday night, as they were outclassed by a Manchester City side […]

5 years ago

Only two months into the job, Mick McCarthy has been sacked by the notoriously ruthless board at Cyprus club APOEL. Having overseen four straight defeats, the former Republic of Ireland manager was yet to record a win at his new club. The Cypriot kingpins have slipped down to 11th in the table and as a […]

5 years ago

The statement pulls no punches. The Uruguayan Football Players Association has issued a statement in defence of Edinson Cavani, condemning the English FA after it sanctioned the striker for using a term deemed to be racially insensitive in an Instagram post. Cavani was given a three match ban, fined £100,000 and ordered to complete face-to-face […]

5 years ago

Guardiola urged those judging Mendy to look at their own actions Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been criticised for his quotes regarding Benjamin Mendy’s breach of Covid regulations on New Years Eve. City confirmed over the weekend that Mendy would be the subject of an internal investigation after reports he held a party at […]

5 years ago

“These two are serial offenders for me. These go over when you sneeze on them” Richard Keys has accused Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial of “going down when you sneeze on them” when looking at the number of penalties won by Manchester United over the last year and a half. United moved level on points […]

5 years ago

United have competition. It’s only right that today, the final day of 2020, we sign off with one final transfer story involving Jadon Sancho and Manchester United. The highly rated Borussia Dortmund winger seemed destined to move to Old Trafford throughout the summer, only for the relentless stream of articles and tweets promising the transfer […]

5 years ago

“He’s an absolute animal in the gym!” England possess an embarrassment of riches at right-back, but Trent Alexander-Arnold is arguably the cream of the crop. He sat down with our Alex Roberts for a chat about fitness, diets and hitting the gym. The Liverpool academy product enjoys a reputation as one of the most promising full-backs in […]

5 years ago

“I am 66 years old and the last thing I want to do is catch Covid!” Big Sam is calling for a temporary cancellation in football fixtures

5 years ago

‘Best league in the world’ – LOL. Mourinho in full sarcasm mode. Really, who can blame him for being so p*ssed off at this stage

5 years ago

Don’t mention the Premier League title race to Marcus Rashford. Some Manchester United fans may be getting a tad over-excited and giddy at the prospect of challenging fierce rivals Liverpool for the Premier League title, but their star forward and the unofficial Prime Minister of the country is having none of it. In fact he […]

5 years ago

The official Leeds United tweet has been described as ‘vile’, ‘toxic’, ‘repellent’ and ‘disgusting’.

5 years ago

Originally white, the rainbow-themed Puma Future 6.1 football boots are adorned with a design very personal to James Maddison.

5 years ago

“Everybody’s caught on now. They’ve all caught on, every manager. They’ve all caught on!” – Paul Merson on Bielsa’s famous tactics.

5 years ago

Mings received two yellows in the space of six minutes Tyrone Mings was sent off on the stroke of half-time after picking up two yellow cards in quick succession against Crystal Palace. Aston Villa went into the half-time break a goal up but a man down after Bertrand Traore’s early goal gave the hosts the […]

5 years ago

Things go from bad to worse at The Emirates. Arsenal goalkeeper Alex Runarsson has deactivated his Twitter account after his error contributed to his side’s quarter-final exit from the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night. With only four Europa League appearances for the club to his name, the Icelandic goalkeeper was surprisingly given the nod to […]

5 years ago

By Declan Rooney After the Dublin Ladies footballers claimed a fourth TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship in a row, they took a moment out of their celebrations to lay a wreath on Hill 16 in memory of those killed on Bloody Sunday 100 years ago. Captain Sinéad Aherne was joined by Muireann Ní Scanaill for the […]

5 years ago

By Declan Rooney Meath 2-17 Westmeath 4-5 Meath manager Eamonn Murray praised his side’s level-headed reaction to the concession of three early goals, as Meath put consecutive TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Final defeats behind them and overpowered Westmeath in a storming second-half display at Croke Park. Lucy McCartan’s two goals and a third from Anna Jones […]

5 years ago

By Declan Rooney Dublin 1-10 Cork 1-5 Dublin Ladies football manager Mick Bohan praised his side’s powerful second-half display as they worked their way to a fourth TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship in a row in their seventh straight appearance in the Croke Park decider. Carla Rowe’s penalty early in the second half turned this game […]

5 years ago

By Declan Rooney Meath 2-17 Westmeath 4-5 Meath put two years of Croke Park heartbreak behind them as seven Emma Duggan points helped them to glory against Westmeath in the TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Final. Westmeath hit three goals in the space of four first-half minutes, and a fourth early in the second half, but goals […]

5 years ago

By Declan Rooney Dublin 1-10 Cork 1-5 Dublin won their fourth TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship in a row as a powerful second-half display and Carla Rowe’s penalty got them past Cork at Croke Park. A goal from Áine Terry O’Sullivan early on gave Cork a brilliant start, but despite leading by three points at the […]

5 years ago

Mayo brought the fire and brimstone and, for the best part of 60 minutes, this was a battle. But Dublin eased their way home in the end and shut down the contest when the end was in sight. At half time though, it was all in the balance. Mayo looked the better team for much […]

5 years ago

Dublin are the All-Ireland champions. Mayo are the All-Ireland runners-up. In a year like no other, it’s ended like many others. After just 13 seconds, Dublin set out their statement of intent when James McCarthy burst from the throw-in, kicked to Scully, took the return as he came steaming straight through the middle and popped […]

5 years ago

“During these dark winter nights, people have gone to extraordinary lengths to make this a championship to remember.” A week to Christmas. A day to the All-Ireland football final. We made it. There’s no need to go back over what a strange and difficult year this has been for everyone and how there will still […]

5 years ago

Daryl Gurney is feeling good. In 2016 (the 2017 tournament), he backed up the hype that was building around him when he burst the whole way through to the World Championship quarter-final. Only Michael van Gerwen was able to stop him in his tracks but when the Derry man got motoring, you got a visible […]

5 years ago

Aston Villa’s captain arrived at court on Tuesday for sentencing after pleading guilty to two counts of driving without due care and attention. Jack Grealish appeared to use a car as a decoy to escape the attention of the waiting press pack outside Birmingham Magistrates’ Court this morning. Ahead of his arrival, a small crowd […]

5 years ago

A bombshell revelation from the former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra said that Arsenal legend Thierry Henry turns the TV off whenever he sees Granit Xhaka leading the Gunners out as captain. Evra was speaking as a pundit on Sky Sports, in the wake of Arsenal’s embarrassing home defeat to Burnley. Arsenal spurned a number […]

5 years ago

By Daragh Ó Conchúir Beforehand, talk of the impact of three consecutive Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Senior Final losses, the five reverses in seven seasons, and for many of the players, six in seven appearances on the biggest stage, was batted away.  The past had no impact on the present.  But now, with a 1-14 to […]

5 years ago

By Declan Rooney Meath forward Vikki Wall says she is fixated on creating some positive Croke Park memories next weekend for herself and her teammates after consecutive TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Final losses. Wall and Meath have had to endure excruciating defeats to Tyrone and Tipperary in the last two years, but next weekend Eamonn Murray’s […]

5 years ago

By Daragh Ó Conchúir    When Tara Kenny walks out of the dressing room, jogs from the tunnel and sprints out onto the grass of Croke Park tonight, there may just be a temptation to smile and exhale a little sigh of relief, before resuming focus on what unfolds within the white lines and her job […]

5 years ago

By Sarah Stanley For the second year running Galway and Kilkenny will battle it out to see who is crowned the Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Senior champions in what will be a unique winter All-Ireland Final. Both teams have showcased their experience on their run to the Final with neither team suffering a defeat along their […]

5 years ago

By Daragh Ó Conchúir   The sirens wailing on the other end of the line as Collette Dormer navigates her way through Waterford city traffic to find a spot to pull in and chat, are mercifully neither to lock her away nor provide urgent medical assistance. It has been that kind of year, where health and […]

5 years ago

Have you noticed the pattern of players who have flat track bully accusations thrown at them? They’re usually amongst the best. Always amongst the most prolific. When Cillian O’Connor is finished his career – whenever that may be, he’s only 28 – he’ll finish as the All-Ireland football championship’s highest ever scorer and by some, […]

5 years ago