At least he’s loved in Villa. As long as he doesn’t piss off to Tenerife any time soon. Five games in the Championship and Roberto Di Matteo has managed one win and two draws. Despite dropping down a grade, despite signing well in the summer, it’s the same old Villa at the moment and Jack […]

10 years ago

The old enemy. 62 All-Ireland titles between them. History, tradition, rivalry and a fan base that has grown to hate the green or blue over the many years of battle. The 2015 All-Ireland champions against the 2014 All-Ireland champions. The kings against the kingdom. Kerry-Dublin. It doesn’t get much bigger than this. Only one can […]

10 years ago

Jurgen Klopp, are you ready for Jeff Hendrick? Daniel Sturridge, are you ready for Richard Keogh? Philippe Coutinho, are you ready for Cyrus the virus Christie? Liverpool travel to Derby County for the third round of the EFL Cup draw. Games are to be played from September 19th and Chelsea were handed the tie of […]

10 years ago

WHAT A STRIKE

10 years ago

Where did that come from? Borussia Monchengladbach: The home of Craggy Island’s All-Priests Five-A-Side Over 75s. They’re big fans of Father Ted in North Rhine. Well, either that or they just reach for the first Twitter gif they can find but we think it’s the former. The German club went sailing through to the Champions […]

10 years ago

“Doesn’t matter where he plays, he scores goals.” David Beckham appreciates Robbie Keane more than most. The Manchester United legend had been toiling along at LA Galaxy with no success for four years. Then a certain Irishman joined him across the pond and, bang. Two seasons together, two MLS Cups and the rest is history. […]

10 years ago

“Each and every time I put on the green jersey it is such an honour.” Robbie Keane will play his last game for Ireland against Oman in Dublin next Friday night. After 18 years of a record-breaking, history-making international career, the Dubliner will line out for the last time for his country and it will […]

10 years ago

Thank you, Robbie

10 years ago

*Not entirely definitive

10 years ago

A quick man, a legend of a man, a Derry man. The fastest Paralympian on earth is ready. Jason Smyth is eyeing a triple double of back-to-back-to-back gold medals and it all starts on September 7 when the Paralympics get up and running. Smyth, a native of Eglinton on the north coast, is vying for […]

10 years ago

Tony Xia pulled this one out of the hat. Aston Villa have gone and signed a Premier League medalist and a former Manchester United defender in Richie De Laet. The fee is believed to be in the region of £2.5m and no-one saw it coming. Not even the “In The Knows.” Ha ha just seen […]

10 years ago

Yippee-I-Ay! It was a good season for Liam Kearns. The Tipperary manager proved his worth. He dragged the Premier footballers off of their knees and he inspired a whole county in the process. On top of that, he breathed fresh air of common sense back into the GAA. LISTEN: Tipperary manager's approach to drinking is bloody […]

10 years ago

Generous, united, defiant

10 years ago

Sincerest apologies, Kevin McLoughlin. For even hinting that he was pretending to be hurt or trying to con the referee or making more of the Bill Maher incident than what it was, we all owe the Mayo man an apology. Listen, it wasn’t a full-on punch with just the fist, it was almost a half-push, […]

10 years ago

Paul Galvin knows how to win an All-Ireland semi-final. Paul Galvin knows how to win All-Irelands. And he sees no real issue with how Mayo got over the line into this year’s decider. What’s that old, ancient, tired saying cliche: semi-finals are for winning and all that. They are though. For Tipperary, it might’ve been […]

10 years ago

Silly move, Nate. Nate Diaz just smoked weed on the press conference stage. I believe he's still in competition… — Mike Bohn (@MikeBohn) August 21, 2016 Nate Diaz’s decision to appear for interviews after UFC 202 with cannabis may come back to haunt him. The American fighter lit up a vape pen of CBD oil […]

10 years ago

Well, we’re told they’re not playing so well anyway. Mayo’s form, Mayo’s consistency, it’s all we’re hearing about. We heard it against Fermanagh, against Kildare and we’ve been hearing it throughout the whole summer, even after they’ve won a fifth game on the trot. How much more consistent can you get? Okay, barring Tyrone, they […]

10 years ago

It DOES happen every time

10 years ago

27 now. Fourth season now. Gareth Bale has hardly been ineffective at Real Madrid but his record-breaking transfer fee still hasn’t exactly lived up to the heights of Cristiano Ronaldo. Who does? Since his arrival at the Bernabeu in the summer of 2013, the Welshman has averaged just under a goal in every two games. […]

10 years ago

Mayo fans know what heartbreak feels like. They’ve been to Croke Park enough and come away empty-handed when it often looked for all the world that it was going to be their day. Christ, it seems like that’s all they ever do. They’ve been through the ringer and, if anyone could offer genuine sympathy to […]

10 years ago

A goal made in the image of Donegal. A goal fit for Croke Park. Enda McCormick lit up headquarters on Sunday afternoon despite the men from the hills falling short of the All-Ireland minor final when Galway beat them 2-12 to 1-11. The north west outfit ensured it was a nervy finish though with typical spirit […]

10 years ago

This is what it’s all about. GAA people do all sorts of crazy things for their counties and for their clubs. People leave work at 5 o’clock some days knowing they’d be lucky to make it back home for midnight. You could hardly miss a night of training, after all. Others spend any free time […]

10 years ago

Who do these men think they’re talking about? Mayo are in an All-Ireland final for the third time in five seasons. For a fifth year in a row, only an All-Ireland champion can eliminate them. If this team doesn’t get this far, it takes replays by eventual winners to shake them off. They’re well-versed in September […]

10 years ago

What a joke

10 years ago

You don’t find it too often these days, the balls to be your own man on the football field. Robert Finnerty has that courage in spades. He has that zest and enjoyment for the game that has players the island over looking on in envy at how football used to be played. The Galway minors […]

10 years ago

What a bloody goal

10 years ago

Seamus Coleman (maybe). Dani Alves (maybe). Philip Lahm (maybe). We’re genuinely running thin. Ander Herrera reckons Antonio Valencia could be the best right back in the world. At first, you scoff. You think he’s smoking something. You think, “Valencia? Really? Come on now, Ander.” But then you think some more and wonder, “God, he must […]

10 years ago

Not that anything would’ve stopped him anyway. Nate Diaz is a warrior. The sight of him smearing blood away from his face as he came back at McGregor for more will live long in the traumatised memory. He took punishment – he always does – and he loved it. He always does. But the American […]

10 years ago

This is a big loss. There will be no formal post-fight press conference after UFC 202. A lot of Conor McGregor’s fights have been that expedited and business-like in the past that it was chat in the pressers that often garnished the most traction in the fallout of events. Not that the Dubliner is going […]

10 years ago

#Unacceptable. They’re cracking down at The Den. The reputation of some Millwall fans precedes them but, for Lewisham Metropolitan Police, it’s not about that – it’s about the law. It’s black and white and, if you step outside of the realms of legality, you will be caught. So, whilst some might expect some more extremes […]

10 years ago

Brian Kerr is a diligent man. Anyone lucky enough to see him prepare for a TV3 highlights package would know that he doesn’t go into things unprepared. He’ll have notes sprawled all over the floor, player profiles up on iPads and he’ll have contacted relevant parties to gauge a deeper understanding of what he’s about […]

10 years ago

Type the words ‘Mayo fans’ into the Inpho Photography site and you’ll start to see the same thing pop up over and over. A crowd draped in green and red sitting anxiously looking on to a football field as if they can’t watch anymore. At the same time though, they’re unable to take their eyes […]

10 years ago

There was an inner circle and Eamon McGee wasn’t part of it just then. The Gweedore man had been kicked off the panel (again) and he was about to miss the early stages of what would be a historic regime. He didn’t know it would’ve been and you couldn’t blame him. For almost 10 years, […]

10 years ago

This is not right

10 years ago

Before Mayo and Tipp take for the field, before The Sunday Game panel gets down to business, the biggest hour in some teenagers’ lives will take place. It’ll unfold at Croke Park. It’ll go down in front of thousands and, for the Gaels of Galway and Donegal, it’s the only thing that really matters this weekend. […]

10 years ago

Master perfectionist. When you’ve won as much as Usain Bolt has won, it becomes about how you do it. Olympic gold medals are almost mundane for the Jamaican at this stage. Great tradition.. #Gold pic.twitter.com/8s7q2M8Jyx — Usain St. Leo Bolt (@usainbolt) August 16, 2016 On Friday night/Saturday morning (at 2.35am), he’s vying for his ninth […]

10 years ago

Victor Valdes describes his time at Manchester United as the biggest fight of his career but he doesn’t hold it against the club. The Spaniard arrived at Old Trafford last summer with three Champions League medals, a World Cup, a European Championship title and over a decade at Barcelona playing in one of the greatest […]

10 years ago

His notifications are off the bloody hook. But Team Ireland’s finest have important business to attend to. Rio will be introduced to the #fullevans tonight @TomBarr247 @gary_o_donovan pic.twitter.com/HZdc9BHk0L — Scott Evans (@Scott_Evans1) August 18, 2016 The Waterford man who rocked the world and came within an inch of his nose to winning an unprecedented medal at […]

10 years ago

Don’t call him a freak

10 years ago

Thanks for that, Joleon. Short… but… pathetic. It seems that Lescott’s Villa nightmare Villa’s Lescott nightmare is finally over with news that the Englishman is headed north. The Scottish Sun are reporting that the 34-year-old – masquerading as a defender this past season – is on his way to Rangers and that a two-year deal will […]

10 years ago

And now the poor f**ker has to go and play for Aston Villa. If Mile Jedinak is sad now, wait until he returns to the Sky Bet Championship. Wait until he’s playing alongside Ashley bloody Westwood. The Australian midfielder was demoted as Crystal Palace captain in a move that was said to upset the dressing […]

10 years ago

Absolutely breathtaking

10 years ago

It hasn’t been the best of Olympics for the country’s athletes. It hasn’t been the best of Olympics for the Olympics. But throughout the events unfolding in Rio, one of the nation’s pundits has managed to propel herself. In what has been a disappointing competition all round, Joanne Cantwell has been a breath of fresh […]

10 years ago

200 metres scaled in 19.78 seconds and it wasn’t as if he was pumping the gas the whole way. Usain Bolt runs fast. Even when he’s not running fast, he’s running fast. The Jamaican breezed into the 200m final on Wednesday night with a routine semi-final win and he managed to share a joke with […]

10 years ago

Passion. Pure, unadulterated passion. That’s what they do in Parkhead. That’s how they live. They breathe Celtic. They breathe Champions League nights. Brendan Rodgers took a huge step towards the European Cup group stages on Wednesday night with a 5-2 win over Hapoel Be’er Sheva and, Israeli opposition or not, a foregone conclusion or not, Celtic […]

10 years ago

Bobby Charlton is a 78-year-old man. He’s a World Cup winner. He’s a legend. He survived the Munich Air Disaster and helped to rebuild Manchester United. He played for 17 seasons at Old Trafford, he broke records, won titles, scored more goals than any man has ever managed to do for the club. He’s earned […]

10 years ago

“It’s not true.” Bernard Dunne has quashed talk that Michael O’Reilly was absent from the Ireland camp for two months ahead of the Olympics. Katie Taylor’s quarter-final defeat stirred emotions on RTÉ and caused an informal inquiry into the Ireland boxing preparations for Rio. WATCH: Katie Taylor's post-fight interview is one of the most heartbreaking […]

10 years ago

Katie Taylor went down swinging. ‘Til the very last. The Irish boxing legend was eliminated from the Women’s Light 57-60kg at the quarter-final stage and bowed out with all the respect and gratitude that a hero like her has earned. Finland’s Mira Potkonen denied the Olympic champion a medal spot by ousting her on a […]

10 years ago

Townsend to Saunders to Atkinson to delirium. March 27 1994. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzd0pmtFTsI It took me all of 26 minutes of my first football game to decide. I sat down as a clueless five-year-old with two United-supporting brothers and loved their misery. I thought it was just a wind-up at first that I’d roar for the other […]

10 years ago

Dalian Atkinson has been reported dead. A 48-year-old man was shot with a Taser by police officers responding to an alert in Telford. The victim was named locally as Dalian Atkinson. Update – 48-year-old man who died after he was tasered by police in Telford has been named as former Aston Villa footballer Dalian Atkinson […]

10 years ago