Tag: football

  • Super Bowl in Dublin: a reflection of acceptance

    Super Bowl in Dublin: a reflection of acceptance

    With the Super Bowl only days away and American Football on the ascension, Gary Ibbotson takes a look at how America’s game has been embraced by us Irish.

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  • Recreational drug use in professional football continues

    Recreational drug use in professional football continues

    Following Hull City footballer Jake Livermore’s failing of a drug test earlier this year, the issue of recreational drug use in football has come under the microscope once again.

    The one time England international tested positive for cocaine use after a random drug test which followed his side’s 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace in April.

    Livermore, who was provisionally suspended by the Football Association and his club, had recently experienced the death of his newborn daughter and, on these grounds, his suspension was lifted by the FA in September.

    Hull City manager, Steve Bruce, attributed Livermore’s use of the class A drug to the sadness the player felt after his daughter’s untimely passing.

    Closer to home, there have been a number of instances whereby League of Ireland players have been cited by the Football Association of Ireland following positive drug tests.

    Most recently, the Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland (PFAI) announced on October 21st that a League of Ireland player had failed a drug test for a banned substance, which the Irish Independent said was ‘believed to be cocaine’.

    The player, who remains unnamed, waived his right to have a B sample tested according to the PFAI who confirmed that ‘the drug in question was of a recreational nature’.

    The PFAI’s statement noted that the player involved had a right to anonymity and, further, requested that those using social media and other outlets refrain from gossip or speculation until the matter had been resolved.

    Positive drug tests have remained however, highly unusual in Irish soccer.

    The last, and only, time that a League of Ireland player tested positive for cocaine was in 2003 when, then Shamrock Rovers goalkeeper, Barry Ryan, failed a random test and received a 15 month ban from the FAI. This ban was reduced to 9 months after an appeal and Ryan moved on to the now defunct club, Dublin City FC.

    In 2012, Dundalk F.C. midfielder Shane Grimes, then of rivals Drogheda United, tested positive for the stimulant methylhexaneamine, otherwise known as MHA, and was subject to an 8 month playing ban.

    Grimes’ situation was an interesting one as the panel judging the case acknowledged that the player most likely used the substance unknowingly – it is an ingredient in the widely used pre-workout supplement ‘JACK3D’ – although the player’s carelessness in this regard was also noted.

    A statement by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) a year before Grimes’ positive test was titled ‘Beware – Your Supplement Could Cause a Positive Test’. The statement warned athletes to exercise caution when using products like ‘JACK3D’ or other products that may have in fact been ‘designer steroids’.

    For more stories from Conor Murphy, you can visit his Twitter at @conormurphylfc.

  • Opinion: Chelsea deserve more credit for their success

    Opinion: Chelsea deserve more credit for their success

    Chelsea_2_Spurs_0_Capital_One_Cup_winners_2015_(16692085921)By Donal Lucey

    The reaction to Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday was puzzling to say the least. The backlash began before the final whistle had even sounded, with United and ‘neutral’ fans taking to social media to voice their outrage at the manner of Chelsea’s victory.

    While their tactics mightn’t have been pretty, they were extremely effective and helped stretch their lead at the top of the table to 10 points. But somehow, in the midst of all the discussion online, a debate was provoked. People actually began questioning whether this Chelsea side were worthy of the title. Comparisons were being made with the truly awful side that won Alex Ferguson his last league title.

    These people seem to have forgotten that there is more than one way to play football. Would they have Mourinho try to emulate Barcelona’s attacking style, putting entertainment ahead of success in the process? You may not like the way Chelsea are seeing out the season but they should be given the credit they deserve. Looking ahead to today’s big clash with Arsenal, let’s take a closer look at what has made Chelsea successful this season.

    Tactics

    Sunday’s win was every bit the tactical masterclass we were expecting from Mourinho, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It was no surprise to see Kurt Zouma’s name on the teamsheet, with the defender widely tipped to be used to nullify Marouane Fellaini’s attacking threat and he did so very effectively. Fellaini couldn’t move without Zouma tracking, and indeed, challenging him for every ball. If Fellaini attempted to drift out wide, a Chelsea defender would then get to tight to Fellaini with Zouma often acting as cover for them. This allowed Chelsea to keep their shape throughout the game.

    http://gfycat.com/LonelyScientificGoldenretriever

    After the game Mourinho was quick to champion the efforts of Cezar Azpilicueta, who he said was the best player on the pitch. It’s true that he did a very impressive job of shutting Mata out of the game but it seems that other players roles in the victory were overlooked by some pundits. Many people after the game were left scratching their heads at how Manchester United were able to have 70 per cent of possession but only manage two shots.

    Pressure

    It wasn’t just a case of Chelsea “parking the bus”, they stopped the threat at the source. Wayne Rooney and Fellaini were deployed by Louis Van Gaal as the forward players in a midfield three, with Ander Herrera sitting deep. Herrera was meant to play that quarterback role, receiving the ball in deep areas and picking out passes to get them moving forward. To counter this, Mourinho had Didier Drogba and Cesc Fabregas diligently try to block Herrera off from his defenders. This forced Herrera to go out wide and into other areas to try and receive the ball. It did allow McNair and Smalling to venture into midfield often but neither are renowned for their passing prowess.

    It was Chelsea that looked the more dangerous team. Every time they launched a counter-attack, Fabregas, Oscar and Hazard threatened the United defense with their speed and link up play.

    Source: Imgur

    Mourinho made sure of the game as early as the 67th minute when he brought on Ramires for Oscar. Whereas Oscar had left Ivanovic exposed at times during the first half, Ramires was able to keep Luke Shaw from having the same impact as he’d had on the first half.

    It was another example of a well-drilled Chelsea side following their game-plan to perfection. How you could even consider Chelsea as being a weak champion is beyond me when they probably have one of the greatest quartet of defenders in recent memory. But I don’t believe you could even call it a safe performance. Mourinho took a calculated risk putting Zouma in that team. If United had scored first, he would have been left with the wrong players out on the field and an uphill battle looking at the attacking options on his bench.

    But Mourinho’s team don’t play this defensive brand of football against all teams. At the beginning of the season, Fabregas and Costa were winning rave reviews for their attacking displays. This has been disrupted since Christmas by injuries and suspensions but Costa has still managed 19 goals, with Fabregas chipping in 3 goals and 16 assists. That’s before we even consider the player that should win the Premier League Player of the Year, Eden Hazard. Hazard has scored 13 goals and eight assists but the crucial statistic is that his 13 goals has also gained Chelsea 14 points. Their attacking abilities are there for all to see. Unfortunately for Chelsea, Costa has only been able to start 24 games and a now 37-year-old Drogba doesn’t offer the same focal point in attack.

    Big-game mentality

    If there is any doubt remaining that Chelsea are not only worthy of the title, or are not a great side, let’s put them to bed now. No team has scored more goals per game than Chelsea, no team has converted a higher percentage of its chances than Chelsea and no team in the top six has conceded less goals than Chelsea. They are set to break the record in terms of days spent at the top of the table, which was previously held by Manchester United from 1993/94.

    I’m not a Chelsea fan but I respect how they are able to get results in big games time and time again, and you should do. Their results against the top five this season read: W3, D3, L0.  Results against the same sides last season are: W6, D2, L0. Are these the statistics of a side that isn’t worthy the Premier League title?

    This has been a season where a lot of fans have been disappointed in their teams performances. It has been easy to criticise English teams, especially given their performances in Europe. It seems watching the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City go down to teams that play a more attacking brand of football has caused a reaction from some fans but that doesn’t cheapen Chelsea’s fourth Premier League title.

    They may not always play the brand of football we would like but they have been by far the best team in the league this season and deserve credit for it.

    Do you think Chelsea deserve their criticism?

  • The City’s Premiership Preview

    https://soundcloud.com/dlmaj/podcast-march

    Donal and James give their predictions ahead of the midweek Premier League action on Tuesday and Wednesday.

    Our accumulator for this week is:

    Aston Villa, Hull City, Manchester United, Spurs and a draw between Everton & Stoke. 68/1

  • Coleman and McCarthy recalled for Ireland’s November fixtures

    Coleman and McCarthy recalled for Ireland’s November fixtures

    Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill has announced a 36-man provisional squad for the Republic of Ireland’s forthcoming Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland in Glasgow on November 14. This squad will also play a friendly fixture against the United States in Dublin on November 18.

    Martin O'Neill addresses reporters at the FAI Headquarters in Abbotstown. Photo: James Hopper
    Martin O’Neill addresses reporters at the FAI Headquarters in Abbotstown. Photo: James Hopper

    O’Neill has included the Everton duo of James McCarthy and Séamus Coleman in his squad after both missed the matches against Gibraltar and Germany in early October.

    There is no call-up however for Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish who was tipped to make his debut in the USA friendly at the Aviva Stadium. Stoke’s Glenn Whelan is included despite a broken leg suffered in the Germany game but there is no place for Wes Hoolahan of Norwich, who damaged ankle ligaments with his club after returning from international duty.

    Midfielder Whelan sustained a leg fracture in the 1-1 draw against Germany in Gelsenkirchen on October 14 and was all but ruled out of the Group D showdown against Scotland in Celtic’s Parkhead Stadium by his Stoke City boss Mark Hughes.

    However, O’Neill says that Whelan’s injury is “clearing up” after naming him in his initial squad of 36. “Glenn’s in the squad at this moment,” O’Neill said. “Initially, I thought he was going to be out for some time and while he is still struggling, the injury itself is actually clearing up and he’s giving himself every possible chance.

    “He’s getting better by the day, he’s still not weight-bearing but I’ll give him every opportunity. Even if I hadn’t included him in the squad here today, if he had felt he would be able to play, I would have reinstated him,” O’Neill added.

    Former Cork City defender Brian Lenihan has also made his way into the squad after impressing in training in the lead up to the qualifiers against Gibraltar and Germany in October. However, the uncapped fullback is unlikely to remain in the squad when the panel is trimmed down to a suitable size on November 10.

    “I thought for a young lad coming in with senior players he might have been a little bit nervous but he didn’t show it in the little games we played – in fact he did very, very well,” said O’Neill.

    “It was always going to be an ask for him to be playing in those games [Gibraltar and Germany] and while he may be a natural right-back where David Meyler isn’t, we needed some experience down that side, particularly out in Germany.”

    O’Neill went on to say, “It would have been harsh to have put him in there for that game [against world champions Germany], but he impressed enough to warrant being put in the squad at this minute. Obviously when we cut it down, we’ll see how it develops but he impressed everyone.”

    With November’s clash against Scotland proving to be a significant fixture, O’Neill is hoping that his players’ boosted confidence thanks to their result against Germany will help them secure a potentially pivotal result against their Group D rivals.

    “To score in the last minute of the game and get something from the world champions on their own pitch was really just fantastic. The players have naturally gained confidence from that.”

    “Scotland will not be easy – absolutely not. They’re flying at the moment, Gordon Strachan has them playing very well and they had a great result out in Poland. If nothing else, we must go there with some confidence.”

    Ireland currently sit in second place in Group D on seven points, three points ahead of Scotland.

  • Former Dublin player takes Wicklow job

    Newly appointed Wicklow Senior Football Mamager Johnny Magee  Picture credit: Daire Brennan / SPORTSFILE
    Newly appointed Wicklow Senior Football Manager Johnny Magee
    Picture credit: Daire Brennan / SPORTSFILE

    Newly appointed Wicklow football manager Johnny Magee plans to leave no stone unturned during his first season as inter-county manager.

    Former Dublin GAA player, Magee was appointed as manager earlier this month after being part of the teams backroom squad last year.

    “I was involved last year with the Wicklow team as a coach and selector so when the opportunity came around, and some of the players expressed that they would like me to stay on, I put my name forward for the position”, said Magee.

    Magee, who has played Gaelic football with Kilmacud Crokes from the age of ten, has always loved the adrenaline of the game and wanted to still be part of it all after retiring.

    “I played for Crokes and Dublin and I knew that when I retired it would leave a big void. I liked the buzz and adrenaline of being on the field and in the dressing room and I miss that”, he said.

    He also added that he hopes to get the opportunity to manage Crokes and even Dublin in years to come.

    The former All Ireland star’s aim for this coming season is to make sure that his players are playing consistently week in, week out.

    “There is a lot of responsibility being a manager”, he said, “I have to make sure that 30 lads are fit and ready to perform at county level”.

    The new manager of the garden county has brought two other former Dublin players to the management team this year, his brother Darren Magee, and former All Star winner, Ray Cosgrave, as team coach.

    “Darren has been coaching for 10 years now, so he has a lot of experience with that, obviously he is my brother so I trust him as well”, Magee said.

    “Darren played mid field, Ray played in the forwards and I’m a defender, so I think that with the three of us, we will be able to cover every angle to try get the best out of our players”, he added.

    Wicklow’s first campaign under Magee will begin in the O’Byrne Cup next January, where he hopes to see the team promoted from Division Four.

     

  • Airtricity League title evades the capital – 2014 Season Review

    As another year of Irish league football comes to an end, the time for reflection for managers, players and fans has arrived. Whether your club has won the league, embarked on a memorable cup run, exceeded expectations or spectacularly failed to live up to them, little will change the love we feel for the club we support. Here’s a round-up of all the Dublin-based Premier Division clubs for the 2014 season.

    Bohemians

    Dalymount Park will welcome back First Division football next season. Photo: Jack Pollock
    Dalymount Park will welcome back First Division football next season. Photo: Jack Pollock

    After retaining their SSE Airtricity Premier Division status in 2013 with a 10th place finish, the Gypsies pushed on in the 2014 season to surprise everyone at Dalymount Park and finish in a commendable 7th place.

    Having only secured safety in the final weeks of the 2013 season, this campaign was a far more productive effort under now departed boss, Owen Heary. The 38 year-old, who spent seven years with the Phibsborough based club as a player and manager, guided his team to the latter stages of all three domestic cups. Bohs reached the semi-final stages of the EA Sports Cup, only to lose out to Shamrock Rovers 0-2. The FAI Cup brought more heartache, as the side were narrowly defeated by St Patrick’s Athletic despite threatening a late comeback in their quarter-final tie. The lesser acclaimed Leinster Senior Cup also saw the club excel, before being convincingly beaten by rivals Shamrock Rovers once again at the quarter-final stage.

    Dinny Corcoran ended the season as the Gypsies’ top scorer, as he bagged 13 league goals to ensure relegation was never at the forefront of his teammates’ thoughts. Summer signing Jason Byrne also provided the goals for Heary’s men, but at 36 years of age, time is running out for the Dublin-born striker to break the League of Ireland’s all time scoring record of 235 goals, currently held by Brendan Bradley. Byrne still needs just over 20 goals to match Bradley’s feat.

    Shamrock Rovers

    Photo: Shamrock Rovers FC
    Shamrock Rovers narrowly missed out on European qualification for next season. Photo: Shamrock Rovers FC

    Having previously secured a domestic cup treble in the 2013 campaign, Rovers were expected to improve on their 5th place finish and to challenge for the league title. However, the Hoops were to end another season without qualifying for Europe.

    Midway through the season, manager Trevor Croly left the club by mutual consent as the club decided he was no longer the man to take the club forward. Pat Fenlon, the former Hibernian boss, took over the reins as the club desperately tried to secure European football for the first time in four years. With their league form proving indifferent, the cups took on more importance as the club searched for an alternative route into Europe.

    The Hoops surrendered their EA Sports Cup to Dundalk, who claimed a 3-2 victory in a pulsating final. The club also lost its grip on their two remaining trophies, as they exited both the Leinster Senior Cup and the Setanta Sports Cup at the semi-final stages. Most painfully, Pat Fenlon’s side saw their last opportunity to qualify for Europe pass them by, as they lost to Derry City in their FAI Cup semi-final replay. The FAI Cup was high on the list of priorities for boss Fenlon, with the club having gone 27 years without claiming the trophy.

    Gary McCabe ended the season as the club’s top scorer with seven goals, as the Tallaght-based club struggled to find a prolific scorer. Goalkeeper Barry Murphy was named as the club’s Player of the Year.

    St Patrick’s Athletic

    Richmond Park Image
    Fans of St Pat’s can look forward to some Europa League action in July 2015. Photo: Fionnsci

    In claiming the SSE Airtricity Premier Division title in 2013, St Pat’s finally shook off their tag of ‘nearly men’. However, Liam Buckley’s side failed to recapture their title-winning form in 2014, as arguably the best squad in the league vastly underperformed to seal only a 3rd place finish.

    In light of their league triumph, the Inchicore club’s struggles in the cup competitions were largely overlooked last season. This campaign, in contrast, will be remembered for their exploits in both European and the domestic cups. Having gained a remarkable 1-1 draw in their Champions League second-round qualifier first-leg against Legia Warsaw, those at Richmond Park began to dream of a fairytale meeting with Scottish giants, Celtic. Unfortunately, those visions would remain imaginary, as the Polish champions thrashed St Pat’s in the second-leg, to end their chances of progressing.

    Liam Buckley and his players did claim the Leinster Senior Cup after beating First Division side Longford Town in the final. With Europa League qualification secured through their final league position, St Pat’s head into the FAI Cup Final on November 2 with little to fear, as they go in search of more silverware.

    Christy Fagan marked a memorable personal campaign with 20 league goals; Conan Byrne and Chris Forrester also reached double figures. Keith Fahey also enjoyed a fine campaign as he made his eagerly anticipated return to the League of Ireland.

    UCD

    UCD. Photo: Ed Scannell
    UCD’s future in the Premier Division remains in their own hands. Photo: Ed Scannell

    The perennial target for the Students is to remain in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division and they still have a chance of extending their five-year stay. In 2013, UCD sealed their safety after finishing in 9th place and in doing so, avoided the uncertainty of a relegation play-off. However, Aaron Callaghan’s side were not so fortunate this time around, as they will have to wait until Halloween night before their Premier Division status is decided.

    With the club’s target of survival the only real aspiration for management and players, cup competitions always prove to be a thankless task at the UCD Bowl. The Students exited all domestic cup competitions in the early rounds, as they lived up to their low expectations. Striker Cillian Morrison left the club in July to join Cork City, in what has become a familiar scenario for UCD as they continue to lose their best players on an all-too regular basis. The likes of Michael Leahy, Craig Walsh, Dinny Corcoran and David McMillan have all left the side in the past 12 months. However, management encourage the club’s best players to move on, in order to further their careers at more ambitious sides throughout the division.

    Time will tell if UCD are to prepare for life in the Premier Division once more, or whether they will finally endure relegation to Irish football’s second-tier.

  • Are we happy to accept failure?

    Are we happy to accept failure?

    Image courtesy of Wikipedia commons
    Image courtesy of Wikipedia commons

    Ireland’s agonizing defeat against New Zealand’s All Blacks in the Autumn Internationals last weekend signaled yet another disappointment for Irish sports. Having lead the game the whole way through, all it took was one try from the Blacks to crush Irish dreams in a matter of seconds.

    Within minutes of the final whistle being blown, Facebook and Twitter were awash with comments from members of the public expressing their anger and disgust. Then, just like that, the public’s words of resentment were replaced with words of consolation for a team that had “played so well.”

    In his post-match interview to BBC, Seán O’ Brien expressed his frustration at his teammates for letting such a monumental victory slip through their fingers. Despite receiving words of encouragement from the journalist, he summed it up for all of us when he said: “we lost.”

    The question that must be asked then is, are we as a country happy to accept failure?

    Ask yourselves, would New Zealand have been so quick to emphasis the positives had the roles been reversed? The answer: probably not.

    As the Irish sporting history books would suggest, we have come to be known as a nation of “second bests.” Back in 1990, Ireland suffered a harrowing loss to Italy in the world cup quarterfinals. Despite not managing to win a single game during the tournament, thousands thronged the streets to welcome home our “heroes.”

    Evidently, there are those who will argue that it was a massive achievement for a country so small, but Portugal and Switzerland who are of similar population size to us have both managed to reach the top level in various sports, so why can’t we?

    Ireland is a small nation that punches well above its weight in many aspects of life. We are home to some of the world’s greatest writers like Oscar Wilde, and great musicians like U2, so why doesn’t the same success transcend to sport?

    Of course, we have produced many champions such as Ronnie Delaney, Michael Carruth, Robert Herffernan, Eammon Coghlan, and Sonia O’ Sullivan among others, but in recent times, our results have failed to match our potential.

    Sports Psychologist Canice Kennedy believes that this is because “ we have a national inferiority complex which is typical of small, young nations previously occupied by a large foreign power.  This transfers into low levels of expectation in terms of sporting success in some sports particularly where we have not been successful in the past or where we do not have modern training facilities. In these sports we cannot compete with our neighboring countries…while we are never happy to lose, we are often happy not to lose badly.”

    The reality is that there is a very thin line between success and defeat. In his famous poem entitled If Rudyard Kipling said “If you can meet with triumph and disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same…you’ll be a man, my son!” However, Roy Keane, one of Ireland’s leading sportsmen is one who is unwilling to accept this mentality as he famously once said, “show me a good loser, and I’ll show you a loser.”

    Ultimately, if you can find happiness in defeat, then you’ll never be a winner. Keane has recently taken up post as assistant to Ireland’s new football manager Martin O’ Neill. Only time will tell if he’ll be able to communicate his winning ideology to a bunch of players who are in desperate need of some tough love. And, who knows, if he can succeed, then maybe other sports will follow suit.

  • Fairytale in New York

    Fairytale in New York

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    With the recent trend of emigration and the resulting need for young people to feel connected to home, GAA can provide a vital and much needed foothold in a new country. Last month, Damien O’Connor was part of the Kerry team that won an unlikely New York championship, and the Laois footballer gives a unique insight into Gaelic Games overseas.

    Damien O'Connor in action for Laois against Mayo in this years Allianz National League
    Damien O’Connor in action for Laois against Mayo in this years Allianz National League

    “It’s a surreal experience going training. We’re living in a kind of Irish street, McClean Avenue it’s called, and around six or half-six in the evening, the street would be full of Irish just standing around with football boots, everyone waiting for a lift to go training.”

    “Where we were training was about 15 minutes away. There could be about 10 of us in the back of the car, and if the traffic was really bad you could be sitting on the highway for an hour or two hours without moving before you got to training.”

    O’Connor was joined at the Kerry New York club by Down senior footballer Keith Quinn, the only other inter-county player on the team. “We had no really big names, but a lot of good, strong footballers; a lot of Kerry boys who played under-age with Kerry and had been on Kerry senior panels before moving to New York but hadn’t made the breakthrough.”

    Down's Keith Quinn shakes hands with the referee before the match
    Down’s Keith Quinn shakes hands with the referee before the match [credit: Peter Marney]
    “We had one Irish-American lad on the team as well, James Huvane at cornerback. He wasn’t bad at all.”

    “The facilities wouldn’t be as good as at home; we trained on an astro-turf field looking into Manhattan, there were 10 or 12 big pitches but all we had was soccer goals which you can’t really play proper football in. Some of the coaching styles would be completely different to what you’d see over here as well.”

    Unfancied Kerry managed to advance to the final where they played Leitrim, who were on course to win their fourth title in a row. “It was like a proper county final day” says O’Connor, “we had a parade and the national anthem, a good crowd; it was a good experience. The game itself was great, it was tough, there were three or four lads sent off in it.”

    Kerry's Paul O'Donoghue, who scored 0-7 in the final
    Kerry’s Paul O’Donoghue, who scored 0-7 in the final [credit: Peter Marney]
    “It wouldn’t compare to winning anything with Timahoe [O’Connor’s home club] or Laois, but at the time it was a great feeling because going into the game, no-one really gave us a chance. Leitrim had about ten inter-county lads, boys on inter-county transfers who had played with their counties this year, everybody just overlooked Kerry.”

    O'Connor competes with Laois team-mate and Leitrim sanction Kevin Meaney.
    O’Connor competes with Laois team-mate and Leitrim sanction Kevin Meaney. [credit: Peter Marney]
    O’Connor, who featured for Laois against Louth in the Leinster Championship earlier this year before moving to New York, is also quick to praise the quality of football on show in the city; “There’s a good standard of players. You don’t see too many lads standing out; the heat is the real killer. During the summer you could be playing in 35/36 degrees, and on an astro-turf pitch where it’s a couple of degrees warmer.”

    “Coming down to the latter stages of the Championship the standard is very high; there are a lot of good footballers. You’d want to be at the top of your game to play well out there.”

    Monaghan forward Rory Woods (Leitrim).
    Monaghan forward Rory Woods (Leitrim). [credit: Peter Marney]
    “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and it just felt like the right time to do it,” says O’Connor on leaving home and going to America. When asked what advice he’d give to anyone thinking of making the same decision, the 21-year-old has no hesitation; “Make the most of the experience, have the craic and do as much as you can while you can. It really is something to remember and something you can always say you did”.

    Full credit and thanks to Peter Marney for all images.

  • O’Neill and Keane appointed as Irish dynamic duo

    O’Neill and Keane appointed as Irish dynamic duo

    FAI chief executive John Delaney has confirmed that Martin O’Neill will be the new Republic of Ireland manager, with Roy Keane as his number two in what the Irish support hope will signal “a new era for Irish football.”

    O’Neill is expected to appoint his own backroom staff with the combined package estimated to cost the FAI more than €2 million per annum.

    Delaney has stated that an official press conference and unveiling will take place on Saturday 9th November.

    Interestingly, it was Martin O’Neill’s decision to bring Roy Keane into the frame, with Delaney claiming that the FAI had no participation in the decision.

    The new number one and two have a lot in common despite their almost 20 year age difference. Both have played for Nottingham Forest under the great Brian Clough, and both men have held the reins at Sunderland football club.

    With Keane and O’Neill  both having taken a brief hiatus from the game since their last jobs, the Ireland vacancy seems like a fantastic opportunity for the two Irishmen to get back into the game, albeit at an international level which neither have experience in managing.

    Keane will take his first step back into the game after his spell at Ipswich Town in 2011.
    Keane will take his first step back into the game after his spell at Ipswich Town in 2011. Credit: Figo29 on WordPress

    O’Neill and Keane are a perfect balancing act – O’Neill, the affable Belfast man with his modest personality and calm temperament. Keane, with his determined and infallible attitude, renowned for his hot-headed nature and no-nonsense take on the game.

    Neil Lennon stamped his approval on the appointment stating “they’re two great characters with a vast knowledge of the game, two very proud men as well. God help the players!”

    On paper, this looks like a potentially successful appointment, although the danger is also there for all to see. It would have been a huge mistake to hire another foreign manager after Trapattoni’s spell, but Keane and O’Neill are widely respected and influential figures in the game. And more importantly, they’re Irish!

    However, can two big characters and personalities work so closely together and generate a successful partnership to take Irish football forward, or will it be a case of one step forward and two steps back for John Delaney and the FAI?

    The Irish support has already taken to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, in particular, to voice their opinions on the matter. The decision seems to be met with a widely mixed reaction.

    Paddy Power have tweeted: “Ireland to qualify for Euro 2016 now 5/6! 3/1 to qualify for World Cup 2018. First to leave their job, 4/6 Keane v 11/10 O’Neill.”

    Featured image credit: Wiki