Topics

 

what a crazy penalty shoot-out

finished 13-12 to Holland

Some stuff happening at the minute. 

6 Episodes into the last series shown over here  - 3 to go

I'm going to miss it when it finishes.

http://www.mcfc.co.uk/default.sps?pagegid={DBD12D53-8346-431D-A04F-5D0F8664DE80}&newsid=427531

Very young squad indeed

Nicky Colgan - Barnsley
Wayne Henderson - Preston North End
Colin Doyle - Birmingham City

Stephen Kelly - Birmingham City
Paul McShane - WestBromwichAlbion
Sean St Ledger - Preston North End
Alex Bruce - Ipswich Town
Derek Geary - Sheffield Utd
Joseph O'Cearuill - Arsenal
John O'Shea - Manchester United

Kevin Kilbane - Wigan Athletic
Darren Potter - Wolves
Stephen Ireland Manchester City
Stephen Hunt - Reading
Alan O'Brien - Newcastle United
Liam Miller - Sunderland

Kevin Doyle - Reading
Shane Long – Reading
Caleb Folan - Wigan Athletic
Daryl Murphy - Sunderland
Stephen Elliott - Sunderland
Anthony Stokes - Sunderland
Andy Keogh - Wolves

Think of the tips you'd get 

Next seasons home kit apparently



Can't see Berbatov in it though

More American investment in English football

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/southampton/6600255.stm

Southampton could be the latest club to be taken over by an American after the club confirmed a takeover approach.

A statement to the Stock Exchange said: "We have received, and are considering, a preliminary approach."

Speculation has linked Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, the world's 19th richest man, with the Saints.

A source close to Allen told the Daily Mail: "He sees Southampton as a sleeping giant, a family-supported club with traditional values."

The Stock Exchange statement added: "The board note the recent rise in the company's share price.

"The board's consideration is at an early stage and there is no guarantee that any offer will be forthcoming."

Allen owns the Seattle Seahawks NFL franchise and the Portland Trailblazers NBA outfit and the source said: "We see the value in taking the brand global."

Allen retains his interest in Microsoft as an investor in Dreamworks animation studio, and is a backer of the SpaceShipOne project to launch commercial space flights.

Forbes magazine estimates his fortune at £9bn.

Several ultra-wealthy Americans have snapped up English football clubs, headed by the Glazer family at Manchester United, George Gillett and Tom Hicks at Liverpool, and Randy Lerner at Aston Villa.

American billionaire Stan Kroenke is involved in a battle to take over Arsenal.

Championship club Southampton have been searching for new investors since Michael Wilde replaced Rupert Lowe as chairman last summer.

Millionaire property developer Wilde himself resigned earlier this year after failing to attract investment.

Anyone else watching??

Pistons vs Magic - Pistons are 2 up in the series
Cavaliers vs Wizards - Cavs are 1 up
Raptors vs Nets - series tied 1-1
Heat vs Bulls - Bulls are 2 up

Mavericks vs Warriors - Golden State are one up
Suns vs Lakers - Suns are 2 up
Spurs vs Nuggets - Denver are 1 up
Jazz vs Rockets - Rockets are 2 up

Just got sent this email




http://www.tonygriffinfoundation.com/

This May 1st 2007 Tony Griffin will start his 7000km bicycle journey across Canada and Ireland to raise money for 3 very worthwhile anti-cancer charities. In Canada- The Canadian Ovarian Society and in Ireland the Irish Cancer Society and the Lance Armstrong Society. His goal is to raise 1 million euro for these very worthwhile causes.




Fair play to the man - giving up a summer of hurling for this very worthwhile cause

Holy shit

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070416/ap_on_re_us/virginia_tech_shooting

Well - another year comes around - training starts next Sunday (the snow is only off the ground now - just as I say that - here comes another snow shower) and I'm involved in help train the lads this year.

I'm trying to put together a varied program to break up the monotiny of training

I've downloaded all the drills from the Ulster GAA and Derry GAA pages.

Is there anywhere else I can get some information – mostly drills with the ball?

All help will be appreciated.

Thanks

Discuss here

not pride.ie

I think it's based in Dublin – they had designs for Peter Canavan, Jimmy Barry Murphy etc

Anyone remember the web address for it?

Thanks

After a players meeting held the Saturday night before, where all the talk is about the lads given up the drink for the whole year & lads never missing a training session, your approach this year renewed hope that it would be different than the shambles that was last year.

You arrive in the door from work & forget that you've training in 2 hours time & eat the dinner, followed by tea & whatever biscuits are still left in the tin of USA biscuits from the Christmas.

No sooner do you stand up from the table than you remember you've to head down to training, your brain hits overdrive as you try to think of an injury that you possibly could have...that you only sustained in the last 48hrs, because as you explained to the players in the smoking room in the local pub on Saturday night, you've never felt in better shape. Jesus that was some session though Saturday night.

You decide that you better head down to training (sure it might not be too bad after all its the 1st night back & the manager won't want to torture ye...after all the players had no respect for him last year, maybe he'll go easy on you tonight while the other lads are running laps). You grab the jacket & the gear bag & head for the door. You remember your going without the fags, but you reckon your better off not bringing them, after all you told the lads you were off them!!!

You pull in to the pitch & see lads sitting in cars looking out at some lad whose setting out cones all round the field, you decide to head in to the dressing room, show the lads how serious you are!!!

You wander in & find the manager & 3 selectors standing there chatting...but if there in here, then whose out there putting down the cones. They explain that they've got an army lad in for the next 2 months to get ye in good shape...you feel the spuds churning in your stomach...something tells you, you'll see them again before the nights out.

You break out the brand new gear & a few lads admire the new Puma boots you bought, €180 you inform them...there also the same 1's Ciarian Whelan & Munnelly wear. You check the cogs, which look like something NASA came up with, but you reckon it'll give you that extra yard in training.

You chat to the same lads that you only spoke to last year, the same lads who arrived late last year, are arriving late as you head out the dressing room door & into the bitterly cold January night air, it most definately wasn't this cold earlier on.

You run on to the pitch & survey the cones laid out, its hard to know exactly what sort of football drills this lad is likely to be using here...you then notice that there's actually not an O'Neills football in sight. Your run slows down to a jog, then to a walk...no point over doing it yet!!!

Training starts at 8, although its 8.15 & lads are still coming out on to the field...little do they realise that everytime a lad comes after 8 your trainer adds on an extra lap to be run at the end of training by everyone.

You start off training by running aimlessly over & back across the field...every now & again the trainer shouts for ye to sprint...but your already at full tilt to stay with them as it is. After 10-15 mins of agony ye stop for stretching, this apparently was only the warm up...

After you've finished stretching ye proceed to run around the field for what seems an eternity, but what the trainer informs you has only been 12 mins!!! At this stage your lungs are killing you & you regret ever taking up smoking 40 a day, & your dinner is slowly working its way back up your stomach!!!

Your also well sick of the county minor player lapping you on these runs...who does he think he is? It comforts you a huge amount when you discover that he's recently been dropped off the panel, yet still trained tonight in the gear that you know his mother went out & bought him!!!

Another 45 mins of running laps, sprints, shuttle runs, sit ups, push ups, & more laps, the trainer says 1 final lap to finish up. This is your moment to shine. You decide to hit the front early & set the pace...you go full pelt...you feel fitter, faster & stronger than ever before. You might have died for the last hour & a half or so but now your going to show them.

40 yards in to the run...you hit your 10th brick wall of the night & lads coast out by you, you try to stay going, but every step feels like a knife in the chest. Finally you give up & walk the last half a lap, where the other lads are just finished stretching!!! You try & stretch but your 2 legs feel like 2 concrete pillars so you decide there's no point & head in to the dressing room...a hot shower is just what you need!!!

You greeted at the door by the Chairman who informs ye all that no one turned on the boiler for the showers so there's no hot water in it!!! You throw on the clothes & scab a cigeratte off 1 of the lads before you get in the car to drive home.

As you drive home, you thank god your the only goalie in the club, they won't see you at training again till mid March!!!

Slan!!!

There seems to be a fair few of posters on here from this side of the water

Just think we should keep all the US/Canada stuff in one thread

1. You spend all winter on the beer speculating on who will be  brought in to manage the team next year.
2. The hardest tackle you will make all year is in an indoor soccer match in January.
3. When you break your brother-in-law's leg.
4. There are 35 at training under lights on a bitter February night (unfit but enthusiastic) - the average for August is 7 (the rest are either unfit, sick of training, repeating exams, in the US or  making silage)
5. When you go for a pick-up, you fumble the ball at least twice before you just kick it.
6. The full forward has his son and nephew in the corners.
7. The nephew is two years older.
8. For a 2.30 throw-in, you start packing your gearbag at 2.40 and still manage to be on the field before the referee even arrives.
9. You can get a match called off because your star player is playing for the County under-16's the following week.
10. Your tight marking corner back never gives an inch - except of course, when the ball gets inside his own 50 and he charges out after it with all the other backs, forgetting that the other team are even on the field.
11. Your goalie lets in a sitter every second game - this usually happens after you have scored 5 points from play to reel in a difficult half-time deficit.
12. Or in the first minute if it is a final.
13. Your full-forward can't score but "he's a good man to bust up the play".
14. Your centre-forward can't score either but "he'll stop a good man from playing".
15. Your championship is either a round robin that requires you to play six league games to eliminate one team, or a knockout starting in October.
16. Your no 8 cant catch the ball and is only there because he is the tallest lad in the parish.
17. Any members of your panel who claim to have back injuries are either lazy or completely daft. Unless you can see blood, bruises or bandages, they are making it up.
18. Before every match, the forwards are told to stay wide and not bunch - but this is not what happens. The only time any forward goes  wide is if they are looking for water.
19. Your backs play from behind punching with one hand while resting the other on the forward's back - this is why all your scores and all their scores come from frees.
20. A pint after mass is the usual warm up for a game.
21. You can't field a team during the June because of Leaving & Junior Cert. exams
22. Your left-corner-back plays at No.4 because he is one of only 2 people who can kick with their left foot.
23. Ditto No.7.
24. After every away match you cant wait till next year "to get them bastards down to our pitch and give them a kickin'"
25. Your star player always has one other brother "that was even better but he couldn't stay off the drink".

Early start this week as it's Thanksgiving down south tomorrow - and as is tradition, there are games on

Post your favourites in here.

To upload a picture from your computer -

1. Go to an image hosting site likehttp://www.imageshack.us - if you can resize it to 800 x 600 pixels (so it will fit on the monitor)

2. It will provide you with a URL that you can use to upload the picture - use the URL in the bottom box beside the phrase "Direct link to friends"

3. Click this button and paste the URL in between the 2 words

4. Hit "Preview" to make sure it has attached properly and if it has - then hit "Post"

Maybe we can get this stickied Admin ? 

Clubs : Ardboe O' Donovan Rossa (Home)  ,St Vincent's GFC Toronto (Here)
County : Tyrone
Best Football Memory: September 28th 2003