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Ah, he's probably done too many clubs. You'd guess that managers get burned out trying over and over to make their mark at a club.  This is his sixth club; Wycombe Wanderers, Norwich City, Leicester City, Celtic, Aston Villa and Sunderland.

Not a great pedigree
Wycombe - from (nowhere) non-league into league football & further promotion
Norwich - wasn't there a wet week when he took a stand against the club directors and left
Leicester - legendary status for what he did with a small club
Celtic - broke the Rangers monopoly & took the greens to a European final on no money
Villa - a shambles when he arrived, top 6 finish three years in a row (see where they are now!!)
Sunderland - saved them from certain relegation last year, struggling now - do we give him some space?? Apparently not.

Best stand up ever - Dylan Moran.
Best stand up for the mentally challenged - Bob Monkhouse (aka Jimmy Carr).
Best stand up for the "sense of humour" challenged - Jason Byrne.
Anyone paying to see Des Bishop, John Bishop - or any Bishop - needs to get a life.

Wes Hoolahan was always a class act. I remember watching him for Shelbourne a few times, he was always a stand out player back then, that was 04. He was the best player on the field against Deportivo la Coruna in the that famous Champions League run, (same as Fahey was against Hertha Berlin).. I thought that type of form would have gotten Hoolahan a move to at least a Championship side, but he went to Livingstone in Scotland. He then went to Blackpool and then to Norwich, best player for them since he joined, and has probaly been their best player this season.

Serious vision, and great balance and skill. Its a pity it took Trappatoni this long to give him a chance. But he can only make up for lost time because he is 30 now..

There is noone who can re-write history or be self deluded quite like an Irish soccer fan.
Hoolahan-is a useful player who has been around the mnor leagues for a long time and who features from time to time but not always for Norwich. He is apparently our new saviour along the lines of Andy Reid, former Sunderland and Notts Forest reserve or Keith Fahey (Birmingham reserve) - anything else in common? They are all Dubs, hence the over-hyped expectation.

I'd be a bit wary of Kilcoo's discipline against Cross. Kilcoo play a little on the edge and Cross are the wrong opposition for those tactics; they'll take you out off the ball and wind you up back until you lash out. It's just about possible to play Cross with 15 men - with 14 you've no chance.

If the Magpies can hold their discipline, I expect this to the way of most of Cross's games. Nip and tuck for a while, then Cross get a stride and bury the opposition in a 10 minute spell, before picking them off with infuriating ease as they charge forward and get tired. They truly are some team.

On the ball wobbler - look at how Cross wound up St Galls who tried to mix it and were walloped. Kilcoo would need a whole new mindset to change that but I hope McCorry can get some way to deal with that.

Great day for Down football from two teamss who understand the meaning of "club" and in y opinion are the emerging forces in the county. Move over Burren & Mayobridge.

McAlarney was so natural and at ease. Magee knew his stuff and gave the prompts but at the same time stood back and let Colm be the focus. Great insight into a great player's experiences. Did anyone record this?
There should be an archive committee in Down capturing wonderful interviews like this.

Ballyholland club: hardly the ritz. Main course of pat courtney sausage rolls

My first time in the Ballyholland club - its a superb venue and this was the best Club Down event I have ever been at. Col McAlarney was brilliant.

As for the food - absolutely gorgeous piping hot meal and choice of desserts by Willows Cafe of Warrenpoint. Unbelievable value at a tenner.

Cracking entertainment and Conor Laverty derved to win Breen Morgan award.

Brilliant event in

God rest the poor girl, even if the press seem determined not to.

A couple of years ago ....
Friday night, Mayobridge v Burren at Pairc Esler, 4,000 + in attendance, not a police car in sight.
Saturday afternoon following...
Newry Town v Cliftonville, attendance 360, police landrovers everywhere, two buses rowdy escorted into the ground as a local funeral took place
Tell you anything about the need or worth of Newry Town/City/United/Celtic/Dysfunctional? playing anywhere?

The war memorial belongs to all, Catholics and Protestants alike blah blah blah. That's one of the arguments I've seen bandied about the most this weekend - Catholics and Irish nationalists died fighting in France, therefore people of a particular persuasion should "show respect". All well and good. Still don't see how any of that should be used as evidence a young Catholic, nationalist man from Derry should ever be criticised for choosing to not wear a poppy.

Of course there are very understandable reasons why "a young Catholic nationalist man from Derry" [sic] should not wish to wear a Poppy (though I fail to see why age, religion or gender should come into it).

But there are also reasons why a Derry Nationalist might not automatically be averse to the idea (whether he/she actually wears one or not). And one of these is that, contrary to popular understanding (myth even),  the tradition of Derry people serving in the British Armed Forces has never been confined solely to the Unionist tradition.

And since Derry's War Dead came from all parts and traditions of the city, all of its people should be equally permitted to mark, or not mark, Remembrance Sunday entirely as they wish.

Or do you not agree?

You know what, if a young nationalist from Derry choses to earn his (overpaid) living at the expense of British soccer supporters he might consider having some respect for how they feel. The nationalist bigotry and ignorance about remembrance day and how it symbolises OUR freedom is staggering.

["Irish" supporters of]

I've no problem stating the vast majority of english soccer players are uneducated

I've no problem stating the vast majority of "Irish" supporters of english soccer players are uneducated

Has anyone heard the Down u21 club football groups? First game is in the next 2 weeks & still no word of the fixtures.

Sunday Oct 28th

U-21 Round-Robin Championship (2PM)

Group A

Castlewellan  v   Lower Mourne         

Tullylish        v     Mayobridge 

Clonduff      BYE                     

Group B

Rostrevor      v        St Patricks   

St Johns    v      St Colmans 

Shamrocks    BYE                                 

Group C

Attical       v    Glenn 

Burren         v     Clann Na Derg             

Drumclone   BYE

Group D 

Drumcross   v    Kilcoo         
Bryansford   v    St Brigids (time tbc)

Drumclone, Clann na Derg !!! - what a load of toss.
St Patricks, St Brigids - who the hell are they?

These sort of nonesense amalgam names do nothing to promote GAA either within the amalgamated clubs or indeed beyond.

Why can we not just acknowledge a united tyeam called Drumgath-Annaclone, for instance where both identites are preserved?

If it works for permanent clubs in other counties (Donagahmore-Ashbourne in Meath, Abbey-Duniry in Galway to name just two), why does "the Down way" !! have to be so bloody contrived?

Next up will be Attistone or Darraghleagh or some such rubbish.

[there is no current Irish player at a big club, or even on the radar of a big club]

Crete what you ignore every time you rhyme off these stats is that there is no current Irish player at a big club, or even on the radar of a big club.

Almost every Ireland team in history has had to carry a few journeymen. But to do that you need a few stars, and we don't have them. We dont even have reliable international players savs a few exceptions. It is EASILY the weakest crop of players available to a manager in the 25 years i've been able to form an opinion.

Oh and without meaning to sound like a nasty pedant, I have no doubt you appreciate it when others use paragraphs for long spiels of text, so good manners suggests you should too.

There aren't that many top English players in the big clubs these days either

Well that settles it - we might be crap but as long as England are nearly as equaly crap, dont worry!! This is the level of soccer debate that no doubt has its origin in Sky devotees.

I'd prefer to look at facts ...
there is no current Irish player at a big club, or even on the radar of a big club.


Says it all.

 Do any of the posters on here understand how limited the current crap 9sorry crop) of players are?

Take magpie's selction:

Westwood  - reserve at Sunderland

Kelly - not a regular at Fulham  Dunne = done 9great servant gone past sbd)   O'Shea - seriously limited player at Sunderland /Clarke  - best of the new bunch, I'd stick with him, but not a regular at AV   Wilson - worth a look, plays for Stoke

Coleman - cant command regular place at Everton but one of our better players  McCarthy - was once the grat new hope but has turned into a journeyman midfielder  Andrews - has dropped from premiership to championship strugglers bu dont doubt his spirit or commitment/Fahey  - not a regular at Birmingham   McLean - could be our answer to Wayne rRooney!!

    Long  - best of our forwards but hardly a goal a game man at WBA     Walters - game but limited in ability and not a regular goalscorer /Doyle - way off the boil

Notice something?
Man Utd - no players
Man City - no players
Chelsea - no players
Arsenal - no players
Spurs - no players

Worst squad for Republic in my memory.

Trapp derserves them.

Dylan Moran is in a complete league away above the rest all on his own.