When Meath football was at its zenith in the late 1980s and early to mid ’90s, they must have been a nightmare for anybody attempting to preview matches going on what sort of form teams had been in leading up to the fixture in question.
Furthermore, oddsmakers must thank their lucky stars in-running betting wasn’t a thing back then. Lord knows what price you would have got on them during the fourth match against Dublin in 1991 or the second game with Kildare in ’97.
Anyway, whatever about the turf accountants in those instances, those compiling the book on the ongoing PDC World Darts Championship will have to call an urgent meeting with their script writers after more fancied runners were knocked like debris in a storm.
At the time of production of the last darts offering here, leading contenders like Peter Wright, James Wade, Kim Huybrechts and Dimitri Van Den Berg had all bitten the dust.
However, in the last session of play before the festive break the draw drum was sent spinning again when Nathan Aspinall, Josh Rock and (the admittedly not as heralded as the other two) Ryan Joyce were all given longer holidays than would have been desired.
Of course, there being no room at the inn for some means there are others in situ. So, rather than postulate over who isn’t there, wouldn’t it serve much better to focus on those who have left the darting world shaken and stirred.
Starting, fittingly, with 16-year-old Luke Littler who has looked like he has been strutting around darting stages for decades, even though he’s barely old enough to hold a driving licence. If at all.
Yet he, Richard Veenstra, Berry Van Peer, ‘Rapid’ Ricky Evans and Daryl Gurney have poured scorn on what was thought to be darting convention before there was an arrow was slung ten days ago.
This corner has no reason to deviate from the belief that Cool Hand Luke remains the man to beat but not only would it not surprise me if some of those mentioned above rattled a few more cages before January 3rd, I fully expect them too.