Tag: SOCCER
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Champions League Group Stage Draw 2026/’27
In the maelstrom of manic activity that punctuates the beginning of every soccer season, there’s always bound to be something which slips under the radar. Though the following might surprise some and leave others truly aghast, the draw for the group stages of the Champions League is one such item which usually falls into that…
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English League Cup Round 3 Draw
Caraboa Cup holders Manchester City will face Norwich City of the Championship in the first defence of the title they annexed last March. Their cross city rivals United will take on a Brighton side who have caused those currently under the direction of Michael Carrick more problems than a lot of others over the years.…
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Premier League opening weekend Fixtures 2026/’27
Defending Champions Arsenal get the new season underway on Friday night, taking on newly promoted Coventry City as Frank Lampard also returns as a top flight manager. https://www.premierleague.com/en/matches/premier-league/2026-27/matchweek-1#:~:text=Live%20blog,Chelsea
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Put the word ‘Cup’ in the description and excitement is guaranteed
Life is predicated on a never ending cycle of swings and roundabouts. Sporting or otherwise. For example, if the appointment of Harry Whelehan hadn’t brought down Albert Reynolds’s Government, John Bruton never would have been Taoiseach. If the Irish World Cup squad of 2002 had had the balls to stand behind their captain instead of the…
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Gilesy might have hogged the duvet but Joanne would send you to sleep
I’m not sure if Apres Match is even still a thing anymore, but, when they were in their pomp, the triumvirate of Risteard Cooper, Gary Cooke and Barry Murphy were part of the staple diet of RTE’s coverage of any major soccer tournament. Indeed, if the old remember box is working, they even strayed into…
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Milner one of a nearly extinct breed
James Milner brought the curtain down on a highly commendable career in professional football today. One of almost two and a half decades. Modern football speak might term the 40-year-old a journeyman pro, but to box him off in that category would do him a great disservice. Therein belong media-driven spoofers like Gary Neville and…
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Pointless friendlies and dirty point scoring
Only days ago in this space, mention was afforded to the fact that, at the time of typing, there’s still one game of the club soccer season still to be played – the Champions League Final – yet other clubs like Barcelona and Manchester United are already engaging in prep work for next term with…
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From the sublime to the ridiculous to the downright dodgy
What’s probably a scary number of years ago now, I keyboarded a piece pertaining to the beginning of a Premier League season. The title over the post was Almost Time To Take Down The Tent. The implication being that the Transfer Window in the lead up to the big kick off resembled a circus. Much…
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Too much money at stake to be penny pinching
Where do you stand in relation to the Play Offs in English league football? The process whereby, though the top two in any of the three divisions under the Premier League get automatically promoted, the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th placed sides play off in a series of matches – commensurate to the concluding stages…
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Help! I agree with Gary Neville
Do not adjust your sets. This is not a drill. But nor does it change the fact that he was one of the biggest imposters to ever milk a living out of Old Trafford. Just as he is currently doing with Sky Sports. In a playing sense, such were his underwhelming contributions, that my late…