Recent Blogs Posts

I attended the Soccerex European Forum in Manchester in April and hope to bring you a series of pieces on some of the takeways for the Irish game from the week.

Gianni Infantino, UEFA General Secretary, revealed at the conference that UEFA had agreed a deal with the European Broadcasting Union (“EBU”) for the televised rights for the Euro 2016 and World Cup 2018 qualifiers. Interesting, but what is the relevance for Irish football fans?

RTÉ is one of over thirty ...

In comic book parlance, managers are sheep-skin wearing, centre-halfs beefy, and wingers tricky customers who go on mazy runs. In modern professional football it can seem that garish, quaint cartoon stereotypes have little place; modern wingers are expected to defend as much as they attack and to play it safe rather than rampaging wildly down the flanks. Football is a much more considered, a much more serious, and a much more controlled environment that it’s brightly coloured stuff-of-myth ...

Shamrock Rovers supporter’s clubs have announced a boycott of all Bohemians merchandise and goods amid concerns over the threat their club faces from the Dalymount outfit.

The action follows closely on the heels of similarly effective action at Derry City last week, when hundreds of Hoops fans forsook the pleasure of a nine hour round trip to the North to make the arduous journey to their nearest television instead.

A statement posted on the club’s website states: ...

The Half-time Oranges Order Troupe (HOOT) today welcomed Northern Ireland’s newest international footballer, Alex de Bruce. A spokeswoman for the HOOT, Lady Iris Robyerson, said: “Mr de Bruce is a true Ulsterman with roots in the mainland, who has fought to free himself from the chains of serfdom that has bound him to makey-uppy countries for too long. We look forward to receiving him into our bosom, erm, football team. My Gaaawwd, but he’s a fine, fit piece of Ulster manhood.”

...

Wearing my Derry City shirt over here in England I do get the odd, er…odd look. I’ve been mistaken for a Stoke City, a Sunderland, and an Inter Milan fan, among others on occasion (home, home, and away kits respectively). We play ‘jumpers-for-goalposts’ (or Finn Harps) level football in the park at the weekend and while it’s can be a great way of breaking the ice with people, everyone spent last weekend asking me how I felt about losing the FA Cup to Manchester City.

Sadly, it’s the ...

Both sides of Manchester will be celebrating this weekend as both United and City clinched the top prizes in English domestic football. For them and, indeed, all British clubs, players and fans, it's almost time for a well-earned breather before the pre-season matches, transfer speculation and season 2011-12 preparations get fully underway in July.

On this side of the water through, we're just into a dozen games into the season with plenty to come, not least the inevitable trials ...

We’ve all heard it; like a particularly tone-dead, annoying, half-witted cuckoo heralding the Spring, it recurs with depressing regularity, often around this time of the year as the Premiership season nears it’s conclusion.

Yes, it’s that hoary old chestnut, “I don’t go to League of Ireland games because the fans are too cliquey and they won’t make someone outside their gang feel welcome.” League of Ireland fans “look down from a self-appointed pedestal,” denigrating those foolhardy ...

Occasionally, just occasionally, I regret being a League of Ireland fan. It can be downright torture. Most people living in Dublin recognise the infamous rivalry between Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers, even if they have little interest in the League. Bohs-Rovers derbies are greeted by certain tabloid newspapers as the coming of the apocalypse in sporting terms. When violence rears its head on these occasions, it receives blanket coverage. You try to hold your head up as people quiz you about the ...

“It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone.”
A. Bartlett Giamatti

Strange things, leads. Like an investment banker checking his bank balance, you can never be too far in front. And when things go the other way, any lead at all will inevitably ...

Finn Park will play host to a special visitor on Friday 27th August when the Henri Delaunay Trophy will be on view at the ground. The Henri Delaunay Trophy is awarded to the European Football Champions, with Spain the current holders having won the Euro 2008 Tournament two years ago.

The trophy will be on display before and during the FAI Ford Cup fixture between Finn Harps and Sligo Rovers at Finn Park on 27th August. An opportunity to have your photograph taken with the trophy will ...