There’s no feeling like going home. Tomorrow night sees the return of international football to Lansdowne 2.0 as Ireland take on Argentina, sadly no longer led by Maradona. It may only be a friendly but I can’t wait to get back. Last week’s game was nothing more than a fundraising charade and whilst we will only see real intensity come the qualifiers, it will be a nice warm up game.

Croker was grand, but watching football on a gaelic pitch doesn’t work. It is like seeing a mini game for kids on a full sized pitch. Seats on the hill and gaps on the hill doesn’t really create an intimidating atmosphere. Sure we have had some decent nights there, but most would admit that the atmosphere only really got going for the last ten against Italy and at the start of the French match. It crackled and fizzed at other times but nearly truly caught alight.
...