Humphries article in the times

[paul_oshea]

great read about kilbane but its the underlying theme running through that gives ye the warm feeling.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2009/1010/1224256343620.html

[Lionel Ritchie]

read some of the poll comments after it. Mostly considered at least.

One astute comment read

"Republic of Ireland team? Half Irish half England "B" is more like it.
John Ireland"

Hay's all in then John yeah? :D

...Just thinking -maybe Ireland's his surname rather than location ...plot thickens.

[noddy102]

Excellent article, proving Kilbane is as Irish as any other player that has worn the jersey. I never realised that his mother and father were both Irish I must say. Considering many criticise the amount of English born players in our national team, and that Kilbane also receives stick for the same fact, I'll know now in future what to say.

[mandrake]

nice guy and all that but that miss from the rebound against spain was criminal...!!

[noddy102]

nice guy and all that but that miss from the rebound against spain was criminal...!!

In the right place at the right time (or wrong place at the wrong time if you want to argue), but regardless of him missing a sitter, it was Ian Harte's responsibility to put that penalty away.

[Brendan 82]

Great article, I like Humphries. Love how he just absolutely rips S.I. a new one

[Drumcondra 69er]

In the right place at the right time (or wrong place at the wrong time if you want to argue), but regardless of him missing a sitter, it was Ian Harte's responsibility to put that penalty away.

Yes it was but having watched the highlights of that game again over the weekend it was an awful awful miss from Killer, he sliced it very badly when all he had to do was hit it straight.

Still a ledge though.....

[Torn-Ado]

Good article. It would bring a tear to an old stone. Will the bold Kevin be getting the armband tommorrow night?

[paul_oshea]

Excellent article, proving Kilbane is as Irish as any other player that has worn the jersey. I never realised that his mother and father were both Irish I must say. Considering many criticise the amount of English born players in our national team, and that Kilbane also receives stick for the same fact, I'll know now in future what to say.

i think from what he says "via" liverpool might mean she is either a plastic or grew up there, as opposed to just lived in liverpool for a while.

[paul_oshea]

Yes it was but having watched the highlights of that game again over the weekend it was an awful awful miss from Killer, he sliced it very badly when all he had to do was hit it straight.



....like he did against bulgaria. If he had connected anyway like he did with that cross he would have scored.

[blobbyblob]

Saturday nights 70 yard forray ending shoulder to shoulder with Zambrotta in a dash will remain long in the memory. (and was unlucky to blown against by the ref)

Half way through the run you could see him asking himself what the hell was he doing this far up the field on his own and then he just decided to go for it.

He was exhausted running back.

Gowan Kilbane ya legend!

[Den Perry]

Saturday nights 70 yard forray ending shoulder to shoulder with Zambrotta in a dash will remain long in the memory. (and was unlucky to blown against by the ref)

Half way through the run you could see him asking himself what the hell was he doing this far up the field on his own and then he just decided to go for it.

He was exhausted running back.

Gowan Kilbane ya legend!


what are you talking about?Zambrotta easily beat him and it was a fould. I sometimes wonder what planet people are on

That said, I love Kilbane

[blobbyblob]

what are you talking about?Zambrotta easily beat him and it was a fould. I sometimes wonder what planet people are on

That said, I love Kilbane

You were an only child, werent you and/or work in the public sector.

[paul_oshea]

:D blobbyblob

[elroy]

Great article, I like Humphries. Love how he just absolutely rips S.I. a new one

Cant stand him generally, this sort of article is the exception rather than the rule from Humph. He spends most of his time glorifying the GAA over any sport but particularly football and more so rugby. Ive lost count of the number of articles that he has wrote on this theme.

Now that football is on the upward trend again he sees fit to jump on board. Back off with you now please Tom, thanks but no thanks.

PS Killer is forever a legend in my eyes, displays the type of attitude we need, as did Whelan so obviously on Sat night, great to see!!

[gspain]

Kevin Kilbane is a legend.

Most Humphries articles are based on wishing he was watching some gah game or other well so do we Tom. Told a pack of lies about a song sung on the FAI flight back from Belfast in 93 (he was on the flight so knows it wasn't true). Took him 15 years to tell the lie too.

[Kingdom]

Took a long while for me to appreciate the different journalists and make my own opinion over superb use of English. Humphries is a goon. The whole "Tom Humphries 125 of the GAA" section on the front of the times sport section does my head in.
A man that made his name generally through his soccer reports, spends a lot of those same soccer reports comparing unfavourably with the GAA.

His columns on Dublin Hurling ad nauseum do my bloody head in.

Emmet Malone is the main man for me with the soccer pieces and slowly but surely he is starting to delve deeper into opinion pieces rather than just basic reporting.

[Stuttgart88]

Both Malone & Humphries were in UCD around the same time as me. He ran for Student Union President. I think he was beaten by a last minute joke candidate from Wexford - Ulick. Not sure if that was his year or not.

Useless info.

He does write well but I agree with gspain & Kingdom, he's too much of a gah man for me. This costs him credibility on football matters.

When he does write about football it's often about Leeds.

He knew full well what his Roy Keane interview would do for morale in the 2002 WC camp, though maybe not the 7 years of civil war that'd follow! The way the two of them use each other for publicity annoys me.

He wrote one time about how he and his mates used to bunk into Sutton Golf Club to play in the evenings. As far as I can recall his description of the course hardly resembled the actual course, suggesting more porky pies.

[Jicked]

Horrendous writer. Has a decent turn of phrase, but every single article relates back to gaa. Ireland could win a world cup final and he'd write up the article talking about how Kevin Doyle comes from good GAA stock and how his great-aunt won an all-ireland minor camogie medal. Considering he talked about hoping an Irish football club died and wanting to run over children he saw playing in a soccer jersey in a "gaa neighbourhood" I don't really have a lot of time for him.

[Jicked]

Took a long while for me to appreciate the different journalists and make my own opinion over superb use of English. Humphries is a goon. The whole "Tom Humphries 125 of the GAA" section on the front of the times sport section does my head in.



That was hilariously awful and showed just what a chip on their shoulder the GAA has. he had about 14 reasons to actually love the GAA, then hundred or so about why he doesn't like football/rugby, which mainly revolved around the fact some players dive, payers are paid for creating a multi-billion euro industry and don't box the heads off each other.

[Fergie's Son]

For what it is worth I met him when he was in Chicago for a year and I found him to be a very decent guy. Went to Joeys as well so that's a positive for me!

Good article. Like how he rips on Stephen Manchester. And Kilbane's response to being called up the the English youths "but I'm Irish". Legend.

[youngirish]

He wrote one time about how he and his mates used to bunk into Sutton Golf Club to play in the evenings.
How very middleclass.

[gspain]

Both Malone & Humphries were in UCD around the same time as me. He ran for Student Union President. I think he was beaten by a last minute joke candidate from Wexford - Ulick. Not sure if that was his year or not.

Useless info.

He does write well but I agree with gspain & Kingdom, he's too much of a gah man for me. This costs him credibility on football matters.

When he does write about football it's often about Leeds.

He knew full well what his Roy Keane interview would do for morale in the 2002 WC camp, though maybe not the 7 years of civil war that'd follow! The way the two of them use each other for publicity annoys me.

He wrote one time about how he and his mates used to bunk into Sutton Golf Club to play in the evenings. As far as I can recall his description of the course hardly resembled the actual course, suggesting more porky pies.

Emmet Malone is certainly one of the best football writers in the country. Only complaint here is that he seems to get less and less space for LoI coverage.

Uselss bit of info but the UCD president was Ulick Stafford. Elected as a joke but turned out decent enough if I recall correctly. I was on the UCC union at the time. No idea if TH was the defeated candidate,

[paul_oshea]

I thought ye were on about the well known UCD GAY, BI and LYBIAN campaigner and president - Ulick McGee.

[Den Perry]

You were an only child, werent you and/or work in the public sector.


wrong on both assumptions

Now, you probably still live at home and have posters of Bibi Baskin stuck t your walls

[Den Perry]

Kevin Kilbane is a legend.

Most Humphries articles are based on wishing he was watching some gah game or other well so do we Tom. Told a pack of lies about a song sung on the FAI flight back from Belfast in 93 (he was on the flight so knows it wasn't true). Took him 15 years to tell the lie too.

got a link to that? never knew about it

[Den Perry]

Horrendous writer. Has a decent turn of phrase, but every single article relates back to gaa. Ireland could win a world cup final and he'd write up the article talking about how Kevin Doyle comes from good GAA stock and how his great-aunt won an all-ireland minor camogie medal. Considering he talked about hoping an Irish football club died and wanting to run over children he saw playing in a soccer jersey in a "gaa neighbourhood" I don't really have a lot of time for him.


any links to wishing the club died and re running over the kids?

Why does he write about football when he seems to have so much disregard for it?

[blobbyblob]

wrong on both assumptions

Now, you probably still live at home and have posters of Bibi Baskin stuck t your walls


BB Baskin and Thelma Mansfield are fine looking women

[OneRedArmy]

Add me to the Like Kilbane, Don't Like Humphries camp.

I found the article a bit schmaltzy, like a lot of Humphries drivel over the past 5 years, but that was more the way its written, rather than Kilbane's history. Kilbane is in a rare breed of grounded, decent working-class lads who never lost his roots when he became a professional. Not many left in the current game.

In comparison, Humphries head disappeared up his handball alley a long time ago when he started believing the hype about how good a journalist he was. At one stage, he was a good journalist, writing interesting challenging pieces on a variety of sports.

Vanity got the better of him and having secured his pulpit on the back page of the Times, he forgot that his job is to write articles that interest people, not to preach as a single issue candidate and convert non-believers to his narrow view of the sporting world.

Keith Duggan is one hundred times the general sports writer Humphries is IMO.

[paul_oshea]

Haha, its funny how people with an anti-gaa stance have formed this opinion of humphries and then form an opinion of how he writes his articles and then even the ones that are "good" they still "cant" like them. :D

[OneRedArmy]

Haha, its funny how people with an anti-gaa stance have formed this opinion of humphries and then form an opinion of how he writes his articles and then even the ones that are "good" they still "cant" like them. :DIn fairness, Paul, I don't think I'm that shallow. My dislike is a bit wider than just the Gah.

His stuff falls into two camps. Its either too narrow and opionated and comes across as preachy
OR like the Kilbane article is sugar-coated-sentimental-Hollywood-blockbuster-Jerry-Maguire-pass-me-a-hankie hyperbole.
Sometimes its both.

Basically I find reading his articles as pleasurable as standing in a turd. In a pair of new shoes. And a particularly viscous turd at that.

Each to their own though!

[gspain]

got a link to that? never knew about it

Claimed last year the FAI sang "you can stick your GAA up your ar$e" or something like that on the flight back from Belfast in 1993.

I'm partly responsible for the story.

Actually song was sung by fans on a fans charter back from Vilnius (might have been Riga but definitely June 1993 GAA did something dodgy at the time can't recall exactly). I mentioned it on usenet at the time and a gah head took offence. The same user was subsequently claiming it was on the FAI flight and then it was Belfast rather than Vilnius within a year or so.

Now Humphries was on the flight and wrote about the flight at the time but never mentioned the song. Strange not claiming such a great scoop. A good friend who is heavily involved in the GAA was also on the flight and confirms that no anti GAA songs were sung. In any event some of the main FAI officials at the time are keen GAA fans.

He probably picked it up from some gah forum and was happy to peddle the lie.

[paul_oshea]

what usenet gspain?

When people use the term "gah" it makes me think of "RA" so gah head to me sounds like "RA head", it sort of makes me think people use it on purpose to make those particular people sound as raw/rare as ra heads.

[OneRedArmy]

what usenet gspain?

When people use the term "gah" it makes me think of "RA" so gah head to me sounds like "RA head", it sort of makes me think people use it on purpose to make those particular people sound as raw/rare as ra heads.Aren't they one and the same? ;)

[blobbyblob]

Feel like Im tripping with some of the statements here

[Jicked]

any links to wishing the club died and re running over the kids?



Don't have a link to it as you need an Irish Times account which I don't have. As far as I remember the article was called "Minister, its about resources, not cash" which is even more laughable now looking back when it's clear just how little interest the GAA actually had in Tallaght stadium, and what a sucess the stadium has been without the GAA succeeding in having the project cancelled. His comments about the kids were in the same article I believe, mentioned seeing kids playing in soccer jerseys in a traditionally staunch GAA area and joked about how he had to stop the urge of steering the car towards them.

[Jinxy]

Don't have a link to it as you need an Irish Times account which I don't have. As far as I remember the article was called "Minister, its about resources, not cash" which is even more laughable now looking back when it's clear just how little interest the GAA actually had in Tallaght stadium, and what a sucess the stadium has been without the GAA succeeding in having the project cancelled. His comments about the kids were in the same article I believe, mentioned seeing kids playing in soccer jerseys in a traditionally staunch GAA area and joked about how he had to stop the urge of steering the car towards them.

I've read most of his stuff and I never saw anything like this.
Why would he write something like that when he has no problem with soccer?
He hates rugby though.
Are you sure it wasn't kids in rugby jersies? :D

[Jicked]

I've read most of his stuff and I never saw anything like this.
Why would he write something like that when he has no problem with soccer?
He hates rugby though.
Are you sure it wasn't kids in rugby jersies? :D

I'm pretty sure it was soccer jerseys, though could be wrong. He had a big problem with soccer at the time of Tallaght stadium being built, the GAA clearly had asked him to write some pieces on their efforts to stop the stadium being built for the good of the people of Tallaght. It was very embarassing at the time, more so now when it's even more obvious just what his/the gaa's agenda was.

[geysir]

Maybe contrary to some opinions here, much of Humphries's stuff goes down like a lead balloon in the GAA world.
The journalists with cred in GAA circles would be Keith Duggan (ORA already mentioned) capable of some brilliant articles and a few of the Nordies - Paddy Heaney and Joe Brolly


Probably the last article I willingly read from Humphries was the Roy Keane Saipan one.
It was one hell of a scoop but even as I read it I could not have imagined the fall out.
Was it really any different to Paul Kimmage's one?

[OneRedArmy]

Who writes multiple columns every year on their kids sporting exploits?

Seriously Tom, get off the stage or put it on Google Blogs. He gets the most column inches in the sporting supplement of country's leading* serious newspaper** and writes about how his son/daughter is getting on in the U14s in some feile down the country. Repeatedly. Thanks Tom, if I wanted to subscribe to the Hogan Stand I would.

He simultaneously supports one garrison game (English football only mind, none of your local stuff) and derides all the followers of another.

*don't sweat the small stuff, its either it or the Indo. Don't get me started on Cathal Dervan...

**a newspaper with more pictures than words isn't a newspaper. Its a comic.

[theworm2345]

Absolute legend!


Does he not realise how deeply unfashionable he is? No Bentleys pimped in pink. No superman jocks. No strops. No sulks. No tantrums. Ah, God love him.
:D

[osarusan]

In comparison, Humphries head disappeared up his handball alley a long time ago when he started believing the hype about how good a journalist he was. At one stage, he was a good journalist, writing interesting challenging pieces on a variety of sports.

Vanity got the better of him and having secured his pulpit on the back page of the Times, he forgot that his job is to write articles that interest people, not to preach as a single issue candidate and convert non-believers to his narrow view of the sporting world.

Spot on. I think he can be a gifted writer, but produces vast amounts of rubbish in the Irish Times.

[Den Perry]

Claimed last year the FAI sang "you can stick your GAA up your ar$e" or something like that on the flight back from Belfast in 1993.

I'm partly responsible for the story.

Actually song was sung by fans on a fans charter back from Vilnius (might have been Riga but definitely June 1993 GAA did something dodgy at the time can't recall exactly). I mentioned it on usenet at the time and a gah head took offence. The same user was subsequently claiming it was on the FAI flight and then it was Belfast rather than Vilnius within a year or so.

Now Humphries was on the flight and wrote about the flight at the time but never mentioned the song. Strange not claiming such a great scoop. A good friend who is heavily involved in the GAA was also on the flight and confirms that no anti GAA songs were sung. In any event some of the main FAI officials at the time are keen GAA fans.

He probably picked it up from some gah forum and was happy to peddle the lie.


thanks GSPAIN

[Den Perry]

Don't have a link to it as you need an Irish Times account which I don't have. As far as I remember the article was called "Minister, its about resources, not cash" which is even more laughable now looking back when it's clear just how little interest the GAA actually had in Tallaght stadium, and what a sucess the stadium has been without the GAA succeeding in having the project cancelled. His comments about the kids were in the same article I believe, mentioned seeing kids playing in soccer jerseys in a traditionally staunch GAA area and joked about how he had to stop the urge of steering the car towards them.

cheers...koh

[SuperDave]

for those asking, usenet:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet

Kind of like a predecessor of the world wide web.

[gspain]

what usenet gspain?

When people use the term "gah" it makes me think of "RA" so gah head to me sounds like "RA head", it sort of makes me think people use it on purpose to make those particular people sound as raw/rare as ra heads.

What's usenet? I feel old. :D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet

Before the web this was a system of messageboards back in the late 80's and early 90's. Normally only used by IT workers and college students in those days. Everybody used the real names and posted all sorts of personal info on it too.

The term "the gah" is quite common in Dublin - a colleague who played to a decent standard (or so he tells me) uses it all the time.

I like Keith Duggan as a writer. Clearly a GAA head but without any of the baggage regarding other sports.