Tag by football

The World Cup for Dummies

The FIFA World Cup is upon us once again, as the four year cycle reverts to its most exciting position. This year’s edition, hosted by Russia (thanks to Sepp Blatter perhaps?), is sure to be another affair of the grandest scale. Despite being the biggest single sport competition in the world outside of the Olympics, it is common for many to be unfamiliar with the events that will transpire. For those interested in investing a month of the summer into soccer, here are a few pieces of knowledge for you: Dates The first game, Russia v Saudi Arabia, begins on June 14th at 4 o’clock Irish time. Games will occur […]

Evaluating England’s World Cup Chances

With no Boys In Green to discuss we decided to look at how the home of the Premier League will shape up this summer at the World Cup. A major turn of events took place right under most people’s noses between October 8th 2017 and now. The over-hyping of the England national team by its media was silenced, replaced by a trepidation and fear of humiliation stemming from a combination of a mediocre squad and multiple embarrassing exits in major competitions. Since the World Cup Quarter-Final exit at the hands of Portugal in 2006, England have: Failed to qualify for Euro 2008 Lost 4-1 to Germany at the 2010 World Cup […]

Irish Players That Need To Be Capped This Year

For the last few years, the Ireland national squad has been crying out for a revamp. The introduction of fresh, hungry, young new talent is something that we are in dire need of. With such an ageing squad , it is still baffling that the wide array of talent is being overlooked. Trapattoni was long criticised for this as he tended to stick with his experienced players whilst disregarding young talent coming through. Players like James McCarthy, Robbie Brady and Séamus Coleman were just a few of those victims, some of our best players now. Trapattoni’s blindness to this as well as poor campaigns inevitably ended in him losing the […]

How Long Will José Last At United

A short-term answer. That was the phrase used wide and large by pundits, writers and fans alike when ‘The manager formerly known as the Special One’ was announced as the successor to Louis Van Gaal at Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson had departed. David Moyes had been pushed out while Louis Van Gaal was simply nudged off the winner’s podium in Wembley following his 2016 FA Cup win. José Mourinho’s arrival was another one of football’s very poorly kept secrets, a lot of which seem to come from Old Trafford these days. Since the announcement of Ferguson’s retirement and Moyes’ imminent arrival right up to the present day, there seems […]

Which Premier League Side Will Go Furthest in the 2017-18 Champions League?

About eight years ago, English teams were the belle of the ball in the Champions League. For a five year period an English team featured in every Champions League final, and semi-finals were regularly contested between English sides. However, in the last few years that dominance has somewhat deserted English teams, with the only English side reaching the quarter finals last season being Leicester City. This year however, the English sides have been on somewhat of a roll in Europe’s elite competition with dominant performances from the likes of Man City and Tottenham impressing fans, and making pundits sit up and take note. Working off the assumption that all five […]

What Can We Expect From Rio Ferdinand’s Move Into Boxing?

A few weeks ago people looked at their phones bemused as it was announced that former England captain Rio Ferdinand would begin a new career as a boxer. Rio, one of the finest centre halves in the modern game made the announcement in association with Betfair, who will help him gain a boxing license from the British Boxing Board of Control. The Man United legend will be part of Betfair’s Defender to Contender challenge, as they follow him from his first sparring session to his pro debut in a few months time. So can Rio actually forge a new career for himself in the world of boxing? Well we here […]

What Does it Mean to Play Attractive Football?

I’m a Liverpool fan, and as a Liverpool fan I want them to play attractive football and I want them to win games. However, I’m not the stereotypical fan that thinks this will be our year, that Klopp can do no wrong and, because of our history, we deserve something today. Re-read that last paragraph, does anything stand out as odd to you? “I want Liverpool to play attractive football and I want them to win games”, contains two oddities in my mind. Firstly, what is “attractive football”? Surely, winning football matches is attractive. Attractive Football – Pick Your Favourite The ball on the ground, starting with the keeper, moving […]

World Cup Qualifier Preview: Ireland v Serbia

Despite drawing 1-1 against Georgia, Ireland still find themselves in with a chance of winning the group, however a play-off place does seem a lot more likely. Currently in second place, two points behind group leaders Serbia and two ahead of the group’s top seed, Wales, the Boys in Green have just three games left to secure their place in Russia next summer. Can Ireland do it? Well, here’s how we think Ireland’s tell-all game against Serbia will play out. Georgia v Ireland The less said about this game, the better to be honest. I mean, Ireland were on the back foot as soon as Shane Duffy’s header bulged the net and, […]

The Road To Russia 2018: Who Are Ireland’s Star Performers?

The Republic of Ireland team have passed the halfway point in their World Cup qualifying campaign and as things currently stand in Group D, Martin and Roy’s Boys are level on points with Serbia at the top, and are only two goals behind them on goal difference. Ireland have a four point cushion over Wales and Austria who lie in third and fourth respectively and maybe, just maybe we, as a nation, can start getting excited about a trip to Moscow next summer. However, before we start loading up the van with Joxer and the lads, there are still four games left to play, two at home and two away. […]

How Would An All Irish Team Do In The Premiership – Part 1

There are great arguments in life and sport that make for some great debate. From the simple yet effective ‘my da would beat your da in a fight’ all the way to ‘Celtic would challenge for the Premier League title’. There are just some things that we are never going to know the answer to so I’ve decided to apply my thought process on one question that I can’t help but wonder about… How would an all Irish selection get on in the Premier League? Now I know it would be easier to say the Republic of Ireland team but I’m not Martin O’Neill so I’ll be making my own […]