Why Me, Lance?

There he is, on the telly staring right back at me as I lay panned out on the couch watching the news for about the fourth time that day. Lance is sitting in a news conference looking sombre and serious as ever talking about Jim Stynes and fighting cancer. I feel a tinge of guilt but I keep watching. The soccer is coming up and watching Lance with all his determination might even motivate me to do something later (it didn't, unless you call watching back to back episodes of "Dexter" something).

Lance doesn't look too happy but then it cuts to a clip of him being asked about Paul Kimmage and I can see why. I know I would be annoyed if people followed me all over the world asking me if I was taking performance-debilitating drugs ("PDD's").

Lance is big box office. For the cycling press, he's their ticket to the news pages. He is American, outspoken, he's won the Tour de France, what, a million times and he's even beaten cancer. Before Lance came along, most Tour de France winners didn't speak a word of the Queen's.

Lance has never been found guilty of taking performance enhancing drugs ("PED's" not to be confused with PDD's above). If Lance was tried in a Kangaroo court, he would probably be convicted because it looks like he takes PED's, he walks like he takes PED's and he quacks like he takes PED's.

There are countless testimonies from ex-teammates, spurned business partners, officials, you name it, all lining up to confirm that Lance openly talked about using drugs, that he carried around syringes and unprescribed packets of drugs. There are positive A-samples (but no B samples). Circumstantially it doesn't look good.

Other Tour winners of Lance's generation, Jan Ulrich, Floyd Landis and now Alberto Condator have all been suspended for the use of PED's (although in Condator's case, he claims it was cough medicine- not terribly original, which means it could possibly be true or maybe the greasy Spaniard is just trying to outwit us). Armstrong's former mechanic Mike Anderson says that Lance simply said that "everyone does it".

Michelle Smith taught us simple Irish folk that if it looks too good to be true then it probably is. So if Lance is knee deep in PED's, then why hasn't he been caught and if he's not, then why won't the stories go away?

The press love him for one thing. He brings millions into the sport in sponsorship. Livelihoods depend on the Lance Armstrong phenomenon. Even now, in the twilight of his career, he's given a heroes welcome in Australia. The drugs question is asked, Lance has no comment and the hero-worship can continue unabated. He is celebrated in newspapers and magazines, while thousands of riders turn out to support him on a charity cycle.

As the English speaking press go, it really only seems to be my compatriots David Walsh and Kimmage who are up on their high horse about Lance.

The testers can't catch everyone. If they did, there would be no one left. It's possible to avoid being tested. One thing that struck me while reading 'It's Not About The Bike' was how Lance would prepare for the Tour by avoiding competition and people, just training in seclusion in the mountains somewhere a la Smith.

It's always been the case that the PED industry being relatively sparsely populated, the testers and dealers are often the same people or at least, design is more lucrative than enforcement helping the athletes keep one step ahead of the testers.

Could it be that no one (Walsh and Kimmage aside) really cares about the integrity of sport or whether Lance did or didn't take anything?

It sure as shit looks like it based on the reception he has received in Australia from the press and public alike. It's one thing to cheat or break the rules (if everyone else is doing it, then can it really be called cheating?) but it's another to lie about it. Again, not totally Lance's fault. If he doesn't lie, he will be called a cheat and hung out to dry by the very same people who fall at his feet today.

Yet if all the cyclists were on PED's, then it's not really cheating is it? It's not like he took a dive in the penalty box or messed with a competitor's breaks. He was just trying to level the playing field. The problem is if you abhor cheating, then you shouldn't play along. You should quit like Paul Kimmage did (though whether he would have quit if he'd been a contender is another story).

Lance didn't. He saw that the sport was dirty and he jumped into the mud. Cycling is a great sport because it is visually so spectacular and it will always have an audience. Where there is a market, there will always be those looking to exploit it. It's human nature. In a sense it's not the riders fault, it just the nature of the game.

The career of a sportsman is short, there are no second chances. People like Lance Armstrong don't have time to be crusaders for cycling. He is an athlete with a burning desire to win, not a martyr. Why don't you just do what you do best Lance and win races? Let other people deal with morality and regulations. That's what Lance did, hell it's what we'd all do if we had the talent and commitment to the sport like he did. Cancer he can fight for the rest of his days.

It's just when you see so many other people complicit in protecting him, parading him as a champion of humanity, it makes me think that if those same otherwise good people can turn a blind eye to cheating as obvious as Lance Armstrong's, what other lies are we capable of embracing?

On the other hand, there is always Jim Stynes.

‘Galvinised’ – an Intimate Portrait of a Kerry Rebel in Search of a Cause

He probably wouldn’t appreciate the title given his lengthy rap sheet of Cork sourced woes but it scratches at the heart of this fascinating, if at times aimless, documentary on the GAA’s foremost ‘pantomine villain’. Paul Galvin the fashionista. Paul Galvin the radio dj, the bored teacher, the victimised footballer, the troubled soul, the redemption man. Paul Galvin the outsider in the kingdom GAA fishbowl in search of his destiny.

I’m one of the latest to flee down under but I had to catch ‘Galvinised’ a week or two after hearing all the fuss from home on the social networks and online paper reports. On first watch, the misplaced focus on his fashion conscious and, to a lesser extent, on his overriding victim complex lend the whole thing a certain cringe factor. Perhaps that comes from my own North Kerry background and the anticipation of what the terrace pundits and streethacks who stand in judgment will have in store in the months to come. But he comes off as thoughtful and self-aware, however considerable the ego that drives him. Galvin will stand tall amidst the abuse. He’s become practised at his own private brand of game focused oblivion on championship Sundays over recent years. The pathetic petty jibes doing the rounds on the web boards merit little consideration. In truth, few with even a passing interest in the GAA would deny that he’s an interesting character who enlightens our games.

I recall a county league match some years back of limited relevance at my own club grounds. We played host to Galvin’s Finuge on a drizzly afternoon in spring, light years away from the glitz of the Big Apple or a September Sunday at Croker. He was out injured at the time but showed up as the consummate clubman and cut a lonely figure on the fringe of the opposition dugout. Isolation. It struck me back then that this guy neither fitted nor embraced the stereotype.

On the one hand, his love for the game and the scene surrounding it is unquestionable. He subscribes to it wholeheartedly and lives for it like many in the Kingdom. To see him speak passionately on his experience of Lixnaw hurling club and on his sense of guilt towards his County teammates underlines this. On the other hand, the GAA culture in Kerry and indeed on a wider scale, is undoubtedly homogenous and narrow-minded. In an environment where you might find yourself labelled gay for having the temerity to take the field displaying more than three months hair growth, the rank and file are loath to accept a skinny jeans clad poser with highfalutin aspirations towards fashin and meeja and the like.

Paul Galvin is an outsider. The label as GAA’s bad boy is something of a self-fulfilling prophesy given his overtly aggressive approach in his formative years on the county scene. Give a dog a bad name and so forth. He appears to, consciously or otherwise, seek out causes. He feels victimised by the powers that be and frustrated at his dependence ‘on the integrity of opponents’. The documentary may well have been aimed partly at changing our perception of him and it probably succeeds, to some extent. The next time the CCC sit in judgment on the selective ramblings of the CSI Sunday Game cast, perhaps they’ll offer our bearded tattoo clad demon the benefit of the doubt. Time will tell.

Another present cause is style and fashion and the minor line in radio work. You get the sense, however, that at heart this is a character in search of something to set him apart. The metrosexual thing is pretty irrelevant. Have a stroll down the CBD in any major city under here in Oz and he’d fall in like a spray-on-jeans soldier. But he feels uncomfortable at the curious stares of staff and students at the Sem in Killarney and on the streets of his home county. He’s dabbled in teaching but it’s no longer for him. He’s torn between a love for his native county’s game and the struggles in rowing against the tide in small town rural Ireland. Galvin is an amateur sports star dealing with the pressures of a distinctly professional brand of fame.

Which brings us to a familiar theme in GAA circles. The big bad P word. There’s a certain irony and hypocrisy in how our subject has on the one hand actively courted the media attentions usually associated with professional athletes and on the other hand rages against the intrusions. But far be it for a career challenged Kerryman to be swanning off to rehab in LA a la messers Rooney or Ben Cousins and the likes at first hint of a personal crisis. While he clearly exhibits traces of the arrogance and self-importance more characteristic of the overpaid overindulged band of millionaires cross channel, there is no getting away from the real world in the GAA. Whether he lives to regret skipping the surefooted teaching post in these tough times remains to be seen.

There are a small number of high profile GAA stars for whom the glare of the media attention quite clearly crosses the line beyond what any play-for-the-love-of-it sportsperson should endure. Galvin clearly falls into that category. There was the tabloid coverage of his classroom duster incident some years back, through the headline news coverage of slaprefgate to the Exposé myth and the phonecalls home and to work. He’s seems genuinely irked by it all. To be fair to the man, it seems more a case of the proverbial horse being dropped in the water rather than lead to the edge to indulge of its own accord. Small scale Irish fame/infamy has sought out Paul Galvin and now he’s seeking to use it to his own end. He’s just not quite sure yet what that end is.

So who are we to sit in judgment on a dedicated amateur star taking his first tentative bambiesque steps in the pool of national celebrity? It could turn out to be a hollow and cruel world but he has the platform and the liathroidi. Give him his dues. Certain sections in our society still scorn our national heritage games as backward bogball and stickball when in reality the GAA is one of the few things we can still be proud of in these depressed times. This is why the association can only gain from such characters, however deluded or self absorbed they might or might not be. As in every facet of life, change is inevitable and should be embraced. Last year we had the wonderful spectrum of Donal Og blazing the trail for homosexual sportsmen from his unpaid vantage in a small island on the Western fringes of Europe, a brave and progressive act way beyond so many of far higher profile and influence overseas.

A proud Kerry footballer need not forever fit the politician style yerra blank blank etc hollow rhetoric seemingly intrinsic since Paidi’s era. The GAA should actively encourage this form of self-promotion where it finds a market. The days of the guaranteed public service or banking job for the County star may be at an end and if pay for play is off the cards why not use the ’professional’ profile for personal gain? He does his share for charity lest the naysayers forget. Best of luck Paul. Before you head off for the big smoke and the bright lights, just give us one more lift off Sam will ya, with a Tyrone scalp in tow? Your final cause on the football field.

Is Wayne Bridge being a bit too precious?

John Terry's friends certainly seem to think he is. At least that what was the report in the Guardian said on Friday morning. Bridge had just announced that he was pulling out of the England squad because he thought his presence would be a distraction. "Sources close to Terry" suggested that Bridge was a bottler and always had been.

I must say I had pondered this suggestion myself with the information I had read on the internet, by internet I mean some soccer websites I frequent and not women's magazines. I prefer to call it information rather than facts. It is those rumours and innuendos which inform my opinions. The facts are anyone's guess.

The information I have is that Wayne Bridge and his ex-girlfriend (let's call her the "underwear model") broke up about this time last year. This coincided with his big move to Man City but that doesn't seem to be connected. Then in September, John Terry stepped in to Bridge's shoes so to speak and had an affair with Bridge's ex. The trouble started when they were photographed leaving a house near Terry's other house. You know you're rich when you have one house for your family and another for your mistresses. No matter what way you look at it, it's hard to feel sorry for these guys because you only have these problems if you're filthy rich and go around shagging supermodels.

John Terry having affairs is not big news in itself. He has been the subject of quite a few kiss and tell stories in the tabloids. A bit of like Tiger Woods. Very similar to Tiger really, except Tiger was better at covering it up, until he got caught and his wife chased him into a tree with a golf club. It's a lucky for John that Toni Terry is more forgiving and prefers to take out her anger on the shopping malls in Dubai.

Let's try to stick to the information. After the papers told Terry that they had these photos, he applied for an injunction to prevent their publication. I'd call the the photos incriminating but that would be an exaggeration. Sleeping with underwear models is very much a legal activity. Although in my case it could be called 'so unlikely it's criminal'.

Terry argued that the photos were an invasion of his human right to privacy and no one had a right to know his business. On appeal the court held that the right to free speech outweighed his right to privacy and the story could be published.

I don't know if the judgment itself was also a one liner but that was how it was reported. The relationship between Bridge and Terry has been given broadly defined in the media from just plain old former teammates to best friends and now it would appear former best friends.

In defence of the underwear model whose name has escaped me and you will forgive me I'm sure if I don't google her, she was broken up with the Bridgey by the time she hooked up with the centre back. I stand to be corrected here but surely on breaking up with a chick, you acquiesce all rights to what she gets up to next.

Supposing on the other hand that Terry and Bridge were good friends and Terry abused that friendship by shagging the man's ex. That would be bad form. Would JT do that? Of course he would. Is it wrong? Yes.

But what if Bridge had moved on himself at that stage? Would that have changed things? Surely. Yet it keeps coming back to whether Terry betrayed Bridge's trust and that is what it is starting to look like more and more.

Still and all with Ashley Cole's injury Bridge looked odds-on to be the England full-back at the World Cup. Being English, he must think the World Cup is in the bag already which would mark the pinnacle of his career, well either that or his contract with Manchester City which made him one of the world's best paid players. Not bad for a guy who has underachieved on (and perhaps off) the pitch ever since he left his comfort zone at Southampton.

To think, it could all have been so different if Terry had signed for Man City during the summer. The whole controversy is really only scandalous because Terry himself is married and the English are obsessed with such things. If Terry was single and the same thing had happened, wouldn't the underwear model have been fair game and there is no way in hell Terry would have been stripped of the captaincy. Who knows, it might even have been true love!

As for Bridge, while I totally respect him for not shaking Terry's hand, he should really just get on with it and play for England if called upon. That's what professional footballers do.

Now if I knew the facts, I would probably have a different take but I don't and from what I know, it looks like Bridge is hiding and taking the easy way out as he so often does for Man City.

An Exercise in Futility- Defending Rafa.

It can be a thankless business defending Rafa Benitez. Especially when Rafa himself is prone to the odd decision which would leave even his most ardent supporter baffled. I tend to give Rafa the benefit of the doubt. He trains with the players all week, sees them up close and so if he plays David Ngog ahead of Ryan Babel with Kuyt out on the wing, you would have to conclude that Rafa believes that he is putting out his best team.

On Babel, the only plausible explanation is that in spite of his big reputation, high price tag and occasional flashes of potential, the Dutchman is not as good as what Rafa and everyone else thought after his impressive showing at the European U-21 Championships a couple of years ago. You can see why one would have thought he was good but he obviously can't sustain that level of performance for 90 minutes week to week.

One of the biggest criticisms levelled against Benitez is that he just can't spot a good player. Torres and Reina were no brainers but there are question marks over the others. It is said that Benitez has had more than enough time to build a team capable of challenging for the Title and after six seasons at the helm, Liverpool find themselves out of the Champions League and it will be just shy of miraculous if they finish in the top four.

Last season was arguably Liverpool's best chance since Benitez took charge. They drew too many home games and the signing of Robbie Keane was a disaster. Did Benetiz ever really want him in the first place? I don't suppose we'll ever find out. That's the problem when analysing the performance of Benetiz at Anfield- nobody knows exactly what goes on behind the scenes.

We can't say for sure how much control Benetiz has had over transfer policy. Even the players he has signed, did he sign these because they were simply the ones he could afford rather than the ones he wanted? Were certain players like Robbie Keane imposed on Benetiz from above? The manner in which Benetiz made Rick Parry's disposal a deal breaker in his contract talks would suggest that the former Chief Executive was sticking his oar in where it didn't belong.

Even looking at the Keane signing, the rumours and stories are endless. One is that Liverpool only paid 8 million upfront with the balance to come from appearances and silverware. Another version is that he was bought for 20 million in August and sold back for 14 million in January at a loss of 6 million. It has also been said that only 14 million was paid and that this was simply given back when Keane returned to White Hart Lane. So many versions regarding a single transfer for which Benetiz has been vilified even though no one seems to know what really happened.

Robbie himself is the quintessential big fish/small pond player. He fits in at clubs like Spurs, Celtic and with Ireland but when he's asked to be a squad player he's not so amenable. When Harry Redknappp said that Robbie was not happy to sit on the bench and pick up his paycheck, I think he meant that Robbie was sulky and disprutive and had to be be farmed out on loan rather than that Robbie was willing to fight to get back in the team.

Every manager should be given the benefit of the doubt on the odd bad signing. Mourinho, Ferguson and Wenger have all had their share of disasters in that department. Signings are a risk and by in large, Benitez's signings have held or increased their value. Few can be said to have dramatically improved the team but at least he has been able to offload them for what he paid for them.

Benitez can also be accused of impatience with those players. He has had a severely high turnover of players and unlike Ferguson he has been unwilling to persevere with homegrown talent like Stephen Warnock and Danny Guthrie. These players may not win the league for Liverpool but they understand the nature and spirit of the club, much in the same way that players like Fletcher, Brown and O'Shea at United personify the attitude required by Ferguson and set the standards for what is required of new players.

Benitez has failed to grasp the concept that players improve with time and teams get better the more they play together. Either that or he has decided that Guthrie (now with Newcastle in the Championship) and Warnock (with Villa) were just not up to it. In any case perhaps with the exception of Alonso, the players Benitez has let go are really no better than their replacements.

What Liverpool really needed last summer was a striker in the mode of David Villa and a winger like David Silva. Instead Alonso was sold and Aquilani was brought in. That is not the transfer policy of a rational man let alone an intelligent and highly qualified coach. Surely what happened was that the money for Alonso was too good to turn down and Aquilani was a cheap as chips replacement. Only a 5m down payment for a younger and potentially better player. Having sold this deal to Benitez, the Americans made no further money available to him. Johnson was signed for money already owed by Portsmouth. With the state Pompey are in, this is now starting to look like the shrewdest bit of business of all.

Fans will ask why he didn't quit if he was faced with such constraints. The answer I suppose is what would have been the point? Benetiz still had Torres and Gerrard, decent players around them and the potential of Aquilani to come into the side as well. Why not have a crack and who knows a Man City style investor might appear during the year if you can give the impression of solvency.

It has not worked out that way. Torres will probably never be 100% fit again. Without him Liverpool are blunt in attack, leaving a burden of expectation on Gerrard which even he can't carry. Others have not performed well without the comfort of having Alonso to direct operations. Skrtel and Agger have failed to fulfil their potential, while Lucas never really had any. In fact man for man to look at the squads, Liverpool are probably where they should be in the league. If Torres and Gerrard stayed fit they might be higher up but they do not have the squad to compete at the very top.

Is this Benitez's fault? The team still play with heart and desire. They lack quality players in key positions and we can only assume that he has been denied the funding to improve the team. Maybe the Americans decided that fourth place will be good enough to maintain the revenue streams and so Rafa was left with a squad which could just about finish top four. The money men have no motivation to finish any higher.

Even allowing for the unknown factors that go on behind the scenes at Liverpool- debt, American owners with no money or ideas, interfering chief executives and strict budget restraints- it could reasonably be concluded that after six seasons Rafa has not built a squad capable of winning the title. That is the bottom line and therefore unacceptable for a club of Liverpool's stature (self-delusion being the outstanding characteristic of any Liverpool fan).

Overall Benitez has performed as well as possible with the players available to him. He has not exceeded expectations but it would be fair to say that Liverpool have been the third, maybe fourth best team in England since he took over. A large part of that is down to the presence of Gerrard and Carragher because unlike Ferguson or Chelsea, Benetiz just has not had the resources necessary to build a good enough team.

The question most Liverpool fans seem to have answered already is that he has had more than enough time.

Survival Integral to Wolves (And Us All)

If I said that Mick McCarthy is a simple man and that Roy Keane is a moody bastard, would you disagree?

It's a generalisation, based on a public perception of their personalities which is to large extent controlled and who knows, to know them the opposite might even be true. All the same from what we know of them, I think it's a fair summation and I've read both "Keane the Autobiography" and "Captain Fantastic".

Mick is a practical person thinking about the realities of the situation he finds himself in and trying to get the best result possible. Keane is a winner who accepts nothing less than victory. Mick would make the best of a bad situation, Keane cannot stomach mediocrity.

It was unfair to see Mick pummeled by the media and everyone else this week. He didn't invent the Premier League and it's not his fault it's top heavy or that he had to go to Old Trafford three days after grinding out a win at White Hart Lane. The English said he was worse than Thierry Henry because at least Henry was trying to win. Practicality over single-mindedness.

Neil Warnock is still going on about Liverpool playing a weakened team against Fulham in 2007. What is never mentioned is that Warnock himself played a weakened team at Old Trafford himself that season and United too played a weakened team against West Ham in the last game of that season, a game the Hammers won sending Sheffield United down. No one dares to criticise Ferguson but it's always open season on easy targets like Benitez and McCarthy. Steve Coppell famously did his best not to qualify for Europe and just about succeeded the same season. It is unfortunate but undeniable that success has become a relative concept in the Premier League.

I'm stating the blatantly obvious here which does not make for interesting reading. That I feel the need to rebut such weak arguments from football's most eminent writers is a further indication of how boring and irrelevant football is becoming. It sold it's soul a long time ago while those with a vested or professional interest continue to deceive us (and probably themselves) into thinking that the romance is still alive. Mick McCarthy is neither sentimental nor delusional and never has been.

Arsene Wenger criticised Mick for bringing the integrity of the Premier League into question. The beauty of the Premier League is that it has no integrity. It doesn't care for local talent, fair play or level playing fields. It is survival of the fittest at a very base level. If you are big and strong you can devour the weaker teams but even the weaker teams are happy to take a beating once in a while as long as they live to fight another day.

Wolves are like Ireland in the EU, small fry but as long as we get a cut, we won't bother the big boys. Mick is a simple man and he has no illusions about Wolves becoming Kings of the Jungle. The Premier League is great not because any team can win but because survival and success is gained by the most efficient use of all resources available to a team over the course of the season. It forces everyone to think outside the box and try every trick in the book.

Occasionally this results in diving, cheating and submission but there's also the magic produced when there's no other way out, the sheer unpredictability of it all (I mean, let's face it the Wolves team that night and all the controversy that has followed was unforeseen), getting a result when you absolutely need it or not when it's absolutely expected, the euphoria of survival, financial ruin for those who don't and all of it happening at a hundred miles an hour.

That's why people love the Premier League. There are so many factors which dictate the outcomes, no one controls them and so we are always left guessing, questioning and most importantly of all, watching.

Celebrating One Year of the Blog by Writing in It.

To celebrate one full year of the blog, I am actually going to write something in it. I suppose it's a good example of how long I stick at something before quitting. Six months is consistent with other notions I've had over the years. Then it all just seems to tail off.

Have I learned anything from the year that was? Only that football can be a cruel game and that life is dreadfully unfair sometimes. Whether or not I learned it this year, I also realised that when you get knocked down, there is nothing for it but to get up, brush yourself down and drive on again. Was it Vince Lombardi who said that it's not about how hard you fall but how quickly you get back up?

Other things I've learned include:

1. It turns out that Stephen Ireland isn't all that good after all and we didn't need him to qualify for the World Cup;


2. The Limerick Hurlers are shit but then we knew that already. I don't think I'm even going to bother fooling myself into thinking they have a chance next year;


3. Getting a book published isn't all that easy;


4. Geovanni Trapatonni drinks whiskey straight, no ice;


5. Packie Bonner is huge in person (and also very cagey);


6. Paul McShane is sound, if a bit dodgey under a high ball;


7. People get genuinely offended when I slag off Munster Rugby;


8. Mark Foley is to Limerick hurling what Elin Nordregan is to Tiger Woods;


9. I was cheated into using Gillette shaving products, it's Wilkinson Sword for me from now. Two Blades, job done, no fuss, no lies;


10. The Robbie Keane debate is no closer to resolution;


11. Shane Warne made it acceptable (expected even) to burn the candle at both ends;


12. Being a substitute goalkeeper for a Championship side isn't all it's cracked up to be;


13. Face guards do work;


14. Clare U-21 hurlers showed that occasionally you get what you deserve;


15. If you get an opportunity and don't take it, it may not come around again;


16. Ireland will not be making a bid to host the 2016 European Championships;


17. Irish people like to whinge about injustice;


18. 5 a side soccer is awesome;


19. Andy Reid was fat after all and not just big boned;


20. The Irish taxpayer should not be paying Eamon Dunphy's wages (or anyone else's in RTE for that matter);
21. Darragh O'Sé did have one more season left in him;
22. Found out what the State of Origin is.

For all it's faults I do love sport, such as:

• Coming into work on a Monday morning and reading all the match reports from the weekend.


• Putting my heart and soul into Ireland qualifying for the World Cup and then being crushed when we didn't. To quote Lomdardi again: In great attempts it is glorious even to fail. I tend to agree.


• Watching Hurling matches.


• Match of the Day and Match of the Day 2 (I miss you both terribly).


• Reading well written articles, reports and interviews or listening to good discussions.


• Tracking the progress of young players and seeing them make a breakthrough.


• Scoring goals.


• Surprising yourself with a defence splitting pass or bit of skill.


• Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.


• Being right about something or even pleasantly surprised when you're not.


• A fit Fernando Torres.


• The Munster Championship.


• Meeting people more obsessed with hurling and soccer than I am.


• Pucking ball just for the sake of it of an evening.
  

I don't know when I'll write on here again. I don't think it really matters but one thing is for sure, out of all the bullshit that surrounds us it's important to have a passion in life be it sport, writing or whatever you're having yourself so throw yourself into it, don't worry about what anyone else thinks and if you stick to your guns, it might just get you somewhere.

A Premier pasting!

A couple of years back when Tipperary and Limerick met in the Munster Championship in what became an epic trilogy at the end of which I remember thinking Jesus I hope we never meet these guys again. They were games that gave great hope to both sets of fans for the future it also cemented Richie Bennis status as a local hero. If anyone had told you that a couple of years down the line these two teams would meet again and there would be a 24 point gap between them you would laugh.

Yesterdays scoreline isn't a fair reflection on both of these teams Limerick are not this bad and Tipperary are not this good. Tipperary played very well as a team, they went against the old premier playbook of hitting high balls into the forwards and instead played possesion hurling with players like Pat Kerwick and Noel McGrath turning providers rather than taking pot shots from far out. This worked well but they will not have this kind of space against Kilkenny and the Cats will be far more physical then the Treatymen. As a unit the Tipp forwards were flawless Noel McGrath and Lar Corbett showed an almost telepathic link at times finding each other numerous times during the game.

The only worry was the the normally productive pairing of McGrath and Woodlock in the center of the park was anonymous yesterday but in truth they weren't needed. All day the Tipp half backs bypassed them and delivered straight to the half forwards who held possesion well and all six forwards contributed to the final scoreline.

Limerick on the other hand couldn't buy a point and they never seemed to settle, In the first 10 minutes they were very physical in defence but let themselves down by taking random shots from too far out rather than trusting themselves to take on the Tipp backs. Even on a day of such a hammering the old reliable Mark Foley never let his own high standards slip.

This was expected to be a game befitting of its stage and venue but in the end it was a whitewash that no one could have predicted. Limerick have improved in the last two years but when you look at the qualifying games they had to play Wexford, Laois and Dublin with the greatest of respect to these teams they are not top tier championship teams, yet.

Another positive Tipperay fans will take from the game was that Tipp kept up the intensity right to the very end and did not do their usual fading trick that saw them let big leads be slashed in previous games.

In the post match interviews Justin McCarthy was gracious in defeat and wished Tipperary well, You had to feel sympathy for the the man. He is probably the most experienced senior hurling manager in the country and a true gentleman. He has brought Limerick on since he took over. And as a manger he still has more to give, I don't think there should be any question over his future as Limerick banisteoir.

As for Liam Sheedy he too was gracious in victory. He paid credit to Limerick and stated they are better then what we saw. Next up Tipp's reward is to throw themselves in front of the Kilkenny 4 in a row juggernaut. It's the final that people have been predicting since last May and it should be a classic.

Owen Signing Sticks the Boot Further into Liverpool

The last thing that Alex Ferguson's signing of Michael Owen is is a gamble. He was out of contract with a relegated club for the love of God. Owen has shown himself to be something of a mercenary over the years and he was always going to be available to either the highest bidder or the lure of major trophies. Ferguson has gotten him cheap and he won't break United even if he never plays so it's no skin off Fergie's neck one way or the other.

For Mickey Owen the only other suitors were Hull City and Stoke City, who it turns out Michael wouldn't play for all the money in the world. The poor guy hasn't looked fit since about 1998 and it really has been a shame to see a player who burst onto the scene with such a swagger to fade away as he has done these past few years. It happens to a lot of great strikers. They suffer an injury or two and they're never really the same player again. It happened to Robbie Fowler and there is a real danger of it happening to Fernando Torres.

The one thing Ferguson does know is that if he gets Owen fit, he will score goals. He always has. It certainly won't do him any harm being out of the arctic North of England where players seem to spend more time injured than fit. One thing that is certain is that the Michael Owen of yore is no more. He will no longer terrorise defences and if he plays like he did for Newcastle last season he'll be lucky if he even gets to tear it up with the reserves.

Nevertheless the signing of Owen represents a massive coup for Ferguson if only because it once again gives him the opportunity to stick the boot into Liverpool. It wouldn't surprise me if that was the only reason he signed him Owen. After all only a week ago the general consensus was that he was finished.

There escaping the impression that Liverpool have been caught napping on this one. It might well be that Rafa didn't want Owen back because of the circumstances in which he left in the summer of 2004. How's that for loyalty? The Liverpool fans being as gullible as they are still idolise the man and there can be no doubt that Owen signing for Man U will be a blow to their morale going into the new season.

On the other hand, it is just the good news story United fans want to hear after the sale of Ronaldo. He's obviously no replacement but it is always nice to have such an exceptional goalscorer join your ranks. Liverpool could certainly use one.

Conversely had Owen signed for Liverpool, they would have gotten the boost while United fans were still down on their luck. It wouldn't have cost Rafa anything in the scheme of things because I'm sure that commercially Owen would have paid for himself plus like Fowler's return in 2006, a sentimental Owen would surely have jumped at the chance especially on the cusp of a mounting a real title challenge next season.

Every time Owen scores for Man U next season will be a double blow for Liverpool fans who will see it as both a betrayal and a goal lost. Owen is still one of the few natural goalscorers in the Premier League (Defoe possibly the only other) and surely Ferguson won't try to do an Alan Smith on him.

Liverpool fans will be reeling from the shock of this move while for United it just offers further proof that they are the smarter club and the better team. It's not the first time Liverpool have been found wanting in the transfer market and it's a lethargy which they've displayed since the early 90's losing out to United commercially, in trophies and now the signing of Owen is just the salt in the wounds.

Let the psychological warfare begin. Latest Score: Ferguson 1 Benitez 0.

Limerick vs Cork Munster Football Final Min by Min

Ian Ryan: Playing out of his skin so far.

It's all over. Cork are Munster Champions. Another glorious defeat for Limerick. I'm disgusted and I'm off to bed. Can't believe it.

Final Score: Cork 2-6 Limerick 0-11

72 min: Free for Cork on their own endline. Good run by Eoin Hogan but he just ran out of field.

71min: Cork win a free in midfield. They are in no rush to take it.

69 min: Limerick are battling hard but they are just falling short. There are two minutes of added time to go. Limerick need to get the ball back and try to work an opening.

67 min: Cork 2-6 Lim 0-11They say 2 points is the most dangerous lead in GAA. Well it's one point now. Stephen Kelly has just put over a point.

65 min: Limerick still seem to be matching Cork, they just can't seem to get the scores up. They are noticeably starting to tire. One last effort maybe?

63 min: Limerick have at least rattled Cork and all 3 Nemo players were taken off for Cork. Billy Morgan won't like that.

62 min: Cork have taken their chances and Limerick failed to take theirs in the first half, they will really need a goal to win this game. It was always going to that way though. A bad wide there from Ger Collins.

60 min: Why does Sport have to be so cruel? How can a team play so well and come so close and still be 2 points down. Paul O'Flynn comes in for Kerrigan.

59 min: Cork 2-6 Lim 0-10: Foul by Mark Riordan on 45. Free to Cork, Donncha O'Connor stands over it and he splits the posts.

57 min: Lim 0-10 Cork 2-5: Cork seem to have the upper hand now. Almighty score from Colm O'Neill from 45 metres out. Aidan Walsh is in for Ger Spillane.

55 min: Lim 0-10 Cork 2-4: Equaliser for Limerick by Stephen Lavin. Sniff of a goal but he made the right decision.

53 min: Cork 2-4 Lim 0-9: Ger Collins hits a free into the Keepers hands. The wind is very much against them. Another point for Goulding and Cork are in the lead. Colm O'Neill is making a big difference for Cork.

51 min: Goulding is in here. He must score but it's an outstanding save from Sean Kiely and he just about tips it over the bar. Great chance for Cork. Now, he's done it. The ball is back in and Goulding makes no mistake this time. Top class finish. It was coming in a way. We are level going into the final quarter.

49 min: Still only 1 score in the 2nd half. Both teams are finding it tough going. Limerick look fairly solid in defence. Colm O'Neill is on for the largely ineffective James Masters. Maybe the lads were right and he is just a 1 trick pony- always turns on to his left. Sure he's like myself.

47 min: The referee is a disgrace. He overruled his linesman for that Line ball even though it was clearly a Limerick ball and the resulting Cork 45 was definitely a wide ball after Paul Kelly knocked it wide.

45 min: Line ball from Cork falls in around the square. Confusion in the Limerick full back line and ball somehow goes out for a 45. Wide again from Goulding.

42 min: Now Cork have a 45 even though the ball obviously went out off Graham Canty, justice is done as the kick goes well wide but all 50/50 going Cork's way.....no surprises there.

41 min: A wide from Daniel Goulding under pressure. Cork are starting to feel it now but there's still a long way to go.

40 min: Stephen Lavin bursts out of defence to set up a Limerick attack but he is tackled late by a Cork defender. No free is given. That's the 2nd time that's happened in 5 minutes. Limerick just look a quicker team at the minute.

37 min: Cork's 2nd wide of the match, Nicholas Murphy hits a free wide from about midfield. A bit ambitious maybe but they do have the wind.

35 min: Lim 9 Cork 1-2: Great start to the 2nd half for Limerick. 1st score of the game for Ger Collins to put Limerick 4 ahead.

Cork are coming back out on to the pitch, they still have Michael Cussen on the bench and he's the kind of player who could make a difference if he's comes on though Counihan might see as last throw of the dice stuff.

Limerick are back out to a massive roar from the smallish crowd. 35 minutes to go for an historic win.

Half Time Report: It's Limerick's to lose now at this stage. They have absolutely destroyed Cork in the first half. Cork will be thankful for the very lucky penalty which has them in touch at all while Limerick will rue more than a few missed chances but Limerick will still feel they are a stronger team than Cork anyway. One note of caution might be that Limerick played with the wind in the first half. It's hard to know how much of a factor that will be but you'd have to think that Cork will make some sort of a comeback in the second half.

35 min: A wide from Kerrigan for Cork under pressure from Pa Ranahan and the referee blows for half time. Half Time Score: Limerick 0-8 Cork 1-2

34 min: Lim 0-8 Cork 1-2: Seanie Buckley picks up a pass from Ian Ryan and bangs over his third point from play.

33 min: Kieran O Callaghan is in for Limerick in place of Cormac Joyce-Power. Possible injury for Joyce-Power although Michael Shields seemed to have the better of him.

31 min: Conditions look good if a bit slippy. Sun is out now after a bit of rain earlier.

29 min: 6 min to half time. Limerick have missed a lot of chances but still look much the stronger side. Joyce-Power wastes another shot, giving Cork the ball when a score was very much there for the taking. Luckily Cork overcarry and it's a free now for Limerick from midfield.

27 min: Stephen Kelly wins the ball on the 21. He passes inside to Stephen Lavin who made the forward run. It's a great goal chance but he kicks it wide. Limerick will seriously regret these chances if they don't win the game.

26 min: It's a cracking Munster Final in Pairc Ui Chaoimh. Conor Counihane is worried and is bringing on Paudie Kissane for Brian O' Regan who was himself a late replacement. Limerick's forward's are well on top.

24 min: Lim 0-7 Cork 1-2: Another point for Ian Ryan. That's 4 from play from Ryan.

23 min: Donnacha O'Connor catches the ball over Full Back Shane Gallagher's head. He is through on goal but is brilliantly dispossessed by Mark O'Riordan. Lucky escape.

22 min: Masters opened the scoring for Cork before Ian Ryan, Seanie Buckley and Stephen Kelly put Limerick ahead.

19 min: This is as good a chance Limerick are ever going to have to win a Munster final and they've started very brightly. Cork have three scores from as many attacks. The Cork penalty was very harsh but Limerick really have start making this possession count.

18 min Lim 0-6 Cork 1-2: Great point from Ian Ryan. Finds himself in a lot of space on the left and knocks over a great point.

17 min: Cork are understrength losing Miskella, Noel O'Leary and Anthony Lynch before the match.

16 min: Lim 0-5 Cork 1-2: A free for Cork from Donncha O' Connor from 40 metres. It's blocked out and Daniel Goulding picks it up and puts up another point for Cork

15 min: Lim 0-5 Cork 1-1: Seanie Buckley kicks his second point of the match, great score from 40 yards. Limerick still well on top and should be further ahead

13 min: Lim 0-4 Cork 1-1: Donncha O' Connor takes it and cooly sends the keeper the wrong way

12 min: It's a penalty for Cork. Daniel Goulding fouled. Looked very harsh

11 min: Lim 0-4 Cork 0-1: Point for Limerick by Pa Ranahan, takes a pass from Stephen Kelly to slot it over. Limerick are well on top and I've just gotten the computer

Doyle The Right Man For Wolves

Reading might have fallen short this season in the Championship, Kevin Doyle will be playing in the Premier League next season. His record signing for Wolves yesterday shouldn't come as any major surprise as Mick McCarthy recently proclaimed Doyler the best player in the football league in Four Four Two. This was high praise indeed especially with Mick's own centre forward Slyvian Ebanks-Blake finishing so far ahead of Doyle in the scoring charts.

Doyle only scored 1 goal since Christmas but there is no doubting his class. The biggest worry is whether he can stay injury free. Playing in the Premier League will help him because if nothing else there will be fewer games. I think Doyle found his second season in the Championship difficult simply because there was so little time between games. He is on record as saying he was exhausted from playing twice a week. It's not that Doyler isn't up to it, it just means that injuries aren't given time to heal and because of the pressure of getting back into the Premier League he was always thrown back in too soon.

Trapatonni took Doyle off for Ireland against Italy in Bari because he was flagging and he suffered an injury for Reading soon afterwards which finished his season. Doyle is an all-action centre forward and he is noticeably off-colour when hampered by injury. The thing about centre forwards though is that they are judged on goals and Doyle took more than his share of criticism for Reading's relegation in 2008. Again Doyle was injured for much of this season and he rarely looked fit on his comeback.

Steve Coppell took to playing him on the right wing that season as well which didn't help and Reading struggled badly as a team leaving their strikers with fewer chances.

Wolves have gotten themselves a quality player though. He has scored some brilliant goals for Ireland and been excellent in a team which has often looked to have less Premier League quality than Wolves.

It is great for Ireland's World Cup prospects that Doyle will have a season in the Premier League behind him if we qualify for South Africa. At least it won't come as a shock to him. While the present Wolves team have the look of a new Reading, you would have to assume they will struggle next season. Playing fancy football didn't get West Brom anywhere and if Wolves take the Stoke approach then I don't think Doyle is going to see much action. He'd probably end up back at Reading again a la Dave Kitson.

Hull were a bit of a disaster themselves and I don't even know what strikers they used after Christmas. I know Marlon King was gone and our boy Caleb didn't play much but beyond that they didn't do much attacking. That's the problem with promoted teams in the Premier League. It's all 4-5-1 and lone attackers ploughing a lone furrow. Doyle mightn't get a kick much less a game if Mick resorts to these tactics. He might have to if they are to survive.

I would have preferred if Doyle had moved to the continent where he might have played for a more established top flight club. The continent can be more open and I'm sure he would score a bag of goals in La Liga, Ligue 1, the Ere Divise, Serie A or the Bundesliga.

I did in fact write to all Serie A, Bundesliga and La Liga clubs in December telling them to sign Doyle. I didn't get any responses. Doyle would have been more than good enough for a top European Club but in many ways he had no choice but to sign for Wolves.

They showed real and genuine interest in Doyle which he was surely impressed by. Mick McCarthy's presence would have been a factor as well. He understands the Irish players well and if any Premier League manager is going to give Doyle a fair crack at the whip, it will be McCarthy.

Wolves have also made him their record signing and Reading's record sale. Other Premier League clubs have had ample opportunity to sign it but they've instead seen fit to sign Bobby Zamora, Emile Heskey, Pavlyuchenko, Amir Zaki, Alfonso Alaves, Daniel Cousin, El Zhar, Bojinov and all sorts of other rubbish. So why would he wait for any of those clubs to come in for him.

Wolves were quick off the mark and they have been very upfront with Doyle. They are a Premier League club with the right set up and an exciting young team. If Doyle does stay fit, you can be sure he will have a good season and Wolves will stay up.

If that happens, Doyle to Wolves will have been the best business done all summer.