Hard to look past big-spending Liverpool's quality
Will Liverpool captain, Virgil Van Dijk, be lifting the Premier League Trophy once more next May?
In the good old days, the start of a Premier League season would be on the back-burner.
The All-Ireland senior football semi-finals, the build-up to the All-Ireland hurling and football finals, followed by the ladies’ football and camogie deciders would occupy sporting minds here in this country.
Heading into October, the penny would drop that the Premier League season was in full swing when we joined the action. Now the hay is saved, the turf is home and every All-Ireland intercounty final is over before the Premier League gets underway.
It's a good job Paschal Donohoe and Jack Chambers aren’t on the finance committee of Liverpool FC because they would have passed out by this stage, such is the vast amount of money the Reds are spending.
Liverpool have become the new Manchester City — spending the dosh until it goes out of fashion.
The Premier League is a three-tier wedding cake — a top six at best, eight teams hovering in mid-table dreaming of sneaking into Europe and the bottom six trying to survive, with the three promoted clubs from the Championship favourites to go down.
England’s most well-known league is not the same anymore. The big wigs allow the big clubs to spend money with no punishment.
Right now, it's hard to see Liverpool not defending their crown, with Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea fighting for second, third and fourth.
At least, Everton are the envy of the rest with their new stadium.
This weekend’s third round of games in the FAI Cup has thrown up four League of Ireland Premier Division ties.
Holders Drogheda United travelling to Derry City and St. Patrick’s Athletic hosting Shelbourne are being viewed as the standout games of the last 16. But the most intriguing of them all is the all-Galway City clash of Galway United and Salthill Devon.
The Galway and District League side have forfeited home advantage, agreeing to travel to Eamonn Deacy Park this Friday night. Galway United are in horrendous form but a hard-earned point against league leaders Shamrock Rovers on Sunday evening might turn out to be a turning point in their season.
However, manager John Caulfield knows that the negative mood music will return if Salthill Devon cause one of the biggest-ever FAI Cup shocks next weekend.
Salthill Devon beat Liffey Wanderers 2-1 and followed that up with a 1-0 home win over St. Michael’s.
Galway United, who entered the competition in Round Two, beat Tolka Rovers 2-0 and can reach the quarter-finals by beating two non-league sides. Some of the league’s heavy hitters will have been evicted from the FAI Cup Big Brother House at that stage, so Caulfield men can use this FAI Cup journey to try and get the show back on the road.
After a brilliant start to the season, Galway United have Sligo Rovers breathing down their necks to avoid being sucked into the relegation/promotion play-off against First Division opponents at the end of the season.
For Salthill Devon, this game is like winning the lottery. They know that they’ve nothing to lose against a team low on confidence.
As the Dublin Horse Show drew to a close, my prized jumpers were facing their Teaser Puissance.
Can you name the last English manager to win a European competition with an English club? It was Howard Kendall with Everton, who won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1985.
QPR, Frenchpark, was first to scale the big wall. Fr John McManus, PP Castlerea; Liam Dooley, Ballyhaunis; PJ Martin, Kiltoom; Michael Scally, Ballaghaderreen; Mary Gilfillan, Kilmore; Murt Hunt, Ballyhaunis; John Croghan, Bundoran; Mick Fetherston, Dublin; Paddy Conlon, Taughmaconnell; Pat, Sligo; Paddy Boland, Youghal; Mary McCarthy, Holloway; Gabriel Ward, Lytham St. Anne’s; Kevin Flanagan, Dartford; Seán Toolan, Heston, and Michael Kearns, Clapham, also jumped clear rounds.
This week’s Teaser. Can you name the only two managers to lead two different counties to All-Ireland SHC finals?
Answers by e-mail to willieefc@gmail.com or by text to 086 8356227. This week’s teaser comes from London.
Star pupil: Ciara Dowd who scored 1-9 for the St Ciaran’s ladies’ footballers during their remarkable win over Boyle in the opening round of the Roscommon LGFA Senior Championship.
Crucial win for: Oran’s senior hurlers who defeated St. Dominic’s to secure their place in the semi-finals of this year’s championships.
Much do better: Another narrow defeat for Tremane leaves them skating on thin ice in the Roscommon Senior Hurling Championship.
Spot of bother: After winning the Nickey Rackard Cup, Roscommon are on the lookout for a new manager after Kevin Sammon’s decision to step down.
Weekend highlight: The Dublin Horse Show is one of the great events on the Irish sporting calendar. This year was another success, with some brilliant jumping.
What a cracker: Nothing beats a spicy local derby, so Pádraig Pearses and Clann na nGael fit the bill perfectly as the game of the weekend in the Roscommon Senior Football Championship.
“Life is full of uncertainties. But there will always be a sunrise after every sunset.”
Of the 18 games played on the opening weekend of the Roscommon Senior, Intermediate and Junior A Football Championships, there were nine home wins and nine away wins.
It’s hard to believe that the All-Ireland intercounty season in Gaelic football, hurling, ladies’ football and camogie is over for 2025.
