Becks appeal waning

Everyone likes a 99. Delicious ice-cream, crunchy cone and then the cheap thrill of a Cadburys Flake. What could be better.



What's that David.



You don't like 99. You want 100. Marketing deals you say. Centurion Meal at Burgerking. Ton Up aftershave. 100 Caps but still great Hair Hair Gel.



Oh.



I have a feeling Fabio missed the memo from marketing on that one. He is alleged to have told Beckham that he is not fit enough for the friendly against Switzerland but that he is still in his plans.



Lets face it. Playing in the US is not going to help his case.He is training with Arsenal but I reckon he is just helping Adeboyer to braid his hair.



It is extremely rare for a non Premier League playing player to make an England team these days, never mind somebody who plays in Major League Soccer.



As England only have meaningless friendlies for the next 6 months I am sure he will be brought into one of the squads and get his 100th cap.



But it shows Capello is not a man to bow down, either to press pressure or star power. McLaren dropped Beckham from his first squad too but soon Fleet Street's finest were picking the team and Becks was back.



If Beckham comes back this time it will have to be on merit. Capello brought him back into the fold at Real Madrid last year and he was a success. With Wright-Phillips, Bentley and possibly Agbonlahor ahead of him in the pecking order at the moment, it may be a long road back.



Now where did I leave that double sided T shirt, it had 100 Caps for Becks on one side and Rudy for the White House 08 on the other

Kevin help us

Well, 3 games into the Kevolution at Newcastle and they are making Allardyce's team look like Brazil.

3 games, no wins, no goals, two shots on target in 270 minutes and out of the only competition they had a chance to win. Usually a new manager inspires the team to at least play a bit better. Look at the effect Gary Megson, the "Ginger Mourinho" had on Bolton.

Unfortunately Keegan has inherited a talented but utterly not bothered bunch of footballers. It looks like no new players will be brought in during the transfer window now either (28 hours 49 minutes until it closes, watch the countdown on Sky Sports News) so this motley crew will have to do.

Arguably Tommy Lee and the boys would be better. Newcastle are 12th, on 27 points. A few more dropped points and they could get dragged into a relegation battle that is more open than it has been in many seasons.

They play Middlesbrough on Sunday. If Boro win they go ahead of Newcastle and Sunderland are only 4 points behind after last nights win over Birmingham.

Keegan allegedly makes players feel either 20 feet tall or 10 feet tall, depending on which of his ex players you listen to.

If he could just make them feel like playing a bit and trying a bit it would do for now.

Cup of the usual

Well, after my rant yesterday about the big teams using the FA Cup as insurance we will now get a chance to see how seriously United and Arsenal are taking it.

United are at home and have to be favourites. The game is also being played the weekend before the Champions League resumes. Arsenal have AC Milan while United have their usual easy draw against Lyon. If United win it and have a good result in the first leg against Lyon, which I think they will, then the treble talk will become unbearable.

I wonder have people forgotten how lucky they were in 1999. Even if you exclude the Champions League final and the incredible collapse of Bayern, they were very lucky to get past Arsenal in the semi final of the cup.

Giggs should have been stopped for "that goal". It will be shown hundreds of times now again in the build up to the 5th round match at Old Trafford so watch it again here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1r3bGm9YzQ

He pretty much runs into at least two defenders and they just fall out of his way. Then he beats Seaman at the near post, I believe he mis-hit it but that's just me.

When you add in the penalty missed by Bergkamp which would have put United out then United were more blessed that year that Tony Blair will be next time he drops round the Vatican for a chat.

Tonight Arsenal have the chance to go back on top of the league when they host a revitalised Newcastle side (One shot on target in two games under Keegan, way to entertain, Messiah!).

January will end with United and Arsenal level in all competitions. I suspect February will end with one of the teams season in shreds.

Same old, same old...

FA Cup Fourth Round.

Yawn.

As I write we have 9 teams from outside the top flight in the 5th round, it will be 10 if Sheffield United can beat Man City. If the draw is favourable it is possible that a good percenatge will make the next round too and then be a few games away from winning it. What a story!

But they wont win it. Thats why it is boring.

Of the the 6 Premier League teams, 4 of them are the Champions League teams. They use the FA Cup as an insurance policy against a trophyless season.

Arsenal have had two barren seasons, so Wenger would love to win the FA Cup if the other competitions prove to be beyond his team.

Avram Grant probably has the Carling Cup locked up (Spurs will fold at Wembley) but the FA Cup as well would be a nice two fingered salute to those who derided his appointment.

Rafa may hope winning the cup will keep him in his job, it won't, but bless him for trying.

Only Man United genuinely dont care about it, and won't unless they get to the final with the treble on the line.

Best we can hope for is for one of the smaller teams to make the final like Milwall in 2004 against United.

Remember that game?

Exactly.

Rugby, rugby everywhere...

Schools Rugby.

A valid competition and important to develop our young rugby players.

But why does it get so much coverage in our national press?

There are pages of preview in todays Irish Times and tomorrow's Sunday papers are all trailing large previews. I dont know anybody who is interested in it, but thats maybe the circles I rotate in.

I am sure that the parents and friends of those inolved are interested and even past pupils keep an eye on their alma mater but still, how many people does that appeal to?

The schools gaelic football and hurling competitions, which are far more relevant to most of the country, get minimal coverage. The minor hurling and football don't get this level of coverage either. Even the Sigerson and Fitzgibbon cups do not get the coverage that the schools rugby gets.

16 schools are involved in the Leinster Senior Cup and 8 are involved in the Munster version. There must be something else to fill the sports pages. All editors can't have gone to these schools can they? Oh, maybe thats it.

One more thing, I can see full odds in the paper so you can bet on this competition. I like a bet as much as the next man, unless the next man is Paul Merson, but should we be betting on a competition for children? I could find no odds on the minor hurling and football championships so why for the rugby?

Rebels without a clue

First let me say that Cork GAA and its politics are the most complex in the GAA family.

In fact, they are probably more complex than the average Bertie Ahern statement on the few quid he has lying around the house.

However the current player dispute is complex on the surface but simple in the end.

Like the average GAA supporter I backed the players strike in 2002 and it improved facilities for all inter county players.

I believe the GPA is a good thing and the grant payments are a measured and deserved scheme. Like most fans I would know a few players and the sacrifices they make to play for the county.

However this dispute has felt different from the start.

The board decided that that it wanted to choose the selectors, not the manager. A deal was brokered to get through this year and look at it for next year.

Not good enough say the footballers, we wont play for Teddy Holland.

He is the man chosen, by their clubs, and while we all miss Billy Morgan, they need to get on with it and play for him.

You have been murdered by Kerry repeatedly under Billy. As one of your most famous sons once said "To keep doing the same thing and expect a different result is the definition of stupidity"

A poll on An Fear Rua, the best GAA site on the web, is 2-1 in favour of the board on this one. The fact that the average non-Cork supporter would choose Frank Murphy's view ahead of Nicholas Murphy's view is telling.

Player power is the heart of this and if no Cork team plays in the league the focus will be elsewhere. No games means no sponsor money and no gate money. This will affect the entire Cork GAA family, not just the elite players.

Time for the players to shut up, play and leave the politics to the politicians.

Whats Another Year?

Johnny Logan won Eurovision in 1980 with the sing along classic "Whats Another Year"

Liverpool won the league that year too. Between that and Logan's next win in 1987 they picked up another 4 titles.

The future was red and the 15 year dominance of Liverpool seemed set to continue into the 90's.

While Ireland picked up the pace and won another 4 Eurovisions, (younger readers may not understand the value we used to place on Eurovision wins) Liverpool picked up just two more titles, the last in 1990.

The 2-2 draw at home to Aston Villa last night pretty much consigns Liverpool to looking forward again to next season as they will not win the league this year.

14 points behind Arsenal and Manchester United is a chasm at this stage of the season and the fact they are only 7 points clear of West Ham with the same number of games played is more telling about their status.

Last night the fans were exercised with making clear their views on the American owners but what is happening on the pitch is far more important than what is happening in the boardroom.

Liverpool fail to kill off teams, rely too much on Torres and Gerrard and Bentitez erratic selections do unnecessarily compromise the team.

The gap to the league leaders continue to grow, in both points and poise and off field distractions need to be avoided like the Mater Accident and Emergency ward.

For all football fans a return to the top of a Liverpool team would be welcomed, if only for the novelty value it would bring.

The changes needed to make that happen are small but as Al Pacino once bellowed "Its a game of inches". At the level of the game Liverpool are trying to play there is no room for errors and they still make too many.

Logan wrote another Eurovision winner in 1992 and perhaps Rafa sings a few bars of "Why Me" to himself each day.

If it does get too much, call McDonalds, they will put you in an ad anyway.

Patience....

While the FAI still search for an new manager an interesting trend is visible in the Premier League.

As we speak only one of the top ten changed their manager so far this season (Chelsea) and only one other has changed manager in the close season (Manchester City).

The rest have had managers in situ well into their second season or even longer, up to Ferguson and his 21 year reign at Old Trafford.

Does this mean that standing by your man will lead to success?

Well lets look at the bottom half of the table. Seven of them have changed manager this season. With only three to go down at least four of them can say that the change "worked" and relegation was averted.

In fact the three that have stuck with their manager (Middlesbrough, Reading and Sunderland) are all right in the relegation battle and it is feasable that two of them could go down.

Even when relegated it seems staying with your man is best. Bolton stuck with Sam Allardyce and he brought them back up, Birmingham stuck with Steve Bruce and he brought them back up and Aidy Boothroyd looks like he will get Watford back up this season too.

On the whole it seems patience is the biggest virtue a chairman can have. While some are more indecisive than a Green Party member looking at the Lisbon Treaty, those with continued success have stuck with their choice and reaped the reward.

The calls for Roy Keane to come under scrutiny have not started yet. However they are still in the relegation zone with 15 games to go. The next three games include important home games against Birmingham and Wigan, with a trip to Anfield in between. If they come out of those still in the bottom three, and with local rivals Newcastle surfing on a wave of Keegan optimism the knives may start to come out.

I hope that Niall Quinn and the Irish consortium see the big picture and stick with Keane, it would be the brave and correct thing to do.

Unless he wants the Irish job, then let him go Niall. Thanks.

Euro 2008, bet early and often

The regular Saturday visit to the bookies was as uneventful as usual.

Fill in the coupon, convince myself that Carlisle are bound to win at home to Crewe (8/13), go to the counter, lad behind the counter stifles a laugh, takes my money, and then go home, watch Soccer Saturday and discover that Carlisle are leakier than the Mahon Tribunal.

But this morning the Euro 2008 slips were out. So I had to have a look.

Euro 2008 will be interesting, with no teams from these islands involved it makes the betting market true, in the sense that there will be no patriotic money skewing the market.

The obvious thing that jumps out at you is of course Group C with Italy, France, Holland and Romania. Bookies have Holland as third favourites but I am not so sure France can perform this time.

In the overall market Germany are 4/1 and I think I will get on this now and steadily invest over the next 6 months. They are in a very easy group with Croatia and then arguably the two worst teams in the tournament, Poland and Austria.

Winning the group lines up Portugal or the Czechs and they will avoid Spain, France, Italy and Holland until the final.

With the Germans record in tournaments and their ability to win penalty shoot-outs is is hard to see past Joachim Loewe's men.

So next Saturday I will start the investment, hand over the money and wait. The final is on June 29th so I hope the lads behind the counter are ready on June 30th.

It should be me laughing that day. In the meantime fingers crossed for West Brom at home to Cardiff (4/6).

Compromised Rules

It seems the GAA and AFL (Austalian Football League) are meeting next week to discuss the resumption of the "International Rules" series.

The arguments you will hear is that the players really enjoy representing their country, it increases the profile of the game internationally and is a reward for players from some of the smaller counties to play at a higher level.

While there is some validity to the above arguments I dont think they outweigh the negatives of this doomed series.

The main problem is the game itself. It is not very skillful, exciting or good to watch. I have attended a few of the games and they are largely very boring. While Gaelic Football and Aussie Rules are great to watch, the combined game is not.

The violence of the encounters in recent recent years is certainly another downside and there is little that could be done about it when you have 30 physical and fit players, playing a full contact, high speed sport that they only have limited time to practice for. Add to that referees who are similarly inexperienced and it is a recipe for disaster.

The life of a professional Austraian Rules footballer is already appealing enough for young men here, God knows you would not begrudge anybody going over to try it.

So I would rather Nickey Brennan was meeting the Australian authorities to ensure clubs and counties who invested in young players here were compensated adequately for their time and effort rather than give our best players the opportunity to get seriously injured on an annual basis.

One down, how many to go?

So David O'Leary does not want the Ireland job.

Don't worry Dave, the feeling was mutual.

Even from a list of has-beens, never-beens and Mr Beans he was never a popular option so was never a realistic option.

Tellingly O'Leary claimed that he felt the job was destined for Venables so no point having the interview.

It does seem the front runner is the name that keeps coming up and he does fit all of John Delaney's criteria of experience, at both club and international level.

But if you think Bertie has an interesting banking history you should read "Broken Dreams", Tom Bower's book on football corruption. El Tel features heavily and while these matters do not directly relate to managerial ability, they do show a man with an obsession with having many fingers in many pies and you would have to question his commitment.

At a time when we bemoan the players lack of commitment, early retirement from international football and at times disinterest in even turning up, we need a manager who really wants to succeed.

You get the feeling that Venables, a man who always has an eye out for a good opportunity to make a few quid, may have fallen on a handy pension fund top up only an hour from London.

The Magnificent Seven

Good things come in sevens.

Dwarfs, Samurai and Deadly Sins are prime examples.

Perhaps now we can add to this a top seven in the English Premier League?

Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea continue to battle for the title but with 16 games left 4 more teams are huddled together on 39 points.

While neither Liverpool, Everton, Aston Villa or Manchester City will win the league this year there is little between them in terms of progress and prowess at the moment.

While Liverpool have gone backwards the other three have come on this season, through solid management and wise investment in good players.

It has been expensive, especially in City's case, but in the hands of Moyes, O Neill and Eriksson a "Big Seven" is possible and a more exciting, varied and interesting Premier League could be on the way.

Bad things also come in sevens.

S Club, Secret and Seas Cod Liver Oil are all prime examples.

This putative "Big Seven" could be the final push to discard the rest of English football and set up a proper European League.

This would eliminate what shred of integrity is left in big time football and permanently exclude Irish teams from European competition.

The proposed All-Ireland football league would improve the standard and facilities here and give us a base on which to build a few teams capable of succeeding in Europe.

We watch the games, applaud the noble efforts of Villa and Everton ( I find it hard to feel much warmth for City and it's recent source of wealth) but if a group of seven get a chance, they will definitely get hitched to Euro League.

Like brides for brothers.

FA Why?

Welcome to the first post on the newest sports blog in Ireland.......ok now I am probably not the newest.....damn typing speed.

Anyway the topic that finally inspired me to start this is the search for a new manager by the Football Association of Ireland.

Steve Staunton left the job on the 23rd of October. That's 12 weeks this Tuesday. In those three months such august entities as the English FA, Fulham, the Liberal Democrats in the UK, the good people of Georgia and the African National Congress have all chosen a new head honcho.

The only people taking longer than the FAI to choose a new boss is the PDs and they are now thinking, "why bother, lets just jack it in, nobody will notice"

Is that the plan? Has John Delaney decided that we don't need a boss? No embarrassing press conferences, no expensive contract pay offs, in fact, think of the money we could save if we didn't bother entering these annoying tournaments at all.

We will be without a manager for the World Cup fixture meeting this week and it looks increasingly likely we will be without a manager for the Brazil friendly on Feb 6th.

If you had any faith in them you would hope they were waiting for the right man (all suggestions gratefully received) to be come available.....if you had any faith in them.....if you had any faith in them....

Crosby, Skills and Cash

Want to know why "Soccer" will never take off in the United States?

It has nothing to do with David Beckham and little to do with their lack of understanding of the finer points of offside.

The reason is Ice Hockey and the player who makes it one of the best games on Earth right now is Sidney Crosby.

While American Football, Baseball and Basketball are all more popular, Hockey was the sport that the US soccer authorities targeted as vulnerable to being overtaken in the hearts of US Sports fans.

However when Sidney Crosby joined the National Hockey League (NHL) in 2005, Major League Soccer may as well have given up.

The Canadian was the first pick in the first round draft in 2005 and joined the Pittsburgh Penguins. Widely regarded in amateur hockey his appearance in the professional game was hotly anticipated.

He did not disappoint. He broke the record for most points in a rookie season with 102 (Points for players are scored in hockey with one for each goal or assist ), finishing with 39 goals and 63 assists.

Last season the 20 year old scored 120 points, (84 goals, 36 assists) which led the NHL, and he also won the Most Valuable Player award and the Outstanding player award for 2007.

This season he is joint top points scorer and leads the NHL in assists.

But stats don't do this guy justice. You know when you watch Roger Federer or Michael Jordan or Diego Maradona and they seem to be playing an entirely different game to everybody else?

You know these people were born to do this and thank God we are around to see it.

Last night the Penguins played a struggling New York Rangers team. Crosby was incredible, gliding past defenders, setting up two goals and generally being mesmerising to watch.

You know how good watching Tiger at Augusta or Shefflin at Croker is? Well Hockey clubs play 100 plus games a year. Crosby averages 20 minutes a game but it's a wonderful, all action 20 minutes.

Ice Hockey is in many ways a faster, more violent and graceful version of "soccer". There is no diving, more goals and non stop action.

For being the doyen of his sport "Sid the Kid" earns about 8.7 Million US Dollars a year. Even allowing for endorsements from Reebok and others he probably clears 10 Million Dollars a year.

Beckham is reportedly on 50 Million a year from the LA Galaxy.

Pay for US Sports Channels, stay up late, go into work bleary eyed and tell them you were watching a master in action all night.

The US Sports public don't want Beckham right now, they have a legend being made to watch.