Sport

January 2021

Ole on the line: Ole Gunnar Solkjaer can put United six points clear on Sunday if they can pull off the unthinable with a win at Anfield

Liverpool need to silence doubters with United win

Manchester United are top of the Premier League table. But they are still not a title-winning team, though.

Worked well: Vinny Perth and Stephen Kenny won plenty at Dundalk

Kenny needs to pick his own man, Perth fits the bill

It's been a rough week for Stephen Kenny, with the loss of Damien Duff and Alan Kelly - and I don't know their reasons - from the Ireland coaching staff.

Contenders: Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne (left) and Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes battle during the Carabao Cup semi-final match at Old Trafford

Heat is on United to prove they are contenders

Manchester United get the chance to leap above Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table tonight and we are about to find out whether they can handle the pressure of challenging for the title.

Winning run: Manchester United’s Eric Bailly celebrates at
the final whistle after the Premier League win over Aston
Villa at Old Trafford

Derby cup tie is a chance to make real statement

The jury is still out on Manchester's top two sides as they prepare to go head-to-head at Old Trafford this evening - and the outcome could have a huge impact on the season.

December 2020

Unsettled: Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has been showing an interest in joining another club. Photo: Adam Davy/PA Wire

Salah testing the waters but he is still a huge asset

Mohamed Salah has shown some signs of discontent at Liverpool in recent days, but this is not the moment for him to be pushing for a transfer.

Manchester United’s Paul Pogba celebrates after scoring against RB Leipzig in the Champions League. Photo: REUTERS/Odd Andersen

United must dump Pogba

It's a very strange Premier League season when Manchester United can be as frustrating and as inconsistent as they have been all year, and yet by tomorrow they could be just two points off the top of the Premier League table.

Game over: Stephen Cluxton of Dublin and Martin Reilly of Cavan fist bump after the All-Ireland SFC semi-final at Croke Park

Don't kill soul of the GAA

The GAA is largely about identity. Without that sense of place, it's just another sporting organisation.

Limerick’s Tom Morrissey scores his side’s 27th and last point, in the 80th minute, during the All-Ireland SHC semi-final

Let families go to the finals pleads Treaty's Morrissey

Limerick forward Tom Morrissey said that the return of small crowds to racecourses and football grounds in the United Kingdom this week should pave the way for families of players in the All-Ireland finals to be allowed to attend.

Cavan manager Mickey Graham and players stand for Amhrán na bhFiann prior to the Ulster SFC final against Donegal at the Athletic Grounds in Armagh

Cavan bring energy and chaos to Croker

Tomorrow's All-Ireland semi-final is a David and Goliath clash from the Book of Sam, 2020 Edition.

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reacts after defeat by PSG

Old Trafford's fear factor is a long time gone

For a huge part of my career the one ground I didn't look forward to playing in was Old Trafford. The derby games when I was at Manchester City proved to be the exception - they were a bit different, those matches always had an edge.

Caoimhín Kelleher celebrates victory with manager Jurgen Klopp

Kelleher should bide his time as Alisson back up

I was at the Liverpool-Manchester City game in the U23 Premier League last Saturday, when Caoimhín Kelleher didn't have the best of days: Liverpool were beaten 7-2 by City, in an empty training ground.

Katie McCabe of Republic of Ireland celebrates after scoring during the Women’s Euro 2022 Qualifier against Germany at Tallaght Stadium. Photo: Sportsfile

Pauw: I want to continue

Vera Pauw had just seen her women's unlikely attempt at keeping their European Championship hopes alive end in defeat when she gathered her deflated squad around her in the bowels of the deserted Tallaght Stadium.

Mayo’s Lee Keegan bumps into Dublin’s Alan Brogan (left) and Paul Flynn during the 2015 All-Ireland SFC semi-final in Croke Park. Photo: Sportsfile

Tipp shock on cards as GAA need to wise up on issue of concussion

I wouldn't say I was actively watching Match of the Day on Sunday night but the incident in the Arsenal v Wolves game, that left Raúl Jiménez with a fractured skull and David Luiz playing most of a half with blood seeping from his forehead definitely commanded the attention.

November 2020

We never give in: Ole

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has hailed Edinson Cavani and his Manchester United side for sticking to the club's tradition of late winners by overcoming Southampton in the Premier League.

Dublin’s Lyndsey Davey jinks around Armagh’s Catherine Marley (l) and Niamh Coleman

Bohan begs for an increase on final numbers as Dubs pick off Orchard

Back in May, mindful of the strain on players' increasingly covid-complicated lives and the fading light of the sporting year, Mick Bohan advocated for the 2020 championship to be cancelled.

Former Ireland international Keith Treacy pictured at home in Dublin in 2016

'With mental health, football is reactive'

He was sitting in the bath when it hit him that he was depressed and needed help.

Liam Buckley’s Sligo side were beaten 4-0 on their last visit Tallaght Stadium but he says Shamrock Rovers are ‘not unbeatable’

Buckley's boys look for a way to outwit Ireland's 'Invincibles'

The theory that every team has a weakness will get its sternest test, from an Irish point of view, tomorrow, when former Shamrock Rovers player and manager Liam Buckley has to try and find a way to do what no one else in the country has done for 14 months: outwit his former club.