Thursday, August 13, 2015

For Extratime.ie: Ruud Gullit - Roberto Di Matteo put Chelsea on the map

Former Chelsea player and manager Ruud Gullit has claimed that it was Roberto Di Matteo who put the Londoners on the map of international football – not current Blues boss Jose Mourinho.

For Extratime.ie: Ruud Gullit - Ireland bought off for €5 million

Ruud Gullit has said that it was natural for fans of the Republic of Ireland to react with disappointment at the news that the FAI had been "bought off" by FIFA in the aftermath of the Thierry Henry handball incident during a World Cup play-off against France in 2009. 

For Extratime.ie: Ruud Gullit - MLS full of potential

Major League Soccer is successfully tapping into the "unbelievable" potential of the sport in America, with the United States national team benefitting from the growth of the game there according to Dutch legend Ruud Gullit – and the former LA Galaxy boss believes that this could continue to entice better players from Europe to move Stateside. 

Thursday, August 6, 2015

For Extratime.ie: Signing for Bray a "no-brainer" says Cherrie

After a stint in the Irish Premiership with Cliftonville, former Dundalk goalkeeper Peter Cherrie is delighted to be back in the League of Ireland with Bray Wanderers having arrived at the Carlisle Grounds during the July transfer window. 

Saturday, August 1, 2015

For Extratime.ie: Cooke "very confident" Bray's off-field issues are behind them

When Mick Cooke agreed to take the Bray Wanderers job following the resignation of Trevor Croly, he became the fifth person to oversee first-team affairs at the Carlisle Grounds in 2015. 

Friday, July 24, 2015

For Extratime.ie: Collie O'Neill - Bratislava the bar we have to reach

Collie O'Neill has just come through a more hectic month as boss of First Division UCD than most Premier Division managers will endure over the course of an entire season, and he admits that the Students' Europa League escapades have taken a physical and mental toll – but he wouldn't trade it for anything, saying: “It's been brilliant, it really has.”

Thursday, July 23, 2015

For Extratime.ie: Slovan Bratislava coach praises "brave" UCD

Slovan Bratislava coach Dušan Tittel was pleased to witness an improvement on his side's first-leg performance against UCD in Slovakia as they booked their place in the third qualifying round of the Europa League with a 5-1 win over the Students in Belfield. 

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

For Extratime.ie: Kenny admits to tough European draw

Stephen Kenny believes that Belarusian champions FC BATE Borisov represent as tough a challenge as Dundalk could have been given from Monday's Champions League second qualifying round draw, but told Extratime.ie after the match-up had been made: “We ourselves are formidable as well.”

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Scarlett Lace for Miss Burlesque Ireland 2015

If you had told Bróna Keegan, stage alias Scarlett Lace, that a mere two years after she started dancing for the first time she would be competing in a national burlesque event, she would have responded: "Absolutely not."

For Extratime.ie: Keane feels best is yet to come from McCarthy

Roy Keane believes that James McCarthy's second half performance in the 1-1 draw with Poland in March is proof that his best is yet to come in a green shirt – but has told critics to lay-off the 24 year old.

Thursday, July 2, 2015

For Extratime.ie: Yadolahi confirms Drogheda United departure

Neil Yadolahi has opted to leave Drogheda United during the summer transfer window in order to pursue options outside of Ireland, where the Dubliner has spent the bulk of his short career to date. 

Saturday, June 27, 2015

For Extratime.ie: Heary denies stepping down as Sligo Rovers manager

In the latest twist in the Sligo Rovers-Owen Heary saga, the Bit O'Red released a statement on Friday evening officially confirming that the Dubliner had “stepped down” as manager – only for Heary to refute that live on Setanta Sports by responding: “I never stepped down. They sacked me.”

Sunday, June 21, 2015

For Extratime.ie: Top 5 Irish appearance holders in European competition

With the qualifying round draws for the 2015/16 Champions League and Europa League set to take place in UEFA headquarters in Nyon on Monday, there is a keen Irish interest in the outcome – and not just from League of Ireland supporters.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

For Extratime.ie: Maloney singled out for praise by Strachan

Scotland manager Gordon Strachan singled out Shaun Maloney for special praise after the 32 year old midfielder once again proved to be a thorn in the side of the Republic of Ireland, playing a key role in helping the Scots earn a point in Saturday's 1-1 draw at the Aviva Stadium.

Friday, June 12, 2015

For Extratime.ie: McClean reveals O'Neill instruction - "Just don't get beat."

James McClean has revealed Martin O'Neill's very specific instruction on what to do differently against Scotland at the Aviva Stadium this weekend following November's 1-0 defeat to the same opposition: “Just don't get beat.” 

For Extratime.ie: If pressure's a problem, you're in the wrong game

Roy Keane has insisted that the players in the Republic of Ireland squad won't buckle in the face of expectation when they take to the Aviva Stadium pitch for this weekend's crucial Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland – and added: “If pressure's a problem to you, then you're in the wrong game.” 

For Extratime.ie: Strachan insists he doesn't know how to play for a draw

Scotland boss Gordon Strachan insists he wouldn't know how to play for a draw even if he wanted to – and has said that he already knows what his starting XI will be for Saturday's massive Euro 2016 qualifying clash against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. 

Thursday, June 11, 2015

For Extratime.ie: Brady ready to build on England performance

Martin O'Neill's experiment of converting Robbie Brady from winger to left-back at international level is set to undergo its sternest examination yet when Scotland travel to Dublin for a make or break Euro 2016 qualifier on Saturday. 

For Extratime.ie: Pearce delighted to secure future ahead of Euro 2016 qualifier

Alex Pearce is delighted to have finalised where he will be playing club football next season, with Derby County’s latest signing keen now to focus on the upcoming crunch Euro 2016 Qualifier against Scotland. 

Sunday, June 7, 2015

For Extratime.ie: Hodgson hopes the past stays in the past

England manager Roy Hodgson has called on England fans to behave themselves in Dublin this weekend as the Three Lions return to Lansdowne Road for the first time since February 1995 – when riots started by a hooligan element forced the abandonment of the game inside half an hour. 

Saturday, June 6, 2015

For Extratime.ie: O'Neill says he and Delaeny don't talk politics

Martin O'Neill has said that he had no prior knowledge beyond what was already made public of the settlement agreement reached between the FAI and FIFA before he took the job as Republic of Ireland manager at the end of 2013 – and reiterated that he and FAI CEO John Delaney have not had any political discussions since his appointment. 

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Went out for a friend's birthday, ended up in a burlesque show.

You couldn't make it up, really. My friend Steo Moran was celebrating his quarter-of-a-century birthday on Saturday night (not half-century, as his mother Carol mistakenly thought), so we went to the Sugar Club venue on Lower Leeson Street to see a show by The Burlesque & Cabaret Social Club.

Thursday, May 7, 2015

For Extratime.ie: Yadolahi eager for return to action with Drogs

Neil Yadolahi may only be 21, but the Drogheda United defender has already played professional football in England, Scotland, Ireland, Turkey and Armenia – coming through a number of trying personal experiences one would normally associate with a player at the end of their career as opposed to one at the beginning.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

'Writer of Extratime.ie's 14,000th article reveals he was told to write for ET sooner'

An odd honour was bestowed upon me yesterday - or rather, I unknowingly bestowed it upon myself - when I learned that my preview of this week's top of the table First Division clash between Finn Harps and Athlone Town for Extratime.ie was the website's 14,000th ever article.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

For Extratime.ie: Brady a genuine option at left-back

At the start of this long international week, Martin O'Neill spoke of the many big decisions he had to make around team selection for this Sunday's massive Euro 2016 qualifier against Poland – with Hull City winger Robbie Brady at the heart of a potentially match-changing decision. 

Monday, March 23, 2015

Philly Hughes is on his way to becoming "top scorer in the league"

I was at the first ever Cabinteely FC-Shelbourne game the other night (I wasn't working at it, though I did write an after the fact match report for Extratime.ie as opposed to my usual on the whistle job) and witnessed Philly Hughes' first league goal of 2015.

Friday, March 20, 2015

I would pay money to see all of these Lucas Lee films

Lucas Lee is an actor who plays the archetypal action hero in the majority of his movies. He saves the day and gets the girl, all while being a badass. What, you've never heard of Lucas Lee? Oh, I forgot to mention, Lucas Lee is himself a work of fiction.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Cillian Sheridan: a maverick worth following

Cillian Sheridan. The man from Cavan appeared on RTÉ's Soccer Republic on Monday night to be interviewed as part of the Irish Abroad segment - and in the face of questions from Tony O'Donoghue, he just completely, almost comically, undersold the impressive nature of every one of his recent career experiences, some of which he'll be hard pushed to ever repeat again. 

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Why I forgot to ask Liam Buckley about Keith Fahey

I attended the 2015 SSE Airtricity League launch at the Aviva Stadium the other week and interviewed a number of different people for Extratime.ie. One of them was St. Patrick's Athletic manager, Liam Buckley. Later in the weekend I realised, to my horror, that I'd forgotten to ask him about the departure of influential midfielder Keith Fahey to Shamrock Rovers.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Footgolf: a new FRANtier

The other day myself and my friend Antony Nardone broke a new sporting frontier (for ourselves anyway) as we went to Deer Park in Howth to play the game of footgolf for the first time.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

My newfound fear of doppelgängers.

The phrase "I am my own worst enemy" has taken on an added dimension and a slightly more terrifying meaning since I first saw Denis Villeneuve's psychological thriller, Enemy.

Fair warning: though this isn't a review, some spoilers are coming, so don't read on if you haven't seen the film because the film is best seen without any prior knowledge of its plot whatsoever.

Friday, February 13, 2015

Hibs make it three from three against Rangers

Rangers 0  Hibernian 2

Hibernian picked up their third win of the season over Rangers at Ibrox as goals from Scott Robertson and Lewis Stevenson were enough to ensure that Hibs leapfrogged Rangers into second place in the SFA Championship table - though still a massive 17 points behind table-toppers Hearts.


Sunday, February 8, 2015

Mike Bassett: Interim Manager. The best sequel we never saw?

Much to my excitement, it was announced in October that a sequel to the 2001 cult classic Mike Bassett: England Manager was in the works, with Ricky Tomlinson set to reprise the role of everybody's favourite fictional manager, Mike Bassett.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015