• Press F5 to refresh this page or use our auto-refresher
• Send your musings via ian.mccourt.casual@guardian.co.uk
• Or whisper some sweet nothings on Twitter @ianmccourt
• Click here for the latest scores in other friendles
It's 1976 and Tony Cascarino is playing for Kestrel Rovers. He's 14 and he has just discovered girls. In fact, one of the reasons Cascarino joined Rovers is because he fancied the sister of a friend who played there. A trial with QPR came to nothing and so he continued to play there for the rest of the season at the end of which he attended their annual end of season awards. "Incredibly my friend's sister still hadn't succumbed to my charms," schmoozed Cascarino but as the midnight hour approached he began to make some headway. That headway was soon halted when the doors burst open and in swooped a bunch of National Front thugs who immediately started abusing one of the player's girlfriends who was black. Within seconds, "it was like a scene from the old cowboy films, with fists and boots flying everywhere and guys running everywhere." Cascarino and his team-mates chased a group of the thugs around the tombstones of an adjoining graveyard. "In the ensuing chaos, a hand grabbed and pulled me from behind; I turned instinctively and punched the bastard in the eye. It was a policeman."
While this story has as tentative a connection to the current Ireland side as Cascarino's right to an Irish passport, it might, at the very least cause the corners of Ireland's mouth to upturn in an indication of amusement. And Lord knows Ireland needs that right now. The country is still in the sort of debt that makes the Mariana Trench look like the £19.99 Chad Valley family swim centre inflatable paddling pool with two equal rings with extra wide side walls from Argos. The youth spend their days, sitting on steps, sharpening their elbows, so that when it comes to their time to race to the next plans/ship/inflatable dingy leaving the country, they won't be left behind. And worse than the debt, worse than the emigration, worse than the politicians saying too much and doing too little, the most despairing, depressing, gloom-inducing aspect of modern Ireland, the one thing that makes you want to tear your hair out and rub the Celtic tattoo off your arm is the fact that Paul McShane can still make it into the national squad.
Ireland has been hit with a tornado of injury concerns ahead of the Euros, hence that McShane thing. Richard Dunne, Seán St Ledger, Glen Whelan, Ronnie Whelan, John O'Shea, Kevin Foley, Keith Fahey, Keith Andrews, Robbie Keane, Roy Keane, Shay Given, Shane Long, Niall Quinn, Michael Collins, Bertie Ahern, John Banville and Jon Walters have all had some sort oohaaah or owwiee over the last week or so. Given and O'Shea are the big ones though and both will sit out today's game but Trap has said that most of the others should play some part in this afternoon's action as he looks at his options before sticking with the same starting 11 anyway for the opening game anyway. Most excitingly, JAMES MCCLEAN STARTS. So too does Kevin Doyle who has a lot to prove after a poor season with Wolves. If you want my opinion on the matter, and you probably don't, I'd start with Shane Long up front with Keano. Trap will be keeping an occhi on Darron Gibson who could yet wangle one of those starting midfield berths. I'll give you the two teams when I have the one from Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Sense dictates that before a major international tournament a team should play a similar one to who they will face come the opening stages of tournament time, in Ireland's case that's Croatia. So why Ireland are playing Bosnia-Herzegovina is beyond me and beyond Jonathan Wilson (excuse me, let me just pick up that name) who has assured me that the two teams are not really that similar tactically. Ignoring that, Bosnia-Herzegovina will (if there minds are not elsewhere with the season now over) be a headmasterly-stern test for the boys in green. They are probably the best side in Europe not to qualify for Euro 2012 and qualify is what they should have done. They were 1-0 against France in the final game, heading for automatic qualification with just 12 minutes left to play. But Emir Spahic gave away a soft penalty which was converted by Samir Nasri and France went through. Afterwards, the Bosnia‑Herzegovina coach, Safet Susic, said: "I am sad for my players who gave everything. I am proud of them and I hope we'll have more luck in the play‑offs." But luck or indeed much else was not with them against Portugal. After a tepid goalless draw at home, they went down to 10-men in the Estadio da Luz and went out of the play-offs 6-2 on aggregate. Read More
انسخ الكود التالى و ضعه فى موقعك او مدونتك.
