Diary Of Thierry `Moi? Non` Henry….

Yes I’m Irish and as such I was very angry about what happened on Wednesday, but that’s football and if nothing else it has really highlighted the shocking requirement for video refs or at the very least goal-linesmen at each end of the pitch. I could write a very angry piece about the injustice of it all and how FIFA favour bigger countries, blah, blah, blah, but it won’t change the result and we should move on and be very proud of our team. So instead I have Mr Henry’s diary from the following day, I hope you all enjoy….

My Diary

Le Crunch – The big one….Sean Og Vs Jacques

Richard Dunne, Ireland’s defensive stalwart, has begun the Irish assassination and targeting of the French coach.

“It [Domenech's management] could be a weakness or it could be a big smokescreen; France have played really well in their last few games. But if we can get on top of them and try to turn the game into a battle, we feel we have the stronger personalities.”

He continued by commenting on the reaction Domenech received when he took his players for a little down-time to the Paris Masters tennis tournament, and was booed by the crowd once recognised.

“You can see the reaction of the people at the tennis, when they put his face on the big screen,” Dunne added. “The whole place just booed him and his own players laughed at him.” It can hardly fill a population or team with confidence when the manager is a laughing-stock.

Jilted love-child of Hansen and Souness on route to shore up Mersey-side defence?

It is with an extremely heavy heart that I write this posting to my blog. I really had hoped that this would be our year; (Yes. I’m a Liverpool Fan). But once again, like back in Houllier’s penultimate year, it was a false dawn. I’m pragmatic and as such realise that while some will still talk up our chances, we are now, in early November out of the Title race and hanging on by a very thin filament thread of hope to qualifying for the later stages of the Champions League.  So I think it’s about time we used the rest of this season to sort out our defense and this poxy zonal system we currently have which has flattered to deceive for the last two years. And with that in mind we should sign Karen Lambert……

X-Factor required

X-Factor required; what is it about Leinster Schools Senior Rugby?

The Hype

Annually in September, every Leinster Rugby playing school holds its second most hotly contested competition for its 6th year students. It’s a voting process to decide who will be a cheerleader for the SCT, (Senior Cup Team).

Obviously, the hottest of contests is gaining a spot on the SCT squad itself, but for those who know they won’t or can’t play for the squad, being involved is just as important. Why though?

What is it about this competition that holds so much mystique and pride for the schools involved? Is it because of its difficulty to win; due to the fact that every year, every school bar Blackrock College is the underdog? Is it because if you’re on a winning side, you enter the annals of School folklore?

And that’s a fact; borne from the successful series of books written about the fictional Schools Cup winning captain, “Ross O’Carroll-Kelly”, by the Dublin writer Paul Howard.

Time to clear out the Autumn and Winter collections.

Now that another season is almost over the tabloid newspapers can go into overdrive with their relentless summer transfer sagas, which will run and run till September, dragging sales and regular readers along with them.

Last year, we had the pleasure of following Garreth Barry and Cristiano Ronaldo  on their summer holidays. However, and this is where it gets interesting, despite the “Credit Crunch” this summer could put all before it in the shade. There are already a lot of long running stories popping up every so often in the tabloids since January, casual reminders of what’s ahead for 3 months of the year.

“Contenders-Ready?” Seconds out, quarter-finals.

“Whoever wins the Liverpool-Chelsea champions league game will pose our biggest threat, they will have the momentum to continue the chase”,  said a suitably happy Sir Alex Ferguson after he added another new name to lights at Old Trafford on Saturday, following their dramatic late come-back from a goal down to Aston Villa.

The 17 year old Frederico Macheda, who no-one outside of Old Trafford had heard of before Saturday, became the latest in a long line of youngsters to fulfill his potential on the biggest stage. Whether you like or loathe Ferguson, no-one can ever question the amount he has done for young players at his club and the English game in general during his reign.

No moaning about the break….from one side anyway.

This current international break in the EPL could actually be Manchester United’s saving grace this year in their attempt to take a 3rd title in a row. With United having lost their last two games and momentum to Liverpool who are currently dissecting all comers, this must be the first time in Sir Alex Ferguson reign that an International break has worked in his favour.

Wrap him up quick before he catches cold…

Full Flow

Let’s not start off on the wrong foot here; I have not won a Champions League or FA Cup, neither have I won two La Liga titles or ever pretended to have done so. With all this going against me in a straight comparison with Rafa Benitez, he wins hand’s down every time. So, why is it that I can’t fathom most of his selection choices surrounding injured players, that appear detrimental to me anyway, for the big games and the future of the club?

New Objectives take playing for your country to a whole new level.

7 Policemen killed, 5 International Cricketers injured to various degrees with shrapnel wounds and the on-going blaming saga of tit for tat between the Pakistani Cricket Board and the match officials who in their own words were left for dead and to fend for themselves. 

The world is a dangerous place; anyone with a parent or a good school teachers guidance knows this. Yet we all go about our business knowing these risks and not really letting them affect us in our daily lives. Normally, people in the spotlight also just go about their business and while they may have an army of minders, unless they are in a crowd, you wouldn’t notice them. That’s the way private security firms operate. The problem this time was no security and the little security that was provided, ran for their lives.

The Heavyweight Championship of Europe

There is an uneasy history between Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho, but one that contains respect and a mutual understanding that both of them are bigger than the clubs they manage and always will be. Go back to just before the self-titled “Special-One” arrived in England and changed the face of Chelsea forever, he arrived at Old Trafford with a Porto team no-one bar himself, including most of his players, expected to win.