Our columnist is baffled and disappointed by Alex Ferguson’s decision to air dirty linen in public

What a week it has been in the world of Irish football. Providing players and staff with a stern test of character, our final qualifying double header was never going to be smooth sailing but little did we expect events around the two games to spark off so much debate and even controversy.

Tonight’s match against Germany in Cologne is as tough as it gets at international level, with a win for the hosts guaranteeing their inevitable place at the World Cup finals next summer in Brazil.

After both Manchester sides slumped to unexpected defeats in the Premier League last weekend, it was always going to be interesting to see how they reacted in the Champions League this week.

Our columnist responds to Darron Gibson’s headline-grabbing interview this week before lifting the (toilet) lid himself on an odd prelude to Brighton’s game against QPR

If the FAI know who they want to replace Giovanni Trapattoni, then they should get him in before next month’s double header with Germany and Kazakhstan and give everybody, from players to fans, a lift in morale.

I suppose with all the hype in the media and the growing pressure on Giovanni Trapattoni since the European Championships last summer, it didn’t come as a huge surprise to anybody to see him relieved of his duties less than a day after the defeat to Austria in Vienna which effectively made it impossible for Ireland to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil next summer.

Now that dust has settled from Friday’s defeat at the hands of Sweden, I’m still trying to find some positives ahead of tonight’s game against Austria in Vienna.

IT’S fairly obvious that the next few days will determine if we will have a realistic chance of getting to Rio for the World Cup next year.

When will CUH learn that data protection is critical to the hospital?