Football fans of all stripes and none will need no telling that, of late, the quality of Mersey has been strained, writes Liam Mackey.

Martin O’Neill was in the Aviva Stadium press room yesterday to mark the announcement of SPAR as the official convenience store partner of the FAI, writes Liam Mackey.

The self-styled ‘Special One’ has been able to manipulate some of the biggest egos in football in large part by having the most well-developed ego of them all, says Liam Mackey.

"We did forty press conferences last year and the crowd was never as big as this," said John Caulfield with a grin at Cork’s International Airport Hotel yesterday, as a big media contingent turned up to greet Liam Miller on his official touchdown for Cork City.

It was 20 years ago tomorrow, mon dieu, says Liam Mackey.

No matter how successful they might go on to be in management or anything else associated with the game - Liam Mackey writes - I’ve yet to hear a former footballer suggest that his new career ever comes even close to replicating the buzz he experienced as a player.

Can Ireland grab a ticket for Euro 2016 in France?

It’s no small irony that the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil, although almost universally hailed as one of the best tournaments ever, is destined to retain a unique place in football history, not for all its great games and great goals, but because of one match when, to put it at its mildest, the sublime gave way to the ridiculous.

HELLO, good evening and welcome.

In the inky trade, ‘man bites dog’ might be the gold standard for what qualifies as a legitimate news story but, in the case of Roy Keane, ‘man rings doorbell’ appears to be more than enough to merit the full shock ’n awe treatment.