THE climax of the domestic season is almost upon us and, for once, we find ourselves hoping that the storm precedes the calm.

STEVIE who?

SO happy birthday Maradona, 50 today. And a belated happy birthday to Pelé, who turned 70 this day last week.

I KNOW we shouldn’t laugh but, a bit like the spectacle of a top banker having his gleaming motor repossessed, the sight of everything that can go wrong going wrong for Man City is a guaranteed source of schadenfreude in these bleak times.

THE economies of these two islands may be going south at a rate of knots but, let’s face it, there’s been only one story in the news this week.

FORGET about Keano in Saipan, Anelka in South Africa or all those rebellious Dutch players down the years who have seen it as their birthright to rail against the perceived idiocy of football’s powers that be. When it comes to both getting mad and getting even in football, none of the above could hold a candle to Bela Guttman.

WHAT’S your favourite piece of Irish football commentary? I’ve always had a soft spot for Jimmy Magee luxuriating in hat-trick hero Don Givens’ demolition of the USSR in 1974: “It’s a beautiful goal. Isn’t it a beautiful goal?”

WHEN Christian Martinez of Andorra ripped a perfect half-volley into the roof of the Irish net on Tuesday night, I believe I may have been heard to exclaim two words, one of which was “me”.

SO farewell then Yerevan, and apologies to sensitive newspaper readers and television viewers at home who might have been exposed to disturbing glimpses of the milky white thighs of the travelling Irish press corps over the past 48 hours.

IF THE prospect of a long, dark winter ahead fills you with gloom, there might be some consolation in reflecting that, while it seems like only yesterday Ireland’s 2010 World Cup campaign came to a shuddering halt, by this time next week the first match of the 2012 European Championship qualifiers will already be part of history. A game for all seasons, football’s big wheel is ever in spin.