Manchester United may have finished only sixth in the table last season but they comfortably retained their position as the leading developers of Premier League talent.

For years, there had been a reliance on IRFU assistance to facilitate loan repayment negotiations on the debt arising from the Thomond Park redevelopment,

Arsenal’s schizophrenic, rollercoaster of a season continued at Goodison Park yesterday where Unai Emery’s side maintained the worst away form in the top nine of the Premier League, squandering the chance to move third in the table in the process.

England’s impressive start to Euro 2020 qualification continued with a first ever win in Montenegro, but the 5-1 victory was overshadowed by racist chanting.

This was the day when England and former Republic midfielder Declan Rice found out whether Dexit was really worth all the aggro and, unlike the current political shenanigans haunting London, his strategic exit turned out rather well.

As acts of vindication go, Jordan Pickford’s game-saving block to deny Mohamed Salah as the prolific Liverpool forward looked poised to open the scoring in the first half of a tense Merseyside derby was up there with the best of the Premier League this season.

Patrickswell 1-26 South Liberties 1-13

International football is these days resembling a transfer market and this time Martin O’Neill is nursing the bloody nose.

Unai Emery claimed his first victory as Arsenal manager as the Gunners came from behind to beat West Ham, who are still to claim a point under Manuel Pellegrini, 3-1.

They were struggling for consistency all through the Munster minor round-robin, but Tipperary finally found it on the big day.

Jack Wilshere, Gary Cahill, and Joe Hart will suffer heartbreak today as England manager Gareth Southgate names his World Cup squad.

Theo Walcott's second-half winner against Newcastle moved Everton up to eighth - their highest position in the Premier League table since August.

Here are our player ratings from the Merseyside derby stalemate.

Everton missed their chance to climb to seventh in the Premier League after falling to a 1-0 defeat at Watford.

Burnley have signed Everton winger Aaron Lennon for an undisclosed fee.

Burnley’s impressive start to the campaign is this season’s ‘Cinderella’ story but the stereotype of the Lancashire club led by a gruff ‘old-school’ manager disguises the very effective method behind their rise.

Everton's season - like their search for a manager - continues to drift apparently rudderless after an insipid display in the 5-1 defeat against Atalanta.

Chelsea 2 Everton 1: David Unsworth’s first match as Everton’s caretaker manager ended in a 2-1 defeat at Chelsea in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

David Unsworth, Sean Dyche, and David Moyes are among the frontrunners for the Everton manager’s job after Ronald Koeman was sacked yesterday with the club languishing in the relegation zone.

Thomas Greehy was just 19 when he died in the Civil War trying to remove guns from an IRA arms dump in Co Waterford.

The Toffees sit third bottom in the Premier League after winning just two of their opening nine league games and the Dutchman has paid the price.

Defender Michael Keane believes the players have let down Ronald Koeman as the Everton manager fights for his job.

Everton 2 Arsenal 5: Wayne Rooney turned back the clock 15 years with a superb individual goal against Arsenal but the aftermath of a clinical Arsenal display was more about Everton’s future — or more accurately that of manager Ronald Koeman.

Everton boss Ronald Koeman was forced to endure more disappointment as Lyon consigned his side to an ill-tempered defeat and more Europa League misery.

The struggling Toffees were staring at another defeat when Anthony Knockaert fired Brighton ahead eight minutes from time.

England once again disappointed in victory as Gareth Southgate's men stuttered against Lithuania in the final competitive match before next summer's World Cup.

Harry Kane fired England to next summer's World Cup but his last-gasp winner cannot paper over the cracks after Gareth Southgate's men limped to victory against limited Slovenia.

Everton boss Ronald Koeman insists he is not feeling frustrated at having left Oumar Niasse out of his squad for the Toffees’ Europa League group stage matches.

Wayne Rooney's Old Trafford return ended in disappointment as Antonio Valencia's breath-taking strike set Manchester United on course for a comprehensive victory against Everton.

Manchester City topped the Premier League summer spending chart - despite their bid for Alexis Sanchez falling through.

Premier League spending in the current transfer window is already at an all-time record level, with a week remaining.

Everton's Europa League qualifying play-off first leg victory over Hajduk Split is set to be scrutinised by UEFA after the match at Goodison Park had to be stopped for several minutes due to crowd trouble in the away end.

Everton hold a 2-0 lead in their Europa League qualifying play-off tie against Hajduk Split after a first leg at Goodison Park that had to be temporarily stopped due to crowd trouble in the away section.

Everton last night completed the club-record signing of Gylfi Sigurdsson from Swansea, for a fee believed to be around £45m (€49.2m).

Everton have agreed a deal worth up to £45m for Swansea playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Fantasy Premier League is back, and oh how we’ve missed it!

Fantasy Premier League is back, and oh how we’ve missed it!

Kevin Long appreciates he’s never going to reign supreme in a golf competition amongst his Burnley teammates but he’s well on course to winning a Premier League starting slot from Sean Dyche.

Wayne Rooney's fairytale return to Everton continued as he marked his first appearance since rejoining with a goal.

Swansea have placed a £50m (€56.4m) price tag on Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Manchester United believe they are edging closer to a deal to sign striker Romelu Lukaku from Everton.

Michael Keane last night completed his move to Everton in a deal which could rise to a club record-equalling £30m (€34.1m).

Everton have signed Burnley defender Michael Keane for a fee which could rise to a club-record £30m, the Merseyside club have announced.

What the papers say.

Our man inside the game is braced for an onslaught of Premier League spending as clubs compensate for poor coaching by expensively filling the holes in their squads.

The mother of a young man who fell into a river and drowned after taking drugs said injection centres will bring safer conditions for addicts.

Greetings once more from Paris, where I am covering the presidential election, the result of which is due, as I write, in an hour’s time.

Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney, strikers at contrasting stages of their Manchester United careers, emerged from the shadow cast by the injury to Zlatan Ibrahimovic and invigorated their team’s hopes of an unlikely top-four Premier League finish.

Mauricio Pochettino believes Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli deserved to be on the shortlist for the men’s Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year award.