IN early January, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest played out an entertaining FA Cup third round match at Stamford Bridge.

New FAI deputy chief executive Niall Quinn has refused to dismiss the prospect of Roy Keane returning to work for the organisation.

Mick McCarthy says Shane Long is “back where we need him to be” to stake a claim for a place on the plane to Slovakia, while the manager is prepared to give Ciaran Clark and James McClean as long as he can to see if they are able to recover from injury in time for Ireland’s Euro 2020 play-off on March 26.

Primarily a left-back, Robinson will provide competition for Republic of Ireland international Enda Stevens, who has played every minute Sheffield in the Premier League this season.

Former Ireland U21 goalkeeper Liam Bossin has completed a move to Cork City — and he is set to make his debut at home to Shelbourne on St Valentine’s Day, after the 2020 Premier Division fixture list was revealed today.

On April 15, 1989, in homes and in pubs all across Ireland, people sat down to watch Liverpool play Nottingham Forest in the semi-final of the FA Cup.

The Waterford man, now at Bolton, served a six-week suspension last season while at Nottingham Forest.

Sonia at 50, then.

Nottingham Forest surged to the top of the SkyBet Championship on the back of a 3-2 win at Stoke that increased the pressure on under-fire boss Nathan Jones.

Leeds’ Achilles heel hurt them once more as the Sky Bet Championship leaders were held 1-1 at home by Derby.

Ireland’s flock is all out of offerings to lay at the altar of Joe Schmidt.

Sean Maguire is set to miss Ireland's Euro 2020 qualifier against Switzerland.

Wayne Routledge scored a last-minute winner as Swansea edged their top-of-the-table clash with Leeds at Elland Road.

The song lyrics famously remind us that Spurs always win when the year ends in one but, as Mauricio Pochettino’s side face their north London derby rivals at the Emirates this weekend, Arsenal’s lucky nine could carry just as much weight.

Mick McCarthy is considering delaying a decision on the make-up of his final squad for the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifier against Switzerland and the friendly against Bulgaria, amid concerns about the impact of injuries and the amount of game-time some of those in contention are getting with their clubs.

The striker, on loan from Arsenal, struck just four minutes after his introduction as a 77th-minute substitute.

The draw was made after completion of 33 first-round fixtures last night and includes all the top-flight clubs who are not involved in European competitions.

Social justice campaigner and academic Phil Scraton speaks to Donal O’Keeffe about Hillsborough,and why he thinks the Leaving Cert are unfair.

“I was f****** frozen. I came out a little bit rattled from that.”

Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Kieran O'Hara is heading out on loan for the seventh time in his Manchester United career.

So that’s Friday nearly wrapped up. Here are some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

Martin O'Neill has left his post as manager of Nottingham Forest, the Championship club have announced.

Brendan O'Brien Column B

John Egan, Enda Stevens, David McGoldrick, and possibly Scott Hogan will be plying their trade in the Premier League next season after Sheffield United secured promotion to the Premier League this weekend.

John Egan, Enda Stevens, David McGoldrick, and possibly Scott Hogan will be plying their trade in the Premier League next season after Sheffield United secured promotion to the Premier League this weekend.

Manchester United go into tomorrow's derby with Manchester City on a run of six defeats in eight games.

Second-half goals from Mark Duffy and Enda Stevens saw Sheffield United beat 10-man Nottingham Forest 2-0 to give their hopes of finishing in the top two a much-needed boost.

Conor Hourihane proved the match-winner as Aston Villa continued their charge towards the Championship play-offs with an eighth successive win on Saturday.

The actions of a callous, negligent police force led to the worst stadium-related disaster in English sports history. Three decades later, the fight for justice for the 96 victims goes on, writes Daniel McConnell.

Goal number 13 for the season was far from unlucky for David McGoldrick as his first-half effort gave Sheffield United a 1-0 win at Preston on Saturday, a result that lifted the Blades back into the automatic promotion places in the Championship, after Leeds United lost 1-0 away to Birmingham City.

Former Sheffield Wednesday secretary Graham Mackrell was found guilty of failing to discharge his duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Nottingham Forest manager Martin O’Neill hailed super-sub Daryl Murphy after the veteran striker sparked a comeback against Swansea in Saturday’s Championship clash at the City Ground.

Potential Ireland recruit Patrick Bamford continued his recent rich vein of form on Saturday, netting an early winner as promoting-chasing Leeds won 1-0 at Bristol City.

Also included is Aston Villa's Glenn Whelan, who was expected to have played his last game for Ireland after captaining the side in a 36-minute ceremonial cameo against Northern Ireland in November.

Reid is currently undertaking his UEFA Pro Licence alongside the likes of Robbie Keane, Damien Duff, Keith Andrews, and Jim McGuinness.

Newport County’s remarkable FA Cup odyssey may have ended on Saturday but a 4-1 defeat didn’t stop Irish striker Pádraig Amond from leaving the pitch with a pep in his step.

A glance at the opposition dug-out at Deepdale will send Sean Maguire’s thoughts back to Turner’s Cross and turn him into a star-struck schoolkid, momentarily at least, when he continues his return to fitness with Championship side Preston this afternoon.

If reports of Manchester City’s demise in the title race before Christmas were premature then the ones about the long-term future of Maurizio Sarri as Chelsea manager may be proven completely accurate in the coming weeks.

Midfielder Alan Browne once again demonstrated his goal-scoring prowess when his 11th of the season helped Preston to a 2-1 Championship victory at Bolton.