It was a case of in with the old but also in with the new, when Vera Pauw yesterday unveiled her provisional squad for Ireland’s crucial Euro 2021 qualifiers.

Champions Dundalk opened their season with a victory for the first time in three seasons as Dane Massey popped up with a 79th-minute winner to break Derry City hearts at Oriel Park.

Cork City could be in a line for a welcome windfall if negotiations with Preston North End about a partnership reach a successful conclusion.

Aston Villa striker Scott Hogan has joined Birmingham on loan after being recalled from Stoke, the Premier League club have announced.

League One Shrewsbury have been handed a dream trip to Chelsea in the FA Cup fifth round if they can find a way past Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Tottenham booked a fourth round trip to Southampton after surviving a late scare in a 2-1 win over Middlesbrough.

After the devastation of October’s Olympic qualifiers, John Jackson is grateful for a quick return to an Irish shirt and attempt to heal some of the wounds from Vancouver.

Davis played underage football for the Republic of Ireland up to U17 level during a five-year spell on the books at Reading.

Allegations of racism again marred the weekend’s football schedule, with Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger the victim during his side’s win at Tottenham.

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.

After his release by Reading in May, Irish defender Paul McShane was left hunting for a club to get his career back into gear. Brian Barry-Murphy’s Rochdale provided the kickstart he needed, writes David Sneyd.

Rochdale have signed former Republic of Ireland defender Paul McShane on a short-term deal, the Sky Bet League One club have announced.

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

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

Former Irish footballer David Meyler has announced his retirement.

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

Manchester United have condemned racial abuse which was aimed at midfielder Paul Pogba on social media after his missed penalty in the 1-1 draw at Wolves on Monday night.

A Cork City legends side will be reeling in the years at Turner’s Cross next month as they take to the field for Alan Bennett’s testimonial game.

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.

Promotion favourites Fulham suffered a blast of Championship reality with a shock opening-weekend 1-0 loss at Barnsley.

The squad travels to California on Monday with assistant coach Tom O’Connor managing the team for the game in the wake of Colin Bell's departure.

John O’Shea has returned to Reading as a first-team coach.

John O’Shea has returned to Reading as a first-team coach.

Cork City have been warned by Pat Devlin that they’ll face a tough task to rescue their season with a FAI Cup run.

He links up with former Reading boss Jaap Stam.

Manchester United fans were involved in more football-related arrests where racism was an aggravating factor or a feature than any other club in England in the four seasons up to 2017-18, data from the UK Home Office shows.

Stephen Kenny cited a gruelling schedule for Ireland U21s not pushing Brazil harder in yesterday’s Toulon Tournament semi-final.

Stephen Kenny insists his U21 heroes will relish their Toulon Tournament semi-final against Brazil.

Ireland U21 manager Stephen Kenny has defended his decision to call-up League of Ireland players despite Stephen Bradley’s desire for them to be excluded.

John O’Shea ended his professional career to appreciative cheers and a guard of honour as he made his final appearance as a late substitute in Reading’s 0-0 draw with Birmingham City at the Madejski Stadium.

Former Republic of Ireland captain John O'Shea will retire at the end of the season, his current club Reading have announced on Twitter.

Discount clothing retailer Primark is to move all of its buying, sourcing and merchandising staff and functions to its Dublin headquarters.

Kevin Doyle believes Shane Long can still be the main man up front for Ireland in their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.

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.

John O’Shea believes Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s own experience as a Manchester United ‘super-sub’ is one of the main reasons he has been able to get so much out of the current squad at Old Trafford.

O'Neill was a hugely animated figure and was lectured by referee Jeremy Simpson after straying from his technical area and down the side of the pitch once too often.

Petr Cech will bring the curtain down on his glittering career at the end of the season.

The former Republic of Ireland boss helped Forest win the European Cup twice as a player.

Holders Chelsea are safely through to the fourth round of the FA Cup but Premier League Cardiff were victims of a giant-killing act by Gillingham.

It’s easy to believe the FA Cup has lost a bit of its shine after Arsene Wenger lifted the famous trophy three times in four years but still lost his job because it was the ‘only’ thing he won; but that doesn’t mean there aren’t clubs going into this year’s third round desperate to reach Wembley.

Midfielder Glenn Whelan will lead Ireland out as captain against Northern Ireland for what will be his 85th senior appearance. The Aston Villa man will not be part of the squad for the Denmark game.

James McClean was subjected to a torrent of abuse for refusing to wear a Remembrance Day poppy in Stoke’s 0-0 draw against Middlesbrough. He later took to social media where he labelled a section of supporters “uneducated cavemen”.

The Irish women’s team’s Olympic Games hopes received a huge boost as they were confirmed as one of the host nations for the next phase of qualifiers for Tokyo.

Not many managers can claim to have sent a referee into early retirement but Mourinho was accused of precisely that in one of his first European adventures with Chelsea.