Billo was a man who truly made himself at home on telly, and invited us all in.

“We’ll leave it there, so,” as he’d say himself, but let’s face it — we don’t want to.

Last year, when I met Bill O’Herlihy for the first and only time just days before his last broadcast anchoring the RTÉ football panel, he made one of those characteristic self-depreciating comments as we were finishing up.

If the RTÉ studio was the dressing room, Bill O’Herlihy was the team manager, Liam Brady reflected last night.

A word to the wise: The final say on sport in 2014

Same as it ever was… Same as it ever was… Same as it ever was… Same as it ever was… Same as it ever was… Same as it ever was… Same as it ever was… Same as it ever was.

With Lee Dixon left to carry the fight for ITV — and even he wouldn’t command much of a purse — it’s already turned into a straight battle off the field between RTÉ and BBC.

The sights and sounds of World Cups.

Bits and pieces from the sidelines in Brazil

They came to bury Moyesy, certainly not to praise him.

It is hard to imagine now, but as lately as 16 years ago it hadn’t crossed the fine minds at Sky Sports that people would watch men watching football.

“They are enthusiasmus,” protested Giovanni Trapattoni before the start, falling back on his favourite word, one more time.

With Morrissey in the house, we started something we couldn’t finish.

Right from the opening exchanges, the night held promise. Key men on their games, getting stuck in, making their presence felt.

Put it down to guilty conscience.

‘Ooofff!’

Enough’s enough for Eamo but Brady won’t abandon Trap’s ship just yet

1. Ailis McSweeney revealed Derval O’Rourke’s preparations in intimate detail: “She was in her own bed with her coaches in comfortable surroundings until two days ago.”

RATINGS WINNER

Ominously, divisions in the Irish set-up were evident early in the evening. Tony ‘Woodward’ O’Donoghue and George ‘Bernstein’ Hamilton being persecuted for their craft.

BUM DEAL FOR SWEDES

It’s the kind of complicated, high degree of difficulty flick you really only see nowadays on the very biggest occasions.

There’s no app for this column, so in the interests of providing an immersive, interactive experience, how about a quiz?

You don’t spend many hours in front of American TV shows without picking up one or two invaluable life skills; notably the ability to stage, when a suitable crisis point dawns, an intervention.

Yes, says Larry Ryan. No, says Liam Mackey

AFTER the taking of Tallinn, we were officially on Phase 4B of the circle of managerial life — as devised by you-know-who and applied to every Ireland gaffer in recent memory, except perhaps Gilesy.

BY half-time in Andorra la Vella we looked like the Irishmen who went up a mountain but came down a hill.

JEFF Stelling stepped among us mortals last week, holding court in fine style in these pages.

A case of Beauty and the Beast as the Montrose cast take a final bow, says Larry Ryan

After the trigger word ‘Saipan’ was alluded to, Keane quickly and clinically rattled through the shortcomings of half of Capello’s squad.

WITH The Strapping Bull gone to his eternal, er, reward, we came to the couch last night concerned for The Skinny Rat.

GILSEY, Eamo, Ronnie and even Billo himself wore the disconsolate looks of men who had been asked to manage — not merely analyse — that team.

Brass or bag pipes? Not much of a choice, really. But some fans are angry with the Munster Council for replacing the traditional pipe band on final day with a brass band. The TV3 honeymoon is over. They get a lash this week for the quality of their coverage and the GAA is criticised for failing to ensure live championship games are broadcast in Irish on TG4.