Japan’s meeting with Russia at the 2002 World Cup produced one of Eamon Dunphy’s most famous RTÉ moments.

The lads from Sky, who landed on a mercy mission Thursday, reminded me why I’ll never go to a World Cup, writes Larry Ryan

Stand by for another golden age of sportswriting. Perhaps even newspapers can yet be saved, writes Larry Ryan.

“People were raving afterwards about Tommy Craig. He has great skill and he is strong… When you are watching a game it looks like he’s making a great contribution. But that is on the premise that what he is doing on the ball is what it’s about at that level. And it is not. Maybe it should be. It would be nice if it were.

TV3 set its stall out on Ireland AM by booking a stylist to select the perfect match outfit. These people know Rugby Country alright.

Are our hearts truly in these inquests any more, asks Larry Ryan.

Giles, a lovely gentle film by Loosehorse, retraced the route through a football life of our greatest football man, writes Larry Ryan.

Larry Ryan on what we’ll miss most from Gilesy…   

It is not an uncommon scenario; the rugby man, with all his connections and influence, sending the football man, with his talents, away from the office disappointed.

The very first manager to have “lost the dressing room”, according to Google, was John Barnes in 1999.

Many people were agitated on Wednesday evening, but to many others there was great comfort on offer on RTE 2.

In the foreword of John Giles’s book The Great And The Good, Eamon Dunphy told us: “John is undemonstrative by nature. But his passion for the game is real and deeply felt.”

Here's the sporting year in [guff] quotes.

The axe swung. Experience counted for nought.

Chips and chocolate, for some of us at least, still hold most of the answers.

If you want to see the ultimate in cringe inducing grandad dancing, check out acclaimed football pundits, Eamon Dunphy and Johnny Giles on Youtube.

“We’ve got Buckfast and breakfast baby!”

"One day it might indeed all end, but Eamo’s show will surely go on forever."

Troubling times — a new international superstar and nobody’s sure what to call him.

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.

Roy Keane’s latest 11th-hour World Cup withdrawal dealt a massive blow to ITV’s drawing power in Ireland, suggests the results of a new survey.

ROY’S REWARD — ENGLAND STILL ON COURSE FOR 2022

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

“Some of the biggest names in football… they were sitting on the bench, looking for direction. I thought, ‘Jesus Christ. What do I do here?’ And then I thought I’d just better do what got me there in the first place. They seemed to think it was okay, what I did, after a while.”

Pep Guardiola was likened, by The Guardian columnist Raphael Honigstein, to Spanish clothing retailer Zara this week — a comparison first made by ex-Barcelona treasurer Xavier Sala-i-Martín.

We had a bit of fun out of controvassy, while it lasted. But it’s hard to see where controvassy can go from here.

Entente Cordiale, surely? King for a day, or two. No need to pepper the makeshift throne.

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

The two finest football pundits to work during what we must call the Premier League era were in notable action this week; albeit not on Premier League duty.

Hod and Rod. Two men made for centre stage inched back into the glare this week.

It was a notable week in comedy. The Office screened for the last time in the USA. The first trailer emerged of America’s take on Gavin & Stacey. It was the 15th anniversary of the final Seinfeld.

I brought some German colleagues to the dogs a few years ago. It might well be the last time anyone from their nation turned elsewhere for sporting inspiration.

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

Jack and Wes. The neighbour’s lad and our own. We clung to these slight men this week with a need that might have looked a touch desperate.