There’s a hackneyed old cliché which should be clipped out of the storyboards of those who create adverts, TV shows and movies.

Tonight the Airtricity League kicks off after a 12-round close-season that left even Roddy ‘Queensbury Rules’ Collins punch-drunk. After all the off-field attrition – though the battle scars are yet to heal – a football match will break out.

AT a press conference on Tuesday, I asked Robbie Keane if he could recall the first time he’d attended a match at Lansdowne Road as a supporter.

EVER opened up a book and felt like you were looking in a mirror? Your correspondent had that experience this week and, no, before you ask, it wasn’t The Great Gatsby. Or even the latest Harry Potter.