CITY should count themselves very lucky that we only scored the six goals.

ROY Keane admitted after Saturday’s FA Cup loss to Wigan that a supporter told him he should be ashamed of the performance his team offered up.

IT’S 10 days since we left the Stadium of Light deflated after dominating the Newcastle match, but only getting a point, yet the mood around Wearside going into this weekend’s fixture at Everton is one of optimism.

THERE’S a saying ‘you can’t buy class’ and this was particularly evident on Saturday. Chelsea may have poured millions of pounds into their stadium, their team and the club, but this is not football. In fact, it’s not even close. The house that Roman built is a poor imitation.

AFTER the euphoria of four successive home wins lifted us away from the drop zone, picking up only one point from games against Derby, Portsmouth and Everton in recent weeks has dragged us right back down.

YOU might be inclined to think that Damien Fitzhenry could have picked a different game to make his comeback in the Allianz National Hurling League after injury, rather than lining up against All-Ireland champions Kilkenny on Sunday, even though it’s a home game in Wexford Park.

FINALLY we have seen some football that gets the heartbeat up a notch or two. The Everton game, especially, proved to be one of those good old fashioned cup ties.

YOU know something is going wrong with the season when my car’s CD player for away day trips is overflowing with The Smiths and Joy Division to cheer me up on the way home.

FOR as long as I can remember our games at St Andrews have been as dull as ditchwater with very few goals — and so it proved again.

YOU know it’s been a disappointing campaign when you are left clinging to the PFA Awards for some solace. Yet in a season of such scant reward for such high-class entertainment, it’s of some comfort to see four Arsenal players voted by their peers in the PFA’s Premier League team of the season.

WHEN a childhood pal decides to get married in the middle of the football season it raises several dilemmas. Do I choose friends or football?

AS you read this I will be preparing to make my second trip to the northwest in four days — cheers FA — thus further expanding my already extensive knowledge of the M6. And Bolton comes at the end of seven days which started with a hop over to Bremen.

ONLY Stephen Hunt will know whether his “challenge” on Cech was a deliberate attempt to make his presence felt early on in the match or an accident.

I’M LED to believe Arsene Wenger turned the air blue in the bowels of the Stade de France last Wednesday, during a post-match barney with French coach Raymond Domenech that made le Prof and Pardew seem like bosom buddies.

EVEN when all those professional pundits were waxing lyrical at the start of the season about Liverpool, and their title winning credentials, José said that our main threat would come from United and Arsenal; looks like he was right (again).

AT 12.40pm on Saturday José Mourinho finally revealed what some of us have suspected for some time — that his top priority for 2007 is the Champions League.

CLARE 2-21 Limerick 0-10. Limerick manager resigns. Antrim 9-39 Roscommon 0-5. Galway 7-18 Laois 2-13. Waterford 3-22 Westmeath 1-14. Three more lop-sided results from this past weekend’s hurling action in the All-Ireland qualifiers and Christy Ring Cup.

JOSE MOURINHO opens his European campaign tonight with a promise that he will not walk out on Chelsea if he wins the Champions League.

THE All-Ireland junior football grade doesn’t get the respect it deserves, according to Kerry manager Buddy O’Grady.

The All-Ireland champions had Roy Keane at training the week before last, and we sent Michael Moynihan to Thurles to see what the after-effects of the visit were. He didn’t bring any prawn sandwiches.