THERE came a time in Houllier’s reign when we expected nothing and the team obliged. There was a tangible slice of déjà vu after Saturday.

TAKE heart, all those of you approaching 50!

DISCIPLINARY chiefs in Tyrone have launched a probe into an alleged assault on a referee at the end of Sunday’s SFC final between Dromore and Ardboe.

IRISH goalscoring legend Niall Quinn has added his voice to those who believe that it is now time for Irish football to put the ‘Hand Of Gaul’ firmly behind it and begin to look, with confidence, to the European Championship campaign.

LIE still and stay skewered, damn you. Don’t you just hate it when the sacrificial lamb gets up and blows a big fat raspberry in your leering face? It’s too late in the day for me to start acting the uberfan.

KIDNEY got it right after the Australian game when stating that: “I didn’t think we were a bad team after last year’s autumn internationals and I don’t think we’re a great one now.”

DIDIER DROGBA reckons Chelsea now have the mental edge over their rivals for the Premier League title.

NEW ZEALAND yesterday filed an official complaint over what they believe was an eye-gouge on prop Tony Woodcock following their crushing win over France in Marseilles on Saturday.

IT WAS so cold last Saturday evening in Croke Park that we had to rely on gossip about the world’s most famous golfer to keep ourselves warm.

THESE are trying times to be a manager.

GOALS were the difference in this meeting of neighbours in the Tipperary SHC quarter-final at Semple Stadium yesterday, the two second-half three-pointers by Mid-Tipp champions Drom & Inch enough to ease them onto a semi-final meeting with reigning champions Toomevara next Sunday at the same venue.

IT may have been a routine affair for long stretches, but yesterday’s Evening Echo Cork SFC final in Páirc Uí Chaoimh still managed to conjure up a breathless finish.

CLARE ladies have been knocking on the door of the senior grade for four years now and they finally let themselves in yesterday after withstanding a second-half comeback from Fermanagh.

WE MIGHT as well have been on the high veldt.

GARY CAHILL might remain a largely unknown figure outside Bolton, but his manager Gary Megson has backed him to “be ready for the World Cup” if chosen for next summer’s finals by England manager Fabio Capello.

THE recriminations over the fourth official’s stop-watch in the Manchester derby rumble on and the sense of injustice burns as intensely as ever in the blue half of Manchester.

ALEX FERGUSON feels the knowledge Ryan Giggs is coming to the end of his illustrious career is providing the platform for the Welshman to remain one of Manchester United’s most influential players.

KILKENNY GAA chiefs will lodge a formal complaint with Croke Park in the wake of the chaotic scenes after their All-Ireland SHC final win over Tipperary.

Cork fans seem more rueful than angry after Kerry's All Ireland senior football

ONLY five Irish international airports will be sustainable into the future and European funding will be vital, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary said yesterday.