QUESTION: WILL SPILLANE SLIP SEAMLESSLY BACK INTO THE ROLE OF ANALYST?

DON’T you know well he will. This is 1986 all over again, his chance to prove himself, all over again. Con Houlihan said ‘for the last time’ are the four saddest words in the English language. To his fellow countyman, ‘all over again’ are the sweetest.

You can almost see him now, driving the never-ending road from Templenoe, tapping the steering-wheel, muttering “I’ll show them I’m not gone soft.” Judging by his comments in last weekend’s Sunday Tribune, we can expect some artistic tension too. He more or less said the quality on the other side of the low table suffered due to his not being there: even if you hate him, you’ve got to love the depth of his self-belief.

We need a rogue in there. We also need a few more straight-talkers. After 2008, the Summer of the Studio Sidestep, the slate is wiped clean again.