Are you all gripped by the Wagatha Christie trial? A real life whodunit, isn’t it?
Pass the sick bag. They should all be bundled into a van and brought on a long drive.
What nonsense it is but that’s what happens when people have too much money and don’t know what to do with it.
One of the big problems in this game is over exaggerating the importance of things and no better example.
The coverage it’s getting is just remarkable. With clowns like these, is it any wonder why football gets a bad rap at times?
I was at a fundraiser for Cappagh Hospital last Friday at the plush Intercontinental Hotel in Dublin and there I was (briefly) thinking about RebekahVardy and Coleen Rooney.
I was a guest of Dr Alan Byrne and Professor Steve Eustace and anyone involved in Irish football will know the two lads.
Alan is best known as the Long-standing doctor to the Ireland football team and Steve is a radiologist of great renown.
Players, in particular, will know them and when it comes to the pecking order of people you respect in the game, they’re right up there.
They are football mad and steeped in the League of Ireland. I’ve been looked after by them both and the knowledge and support they give is second to none.
And not just in the football world, but across all sports.
Eamon Couglan and Brian Kerr were just two of the people at my table, along with Steve and Alan, but it was a room full of sports stars like rugby legend Keith Wood.
It was a chance for us to give something back to them for all their years of service to players.
You can be pretty selfish when you’re playing and get wrapped up in your own little bubble. You take medical assistance for granted.
I was fortunate not to suffer any serious injuries in my career but I was dogged by osteo pubis and went to see Steve.
He injected my pubic bone but it’s such a delicate procedure, it’s done under x-ray and you watch the needle go in slowly but surely.
Clearly, I’ve never experienced child birth but I’d imagine this is as close as it gets for a man.
As the injection went in little by little, I could feel my hip expanding and I was convinced my pelvis was going to snap.
I’ve honestly never been so panicked in my life, but Steve put me at ease. You know he’ll look after you.
It’s only when you retire that you fully appreciate the role that Steve Eustace and Alan Byrne have played in players’ lives and careers.
They have kept hundreds, if not thousands, of athletes fit and healthy.
So as I try to shield the vomit-inducing Vardy/Rooney ‘drama’ from my eyes and ears, I’ll spare a thought for those who have actually made valuable contributions to the game.
CITY GRABBED BY THE SCRUFF
On TV duty for Rovers v Derry, I looked like someone who had crawled out of a nightclub.
I was rocking the black jeans and black jumper as I thought I was working from the side of the pitch.
But I was actually inside the Tallaght Stadium studio, alongside Declan Devine and Peter Collins who were suited and booted. Scarlet, I was.
It was a cracker though and I was really impressed with Derry. But Rovers’ knack of winning when they’re not at the races sets them apart from the rest.
KEEP THE FAITH
This week’s developments into Match-fixing allegations was front and back page news as well as all over TV.
The joke used to be that the League of Ireland would only get attention when it was bad news.
And there’s no doubt the game has taken another hammering with all of this.
But it’s important that those of us who love it don’t let the heads drop.
This league is going places, everyone can see it and we shouldn’t lose sight of that.
COL INJURY’S A REAL SICKENER
I wish Colm Whelan the best with his recovery from a cruciate injury.
The UCD and Ireland under-21 star (right) was poised to move clubs with interest here and in England.
But cruciates are not what they were in my day, when you could be two years out.
It would also look like an elephant’s arse whereas now it’s six months and you’re left with the George Clooney of knees.
In fact, you could be out longer with a serious hamstring injury so keep the faith Collie.
WELL DONE TO JAKE THE TRAILBLAZER
Jake Daniels seems an impressive character for a kid of 17.
Daniels is the first professional footballer in Britain to come out as gay since Justin Fashanu in 1990.
I’m not aware of any of my former team-mates being gay, not that it would matter if they were.
I just hope I never gave off the impression that I wouldn’t be approachable to talk to someone who might have been facing issues with their sexuality.
Actually, I’d have embraced helping anyone in that situation.
But the fact it never cropped up suggests there wasn’t that environment in the dressing room, which is unfortunate.
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