Republic of Ireland’s fans were outnumbered by 10 to one, but injury to Joe Allen and a goal from James McClean ensured the volume was turned down on WalesIt was billed as the biggest game in this country since 1993 and for Wales the sense of deja vu come the end was suffocating. Once again the World Cup finals will pass them by, just as they did 24 years ago, when Paul Bodin’s penalty kick thudded against the crossbar in their critical qualifier against Romania. This time it was the Republic of Ireland’s turn to spoil the party as Martin O’Neill’s side kept alive their own hopes of travelling to Russia next summer with the sort of victory that has...
Punishment for a leg-breaking challenge needs to be harsher than for swearing at an official but a zero-tolerance approach from referees is required most of allStop me if you have heard this one before but Neil Taylor is really not that sort of player. Like his fellow Wales full-back Chris Gunter he is one of those slight, modern professionals who seems so softly spoken and well-mannered one wonders how he ever got so far in such a rough old game.Séamus Coleman’s leg is still broken though, so this is not to excuse the Aston Villa defender’s rash tackle in the game against the Republic of Ireland, just to ponder what can be done to set the balance straight. Related: Séamus...
The broken leg suffered by the Republic of Ireland defender against Wales is a lesson for anyone who thinks players should be able to get away with more in certain fixturesIt doesn’t get any easier, no matter how many times you watch it. The way he lands, his instinctive reaction to assess the damage, the split second where you just hope your first suspicions might be wrong. But then Shane Long is cradling Séamus Coleman’s head and that is the point when you don’t need confirmation from any doctor or press officer. You know it’s snapped, you know that’s him done.And, deep down, you know this is one of those occasions – “a good old British game”, to use the...
Leicester City’s title win was every bit the fairy story, as was Wales’ run at Euro 2016, but England displayed their unerring ability to ruin the moodThe year 2016 was a terrific one for the Premier League and a terrible 12 months for English football. Leicester City’s title success was every bit the fairytale, the perfect antidote to long-held and justifiable fears that ordinary clubs could no longer dream of glory as the bigger institutions and the Champions League elite had effectively ringfenced all the prizes worth winning. Related: A 2016 football moment to remember: Dejan Lovren sets the Kop on fire | Paul Doyle Arsenal and Tottenham are particularly guilty of dithering instead of cashing in on managerial changes elsewhereI've...
Leicester City’s unlikely Premier League title is likely to make them favourites, but they will have strong competition from Team GB, Wales’s footballers and England’s rugby union sideIf the most important factor for the judges is which team’s achievement was the most unlikely, they should look no further than Leicester City. Money doesn’t just talk in the Premier League, it stands an inch from your ear and shouts into it with a megaphone, and no one, probably not even Claudio Ranieri’s mother, had Leicester down as title contenders. Promoted from the Championship in 2014, they had escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth and many tipped them to go down after they sacked Nigel Pearson to bring in Ranieri....