Previous Day
Buck stops with Staunton
SOCCER: Steve Staunton failed in his attempt to persuade members of the FAI Board of Management to allow him to continue in his job as Ireland manager last night. p
United find the perfect counter
SOCCER/Dynamo Kiev 2 Manchester Utd 4: The
number of players in the treatment room might give Alex Ferguson
cause for concern though an emphatic victory that all but secures a
place in the last 16 should help to ease the Manchester United
manager's state of mind. He surely could not have imagined that
this trip to Kiev without several key personnel would yield four
goals for the third successive match as United secured their place
at the top of Group F. p
Fitzhenry and Comerford recognised by their peers
GAELIC GAMES/Hurling GPA All Stars: The last thing the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) would want with their Opel Team of the Year announcements is for a quick comparison with the GAA All Stars, but of course that's inevitable. p
Soccer
StanSpeak: Steve Staunton's reign in quotes
Steve Staunton's reign in quotes pIn the running: possible successors
Dave O'Leary: As the only Irish contender with extensive experience in the English top flight, the former Arsenal defender is the bookies favourite, at least for the moment. pHard reign finally falls
It would be incorrect to say that the unveiling by the FAI of their world class management team of Steve Staunton and Bobby Robson back in January of last year was greeted with universal exhilaration. Former FAI chief executive Bernard O'Byrne, for one, seemed to have some doubts. "This is a car crash that's going to happen," he said. pIt's win or bust for Liverpool in battle of Besiktas
Besiktas v Liverpool: Three days after Mark Clattenburg consigned the Merseyside derby to history, security staff at Liverpool John Lennon airport were still disputing the referee's status as a friend or pariah yesterday. The debate between red and blue continues, even while frisking, but parochialism was not Rafael Benitez's concern as he departed for the home of his greatest triumph with Liverpool's Champions League security also a matter of conjecture. pRangers are the big winners in scoreless draw
Rangers 0 Barcelona 0: It was far from pretty. In fact, at times, Rangers were forced so deep by Barcelona during this scoreless draw that those in the front rows of the Ibrox stands were in danger of being trampled on, but Walter Smith's team, with seven points from their opening three group matches, now have one foot firmly in the last 16 of the Champions League for the second time in three years. pWalcott thrills crowd in rout
Arsenal 7 Slavia Prague 0: It was difficult to imagine a more perfect evening for Arsene Wenger and Arsenal. The red juggernaut rolled on, to within touching distance of qualification from Group H, with a 12th consecutive victory in all competitions. The club record of 14 edges ever closer. pCech moved by Chelsea's spirit
Chelsea v Schalke 04: Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Rosenborg in the opening Champions League proved to be Jose Mourinho's last game in charge, but goalkeeper Petr Cech believes the team has shown its true spirit by the results since Avram Grant took charge. pMcManus must let doctor decide
Benfica v Celtic: Celtic are still looking for their first away win in the tournament but manager Gordon Strachan insists he will not jeopardise the health of defender Stephen McManus, knocked out in Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Rangers. pSammon's career on upward curve
FAI Cup semi-finals: Twenty three years on from their last appearance in a Ford FAI Cup semi-final, UCD could hardly claim to specialise in the knock-out side of the game. With the help of young striker Conor Sammon, though, they've done better than most on that front this season and head into this Sunday's meeting with Longford Town still hoping to repeat their unlikely triumph of 1984. p
Toner stands tall in terms of talent too
If Devin Toner had a euro for every time he's been asked about playing the piano, then he'd probably be in a position to place a sizeable down payment on a Steinway. The fascination seems to stem from the dynamics associated with the positioning of his 6ft 10in frame. pDewey keen to help Ulster get back on track
Rugby Fixtures: Ulster coach Mark McCall will be able to choose from an ostensibly full-strength squad for Friday night's Magners Celtic League game against Leinster at Ravenhill. The only notable absentee is tighthead prop Simon Best who is enjoying a period of rest following his health scare at the Rugby World Cup with Ireland. pRainbow Nation embraces heroes
Jake White and his World Cup-winning Springbok team returned to South Africa yesterday not only as national heroes but also with their government's belief in them as worthy representatives of the Rainbow Nation seemingly restored. pMunster have the edge
Schools Interprovincials/Connacht Under-18 5 Munster Under-18 27: Munster comfortably secured their second win of the schools' under-18 series in the Galway Sportsground yesterday, a four-to-one try tally consigning Connacht to their third interprovincial loss. pBurke's boot decides it
Connacht Under-19 10 Munster Under-19 16: Munster edged out Connacht in a highly-competitive under-19 clash at the Galway Sportsground yesterday to claim to their first win of the interprovincial series. p
Galway the winners whatever the result
Interprovincial Hurling Final: If the GAA really wanted to drum up some interest in the M Donnelly Interprovincial series they should probably have moved the hurling final to Galway. As things stand, Saturday's games in Croke Park remain on course to be played in a near-empty stadium, and yesterday's press conference did little to change that. pCork and hurling lose one good man
On Gaelic Games: It could be seen as a watershed moment, a portal between one world and the next. Early June over 12 years ago and evening was falling on a sunny afternoon in the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick. p
Azinger holding all the aces
Ryder Cup: Four times they clashed and not once did Nick Faldo, Europe's record points-scorer, get the better of Paul Azinger when they went head-to-head in the Ryder Cup - not even after he holed-in-one at The Belfry in 1993. p
Massive Melbourne Cup gamble on O'Brien's Mahler
Aidan O'Brien's five-strong Breeders' Cup team arrived at Monmouth Park last night but their arrival is unlikely to have the same sort of impact that their stable companions in Australia have already had as the St Leger runner-up Mahler is a monster ante-post gamble for Tuesday week's Melbourne Cup p
Against the odds Vinny has soft spot for 'Gaffer'
BETTING: Dublin's chronic traffic chaos means there is usually time for thinking on the 27B route into the city centre, even when you're behind the wheel pMcQuaid hails move
CYCLING: Pat McQuaid, the president of the International Cycling Union, has hailed the proposed creation of a biological passport for professional riders as a landmark development in the war against doping. p
