well done celtic

3 in row

on the fence (Donegal) - Posts: 731 - 23/05/2008 10:44:18    22762

Anyone going to the rugby tomorrow? Ballboy? Genuinely didnt know anything about it untill heard it on radio this morning. European cup final? great achievement hopefully they win. good luck

samin10 (Armagh) - Posts: 2434 - 23/05/2008 12:07:11    22861

im goin for a munster win!!

Legend92 (Donegal) - Posts: 752 - 23/05/2008 12:12:56    22863

Saw this on the BBC sport website there during the week. It gave me a good wee larf!

"We all know about famous modern managers refusing to speak to television stations because of perceived wrongs in their coverage - but what about Stockport boss Jim Gannon? He, reportedly, is not cooperating with Sky before the club's play-off League Two play-off final against Rochdale because of a nine-month customer relations dispute over his defective Sky box. "

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9851 - 23/05/2008 13:44:36    22902

Well people, I have to say that the Munster rugby team make me proud to be Irish - consistently! We have a thread about motivational music but by God what is it about these guys - awesome! They are just so good at what they do. Even with 20 to go today I knew they would do it. A truly great team - as good as anything that has come from this island. Respect.

JayoCluxton (Dublin) - Posts: 2688 - 24/05/2008 23:54:52    23203

"If you live in the past you die a little every day.......I like to live
Saw this on the BBC sport website there during the week.
Ges who they where describing??
GIVE EACH POSTER ONE GESS

on the fence (Donegal) - Posts: 731 - 25/05/2008 10:20:38    23218

well done aidan o'brien on a brilliant weekend at the curragh winning three group ones. this is the sort of person who would make me proud to be irish - he is considered a genius worldwide in all racing circles; unlike the munster rugby team who outside of western europe, nobody really knows a thing about them. horse racing is a truly international sport and many would consider aidan to be the pele of the sport. also well done to navan man johnny murtagh who rode two of those winners and who has know firmly established himself as one of the world's best jockeys.

Loyal2TheRoyal (Meath) - Posts: 4522 - 25/05/2008 22:24:06    23321

"If you live in the past you die a little every day.......I like to live"

Was it Mourinho

black&white (Sligo) - Posts: 1628 - 26/05/2008 01:40:08    23347

Is that a little dig at Munster's achievement there Loyal? Everyone in the world knows about the Irish guineas do they? So some horse that is bred and treated better than millions of children in the world is faster than a few others and this is better than an Irish team becoming Kings of Europe for the second thime in three years. You posts are becoming ever bitter lately and you've gone from being someone who's contributions I enjoyed to a real PITA!

Dubinmeath (Dublin) - Posts: 1123 - 26/05/2008 10:00:57    23384

Well said Dubinmeath. Loyal you are talking nonsense!

Tomás Tralee (Kerry) - Posts: 391 - 26/05/2008 10:38:39    23406

Well done to both Aidan O Brien and to Munster.

Loyaltotheroyal I would dispute your view on horse racing being higher profile. Im a horse enthusiast myself (obviously) and I can assure you that outside of Ireland and the UK the only people who will be aware of the winners of the Irish guineas races will be the 'anoraks' for want of a better word - trainers and breeders especially, and the occasional serious/professional gambler. The heineken cup final is far from the biggest event this summer as well of course but as a team game will have plenty of passing interest.
While we applaud their achievements its worth remembering that both Coolmore and Munster both have huge bankrolls behind them - Magnier, O Reilly etc, and the huge merchandising operation in Munster... Those 3 munster allblacks on the pitch on saturday night werent there for the good of their health of course.

As for Murtagh great to see him getting his moment, he was overshadowed by the flawed genius fallon for a long time. Unlike fallon he has kept his nose clean...

But the flat stuff leaves me cold. For me the english Grand National is the greatest race, and McCoy is the greatest jockey of them all. BTW the irish scottish and welsh nationals are a joke and not worthy of the title.

Horse (Laois) - Posts: 1146 - 26/05/2008 11:34:26    23460

six countries compete in the heineken cup; dubinmeath - ireland, scotland, wales, england, france and italy. winning it hardly makes them kings of europe when you consider that they are around sixty or so countries on the continent. aidan o'brien is only thirty eight years old (an incredibly young age for a racehorse trainer) and he has won nearly every big race there is to win in europe. he has already made a name for himself in every state of america by plundering some of their biggest prizes and is now targeting the big autumn races in australia. the horses he trains are well bred but so are all the other ones that his are racing against, yet he consistently wins group one after group one. his record is phenomenal especially for a man of his age. outside of horse racing circles though, he gets very little credit which is a pity when you consider that most of the munster rugby team went to the world cup last year and made a show of themselves and are now being labelled as some of ireland's sporting greats. aidan o'brien is one of the greats of irish sport not the munster rugby team.

Loyal2TheRoyal (Meath) - Posts: 4522 - 26/05/2008 11:42:11    23469

well done munster the greatest irish sporting team ever - rugby truly as we witness at the weekend is the heartbeat of the nation- the passion was unreal the honesty the skill everything about this team is great- take a bow the greatest sporting achievement ever for ireland

ball-boy (Mayo) - Posts: 4211 - 26/05/2008 11:48:24    23474

Yes he is successful and is rightly lauded as one of the best at what he does. This is a very very elite sport - flatracing. Populated by billionaire sheikhs, business moguls etc. He is well backed and given the best of raw materials and facilities. I can't see how you can compare what he does with most other sports. You could even argue that the jockey is the main man. How much perspiration goes into what he does? Top hat and tails at Epsom etc doesn't really strike me as an exertion. I also fail to see what his age has got to do with anything.

You might as well say that Ron Dennis or Jean Todt are the real heroes of motor racing. The effort of Munster this year was phenomenal in winning the top northern hemisphere competition against the odds. The rugby world cup has nothing to do with it.

I reckon you probably won a few bob backing O'Brien's horses this weekend which is just as well given your disasters at GAA betting ! :-)

Dubinmeath (Dublin) - Posts: 1123 - 26/05/2008 12:06:39    23495

fair play to munster, a great achievement, wish kidney all the best with the ireland job now.

Wanted to know has anyone an opinion on Avram grant being sacked?

As a chelsea fan I am very dissapointed, to the extent that I am considering not calling myself a chelsea fan any more. It makes me question what I and other soccer fans in Ireland who support teams over there are actually supporting. Loyalty is in little or no supply these days in soccer. Yes, people such as united and Liverpool fans will talk about the tradition, but in reality the team is made up of people gathered from all over the world who go to the highest bidder. I know there is one or two exceptions (stevy G, John Terry) but even these are more concerned about their 50 grand (sterling) a week and don't fool yourself of anything else.

All we support is the millionaire owners egos and bank balance. Is it the end of the line for me and chelsea, or is it like rooney once made a point of stressing "once a blue, always a blue".

Doire abu

Derry_ledd (Derry) - Posts: 2093 - 26/05/2008 12:45:28    23545

You could even argue that the jockey is the main man. How much perspiration goes into what he does? Top hat and tails at Epsom etc doesn't really strike me as an exertion.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

i will agree to disagree with everything else your saying apart from the above. i know for a fact that he is the most dedicated man in racing (i have never met the man) and what your saying only further enhances my point about him not getting enough credit. up at six o'clock every morning and then bed at about eleven - would that strike you as an exertion? not many of the munster players work those hours but aidan does. the only time the public might see him is at ascot or the curragh in a top hat but i gaurantee you his life is his horses (along with the usual things like his family and that). plenty of perspition goes into what he does and your statement above is an unbelievable insult to the man.

BTW, i did not back any of his horses over the weekend in case you think otherwise.

Loyal2TheRoyal (Meath) - Posts: 4522 - 26/05/2008 12:55:05    23552

Derry_ledd

I know what you're saying. I think Chelsea are a bit of a joke to be honest, not in terms of football but in the off the field stuff. When an owner is dictating to a manager which players he's supposed to buy, you know things aren't right. They had one of the best managers in the world in Mourinho but he left and the replacement in Grant was simply a stop gap. Abrahamovich will now just throw money at the likes of Hiddink or Rijkaard in the hope that they'll come in and win the premiership, league cup, champos league and fa cup all in their first season or at the minimum champos league - not much to ask is it!!
They are turning into the Real Madrid of a few seasons ago, buying big name players for the sake of it with managers coming and going.
As for soccer itself, I think its becoming more and more painful to watch. I'd even struggle to keep watching the highlights on Match of the day. I could count on one hand how many very good or great games I've seen in the premiership this season. When its touted as the best league in the world it makes me laugh. The most exciting stuff in soccer these days is the gossip and the speculation. Euro 2008 is coming up but I don't think anyone really cares. Do they?

holymoly (Dublin) - Posts: 757 - 26/05/2008 13:01:03    23559

Derry_ledd

As a young lad I was besotted with Leeds to the point of tears on occasions when they were pipped for the league or lost cup finals - and there were many! A team that was in the Champions League final in 2001 and look at them now! Felt a bit sad for them yesterday but not much else! And still other teams haven't learned the lesson. Even Man U owe Stg. £666 million and rising. The bubble will eventually burst. Ronaldo will probably go within 2 years just like all the other guys kissing crests and then leaving a few weeks later!

What I really can't understand is guys (from EVERY county) who ring in to Today FM and use 'we' when talking about English clubs!!! Guys who would prefer to see these clubs winning a League or Cup before seeing their own county winning an All Ireland! Mind boggling!

English teams have long since stopped representing their own communities and cities. Long since stopped considering the wishes of fans - domestic or otherwise. Money is the only language that English soccer now recognises. Stick to the GAA Derry_ledd - nothing like your own county (or club) having a bit of success! And before some wise guy asks me how I'd know - I'm older than ye think!!

JayoCluxton (Dublin) - Posts: 2688 - 26/05/2008 13:18:08    23569

"your statement above is an unbelievable insult to the man" - yeah, matched only by your demeaning of Munster's achievement. My statement is perfectly valid if you are trying to compare Aidan O'Brien's achievements against those of Munster rugby players or indeed players of a multitude of other sports (including amateur ones) whose dedication and commitment far outweigh those of a thoroughbred horse trainer. Catch yourself on.

"up at six o'clock every morning and then bed at about eleven" Every stable hand, groom, apprentice etc in the country keeps these hours and more. Most of them for a helluva lot less per hour than Mr. O'Brien. He probably earns more in 5 minutes than they do for the week so spare me the hard working rubbish. Are you stalking him by the way? And how do you know what time Munster players get up at?

In terms of sporting endeavour you could compare O'Brien to the likes of Eric Bristow, Ronnie O'Sullivan or Garry Kasparov. The comparison is nearer those type of sporting endeavours than with Munster's.

You were commenting last week about the quality of someone else's posts - a decent poster too. Some cheek. Have a look at your own. Now stop annoying me.

Dubinmeath (Dublin) - Posts: 1123 - 26/05/2008 13:36:55    23587

Question for ballboy.

just to test his allegiance to mayo football. You stated that rugby is the heartbeat of the irish nation which would you prefer connaught winning a heinken cup (just for arguement sake) or mayo winning an all-ireland . I personally would take tipperary winning an all-ireland anyday over a munster win and I do count myself as a munster fan.

Saying that congrats to munster great win would have loved to be over there for it but unfortunately couldn't make the trip.

Great to see kidney and an adopted munster man (jim willians) getting a great send off.

Hag_and_Cheese (Tipperary) - Posts: 6103 - 26/05/2008 14:14:03    23630