Talk Sport 6jan2025

Paul Gannon here with your Monday Sports Roundup and I'd just like to wish all our listeners a Happy New Year as we embark on 2025 and I suppose plenty of anticipation in terms of what it holds for us on a sporting plane and we look forward to many momentous events and occasions over the next 12 months all going well. Starting tonight with golf and results from Connemara Golf Club last Friday the 3rd of January was the Men's Open Stableford Competition. The winner was David Kane on 46 points. He was the overall winner. Division 1 result, 1st Mark Butler on 41 points, 2nd Aidan Dearing on 39 points, 3rd Goswin to Doneca O'Coneilla on 33 points. Division 2 results as follows, 1st John Davis 44 points, 2nd Paul Tim O'Coneilla 43 points. The Ladies Competition was won by Peggy Meehan on 37 points with Brida Cullis in winner's up position there on 36 points. And yesterday, Sunday the 5th of January there was a Stableford Competition as well and the men's winner there was Timothy Hernan on 39 points with Conor O'Malley in 2nd place there on 37 points and Debbie Ruddy on 36 points was the winner of the Ladies Competition. Soccer next and West Coast United fixtures for the weekend ahead and it's a big match next Saturday the 11th of January at 2pm in Letterfrack. Round 1 of the Division 2 Cup sees West Coast United's adult team lock horns with Merlin Woods and they'll be playing Merlin Woods in Division 2 league the following week. But it's a big game for West Coast, they're presently a mid-table in the league. Promotion this year looks a remote possibility now based on how things stand at the moment and if they could get over Merlin Woods in their opening cup match who knows what the cup might hold for them going forward. West Coast U13A who play at Division 3 level, they're down to play at 12.30 in Letterfrack next Saturday against Cardiff Celtic B. And West Coast U13B who play at Division 7 level, they're also at home next Saturday against East Galway United. So both those matches were down for 12.30 which can't happen so I'm assuming the Division 7 match will probably go ahead at 11 o'clock. And at under 15 Division 1 level, West Coast are away to East Galway United at 12.30 next Saturday. Darts next and the CDF leagues resume at both Division 1 and Division 2 level this coming Friday January 10th. So they'll be going at it there in Levees, Mollies, McGraths, Canton Manila and Kews. And then next Saturday January 11th the inaugural CDF Doubles Championship which is a one day event commencing at 5pm goes ahead in Glensk House. There'll be a shield competition there for first round losers. There are over 50 members presently in the Connemara Darts Federation and these are members only events and if there's a full turnout it'll be a serious event. So hoping that all the guys can come out to participate in this historic competition next Saturday. The Doubles partnerships are determined by the players themselves. So we'll just have to see how many turn up on the day and hopefully have a good competition next Saturday in Glensk House. Pool next and the inaugural West Connemara Pool Singles Championship which is being organised as a fundraiser by Graeana Wales LGFA kicks off next Saturday in the Pierbarrick Legan at 4pm with the first heat out of a total of 16 heats which will be going ahead over the next two months at various public house locations across West Connemara. Heat 2 goes ahead next Sunday the 12th in the Anglers Rest in Tully Cross. That's also a 4pm start. So the 16 heats will see two qualifiers emerge. They'd be the two players that will qualify for the heat finals. So they'll play their heat final and the public house is there of course. We have Gainers in Leenan, Mollies in Letterfrack, the Anglers Rest in Tully Cross. Then we have Pierbarrick and Olivers in Clegane and we have Griffins and Vaughans in Clifton and of course last but certainly not least the Shamrock Bar in Roundstone. So all of those public houses will be hosting two heats each over the next two months which will ultimately result in the qualification of 32 players and they will congregate in the Station House Hotel Theatre on Saturday the 3rd of March to determine who the overall winner will be and there'll be plate and shield competitions as well. So all the qualifiers for the tournament in the Station House on the 8th of March will be guaranteed at least three matches and the sponsor of this event is Phone World Clifton and they've put up a superb first prize. They're a €500 for the overall winner of that. Will this see a renaissance in the sport of pool and potentially the emergence of a West Connemara Pool Association down the road? Well, who knows. For the moment it's a one-off competition under the auspices of Granny Wales LGFA and hopefully it'll have a good run and be there for many years to come. Rugby next and tomorrow at Senior B level Clifton Community School make the journey down to Westport to take on Rice College. That's the Connock Senior B School's Cup. So I'm not sure is that knockout phase and if it is, it's either definitely a quarterfinal or a semi-final. So I don't have clarification on that but I'm thinking it's at this stage probably a knockout match that they will hopefully come through and move on to the next round. Next Saturday the 11th of January Connemara under 14 boys who play at Division 2 level, that's Connemara-Octoraard, they're away to Monavie in a seeding play-off match at 1.30pm. And then a big match next Sunday at 2pm in the Monastery Field. It's the Round of 16 in the 2024-25 Connock Junior Cup. Connemara there hosting Sligo Seconds and Connemara will be overwhelming favourites to win that match. Sligo First of course playing in the Connock Senior League and also in AIL. So Connemara should have too much for their second string next Sunday but you never know in a one-off cup match. So big cup matches ahead next weekend for both West Coast United and Connemara RFC and hopefully they'll both come through. And I finish up tonight with just a badminton item, the Connock Close Junior Badminton Championships go ahead in Sligo Tennis Club next Saturday at the 11th of January and there will be many players in both the Claddagh Duff and Letterfrack clubs who will be eligible to play in those junior championships and they may travel. And we'll let you know next week how they got on, if indeed any of them travelled, but then again weather may have a major influence and some of these fixtures that I've put out this evening may not ultimately go ahead but hopefully they all will and we'll have plenty more results to see next week than we had this week. That's my lot, just say thanks to Grainne on Technical and we'll touch base with you in a week's time. Don't miss out on our biggest sale ever at Clifton Station House Leisure Centre. 15% off 6 and 12 month memberships, swimming lessons and fitness classes. Let's sweat, smile and succeed this new year in the Clifton Station House. Call 095 30433 to avail of this fantastic sale or pop into us, we are happy to help. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. Ovens yes, dishwashers yes, American fridge freezers yes, washers and dryers yes. 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So whether driving or meeting up with friends, don't forget to always put your litter in a bin. Please play your part. It's easy to make a difference. Be part of the community that you love. In GAA, it's always a feat to live and thrive around one of the new rules. In Rugby, it's a matter of just letting go and being at home. Coming up, we have Bernard Lee on the line and we hope to speak to Tony Kine. So we'll start with Bernard. Happy New Year to you Bernard. Happy New Year to you Viv as well and I suppose we'll see what the new year brings. It's hard to believe we're into 2025 already but I suppose the weather is dominating all of the conversations at the moment but sports still going ahead anyway so there's always something to chat about. Yes, that's true. And some interesting results I suppose. We'll go through the premiership. Yes, and just before that Viv, I'll just touch a little bit on the darts. We had the world championships there over the Christmas period and it was very exciting. The 17 year old was very good, wasn't he? Luke Littler. So he reached the final last year and he made his name for himself and he was unlucky. He lost out to Luke Humphries there in last year's final but he could have been a champion at 16. But anyway, the year didn't do him any harm and he came back bigger and stronger and he's won 10 tournaments in various categories throughout the year but the big one was the world championships. So he made his way through to the final and he met the former world champion Michael Van Gerwen from Holland there and proved to be a decent enough final but he was well ahead. He was 4-0 up and he ran out at 7 for winner. So at the tender age of 17 he's the youngest ever winner of the PDC World Championship and if he stays healthy and stays focused it remains to be seen how many he can win. But a very good addition to the darts scene. He has certainly put darts on the map for a lot of young players both here and across Great Britain and wherever darts is played. As I said, it's his first title. Van Gerwen has already won three but he'll be there. Van Gerwen is 34 as he said. He was the youngest winner I think previously maybe at 24. So Littler at 17, he's certainly breaking all the records. But just quickly on a local level then, the Connemara Darts Federation, they're recently set up to promote darts in the general area there in Connemara. They have a double competition coming up in Glyncow's Hotel on Saturday next, the 11th and I think people have to be maybe registered or members of the darts federation. But they can look up the Facebook page there. Glyncow's Hotel is a wonderful venue for darts and I think it's bring your own partner on the day. But people who are interested in the darts circle, they'll find out, maybe they know already about it but that's on the 11th there I think around 5pm in Glyncow's Hotel. What time is that? 5pm and as I said, it should be a good evening's darts there and the Connemara Darts Federation and a lot of people involved in it. Just promoting the darts and getting back to games in the pubs and various leagues north and south Connemara so we'll keep you updated on that. And also just to say in advance on the 26th of January, Glyncow's Hotel as well will be the Martin McDonagh Memorial Singles competition there. That will be registration at 3pm so that's on Sunday the 26th. It's an annual competition there in memory of a former great dart player there from the Cashel area who passed away a number of years ago. We'll keep you updated on that closer to the time but just pencil it in if you're into the darts on the 26th of January there. Sunday down there again in Glyncow's very good darts venue so we wish all the darts players all the best for the next few weeks. They'll be a busy time. Great. And the Grand Prix, that should be starting now again shortly? Well, in the form of the one you mean, we're into March, it'll be closer to Patrick's day. So obviously it was only into December there when it's finished so obviously they need a couple of months break to sort out various things. But by the time, you won't feel it coming around and as I said it'll go back into December. There'll be about 24 races on the calendar again so it's one of the longest seasons of any sport but they've increased the calendar in recent years and you might have three or four races in America, you might have one or two in Italy as well. They're restricting them to one country and so there's a lot more involved. And as we mentioned before the new line-ups in some of the teams like Lewis Hamilton with Ferrari and obviously Verstappen staying there at Red Bull. Verstappen won't be competing again though, will they? And then we've seen with the McLarens as well, so you have Lando Norris and the whole team there who won the Constructors title this year. That was a very surprising part of the Formula One season there, they didn't get off to the best of starts but from mid-season on they picked up a head of team and came out on top there beating Ferrari into second place and I think Red Bull in third. So there's good competition out there and Norris will be very competitive from early on. It'll be interesting to see what Ferrari and Red Bull do over the course of the next few weeks before the season starts to see if they can improve. There'll probably be one or two little rule changes along the line as well. There's always some little things that are tweaked by the power of Steadby. It'll be an exciting season ahead but in and around mid-March the new season will be on the way. Alright, yeah it should be very good. I look forward to it. So in March you're saying it'll start again? Yes. Okay, we'll go to the Premiership and look at the results. Bournemouth 1-0 Everton. I suppose that was to be expected, was it? Well yeah, I'm not quite sure. Bournemouth certainly have been on a very good run and they're up in 7th position now after that win. Should we say Everton have been showing signs of progress and certainly not conceding many goals. So again, there aren't many 1-0s in the Premiership but at least they're not conceding too many goals. So obviously Everton down in 16th but Bournemouth again one of the surprise packets. They've got a few big scouts under their belt this year. Yeah, they're doing well. I didn't expect them to be doing as good as they were. Well you see, if you look at them, they have teams that are a pint behind Manchester City and underneath them you have the likes of Aston Villa, Spurs, Manchester United down further. So you know, to be 7th position is certainly good and they're 9 points ahead of Spurs and Manchester United, 10 points ahead of them. So teams like that struggling a bit. But no, good result, 1-0 and they held off. So Everton look still in a bit of a battle there in 16th place on 17 points but I'm sure they'll stay well clear of the relegation zone because they have the form of the players and the manager to do it I'd say. Yes, Aston Villa 2, Leicester 1. Yeah, so Villa have been a little up and down. Leicester are in real trouble aren't they? Yeah, Leicester down there now, not in a great position in 19th. And Ruud van Nistelrijk, the manager there, has had a few decent results but he's finding the going a bit tough on late. So another defeat there and they have to be careful now. Southampton are well adrift there on 6 points but Leicester on 14. You need to be careful not to fall too far behind. You don't want to be more than one win away from getting out of the relegation zone. So they're okay on that at the minute but you know, 14 points. Brighton 1, Arsenal 1. Yeah. Tottenham, I call that half-footed, isn't it? Yes, and they needed to really because whether they're home or away now, they've already dropped points they shouldn't have already. And with Liverpool flying high at the top, they can't afford these. Now Brighton have been, again, just a very consistent team, not just this season but over the last few seasons, even under different managers. And they went behind but got a maybe fortuitous penalty in the second half but they were probably good value just about for the draw. But disappointing for Arsenal. As I said, that's the way it goes but they really needed to be picking up points and hoping that the teams around them didn't do as well. But overall, I think we'll be seeing a two-point drop for Arsenal and they're just a little bit behind. They're in second position but six points behind Liverpool and again, more played. So they need to pick up and win these away games no matter where they're from or who the opposition is. That's what champions are made of and they want to finish as the champions, especially with Man City maybe not doing as well this year. But overall, two points drop for Arsenal, I would say. Yeah, definitely worth. Now, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, won all. Chelsea took the lead there again and Palace won back. Yeah, it's been a disappointing Christmas period for Chelsea because they were in second place and looking the most likely to challenge maybe Liverpool at the top there. And the world's certainly going well considering they had a poor season last year. But they've had a bad Christmas, some bad results, dropped points, a couple of bad defeats. Two teams maybe they should have expected to beat but this would be seen as well. Even though Palace have been decent in some ways but they're still not a team that if you're at the top end of the table, Palace are down there in 15th position on 21 points and Chelsea have said you have to win those games no matter how difficult it is. And even if it's over the Christmas period. So overall, a bad run of games for Chelsea and they've dropped down into fourth place there. And as I said, they were challenging in a strong second position there three or four games ago. But that's the way it goes. Nothing easy in the Premiership. But certainly a bit like Arsenal, Chelsea will see that if two points dropped. I noticed in the Premiership everything is like a cup game, isn't it? Well, yes. And in fairness, top versus bottom at any given time, we've always seen that teams can put on a good performance. It's a very competitive league. Even though I know you often see the same teams at the top like the Liverpools and the Man City's and the Arsenal and that. But by and large, you get some decent performances from the teams. Even if you have a team at the bottom, they're needing points to get out of the relegation zone. Particularly closer to the end of the season, they can put on a decent performance. But as I said, Palace at home, they've got some decent results. But overall, Chelsea would, as I said, see it as points dropped. And they need to start to pick up points there. Because even though the teams are looking up at Liverpool and they're a few points away, there's a long run of games. There's European games as well. You could have a run of injuries. You could have teams strengthening in the January transfer window, which is in place now as well. And there's a lot to fight for there. So these points might come back to haunt the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal later in the year. Man City 4, West Ham 1. Comprehensive win? Yeah, obviously the story of the season has been the demise of Man City from top of the table to where they are now in 6th position. And 10 points, maybe 12 actually, below Liverpool. And Liverpool even with a game in hand. So it's been a difficult time for Guardiola. But he's managed. This is a decent result. So this will give them a bit of confidence. And you had Erling Haaland getting back on the goalscoring sheets as well. He did, yeah. And a couple of decent goals as well. He has a good finish on them. But just confidence, it goes to show you, no matter how good a team you are and good managers and good players, confidence and belief, when you have a bad run, it kind of follows you. And this is maybe the way they come out of the bad run now. West Ham haven't been fantastic this year. And they're kind of in a lowly position, I suppose. They're down in 14th position there. And the manager coming under a bit of pressure there. And this result won't help them. But for City fans, a lot of big games coming up in Europe and the FA Cup as well. So we'll see how it goes. But a kind of result you'd expect from if it was City of old. So it's maybe a return to the new-found form. I'd say they might be looking in the transfer market as well in the January transfer window. They have a few injuries, like most teams. But, as I said, what's very important for them is to shoot up the table to get into the top four. Because they're unlikely to catch Liverpool at this stage, unless there's a big collapse there. And then to get into the Champions League, if they're not in the top four, they have to win it. And that'll be difficult as well. Yes, no doubt. Southampton, Nails, Brentford, five. And that's why they're all gone up. Yeah, no, I think we can... Yeah, Southampton, they're going to be gone, all right. They might stick with the manager. It'll be interesting to see what they do. What's the point in getting rid of him? I suppose maybe he might bring them up next year. There's no manager, even Guardiola. I don't think he's going to save them now. They're well-addressed there at the bottom. And Brentford was an amazing away win, 5-0. Brentford, under Thomas Frank, they're the managers. They're just very consistent there. They would have been a team in the lower league there for many years. But now they're part and parcel of the Premiership. And very consistent. And nicely placed up there in 11th place on 27 points. So anytime you win away from home, a 5-0 is good. But as I said, Southampton, look at their... Very poor in the six points. It's not a great return from their 20 matches. And as I said, almost guaranteed. Now there's 8 points adrift of even seconds on bottom left. So there's really no hope for Southampton. But as for the likes of Brentford, just continuing on. The likes of Brentford, Brighton and Bournemouth, they're doing very well in the recent seasons. And well clear of relegation. Right. Top number one, Newcastle 2. Yeah. The pressure with some of the passing that they give away the ball. Yeah. They have this very... It's almost kamikaze in many ways. And a lot of fans say, why when you have players out injured and you cannot pick from your first squad, do you not just take a plan B to defend? But it's crazy. I know if you look at the way football has changed. They put the ball down on the six-yard line and pass it out. And straight away the opposition are putting pressure and they can win the ball back 10, 20 yards out from the goal. And why goalkeepers don't kick the ball? I don't mind doing it now, but they do it every time. Let the goalie put the ball down and kick it up to your centre forward and win it. Take a little bit of pressure off the defence at some stage. Spurs are the worst team for doing this. And they give away goals. It's very exciting and attractive. But they're in a shocking position. In 12th position there. And if they're not careful with some of the games coming up, they'll be drawn into a relegation battle. It sounds alarming, but it wouldn't actually surprise me. Well, certainly for the lower half of the table. I mean, it might be a bit dramatic to say relegation, but even Manchester United are talking about it. They're a point below them. Spurs took the lead, but again, just sloppy. And they give it away, was it two minutes or three minutes? Yes. It was a bit of a controversy about a handball decision. But look, overall, I wouldn't mind that. And again, they're at home and they've lost some very big games. So their home form and their away form is important. Now, they have a lot of injuries and they had problems with the goalkeeper. They've bought a goalkeeper in the last few days. They have a big match coming up against Liverpool, the first leg of the semi-final of the League Cup this week. And that will define their season in many ways because a lot of the fans would say, if we win a trophy this year, we don't care whether we finish in the bottom half of the table. And even I would say as a fan, I would take that. You don't have to be always in Europe. So long as we're not relegated, as I said, I would take the League Cup win and 17th as the Spurs fan. It's not the most ambitious plan, but a trophy is very important for Spurs. So the two legs against Liverpool will be very important. They're at home in the first game and away at Anfield in the second. And it's a good opportunity, but they do have a lot of injury problems. And if you dig below the surface there, the problem is they're playing risky football with a lot less talent than they would normally have. There's no doubt they'd be much higher up the table without the injuries they have. But as I said, there doesn't seem to be a plan B. It's as if we have the best squad or the weakest squad, we're playing the same way. And it's not really working out. But the thing about Spurs is it's a long-term plan. They're going to be working this system at the underage, at the academies, and if Pasterkoglu stays around, there could be very exciting times ahead for Spurs because everybody likes exciting football. But you have to attack and you have to defend as well. So interesting to watch, but as a Spurs fan, it's a bit nerve-wracking to watch them. Even with a 3-0 lead against United recently in the League Cup, it nearly disappeared in the last 20 minutes. So that's the way it is. That's the life of a Spurs fan at the moment. But Newcastle, in fairness to them, they've been on a very good run. I think it's five or six games in a row they've won. They've climbed up the table. Eddie was under pressure a while back there, but he's certainly not anymore. And Newcastle are up to fifth position there on 35 points, only outside the top four. And they're up against Arsenal in the League Cup semi-finals as well during the week here. So two big games for Spurs and Newcastle. Two of the longest teams that haven't won a major trophy. Newcastle certainly, going back I think to the 70s, since they lost one of the trophies. Spurs are not quite that bad. So a Newcastle-Spurs League Cup final would be very exciting. I suppose a Liverpool-Arsenal one would be as well. But we'll see how those semi-finals go, the first legs of them during the week. We go to Sunday's game. Two games, Fulham 2, Ipswich 2. Andrada? Yeah. Yeah, good game overall. Late penalties for Ipswich. I suppose they've shown a little bit of form lately. Fulham got a late penalty to equalise there. And overall, Ipswich have just, I suppose, put a little bit of a run together. But they're obviously in the 18th position there on 16 points. And they're within a win of jumping outside of the relegation zone. But possibly just got caught with a late equaliser. And as I said, Fulham have been decent all season as well. They're up in ninth position. So a good draw on the end for them, even though they were at home. But a sign of an improvement from Ipswich. We might just have enough about them to pull out of the relegation zone. But it'll be touch and go over the next few matches to see how that goes. Liverpool 2, Man City 2. I thought that was a great match. Yeah, yeah. And once again, Man United going through a bad period. But they all seem to lift their levels for the big derby matches, be it Man City or Liverpool. But I must say, most people thought that this would be a game beyond United because Liverpool have been so consistent. And United had a very good chance at the end with Harry Maguire, I think. Yeah, he pushed home out of that. Yeah, I think it bobbled a little bit. It was a defender's finish in many ways. But it would have been a perfect way to finish for United to get the three points. But that's the way it goes. When they went 2-1 down, you'd have expected the worst of them. So they fought back well to get 2-2. Obviously, we said United in 13th position. The new manager is in there trying to sort things out. And he had his work cut out. But at a given time, and I'd say he will eventually, I think he has a bit more about him than Tinhag. And then for a slot there for Liverpool. They're just going along at a nice pace. But they'd be disappointed maybe that they didn't get the win to even add more pressure on them. But overall, if you can't win, don't lose is the thing to do. And they managed to get the draw. So as I said, that will do them for now. And they're in a decent position. They still have a game in hand on most of the opposition. They're 46 points from their 19 games. And with Arsenal in second on 40 points for the game all played. So they have a little bit of a cushion. But lots of games up and coming, as I said, in the Champions League and the FA Cup competitions. And of course, the League Cup matches as well this week. So lots can happen, injuries and all of that can play into it. So I wouldn't be giving up on the title race yet, even down as far as we'd say, well, Forrest. We're not really mentioning them, nothing on Forrest. It's unlikely that they'll have the strength of a squad to continue on, even though they're in a decent position above Chelsea and some of the other teams like City and Newcastle. But basically, it's been Liverpool season so far. You mentioned Côte d'Ivoire. And next weekend, next Saturday, there's a third round. Yeah. The first and second division teams come in then at that stage, I think. Yeah. Which one should we look at? Beaumont versus West Brom? Yeah, it's all Premiership versus First Division. I'd go with a 2-1 win there. A lot depends on the teams that they put out. I'd go a 2-1 win for the home team, the Premiership team. All right. Birmingham versus Lincoln, is it? Yeah. So, I'm going to go with a 2-1 win there for the home team as well. I think home advantage does often prove very, very important. Brentford versus Plymouth. How would you go with Brentford win there? Do you think Plymouth? Yes. Obviously, look at the back of the recent form there. A lot depends on what teams they put out in the league. But, yeah, I would go with maybe a home win there, maybe 2-1 on that one. Right. Chelsea versus Morecambe. Yeah. Should be a straightforward home win for Chelsea there. They'll want to go have a good cup run together. And, yeah, I'd go 3-0 on that one. All right. There's a lot of them also. We'll skip a good few of them, Bernard. Yeah. Liverpool versus Green Park Rangers. Yeah. So, Leicester, they're winners there in the last three years. I don't know, was it 2021? And QPR, well, look at not maybe going so strong in the Champions League. I'd go home win there, 3-1 to Leicester on that one. Okay. Liverpool versus Stanley. Liverpool should win that with a 3-0 win. Yeah. Yeah, Axton and Stanley, a famous team from the past. Very strongly favourable. Good 4-0 win there. Home win for Liverpool on that one. City versus Salford City. Yeah. Interesting one because Man City, we know who they are. But Salford, they're a team there that have been put together by the former Man United players there, like Paul Scholes and the class of 92. I don't know, Beckham involved and the Neville's and all of that. But they're down in the leagues. But it'll be an interesting coming together of the Manchester City and the former greats of Manchester United who are very much part and parcel of financing Salford. So it'll be an interesting one to watch. But I'd go 4-0 Man City on that one, home win. Comprehensive win there. And we'll just go to the last one. Sunderland versus... Yeah. So, yeah, look at, again, sort of an even enough one. I'm going to go with an away win for Stoke on that one. And that wouldn't be surprising. One of the big matches there just quickly today is Arsenal at home to Manchester United. That's one of the bigger ones. So you have, you know, that's always a big game. There's a very great history in the cup. Arsenal will be looking, you know, they're still in the semi-finals of the League Cup. So they're at home in that. And United will hope to kind of continue. They'll have to be at their best to beat Arsenal at home. That'll depend on the teams they put out, as we know. But I'm sure Arsenal will be putting out a decent enough team. And I'd be going with them maybe a 2-1 win to Arsenal on that. And one other final one. Tamworth from way down the division. Tamworth are at home to Tottenham. So that'll be an interesting one. Because the cup always throws up these unusual fixtures. And nothing but a Tottenham win will satisfy the sports centre. So it'll be a great day out for the Tamworth fans. And I'm sure the BBC will be watching it. And it'll be everybody looking for a big upset. But I'll be going with a 4-1 away win there for Tottenham in that. And as I've mentioned before, maybe a 2-1 win for Arsenal over Man United. So those are some of the key fixtures in the cup. But it's always an interesting time. And you should get some surprises there as well before the weekend is out. Yes, I was surprised. Right, and just before we finish up. Celtic are doing well in the Scottish League. Yeah, well now they had a bit of a hiccup there during the week. Where Rangers, who they've been on top of for so many recent fixtures. And they had a great 2024 calendar year at Celtic. I think they'd only lost two games maybe. And going well in Europe as well. But the Rangers bet them during the week their 3-0, which was disappointing. But they got back to winning ways at the weekend. And Rangers dropped points. But they have a healthy lead at the top of the table. Going well with Brendan Rodgers. And very important for the Celtic fans is that they get a good run in Europe. They've done well in the qualifying matches so far. But there's a lot of players. They've already won the League Cup in a classic match just before Christmas there. They won it on penalties against Rangers. So they have the ability to put it up to Celtic on any given day. But overall their form has been well short of what it should be. And they're well-addressed. They're Celtic have a healthy lead at the top. And I think they've made up for the loss to Rangers during the week with a win at the weekend. And they're going to be a good bet to get the treble again this year in Scotland. And also possibly have a decent run in Europe, which the fans would like to see. Great. OK Bernard, thanks very much for taking our call. We'll leave it at that. And we'll speak to you next week again. OK Viv, good evening to you. That was Bernard Lee there. I'll hand you back now to Tommy in the studio. Join our series of talks and events. Stroll through enchanting woodland paths. And take a moment to pause and reflect in the neo-Gothic church. Indulge in the homemade delights of the Kylemore kitchen. And explore the best of Irish brands and local crafts in our craft and design shop. Create timeless memories at Kylemore Abbey. Plan your visit now at Kylemoreabbey.com. Kylemore Abbey, a story so timeless it's still being written. Working from home? Talking to friends and work colleagues? Children and teenagers playing games and connecting with friends? It's a lot to ask of any broadband connection. However, at LightNet, we can give you the best broadband connection for your home. LightNet High Speed Broadband offers you the best solution. With reliable connectivity, a fixed IP address for stable VPN connection, and free high-spec award-winning Wi-Fi hub for all your broadband needs. Call LightNet today, 091-395-804 or visit lightnet.ie. Well, I'm running down the road trying to loosen my load. I've got seven women on my mind. Four that want to hold me, two that want to show me. One, she's a friend of mine. Take it easy, take it easy. Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy. Lighten up while you still can. Don't even try to understand. Just find a place to make your stand. Take it easy. Well, I'm landing on a corner in Windsor. I've known her in such a fine privacy. It's a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Porsche. She's going down to take a look at me. Come on, baby. Don't say, babe. I've got to know if your sweet love is gonna save me. We may lose and we may win, but we will never be here again. So open up, I'm climbing in. So take it easy. Well, I'm running out of love, trying to loosen my load. Got a world of trouble on my mind. Looking for a lover who won't blow my cover. She's so hard to find. Take it easy, take it easy. Don't let the sound of your own wheels make you crazy. Come on, baby. Don't say, babe. I've got to know if your sweet love is gonna save me. Oh, we've got it easy. We ought to take it easy. Welcome back, listen. I have online now Tony Kine. Welcome, Tony. Thanks, Ed. Good evening, Jim. And we had our first game under the fire run, under the new rules, and Galway came out on top. Will these new rules do Galway around us? Well, hopefully. You'd be hoping that they would. I mean, look, it's, I suppose, you know, teams that want to attack. I think they're set up for teams that are willing to attack, willing to play, interested in playing more advanced type football. You know, the game had gone very defensive, very tactical, very slow, very slow in the build-up to that, and, you know, that's because they're becoming spectator unfriendly, I think is the best way to describe it. So, looking at the last evening, you know, big score, near 218 to 17 points. It was a long-range point kick, the goal scored, and by all accounts, you know, a lot of attacking football mistakes made on sides. I think Koppen got cut out three times. He's now having three men forward, and these are lessons that are going to be learned, if they're all allowed. But, yeah, look, it's just hope. It's just hope Galway ensures it's good on the counter, whether it be for the game in general. I think we hope that, you know, it'll just make for better, better entertainment for people and more joy to be able to go and watch. Yeah, it should be. Now, Galway have some good forwards, like, you know. Ah, they have. They have good forwards. Shane Westdale. Yeah, he's good. Yeah, I mean, Shane Westdale and Koppen didn't feature in the last season, but I'm sure they'll be gradually coming back in during the new season. It is not a great chance to feature as well, and I suppose one of the features, again, the last game was Paul Connolly who kicked four long-range points on Saturday afternoon, which was wonderful. The old money, as I said, the old guy got four points, the last game was one to eight points. So, that's huge, you know. That's a huge, huge, huge addition to have, and good to see. Good to see Sarkozy. Good to see him back. He's just going to get one to give him one more year and that. So, yeah, I think they'll go. They'll traditionally also have had good forwards, and hopefully, you know, they need to get a chance to test a little bit more. They've got a few new faces in that, and so, yeah, it'll be interesting to see how things go from there. Yeah. I wonder, will teams be just satisfied with their two points now from outside the arc, or I think you said before, teams will still try to go for goals? I think they will. Look, I think they will. I think there's no doubt about it. I think there's no doubt about it. Certainly, you know, the tax break down, the fact that they'll always have somebody up front and forwards to kick them all in, I think will encourage teams to get them all inside, inside the inside line. So, I think goals will come. Naturally, of course, if a team is set up defensively, well, then, you know, you can get the shooters out beyond the arc and let them have a go and have a couple of points, and two points or so. You know, there's the pluses and the minuses to the whole thing. But I think in general, you know, I don't think it'll mean goals will dry up in games. I think there will be goals in games, and I think, you know, that aspect of the game has to be there all the time. Right. Will it be difficult for the referee, I wonder, to know what's inside or what constitutes inside? If you report on the line, does that constitute inside, I wonder? No, I think you have to be outside it. You have to have your two feet outside it. Yes, I have two feet outside it. But I think, you know, certainly in league and in counties, there's referees and there's linesmen there. So I think, you know, the referees are always up close enough with the player. I don't think that that'll be a problem, I think, you know. There may be a tight corner. I'm sure you'll have a guy saying, look, I need one foot in tight, one foot in tight. These things tend to balance. Does that happen in the square or anything? That happens in the square ball as well. We've seen that. That's always what we practice in the game and all that. But in general, I think, you know, I think in general, you know, the rest of the rest will be up at the game. I don't think that'll cause too many problems overall. Right. And, of course, there'll be nothing until the end of January, is there? Yes. The end of, as I just said, the last weekend of January before the league starts for the counties. So, yeah, go on the first game, it's a Saturday evening, it's under-light against Armagh. So that'll be yesterday, as we've said in the pre-stating. So that'll be, you know, sort of the new concept of pathology, which has the likes of Leicester Union, the Great Revisions for Ledley. Yes. So I think there'll be a couple of league matches. There's also a couple of holiday matches to be played there as well, over the spring as well. Fantastic. So the club we're playing, is it Tipperary or? Yeah, I think, yeah, it's the same Tipperary there. I think they're playing Clare under-light as well. It's still staging the league. So there's a couple of games that'll be played under-light. So it's good. Look at it, it's most county grounds, you know, nearly at least there's one ground now in every county that has the likes of Armagh. And they'll come on stream as well and look at it. It's an addition, it's currently an addition, but it's a great. You know, it means also that if you need to, you don't necessarily have to play it. Night time on a Sunday, games can be played slightly later as well, you know, for TV coverage and that. The lights will be there to be able to come on when it gets dark. Yeah. So it's a great addition for the county to have, you know, so it's good. Yeah. As I was saying before, there should be a great crowd at that Galway Armagh game. I would think so. I think there will. I think, you know, everything about it was said that, you know, Saturday evening would suit a lot of people whereas Sunday afternoon don't want the GAs because it looks like the attendance is out for the last two years and the Saturday night game in county seemed to work. They just seemed to suit the old families a little better and that. So yeah, you'd hope for a good crowd and obviously the new lights will be turned on in the stadium and people will come around to have a look at that as well so it should, you know, hopefully the weather wise will be OK and that. So you'd expect, yeah, Galway Armagh attractive game to have as well so I did hope that there would be a lot of noise. Right, nothing, there won't be anything for March as far as on the locals then? Yeah, no, of course, quite the moment of March we've got meetings coming up the next few weeks just to organise the meetings and that but normally the middle of March it was St Paddy's weekend last year before the league starts where management is going to be the same this year so yeah, that's the middle of March before the club start off and yeah, when the league starts, you know, there's no delay in the league so it's every two weeks so we still know when the players have a schedule set out for the number of months so yeah, all hoping to attack the match. Right, is the lotto coming up or what's the scene with it? No, it's OK, we finished the lotto there and we're just tossing around a few ideas and that so we're not sure yet what we're doing yet but yeah, hopefully we'll have something coming on stream maybe in the next month or so maybe something set up something to start backwards. Yeah, because you've got to make a bit of money with all the underage games you have. Yeah, you've got the Chiefs and every club and your money is always tight, hard to come by and it has to continue and that so yeah, as I said we'll be hoping to come back with a couple of ideas in the next few days and so that gets ready and going again. Right, OK Tony, we leave you with Lee and Tony kind of until we speak to you again next week. We'll be leaving you in a little bit of silence. 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