By Alan Duffy

Swansea City 2-3 Norwich City Premier League 11th February 2012

An 18-minute second-half goal-spree secured all three points for the Canaries at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday in a superbly entertaining battle of the Premier League new-boys.

Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has named a 24-man squad for the upcoming international friendly against the Czech Republic in Dublin on February 29th.
Speaking after the squad announcement, the Irish boss said, "This game is the beginning of our Euro 2012 preparations.
"As we face this fixture, it is important for our players to remember the attitude and performance that brought us qualification.

Shannon Smyth (Mequon/Milwaukee DSHA) was named to the Republic of Ireland squad for the Algarve Cup in Portugal.

The 24-year-old Smyth, who will start her second season with Amazon Grimstad FK in Norway's Toppserien in April, has six career caps. She has dual citizenship because her father, Brendan, was born and raised in Ireland.

Photo by Michael Janosz/ISIphotos.com

For the other 18 teams in MLS, knocking the Los Angeles Galaxy off their perch atop the league just became a bit more difficult.

U.S. national team forward Edson Buddle is rejoining the Galaxy after being released from his contract with FC Ingolstadt 04 on Tuesday, sources told SBI.

The Republic of Ireland Umbro 2012/13 away kit has been revealed by Umbro Ireland. The new jersey see the team return to an away white with green accents and will...

The Republic of Ireland Umbro 2012/13 away kit has been revealed by Umbro Ireland. The new jersey see the team return to an away white with green accents and will...

Liverpool FC announced plans to open its first ever international football Academy in the Egyptian capital of Cairo.
The groundbreaking venture, a first for Liverpool FC in the Middle East, was officially unveiled by Reds legend Ian Rush at a ceremony attended by media from all over the region.
The Academy, when it officially opens early next month, will have a permanent base in Madinaty, a new 33 million square metre ultra-modern extension city being built within New Cairo, with a supporting soccer school in nearby Al Rehab designed to help identify the best young footballing talent in Cairo.

Rumours aplenty this Premiership weekend. One of them is that Mick McCarthy, the current Wolves manager, is set to be sacked if Wolves lose against Aston Villa on the weekend. This is despite utterances to the opposite from the Wolves chairman. Who ought to be believed? The rumour mongerers or the chairman of the club who will make such a decision?

By Alan Duffy

Despite Manchester United's lack of depth in central midfield, Darron "with an 'o' " Gibson has been shipped off to Everton, for a reported fee of £1million. The Irishman's four and a half year deal with the Toffees comes after not long after the Republic of Ireland midfielder was fined by Sir Alex Ferguson, after a Boxing Day night out with team-mates Wayne Rooney and Jonny Evans had left the players unfit for training for the following morning.

Republic of Ireland captain Robbie Keane has joined Aston Villa on-loan for two months, 13 years ago Keane could have joined the Villians but instead joined Coventry. Keane becomes the third MLS high profile played to join up with a EPL club during the MLS off-season with Landon Donovan and Thierry Henry already signed up for Everton and Arsenal respectively

Despite the recent bold pronouncements by new NI boss Michael O'Neill regarding his intention to stop players from the North opting to play for Ireland rather than his IFA team, it would seem, going by player statements in the past week, that his misguided mission is likely to continue falling on deaf-ears with players and supporters alike.

Ahead of a proposed loan move, former Liverpool player Robbie Keane has been training with Aston Villa over the last few days, and according to Villa boss Alex McLeish, the Republic of Ireland striker is in 'tip-top' shape.Keane only lasted six months at Anfield before being unceremoniously dumped by former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez, but McLeish believes the 31 year old can do a good job for

Guardian: LA Galaxy striker Robbie Keane set for two-month Aston Villa loan deal

• Keane could make Villa debut against Everton • Petr Cech commits to Chelsea despite transfer talk Aston Villa are in talks to sign the LA Galaxy striker Robbie Keane on a two-month loan deal, which could be completed in time for their next Premier League game against Everton on 14 January.

There were no JT-shirts at the Lane but Chelsea's defence is still in best hands, by Oliver Holt

The Chelsea players did not wear T-shirts supporting John Terry in the warm-up at White Hart Lane last night. The club said they did not feel it was necessary to copy Liverpool's gesture of solidarity with Luis Suarez the previous evening.

St Patrick's Athletic Football Club is a soccer club from Dublin, Ireland currently competing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. St. Pat's has won the League of Ireland title 7 times and the FAI Cup twice and was the first professional club of Republic of Ireland World Cup 1990 / 1994 and former Manchester [.

THFC1882 present a guest preview by Rob:

Shamrock Rovers v Tottenham Hotspur, Thursday 15th December 6pm KO ITV4

So here we are, at the last match in the laborious group stage of the Europa League. A competition that is supposed to be the second best European competition to win but in my opinion is just plain second rate as shown by the fact that not that many teams are interested in playing in it.

Ipswich Town boss Paul Jewell must have feared the worse when he walked into the dressing room at half-time during their game against Barnsley at Oakwell last Saturday.
His side was 2-0 down and staring down the barrel of an eight consecutive league defeat. Incredibly, they hit five goals during the second half as they staged the most unlikely of comebacks.

Euro 2012 Gear - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

The 14th European Championship for teams sanctioned by the UEFA is scheduled to be played between 8th June and 1st July 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.

Spain are the current holders of the cup they defeated Germany in the final in Austria / Switzerland version of the tournament in 2008.

Shamrock Rovers Football Club (Irish: Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is a professional soccer club based in Dublin, Ireland. The club competes in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and is the most successful club in the Republic of Ireland with a record 17 league titles and 24 FAI Cups to its credit.

The 2012 EURO's are slowly approaching, and just yesterday the groups for the initial stages of the tournament were drawn. Below are the resulting groups of the draw:


Group A
Poland, Greece, Russia, Czech Republic
Group B
Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Portugal


Group C
Spain, Italy, Republic of Ireland, Croatia


Group D
Ukraine, Sweden, France, England
As for just about every international tournament, a group of death naturally formed.

1. It could definitely have been worse for England. Far, far worse. Yet the caution about our prospects against the likes of the Ukraine and Sweden is reassuring. 2. England v France at the European Championships just won't be the same without a vomiting Zinedine Zidane. 3. Spain, Italy and the Republic of Ireland make [.

Tabela
Grupo A
8 June 2012
18:00 UTC+2 Poland Match 1 Greece National Stadium, Warsaw
8 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2 Russia Match 2 Czech Republic Municipal Stadium, Wrocław
12 June 2012
18:00 UTC+2 Greece Match 9 Czech Republic Municipal Stadium, Wrocław
12 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2 Poland Match 10 Russia National Stadium, Warsaw
16 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2 Czech Republic Match 17 Poland Municipal Stadium, Wrocław
16 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2 Greece Match 18 Russia National Stadium, Warsaw
Grupo B
9 June 2012
19:00 UTC+3 Netherlands Match 3 Denmark Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv
9 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3 Germany Match 4 Portugal Arena Lviv, Lviv
13 June 2012
19:00 UTC+3 Denmark Match 11 Portugal Arena Lviv, Lviv
13 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3 Netherlands Match 12 Germany Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv
17 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3 Portugal Match 19 Netherlands Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv
17 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3 Denmark Match 20 Germany Arena Lviv, Lviv
Grupo C
10 June 2012
18:00 UTC+2 Spain Match 5 Italy PGE Arena, Gdańsk
10 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2 Republic of Ireland Match 6 Croatia Municipal Stadium, Poznań
14 June 2012
18:00 UTC+2 Italy Match 13 Croatia Municipal Stadium, Poznań
14 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2 Spain Match 14 Republic of Ireland PGE Arena, Gdańsk
18 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2 Croatia Match 21 Spain PGE Arena, Gdańsk
18 June 2012
20:45 UTC+2 Italy Match 22 Republic of Ireland Municipal Stadium, P

Grupo D
11 June 2012
19:00 UTC+3 France Match 7 England Donbass Arena, Donetsk
11 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3 Ukraine Match 8 Sweden Olympic Stadium, Kiev
15 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3 Sweden Match 15 England Olympic Stadium, Kiev
15 June 2012
19:00 UTC+3 Ukraine Match 16 France Donbass Arena, Donetsk
19 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3 England Match 23 Ukraine Donbass Arena, Donetsk
19 June 2012
21:45 UTC+3 Sweden Match 24 France Olympic Stadium, Kiev

With co-hosts Poland and Ukraine placed in the first pot of the Euro 2012 draw, there was bound to be at least one brutally-tough group in next summer's tournament.

Group B gets the distinction as being the Group of Death, as the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal and Denmark will vie for two spots in the knockout round.

Good draw for England in the Euro 2012 as they have been drawn against Ukraine, France and Sweden. It is by now way an easy group for England, but considering who England could have been drawn against, Fabio Capello cannot be too upset.

In every tournament there is a proverbial "Group of Death" and Euro 2012 is no exception.

The draw for the 2012 UEFA European Championship, to be held in Poland and Ukraine from 8th June – 1st July next year, has been made in the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv this evening. Sixteen nations will contest this competition for the last time before the next tournament, to be held in France in 2016, will see an increase in the number of finals entrants to 24.

By Chris Wright

The interminable dancing and utterly pointless cavalcade of 'together as one' yadda yadda yadda-ing is finally over, the new Adidas Tango matchball has been rolled out and looks glorious (more on that later) and, as an aside to the entire carnival of shite, UEFA's all-important balls of destiny have been drawn from the hat of fate in Kiev.

The draw for this upcoming summer's Euro 2012 tournament is set to go in Kiev, Ukraine, with 16 teams eager to find out who they'll be competing against for the continent's championship. With co-hosts Poland and Ukraine placed in the first pot, there's bound to be some treacherous group pairings for some of the world's top teams.

Euro 2012 draw live

Join Sportsmail for today's draw for the European Championship in Kiev. Fabio Capello's men along with the Republic of Ireland will discover their opponents in the groups stages in Poland and Ukraine in June next year.

View the full story here: The Mail

A news article on 2011-12-02 08:54:36 from: The Mail

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

Following Manchester United's Carling Cup exit against Crystal Palace last night, OTP looks at five players on display night who are treading a tightrope if they want to continue their careers at Old Trafford. 1. Darron Gibson It looked like Fergie was going to ship Gibson out on the regular Manchester-Sunderland service during the summer.

Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has signed a new contract to stay in the role, meaning that he will coach the team throughout the 2014 World Cup qualification campaign. Those over at casinos online .com note how Ireland secured their place in Euro 2012 with an excellent play-off victory over Estonia earlier this month of course and the Italian signing a new deal is a testament to the job he has done.

With many of Europe's top leagues now well under way it is at this time of year that we look back at those championships which take place through the summer months. In this two-part special we focus on twelve countries ranging from Armenia to Kazakhstan, Latvia to the Republic of Ireland and from Iceland to Belarus and highlight those who are celebrating title success, cup final triumphs or in despair following relegation.

While Abou Diaby and Tomas Rosicky look to have been confirmed as available for the Gunners, Fulham Arsenal's opponents on Saturday evening have far more significant injury concerns. Republic of Ireland international Damien Duff is out of the clash at the Emirates with a calf problem and countryman Stephen Kelly's groin injury keeps [.

The draw for UEFA EURO 2012 will take place on December 2nd in Kiev, Ukraine. Ireland are 4th seeds and the draw will determine our entry into one of four groups, A, B, C or D.
Each of the four groups will play matches across two host venues in one of the host countries, either Poland or Ukraine.

Norwich and Republic of Ireland U21 winger Anthony Pilkington has been linked with a shock move to Liverpool.
According to reports, Kenny Dalglish is monitoring him closely following some impressive displays for newly promoted Norwich this season thus far. The 23 year old has been tipped with being an outside inclusion for Giovanni Trappatoni's Euro 2012 squad despite not having played for Ireland.

Landon Donovan's goal gave Los Angeles Galaxy their first MLS Cup win since 2005

Los Angeles Galaxy claimed the title of Major League Soccer champions for the third time in their history following Sunday's 1-0 win over Houston Dynamo in the 2011 MLS Cup final. Although the game featured prominently in the headlines before kick-off due to it being David Beckham's last game for the club, the headlines were reserved afterwards for a true American hero in Landon Donovan whose goal late in the game gave Galaxy the cup for the first time since 2005.

By Alan Duffy

Stoke City 2-3 Queens Park Rangers Premier League 19th November 2011

Icelandic journeyman Heidar Helguson is enjoying something of an Indian summer with QPR this season. The 34-year-old added another two goals to his season tally in a hard-fought win against Stoke on Saturday.

Earlier Scott Johnston and I debated the Old Firm leaving Scottish football. As a wee bonus here's Stewart Weir (@sweirz) with his take on the issue:
It's usually an argument made by those who don't support the Old Firm.
But if Celtic and Rangers (in alphabetical order only) departed Scotland and went elsewhere, Scotland wouldn't have the Old Firm.

Following the completion of the Euro 2012 Qualifying Play-Offs, from which Portugal, Croatia, Czech Republic and the Republic of Ireland all qualified this week, all sixteen teams that will be participating in Poland and the Ukraine next June are now known.

The Play-Offs saw the eight runners up of the qualifying groups comepte for the four remaining places at next year's tournament and the outcomes of all the games proved reasonably predictable.

By Chris Wright

Like that scene from every cartoon you've ever watched when someone bashes a janitor over the head, steals his clothes and uses them to sneak into an abandoned funfair, ticketless Republic of Ireland fan Conor Cunningham somehow managed to make his way onto the Estonia subs bench to watch the Euro 2012 play-off first-leg using nothing more than a tracksuit, a half-inched sack of footballs and fair old pair of cajones.

In this week's review section, we congratulate The Czech Republic, The Republic of Ireland, Portugal and Croatia on Euro 2012 qualification