Martin O’Neill must decide whether to stick or twist for Republic of Ireland

With Northern Ireland having already earned an invitation to Euro 2016 , the Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill craves a ticket to the party. He confesses to being “envious” of his Northern Ireland counterpart, Michael O’Neill, and also of the managers of England and Wales, all of whom can relax as the Republic try to navigate their way through a play-off against Bosnia-Herzegovina with a seriously depleted squad.

“Michael [O’Neill] is having a cigarette somewhere, as is Roy Hodgson and Chris Coleman, smoking and enjoying themselves,” said O’Neill. “I’m envious, I’d like to join them if at all possible.”

The Republic reached the finals four years ago thanks to a play-off victory over Estonia but generally they have found these last chances difficult to grasp, prevailing in only two of seven play-offs in their history. Their preparations for the first leg of the latest one, away to Bosnia, have been equally inauspicious, as the manager admits that injuries and suspensions will force him to “adjust personnel certainly, and perhaps also style”.

It will be fascinating to see which style he adopts. The fact that away goals will be taken into consideration in the event of the two-legged tie being level after extra-time could incite him to go for a more offensive approach than he has pursued in previous matches on the road. But does he have the tools? Injury to Shane Long and suspension to Jon Walters strip Ireland of players who contributed a third of their goals during the group stage. Robbie Keane no longer has even a fraction of their mobility or menace and Darryl Murphy has shown little hint of such qualities during his three appearances in the campaign so far.

Cristiano Ronaldo: I want to retire with 'dignity', not in USA, Qatar or Dubai

Cristiano Ronaldo said Friday that he wants to end his career “with dignity” and not playing in “the United States, Qatar or Dubai”. The Real Madrid and Portugal star, the subject of a new documentary that premiered on Monday in London, said Thursday in an interview on ITV’s The Jonathan Ross Show that he expected to play six or seven more seasons and hoped to finish his career at the highest level. The remarks ostensibly referenced the recent wave of top players who have finished their careers outside of Europe’s top leagues, among them MLS imports Didier Drogba, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo and David Villa, along with Xavi, the lifelong Barcelona midfielder who signed with Qatari club Al Sadd in May. “That does not mean it’s bad play in the leagues of the United States, Qatar or Dubai, but I do not see myself there,” Ronaldo said. Ronaldo, who turns 31 in February, became Real Madrid’s all-time leading goalscorer last month and has th...

Young people to lose access to unemployment benefits as part of welfare reforms

YOUNG people will not be able to get unemployment benefits until they turn 25 under reforms introduced by the Turnbull Government today. The coalition has unveiled wide-ranging welfare reforms in parliament today, including changes to the Newstart program. It hopes to stop people aged 22 to 24 getting Newstart or the Sickness allowance, and they will instead be shifted to the Youth Allowance payment. This will reduce the amount of money that they will be able to get, costing a single person living away from home about $90 a fortnight. They will also be required to study in order to qualify for the payments. “The key aim of this measure is to provide incentives for young unemployed people to obtain the relevant education and training to increase employability,” according to an explanatory memorandum for the bill. However, it says Youth Allowance does allow students to earn a higher amount of money from part-time or casual work than Newstart, before this begins imp...

Battle to keep guns from former Queensland policeman with PTSD

IT’S been almost 10 years since Ben Alexander Ephraim Dyball left the Queensland police under a cloud of trauma and allegations of bizarre behaviour. He’s had a tough time letting go of the past. That was apparent when officers from Warwick Police — where Mr Dyball was once stationed — raided his Elbow Valley property and allegedly found a stash of old police uniforms, official police notepads, gun holsters (including one of the concealable variety), handgun and rifle ammunition, several police identification cards, two pairs of police handcuffs and 450g of marijuana. A weapons licence Mr Dyball had previously declared stolen and a number of rifle bolts were also seized. The officers had waited until the 49-year-old was at the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) in Toowoomba appealing the suspension of his weapons licence, to exercise their search warrant. The Queensland Weapons Licensing Unit revoked Mr Dyball’s licence in September 2015 following a bizarr...

Two Times

Search This Blog