With the start of the 08/09 Premier League season merely days away, things are really starting to heat up on the transfer front, with the back pages of every paper reading more and more like a gossip column.  There have already been some high-profile moves, with Keane’s departure from Spurs to Liverpool and Bentley’s move from Blackburn to Spurs being the most recent.  Both moves have sparked an array of debate amongst fans and pundits alike, but the most interesting comments have probably come from the players themselves, with Keane hopeful of ‘challenging’ for the title and Bentley confident Spurs ’can crack top four’.  Other on-going sagas include the Barry move away from Villa and Ronaldo’s move to Real Madrid.  Latest news on the Barry front is that he is not going but may put in a transfer request anyway, with O’Neill adamant that his star player is going nowhere. As for Ronaldo, Spanish newspaper AS has claimed today that the Portuguese winger has issued a statement to Real Madrid stating “It’s ok. Next week, I’ll fix everything. I’ll go to Manchester and tell them my only desire is to play for Real Madrid and that the decision is non-negotiable.”  Rumour has it that next Tuesday is the day that Ronaldo and Ferguson will meet head-to-head (or head-to-boot if Ferguson has his way) so I guess we will just have to sit back and see what happens. 

As for the other clubs, it’s the same old -  Arsenal have no money to buy big and will be relying on Wenger to pull a few gems out of his magic hat. Pompey also have no money, despite completing the biggest sale in the clubs history recently and need ’several’ more players.  David Moyes has also stated that he needs more players, but then that has been the case for quite a few years now.  Roy Keane is going to buy a few Irish players (Kevin Doyle being the latest name to be mentioned) and neighbours Newcastle are going to find out the value of a player, multiply it by ten and then pay him the same in a weekly wage (Fabricio Coloccini from Deportivo being the latest £10m rumour).  Manchester City are going to offer rediculous money for a world class player only to get rejected.  Chelsea are going to wait and see what quality palyers are left and then simply buy them all, and as for the rest of the clubs, well they are just going to sit back and be jealous.  As for me, I am looking forward to seeing how Keane gets on at Liverpool, how Modoric gets on in the Premiership and for all this transfer milarky to calm down so I can finally sort out my fantasy football team. 

Padraig Harrington retained his Open Championship in impressive style over the weekend, and in doing so provided the Irish public with a much needed boost after a dismal few years on the sporting front.  Harrington’s victories aside, our sporting endeavors seem to have mirrored our countries current economic downturn, especially on a national level.  Granted, we have had some success with the likes of Munster and Leinster at a club level, but one must remember that many of the stars in both sides are from a wide array of countries.  With the Olympics mere days away, this writer is just wondering if perhaps Padraig can spur some of our athletes on to bring home a medal or two, or at least give the Irish supporters a run for their money… 

Unlike some of our other sporting attempts, Ireland have actually qualified for quite a few events, and it is the usual set of events where we must look to find our medal hopes (typically where a horse is in involved or you are required to beat someone up). 

First up we have Darren Sutherland, Ken Egan, Jon Joe Nevin and Paddy Barnes, all boxers who have reasonable chances of bringing home a medal for Ireland.  Another man who likes a good row is Eoin Rheinisch, who has chances of a podium finish as he tackles a competitive field in canoeing.  Ireland also have a chance in the men’s lightweight four rowing, with Peter O’Leary and Stephen Milne boat having chances of a medal in the 2 man sailing.  Next we have our show jumping and equestrian chances, where Denis Lynch (perhaps our best chance at a medal), Geoff Curran, Patricia Ryan, Niall Griffin, Austin O’Connor and Louise Lyons lead the way in our pursuit of glory.  Without good aul Sonya this year, our traditionally strong athletics squads’ chances of a medal are probably best represented by Eilenn O’Keefe and Robert Heffernan, both of whom have great chances to reach their respective finals, but realistically cannot expect a medal.  In an event perhaps new to the majority of the Irish public (unless your involved in the sport or a hardened criminal), shooting, a man by the name of Derek Burnett has his sights set on bringing home a medal and personally, I am looking forward to watching a new sport with a bit of added interest.  It promises to be a great spectacle and even if we don’t bring home any medals at least we have something good to watch on the tele. 

On a different note, I feel I must apologise for some of my puns.  I shall try to do better in the future…

Welcome to the brand new Hacketts Blog.  Here you will find previews of all major sporting events, as well as discussions about any major news stories that we see fit to discuss.  This section of our site will also give you the chance to have your say, as you can leave a comment and generally disagree with everything we say at your pleasure…

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