Patrick Devaney

In the 1950s, Sheffield Wednesday were known as the ‘yo-yo club’, oscillating between the old Division One and Division Two seven times during the decade. With 2006/07’s ninth-place Championship finish being the pinnacle of a meagre three successful seasons since their Premier League relegation in 2000, many Owls fans might settle for a similar period […]

Success in football is difficult to sustain. Most clubs go through peaks and troughs. And typically, it’s during the troughs that problems emerge. But there is an altogether different type of problem at Arsenal, a sense of stagnation and déjà vu that is gradually driving many of their fans mad. For the last five or […]

Yes, international football is off the agenda for the time being as we dig in for the weekly grind of club football over the winter. I thought however,  EplTalk readers would be interested in what Brazil's finest had to say about the current state of football. Pele was in Dublin on Thursday to raise money for […]

I thought I should jump in on this issue while the water is still warm and explain an Irish view of Wednesday's larceny. In Ireland we do not do football dramas in small measures, Roy Keane's walkout at the 2002 World Cup practically sparked a civil war and now the 'Hand of Henry' has turned […]

Working as a freelance journalist has its perks but one of the drawbacks is having free time when the rest of the world is out there earning a crust. This time must be filled somehow and today I found myself perusing the BBC website checking the scores from the early kick offs in the Europa […]

What on earth is going on at White Hart Lane? Two games into the new Premier League season and Spurs have put together two convincing performances on the trot and have two wins secured. Liverpool were put to the sword on the opening weekend, despite Rafa's bleating about penalties, Spurs should have had the game […]

As Manchester United and Birmingham City took to the Old Trafford turf on Sunday afternoon few eyes would have settled on the figure of Keith Fahey, Birmingham's Irish midfielder. It has been a long journey for the former Arsenal and Aston Villa trainee but on Sunday Fahey finally arrived on the biggest stage of all. Fahey […]

This season promises to be a pivotal one in the reign of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. Wenger has been one of the most influential managers in Arsenal's history but for the first time last year there were rumblings of discontent from the fans. In the build up to the new Premier League season the Arsenal manager has again […]

The start of the new season brings with it hope and expectation for everyone, fans, managers and players alike. It does not matter what happened last season or in the summer, the slate is wiped clean come August and we are all allowed to dream. For the precocious teenagers at clubs around England they are […]

There is nothing football supporters enjoy more than a talking point, something to stir debate, boil the blood and argue about. In honour of this noble pursuit I decided to compile two teams made up from the best English players ever to grace the Premier League and pit them against the best foreign XI. The […]

Since the outlaw of standing areas English stadia have undergone huge changes. From the crumbling relics of the 1980s the Premier League now boasts some of the finest stadiums in the world. The names Old Trafford, Anfield and Stamford Bridge all roll off the tongue but within these fine stadiums there is that one stand […]

Just when you thought Real Madrid had sated their appetite for extravagant attacking ability in the transfer market, with the signings of Ronaldo and Kaka, they swoop for one of French football's most prized assets in a deal reported to be worth up to 41 million euro. The signing of Karim Benzema from Lyon takes Real Madrid's […]

The life of a top level referee is a tough one. Before the age of blanket coverage of the beautiful game referees could go about their job and to a certain extent slip into the background when the work was done. Such an existence is no longer possible as a bad day at the office now sparks […]

I think it is safe to assume that Alex Ferguson is a keen follower of all things football, to remain at the top for as long as he has you need to keep your finger on the footballing pulse. I wonder then if he took the time out during his summer holidays to keep up […]

  For most of the season in the Premiership all the attention is focussed on the major issues at the top of the league. The race for the title and the battle for the big prizes grab the majority of the headlines and the lesser lights of the league are left to battle it out […]