Welcome one and all to the second ‘That Was The Week That Blogged’. Bloggers this week took two of Ireland’s greatest anti-heroes to task; in one case getting their heads around the sporting event of the season (so far) and in another waxing lyrical on an ad campaign that can simply be described as… eye catching.
Feel free to slap a comment below with your thoughts, good or bad. Anyone wanting to bring attention to a worthwhile blog post for next week can do so below of via email… the topic doesn’t matter as long as the blogger is Irish and it’s somewhat coherant!
Click to read on, and enjoy!
One of the most bizarre partnerships in modern Ireland was the main topic of discussion for bloggers this week; we’re not talking about potential Government coalitions or the fact that some Orangemen plan to vote for the SDLP, it was something altogether more important than that.
Chris Donnelly at Slugger starts the proceedings with what he sees as the end of ‘one of the great feuds of Irish football’ and offers a short and snappy round-up of the now four year old Keane vs. Quinn saga. As Chris points out one of the strangest twists of all is that ‘Keane will be taking over from where his arch nemesis, Mick McCarthy, left off as Sunderland manager last year’. With that in mind Cian at Where’s Me Country? ponders ‘any chance of the ol Mackems singing “who was Mick McCarthy”? Just for the irony?’
Colm at InFactAh, one of many bloggers taken aback by the decision, casts a more critical eye on Quinn’s leadership at Sunderland so far; ‘Since taking the reins at Sunderland, Quinn has resembled nothing but a bumbling apologist… he’s just installed an completely unproven manager (coaching badges don’t quite cut it) who has a temperament not suitable for football management.’ Although he concludes that ‘this will undoubtedly unravel in the coming days and months and become a fascinating situation to watch’.
Declan at Dec’s Ramblings figures that Quinn has created a handy safety-net so, should Roy Keane’s lack of experience prove his downfall, there’s plenty of other “talent†available in the Irish contingency; ‘after Niall Quinn became chairman of Sunderland he appointed himself as manager of Sunderland. He then lost 5 matches in a row… Anyway it looks like he may have now signed Roy Keane up to manage the team, at least for the next 5 matches, then Jason McAteer may get a shot, followed by John Aldridge, Denis Irwin, Tony Cascarino…â€
Some other bloggers have some pertinent issues and questions to air on this bizarre turn of events; Damien asks “what the fuck like?†while Kevin at Disillusioned Lefty suggests “I. Keano II, anyone?â€
Another Irishman not known to keep his opinion to himself, Michael O’Leary, also got his fair share of blog attention this week as he hit out at restrictions imposed by the British Government at UK airports. As part of his attempt to have these restrictions relaxed the Ryanair website has played host to a number of images, from Winston Churchill saying “keep Britain flying†to one featuring a mass of naked individuals, apparently undergoing the ‘new airport security measures’.
Tim at TCAL noted the company’s apparent sense of humour in light of recent events, stating that ‘Ryanair seem to have the right attitude’. Robin at Geared Up Blog takes a more cynical view of it all saying ‘God they’ll try anything for some extra attention!’ while Pat at the Roam4Free blog joins in, sarcastically stating ‘isn’t Michael O Leary fun?’.
Blogorrah, on the other hand, goes one further than that and refuses to let the airline off the hook on the back of its latest ad campaign; ‘Michael O’Leary shares his “unique†sense of humour by publishing the above picture on the Ryanair website – you get it when you click on ‘New Airport Security Measures’. Hilaryarse…Then there’s the impending two-day strike at Stansted Airport by baggage handlers and check-in staff – Ryanair are taking the lead by restricting passengers to a single piece of hand luggage. Fabulous. Did we mention the terminally ill man who had to board a flight using a child’s buggy after being refused a wheelchair? Or the woman whose husband’s ashes went missing? Sure, nothing another wacky photo op can’t solve, what?’
And Finally:
With the good weather beginning to fall out of our reach for another year there is one thing that all minds will turn to in preparation for the colder months; seasonally applicable shoes. Style Treaty gives us a quick run down of the do’s and do not’s of winter foot-wear including this little gem; ‘A staple of most winter wardrobes, particularly if you work in an office environment is the black court shoe…The heels can’t be too high as even in an office there is some walking even if it is only to the photocopier or coffee machine. I prefer a pointy toe for under skirts as round toes don’t suit all ankles, but a slightly round toe can look a little more casual than a pointy toe for office wear’. Happy shopping, folks.