The afternoon not too long ago when Andrea Bocelli sang ‘Nessun Dorma’ to the new Premier League champions was one of the high points of not just Leicester City’s history, but in the history of the Premier League.   It was a grace note to one of the most romantic and heroic feats in the […]

9 years ago

The more things change, the more they remain the same. For a few years now, I’ve sensed the Premier League has quietly doubted its self-professed claims on being the greatest league in the world. It might be the most exciting league, but when we looked to Spain or Germany and watched the elite teams racking […]

9 years ago

In one way the past seven days have been all about the most depressing aspects of the modern game. The tantrums thrown by Dimitri Payet and by Diego Costa in two corners of London were a reminder that the loyal footballer  is an endangered species. Our Premier League was built on old traditions and new money, […]

10 years ago

We bury the great Bob Cass today up in lovely Durham. Bob was an old style football journalist who never took himself too seriously and his passing breaks another link with an almost forgotten era in the relationship between footballers and football writers. If I talk to young players now about the way things used to […]

10 years ago

After the weekend’s drama it says something about the career I have had when my eye gets drawn to the bottom of the Premier League table more than it does to the top. The basement is the accident and emergency department of football. Some surgeons work in high-end cosmetic surgery and others work in the […]

10 years ago

In his latest column for JOE, Niall Quinn talks about the remarkable career of Swansea City manager Bob Bradley and says he is deserving of much more than the cheap jibes that have been sent his way. Swansea City won a crazy game of football on Saturday. Nine goals. Lots of drama. Three points that […]

10 years ago

In his latest column for JOE, Niall Quinn writes about his only sending off, and his hopes for the Premier League’s most popular chairman. “You’re fined a weeks wages.” I was fed up and not entertaining it. I just turned around and shouted back, “I’m not paying it.” I walked on. Another shout from behind. […]

10 years ago

When the cat was away, the mice went out to play. I have to admit I’m generally an optimist but I hadn’t got this Irish team down for 10 points out of 12 at this stage of the qualifying process. I thought we’d have our usual skin of the teeth end to the campaign. Instead, […]

10 years ago

It’s time to appraise those summer signings. As we get to the last international break of the year, I see the papers and the internet are simmering again with rumours of the approaching transfer window, so it seems like a good time to look at a few of the hits and misses from the latest […]

10 years ago

They’ve let their fans down many times, but their early season form suggests this is a much changed Arsenal side. Before the man from the FBI points it out, I am coming out with my hands up. My emails and other records, which I don’t know how to delete, will reveal the following: When Arsenal […]

10 years ago

In football you don’t always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need. A few weeks ago Chelsea looked as if they were in serious trouble, having been turned over by Liverpool and Arsenal in the space of eight days. When Chelsea beat Leicester in between those two defeats we only talked […]

10 years ago

Liverpool and Manchester United. Red Monday. We aren’t even a third of the way through the season, and it feels as if we aren’t leaving enough space for bigger hype when things get really serious in the New Year. I blame the managers. Of course. That’s the first thing that they taught me at Football […]

10 years ago

In his latest exclusive column for JOE, Niall Quinn discusses the eventful career of James McClean and why he believes he’s proved well worth the leap of faith Quinn took when signing him for Sunderland. James McClean is one of those guys who always seems to be just arriving somewhere. He came to the Premier […]

10 years ago

In his latest column for JOE.ie, Niall Quinn talks about the sacking of Sam Allardyce, ‘intermediaries’ in the game and how Dundalk are making waves in England. In The Big Short, a group of stock analysts made a lot of money by betting against the bubble that was the American sub-prime housing market about ten years ago. […]

10 years ago

JOE columnist Niall Quinn with a very sobering look at the dwindling number of Irish players in the Premier League. I was speaking to somebody recently from a big Premier League club in England and I asked had they any young Irish players on their radar. The answer was a bit crushing. He said that […]

10 years ago

For the second time this season, I ran into John Egan on a Saturday morning as he was heading off to play for Brentford. by Niall Quinn, who continues his weekly JOE column by looking at Irish soccer and the untold stories from the Premier League The first time we bumped into each other he […]

10 years ago