Optimism. Hope. Fear.

These three words perfectly sum up the mood of the Northern Ireland fans ahead of their top of the group clash against 2014 World Champions, Germany, at Windsor Park on Monday 9th September 2019 with a 7.45pm UK time Kick off.

Northern Ireland go into this match unbeaten in their previous five matches. They beat Luxembourg in a friendly on Thursday night as well as beating Belarus and Estonia both home and away in their opening four matches of their qualifying campaign.

The match against Luxembourg was a glimpse at the future, rather than the present and fans can look forward to Monday night’s game, knowing that the team will be much changed, much more experienced and more refreshed than the German’s.

Germany were beat 4-2 by the Netherlands on Friday night in a game in which Northern Ireland would have preferred the German’s to come out on top, despite them replacing the Green and White army at the top of the table on goal difference.

I got my starting XI very wrong for the last game, not anticipating Micheal O’Neill selecting players that were not even listed in the squad never mind the match programme. I am however feeling more confident with my team selection for this match. Jordan Jones is 100% going to miss this match due to injury and I expect him to be replaced by Niall McGinn, bringing in much needed experience into the side, with Gavin Whyte switching to the left hand side.

This was my original starting XI prediction for the Germany Match

The rest of the team seems to be safe enough with the only real question mark being over the right back position. I believe the Dallas will play, but it might not be at right-back. With Smith out injured and a poor performance from Conor McLaughlin on Thursday night, I think Dallas will get the nod to play there. Micheal could also play him on the left wing replacing Jones in my original team, but now McGinn who I expect to play instead of Jones.

Micheal O’Neill has already hinted that Washington will get the nod upfront due to the lack of game time for the other forwards as well as resting him against Luxembourg due to a slight injury.

I don’t want to sound overly optimistic in this preview, but I genuinely believe that this Northern Ireland side can take a point of Germany. Northern Ireland can leave the stadium on Monday night still top of the group, three points ahead of the Germans. They do have a quality team but its young and inexperienced, this is probably the strongest Northern Ireland side in a long time, and the Germans have a weaker team than they did against Northern Ireland last time, and with the defensive vulnerabilities shown on Friday night, Northern Ireland will be up for a shock result.

My updated starting XI vs Germany

Score Prediction: Northern Ireland 1-1 Germany

An experimental side that had individual quality but a lack of team cohesion was the story of the match at Windsor Park on Thursday 5th September.

Micheal O’Neill had selected a starting XI that was a mix of experience as well as giving players that have been in the squad for the last while, some game time, as well as giving out a debut from the start for Ciaron Brown, who plays his football for Cardiff City.

Starting XI:

Peacock-Farrell, McLaughlin, Flanagan, Brown, Ferguson, Evans, Thompson, Saville, Whyte, Magennis, Lafferty

Subs: McGovern, Galbraith, Davis, Lavery, McCalmont, Donnelly

The opening 15 minutes were not great, sloppy passes, overhit balls and a lack of quality was the key talking points in the opening period of the match. Luxembourg looked lively at times but the Northern Ireland centre-backs, Flanagan and Brown had the lions share of possession. The first real chance of the game fell to Josh Magennis who went close.

The only goal of the match came in the 37th minute of the match, an own goal, thanks to Malget. The goal came after a good spell of pressure for the green and white army. A George Saville header at the far post was saved brilliantly by the Luxembourg keeper before pressure from Magennis resulted in Malget heading the ball into his own net, in such as way you would have expected it to be a Luxembourg goal.

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After the Northern Ireland fans bid farewell to record outfield cap holder, Aaron Hughes at half time, Northern Ireland were unchanged but performance levels needed to rise. The first Northern Ireland substitution came in the 60th minute, with Alfie McCalmont being given his International debut, after being promoted from the under 21’s along with Ciaron Brown, Bobby Burns and Ethan Galbraith just for this friendly, replaced George Saville. Shane Lavery also came on to win his second impact, replacing Kyle Lafferty. Lavery made a huge impact on the game, having two clear chances and was all over the Luxembourg defence, something that Lafferty was unable to achieve.

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Two penalty appeals were turned down in the 65th minute, before Corry Evans handed the armband to Josh Magennis as he was replaced by Liam Donnelly who was making his second appearance for Northern Ireland. Like Lavery, Liam was very impressive and helped to create a much needed spark. McGovern also made a return to the Windsor Park pitch, replacing Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

Ethan Galbraith came on to make his international debut, replacing Gavin Whyte, while Steven Davis came on to equal Aaron Hughes record of 112 outfield caps, replacing Jordan Thompson.

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After three minutes of added time the referee blew the final whistle, putting an end of a youthful performance from Northern Ireland. The team will be much changed for the game against Germany, but with the younger players earning caps the future looks bright for the green and white army.

The first International break of the 2019-20 season is here, and for Northern Ireland that means another match against Germany. But before that match, the Green and White army host Luxembourg in a friendly, or as the Irish Football Association like to put it, an International Challenge Match.

The match will take place on Thursday 5th September, with kick-off at 7.45pm. This match will also give fans the opportunity to applaud a true legend of football for Northern Ireland, record outfield caps holder, Aaron Hughes. Speaking about record outfield caps, Steven Davis will join Hughes with 112 caps, should he make an appearance in this match. However, Davis is not expected to start the match, due to Michael O’Neill stating that Corry Evans will captain the side against Luxembourg.

Micheal O’Neill has already stated that he wants to use this match to give players that have been in the squad for the last year or two but haven’t had an opportunity to play, an opportunity to get a chance in front of a home crowd. There is also a few injury concerns for O’Neill, with the most notable drop-out being Rangers winger, Jordan Jones, due to an injury he picked up with 17 seconds to go against Celtic, getting sent off in the tackle that caused the injury.

In my own squad predictions I correctly predicted the three goalkeepers that Micheal O’Neill would choose, as well as all the defenders apart from Callum Morris, who replaced Gareth McAuley. In midfield I correctly named nine players, with McGinn and Ferguson getting the nod ahead of Mark Sykes, who was not included in the initial squad, but has received a call-up due to the injury to Jones. Three of the forwards I predicted to be in the squad were called up, with Lafferty and Lavery missing out, however, Smyth had to pull out so Lavery did make it into the squad after his heroics for Linfield and on Wedensday, Lafferty was called-up to the squad to bolster the squad due to doubts over the fitness of Boyce.

The current squad for the Luxembourg match is as follows:

Goalkeepers: McGovern (Norwich City), Peacock-Farrell (Burnley), Carson (Motherwell)

Defenders: J Evans (Leicester City), Cathcart (Watford), McLaughlin (Sunderland), Lewis (Norwich City), Flanagan (Sunderland), Morris (Ross County)

Midfielders: Davis (Rangers), McGinn (Aberdeen), C Evans (Blackburn Rovers), Dallas (Leeds Utd), Ferguson (Millwall), McNair (Sunderland), Saville (Middlesbrough), Whyte (Cardiff City), Thompson (Blackpool), Donnelly (Motherwell), Sykes (Oxford United)

Strikers: Magennis (Hull City), Washington (Hearts), Boyce (Burton Albion), Lavery (Linfield), Lafferty (Sarpsborg)

My starting XI vs Luxembourg based on my squad was as follows:

With injury drop-outs and players not being selected, I have got this team quite wrong. I think that Conor McLaughlin will replace Smith at right-back, Cathcart replacing McAuley at right centre-back with Dallas replacing Jones at left-wing. I expected Lavery, Sykes, Smyth, McGovern, Thompson and Dallas to make an appearance from the bench. I still expect McGovern, Thompson, Lavery and Sykes make an appearance and with Dallas moved into my starting XI and Smyth not in the squad, I expect Morris and Washington to make an appearance at some stage in the match.

Despite their being 62 places between the sides in the FIFA World Rankings, I expect this to be a tough match. I still expect Northern Ireland to come out on top but not by the score line people think. With a much-changed Northern Ireland side showing the depth in the squad, and an inexperienced Luxembourg side that may make a few changes themselves ahead of their home qualifier against Serbia, Northern Ireland should have the quality to out-do their European counterparts.

I predict that Northern Ireland will win this match 3-0. Giving them a clean sheet, minutes in their legs and a few goals on the board to get the players in the mood for Germany, if they needed any more motivation that is.

My Starting XI vs Luxembourg

Score Prediction: Northern Ireland 3-0 Luxembourg

I haven’t been writing blog posts for very long and this is by far the most difficult one for me to write and I hope I will never have to start an article like this again. During the Formula 2 feature race on Saturday 31st August 2019, French driver, Anthoine Hubert, 22, lost his life as a result of a freak accident at Spa in Belgium.

I had the privilege to watch Anthoine compete in four races. In 2018 at Silverstone I watched as he won the Formula 3 feature race, before seeing him race in Formula 2 at Silverstone this season. He was a very talented driver and I believe he would have been in line for a Formula One race seat in 2021. I want this post to act as a tribute to Anthoine, and my thoughts are with his family and friends, along with Juan Manuel Correa, who is recovering in hospital after requiring surgery as a result of the same crash.

Although the weekend was over shadowed by the horrendous scenes from the previous day, the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix was a fitting tribute to Hubert. Charles Leclerc was on pole for the race, after setting a blistering lap time of 1:42.519, ahead of team-mate, Sebastian Vettel, who set a time of 1:43.267. The two Mercedes drivers qualified in third and fourth, with Hamilton edging out Bottas. Verstappen qualified in fifth ahead of ex-Red Bull team mate in sixth. Hulkenburg, Raikkonen, Perez and Magnussen rounded out the top 10. Grosjean, Norris, Stroll, Albon and Giovinazzi were knocked out in Q2, with Gasly, Sainz, Kvyat, Russell and Kubica all knocked out in the first part of qualifying.

There was a crazy amount of penalties that the drivers faced from taking new engines and parts of the car that exceeded the limit of parts the teams are allowed to use. The provisional grid was ever changing and the final grid only became clear about an hour before the race. Below is how the drivers lined up on the grid.

There was a chaotic start to the race, with Verstappen colliding with Raikkonen, almost flipping the car over. This forced six cars to take evasive action, as well as one of the Renault cars bouncing into the air. As the cars starting the ascent of Raidillon, Verstappen went into the barriers at Eau Rouge, before Vettel reclaimed second place from Hamilton at the end of the Kemmel straight, shortly before the safety car was deployed for the Verstappen incident. Just as the safety car lights went out, Sainz pulled into the side of the track with a loss of power.

The debut race in a Red Bull for Alex Albon got of to a great start, gaining multiple places on the opening lap, with a move on Magnussen on lap 15 to claim 11th place, a sign of things to come. Two laps later, Gasly, who swapped places with Albon, made a strong overtake on Perez, allowing him to prove a point to his former employees.

Lap 19 was a lap of reflection, with the grandstands on their feet, applauding the life of Anthoine Hubert. This was organised by the fans and it demonstrates how much respect the motorsport fans have for their heroes. This came after the fans stood and applauded the emergency services as they went to take up their spots around the track before racing got underway.

Lap 32 was when the battle for 1st place between Leclerc and Hamilton got underway. Hamilton overtook Vettel at the end of the Kemmel straight, a reverse of the move on the opening lap. With 12 laps to go the top 10 was; Leclerc, Hamilton, Vettel, Bottas, Norris, Perez, Ricciardo, Grosjean, Kvyat and Gasly.

Albon was gaining a position every few laps and looked on course for a strong points finish, and made his day even better making a stunning overtake on Ricciardo on lap 35, leaving him in eight place. The slip-stream was in full action in the race as was seen on lap 41. Grosjean was leading Hulkenburg down the Kemmel straight with the German closing in, eventually overtaking him. This was before the double toe that Stroll had, launched him into the battle, colliding with the HAAS car, but no damage was done.

The final few laps saw Lewis Hamilton close in on Leclerc, closing the cap by seconds a lap. Giovanazzi went into the barriers in sector two, bringing out the yellow flags, along with Lando Norris pulling in on the start/finish straight when he had a loss of power just like his team mate, after sitting in fifth place from the start of the race.

Leclerc crossed the line to win the Belgian Grand Prix, his first grand prix victory. Hamilton and Bottas made the podium, with Vettel, Albon, Perez, Kyvat, Hulkenburg, Gasly and Stroll rounding out the points. Albon ended in 5th place after a stunning overtake on Perez right at the end of the lap.

Leclerc had mixed emotions after winning his first grand-prix, delighted with the victory but saddened by the loss of a friend the day before. In his post-race interview Leclerc said:

“On the one hand, I have a dream since I was a child that has been realised. And on the other hand, it has been a very difficult weekend since yesterday. “We have lost a friend first of all. I would like to dedicate this win to him.”

After a very difficult weekend for everyone involved in the motorsport community, the racing continues in Italy starting 6th September, with the lights out for the 2019 Italian Grand Prix at Monza taking place at 2:10pm UK time on Sunday 8th September.

The current top five in each World Championship standings are as follows:

Drivers: Hamilton (268 pts), Bottas (203 pts), Verstappen (181 pts), Vettel (169 pts) and Leclerc (157 pts)

Constructors: Mercedes (471 pts), Ferrari (326 pts), Red Bull (254 pts), McLaren (82 pts) and Toro Rosso (51 pts)

The fastest lap of the race was a time of 1:46.409 set by Ferrari driver, Sebastian Vettel, earning him an extra World Championship point.

I would like to again pay tribute to Anthoine Hubert, this grand prix was one that honoured him in the only way racing could, with the drivers going out onto the track, giving their all and putting on a show for the fans.

Micheal O’Neill’s first match as manager of Northern Ireland ended in a 3-0 defeat to Norway at home. The current Northern Ireland team has changed quite remarkably since that night in Belfast seven years ago. Let’s take a look to see what the players are up to now.

Goalkeeper – Lee Camp

This was Lee Camp’s eighth cap for his adopted country. He didn’t have the best night conceding three goals. One at the end of the first half, and two futher goals at the end of the second half. At the time he was playing for Nottingham Forest in the Championship, before a move to Norwich in the Premier League, making three starts.

At the age of 35, Camp currently is playing for Birmingham City in the Championship, and is their number one choice between the sticks. He has started every game so far this season and played 44 times for the blues. Camp made himself unavailable for selection after his next cap against Finland, and hasn’t played or been selected since that game in 2012.

Defence – Gareth McAuley

A 35th cap was what Gareth McAuley recieved after being selected in the starting XI. He was deployed at right-back which is not his natural position, although one were he has played many times for his country. He was contracted to Premier League side, West Bromwich Albion at the time, playing for the baggies 32 times that season in the league.

He is currently without a club at the age of 39. Last season he was with Rangers, making seven league appearance for the Gers. He still remains part of the Northern Ireland, having been selected for the summer qualifiers for Euro 2020.

Centre-back – Aaron Hughes

This match saw Aaron Hughes put on the National shirt for a 85th time. He was deployed as centre-back for this match, and at the time was playing for Fulham in the Premier League, having played 19 times for his club that season in the league.

Aaron Hughes retired at the end of the 2018-19 season, having last been with Hearts in Scotland. He was called up to the national team for the last time during the away trips to Estonia and Belarus, with his 112th and final cap coming against Costa Rica in summer 2018, playing as a left back.

Centre-back – Jonny Evans

Hughes’ partner in defence was Jonny Evans, who was making his 29th cap for his country. At the time he was playing for Manchester United, playing 29 times for the Red Devil’s that season.

He is now a regular starter at Leicester City having moved the foxes in 2018 after getting relegated with West Bromwich Albion. He made 24 appearances for Leicester last season, but looks to be a key starter after the departure of Harry Maguire. Evans was also subject to big money bids from Manchester City, rejected in order to stay at the baggies, before leaving for £3 million, as was the clause in his contract.

Defence – Ryan McGivern

Ryan McGivern was on loan at Bristol City at the time of making his 15th cap for his country, having played for Bristol 31 times that campaign, while he was on loan from Manchester City.

McGivern is currently applying his trade in Northern Ireland with the NIFL Premiership champion’s Linfield. This comes after unsuccesful spells at Northampton Town and Swindon Town. He hasn’t had much game time at Linfield just yet, injuries caused him to only play in five matches last campaign, signing in July and making his debut in February. His last international cap against Croatia in 2016.

Midfield – Corry Evans

The younger brother of Jonny, Corry made his 14th appearance for his country during this match. At the time of the match he was playing his club football for Hull City in the Championship, making 43 league appearances that season for the tigers.

Corry now plays his club football for Blackburn Rovers having made 35 appearances for the Championship side last campaign having made the return to the second flight through promotion with Blackburn, making 32 appearances for them the previous season.

Midfield – Steven Davis

The captain of the squad, leading them out on his 52nd cap. At the time he was playing for Rangers, making 33 appearances that season, before Rangers were relegated to League 2 and Davis left to join Southampton in the Premier League.

Davis is currently back at Rangers, having joint them on loan in January 2019 before signing on a free after being released by Southampton. He made 15 appearacnes in the league for the Glasgow side at the end of last season, and has established himself as a key player, just as he did in his previous spell, as well as continuing to captain his country.

Midfield – Sammy Clingan

Sammy Clingan made his 31st appearance for Northern Ireland in this game. He was playing Championship football for Coventry City at the time, making 36 appearances that season.

He is currently applying his trade in the NIFL Premiership in Northern Ireland, playing for Glenavon, he played 10 times last season. He made his final Northern Ireland appearance in 2014 against Romania.

Midfield – Shane Ferguson

A place in the starting XI allowed Shane Ferguson to pick up his first start for Northern Ireland, after appearing as a sub in his debut three years prior. At the time he was playing for Newcastle Untied in the Premier League, making seven appearances in the league.

Ferguson is currently playing in the Championship with Millwall, making 35 league appearances last season. He has been a regular in the Northern Ireland set up with his last cap coming against Belarus in 2019.

Forward – Dean Shiels

Dean Shiels made his 10th cap for Northern Ireland against Norway. At the time he was playing club football for Kilmarnock in Scotland, originally on loan but made permanent and making 35 league appearances that season.

He is now playing his football in the NIFL Premiership with Coleraine, having signed with them from Derry City. He made 12 appearances for the Bannsiders last season, scoring two goals.

Forward – Martin Patterson

Martin Patterson started for Northern Ireland against Norway, making his 13th appearance. He was playing his club football for Burnley in the Championship, making 14 appearances that season.

He retired in 2018, at the age of 32, having been playing in the Indian Super League and the second tier of football in the United States.

Northern Ireland will be looking to continue their unbeaten start to their UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying, but they face home and away fixtures to Germany and the Netherlands.

Luxembourg come to Windsor Park for a friendly match on Thursday 5th September before the Germans arrive on Monday 9th September. The squad for these fixtures will be released on Wednesday 28th August, but I am going to try and predict what the squad will be, and what the starting XI’s for those matches might be based on my squad.

The last Northern Ireland squad selected was for the Euro 2020 Qualifiers against Estonia and Belarus, with the team travelling back with two wins, making it a clean sweep against these countries in qualifying. The squad for those matches was as follows:

Goalkeepers: McGovern (Norwich City), Peacock-Farrell (Leeds United), Hazard (Celtic).

Defenders: Hughes (Hearts), McAuley (Rangers), J Evans (Leicester City), Cathcart (Watford), C McLaughlin (unattached), McNair (Middlesbrough), Lewis (Norwich City), M Smith (Hearts), Flanagan (Sunderland), Ballard (Arsenal).

Midfielders: Davis (Rangers), C Evans (Blackburn Rovers), Ferguson (Millwall), Dallas (Leeds United), Saville (Middlesbrough), Jones (Rangers), Whyte (Oxford United), Thompson (Blackpool), Sykes (Oxford United).

Forwards: Lafferty (Rangers), Magennis (Bolton Wanderers), Boyce (Burton Albion), Smyth (Queens Park Rangers), Washington (unattached).

This was a strong panel which Micheal O’Neill had selected, experience and youth had a nice blend, as well as selecting the starting XI’s with players that he trusted as the season had ended for many of the players, while the opposition’s season was still in full flow.

The Luxembourg game will provide an opportunity for players to get some much needed game time, as well as helping to integrate the youth into the squad even more. I think in this game, Micheal will select a squad containing the first choice players that haven’t had much game time this season along with some of the younger players before handing out international and home debuts to some of the players.

The Germany game isn’t exactly a must win for Northern Ireland, however, a shock point or win will provide them breathing space with the Dutch closing in with games in hand. Although automatic qualification for Northern Ireland is unlikely, there is a good team spirit and confidence in this side which is something that has been a common theme under Micheal O’Neill.

This will be the first squad selection of the 2019-20 season, with many of the Northern Ireland players moving to different clubs. A common theme that I have noticed is the ‘fringe’ players of the Northern Ireland squad pushing into their club’s first teams and performing well.

The standout performer from the Northern Ireland panel is Liam Donnelly. Liam has one cap for his county, coming back in 2014 against Chile, being subbed on in the 89th minute. He was the captain of the under-23 squad and holds the record for most appearances at under-23 level for Northern Ireland. He had an impressive pre-season, being played in midfield, despite being traditionally a full-back, scoring two goals against Celtic at the start of the season. His goal-scoring form has continued in the opening seven matches for Motherwell, scoring seven goals. I believe he has done more than enough to earn a call-up, especially when a midfield slot has been left open with the untimely retirement of Oliver Norwood.

My squad for these matches will contain a panel of 26 as Micheal O’Neil has liked to take extra players to help them gel into the squad. The match-day squad will contain only 23 players, therefore three will drop out.

My Squad for Luxembourg and Germany:

Goalkeepers: Peacock-Farrell (Burnley), McGovern (Norwich), Carson (Motherwell).

Defenders: J Evans (Leicester), Cathcart (Watford), McAuley (Unattached), Smith (Hearts), McLaughlin (Sunderland), Lewis (Norwich), Flanagan (Sunderland)

Midfielders: Davis (Rangers), Saville (Middlesbrough), C Evans (Blackburn), McNair (Middlesbrough), Donnelly (Motherwell), Dallas (Leeds), Whyte (Cardiff), Jones (Rangers), Sykes (Oxford), Thompson (Blackpool)

Forwards: Washington (Hearts), Boyce (Burton), Lafferty (Unattached), Magennis (Hull), Smyth (Wycome), Lavery (Linfield)

That was my Northern Ireland squad for Luxembourg and Germany. As there is 26 players, three will drop out and I expect them to be McNair, Washington and McLaughlin for Luxemborg and Lavery, Sykes and Flanagan.

My Starting XI vs Luxembourg

This is the team I think that will start against Luxembourg with Micheal O’Neill using all six substitutes available to him. I expect Lavery, Sykes and Smyth to make an appearance at some stage, along with McGovern, Thompson and Dallas.

Getting game time for those who need it for the Germany match is crucial, but also resting the key players to ensure they don’t get injured is also key for the team, therefore a blend of both is vital in this friendly match.

The match vs Germany is going to be a very difficult match, and the match is a qualifier so full strength is the order of the day for Micheal O’Neill’s side.

My Starting XI vs Germany

In this match against the German’s I think Micheal O’Neill needs to select players that are getting regular game time. Between the sticks, Peacock-Farrell retains his place in competitive action for Northern Ireland, despite not playing a single minute in club football this season, as goes for the rest of the goalkeepers. Dallas comes in for Smith at right-back from my prediction for Luxembourg as he is getting regular game time in this position for Leeds, carries experience and can get forward when needed. The rest of the defence is made up of Premier League players. The centre-back pairing of Evans and Cathcart haven’t had much game time together for Northern Ireland, but after starting the last few games together, they look nailed on to start this match to. Lewis retains his place at left-back, mainly due to lack of choice, he could struggle in this match and might be a liability but after coming up against the likes of Salah this season so far, he is best placed out of everyone to play at left-back.

The midfield trio looks nailed on, helped by the retirement of Norwood, McNair keeps his place, but I am unsure if he will play the deeper midfield role or the more advanced role like he did against Belarus and Estonia. If he doesn’t play the deeper role, it will be played by Davis, who has played there for Rangers this season. Saville will provide the creative spark and will be looking to perform to the same level, if not better than he did when he made his international debut last time against Germany, coming on as a sub. Daivs will get the nod as captain again, and with him putting in performances of a high standard without regular football, with regular football this season, I expect him to be even better.

The front three is the hardest positions to pick for Northern Ireland as they either have three or four forwards in form, or none at all. Washington has been getting regular game time for Hearts, scoring a few goals as well. I expect him to get the nod against Germany due to this, along with his heroics against Estonia. Jones has been in spectacular form for Rangers so far this season and the German right-back can expect a tough night due to the form and skill that Jones currently has. The right side is probably the hardest of the three to choose. McGinn and Whyte are the two most likely to be fighting for this position, but Magennis has also been deployed there as well. I haven’t selected McGinn in my panel, due to the form of players elsewhere on the pitch. Whyte has been signed for Cardiff, and is getting regular football. His pace will be vital and the pace from both sides of the pitch will be vital to break down the German defence.

I expect Micheal to rely on his bench as he has done in all the qualifiers so far. Magennis is likely to make an appearance, given his form for his country and his last minute goal against the German’s last time around. Corry Evans could make an appearance to sure up the midfield if the game is level or in favour of Northern Ireland late on. Micheal Smith or Conor McLaughlin could also make an appearance for this same reason, with Dallas pushing forward. If Northern Ireland are still in the game late on, Lafferty could make an appearance for the height and hold up play, or Paul Smyth can come on and provide the spark that they need.

288 matches and 676 goals is the tale of the 109th season of Irish football and the second season since its overhaul, dropping to 12 teams from 16. It also saw a record in football, the first player to play 1000 matches for the same team, that man was Noel Baille (Linfield).

Alcohol company Carling took over from JJB Sports, therefore the league was known as the Carling Premiership for the 2009-10 campaign.

Glentoran went into the campaign as defending champions, having won the title by a single point the previous season. Bangor were relegated from the JJB Premiership to the Ladbrokes.com Championship, with Portadown promoted as league champions and Dungannon Swifts retaining their place in the Premiership – despite finishing last – beating Donegal Celtic in the promotion relegation play-off.

The opening round of fixtures saw defending champions Glentoran travel away to Lisburn Distillery, who finished 4th the previous campaign. A 4-0 win for the Belfast side was enough to to go top of the table at the end of match day one, on goal difference. Ballymena United lost 1-0 at home to Cliftonville, Coleraine and Linfield shared four goals in a 2-2 draw and Crusaders beat Portadown 3-1. The other two matches of the opening round saw Dungannon Swifts travel to the Riverside Stadium, beating Institute 1-0, with the final match seeing Glenavon and Newry City draw 1-1.

The boxing day fixtures didn’t go to plan for the league, with only one match able to be played, with Cliftonville beating Crusaders 2-1 away from home. The remaining boxing day fixtures were rescheduled with the first match taking place on January 20, with Newry City conquering Dungannon Swifts 4-0. Six days later Coleraine got the better of Ballymena United, winning 3-1, before Glentoran and Linfield drew 2-2 on the same day. It was a month before their was a window of opportunity to play the postponed fixtures, Glenavon losing 1-0 to Portadown, with Lisburn Distillery beating Institute 3-2 away from home on March 13.

The final round of fixtures before the split was played on March 23, with Crusaders and Ballymena drawing 2-2 on March 25. Cliftonville lost 2-1 to Glentoran, this meant Cliftonville would finish the regular season in third place, with the victory over the reds giving Glentoran second place. A place in the top six was up for grabs in the match between Dungannon Swifts and Coleraine, with a 1-1 draw giving Dungannon Swifts the edge over the Bannsiders. The match between Lisburn Distillery and Newry City was a relegation scrap, with Lisburn closing the gap to Newry who occupied tenth sport with Lisburn in 11th. Bottom of the table Institute entertained Ballymena who were sitting in ninth spot, a 2-2 kept the sides in their respective positions.

The teams that qualified for the top six play-off were: Linfield (64 points), Glentoran (59 pts), Cliftonville (57 pts), Crusaders (55 pts), Portadown (51 pts) and Dungannon Swifts (51 pts – 2 less on goal difference). This meant that the top four sides were all from Belfast.

The bottom six, Coleraine (49 pts), Glenavon (42 pts), Ballymena Utd (36 pts), Newry City (31 pts), Lisburn Distillery (28 pts) and Institute (26 pts) all entered the relegation play-off. Institute were looking the most vunerable at this stage, sitting bottom of the table.

After 38 matches for every side, the season came to a close. In the relegation play-off group, Coleraine topped the mini-leage on 57 points, this total eclipsed that of 6th place Portadown, who were in the title play-off group. Glenavon finished the campaign second in the group, eighth overall on 43 points. Newry City moved up to third in the group, ninth overall on 42 points, beating Ballymena Utd who had to settle for tenth place, on 40 points. The relegation battle ended in Institute finishing in last place. However, due to Donegal Celtic being the only side from the Championship to have a promotion license, this meant that no team was automatically relegated from the Premiership, so Institute entered the play-off with the winner getting the spot in the Premiership the following season.

The first-leg was held at Donegal Celtic Park, which ended in a 0-0 draw. The second-leg was played at the Riverside Stadium with Donegal Celtic scoring a late winner in the 85th minute, thanks to McAlorum. This was actually the first football match which I attended, I was eight years old at the time. I remeber the Donegal Celtic fans setting off flares to my left hand side, making alot of noise for such a small number. Donegal Celtic had done enough over the two legs to earn a place in the 2010-11 Irish Premiership, while Institute would need to spend at least a season in the Championship.

The title play-off group ended with Portadown finished bottom, 6th overall with 55 points, along with a Europa League first qualifying round sport after finishing runners-up in the Irish Cup, with Linfield getting a European spot via the league. Finishing in fifth place was Dungannon Swifts on 60 points, with Crusaders missing out on Europe by five points, with a fourth place finish. In third place was Glentoran who finished on 65 points and earned at Europa League first qualifying round spot. The title fight ended up with a gap of five points, with the title returning to Windsor Park and to Linfield for the 49th time. This qualified the Windsor Park side for the Champions League second qualifying round. This left Cliftonville runners-up sitting on 69 points, with a Europa League second qualifying round spot.

The top goalscorer for the 2009-10 season was Coleraine forward Rory Patterson, who had a total of 30 goals. He is followed by Darren Boyce, also of Coleraine and George McMullan of Cliftonville, who both scored 17 goals. Liam Boyce scored 16 goals for Cliftonville, with Kevin Braniff, Richard Lecky (both Portadown), David Rainey (Crusaders) and Gleen Ferguson (Lisburn Distillery) scoring 14 goals each.

In European competition, the Irish Premiership were being represented by Glentoran in the Champions League, who were knocked out in the second qualifying round by Maccabi Haifa 10-0 on aggregate. Linfield were beat 7-0 on aggregate by Randers of Denamark in the first qualifying round. Lisburn Distillery lost 11-1 on aggregate to FC Zestafoni from Georgia in the same round, with Crusaders losing 5-3 on aggregate to FK Rabotnicki from Macedonia in the second qualiying round in the Europa League.

The 2009-10 season saw some big score lines, with the biggest home win coming at Portadown as they beat Lisburn Distillery 6-1. Their was some big away wins, Newry City 0-6 Linfield, Glentoran 0-6 Coleraine and Dungannon Swifts 2-8 Portadown, also the highest scoring match that season.

With the recent annoucement by Irish Premiership side, Coleraine, that they will be installing a 4G pitch at The Showgrounds ahead of the 2020/21 campaign, it asks the question, is the financial benefit worth the risk to players?.

For those who don’t understand what a 4G pitch is (and its got nothing to do with mobile data), it is an artificial surface that is meant to replicate the look of grass. It is a mix of synthetic grass and sand. Similar to the previous generation, 3G, but without the pieces of rubber mixed throughout.

4G pitches allow the pitches to sustain a lot more wear than grass. This means that the pitch can be used every day without lasting damage, as would be the case with grass. This means that the club can rent the pitch to other teams or the public for a price which allows extra revenue to come into the club, as well as helping to pay the debt which installing the pitch has cost.

They may sound like something new, but they have actually been around in the Irish Premiership for almost a decade. Crusaders were the first club to install the artificial pitch back in 2009. This was a 3G pitch, which as i have previously said, is similar to a 4G pitch but includes rubber pieces in the mix. In an article in the Newsletter back in July 2009, manager Stephen Baxter said:

“But if we’re to keep moving on we must generate more non-football income so that Seaview is not lying idle for much of the week. We want our ground to be a focal point for the community and in use seven days a week but clearly the existing pitch could not sustain that level of usage and so we have decided to install this brand new “field turf” pitch which can be played on round the clock.”

The pitch being able to be used everyday of the week does allow for the community to use the pitch, for other teams to use it as their home venue and for the club itself to use it as a training pitch. This will bring extra revenue into the club, which can open up various options such as full-time football and high profile transfers.

However, with the artificial surfaces their comes an added risk of injury. This is one of the common criticisms for the pitches. Irish Premiership fans might be aware of the injury which Rangers winger, Jamie Murphy, sustained while playing at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock during a League Cup match. Murphy damaged his knee ligaments after twisting his left knee. This led to Rangers boss, Steven Gerrard to critisise the use of ‘plastic’ pitches:

“If you ask Jamie right now he’ll say it was a pitch incident,”

“I’m not here to disrespect Kilmarnock and their playing facilities. I know it helps support the running of their club. But my opinion is elite football shouldn’t have any plastic pitches.”

“I think for every club worldwide it’s safer to have a grass pitch.”

Many players have been left out of matches against teams with artificial pitches installed due to fear that it may aggravate an existing injury. One of the most high profile cases in recent seasons being Antonio Valencia, then of Manchester United, being left out of the Champions League tie against Young Boys.

Experts have mixed thoughts on whether artificial pitches cause more injuries than grass pitches. But when you at it from a scientific point of view, artificial pitches do cause more injuries. When there is an increased amount of friction – which is the case in artificial pitches, there is an increased rate in the amount of injuries in legs, ankles and feet.

In England, artificial surfaces are banned in the top five divisions of football, the Premier League and the Football League. The result of gaining promotion to the Football League from the National League and having a artificial surface installed can be detrimental to the future of the club. In 2018, Sutton United were in the scenario that they could be relegated from the National League despite potentially being promoted to the Football League.

The debate over artificial surfaces will go on forever. The idea of them is good, less matches being postponed, more finance coming into the club and the pitch usually looks better than a grass pitch at the end of a season. It is a long term investment that would pay off for a club willing to pay the initial costs.

However, injuries are a real worry and if teams start selecting their starting XI based on the surface they are playing on and not the opposition, it will affect the quality of football in Northern Ireland. We want to see the best players in the league playing each week, not just on grass. But does this overrule the financial gain for the clubs, and I don’t think clubs will mind if their opposition doesn’t want to field their top goalscorer because of the 4G pitch.

The Irish Premiership is a league that goes under the radar for most football fans, even fans from Northern Ireland. It is one of the most competitive leagues in the world, but yet the players don’t travel in private jets or sports cars, sometimes they cant even park at their own stadium.

For the past few seasons the same question has been asked, is it time for full time football? In this article I am going to break down some of the positives and negatives of the proposal.

With a move to full-time football comes a step up in the quality of the game. The standard of football in the Irish Premiership is nowhere near the quality of the Premier League in England, but it is a standard which still bring hundreds of fans out each week. The scrappy, lose passes and scuffed shots are what makes the Irish Premiership a joy to watch, but a higher quality game would give the league a better reputation and allow many more youngsters to develop and progress into professional football in England allowing more finance to be available to the clubs.

Most people would say that full time football would allow the teams to be more competitive in European competition. They have a strong point here. As previously mentioned, the standard of football would be higher and this would narrow the gap between the teams. But look at the current season, the most successful campaign for Irish Premiership sides. Linfield have reached the play-off round of the Europa League at least – having previously been beat by Rosenborg in the Champions League first qualifying round. Crusaders were beat by English Premier League side, Wolves, in the first qualifying round, while Cliftonville and Ballymena United put in strong performances, but ultimately not enough to progress past the preliminary round. None of these teams are full time yet and the standard of football is so much higher that it might not be achievable to reach this level with the current resources available.

The cost of becoming a full-time football team is significant and would require strong investment. Newly promoted side, Larne, have the backing of Kenny Bruce, while Glentoran have recently been bought over by a consortium. These are the teams that others will be looking at to see if the switch to full time is worth the initial cost in the long run.

On the BBC Sport NI Podcast, ‘Irish League Behaviour’ former Northern Ireland star and current Linfield Manager, David Healy, spoke about how Linfield train three times a week, which is only really a day less that most English sides. He also mentioned that full time football is something that the club are considering but doesn’t expect it to be put in place for the next while.

The comment which Healy made does give us an insight into the feeling within the clubs in the Irish Premiership. It is unlikely that any club will replicate Linfield in Europe this season for a number of campaigns, and an extra night of training would not bridge the gap between the current standard and the standard of established European sides.

Then there is the issue of players. For those 90 minutes from a 3pm on a Saturday afternoon, they are our heroes. But off the pitch, they are normal members of society. Some might come over for a chat, some might try and grab a burger from the van. They are not a-list celebrities, they are normal people like us who can just play football better. Some of the players have very successful off the pitch jobs, which pay a lot better than football. With a move to full time football, some will have to give up their job to continue to play in the game, losing out on much needed money. The commitment would also become bigger and some of the players with families may struggle to find a balance and may have to give up football. This could lead to a scenario in which some of the top players in the Premiership have to give up playing for full-time teams in order to live their life in a financially viable way.

Full time football will happen in the Irish Premiership at some stage over the next few seasons, but not all teams will want to be part of that move. The clubs at the bottom of Irish Premiership do not have the required funds to move to full time football and this would possibly create a gap between the full-time teams and the part-time teams in the league, which would not be good for the Irish Premiership.