Away from Home: These are happier times for Leeds United where Eddie Gray's decision to entrust the club's future to the players most likely to be playing first division football with them next season, if the club are relegated, has started to pay dividends.
On Saturday, the team showed an uncharacteristic taste for a scrap against Premiership leaders Chelsea, for whom Damien Duff eventually scored the goal that earned the visitors a point.
From an Irish point of view, however, the fact that Gary Kelly, Ian Harte and Stephen McPhail all started for the home side is more significant than the Dubliner's second-half strike. With United lacking the necessary funds to woo a high-profile outsider, Gray looks set to continue in his current role, which looks like being good news for Brian Kerr.
Andy Reid also managed a late equaliser for Nottingham Forest over the weekend, with the Irishman cancelling out a Scott Fitzgerald (entitled to play for Ireland but, as of yet, not doing so) strike with just a minute remaining of this side's game at Watford.
Of Kerr's current bunch, however, it was Leeds old boy Robbie Keane who turned in the performance of the week with three goals in the 5-2 defeat of old club Wolves, for whom former Irish internationals Denis Irwin and Paul Butler both started in defence.
Platini expects easy ride
Michel Platini looked as though he was going to need surgery to remove the smile from his face after Friday's World Cup draw in Frankfurt where, briefly managing to contain his glee, he told Irish journalists the draw was "interesting" but went on to add, "we had an easy qualifying group for Euro 2004 and this one is not much stronger."
Even that assessment was kind by comparison to what the former France star was telling his own country's press, with L'Equipe reporting the next day that the French Federation's vice president could hardly believe his nation's luck.
"I did my job as head of delegation well to get us into this group," he chortled to the daily sports newspaper. "Group Four was the one the whole world wanted to be in and it happened to be us.
"(Giovanni) Trappatoni turned and said to me that they (the Italians) wanted this group but that we stole it away from him. I don't know about that but I do have the curious impression that the qualification groups have gone rather well for us in recent years."
Coach Jacques Santini was more cautious but the newspaper itself had little doubt about his good fortune observing that the only way things could have gone any better for the French was if they had been drawn against Poland instead of the Republic of Ireland.
Latvia have Yeovil touch
Yeovil Town boss Gary Johnson was basking this week in the reflected glory of Latvia's qualification for next summer's European Championships. The Englishman was in charge of the national team for two years, during which time, UEFA.com reported this week, he started them on the road to the big time by persuading them to believe in themselves.
"We started a programme of confidence coaching," he said when asked about his approach, "instilling into them a belief that they could win games. The current manager, Aleksandrs Starkovs, was my number two and has carried on the legacy."
Clearly, however, his own faith in their abilities has faded since he returned to the English game. Asked about their prospects in Portugal, where the team has been drawn in a group with Germany, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, he observed: I think the betting is 150 to 1 against them winning the title. I'd put it more like 150 million to one!"
Quotes of the week
"Hell no! I want to sit on the beach with a big cigar."
- Chelsea defender Mario Melchiot reacts to the ludicrous suggestion that he might want to get into coaching when he retires from playing.
"This is just a small incident. It happens at every club."
- Besiktas coach Sinan Ergin wonders what all the fuss is about after reports that striker Ahmet Dursun had thrown a knife at team-mate Federico Giunti in the club's dressing room.
"Sepp Blatter is right in one respect, you miss a drug test and you are banned. The Rio Ferdinand situation has been going on for 10 weeks, it is far too long."
- After determined attempts by his bosses at the English FA to alienate every single one of their current side during the last few weeks, Sven-Goran Eriksson weighs in on, er, Sepp's side against Ferdinand.
"Everyone calls him a gypsy but I can assure you he doesn't live in a caravan. He has a house with foundations."
- QPR boss Ian Holloway on the club's Argentine defender Gino Padula.
"When I said I bought a gypsy I wasn't joking."
- Claudio Ranieri joins in on the hilarious theme when asked about Romanian striker Adrian Mutu taste in clothes.
"I told him not to score twice because if he removed his shirt again he would be off and it had an effect on him in the second half."
- Spurs manager David Pleat on how he warned Helder Postiga not to get carried away after finally breaking his Tottenham duck in the club's midweek English League Cup win over Manchester City. Needless to say, the striker shunned the string of chances that subsequently came his way.
Bonhof plays away
There's nothing the boys at Sky television love more than reuniting old footballing mates on the station's panels but sometimes the resulting programme doesn't tun out to be quite the party intended, something Jim White discovered last week as he chatted to FC Cologne old boys Tony Woodcock and Rainer Bonhof .
"So who was best man at whose wedding then?" asked White of two men he reckoned were good mates back in their playing days.
"Well," replied Woodcock, "I don't know whether this is the place but Rainer was the best man at my second marriage. Sadly it didn't work out but Rainer still keeps in touch with my ex and that might have been the reason the marriage didn't work out."
Er, moving right along
Watt language
Former soap star Tom Watt may have surprised BBC London listeners with his unusually frank assessment of the English League Cup tie between Aston Villa and Crystal Palace last week. "Just a f**king shit game between two shit teams," observed the devoted Arsenal fan before realising that he was on air.
"I apologise unreservedly," he said afterwards. "It was a really regrettable incident."
Just goes to show, though, you can take the boy out of the Eastenders ...
