THEY’RE at it again!

Whilst a thrilling World Cup keeps most of us entertained, back in England Manchester City have been 'Connorflashing' the cheque book around.

CAN you hum the Algerian national anthem? No? What about the Slovakian or Greek offerings?

Don’t worry, the next four weeks of World Cup action will give you plenty of opportunity to get to know these ‘catchy’ tunes.

There are signs that the football world is beginning to wake up to the dangers of financial excess.

by Patrick O’Connor

THEY call it the close season – the time when the  league programmes have ended.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t much happening in the hurly-burly world of football, far from it.

Football Diary

by Patrick O’Connor

THE main football programme may be over in England but there is still plenty of going on, what with cup finals, promotion play-offs and, of course, the forthcoming World Cup.

It’s been a crazy few days if you are a Leicester City fan. They were promoted from League One at the end of the 2008-9 season and continued their fine form throughout last year, finishing in the Championship play-offs.

Football Diary

by Patrick O’Connor

AS the indulgent, self-obsessed Premier League glorified in its over-hyped finale, there was a splendid illustration that English football has much, much more to offer.

With the Premier League games being played on a Sunday, and my usual fare, the Championship finished apart from the play-offs, I resisted the chance to watch a game from League One or League Two but instead settled down in front on the television on a cold, wet, windy May afternoon.