John Laverty

November 2020

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John Laverty Opinion The right wing media have scored a spectacular own goal by targeting Manchester United star Marcus Rashford

It's not often a national newspaper gets it spectacularly wrong. We don't expect these organs to be unfailing paragons of good taste, and they in turn aren't deluded enough to believe we'll agree with everything they say.

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John Laverty Opinion Mickey Harte made the right call... and so did Tyrone

It was time for Mickey Harte to go. The valedictory date - November 13 - was therefore theatrically poignant.

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John Laverty Opinion Ole's giving Manchester United no choice but to sack him

Wow, did you see Bayern Munich the other night?

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John Laverty Opinion Neil Lennon's Kevin Keegan-like rant reveals he's losing it at Celtic...where fans would never forgive a failure to bring home 10-in-a-row

Lenny is losing it. The plot. The argument. The opportunity of leading Celtic to arguably the greatest moment in their long and distinguished history.

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October 2020

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John Laverty Opinion The last thing Northern Ireland needed was politicians going on solo runs

I’ve never met Edwin Poots, but I’m told by people who have that he’s a lot more intelligent than he sometimes appears.

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John Laverty Opinion Three defeats in five games... but Baraclough has won the GAWA's trust with Euro play-off success

Ian Baraclough's last honeymoon was presumably a lot more enjoyable. This one has brought three defeats, nine goals conceded and just three scored in over eight hours of football.

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John Laverty Opinion Defenders haven't got worse but strikers are better... due to Covid-19

He's regarded by sagacious observers as the world's best central defender. Confident, assured, utterly unflappable. A colossus. A man who makes his gargantuan £75m transfer fee look like the bargain of the century.

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John Laverty Opinion Why would Premier League bail out clubs it jettisoned years ago?

As a qualified accountant, Rick Parry is well aware that the numbers aren't stacking up.

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September 2020

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John Laverty Opinion Can doting father Rory McIlroy ever get back to being the big daddy of golf?

When Rory McIlroy got an unexpected mention in an episode of Coronation Street just before the US Open began, I thought it might be an omen.

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John Laverty Opinion Glentoran have bitten off a lot more than they can chew with Jay Donnelly

Glentoran's recruitment of sex offender Jay Donnelly is the most controversial signing in the Irish League's 130-year history.

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John Laverty Opinion Boys will be boys, but this is hardly the right time for 'playing away'

Glenavon fans were stunned when Terry Nicholson, one of the most popular managers in the club's history, was sacked.

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John Laverty Opinion Turgid Nations League beats friendlies, but does that justify its existence?

Quick question: who won the inaugural Nations League? No, no, STOP googling it! If you didn't know it was Portugal, you're not alone.

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August 2020

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John Laverty Opinion I'm glad Leeds are back in the Premier League, so I can start hating them again

The song goes like this: "We are the pride of all Europe, the cock of the north. We hate the Scousers, the Cockneys of course… and Leeds."

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John Laverty Opinion Would Celtic and Rangers really be missed by Scottish also-rans if they sought move to England's Premier League?

Seismic things happened in 1985: the Heysel Stadium disaster, the Mexico City earthquake, the Anglo-Irish Agreement, the last throes of Scargill v Thatcher, Live Aid, the discovery of the Titanic wreck, AIDS epidemic, Gorbachev becoming leader of the Soviet Union.

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July 2020

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John Laverty Opinion How can Manchester City be both guilty and innocent of the same offence? Just ask Big Ronnie McFall....

Assaulting a match official is the most serious offence you can commit on a football field.

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John Laverty Opinion Stormin' Norman Whiteside was blessed with outrageous talent... but also cursed by lousy timing

I hope Norman Whiteside doesn't regret auctioning off his precious football memorabilia later this month. It's just a shame that he feels he needs to.

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John Laverty Opinion The only thing Manchester City proved was how good Liverpool are

If you looked at the final Irish League table from the 1992-93 season, you'd be forgiven for assuming it had the tightest of squeaky-bum finishes.

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June 2020

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John Laverty Opinion Chelsea didn't do Liverpool a favour... it was more a disservice

Heartiest congratulations to Liverpool. There, I've said it. Can I go now?

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John Laverty Opinion Why are English clubs keen on Steven Gerrard but not Neil Lennon?

There are few things more nauseating than chat show hosts interviewing each other.

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John Laverty Opinion The racism that shamed Manchester United in 1978 when Laurie Cunningham and Cyril Regis starred for West Brom

I was in Manchester that day, just another wide-eyed teen harbouring dreams of future stardom. The football club had paid for my flights and accommodation, just a couple of miles from Old Trafford.

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John Laverty Opinion Sometimes in football you don't come back; think Belfast Celtic and the brilliant Yugoslavians

Never mind that the test-and-trace system, which saved more prescient countries from being overwhelmed by coronavirus, won't be fully operational here for months.

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April 2020

John Laverty Opinion Why Michael O'Neill is arguably Northern Ireland's best ever boss - even above Billy Bingham

It was 35 years, 10 months and 14 days ago. Those devastating words. "It's not you, it's me." A brutal, merciless, callous, dispassionate, unambiguous assassination.

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John Laverty Opinion Darts chiefs get a 180 for effort in bringing live action back but Home Tour proves sport without fans isn't very good

If you were out at the weekend (lol!) you'll have missed the return of live professional sport to our screens.

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John Laverty Opinion Ryan Farquhar is well aware of who the real heroes are

I always smile at the euphemisms. A motorbike so outrageously powerful its G-forces threaten to rip your face off is described as "quick".

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John Laverty Opinion If we're all in this together, what planet are Premier League bosses living on?

A Long, long time ago - when there was football being played - Manchester United signed a major sponsorship deal with Audi.

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March 2020

John Laverty Opinion My five point plan to save the football season and avoid Rio Ferdinand's 'null and void' suggestion

Forget your world-renowned virologists and epidemiologists; Chas the cabbie from Muswell Hill has it sussed.

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John Laverty Opinion For leadership in the coronavirus crisis, give me Jurgen Klopp over Boris Johnson or Donald Trump every time

The online questions were, at first, mildly amusing. Can you get it from eating Chinese takeaways? No. Would gargling with bleach kill it? Yes, and you along with it. Does 'herd immunity' mean that cows can't get it? Erm...

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February 2020

John Laverty Opinion Martin O'Neill's new address is Jurassic Park... and it won't be too long before dull Mourinho is joining him

In the good old days, it was easy to get a 'local angle' after a Premier League manager had bitten the dust. All we had to do was throw Martin O'Neill's name onto the list of possible replacements.

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Boxing fans will be the only losers when Fury meets Joshua

Frank Warren wasn't slow when it came to unleashing the hyperbole.

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John Laverty Opinion Why do we keep reminding Rory about that 'day to forget' at The Masters?

It's that time of year again. The evenings are getting lighter, daffodils and bluebells are raising their pretty little heads, skylarks, robins and blackbirds are chirping away in a pleasant morning chorus.