A good few Monaghans go to UL surprisingly enough. A different breed. Well suited to the likes of woodwork teaching. I knew a lad from Monaghan who abstained from eating meat on Ash Wednesday. Proper old style. Lads were dishing out ashes from fag trays in the stables at Rag Week the same day.
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I’d have to disagree there. Fuck Kerry
To be fair, we had a ticket source in Limerick who we’d occasionally meet up with after matches, who fucking hated Kerry with all his might, like he’d get genuinely worked up about it, you could see the anger in his face when he thought about Kerry. Kerry were shite around this time too, he said they’d “never come back”. Wishful thinking of the highest order.
But Kerry are Limerick’s football team. We all know that. The dogs on the street know that.
My granny was a Monaghan woman who lived in Limerick.
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English top division pre-season favourites and winners in my time:
1987/88 - Favourites: Liverpool - Winners: Liverpool
1988/89: Favourites: Liverpool - Winners: Arsenal (fourth favourites?)
1989/90: Favourites: Liverpool - Winners: Liverpool
1990/91: Favourites: Liverpool - Winners: Arsenal (second favourites)
1991/92: Favourites: Liverpool - Winners: Leeds (fifth favourites?)
1992/93: Favourites: Arsenal - Winners: Manchester United (second favourites)
1993/94: Favourites: Manchester United - Winners: Manchester United
1994/95: Favourites: Manchester United - Winners Blackburn (second favourites)
1995/96: Favourites: Newcastle? - Winners: Manchester United (second favourites)
1996/97: Favourites: Manchester United - Winners: Manchester United
1997/98 - Favourites: Manchester United - Winners: Arsenal (fourth favourites?)
1998/99 - Favourites: Manchester United - Winners: Manchester United
1999/2000 - Favourites: Manchester United - Winners: Manchester United
2000/01 - Favourites: Manchester United - Winners: Manchester United
2001/02 - Favourites: Manchester United - Winners: Arsenal (second favourites)
2002/03: Favourites: Manchester United - Winners: Manchester United
2003/04: Favourites: Manchester United - Winners: Arsenal (second favourites)
2004/05: Favourites: Arsenal - Winners: Chelsea (third favourites)
2005/06: Favourites: Chelsea - Winners: Chelsea
2006/07: Favourites: Chelsea - Winners: Manchester United (third favourites)
2007/08: Favourites: Chelsea? - Winners: Manchester United (second favourites)
2008/09: Favourites: Manchester United - Winners: Manchester United
2009/10: Favourites: Manchester United - Winners: Chelsea (second favourites)
2010/11: Favourites: Chelsea? - Winners: Manchester United (second favourites)
2011/12: Favourites: Manchester United - “Winners”: “Manchester City” (second favourites)
2012/13: Favourites: Manchester United - Winners: Manchester United
2013/14: Favourites: Chelsea - “Winners”: “Manchester City” (second favourites)
2014/15: Favourites: “Manchester City” - Winners: Chelsea (second favourites)
2015/16: Favourites: Chelsea - Winners: Leicester (20th favourites)
2016/17: Favourites: “Manchester City” - Winners: Chelsea (second favourites)
2017/18: Favourites: “Manchester City” - “Winners”: “Manchester City”
2018/19: Favourites: “Manchester City” - “Winners”: “Manchester City”
2019/20: Favourites: “Manchester City” - Winners: Liverpool (second favourites)
2020/21: Favourites: “Manchester City” - “Winners”: “Manchester City”
2021/22: Favourites: “Manchester City” - “Winners”: “Manchester City”
2022/23: Favourites: “Manchester City” - Winners:
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Pre-season favourites for the All-Ireland football championship:
1987: Kerry
1988: Meath
1989: Meath
1990: Meath
1991: Cork
1992: Cork
1993: Dublin
1994: Derry
1995: Derry
1996: Derry
1997: Meath
1998: Kerry
1999: Meath
2000: Meath
2001: Kerry
2002: Galway
2003: Kerry
2004: Tyrone
2005: Kerry
2006: Tyrone
2007: Kerry
2008: Kerry
2009: Kerry
2010: Kerry
2011: Kerry
2012: Kerry
2013: Dublin
2022: Kerry
Were Derry that fancied every year after 93?
Ahead of Down?
I had an inkling for Cork in 2012. But they couldn’t compete with the Donegal system in the semi-final that year.
Derry would have been warmish favourites to beat Down at Celtic Park in '94 and to retain Ulster but shrewd observers like Michel Ellard of the Cork Examiner and myself fancied a Down win that day. Down went straight to the top of the Power Rankings after that win.
Derry had a players’ strike in the autumn of 1994 but by the spring of 1995 they were rightly motoring and definite All-Ireland favourites, though again shrewd observers fancied Tyrone to do them, and do them they did.
Mickey Moran then left and Brian Mullins took over and won the league even more convincingly in 1996 and again Derry were well fancied to win Ulster and the All-Ireland, but they flopped against Tyrone in the Ulster semi-final.
Derry’s best chance of wining another All-Ireland was probably when attention had turned off them in 1997 and they hammered Tyrone. They were rightly screwed in the Ulster final against Cavan when Cavan were awarded a point for a wide but nobody wanted to say anything as Cavan hadn’t won Ulster since 1969.
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What current countries comprised Yugoslavia in 1999? By then, Croatia and Bosnia&H were out? Was it Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo?
Serbia and Montenegro. Kosovo at that point was not yet considered a country though this was very shortly after the NATO bombing of Serbia in retaliation for the attempted Serb genocide in Kosovo. I don’t know were there any international standard players of Kosovar Albanian background at that point but if there were I highly doubt they’d have played for Yugoslavia.
I must go back and study that area again. It’s fascinating. You’d miss the posts from @mickee321 with his random insights into how evil the Serbs were
There’s no I in TEAM mate.
My understanding is the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) pretty much tried to provoke a genocide by the Serbs in the hope that what eventually happened would happen, ie. NATO involvement.
The Serbs fell right into the trap.
But the Serbs were fucking evil.
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Huh?
You want the above in list form, don’t you? Here you go, all the English title winners since the mid-1960s with odds in excess of 10-1:
12-1 Leeds (1991-92)
14-1 Everton (1984-85)
16-1 Arsenal (1970-71 & 1988-89)
25-1 Derby County (1971-72)
33-1 Aston Villa (1980-81)
66-1 Manchester City (1967-68)
40-1 to 100-1 Nottingham Forest (1977-78)
5,000-1 Leicester City (2015-16)
Finally, as there’s a chance Arsenal won’t actually win the league, here are some of the outsiders who challenged for the title without winning it:
40-1 Aston Villa (2nd, 1992-93)
50-1 Watford (2nd, 1982-83)
66-1 West Ham (3rd, 1985-86)
100-1 Aston Villa (2nd, 1989-90)
125-1 Newcastle (4th, 2001-02)
150-1 Crystal Palace (3rd, 1990-91)
250-1 Norwich (3rd, 1992-93)
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Pre-season favourites for the All-Ireland hurling championship:
1987: 1 Cork 2 Galway 3 Kilkenny
1988: 1 Galway 2 Kilkenny 3 Tipperary
1989: 1 Galway 2 Tipperary 3 Kilkenny
1990: 1 Tipperary 2 Galway 3 Kilkenny
1991: 1 Cork 2 Tipperary 3 Galway
1992: 1 Tipp 2 Kilkenny 3 Cork
1993: 1 Kilkenny 2 Cork 3 Tipperary
1994: 1 Kilkenny 2 Tipperary 3 Galway
1995: 1 Kilkenny 2 Offaly 3 Galway
1996: 1 Offaly 2 Kilkenny 3 Clare
1997: 1 Clare 2 Wexford 3 Offaly
1998: 1 Clare 2 Tipperary 3 Wexford
1999: 1 Clare 2 Kilkenny 3 Offaly
2000: 1 Kilkenny 2 Cork 3 Clare
2001: 1 Kilkenny 2 Cork 3 Tipperary
2002: 1 Kilkenny 2 Tipperary 3 Galway
2003: 1 Kilkenny 2 Tipperary 3 Galway
2004: 1 Kilkenny 2 Cork 3 Tipperary
2005: 1 Kilkenny 2 Cork 3 Waterford
2006: 1 Cork 2 Kilkenny 3 Galway
2007: 1 Kilkenny 2 Cork 3 Waterford
2008: 1 Kilkenny 2 Waterford 3 Cork
2009: 1 Kilkenny 2 Tipperary 3 Galway
2010: 1 Kilkenny 2 Tipperary 3 Galway
2011: 1 Kilkenny 2 Tipperary 3 Galway
2012: 1 Kilkenny 2 Tipperary 3 Galway
2013: 1 Kilkenny 2 Galway 3 Tipperary
2014: 1 Kilkenny 2 Clare 3 Tipperary
2015: 1 Kilkenny 2 Tipperary 3 Clare
2016: 1 Kilkenny 2 Tipperary 3 Galway
2017: 1 Tipperary 2 Galway 3 Kilkenny
2018: 1 Galway 2 Tipperary 3 Cork
2019: 1 Galway 2 Limerick 3 Cork
2020: 1 Limerick 2 Tipperary 3 Galway
2021: 1 Limerick 2 Galway 3 Waterford
2022: 1 Limerick 2 Waterford 3 Kilkenny
2023: 1 Limerick 2 Kilkenny 3 Galway
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Even after Wexford and Cork went to two replays in the league?
Why would Wexford have been ranked ahead of Tipp, who had won two of the previous four All-Irelands and had the handiest of handy draws in Munster?
League performance was what I was thinking.