Southampton and Ireland striker Shane Long is 33 today
The Irish News, January 22 2010: DOWN manager James McCartan has warned fans and commentators not to heap too much pressure on Martin Clarke’s young shoulders.
Speaking after Down’s five-point win over Antrim in the Barrett Sports Lighting Dr McKenna Cup on Wednesday night, McCartan said he feared that the media would build the 22-year-old An Riocht forward up and then knock him down.
There are obvious reasons for his concern–no Down player has attracted the amount of media speculation that has come Clarke’s way throughout his fledgling career. He was heralded as the saviour of the Mourne county after his performances for Down minors in 2005 and his subsequent move to Aussie Rules outfit Collingwood was a hammer blow to fans of the red and blacks.
His return to his native county last summer sparked a wave of optimism that Down’s dark days in the doldrums were finally about to end. Such has been the coverage that fans could forget that Clarke has now played just two games for Down seniors. He posted 1-6 against Queen’s and hit four more points against Antrim.
McCartan knows all about being in the media spotlight. As a young player he was marked out as a star of the future and he delivered. ‘Wee James’ was one of Down’s star forwards in the All-Ireland wins of 1991 and 1994, He has been impressed with Clarke, but wants to give him time to find his feet.
“He’s only been in the squad for a short period of time, but I think he’s doing well,” he said.
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Nigel Benn
boxing
former world middleweight and super-middleweight champion, born 1964.
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Nick Gillingham
swimming
British former Olympic bronze medallist, born 1967.
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Frank Leboeuf
soccer
former Chelsea and France defender, born 1968.
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Stan Collymore
soccer
former England, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Aston Villa striker, born 1971.
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Paul Gerrard
soccer
former Everton and Nottingham Forest goalkeeper, born 1973.
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Dennis Moran
rugby league
former Wigan, Widnes and London Broncos half-back, born 1977.
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Hidetoshi Nakata
soccer
former Bolton and Japan midfielder, born 1977.
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Jonathan Woodgate
soccer
former Tottenham, Real Madrid and England defender, currently manager of Middlesbrough, born 1980.
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Fabricio Coloccini
soccer
former Newcastle and Argentina defender, now playing for San Lorenzo, born 1982.
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Shane Long
soccer
Southampton and Republic of Ireland striker, born 1987.
- 1927
The BBC broadcast its first ever live commentary of a football match, between Arsenal and Sheffield United at Highbury.
- 1955
Joe Davis compiled the first official maximum snooker break of 147, playing against Willie Smith in Leicester.
- 1959
Britain's first world motor racing champion, Mike Hawthorn, was killed when the Jaguar he was driving went out of control on the Guildford bypass.
- 2006
LA Lakers basketball star Kobe Bryant scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors. It is the second highest points total in a single game in NBA history, behind only Wilt Chamberlain's haul of 100 in 1962.
- 2007
Lyon striker John Carew signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with Aston Villa, with Czech Republic forward Milan Baros moving in the opposite direction.
- 2012
Neil Robertson was crowned Masters champion after defeating Shaun Murphy 10-6 in the final at Alexandra Palace.
- 2013
Bradford became the first fourth-tier club to reach the League Cup final for 51 years after beating Aston Villa 4-3 on aggregate, despite losing 2-1 in the second leg.
- 2016
UEFA approved the use of goal-line technology at Euro 2016 and in the Champions League from the 2016-17 season.
- 2018
Jimmy Armfield, the former England captain, died at the age of 82.
- 2018
Alexis Sanchez joined Manchester United from Arsenal, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan moving the other way.
- Fir Park is the home ground of which Scottish Premiership club?
- How many National Football League titles did Peter Canavan win with Tyrone?
- Who are the only two NBA players to record a triple-double against every franchise?
- Who was Limerick’s top scorer in last year’s National Hurling League final against Waterford?
- Which Welsh fly-half was the first player to score more than 1,000 international points?
- Motherwell
- Two
- LeBron James and Russell Westbrook
- Aaron Gillane (1-9)
- Neil Jenkins
Wednesday, January 22
- SOCCER
Premier League, Leicester v West Ham - BT Sport 2 1900; Manchester United v Burnley - BT Sport 1 1930; Scottish Premiership, Kilmarnock v Celtic - Sky Sports Main Event 1915.
- TENNIS
Australian Open - Eurosport 1 0600, 0815, 2355 and Eurosport 2 0600, 2355.
- GOLF
PGA Tour, Farmers Insurance Open - Sky Sports Golf 2000; European Tour, The Omega Dubai Desert Classic - Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Golf 0400 (Thur).
- BASKETBALL
NBA, New York Knicks v Los Angeles Lakers - Sky Sports Main Event 0030 (Thur).
- SNOOKER
European Masters - Eurosport 2 1400, 1855.
Thursday, January 23
- SOCCER
Premier League, Wolves v Liverpool - BT Sport 1 1900.
- TENNIS
Australian Open - Eurosport 1 0600, 0815, 2355 and Eurosport 2 0600, 2355.
- GOLF
European Tour, The Omega Dubai Desert Classic - Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Golf 0600, Sky Sports Golf 1130; PGA Tour, Farmers Insurance Open - Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Golf 1615.
- BASKETBALL
NBA, Brooklyn Nets v Los Angles Lakers - Sky Sports Main Event 0100 (Fri).
- SNOOKER
European Masters - Eurosport 2 1500, 1855.