The Sports Pages
One story dominates the back-pages and sports supplements – and that’s England’s woeful performance at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
“England in meltdown†shouts The Irish Daily Star Sunday in big red capitals, with subheadings pointing out the extent of their problems.
The main points are that Wayne Rooney has been forced to apologise for his anti-fan rant into a pitchside camera immediately after Friday night’s dismal 0-0 draw with Algeria; that manager Fabio Capello has blasted the mental strength of his players, particularly Rooney; and that Capello’s attack could be construed as an exit strategy in case his side flops against Slovenia on Wednesday and makes an astonish early exit from a group in which they were expected to coast into the knock-out stages.
The more sober Sunday Times offers a story that is no less worrying for England supporters – that the players have been lobbying Capello to select Joe Cole. It would not be the first tournament that English players had attempted to exert an influence on selection and tactics – Sven Goran Eriksson altered his midfield shape at the 2006 World Cup in Germany under pressure from senior players including David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.
The Sunday Tribune sport is focused on GAA matters, including Tyrone’s dominant performance in weathering an early onslaught from Down to emerge on top in Saturday’s Ulster SFC semi-final.
There’s also a two-page feature on the first steps of Kilkenny’s hurlers on the road to a possible five-in-a-row. The Cats face Dublin at Croke Park this afternoon, and star man Henry Shefflin needs just four points to eclipse fellow Kilkenny man Eddie Keher as the highest scorer in the history of the game
