It's all right for us, we can buy spares

TV View:It was, as it proved, as draining a year for Eddie O'Sullivan and Steve Staunton as it was for the batteries in our overworked remote control.

Indeed, often on the most crucial of days when Eddie and Steve pressed their teams' on buttons nothing happened, everything powerless and ineffectual, but at least when our remote had similar difficulties we could go out and buy spares. As Steve put it, while boasting about the quality of his squad, "I can't go out and buy players, so what can I do?"

In fairness to Eddie, his boys resembled fully charged Duracell bunnies back in February when they took to the field at Croke Park. "The sense of anticipation is almost unbearable," said Ryle Nugent, and he was only talking about the anthems.

Amhrán na Queen, as the song contest was so ecumenically dubbed, passed off peacefully, though the tears of Jerry Flannery and John Hayes left us in no fit state to carry on. The harder the men the harder they bawl.

"We may have brave men, George, but we'll never have better," said an almost tearful Tom McGurk to The Hook after the 43-13 triumph.

George, having predicted a draw while forecasting that a defeat would reduce Eddie "to Steve Staunton proportions", concurred. Alas, later in the year, George was able to intimate that Eddie made Steve look like Marcello Lippi.

It was, then, the most historic of days, although by the time the match kicked off George had so tired of talk of olden times he had the look of a man who would spear-tackle anyone who dared mention Bloody Sunday again. Tom respected George's feelings, just before reading out a message from the stadium's official historian, Tim Carey: "He rang us to say the spot where Girvan Dempsey scored his try was the spot where Michael Hogan was shot dead."

Tom was carried from the studio on 12 stretchers.

"Run straight, score straight and win straight," Ian Paisley advised Eddie's charges come the World Cup when he - Ian, not Eddie - made an appearance on Setanta, but . . . ah look, you know yourself.

Let bygones be gone.

Norn Iron's first minister failed

to offer Staunton's men any advice at all, too busy was he worshipping David Healy, but they had all the advice they needed from the RTÉ panel, which was in quite splendid form through 2007. Not least yer man.

"I don't think they'll do it tonight because they're playing against good, experienced professionals. Maybe I'll have egg on my face in a few hours' time, but I doubt it," said The Dunph, just before Manchester United beat Roma 7-1. Scrambled, he was.

"I think this is going to be a difficult match for Liverpool," he said, just before Liverpool beat Besiktas 8-0. Poached, he was.

"Would you let him drive the train to Cork?" he asked Bill O'Herlihy of Staunton. Fried, he was.

Staunton, that is.

An international footballing year, then, to consign to the bin, but make sure it's not the recycling bin; once was plenty.

If our footballers and rugby lads gave us a low or 12 through the year our cricketers had us dizzy with success. Actually, that's not entirely true. In some ways it's like our memories of the day San Marino took the lead against England after a handful of seconds; we just choose to forget that England went on to win 7-1.

But no matter, Ireland beat Pakistan at the cricket World Cup. Let's say that one more time: Ireland beat Pakistan at the cricket World Cup.

"What a cel-ee-bray-shun," as Sky commentator Michael Holding put it, as only Michael Holding could.

By then Michael's colleagues were intimately familiar with all things Irish. "Absolutely incredible scenes, for Croke Park read Sabina Park," said Bob O'Willis, although Tony Cozier was still struggling to tell one Irish legend from another.

Cozier: "Well, Kevin! Well, well, well! St Patrick's Day! You hit the winning run! Ireland are through to the Super Eight! Could you ever believe it?!" Kevin O'Brien: "Well, eh, I didn't hit the winning run."

Trent Johnston did, but never mind.

Twas the highlight of the telly year, the same tournament producing our Sportsman of 2007, Bermuda's 20-stone leviathan Dwayne Leverock.

"He's fielding at first slip . . . second slip and third," as Sky's David Lloyd put it. And when Dwayne hit the ground the earth moved. Literally.

A 2007 impact Steve and Eddie could only dream of.