Jimmy Dunne๐
Before you pile on Jimmy Dunne today, know who you're talking about.
Back in 2019, as a 21-year-old U21 international, the Dundalk native was linked with an approach from Northern Ireland. He shut it down straight away. He wanted to play for the Republic, and he waited years for his chance.
He earned it the hard way. Loans at Barrow, Accrington, Hearts, Sunderland and Fleetwood before making his name at QPR. In 2024-25 he swept the club's awards: Supporters' Player of the Year, Players' Player of the Year AND the Junior Hoops Player of the Year, voted for by the club's young fans.
Off the pitch, when 14-year-old Daniel Greer from Newry, a close family friend, was diagnosed with leukaemia and needed a bone marrow donor, Jimmy got DKMS to send testing kits to QPR, rallied his teammates and got the club to host a swab drive at Loftus Road. A donor was found weeks later๐
And if you want to know what the green jersey means to him, look at him wrapped in his mam Sharon's arms after that heartbreaking night in Prague๐
Today he's been listed as Ireland's third-choice goalkeeper. Not because he asked to be. UEFA rules say every matchday squad needs three registered keepers, and he was the one asked to fill the spot.
He didn't make a fuss. He just did what the team needed.
The abuse he's getting for that is a disgrace. Whatever your view on this game, it shouldn't land on a player who has only ever given everything for this country.
The ultimate professional๐
Rehydration breaks in football are nothing new. My beloved @QPR have been so shit in recent years, that Iโve often gone for a drink after 20 minutes.