Ryan

[Ryan @eireryanh]

@FBAwayDays https://t.co/G8JPh9GNev

[Ryan @eireryanh]

@ryan3levis Won’t buy any tickets until Betis scrape a 1-0 win at home to Osasuna so

[Ryan @eireryanh]

@pistol147 93.

[Jaynit @jaynitx]

Conor Neill on the 3 best ways to start a speech (most people get this wrong):

"I guarantee if you go to conferences, 19 out of 20 speakers will start in one of these ways: 'My name is Conor Neill. I'm from Tango, and this talk is about the latest trend in monitoring strategies.' But all of you are sitting with a piece of paper that already says who I am and what I'm going to talk about. By repeating what you already know, I'm giving a signal that it's time to get your BlackBerry out."

Conor explains the three best ways to start instead:

Third best: A question that matters to the audience.

"How do you phrase a problem that the audience faces in a question?"

Second best: A factoid that shocks.

"There are more people alive today than have ever died. Every two minutes, the energy reaching the earth from the sun is equivalent to the whole annual energy usage of humanity. Does that change how you think about energy?"

The best way: Start like you'd start a story to a child.

"How do we start a story to a child? 'Once upon a time.' And what happens when you say once upon a time? My daughter leans forward, gets ready to hear, engages. We were all trained as kids to know when a story's coming. We also know when a teacher is about to deliver a 40-minute boring lecture."

He explains the grown-up version:

"In business, you don't hear Jack Welch saying 'once upon a time.' Steve Jobs doesn't start his speeches with 'once upon a time.' So there's a grown-up way of saying it: 'In October, the last time I was in this room, there were 120 people here. I was having a conversation with one of the world's experts on public speaking and he said something to me that changed what I think about what's important in speaking.' Now I can pause for 30 seconds, and you want to know what he said."

Conor concludes:

"Stories are about people. They're not about objects. They're not about things. If you want to tell a good story about your company, don't talk about the software talk about the people who built the software. What they do. How they are. What's important to them. What they sacrifice."

[GiftedHands @Sire_Gift]

Terry speaking on how Abramovich transformed Chelsea to a better club than it was before he owned it just to give the players the best foundation to thrive as a team.

So sad the UK government took a virtue from the club that can never be replaced.

https://t.co/ZoPd3UOw6u

[Ryan @eireryanh]

@RacingPost Irish lives matter

[Ryan @eireryanh]

@LukeT3_2_1 Hate to see you struggling lad, hopefully tomorrow is better. That’s a shocker of a day 😂😂 unreal Luke, some tipping my friend 👍🏻👍🏻👏🏼👏🏼

[Nithya Shri @Nithya_Shrii]

I will never understand how you can go from loving someone to never speaking to them again and act like they weren’t in your life.

[The Driven Man @Thedrivenman]

This speech will change your life

[Vesper @vesperdigital]

Dan Peña has officially become my favourite Billionaire!

This is the most brutal smackdown of any Climate Change Zombie I have ever witnessed!

Dan is the new Pulp Fiction version of Samuel L Jackson!

🤣🤣🤣

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

FIFA undermines the credibility of its disciplinary process and the authority of its referees with its special treatment of Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s undeniably one of the greats of the game, a fabulous footballer (if in inevitable decline at 40), hugely important for Fifa in marketing and spreading the game through his 1bn social media followers, and a Messi-Ronaldo last dance at the World Cup is a dream for Fifa and TV. But justice should be blind to status and commercial value. 

Fifa could have gained some respect by punishing Ronaldo properly as they do other players. And Portugal would surely survive the group stage without Ronaldo for two games, which should have been his punishment for violent conduct. Ronaldo elbowed Dara O’Shea in the back, was initially given a yellow card which was rightly upgraded to a red by VAR for violent conduct which usually brings a three-match ban. So Fifa has effectively undermined VAR.

Ronaldo has already served one game, with Fifa now suspending the other two for a year. How convenient. USA, land of the freed. Fifa did get Messi into the Club World Cup...

And will any player sent off in the March play-offs expect similar clemency from Fifa?

It was Ronaldo’s first dismissal in 226 internationals, an impressive disciplinary record, that bought him sympathy from Gianni Infantino’s organisation. Fifa says in its statement that “if Cristiano Ronaldo commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension set out in the disciplinary decision shall be deemed automatically revoked and the remaining two matches must be served immediately”.

The key word here is “gravity”. Fifa admits the seriousness of Ronaldo’s offence and yet punishes him lightly. A good day for marketing. A bad day for discipline.

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

The image of a triumphant Scott McTominay tearing across the pitch at Hampden Park clutching a corner flag adorned with Scotland’s Lion Rampant emblem. Unforgettable. The sight of Harry Wilson holding the match-ball after his hat-trick for Wales. Memorable. Club football is wonderful, often technically and tactically better, but international football brings astonishing drama, especially on the judgement day of the World Cup qualifying group stage. Nights like these mean the world.

Elite club football storms back this weekend, eager to reclaim the headlines, and Liverpool-Forest, Newcastle-City, the North London Derby and other club collisions will swiftly seduce the gaze back the Premier League’s way. But these last few days, including Troy Parrott’s pyrotechnics for the Irish in Hungary, have been a welcome reminder of the compelling nature of international football and why it will always command such attention.

Look at the scenes online of celebrations in the bar at Dublin airport as screens showed Parrott’s third goal going in; drinks taking off, strangers hugging, a man doing a jig of joy between chairs with his suitcase wobbling behind him. Dublin Airport changed its Twitter bio to Troy Parrott International Airport 🦜. Two arrivals from Budapest declared Troy Parrott tattoos.

Few events unite a nation like a national team doing well. Work-places today will be abuzz with chatter about the patriot games, conversations perhaps even involving those not obsessed by the game but caught up in the excitement. Kids will be inspired by those leading their countries to the World Cup. Having games on terrestrial television adds to that connection. Viewing figures will be substantial.

International football is special. Look at the faces of the Scotland players, gilded with glee. International football is special because its players playing for the shirt, not money. Scotland’s players were running on pride and adrenalin, fuelled by belief in their manager and buoyed by the belief of their fans.

By added time, Scotland were staging their own Goal of the Month competition against Denmark. They had the game finally won with Kieran Tierney’s worldie three minutes into added time, 3-2, game over, passports ready, doors to manual. Kenny McLean could easily have headed to the corner flag and run down the clock but he decided to shoot from the halfway line. And score. Spectacular icing on an already special cake.

It's special for these players because all had suffered setbacks in their career. Andy Robertson rejected by Celtic - too small, apparently - but always big on determination and now celebrating his 90th cap. Craig Gordon not playing for his club but playing for his country – at 42. Tierney not making it at Arsenal but now making it to a World Cup. Scott McTominay unwanted by Manchester United but now unleashing Zico overheads.

Parrott’s not had the easiest journey towards the limelight; those spells on loan in the EFL, that failure to convince Spurs, and moving on. Now an Irish legend. Brennan Johnson hasn’t won over Spurs fans completely but he’s just starred in a 7-1 epic Wales performance.

International football is special because a manager has to address squad weaknesses with his coaching not with a cheque-book. Even then, such is the squeeze on training time, he must work his magic in meetings and with selections and in-game changes. They create cultures and buy-ins from players. So Steve Clarke brings on a left-back at right-back and Tierney scores a screamer with his left foot. Clarke builds a culture. He cares deeply about the team, his players and the country, and people respond to that.

Craig Bellamy was missing important players, facing opponents who had conceded only three goals in seven qualifying games, and Wilson, Johnson and Co promptly put seven past North Macedonia. Would Clarke or Bellamy be considered for major Premier League jobs? No. But Clarke is off to the greatest show on earth, the World Cup. Bellamy may not be far behind him.

Both could be pitting their wits against Carlo Ancelotti, Thomas Tuchel and Didier Deschamps as the world tunes in. Knowing Scotland’s luck they’ll get drawn with Spain, Croatia and Italy. But, who cares for now, they’re on their way to the USA. International football's special because of the prize at stake, a place at the World Cup. It really does mean the world.

[Daniel O’Reilly @dapperlaughs]

John Lewis just dropped a Christmas advert and it had me in tears—no agendas, no woke nonsense, just raw fatherhood, sacrifice, and men being seen and appreciated, which is rare and refreshing.

This is a nod to men not being able to express there emotions, which I really appreciate, thank you.

It is receiving a lot of criticism, thoughts?

[Sav 🇾🇪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @jonmikesav8]

I have some seriously weird m8s sending me stuff but I’m absolutely helpless listening to this 😂😂😂

[Ryan @eireryanh]

@AtTheRaces @MCYeeehaaa @CheltenhamTrain WIN

[At The Races @AtTheRaces]

🏇 CHELTENHAM GIVEAWAY 🏇

We’re giving away FOUR tickets to Cheltenham on Friday 14th November, with return travel on the ATR Express and four reserved seats in the main grandstand.

For your chance to win:
1️⃣ Like this post
2️⃣ Repost this post
3️⃣ Comment ‘WIN’

Good luck 🤞

[Michael McCarthy @punishablepress]

These people will destroy your country given the chance.

[TheIrishWatchdog @WatchdogTh96012]

LEST WE FORGET
#RodericOGorman #HelenMcEntee #Immigrationcrisis #Ireland #BenScallan