No matter how big the games in the League of Ireland were, or how great the entertainment provided was, it was always going to be a losing battle to try and compete with the fervour that surrounded Irelands brilliant Grand Slam success in Cardiff and Bernard Dunne's dramatic victory over Ricardo Cordoba at the 02 on Saturday night.
Having said that, a Louth derby between Dundalk and Drogheda will always be intense, as is the always eagerly awaited meetings between Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers, both of which produced good games on matchday three of the campaign.
Damien Richardson, Pat Morley and Colm Foley were on the couch this week. The three lads were all of the opinion that Drogheda are going to struggle this season and it's hard to argue with that, given that Alan Matthews side have failed to hit the target so far in three games.
No goals generally means not many points, and not many points usually means the slippery slope to relegation. Of course it's very early days to be making any sweeping statements, yet it's hard to get away from the fact that in a ten team league, if you make a bad start, it's going to be hard work to turn things around.
Damien probably collected a few bob when he won a bet, by wearing his grandads cardigan on the programme, and it's also possible that Pat pocketed some dough for wearing a shocking pink jumper on the show, along with the worst pair of spats seen on TV since Alex Higgins was winning snooker matches in the mid 80's. I don't know if our cameras picked up Morleys shoes, but they were horrific.
I was interested to hear Dave Mooney say that he and Keith Fahey had had a chat in the tunnel last weekend when Birmingham played Norwich, about the possibility of international call ups, and I'd like to think that they're not far off.
We all know that Fahey is a special talent and it can't be long, if he's playing regularly with Birmingham, before he gets the nod from Trap, and if you look at Dave's scoring record when he's given a chance to play, as he is at Norwich at the moment, he could well come in for consideration too.
It's good to know that the lads still keep in touch with the league by watching MNS online, and it was nice to chat with them albeit fairly briefly this week.
Our MNS editor, Brummie Steve, came with me to Dalymount on Friday night for the Bohs v Rovers derby match, and he was very impressed by the quality of the game, particularly in the first half.
Chances were plentiful in a game where both sides tried to play constructive football. Shamrock Rovers hit the woodwork a couple of times, and Bohs created some good chances and of course scored from the spot.
Joseph Ndos moment of magic that led to Bohs second goal showed again how valuable he is to whatever club he plays for if he can remain injury free.
It's great to have a player of his quality doing his stuff week in week out on the League of Ireland stage, and Bohs fans will be hoping that it IS a case of week in, week out, for the Gypsies this season.
I know Rovers wore the pink jerseys for a very deserving charity, but I'm not sure I was too crazy about it in hindsight. Especially for a Bohs Rovers derby match. Incidentally, I have to give the Bohs fans some credit. Myself and Steve were off duty on Friday night and decided to have a bottle of beer before the game.
We went into the Bohs members bar, and although I felt a bit like the guy in the ad walking into the bar which goes silent, and then three arrows hit the bar counter, I was actually made to feel very welcome. There was the odd funny comment about the show and Roddy's opinion of Bohs style of play, but all in all, it proved to me that we're all fans of the game, and whether the team you support wears, red, blue, green or even pink, you can still have a pint and a laugh with fellow supporters of a different hue. Long may that scenario continue!
The MNS team are recording another Karaoke King this week. I can't tell you where, but I do know that it's west of the Shannon. It remains to be seen if anybody can beat Alan Cawley's effort on week two of the season, but tune in next Monday to find out.
The campaign for the return of '60' seems to be gathering some pace. We've received a lot of e-mails looking for it to come back. Will we see banners at games? It's been mentioned in correspondence and I'm sure Jacqui would appreciate the support. We'll see.
Thanks for all the photos, videos and emails so far to mns@rte.ie; there's been no shortage in terms of quantity to our phone lines for recording, although the quality has left a bit to be desired.
Ringing up to order take away, or call me dodgy names won't be broadcast, but if you do want to make a football related point or ask a question of the panel, give us a bell and we could put your call to air. The phone numbers are all listed on the mns site. www.rte.ie/mns
Until Monday next at 8.00pm on RTÉ Two, take care.
