Brilliant Barca make it look like child’s play

JUST what more can you say about FC Barcelona?

I watched their 4-0 Champions League first leg drubbing at the hands of PSG a couple of weeks ago and felt a tinge of sadness that we were witnessing the beginning of the end for this great side.

The were outworked, outmuscled and overrun for the entire 90 minutes and their three pronged superstar strike force of Messi, Suarez and Neymar were more or less anonymous throughout.

Messi in particular looked a pale shadow of his former self, and although he won’t turn 30 until June, I slowly felt myself concurring with the analysts views that the magical Argentinian’s powers were waning.

Such was Paris’ complete dominance of the first leg I didn’t give the Catalans any hope of overturning the four goal deficit at the Nou Camp.

My two young lads are big Barca supporters. They’ve shown no loyalty whatsoever to their father’s team. In today’s fast moving world the slow-burning Tottenham Hotspur project is just not an exciting enough proposition for a six or seven year old.

The two boys would normally hit the scratcher early on a school night but they twisted my arm to stay up until 9pm to see Messi, Neymar & Co, in action.

They were kitted out in the whole regalia as the game kicked off in anticipation of a big Barcelona comeback.

An early Suarez goal prompted the question ‘how many to they need now Dad?’ and it was a question I answered several times more in the opening 60 minutes as the home side cut the deficit in the tie to a single goal.

Children can just about get their heads around the concept of a two legged tie so I didn’t even begin to try and explain the away goals rule. Therefore when Cavani made it 3-1 on the night and with the younger lads eyes beginning to close, I called time on the party and shipped them both to bed.

‘But how many do they need?’ was the older lad’s query as I tucked him in. Without wishing to dent his little dreams I responded ‘too many’ and that sometimes the other team is simply better on the night.

He wasn’t having any of this and retorted that Barcelona would score three more goals. His ‘any more Barca goals yet’ shout from the bedroom on 80 minutes convinced me that this was in fact a done deal. I gave up the ghost and got stuck into another task.

However an incoming text 15 minutes later alerted me to what was unfolding and had me scrambling for the sitting room.

Didi Hamann, Daragh Maoloney and the rest of the RTE panel were in shock. I rewinded the action back to the 87th minute but replays are never quite the same when you know the outcome. 6-1. Who would have thought?

The following morning I was almost afraid to tell the kids the final result. When I revealed the 6-1 scoreline and showed them the game’s concluding moments they were not surprised at all. My credibility was shot. I’ve listened to ‘I told you so’ ever since. LOUTH have a big game in the Gaelic Grounds on Sunday with €5 wins on Disko 5/1, Staneshill 7/1, Djakadam 4/1, Paint the Clouds 12/1 the visit of our northern neighbours Armagh to Drogheda.

Kieran McGeeney’s charges will travel south brimming with confidence following their 30-point annihilation of Offaly but they will meet a home side who are bang in form with four wins from four league outings.

This game has all makings of a very tight encounter but the sod on the North Road venue will have dried out considerably over the last fortnight and this could just tip the scales in the home side’s favour. A draw can’t be ruled out either.

I’m glad common sense eventually prevailed last weekend in relation to the cancellation of the first round of club league fixtures. It doesn’t get away from the fact, however, that the whole fixtures schedule is a mess.

We’ve known as far back as December what Louth’s national league schedule was, so a bit of joined up thinking and consultation should have resulted in an agreed fixture programme.

The running off of the subsidiary competitions could have happened during Louth’s league campaign with the main leagues starting in April. A clear indication like this given at the beginning of the season would have assisted club management and players greatly in their preparations over the last few months.

The Club Players Association (CPA) revolt is gathering momentum. CHELTENHAM starts on Tuesday so here’s a couple of Sideline tips for Thursdays and Fridays card. Don’t go mad mind you. We’ll only be venturing a fiver on each: Disko at 5/1 in JLT Novices Chase; Staneshill at 7/1 in Stayers Hurdle; Djakadam at 4/1n Gold Cup; Paint The Clouds at 12\1 in Foxhunters Chase.