SMC Express Autumn 2022 Edition

HAALAND: THE GOAL MACHINE

An in-depth look at the Premier League's new sensation

By Thiseas Zabetakis

Haaland's career took off when he joined RB Salzburg in the January transfer window of the 2018/19 season. Despite only playing 2 games and scoring 1 goal in his first 6 months at the club, scouts were impressed by his performances.

The Norwegian youngster took centre stage at the start of the 2019/20 campaign when he made his Champions League debut. In Salzburg's first match of the new Champions League campaign they hosted Genk. Within 2 minutes of the game Haaland ran onto a through ball and slotted home to open his account. In the following 45 mins Haaland caught everyone's attention in the footballing world as he completed a first half hat-trick to cap off a sensational Champions League debut.

Dortmund captured Haaland for £18 million following his incredible start to the 19/20 season. He left Salzburg with 17 goals in 16 appearances in the Austrian Bundesliga and 8 goals in just 6 UCL games.

People were looking forward to how the 19-year-old would grasp and adapt to the Bundesliga. In typical Haaland fashion he didn’t disappoint, scoring a debut hat-trick after being subbed on in the 56th minute.

Haaland kept stealing the spotlight in the Champions League as he bagged a brace in his first appearance in the competition for the club.

Haaland's all round game went from strength to strength during his time at Dortmund.

He won many awards in the 2 and a half years including being named in the FIFA FIFPro World11 in 2021, being named Bundesliga Player of the Season for the 2020/21 season as well as winning the Golden Boy award in 2020.

In the summer of 2022, a release clause kicked in in his contract attracting major interest from all over Europe. Many top clubs were after the Norwegian superstar knowing they could get their man for a bargain of only £54m. Clubs including Real Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and PSG were showing strong interest but most realised they would not be able to afford the total package of the deal including wages, bonuses, agent bonuses and add-ons. 2 clubs were left in the fight for the Norwegians signature, Real Madrid, and Manchester City. In the end Real Madrid gave up on the deal, going all gunsblazing for their man Kylian Mbappe. This left only one serious contender for Haaland's next home.

After a couple of weeks Fabrizio Romano gave the deal the infamous ‘Here We Go!’ The deal was finalised and a couple of hours later the signing of the summer was announced by Manchester City. Haaland later stated that it was not a hard decision as he has ‘always loved and supported the club’ since he was young.

There were huge expectations put on Haaland following his move to the Premier League Champions. Many people were anticipating the striker to struggle to adapt to the tough nature of the Premier League. Comparisons were made between Haaland and Darwin Nunez, Liverpool's new record signing.

Haaland made his first appearance in Man City colours on the 24th July vs his old rivals Bayern Munich. It was visible that the team might take time to adjust their playstyle to the big Norwegian. Haaland many a lot of runs in behind but wasn’t found by any of his teammates. After 12 mins De Bruyne found Grealish who fizzed the ball across and found Haaland who opened his City account with a tap in. Haaland's and Grealish's link up was hyped upby many fans who believed Haaland can help elevate Grealish's level at Man City. Haaland continued to make runs in behind all game but hadn't quite clicked yet with his teammates.

One-week later City were facing Liverpool in the Community Shield. Haaland earned his second start of his career at City while Nunez was left on the bench. Haaland missed a couple chances in the first half as Trent Alexander Arnold put Liverpool ahead. City levelled it up as Alvarez bagged his first goal for the club. The talk of the match came in added time however when the ball fell to Haaland's feet who smashed it off the bar from 7 yards out to top off a disappointing performance by the City no.9. The media didn’t stop talking about this miss until the Premier League started the following week.

Man city were playing West Ham away in the London Stadium. Haaland was desperate to get things right. Immediately we could see that there was a greater understanding between the squad. In the 34th min Haaland ran onto a Gundogan through ball and was taken out by Areola, the West Ham keeper. Haaland stepped up and scored the penalty, the first goal of many to come for the Norwegian beast. In the second half Haaland ranonto a De Bruyne through ball and finished it first time in style to grab a brace on his Premier League debut.

After impressing on his Premier League debut many were expecting Haaland to grab a haul of goals in his next game against recently promoted AFC Bournemouth. When the line ups were released, it was obvious that Bournemouth manager Scott Parker was targeting to shut down Haaland by having 3 centre backs man marking him. Bournemouth's worked to a certain extent as Haaland failed to score. Many people including top pundits were mentioning the fact that Haaland only managed 8 touches in the match. Haaland showed though that he can still have a massive impact on the game without having the ball at his feet. Haaland constantly dragged Bournemouth players away from the ball creating space for his teammates to run into and managed to create a clear-cut chance for Gundogan who slotted the ball into the bottom corner to open the scoring.

In Gameweek 4 of the Premier League Manchester City hosted Crystal Palace, the only team that managed to stop Manchester City from scoring a single goal in the Premier League last season. Palace were flying in the first half getting a 2 goal lead due to a Stones own goal and an Andersen bullet header. City looking for a comeback improved their rhythm in the second half and quickly got 1 back through a Bernardo Silva deflected shot from just outside the box. City were pushing forward and were looking threatening. In the 62nd min Foden whips a cross in which finds Haaland who places his header into the bottom corner. City were level now and had the crowd firmly behind them. Just 8 minutes later City had a corner, they played it short and after a quick one two by Bernardo Silva and Alvarez Silva found Stones who's mishit shot found Haaland lurking on the back post to complete the comeback. City were managing the game, keeping the ball and ensuring that Palace didn’t get a sniff of an equaliser. After escaping the Palace press Foden found Gundogan who turned and found Haaland. Haaland shrugged off his marker and finished it well into the bottom left corner grabbing his first ever Manchester City and Premier League hat trick.

Only 4 days later Man City were hosting Nottingham Forest. Haaland being on red hot form started the game and started it well. It only took the Norwegian 12 minutes to get on the scoresheet after getting on the end of a Foden cross. City were already cruising when Haaland played Foden through, a defender took the ball off him though only managing to clear it to Haaland's feet who had an open net in front of him. Haaland finished the game off when he scored from 2 yards out following a Stones header across goal. Haaland became only the 6th player ever to score back-to-back hat tricks in the Premier League. This hat trick brought his tally up to 9 goals after only 5 games, the best ever start in the Premier League.

Contrary to many peoples opinions, Haaland has continued this form and is proving to be the real deal. After scoring 3 goals in his first 2 Champions League games for the blues, coming back from the international break, City faced their bitter rivals Manchester United. Haaland had stated at the beginning of the season that this is the fixture he most looked forward to and for good reason. United fans believed they had a real chance at victory as they were on a 4 game winning streak including wins vs Liverpool and Arsenal. As the game kicked off City were immedetially on top and Phil Foden opened the scoring within 8 minutes. Haaland showed his aerial threat as he leaped up to meet a De Bruyne corner and double the blues' lead. Only a couple minutes later De Bruyne put in a peach of a cross which Haaland dived in to slot it in the bottom corner. Haaland didnt stop there though as he crossed it low to Foden on the back post to complete an incredible counter attack, making an unbelievable 4-0 by half time in the Manchester Derby. City relaxed in the second half but with Antony getting one back for the away team City stepped their game up again. A swift move resulted in a low cross by subsitute Sergio Gomez which found Haaland who completed his third hat trick of the season. 10 minutes later Haaland found Foden to complete the second hat trick of the afternoon. Both childhood Manchester City fans took a match ball home.

With his 3 goals and 2 assists in the derby Haaland reached 20 goals and assists this season, by October 2nd! He became the quickest player to 3 hat tricks in the Premier League completing this feat in only 8 games, the previous record was 48 games by Michael Owen.In his first 10 games Haaland has shown what he is all about. He can sense a goal out of nowhere, He makes dangerous runs in behind which creates room for his teammates and always finds himself in the right place at the right time. There are no signs of him slowing down either as Pep has confirmed City physios have fixed his injury problems and can play every game comfortably. Erling Haaland has proven himself as one of if not the most prolific strikers in the world.

UEFA Champions League Predictions

By Adam O'Donnell

Favourites to win the Champions League

1. Manchester City:

Manchester City is in my opinion currently are the best team in the world. Pep Guardiola has been busy in the transfer market over the summer bring in players such as Julian Alvarez from Argentian side River Plate for only £14m, Kalvin Phillips from fellow Premier League side Leeds for £44.10m and the biggest of all the signings Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund for £54m an absolute steal considering his performances this season they have been drawn in a group with Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund and Danish club FC Copenhagen, City should realistically top this group and proceed to the knockout rounds with minimum fuss.

2. Real Madrid:

The current holders of the Champions League, we would expect Carlo Ancelotti's team to be trying to keep their status as European Champions. Madrid are still yet to drop points in any competition this season having a 100%-win record at the time of writing and Carlo Ancelotti just like Pep Guardiola has been very busy in the transfer window this summer with summer arrivals of Antonio Rüdiger from Chelsea on a free and young French international Aurelian Tchouameni from Monaco for £72m and these summer singings mixed with Real Madrid's current stars such as Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and Vinicius Jr this team could be trouble for all teams around Europe this season.

3. Paris Saint-Germain:

The current French champions are looking for their 1st Champions League crown this season and this squad has the talent to go all the way with players on top form such as Neymar Jr, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe and they have defensive rocks in Marquinhos and Sergio Ramos this squad has a good blend of youth and experience and under their new manager Christophe Galtier and have been drawn in a decently hard group but we would still expect them to get out of the group

Top Scorer:

Erling Haaland:

City's new number 9 up front is the obvious candidate for top scorer Haaland will be putting away beautiful Kevin De Bruyne crosses all season long and we would expect him to finish the Champions League season with at least 10 goals

Kylian Mbappe:

PSG's main man as one of the competitions favourites, Kylian Mbappe is off the back of his best season ever with 65 g/a in only 46 games. The Champions League may be seen as a rivarly between Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe, the two most promising youngsters in the world.

Robert Lewandowski:

Barcelona's new number 9 we would expect Barca to get out of the tournaments group of death in 2nd and for them to get to at least the quarter final stage of the competition and Lewandowski might feed off goals against Plzen and Inter Milan and we would expect Lewandowski to finish his Champions League run with at least 5 goals.

Top Assister:

Kevin De Bruyne:

Manchester city's midfield maestro should be bagging assists this season with the arrival of Erling Haaland, he can finish excellent passes from the Belgian and we expect him to finish with 5 assists.

Neymar:

PSG's tricky and skillful winger. PSG have been drawn an easy enough group featuring Juventus, Maccabi Haifa and Benfica. Neymar has high expectations for this season with 16g/a at the time of writing.

Luka Modric:

Madrid's best midfielder and one of the best players in the world Real Madrid have been drawn an easy group consisting of Celtic, Leipzig and Shaktar Donetsk. As these teams are nowhere near the top quality of Real Madrid its a safe bet that Real will top their group-stage. It will be an easy road to the knockouts for the reigning champions.

Dark horses

Napoli:

Napoli have not been drawn an easy group stage this year but with Liverpool and Rangers currently on poor form and Ajax having sold most of their best players and Napoli having made and impressive start to the season with standout players such as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen we would expect Napoli to give a good fight in this group and make a decent statement come the knockout rounds

Dortmund:

Dortmund have been drawn a hard group consisting of Man City, Sevilla and FC Copenhagen but with Sevilla being off form and Copenhagen being a team from outside of Europe's top 5 leagues Dortmund have a very good chance to progress to the knockout rounds

Atletico Madrid:

Diego Simeone's side come in to this UCL season after a poor season last time out the defensive style of play that Atletico play will be perfect for their UCL group which consists of Porto an out of form Leverkusen and club Brugge, Simeone’s men are also very experienced in the Champions League having made 2 finals in his time at the club

SUMMER TRANSFER WINDOW

An in-depth summary of the biggest teams in the transfer window

By Shane Fahy

Real Madrid:

Real Madrid has a positive transfer window signing Rudiger from Chelsea on a free transfer, Tchouameni for 72m from AS Monaco and to finish off their window they sold Casemiro to Man United for 70m. Borja for 10m to Getafe. Kubo for 6.5m. Gutierrez for 4m to Girona. Marcelo went free to Olympiacos. Gareth Bale went on a free transfer to LAFC. Luka Jovic went to Fiorentina for free. Isco also went on a free transfer to Sevilla.

Man City:

Man City also had a positive transfer window signing Erling Haaland for only 51m from Borussia Dortmund, Kalvin Phillips for 45m from Leeds United and Julian Alvarez for 14m from Riverplate. They also signed Sergio Gomez for 11m and Stefan Ortega for free. City then went on to sell a number players including Raheem Sterling for 47.5m to Chelsea, both Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus to Arsenal for a combined 78m. Fernandinho also left for a free to Flamengo. City also sold several youngsters for a combined 14m.

Man United:

Man United started the transfer window by bringing in a new manager Erik Ten Hag from Ajax, with ten hag United bought Martinez for £56.7m from Ajax, Malacia for 17m from Feyenoord, Casemiro for 70m from Real Madrid, Antony for 85 from Ajax, and Eriksen for a free from Brentford. They also brought in Martin Dubravka for 5m from Newcastle. Andreas Pereira went to Fulham for 9.5m. Eric Bailly went to Marseille for 2m. Paul Pogba went to Juventus on a free transfer. Jesse Lingard went to Nottingham Forest also for free. And finally, Matic went back to Jose Mourinho at AS Roma on a free transfer.

Chelsea:

Chelsea spent a large amount of money this window with their new owners, signing Fofana for 80m from Leicester, Raheem Sterling for 56m from Chelsea, Cucurella for 65m from Brighton, Aubameyang for 12m from Barca, Koulibaly for 38m from Napoli, Chukwuemeka for 18m from Aston Villa, Gabriel Slonina 9m from Chicago, Zakaria for 3m from Juventus. Timo Werner left for his former club RB Leipzig for 20m, Emerson left for West Ham for 15m. Billy Gilmour left for Brighton for 10m. Lukaku left on loan for 8m to his former club Inter Milan.

Barcelona:

Barcelona had a very good transfer considering the financial troubles that the club are going through. Marcos Alonso and Andreas Christensen both went to Barca on a free transfer from Chelsea. Hector Bellerin moved to Barca on another free transfer from Arsenal, Frank Kessie was the final free transfer for Barca moving from AC Milan. Barca then started spending money on transfers spending 58m for Raphina from Leeds, Kounde moved for 50m from Sevilla and finally Lewandowski for 45m from Bayern. Coutinho then moved to Aston Villa for 20m, followed by a deadline day departure Aubameyang to Chelse for 12m. The final transfer Barca made money from was Trincao for 3m to Sporting. 39-year-old Dani Alves left the club on a free to UNAM PUMAS, 2nd choice keeper Neto left for Bournemouth on a free, Martin Braithwaite then left for Espanyol on a free. Riqui Puig then left for Los Angeles also on a free then finally Pjanic left for Sharjah FC for the final free transfer of Barcas window.

Liverpool:

Liverpool had an underwhelming window for some, signing Darwin Nunez for 75m from Benfica then signing youngsters Fabio Carvalho from Fulham for 5.9m and Calvin Ramsey for 4.9m from Aberdeen and a deadline day loan of Arthur Melo for 4.5m. Liverpool then offloaded Sadio Mane for 32m to Bayern Munich, youngster Neco Williams to newly promoted winners Nottingham Forest for 20m, then selling Minamino for 15m to Monaco. Marco Grujic moved to FC Porto for 9m and Ben Davies for 4.7m to Rangers. Suber sub Divock Origi left the club on a free to AC Milan.

Ajax:

Netherlands side Ajax had a surprisingly big transfer window selling multiple players for a massive profit this season. Largest departure this season Antony was sold to Man United for 95m near the deadline day. Near the start of the window Ajax sold defender Lisandro Martinez also to Man United for 57m. Sebastian Haller left for Dortmund 31m. Youngster Gravenberch left for Bayern Munich for 18.5m. First team left back Tagliafico left for Lyon for 4.2m. Ajax then had multiple free transfers including Mazraoui to Bayern, Andre Onana went to Inter Milan, Danilo left for Feyenoord for Ajax's final free transfer. Ajax then brought in Steven Bergwijn moved from Spurs for 31m. Youngster Calvin Bassey moved from Rangers for 23m, another youngster Brian Brobbey left moved for 16.35m from RB Leipzig. Ajax then signed replacement left back Owen Wijndal from Alkmaar for 10m. Ajax then signed replacement for Antony Lucas Ocampos for only 4m from Sevilla. Ajax then made two final youngster signings Conceicao for 5m from Porto and then finally Kaplan for 9.5m from Trabzonspor.

Arsenal:

Arsenal started the window by taking two first team players for premier league rivals man City signing Gabriel Jesus for 52m and Zinchenko for 35m.Arsenal then spent 35m on youngster Fabio Vieira from FC Porto. Then signing another youngster Marquinhos for 3.5m from Sao Paulo. Arsenal then sold Guendouzi for 11m to Marseille, Lucas Torreira to Galatasary for 6m, former first team keeper Bernd Leno went to Fulham for 3.6m and the final two transfers were frees being Hector Bellerin to Barcelona and Lacazette to Lyon.

Spurs:

Spurs started the season by bringing in Everton striker Richarlison for 58m being a backup striker to Harry Kane, Spurs then signed first team center half Romero from Atalanta for 50m. Bissouma then joined from Brighton for 30m and then spurs finished off the window by signing two youngsters being 19 year old Udogie from Udinese Calcio for 18m and 21 year old Djed Spence from 14.7m from Middlesborough. Spurs then made a two free signings being Ivan Perisic from Inter Milan and Fraser Forster from Southampton. Spurs only sold one single player this summer being Steven Bergwijn to Ajax for 31m

Dortmund:

Dortmund signed a first team striker Sebastian Haller for 28m from Ajax, unfortunately for Dortmund and Haller, Haller had a testicle tumor which required surgery which for the moment has ruled him out for the season. Dortmund then signed 20-year-old Karim Adeyemi for 27m from RB Salzburg as a replacement for Haller. Dortmund then signed Nico Schlotterbeck from Freiburg for 18m and Bayern center half Niklas Sule on a free transfer. Dortmund then sold a massive part of their team Erling Haaland for only 54m to Man City and Centre half Manuel Akanji also to Man City for 15.7m. Dortmund then had 2 goalkeepers Marwin Hitz leave for a free to FC Basel and Burki for a free to ST Louis CITY.

Bayern:

Bayern signed highly praised youngster Matthijs De Ligt for 60m from Juventus, first team left wing Sadio Mane for 28.8m from Liverpool, 17-year-old Mathys Tel for 18m from Stade Rennais, 20 year old Ryan Gravenberch from Ajax for only 16.6m and finally Mazraoui for a free from Ajax. Bayern then sold main striker Lewandowski for 40m to Barcelona, 20-year-old Nianzou for 14m to Sevilla, Chris Richards for 10.8m to Crystal Palace, Marc Roca to Leeds for another 10.8m, then selling Niklas Sule for free to rivals Borussia Dortmund and Tolisso also on a free to Lyon.

Fantasy Football

A look into the footballing app that took the world by storm

By Calum Brewer and Jack Hannon

What is it?

Fantasy Football is a game that uses real Premier League teams and players in order to score points. Building the strongest 15-man team within a budget of £100m letting you become a manager of your own Premier League team for a whole season.

How it works?

You build a team of 15 players and each player can score points based off their real-life performance. You choose 11 players to start and different points are scored for doing different things. For example, when a striker scores a goal, he gets 4 points, when a midfielder scores he gets 5 points and when a defender scores he gets 6 points. This is because it is harder for defenders and midfielders to score than it is for strikers. An assist is 3 points for every position. Goalkeepers and defenders score 4 points for a clean sheet. Goalkeepers also score points off saves. Each week you choose a captain and a vice captain. The captain receives double points. The vice-captain will become the captain if the captain does not play his game.

Fpl Chips

Each manager receives 4 chips per season to earn their team more points. Each chip can only be used once throughout the season, except for the wildcard which can be used twice. The first Chip is a Triple Captain, when you activate this chip instead of receiving double points, your captain will receive triple. The Second chip is a Bench Boost. This is when you use the full 15 players on your team to score extra points instead of the usual 11. The third chip is a Free Hit, this is when you get an unlimited number of transfers to change your entire team but only lasts one week. The last Chip is the Wildcard which is similar to the Free Hit although your modified team lasts the whole season. You receive two wildcards per season, one before Christmas and one after.

Transfers

Every gameweek you receive one free transfer. This allows you to transfer out a player and buy a new player within your budget. If you decide to keep your team the way it is and not use the transfer, you can keep the transfer and have two the next game week. The most free transfers you can have at one time is two so if you decide not to use them it will not increase to three. The two chips you can use to have unlimited transfers are the Wildcard and the Free Hit. If you want to make a transfer but you don’t have any free transfers left it will cost you 4 points off of your overall score.

Leagues

There are two types of leagues, the classic league, and the Head-to-Head, both must have a minimum of two players. The Classic League is based off how many points your team earns over the Premier League season of 38 weeks and whichever player has the most points is the winner of the league whether it is a private league with friends or a public one with strangers. A Head-to-Head is a league where two players teams go against each other and whichever team scores more points gets 3+ points, a draw is 1+ each, and a loss is 0 points in the league similar to the real Premier League.

Cups

Each league has a cup. Each team is drawn against a random team in the league. The team that scores the most points advance to the next round and the losing team is out of the cup. This keeps happening until the final game week, when the two teams that are still left battle it out in the final.

Building Your team

When building your team there are a few factors you must consider such as the £100m budget, max 3 players from one club, player performances and Ownership percentage of a player. It Is important to try and find some hidden gems. These are players with low price and ownership percentage that have potential to play well. Although you will need some premium players. These are costly players with high ownership percentage such as Mohammed Salah or Erling Haaland.

Double Gameweeks

Throughout the year games will be postponed for different reasons like cup games. This means that teams might not have a game one week and might have 2 another week. It is important to maximize points here by getting in players who are playing twice. You have to decide whether you are going to transfer out a player, or just bench them when they have no game.

The Winter World Cup

This year the World Cup is taking place in winter. This means the Premier League is going to stop after the weekend of November 12th and resume on Boxing Day. This means there will be no FPL for those 6 weeks. Gameweek 16 will be the final gameweek before the World Cup. When preparing your team for gameweek 17, you will have an unlimited number of transfers, allowing you to completely remake your team. It is pretty much an extra wildcard, which means you will have to use the wildcard chip at different times than you have in past seasons.

Bonus Points

Bonus points are earned in every game. The Premier League has a ranking system which they use to decide who was the best player, the 2nd best player, and the 3rd best player. The best player will receive 3 bonus points, the 2nd best player will receive 2 bonus points, and the 3rd best player will receive 1 bonus point.

GAELIC FOOTBALL FUTURE STARS

A look at the best future stars of Gaelic Football

By Pádraig Reddan

Here is a list of Gaelic footballers to watch this season. The standard in Gaelic football is rising and it is getter tougher to make the match day panel. Here I will be listing youngsters who could have their break through season.

1.Stefan Okunbor (Kerry) 24 years old

The young decorated player with a minor medal and Munster u20 title returned this season after a 3-season absence while playing in the AFL. He is an all-rounded player that can play full back, centre back and midfield. He made his championship debut in 2016 vs Cork. “He has fantastic athleticism but he has been away from the game for two or three years and it remains to be seen has he still got the ball skills.” His manager said in an interview. While still young and prone to injury if he can stay fit, he could make his way into the kingdoms starting 15.

2: Ruairi Canavan (Tyrone)

With big boots to fill from his father Pete, Ruairi Canavan looks set to do the family name proud. After winning the u20 Player of the Year Award this year he looks set to get his call up to the senior team. He usually plays wing forward and is nearly guaranteed to score you points after an outstanding average of 7.5 points per game. He can pick out a pass and is able to win his own ball.

3: Cormac Egan (Offlay)

The corner forward who is loved by many for his style of play is starting to get more experience. After an impressive run in the u20s in 2021 he is hungry for more silverware. He has pace, skill and is well able to score goals. He was the star of the show against Dublin in the Leinster Final.

4: Lee Gannon (Dublin)

With the big pick that Dublin has you have to be top of your game from an early age. At 22 years of age Lee Gannon is looking to break into the half back line in Dublin's first team for regular championship football. He has a Leinster u21 hurling and football medal. This year he received a nomination for Young Player of the Year and for an all-star. He plays with great awareness and understands the Dublin way of playing well.

5: Tommy Conroy (Mayo)

At only 22 years of age, he has already made 2 All Ireland Final appearances. He plays corner forward or full forward and is well able to score. With veterans such as Aidean O'Shea and Cillian O'Connor ageing, Mayo have been giving out appearances to young talents such as Tommy. He was part of the famous semi-final victory against Dublin that ended Dublins 6 in a row. While out with an ACL injury he will be ready for championship this year.

6: Rian O'Neill (Armagh)

After helping Armagh reach the All-Ireland Semi-Final Rian O'Neill was the star of the show for their season the Armagh forward has nerves of steel even at a young age. He started against Dublin in the league championship scoring 1-4. Against Galway he set up lots of scores and scored a crucial point in the 79th minute to send it to extra time. It was still a draw after extra time so it went to penalties. Rian scored but his team still lost 4-1 on penalties.

Best young hurlers in the Gaa for 2022 season

An insight into the up and coming best talents in the sport

By Tadgh Mullane

Before the start of the championship, a lot of young hurlers have been catching the eye of a lot of journalists and sports pundits throughout the country and now lets see who are the young guns to look out for ahead of the championship.

Cathal O'Neill (Limerick)

The young forward was destined to be a star since playing for his school Ard Scoil Rís and through his time there he caught the eye of a lot of people in the Limerick under age scene. He started playing minor for Limerick when he was 17 and he is now twenty years of age, he has won Munster titles at minor, u20 and senior along with 2 All Irelands and by the looks of things, he is going to win many more and I believe that he could win Hurler of the Year in a couple of years' time.

Ciaran Joyce (Cork)

Even though he is only twenty years of age, It feels like he's been here for a long time. The Castlemartyr man has filled the centre back position that Cork was looking to do for some time but it seems that Kieran Kingston hasn’t found a position for him as he has done a job in the full back line, half back line and even midfield. It seems like this player has the appetite to work and seems to work in Cork's style of play from past appearances. It looks like he could be in for a massive summer.

Michael Kiely (Waterford)

A stand out player for his college UL, He played for Waterford in the u20 grade, scoring 2-2 against Tipperary which saw Waterford fall out in dramatic fashion. Even though he is still u20, he played eight games for the seniors, four in the league and four in the championship and from those games he got five points.

Richie Lawlor (Wexford)

Richie first go his reputation at u14 when his club Faythe Harriers won an All-Ireland Feile title back in 2016 and three years later, he captained the Wexford minors to the Leinster Minor Title. He studies in DCU and there is now doubt that he will play Fitzgibbon Cup this year to show him what top level hurling is all about. Davy Fitz brought him into the Wexford panel last year but he will be 20 this year and he will be better equipped to play this year.

Andrew Dunphy (Dublin)

Having captained the u20 Dublin side last year, it seems that this year will be his break out year with the dubs and he is in serious contention for Mattie Kenny's team. He has been apart of the Dublin team since 2020 and has made eight league appearances since then and made three starts in the championship, he even started the Leinster Final against Galway due to Cian O Callaghan out with injury.

NUCLEAR POWER IN IRELAND – IS IT THE SOLUTION TO OUR ENERGY PROBLEMS?

Discussing if nuclear power can solve our energy problems

By Adrian Angley

Nuclear Power is the use of nuclear reactions to create electricity. This can be nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, or nuclear decay. The majority of nuclear power in the world is created through nuclear fission (the splitting of atoms) of uranium or plutonium in nuclear power plants. In this article I will not get into the intricate physics and science that revolve around the production of energy using nuclear power, but instead I will evaluate and see if nuclear power is a viable option for electricity production in Ireland.

In 2020, 42% of Ireland's electricity came from renewable sources, 36.12% of renewable energy came from wind turbines, while the remaining 5.88% came from hydro-electric power and bio-energy sources (Source: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland). These figures are somewhat dated but still relevant and were also the most recent figures that could be obtained about Ireland's energy mix.

Since 2020, the amount of renewable energy produced has likely increased slightly but we are still heavily reliant on fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas) to produce our energy. As we have seen this year, the price of fossil fuels is incredibly volatile. In 2021 the average cost of one litre of petrol costed €1.42, although it was often cheaper than that at a lot of petrol stations. Today, most petrol stations are selling unleaded fuel for over €1.80, and you can see it at €1.90 sometimes. This is a huge increase and it is caused by the dwindling supplies of fossil fuels, restrictions put on fossil fuels by the EU and government.

A lot of Irelands non-renewable energy comes from Russian gas, which has been in short supply as of late because of the tensions between the west and Russia. This has caused electricity prices to increase substantially. But... why have I gone on this tangent about how volatile fossil fuel prices are? Because I am showing that non-renewable energy is not going to be viable in the long term for Ireland. Although fuel for cars is not a source of our electricity, their increasing prices do prove that we cannot rely on fossil fuels anymore.

But, we cannot just stop using fossil fuels, we must have a replacement, an alternative to them. Yes, wind farms are useful but there are only so many places we can build them, and their energy production is not fixed, it being higher during windy periods. At that, it will be a long time before more than 60% of energy is produced through wind farms. So, we should look at another option, nuclear power.

Nuclear power is not renewable, due to its reliance on uranium and plutonium. But uranium, the primary source of nuclear power has lots of supply. According to the National Electrification Administration in the US, uranium resources total 5.5 million metric tonnes, and an additional 10.5 million metric tonnes remain undiscovered. This is roughly a 230-year supply at today's consumption rate.

We can see that we are not running out of uranium any time soon, and production of energy using nuclear power does produce huge volumes of energy. For example, the Oconee Nuclear Power Plant in South Carolina, USA, produced 22-billion kilowatt hours in 2021. In comparison to Ireland which uses 25.68 billion kilowatt hours per year (in 2020) since 2020, this figure will have increased but it does show how useful one single nuclear power plant could be to Ireland. It would reduce the cost of electricity massively; with one nuclear plant of this scale, we could produce more than 75% of Ireland's needs.

Nuclear power plants also do not release carbon emissions while producing electricity, so we are not further harming the environment. Although, there are definitely concerns about safety in Ireland after seeing the Fukushima and Chernobyl incidents. Modern nuclear power plants are very safe, each miniscule operation is tested tens of thousands of times before the plant ever even comes into operation, meaning that the chances of an accident happening are incredibly low.

Nuclear plants also have reinforced steel walls that are a few feet thick, protecting them from any natural disaster such as hurricanes. These plants are even built to withstand earthquakes! So, we can see the positives of nuclear plants and how much energy they would produce, making Ireland's energy production 100% clean. But what are some of the negatives?

To start, a power plant would cost billions of euros to build, it would lead to great opportunity cost for the government (the money could be used in other areas of our economy instead of a power plant). There would also be few places to build one, because there would inevitably be a lot of objections. But one of the main things that we would need to worry about would be spent nuclear fuel.

Uranium rods used in the production of power eventually become "spent" or used up. This means that the rod must be removed from the array of rods and stored. But these rods are highly radioactive. Being near one without proper protection would give a lethal dose of radiation. There are temporary storage solutions, like putting them in a pool of water, where the hydrogen stops the radioactivity from escaping. But this water must be replaced constantly, because the rods are also very very hot, and will boil and evaporate the water if it is stagnant. So, pumps are in place to replace the water.

But we can't just keep building temporary storage pools, that is why on Olkiluto Island in Finland, there was a bunker built that runs over 400 meters deep, with 60-70 kilometers of tunnels with a total area of about 2 square kilometers, it is called Onkalo. It is the world's first permanent storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. It was built so that nuclear fuel (that stays radioactive for thousands of years) can be stored. It started being filled in 2020, and will be sealed with concrete and rubble in 100 years. There is a plaque there to warn future generations about the dangers that lie within.

The Plaque Says:

"This place is not a place of honor. No highly esteemed deed is commemorated here. Nothing valued is here. What is here is repulsive and dangerous to us. This message is a warning about danger."

So, I think that nuclear power is a brilliant solution to Ireland's energy problem. I think that it would drive down the cost of electricity hugely but I do understand the risks and that the bi-product of nuclear energy are incredibly dangerous. I do hope that you enjoyed reading my article and that you at least learned some new and interesting facts.

THE HOUSE OF THE DRAGON REVIEW

An in-depth look at the production of the world-wide famous series 'The House of the Dragon'

By Rhys McSweeney

On August 21st, HBO premiered the first episode of House of the Dragon, a prequel to the extremely popular fantasy show Game of Thrones. Based 172 years before Game of Thrones’ first season, it tells the story of House Targaryen prior to them losing the iron throne. Following a final season that disappointed many fans, HBO and the showrunners were under quite a bit of pressure to deliver to fans, and so far, it seems they have. With an 8.6/10 on IMDB, and an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, both critics and fans appear to be happy with our latest visit to Westeros, so let's take a look at what the creatives behind the show did to deliver a satisfying prequel to the esteemed fantasy series.

In September 2019, just 5 months after Game of Thrones’ finale, a prequel show to Game of Thrones was announced, based on George R.R Martin’s “Fire and Blood”, and a week later, a second season was greenlit. In January 2020 writing on the show had begun, and casting was soon to follow. Filming, which took place primarily in England, but also in Spain, Portugal, and California, began in April of 2021. In July of 2021, production was put on hold due to a COVID-19 case. The filming wrapped in February of 2022. House of the Dragon reportedly had a budget of $200 million, with $20 million being spent per episode. Another $100 million was allocated for marketing.

During filming, House of the Dragon made very little use of practical sets, instead opting to use a virtual set, known as “the Volume.” This type of virtual set has already been used in Netflix’s “1899” and Disney’s “The Mandalorian”. The Volume involves projecting a CGI image of the set onto a group of panels, and then using a computer engine to respond to the movement of the camera by adjusting the perspective and lighting on the panels. This proved useful for shooting scenes on fantastical sets that were too difficult to build or to shoot on location. The virtual set also prevented the cast and crew from being limited by hours of daylight, as the virtual set simply allowed to choose the lighting for each scene without having to make schedule changes.

House of the Dragon premiered its first episode on the 21st of August, and was watched by almost 10 million viewers, making it the single largest series debut in HBO’s history. The second episode, which aired one week later, was watched by 10.2 million viewers worldwide, showing a 2% increase in viewership, with 26% of viewers having not tuned in to the premier of episode 1. This may suggest that positive word of mouth has had a tangible impact on this show's viewership, with the show averaging 30 million viewers per episode across all streaming platforms.

In conclusion, this show has been a larger success than any could have guessed, and it seems we will certainly be seeing more of this beloved fantasy world for many years to come.

Hollow Knight Review

A review of the highly-praised game by critics 'Hollow Knight'

By Rory Specht

Hollow knight is a 2D action platformer indie game developed and published by the small studio Team Cherry and released in 2017. Since its release, it has left a mark on the indie game scene and continues to spread its influence, seen in the design of other games. Only recently have I gotten my hands on the game and given it a try and I’m disappointed I never picked it up earlier. It is a truly remarkable experience which I would recommend to anyone looking for a challenging and immersive experience.

The game begins and you’re thrown into the world with little explanation of your situation or objective. As you move forward, you’ll discover your first area, Dirtmouth, a small village on the surface inhabited by friendly insects. By the way, this whole game is about insects, even the character you play as is a beetle. You speak with the other insects and you realize your next step is to head underground. This is where the game kicks off and you’ll need to start using the tools made available by the game to help you survive. It is an interesting start which evoked enough curiosity to warrant my attention for many more hours, something a lot of games struggle to pull off without straight up telling me why I should keep playing.

Now that I’ve explained the beginning of the adventure, I can tell you about all that makes this game nothing short of art. The art style and visuals of the game are some of the most unique and attention grabbing I’ve ever seen in the many games I've played. The Hollow Knight’s (the players’ characters) design is so simple yet so iconic and integral to the game. The animation is polished and satisfying to look at. All of the flashy abilities you acquire on your journey are so fun and enjoyable to use, I had to spend a few minutes once just repeatedly using a new ability just because I loved how it looked. No other game has ever managed to make me engage so intensely with something so simple and that speaks volumes for the passion and highly skilled craft poured into this game’s design.

The environments this game has to offer all differ and are easily distinguishable from one another even though they all take place underground in small cave systems. They can range from barren, dark, and cramped tunnels to expansive forgotten kingdoms teeming with unique creatures and architecture. It maintains those feelings of being deep under the surface despite some visuals and designs contradicting that idea, such as one particular place appearing to have rain falling from above. Discovering unfamiliar places is like opening a present on Christmas. The game is of such high quality the players themselves will find reasons to be interested in discovering as much as possible, even when the game does not directly give you a reason to scope them out (which is very often, the game doesn’t like to hold your hand).

The tools provided to the player to overcome the challenges they’ll face are what make up the games’ combat system. The system involves striking enemies to gain a thing called ‘SOUL’ which when enough is acquired, can be used to heal the player or to launch unique skills and abilities, increasing the players options of approaching a fight. The Hollow Knight attacks in quick and consecutive slashes with their needle, basically their sword. This fast-paced form of attack, being the fuel for the player’s regeneration and use of skills, is an incredibly well thought out and well executed system which promotes aggression from the player to sustain their character in the heat of battle, resulting in a thrilling, intense, and high-octane combat environment. Every tool provided to the player has its use and will make itself useful to the player if they’re willing to flesh out their combat style. Game design like this is my favourite. It provides ample room for the player to carve their own playstyle that suits them and this makes the game accessible to all types of people.

The enemies this game has to offer are totally unique. Almost every enemy type has its own way to engage the player in combat. Some charge towards you while staying low to the ground, others will leap upwards and strike from above, some even use techniques and swordplay, requiring more focus to retaliate against. There are also more docile enemies who will not target you but if you attack them, they’ll retaliate with a deadly attack of their own, demanding more caution be taken from the player. The enemies are one of the main factors that gameplay and they are fantastically executed. They complement the combat system.

In the last section I mentioned the main factors to gameplay. Another is exploration. This game is vast and has many different paths all leading to unusual places. With the hostile environment always posing a threat, exploration is risky but rewarding and satisfying to accomplish. Every path you can take, while they may not contribute to story progression, is worth going down to get your hands on useful items and sometimes necessary upgrades. As well as this, exploration helps to let the player indulge more in the uniquely beautiful world of Hollow Knight, which is a reward you will not want to miss out on.

One of the greater challenges which will hone the player’s skill and familiarity with the game is the boss enemies that appear in the game and block off paths of progression. These enemies are the most unique, having entire sets of attacks to themselves and phase transitions where even more attacks are added to their move set to keep the player on edge and demanding their full attention. These boss fights reward the player with a new ability and a bunch of geo, the games currency for buying gadgets and other upgrades. As well as this, the bosses will usually be blocking the path of further story progression, making them mandatory walls which the player must get over. This wall is a great feature to force the player to improve their familiarity and skill with the mechanics and typically results in the players’ full mastery of the combat by the end of the game.

In conclusion, Hollow Knight is a beloved game and for good reason. Its gameplay, design, story, and the immersive and memorable world it creates is an experience not to be overlooked. It is a remarkable feat in indie game creation and I would recommend it to everyone who is willing to take on a challenge. 10/10.