"Delap Of Honour For Jim's Bold Young Ram Raiders," said the headline in the Sunday People yesterday. Brill, eh? Yes, Derby's Rory, who's been asked to do an impression of an ace striker these days, even though he'd prefer to earn his living at the back, sealed the team's first win of the league season with a header against Bradford in a 2-0 win.
Meanwhile, in the First Division: "Staunton Is Just The Lob For Al," was the ever so slightly less catchy headline that noted Steve's 50-yard lob over the head of Tranmere's Irish goalkeeper Joe Murphy in Saturday's 3-2 win for Crystal Palace (managed by Al Smith).
Honourable mentions for Steve Finnan, who'd more than a half decent game for Ireland on Wednesday, Mark Kinsella (Irish player of the year, Irish captain, a 2-0 win over Chelsea - a reasonable week all round), Liam George and Alan Lee (scorers of the winning goals for Luton and Rotherham, respectively, in the FA Cup first round). Player of the week? Niall Quinn, of course. After scoring the winner against Newcastle they'll probably rename the city of Sunderland after him.
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