After their flying start, Romero FC were brought back down to earth by Irish wolfhounds :). Shay Duffy had an off night but in the end a 20th minute strike by the less than prolific Mark Irwin proved decisive. While disappointing for the early pace-setters, spirits must have been buoyed by a scoreless draw secured against the odds in their next match against Athletico Teabag, who left the Trifon Ivanov Memorial Stadium cursing the name of man of the match 'Ijzer Gordijn', the Belgian keeper single-handedly keeping the 'bies more illustrious opponents scoreless. He went from hero to villain in the space of a game as he failed to make a solitary stop in a 3-1 defeat to 10-man Le Sharks, 'The Key' getting his marching orders on 66 minutes.

It was, however, the high point of a disappointing week by the standards the five-time champions set for themselves. A narrow defeat away to Athletico Teabag -which saw 'The Key' punished more thoroughly for his sins in this one- and a home draw with The Yarggghs left Le Sharks needing the win over Romero to drag themselves out of the relegation zone.

Elland Rovers were the other main beneficiary of the Romero-Le Sharks result, The Ever Hopefuls seeing their men claim top spot with seven points from nine in a week where victory over the reigning champions set them up nicely, although it took a stubborn rearguard action to secure the points. Hot on their heels are Askeaton, who amassed the same points tally for the week and find themselves in second place.

At the other end of the table, Na Fianna are propping up the league after a miserable week. Keeping them company at the bottom are new-boys Cavan Celtic -capping a miserable week for their fans following the shock departure of O' Neill- and Eire Everton. These three sides only managed to pick up two points this week and while there's still plenty of time, all these sides will want to pick up their form, and quickly.

While the LOI has been providing it's usual style of drama on the field, the transfer market has undoubtedly taken centre stage. It seems likely that with reputations on the line and money to spend, the off-the-pitch activities could continue to stay to the fore for another while. But who will reap the ultimate rewards? The big-spenders, the big-sellers or the more restrained managers??

Tune in next week to see if we get any indicators...

Game of the Week – Park Rangers FC vs. Athlone Town – A game to remind us all of the 'golden age' of top-flight defending.

Player of the Week – Noah 'Porthos' O' Connell (Pirate Ninja Dinosaurs United) While everyone was focusing on 'The Knave', went about the business of striking fear into defenders hearts, as usual.