Poll: What are your expectations?

[osarusan]

Crosby87's poll:

So now that we know the group, Azzurri, ESP, Cro-Asia,
What are your expectations?

I made it a public poll just to be nasty.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Why make the closing date in a month?

Make it 9/6/12 to be realistic??

[theworm2345]

I might vote if the options weren't so daft.

[SkStu]

great options!

[pineapple stu]

Number four is pretty much perfect.

[Kingdom]

Very good options - nice to have a funny poll once in a while. I feel all of 4/5/6. anything could happen in our group - a rake of draws and an odd win wouldn't surprise me. The order of the games suits us; the venues suit us the fans; we're underdogs, nobody is giving us a chance, despite being very nice about it, and that is usually where we flourish.

Both opening day matches are crucial. If Spain were to beat Italy, and we took something off Croatia, oh man that would be massive. I was going through the permutations the other day.
If:

Spain W Italy L
Ireland D Croatia D
Spain W Ireland L
Croatia W Italy L

That would leave Spain on 6 and qualified, Croatia on 4, us on 1 and the Azzuri on nil points. It would concern me that the last round games would be irrelevant. Those results aren't too unlikely either. Stinger.

[nigel-harps1954]

We'll beat Croatia and Itay and get beat by Spain. That's what'll happen. Yep.

[superfrank]

I think we could get something off Croatia and Italy. We've no chance against Spain.

A lot will depend on how the other games go. Kingdom's scenario is what I most likely anticipate happening; Spain and Croatia settle for a draw in the final game, rendering our match against Italy pointless.

[Crosby87]

I'm glad a few folk actually answer, I am sorry, I was drunk when I had that poll, and the point of it is, Have a Macedonia, or start to read well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjwEIsqQYxM
At 3.22 IS that not Jason Priestley? Of early 90210? Its just a splash. Of reality.

[4tothefloor]

This is the same Spain side that were beaten by Switzerland in the WC group stages. They pretty much won the tournament with 1-0 victories. They hammered no team, not even Honduras. They've also been beaten four times (albeit friendlies) since the World Cup. Their two best strikers, Torres and Villa, cannot buy a goal these days. There's a lot of hyperbole, and writing off the Spain game is a good example of it. Also, Spain v Italy is always a dirt fest with red cards and injuries a plenty. So lets see how it all pans out rather than writing ourselves off.....

[Kingdom]

I wonder will fatigue come into the equation for Spain? It's not impossible to think Barca will give the CL, and la liga a good rattle again this season, which would be two seasons flat out in a row, and with a good portion of their starting XI being Spain's XI then they could be wrecked come season end.
It is something we don't have to worry about either. Most of our players will be on wind-down come May, with the Wolves crew and McCarthy probably being exceptions (relegation scraps). Others such as Duff, McGeady, Given, Ledger won't have had too taxing a season, with absences through injury, winter breaks and form all affecting them. It could play into our hands.

[gustavo]

I don't have any expectations - After a decade away I'm just happy we're there. Obviously I'm expecting the players to have a different attitude. They should be expecting they can get out of the groups anyway. No reason we can't get 4 points anyway which would put us in a decent position.