Lawro says Forget It! [Archive]

Reality Bites

29/05/2006, 8:03 AM

We will never qualify for major tournaments again, cause we ain't got the talent.. was the headlines in one of Sundays papers from yours truly Mark Lawerson.. i thought it was a sweeping statement at first then I started to think about players like that pansy O'Shea and Fatboy Andy Reid, and sulky Carr, and thought maybe he's right, the current crop are really an un-inspiring bunch apart from Richie Dunne and Shay Given the rest have no real fire in the belly!!

NeilMcD

29/05/2006, 9:29 AM

Where are the quotes from Lawrenson.

gspain

29/05/2006, 10:04 AM

As Jimmy magee said in November 1985 Ireland will never qualify for a major tournament in his lifetime.

4 and counting Jimmy although in fairness few after watching the Denmark game would have disagreed.

beautifulrock

29/05/2006, 10:22 AM

bwagner

29/05/2006, 10:36 AM

He has a point but I dont think its all doom and gloom, but as reality said we have some god awful losers in the team ....O'shea, Breen, Carr , Miller , A reid, with some other players having plenty of non eventful games to...kilbane morrison, finnan and holland (when he was playing) carsley to. I dont think we will qualify this time around, i think we will really struggle with slovakia for the 3rd spot.Away games will probably be painful to watch

as_i_say

29/05/2006, 10:37 AM

exactly-its just a paid job for him at this stage, however would have to agree with him. we'll have to content ourselves with being a bag o sh ite for a while just like our northern chums.

livehead1

29/05/2006, 10:39 AM

i fully expect us to be there or there abouts come the end of qualifying but just to have not enough in the tank and miss out. i do think we will do better than the last qualifying group though, and any improvement must be welcomed.

as_i_say

29/05/2006, 10:45 AM

any improvement must be welcomed but this is the first time in my football watching life (im 25) where i can say that i fully expect us NOT to qualify. Never before felt that way. when names like o'shea and miller above are mentioned as starters, its easy to get depressed.

Excuse me, i think i've got something in my eye :( :( :(

NeilMcD

29/05/2006, 10:48 AM

What exactly did he say does anybody know. Not what the headline was but what was in quotes from Lawreson in the article. I am sure he qualified it (pardon the pun) in some way.

eirebhoy

29/05/2006, 11:08 AM

during the WC on BBC it will still be "we this we that"....
Doubt it.

as_i_say

29/05/2006, 11:21 AM

Doubt it.

eh? sure thats the way he always is in the studio-we meaning england of course

FarBeag

29/05/2006, 11:51 AM

Knee-jerk reaction to the Chile game, if he said it at all.We all know that we need to improve dramatically to finish even fourth in the group.Tbh I don't think Lawro gives a toss if we ever qualify for another tournament, his team are playing in the world cup so why should he give a fcuk.

as_i_say

29/05/2006, 12:02 PM

cos the times pays him to! act like he does anyways

Plastic Paddy

29/05/2006, 12:14 PM

Tbh I don't think Lawro gives a toss if we ever qualify for another tournament, his team are playing in the world cup so why should he give a fcuk.

eh? sure thats the way he always is in the studio-we meaning england of course

Maybe I don't watch the BBC's football coverage enough as I don't ever recall him referring to England as "we".

:ball: PP

Macy

29/05/2006, 12:31 PM

Maybe I don't watch the BBC's football coverage enough as I don't ever recall him referring to England as "we".

:ball: PP
You obviously don't watch it enough. If I recall correctly he's even defended it in the past when he's been pulled up on it. He's even worse than Houghton for it.

Dodge

29/05/2006, 12:33 PM

Definitely said it on screen numerous occasions. Less then Townsend though

jbyrne

29/05/2006, 12:45 PM

eh? sure thats the way he always is in the studio-we meaning england of course

never heard him refer to england as "we" ever. your assertion otherwise is complete rubbish

Dodge

29/05/2006, 12:48 PM

jbyrne, he most certainly has. Numerous occasions.

DmanDmythDledge

29/05/2006, 1:41 PM

We've a better chance than some people might think- the Czechs have an ageing team and Germany arn't as good as they used to be.

FarBeag

29/05/2006, 1:47 PM

never heard him refer to england as "we" ever. your assertion otherwise is complete rubbish

There is only one Mark Lawerson isn't there?The ugly smug one with the thatch on his head who looks lovingly into Gary Lineker's eyes on MOTD, who used to play for Ireland but would rather have played for England.If this is the chap then he is an Englishman who supports England and is Irish when he gets paid to be.

NeilMcD

29/05/2006, 2:28 PM

To be honest I know for fact that John Motson said in a friendly that we all hope that Wayne Rooney does not get injured before the summer and Lawrenson butted in and said speak for yourself. Thats not a word for word quote but the gist of it was that Lawrenson did not want to be seen as an England fan.

He does have the co commentators job for the England games ahead of Le Saux during the summer.

Dodge

29/05/2006, 2:39 PM

Maybe he just hates Rooney.

beautifulrock

29/05/2006, 2:58 PM

Anybody who has not heard Lawro say "we" when England is playing must never watch BBC or else just never listen.

as_i_say

29/05/2006, 3:00 PM

To be honest I know for fact that John Motson said in a friendly that we all hope that Wayne Rooney does not get injured before the summer and Lawrenson butted in and said speak for yourself. Thats not a word for word quote but the gist of it was that Lawrenson did not want to be seen as an England fan. .

really?why would he bother saying something like that?-i think joe brit public would consider lawro to be an england fan at this stage. in what context did he say that can u remember?

jbyrne

29/05/2006, 3:00 PM

jbyrne, he most certainly has. Numerous occasions.

well, never heard it myself and if i did i'd be the first to be on here giving out about it

Dodge

29/05/2006, 3:08 PM

Fine. But don't having a go at the numerous who have heard it (and its been mentioned here before too)

NeilMcD

29/05/2006, 3:14 PM

From Liverpool v Man Utd game:
John Motson: "We all get a little worried when you see Wayne Rooney
go down injured... from an England perspective.
Mark Lawrenson: "Speak for yourself."

eirebhoy

29/05/2006, 3:38 PM

really?why would he bother saying something like that?-i think joe brit public would consider lawro to be an england fan at this stage. in what context did he say that can u remember?
Well I personally never heard Lawro refer to England as "we". I also heard him say what Neil has referred to and he definitely wanted to make it clear he doesn't support England.

NeilMcD

29/05/2006, 3:49 PM

Andy Gray is fine between two teams in the EPL but when it comes to British teams in Europe he is so over the top and biased its unreal. Townsend and Mc Coist are a joke to be honest but that is more to do with ITV in my view. They ruin all good football coverage. Venables used to be great on BBC but then went to ITV and became rubbish.

The BBC are getting that way with Muppet Ian Wright and Peter Schmeichael.

NeilMcD

29/05/2006, 4:39 PM

It's all about 'dumbing-down'........:eek:

I agreee.

Fergie's Son

29/05/2006, 5:09 PM

Who cares whether Lawrenson has said "we" or not.

The real problem we have is our seedings. We're constantly going to be thrown into groups with 2 to 3 better teams. This is the cycle that Charlton broke (with a little help from Gary McKay) and is one the major obstacles we face. A good showing in this campaign is, I believe, crucial to our seeding.

pineapple stu

29/05/2006, 6:32 PM

If I recall correctly he's even defended it in the past when he's been pulled up on it. He's even worse than Houghton for it.
He's English/Irish sure - he's entitled to call England "us".

Don't agree with the assertion though (pending quote, obviously). "Never" is a long time. Other countries will go through a lull like us. We'll go through an up period again. We need a strong third-place finish in the 2008 group at worst though to maintain our seeding and build up some momentum.

4tothefloor

29/05/2006, 7:57 PM

Yes, Lawro was in the Sunday Worst, who cares what he thinks. Why does anyone ask him anything in the first place is beyond me. It was "We this, we that", during the WC on BBC it will still be "we this we that"....
No chance!

To be fair to Lawernson he never refers to England as "we" and considers himself Irish. He often puts down John Motson in commentary when Motson refers to England as "we". Lawernson will come out with something like "speak for yourself John". He's done this loads of times and often does it along with Hansen to Lineker in studio.

4tothefloor

29/05/2006, 8:03 PM

From Liverpool v Man Utd game:
John Motson: "We all get a little worried when you see Wayne Rooney
go down injured... from an England perspective.
Mark Lawrenson: "Speak for yourself."
That's the one Neil, jesus you must have some memory to remember the exact game and all! :D I just remember him saying it cos I said 'good on ya Lawro' at the time.

Dodge

29/05/2006, 8:16 PM

To be fair to Lawernson he never refers to England as "we" and considers himself Irish. .
There's at least 3 of us on this threa dwho have heard it numerous times

FarBeag

29/05/2006, 10:52 PM

No chance!

To be fair to Lawernson he never refers to England as "we" and considers himself Irish. He often puts down John Motson in commentary when Motson refers to England as "we". Lawernson will come out with something like "speak for yourself John". He's done this loads of times and often does it along with Hansen to Lineker in studio.

How are you so sure about that? Maybe he did say what you think he said to Motson but how do you know what he was actually talking about?I have seen enough evidence on tele to assure me where Mark Lawernson's allegiances lie and its not with the boys in green.Lets wait for another few months toi see, and it will settle this silly debate. Don’t forget to tune into BBC for all the England games though so listen carefully now.:D

Stuttgart88

30/05/2006, 7:39 AM

eh? sure thats the way he always is in the studio-we meaning england of course
I've been keeping tracks on this. Quite a few times recently Lawrenson has been insistent on being Irish and has been far more objective than most about the English. Most notably after Engalnd won the Rugby WC in '02 when Lineker was being his smug self and Lawrenson said it was hard for him to take all the gloating, being an Irishman. Motson threw a jibe at him about being having been an Irishman in the past during the 2006 FA Cup Final commentry (I think) and Lawrenson didn't react, disappointingly. Motson is a **** by the way, but that's a different story! But honestly, the only time I ever hear Lawrenson referring to "we" or "us" it's about the Irish.

Stuttgart88

30/05/2006, 7:42 AM

beautifulrock

30/05/2006, 8:33 AM

Ok maybe I am wrong but my perception was that he liked to consider himself English. Anyway as was said plenty of opportunities for this debate to be sorted out in the coming weeks. Maybe there is other reasons why he gets on my nerves other than that then:D. I guess we are all off topic here in one way or another. But I still dont agree with what he said in the Sunday Worst either.

as_i_say

30/05/2006, 8:33 AM

fair enough. ive never heard him describing himself as irish myself but have heard him talk about england and use "we" (BBC only of course) so maybe he's having some sort of identity crisis or the lads at the times are giving him grief!

it stands to reason he probably considers himself both, erm for some reason.

bwagner

30/05/2006, 10:48 AM

way to derail a good thread there boys.
Who give a poo what he says he is a british man like it or not.
HE DID MAKE THE COMMENT ON THE FA CUP HE CUDNT GIVE A CRAP ABOUT ROONEY CASE CLOSED ,now can we get back to how crap Ireland are please :O)

Stuttgart88

30/05/2006, 11:04 AM

The statement is daft. Never say never and all that...

We actually did have the talent to get to Germany. I don't care what anyone says, we were definitely good enough to take sufficient points from Israel to get at least second this time around, if not first. If you're good enough to be winning 1-0 after 90 minutes you're good enough to be winning after 94. If you're good enough to be 2-0 up & totally bombard the opposition goal for a further 40 minutes, you're good enough to win.

What a wasted opportunity. ****ing scandalous. I point the finger at players and management alike.

Euro 2008 group is interesting. Plenty of scope for teams to take points off each other. I think we're as likely to come second as come 5th, with 3rd or 4th more likely. I think we'll be a better team 15 months from now & I hope we can get a decent start to build on. If we're playing catch up at any stage I think we'll suffer.

Anyway, with the Charleroi case etc., who knows what international football will look like in 5 years from now?

NeilMcD

30/05/2006, 11:20 AM

Great Post Stuttgart esp about the 5th or 2nd. I think we will come 2nd or 3rd but thats me been optimistic.

Also can anyone provide us with the exact quotes that Lawro said and were they qualified.

youngirish

30/05/2006, 1:25 PM

I don't understand all the pessimistic comments about Ireland. We have and nearly always have had a number of top players. How many Czech (or even German players) are playing at higher levels in better leagues than our first 11?

We didn't qualify last time because Kerr was a joke and was far out of his depth and even then it was close.

My only worry is Staunton. He might turn out to be a worse spoon than Kerr but I'm willing to give him a go and Robson behind him can only be a good thing.

We should have a better team during the upcoming qualifying campaign than we did for the majority of the last qualifying campaign with the emergence of O'Brien, Ireland, Garvan, Mc Geady, Doyle and Elliot (remember the campaign doesn't start until August and will last for more than a year so it's likely a number of these players will be viable starters during that time.

I do worry about donkeys like O'Shea though continuing to get a game but surely that's more the managers fault than a lack of resources (anyone else would be better anyway).

Our first 11 by the end of the qualifying (a year and a half away) could be:

Given
J O'Brien Dunne A O'Brien Finnan ( surely better than Harte or O'Shea at LB)

Mc Geady (A Reid maybe?) S Reid Ireland Duff

Keane Doyle

Unless the German and the Czechs have some serious young talent coming through themselves that should be good enough for a second place finish bar injury problems in certain positions and to certain unreplaceable players (Given, Duff, Keane).

Stuttgart88

30/05/2006, 2:00 PM

My only worry about youngirish's arguement (which is one I support, though partly out of wishful thinking rather than pure conviction) is that there are still big "ifs" surrounding the likes of Ireland, McGeady and Joey O'Brien. I just wish they were further along in their development so we could be certain they're up to it at the level we require. I've seen enough, albeit through my green tinted glasses, that each can be a real star, but equally we've been let down so often with the likes of Sadlier, McPhail, Sean Thornton etc. who promised so much but did **** all for a variety of reasons.

I think the comment about Robson is spot on. If Staunton does get some mad tactical idea into his mind I'm sure Robson will be able to dissaude him early enough. I suspect Stan is acting almost like an off-field captain / motivator, with the finer strategic points being determined by Robson. This is certainly how I'd like it to be.

John83

30/05/2006, 4:48 PM

Maybe, but if so, why did Ireland play a 3-4-3 formation as preparation for an away game in Germany? Personally, I'm still stunned by the absurdity of this decision.
There's still the Holland game to come, so it's not like that was the last oppertunity to prepare. The experiment playing three up front is quite reasonable, given the players we have, and the three at the back might have been influenced at least somewhat by the number of defenders we had injured.

It wouldn't have been an absurdity if it had worked, either. ;)

shakermaker1982

30/05/2006, 5:11 PM

I'm confident we can qualify. The Czechs are an ageing team and Nedved will not feature after the WC. The Germans could be on a high after world cup success or in the process of hiring a new manager if Jurgen cocks up their home advantage. Maybe I am too optimistic but I'd rather be that way than Lawro's slit my wrist attitude.

To qualify =

We have to win our home games, we had plenty of chances to nail Israel but let them off the hook. That was the night I was going to see Hatton-Kostya at the MEN.......never so gutted in my life as I walked up to the MEN doors.

A point in Stuggart would be the perfect start as well!

gustavo

30/05/2006, 7:33 PM

He said not 5 minutes ago "They havent really got going yet , England , have They"

CollegeTillIDie

30/05/2006, 7:43 PM

Well if the G14 backed court case in Europe goes against FIFA, the FAI will not be able to afford to pay the Premiership players wages and we will again have an entirely domestic based International squad playing in the Eircom League. That is the case that John Delaney was making to the government anyhow , and if that comes to pass and we remain 4th seeds or worse then it is true we will never again qualify for anything until the European Championships Final stages are expanded to 24 teams !