An Acceptable Scoreline in Cyprus?

[Scram]

Nothing less than 3-0 given the 6-1 defeat in their first game.

We should be keeping a clean sheet. Even with the injuries, it should not be beyond a team with Duff, Keane and McGeady running at the Cypriots to come away with a half decent result and if Stan is to regain respect, he should be able to come up with a winning formula.

He's already fceked up bigtime with the Carlsley affair, a man who should without doubt be in the starting 11 v The Czechs, and he's in a hole which he might not be able to get out of. On the plus side, Carr is out and Finnan should be in his best position at right back and hopefully Carr can maintain his form (i.e.injured!) for the Czech game.

Will be looking for Ireland to control the game to have any confidence going into the Czech game, a limp performance like last October 9th in Niccosai(AKA dreadful events of 9/10!) and I'll be Czeching out, and "Thuh Gahfer" will be checking out with me.

[John83]

They haven't lost more than 2-0 at home in ages. Don't underestimate them. I'll take a win, no more injuries, and a decent performance from the likes of Kenny and the central midfield.

[co. down green]

The way things are going - 3 points.

[Stuttgart88]

Nothing less than 3-0? Utter nonsense.

Given the current injuries etc. I'd say somewhere between the second 2 posts. A win first & foremost but if we achieved it the same way as last time it'd leave a bad taste.

[OwlsFan]

Will be looking for Ireland to control the game to have any confidence going into the Czech game, a limp performance like last October 9th in Niccosai(AKA dreadful events of 9/10!) and I'll be Czeching out, and "Thuh Gahfer" will be checking out with me.

:rolleyes: Good luck then and remember to close the door behind you. A team, like a pet, is for life. No matter how bad, who the manager is, you don't "czech out". Fair weather fans - don't you just love 'em.

I'll take a scrappy 1-0 with the ball going in off the shin of a Cypriot defender.

[endabob1]

1-0 will do fine, points win prizes.

[loscherland]

A 1-0 win will do, but i do think the performance is important to instill a small bit of confidence back into the team (& supporters for that matter). If our keeper is man of the match again I think we'll be in big trouble come Wednesday (More so).

[wallis]

1-0 , dont care how scrappy or whose arse it deflects in off, but just get the 3 points , avoid injuries and get out of there.

[Dr. Ogba]

I'll take a win....any win...

[elroy]

Although it didnt prove to be the case last time in Cyprus..........i think an early goal would work wonders for us!
Disspirit the Cypriots and give our lads some much needed confidence to hopefully go on and take three points with a decent performance.

I see they have recalled their top striker (who's scored in the CL this year) he was outcast for the last few games.

[Noelys Guitar]

An flukey win wll do. Do not underestimate the Cypriots who have a good forward line. We need 3 points.

[eirebhoy]

They haven't lost more than 2-0 at home in ages. Don't underestimate them. I'll take a win, no more injuries, and a decent performance from the likes of Kenny and the central midfield.
We were the last team to win by more than 2 goals in Cyprus. They are nowhere near as bad as some people think. As for the 6-1 match. Read what the likes Staunton and Toshack have said. 6-1 was in no way a reflection on the match. The Swiss had a really hard time beating Cyprus home and away.

[shakermaker1982]

1 nil, 6-5 I don't care just 3 points!!!!

[Docboy]

1-0, in off someone's backside thank you very much.

[murtybyrne]

Yes I would agree the way things are going at the min 1-0 will do - 3points

[BradyIsMyHero]

Can't see us keeping a clean sheet, with a poor defence and nobody capable of playing a holding role in midfield (eg Carsley). 2-1 is best we can hope for

[GUISAUltra]

would take 3 points with a cypriot og at this stage. just get three points on the board and get us off and running and a bit of momentum going into the czechs

[galwayhoop]

three points is three points is three points!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i don't think we could have a thread titled this way against san marino at the moment - we have no divine right to beat these so called lower teams (i.e cyprus) at this point in time and need to recognise that sooner rather than later.

[drinkfeckarse]

Hoping for 3 points, don't care how we get it or what the score is. Any win will be an acceptible scoreline these days...

[gspain]

Any win will do.

[First]

Cyprus to win and then Ireland should sack the manager , get in someone with an idea of what he is planning. All this talk of looking at 2010 is just camoflage imo to cover up his lack of managerial know how.
Whats wrong with trying to qualify for Euro 2008 its looks IMO as if he is a bluffer and this was shown with his petulent carry on when we played Germany,( if I kick a bottle down the sideline it'll look like I'm passionate about the job but really I haven't a clue what I'm trying to do here. ) Next step take off Duff as he is upsetting the Germans by getting at them .

Pleaseeeeee , Stan you were a good player for Ireland but lets just call a spade a spade and admit your in above your head.

Maybe just maybe you'll prove me wrong.

[Stuttgart88]

I think most of us are forgetting he was supposed to have Bobby Robson's help during this period.

Apart from Carsley's ommission, which indicates to me that O'Shea will be trusted in the "holding role", is any of Staunton's call-ups really that contentious? I really believe places 15-23 of the squad are much of a muchness and if Staunton wants to call players up for experience then fine.

Where has he said they won't be trying to qualify? I think that's what I'd call "selective interpretation".

[galwayhoop]

I think most of us are forgetting he was supposed to have Bobby Robson's help during this period.

i think it was a joke to appoint robson (or any1 else for that matter) as adviser or consultant or whatever. either let stan sink or swim and bring in his own coaches under him, like mcdonald, hughton or whoever. it straight away put a question mark over his head.

give the man time as he is working with seriously limited resources. mccarthy was given time and he bled a whole new crop of players so lay off stan for a few games at least.

at the end of the day if we get rid of him who actually wants the job - there was hardly a massive que outside merrion sq the last time and if he is sacked after 2 competitive games i think it would be an even smaller one now. BTW the reason for the small que is the lack of players available, if we had the quality to match our expectations we would of attracted better applicants so we must make do.

[First]

Where has he said they won't be trying to qualify? I think that's what I'd call "selective interpretation".[/QUOTE]


When asked why he called up Alan Quinn before Carsley he said the decision was with a view to the future that Alan was 26 and Carsley 32 . IMO opinion we should be looking at the present and nothing beyond the Cyprus game which with Carsley in great form and a team depleted of holding midfielders Carsley should have got the nod. 2010 seems to be the yardstick that he is going to be judged by his employers and gives me reason to think that 2008 is not a priority ." selective interpretation" maybe but I'm selective about a lot of things.

[Billsthoughts]

Where has he said they won't be trying to qualify? I think that's what I'd call "selective interpretation".

why mention it at all?
he could have just kept it between himself and the FAI. Its not like he just mentioned it the once. He keeps bringing it up. the desired effect was probably to lower fans expectations but it is actually having a negative effect. People are unhappy as it sends out a negative message.
I think he should have kept it to himself. Whatever about mentioning it prior to Germany game to say it after it is just putting out the message that he doesnt have any faith in the team.
thats the impression I get. my interpretation if you will. but it isnt selective.
Whatever. Its an undisputable fact that he has managed himself poorly with the media.

[First]

[QUOTE=Stuttgart88;546368]I think most of us are forgetting he was supposed to have Bobby Robson's help during this period.

This was also a mistake as it made Stan look for all the world like an apprentice to Robson and I for one felt that it underminded his position from the get go.

[Emmet]

Next step take off Duff as he is upsetting the Germans by getting at them Was he calling them rude names or something? He certainly wasn't upsetting them with what he did with the ball!!!

[irishfan86]

I think he should have kept it to himself. Whatever about mentioning it prior to Germany game to say it after it is just putting out the message that he doesnt have any faith in the team.

On the contrary Bill, calling up a guy like Carsley would be more of an indicator of a lack of faith in the squad.

That said, Carsley should have been there right from square one and I find the situation incredibly frustrating to say the least.

[Stuttgart88]

When asked why he called up Alan Quinn before Carsley he said the decision was with a view to the future that Alan was 26 and Carsley 32 . IMO opinion we should be looking at the present and nothing beyond the Cyprus game which with Carsley in great form and a team depleted of holding midfielders Carsley should have got the nod. 2010 seems to be the yardstick that he is going to be judged by his employers and gives me reason to think that 2008 is not a priority ." selective interpretation" maybe but I'm selective about a lot of things.

Maybe you're right about Quinn vs Carsley but my recollection is that he said that calling Carsley up at this late stage would be a kick in the teeth to those who've been involved in the previous games & the training camp etc. I don't remember him justifying Quinn's inclusion on the basis of the age difference but I'll take your word for it.

I wholeheartedly agree that Carsley should be there but I maintain that that's the only really contentious selection in this squad. Everything else is much pf a muchness. If Staunton prefers O'Shea to do the same role as Carsley, one that they're clearly convinced he can do, then that's his prerogative. I'm also very suspicious that we're still not hearing the full story. How can "wires be crossed" in a simple phone call?

Watching Staunton on the touchline in Stuttgart & listening to MacDonald's comments yesterday suggest he's desperate to win every game & qualify. I'd be amazed if he wasn't. Any comment about 2010 is merely trying to manage expectations, though it's contentious whether it's achieving the desired effect.

In my opinion the squad he has picked - the omission of Carsley excepted - is entirely consistent with trying to win first, and building for the future second. And I also think he's right when he says that everyone, even the potential debutants, have to stand up and be counted at some time.

On the Stan/Robson double-act, my head agrees with you but my heart always take a "glass half full" view on Irish soccer. On that basis I'm prepared to believe that Robson, in full health, could have been / could still be a useful asset to the set up through this campaign.

[Rovers'Til IDie]

A nil all draw would be acceptable. The problem with this team is not that they are bad players, no, the problem is they don't give a damn about playing for Ireland. Staunton doesn't know what he is doing and even if he did the players all think they are bigger than the team. So I don't think it will be the usual performance we've seen from the majority of this bunch over the last few years. The exceptions to the above are Doyle and McGeady.

[Rovers'Til IDie]

Correction, it Will be the usual performance.

[galwayhoop]

staunton should of just been appointed as manager and tthen himself if he wanted taken in robson in the role of assistant and then do whatever they wanted behind closed doors (no dirty comments please!). as in whatever role be it advisor, mentor or whatever, the fact is he has been instantly undermined by the FAI from day one with the roles.

carsley should of been included, as pointed out earlier, we have no real holding player in the squad and it would not of undermined the players as with the withdrawals there is a lack in this position and also for earlier squads he had made himself unavailable for personal reasons. it would of been a good time to introduce him to save face i.e. shortage of players + player just declared himself available. what exactly was quinn going to bring to the party that is not already there and then when he has withdrawn with no player called in to replace him (or any likely successor) why not call him up then as he could put it down to 'who else is there' if he wanted to save face.

on the whole 2010 thing all he had to say from the beginning was 'judge me when my contract expires' i.e in 2010, leave it at that, and not keep harping on about it. BTW he should have got some media training over his inactive months in the summer like all politicians do when they get appointed to higher profile positions (except jackie healy rae obviously!)

[geysir]

Games against Cyprus away and their likes, rarely rise above "job done" status.
I think there have been some absurd microscopic interpretations of Stan's utterings. Stan didn't have less than 100% for each game he was ever involved in. For every game of this campaign he will be no less committed. He doesn't surrender, he is too stubborn for that.
He stated the blinding obvious about rebuilding, without the slightest concession to a defeatist attitude. We were a 4th seeded nation, deservedly, when he took over.
In the last campaign we all but collapsed in the most embarrasing manner to a supposed minnow and were toothless, out played and tactically out manouvered by an average, better organised. mid ranking European team on our home turf.
Regardless of what players are still involved its still rebuilding. The questions are about is he the guy to do the rebuilding?
Comparing the competitive records of Germany and Czech to ours we have just about a snowballs chance.
Already the Czechs have won 3-0 AWAY against the 3rd seeded team who had knocked 6 past Cyprus.
In order to qualify now we pretty much at least have to beat the Czechs at home and beat a higher ranked Slovakia home and away. That has never been done before by any Irish team. Home truth statistics.
I think the Germany game was a good start by our standards and we can do better. I'd expect a similar approach in the opening 20 minutes. Fxck knows what the scoreline will be.

[BaZmO*]

Acceptable score?

What an extremely stupid question to ask. If you had of said, "What's an acceptable result?" that would've been fair enough.

We should be worrying about results regardless of whatever the scoreline is.

[irishfan86]

I feel that in this case the performance is really as important as the result going into the Czech game.

If we play this game confidently and get a good result, as opposed to just scraping out a victory, we can really carry that momentum back home.

[Billsthoughts]

If we start the way we did against the germans we will blow them away....If we play like that 20 minutes for the whole games against cyprus and czechs then we will beat both...

[NeilMcD]

If we play with Kilbane and O Shea in midfield we are not capable of playing like that for 90 mins as you cant play like that for a whole game and you need players that can keep possession and give the wingers and forwards a break and a breather. 90 miles and hour football is not realistic in my view so that is why possession keepers are so imporant. O Shea and even more so Kilbane are possession losers.

[galwayhoop]

I feel that in this case the performance is really as important as the result going into the Czech game.
ammm, NO. play great while cyprus defend like legends and draw.... disaster.
play crap.... win 1-0...... job done although nothing special still 3 points next november


[/QUOTE]If we play this game confidently and get a good result, as opposed to just scraping out a victory, we can really carry that momentum back home.[/QUOTE]

the momentum will come with the result. as said above if we're class and don't get 3 points there will be damn all momentum.

hopefully we will get both on saturday but to say they are equally important is nonsence. one is of primary importance and the other will hopefully be a welcome by-product but still less important. in fact even less important than coming out of the game with no further injuries!!!!

[Billsthoughts]

I never thought I would be johhny shake a shamrock but Ireland only play a few games a year and two of them in the next few days so can people lighten up on the pessimism! jesus wept....

[Dallasirish]

Win --- however it happens wheather its by bad a penalty decision, offside Goal, one the ref though crossed the line, a Keane hand of God Move ----------- or a Clinton Morrison 30 yd crushing screamer that busts the top corner, as long as we win the result or how it happened does not matter. We Need to win a game and start believing again !!!

[RogerMilla]

a scrappy 1-0 will do nicely , then its time to put the whole bank on the wednesday game which if we dont win we are jiggered

[ken foree]

yea but if we win and play like total sh!t, it doesn't do much for the belief anyway. in fact it might have more of a negative, 'paper over the cracks' effect, like cyprus away last time round. god that was awful, i never want to watch that dreck again. if it means getting thumped by a fourth or fifth tier team to wake us up and rejuvenate us in the long-term, so be it.

[pineapple stu]

Maybe you're right about Quinn vs Carsley but my recollection is that he said that calling Carsley up at this late stage would be a kick in the teeth to those who've been involved in the previous games & the training camp etc.
Jay Tabb wasn't in the training camp or previous squads. Nor was Alan Quinn? Or Alan Lee. Or Kevin Foley.

Sorry, don't buy that explanation at all. Stan is clearly buying time. I hate this notion of planning for four years from now - the problem is, it's easy to keep doing that and letting slip the fact that we're not doing well in the here and now. We should be playing the best players we can now to at the very worst boost our ranking ahead of the 2010 World Cup. No use picking inexperienced players now and being fifth seeds in 2010 when we could play some players who won't be around for 2010 but who could help us to third seeds then.

[eirebhoy]

Jay Tabb wasn't in the training camp or previous squads. Nor was Alan Quinn? Or Alan Lee. Or Kevin Foley.

Foley and Tabb were on the bench for the game against Chile.

[ken foree]

Jay Tabb wasn't in the training camp or previous squads. Nor was Alan Quinn? Or Alan Lee. Or Kevin Foley.



yea i was thinking that too but didn't know if it was true. more of a kick in the goolies for carsely as he's actually played for us a bit! i even forgive him for rolling around in the box breast-feeding the ball against turkey

[pineapple stu]

Foley and Tabb were on the bench for the game against Chile.
Fair enough. Still don't agree with Stan's logic though.

[Stuttgart88]

Jay Tabb wasn't in the training camp or previous squads. Nor was Alan Quinn? Or Alan Lee. Or Kevin Foley.
Did the U21s have a game around that time, hence explaining Tabb & Foley's absence? They beat Azerbaijan in Kilkenny on 18/5. Not sure what date the senior squad set out for Portugal but the Chile match was on 24th so I reckon they set off around the same time as the U21s were playing. Maybe he thought that after a tough away trip and the return match that the U21s had done enough?

Also, it's not as if Staunton has had 2 or 3 withdrawals, I think he's had around 8 or 9, so he has to pick a few wildcards. And maybe one or more of the Portugal 30 didn't impress him?

In the meantime anyway, I think Foley has shown better form than Stephen Kelly who has yet to impress in his brief outings in green. I think Alan Lee was injured at the end of the season but can't confirm. Quinn's absence I can't explain as I've always been an admirer.

I don't think he's bringing inexperienced players along now with a view to them starting - some are clearly there for the experience & to make up the numbers. Better than having experienced guys making up the numbers, no? What's the long term benefit of that?

With the exception of Carsley, I'd like to know who he left at home that could realistically be in the match day 16 or 17 or whatever. McPhail maybe?

Honestly Stu, I've an open mind, but Carsley excepted I've yet to hear a convincing argument that Staunton is squandering our current chances by keeping an eye on the future.

[Stuttgart88]

Tks eirebhoy, if I didn't respond in a such long winded manner I'd have noticed your reply!

[green army]

the way things are looking at the moment, i'd take a scrappy 1 nil win with the goal in off the arse of anybody. 3 points is the main thing.

[RogerMilla]

agreed green army but heres hoping the players take this by the scruff of the neck and really go for it