Looking ahead - Wales

[gustavo]

It will get filled , theres plenty of event junkies out there.

[ifk101]

There is no way LS would even consider taking over the ROI. Think about it, the best he could ever hope for would be to take over a chronically under-performing team, turn it around, then set it on its way to over-performing. Which is fine, were it not that it's hardly guaranteed and even if he did, people would merely say "So what?" i.e. it's been done before. By him.
And in any case, he's made it quite clear he sees his future in club management, such that he'll leave NI when his contract expires at the end of the Euro Qualifiers (or the finals, if he gets us there!).
Of course, he has said he thinks he could combine a club job with NI on a part-time basis, but even if the club concerned were to agree (v.unlikely), I can't ever see a p-t manager being acceptable to the FAI.

Anyhow, that's not your biggest problem: your biggest problem will be replacing Staunton with somebody capable. No-one with a decent CV is going to want to touch it and anyone with a bit of sense will want to wait until things really have hit rock-bottom, in order to extinguish all unrealistic expectations, so that the only way for any new guy is up.
Unless, of course, you appoint someone who is either short of alternatives (O'Leary?), for which there is usually a reason, or take a chance on somebody who is eager but unproven. (Actually, scrub that last one, since that's what Staunton was...)

Worse still, if finding a replacement for Stan is your biggest problem, it's not actually your immediate problem: i.e. getting rid of him first.
As I see it, there's no way Delaney will sack him, since he's too convenient a "sandbag" to protect him (JD) from the muck and bullets aimed in both their directions. Plus it would cost a fortune in compensation, compensation which will be sorely needed to attract a new guy. Above all, if Stan were sacked, attention would immediately move to the guy who appointed him in the first place...

Therefore, he'll have to resign. Clearly, he's not going to want to do that, since he's a proud man and he won't want to forego a big pay-out, especially since his reputation is getting shredded so severely, he'll find it hard to get a decent alternative job.

Which leads to a further problem. If he can stagger on getting the odd half-decent result (Czech, Germany etc), then you could be stuck with him for another year or more. Alternatively, if the next few results are more like Cyprus or San Marino, then the pressure will become unbearable, and he'll have to resign.

Neither option is palatable, since the former would only delay the start of the repairs needed and the latter would deepen the extent of it.

But worse, much worse than any of that, is that even once you've got rid of Stan and appointed someone in his place, his successor can only hope to do a good job despite the circumstances he finds himself in, not because of them. That is because, as you rightly point out, many of the problems are not really to do with the senior team management, even if they (the problems) eventually end up making the manager's job harder.

A good appointment will only allow the Blazers to kid themselves everything is really OK and a bad appointment, well, you really don't need another one of those.

Now I daresay anyone still reading will ask, "What the feck business is it of yours what's happening and what does you know about it, anyway?" The first question is fair enough, but I only offer my opinion from a feeling that I've seen this situation before.
You see, the ROI under Stan are exactly where NI were under Sammy Mc.
and we only got out of that through pure luck.
First, Stockport offered to take Sammy off our hands (he's managing Morecambe in the Conference now, btw) and second, the clear favourite for the job was Jimmy Nicholl (now Assistant Manager at Aberdeen).
However, Jimmy Nic turned it down because the money wasn't enough (the second time he'd done that!), which left Lawrie as "Hobson's Choice".

Still, if the "Luck of the Irish" worked once for us, maybe it can do the same for you...;)

What motivates you to continually vomit up essays on a team you don't even support?

[joe_barry80]

Where does he get the time Does he have a job?

[paul_oshea]

free speech, open forum, he has a right to do what he wants and not be questioned.

[RogerMilla]

i agree , let him say what he likes
i bet lawrie sanchez would take our job if offered.... :-)

[EalingGreen]

What motivates you to continually vomit up essays on a team you don't even support?

When you buy a newspaper, do you only read the match reports for your team, then throw it away? Or in the news section, do you only read about what's reported from your town and ignore what's going on eleswhere?

Anyhow, to answer your question, I have a wide interest in football, such that I've actually been to a few ROI games (i.e. not involving NI), including at Italia 90, which I happily attended despite my own team's absence.
Also, as a Spurs fan who happens to lives next to Brentford, I'm interested in the progress of the likes of Keane and Hunt etc.
And I'm curious about the forthcoming ROI v Wales match, since my own team has now played them three times in the last two years.
Sorry if that offends you.

But here's a question for you: Do you have any constructive thoughts on what I actually posted (other than that it's "vomit", that is)? Or, to put it another way, what motivates you to come on here and "vomit" out bile about someone who's not done you any harm?

P.S. Another motivation for following the fortunes of the ROI team - Comedy Value!

[Condex]

We're not the greatest team in the world but I definitely don't agree with that, on paper anyway which is what we're going on.

Player for player this would probably make up the best teams:

------------------Given--------------
Finnan------Dunne----Delaney----Bale
McGeady----Carsley----S.Reid----Giggs
-------------Keane----Doyle----------



Keane ahead of Bellamy, what has the man gotta do to get dropped..
Hes still a god to some people no matter how badly he plays..

[tetsujin1979]

Keane ahead of Bellamy, what has the man gotta do to get dropped..
Hes still a god to some people no matter how badly he plays..

What has Bellamy done to get ahead of Keane?

[as_i_say]

Ealing I can appreciate your right to feel smug right now as I feel the same delight in watching the north get beaten however to bring you down to earth with a bump….

The north have ZERO chance of qualifying for anything-ever again because as sh!t as we may be right now, you’re lot are no better.

I await the usual prosaic retort…

[OwlsFan]

It will get filled , theres plenty of event junkies out there.


I'll go like I have for the past 40+ years and I am not an event junkie. I support my country through thick and thin and no matter who is in charge. I was there at the end of the Eoin Hand era with about 18k others at Lansdowne when we lost 1-4 to Denmark at home and I'll be there (God willing) when the Stan era comes to an end whether successful or more likely a failure and the reins are handed over to another manager.

It's called support.

A small country like ours will always have its highs and lows. Many desert the sinking ship and I have seen that over the years. If the campaign continues as it does, I wouldn't anticipate more than 30K at the last game in Croker but I shall be one of them even if we're still on 7 points.

[Wolfie]

I'll go like I have for the past 40+ years and I am not an event junkie. I support my country through thick and thin and no matter who is in charge. I was there at the end of the Eoin Hand era with about 18k others at Lansdowne when we lost 1-4 to Denmark at home and I'll be there (God willing) when the Stan era comes to an end whether successful or more likely a failure and the reins are handed over to another manager.

It's called support.

A small country like ours will always have its highs and lows. Many desert the sinking ship and I have seen that over the years. If the campaign continues as it does, I wouldn't anticipate more than 30K at the last game in Croker but I shall be one of them even if we're still on 7 points.

I'm sure there's plenty here will second that.

We'll be there - despite the idiot that's at the wheel at the moment.

[EalingGreen]

Ealing I can appreciate your right to feel smug right now as I feel the same delight in watching the north get beaten however to bring you down to earth with a bump….

Indeed.

The north have ZERO chance of qualifying for anything-ever again because as sh!t as we may be right now, you’re lot are no better.

As you say.

I await the usual prosaic retort…

Whatever. :cool:

[eirebhoy]

Keane ahead of Bellamy, what has the man gotta do to get dropped..
Hes still a god to some people no matter how badly he plays..
Keane's better than Bellamy, without question.

[youngirish]

I actually enjoy EalingGreen's comments on here. He does his best to sound impartial but those who know him best can see that familiar stench of jealousy and bitterness due to the quality of our players and our recent footballing history emanating from some of his posts.

EalingGreen you know you're setting yourself up for some serious slagging when the North crash back down to Earth with a wallop in about 6 weeks.

[EalingGreen]

I actually enjoy EalingGreen's comments on here. He does his best to sound impartial but those who know him best can see that familiar stench of jealousy and bitterness due to the quality of our players and our recent footballing history emanating from some of his posts.

EalingGreen you know you're setting yourself up for some serious slagging when the North crash back down to Earth with a wallop in about 6 weeks.

I would never claim to be "impartial" in matters of football, though I do try to be "reasonable" - the difference is important!

And if I were "jealous" of your players, I suppose I could always solve that by transferring my allegiance to supporting the ROI, as some of my Northern compatriots choose to do, but that prospect is about as welcome to me as putting my balls in a mixer.

Neither an I "bitter" about your recent footballing history, since it is just that - recent. I am proud to support a team with over 125 years of history, a history every bit as illustrious as yours, thank you very much.

But thank you for your warning about the future, even if it is not necessary. You see, I am old enough to remember both triumph and disaster as an NI fan and, in the words of the poet, "to treat those two imposters just the same".

That is why I and my fellow NI fans so relish our present (modest) success under Sanchez so much, but didn't get too outraged during the dark days of Sammy McIlroy's reign - a lesson you ROI fans might heed as you excoriate and vilify poor Stan just now.

Anyhow, even if the worst happens in our next few matches, I'm sure I'll manage to take whatever you throw my way, for, as the song puts it:
"We're not Brazil, we're Northern Ireland, but it's all the same to me" ;)

[ifk101]

When you buy a newspaper, do you only read the match reports for your team, then throw it away? Or in the news section, do you only read about what's reported from your town and ignore what's going on eleswhere?
Drivel....


Anyhow, to answer your question, I have a wide interest in football, such that I've actually been to a few ROI games (i.e. not involving NI), including at Italia 90, which I happily attended despite my own team's absence.
Also, as a Spurs fan who happens to lives next to Brentford, I'm interested in the progress of the likes of Keane and Hunt etc.
And I'm curious about the forthcoming ROI v Wales match, since my own team has now played them three times in the last two years.
Fair enough


Sorry if that offends you.
No worries.


But here's a question for you: Do you have any constructive thoughts on what I actually posted (other than that it's "vomit", that is)? No. I fell asleep after the first 3 pages.


Or, to put it another way, what motivates you to come on here and "vomit" out bile about someone who's not done you any harm? Please .... Should I replace vomit with diarrhoea of the mind to describe your drivel?


P.S. Another motivation for following the fortunes of the ROI team - Comedy Value! Suspected that. But isn't losing heavily at home to Iceland of more comedic value. Maybe your energies should be spent analysing that result.

[Condex]

Keane's better than Bellamy, without question.

Arguing about which sub is better, is akin to two bald men fighting over a comb.. One thing that Bellamy has which Keane does not is pace...

[conlonn]

Should Stephen McPhail, Richie Foran and three or four Eircom league (who would have some pride in the green jersey)players be in the squad like Liam Kearney.....
How about Pat Dolan for new irish manager!!:)

[Soper]

McPhail isn't playing well at all now.

[conlonn]

yes McPhail may be a bit fragile too mentality but has played all games bar 4 or 5 for Cardiff this season,
Robbie Keane should not be in the squad either, he is an overpaid, arrogant, over rated, whinger who should be ice skating not playing soccer in Ireland but I don't suppose "Stan Laurel" will drop him even off the team
John Delaney is a manipulative, evil, slimey person who is ruining Stan, who has had a great international career and club career, but now is a laughing stock.
Delaney out!

[onenilgameover]

It will get filled , theres plenty of event junkies out there.

dublin/slash ireland is fast becoming the event capital of the world for the hardcore junkie....however there will be fans and junkies in croker.

and I quite like reading ealing green's stuff...

[as_i_say]

Ealing's rants are the stuff of any northern unionist struggling to find an identity for himself by posting long winded drivel that no irish person cares about. I feel sorry for the unionist pop up there-they dont know what to call themselves-unionist, british, northern irish, ulstermen etc etc.

its also why players like gibson and co want to play for us-simply because they consider themselves irish, and not any of the above.

[EalingGreen]

Ealing's rants are the stuff of any northern unionist struggling to find an identity for himself by posting long winded drivel that no irish person cares about. I feel sorry for the unionist pop up there-they dont know what to call themselves-unionist, british, northern irish, ulstermen etc etc.


My views and opinions on matters of politics and identity are my own and I am completely comfortable with them, thank you very much. Which is not to say they are not complex; I find that those people who have a need for simplistic certainties and absolute, or "pure", values very often do so to hide deeper insecurities which they would rather not face.

Anyhow, when it comes to footballing matters, my identity is quite clear: I am a Northern Ireland fan, nothing more, nothing less. As such, I couldn't care less about the politics of my fellow supporters or the players, so long as everyone is getting 100% behind the team, that is all I ask.

Mind you, it is richly ironic to be vilified for this stance by some of the more vitriolic posters on this Board. After all, they are the ones who would see their own team (ROI) disappear in their quest for a "united" team, whilst I am quite happily looking forward to my own team's next 125 years (so no "identity crisis" there!)

Not only that, but I am the one who is privileged to follow a team, management and support which is totally at ease with each other in the single quest to try and win football matches.

Contrast that with the shambles currently operating under Stan Staunton's benighted regime. "United Ireland"? I think not...;)

[kingdom hoop]

My views and opinions on matters of politics and identity are my own and I am completely comfortable with them, thank you very much. Which is not to say they are not complex; I find that those people who have a need for simplistic certainties and absolute, or "pure", values very often do so to hide deeper insecurities which they would rather not face.

Anyhow, when it comes to footballing matters, my identity is quite clear: I am a Northern Ireland fan, nothing more, nothing less. As such, I couldn't care less about the politics of my fellow supporters or the players, so long as everyone is getting 100% behind the team, that is all I ask.

Mind you, it is richly ironic to be vilified for this stance by some of the more vitriolic posters on this Board. After all, they are the ones who would see their own team (ROI) disappear in their quest for a "united" team, whilst I am quite happily looking forward to my own team's next 125 years (so no "identity crisis" there!)

Not only that, but I am the one who is privileged to follow a team, management and support which is totally at ease with each other in the single quest to try and win football matches.

Contrast that with the shambles currently operating under Stan Staunton's benighted regime. "United Ireland"? I think not...;)

why is this guy infiltrating this thread with psycho-analytical/irrelevant/boring comments to rile people? i clicked on this thread to see what the mood was like looking ahead to wales only to be confronted with the above post. the wonders of this site allow us to create new threads so we can stick to the topic at hand, its wearisome enough looking at your posts in the dermot ahern thread not to have to trawl through more here. if you want to celebrate and discuss yourself then i suggest we start a new thread..one in which i will gladly contribute to so we can ruminate over whether people with absolute values have deep problems and whether the identity crisis of NI people is in fact fostering a hardcore right wing band of ultras. any decent points(assuming they are relevant) you make are IMO blighted by the 'banter' you throw in to make sure everyone knows you support NI.

to the wales match, its going to be so hard to know what to think. the likelihood is that barring an all-out revolt stan will be in charge, and if we get a good result(performance evidently not important) he'll continue to be in charge. so as fans this places us in a tricky position. i think we will be able to do enough to win considering the czech performance would be adequate and croker(if we get behind the team) will really inspire the ladas(sorry, lads). considering the whole packages i dont see much between the teams with home advantage meaning we should win out. that is if we support the team, but if we're thinking we shouldnt then we should act now rather than at the match

[clearskies]

They will be missing Earnshaw, Koumas and Delaney for the game in Croker. In my opinion thats three of their best players gone - without doubt we should take three points. Other than giggs and bellamy there isnt a huge amount to be worried about.

But arent Wales better than San Marino? I know it looks easy enough on paper but what were people saying before the SM match? 5-0? 6-0? :o

[eirebhoy]

But arent Wales better than San Marino? I know it looks easy enough on paper but what were people saying before the SM match? 5-0? 6-0? :o
And we beat them 5-0. :)

[EalingGreen]

why is this guy infiltrating this thread with psycho-analytical/irrelevant/boring comments to rile people? i clicked on this thread to see what the mood was like looking ahead to wales only to be confronted with the above post.

You object to my post (#73 on this thread), yet you ignore completely that it was a direct response to a post by "As I Say" (#72) where he posted:

Originally Posted by as_i_say
Ealing's rants are the stuff of any northern unionist struggling to find an identity for himself by posting long winded drivel that no irish person cares about. I feel sorry for the unionist pop up there-they dont know what to call themselves-unionist, british, northern irish, ulstermen etc etc.

Why did you not object to his bringing the thread off topic originally?

And why do you ignore my previous posts on this thread (#'s 18, 24, 38 & 56), all of which were reasonably relevant to the forthcoming ROI v Wales match?

You might want to examine why you (and "As I Say") feel compelled to 'play the man, not the ball' whenever I post something.

And in the meantime, I'm happy to leave it to the Moderators to determine what is irrelevant or objectionable.

P.S. I am genuinely sorry for those other posters who have to endure these personal "spats" which serve only to drag threads off topic. However, I don't feel I should be driven from a Messageboard which should be open to all by a few individuals who, when faced with the message, simply cannot see past the messenger.

[Billsthoughts]

ealing greens posts have been reasonable enough on the Ireland forum.
If only the same could be said for some of the responses..:rolleyes:

[kingdom hoop]

And why do you ignore my previous posts on this thread (#'s 18, 24, 38 & 56), all of which were reasonably relevant to the forthcoming ROI v Wales match?



i'm afraid i'm not endowed with the same tremendous work ethic as you appear to possess.




You might want to examine why you (and "As I Say") feel compelled to 'play the man, not the ball' whenever I post something.


to further your analogy, i play the man because i dont see a ball. granted you make some nice incisions on occasions, but the main facet of your play seems to be to correct(ad nauseum) people's politically incorrect colloquialisms, which is hardly playing the ball. i get on very well with all sorts of people, even if i disagree with what they say to me, but i(of course the mods cant be as controversial) find the preponderance of your posts to be repulsively academic, reactionary and purposely aggravating.

so from my point of view it would be you that should examine why i and others play the man.

[EalingGreen]

so from my point of view it would be you that should examine why i and others play the man.

When it comes to my posts, only a few* posters on this Board "play the man" and you are one of them.

I shall leave it to others to conclude why this should be so.


* - Many more are entirely reasonable, though I daresay the great majority couldn't care less (such is life)

[Paddy Garcia]

BTW do you have a job? No malice intended, but wondered how you found the time.

[kingdom hoop]

When it comes to my posts, only a few* posters on this Board "play the man" and you are one of them.

I shall leave it to others to conclude why this should be so.


* - Many more are entirely reasonable, though I daresay the great majority couldn't care less (such is life)

ah, you're ok ealing, i could really care less about your posts either. i've let off some steam so i'm happy to raise the white flag and start looking ahead to wales now.