San Marino v Ireland match thread

[Fingal hoop]

keane botlled it -said he hated the lack of professionalism-

this is his brave new world

[4tothefloor]

Having watched Steve Staunton's interview after the game tonight, I've come to the conclusion that he looks like a potatoe.

[Fingal hoop]

what about the EPl \superstars -staunton or no staunton they should stroll by these players

[Qwerty]

Having watched Steve Staunton's interview after the game tonight, I've come to the conclusion that he looks like a potatoe.

We're honoured to have a former vice-president in our midst :D

[livehead1]

yeah well we won 2-1 anyway without you keane
you sell out traitor

you absolute spud!!!! we won, but god we were poor, god it was embaressing sitting there. they were tripe. against part timers ,it was horrible. keane is right, whether you like it or not, everyone would agree with him.

[GavinZac]

what about the EPl \superstars -staunton or no staunton they should stroll by these players

players need some sort of direction, some sort of plan. with stauntons umming and awwwing, and robbie keane trotting out football captain clicje #22 - just go out and have fun, is it any wonder they didnt have a plan?

[Qwerty]

keane botlled it -said he hated the lack of professionalism-

this is his brave new world

Honestly I can't understand why people have to keep going on about Keane, he got us to WC02. At any rate just look what he has done at Sunderland, just imagine what he could do for Ireland. Frankly, he could do the Ireland job part time :D

[Thunderblaster]

No disrespect on struggling past San Marino on a 2-1 scoreline and calling it three points in the bag, it is countries like Mongolia, Guam, American Samoa, Bhutan and Montserrat that should have aspirations of travelling to San Marino and achieveing such a result. For the likes of Ireland, a 5-0 win should be a mere formality. The supporters that travelled deserved better. Even Westport United could have won that game tonight.

[billybunter]

Agree 100% With Eirebhoy. A Sound Assessment. Staunton Out. Aget Someone In With 6 Weeks To Go Before Wales - Cant Do Any Worse.

[TheBoss]

My opinion on the game is as follows, I was so embarassed and ashamed and them 2 words sum up my most postives feelings on the game. The defenders through the game were comfortable but too comfortable, their passing was not great, it was slow and predictable. The Midfield was the same, but spent longer on the ball dilly-dallying. Robbie Keane was woeful and really poor, everytime he was on the ball, he somehow lost it and took him till 85 Mins to get a shot on target.

Duff was poor in the 1st half, thinking that it would be easy for him but only really started playing well after the goal. Shane Long did not get into the game at all, so really can not say if he was bad or good. When Hunt and Stokes came on, the team looked much better and a bit more lively.

Hendo wanted to do something in the game so came out to clear a non existent ball that he had no chance of getting and did not let Dunne deal with it.

Overall, the team is to blame, in all honesty, you do not need tactics to beat San Marino, the players knew what they would do, expected a very easy win and therefore thought, easy win, no need to try. Half-time, they knew they had to do something, they did and then after that, dour again.

I know must will say, Staunton is to blame for getting into the players to perform well, I am very sure he did this all managers say to their players not to take it easy. Also, Staunton is not an experienced manager, what do people expect of him, to be like Alex Ferguson after 1 year of management. I think he should be judged after the Qualifiers, whether Ireland fail or do it. There is still a good 7 games to go.

[ramondo]

...There is still a good 7 games to go.

That's a scary prospect. There's a very real possibility we could finish second-last in this group.

Bad as the situation is, most people are calling for Stan's head right now before it gets worse.

Do we really need to see any more? To hear any more? Some of his comments really defy belief.

Oh, the incompetence!

[Risteard]

the constant abuse of oshea on this site is a complete bore. what are the other options?? mc shane (on yellow and has a knock), mccarthy (untried and dubious temperment), o'brien (lack of form and match time), o'dea (no experience even at club level)
Maybe if you keep hearing the truth, it gets boring.
Yellow and a knock, so what? Should still get a game if he's the better player. This is just the sort of "Ah sure, he'll do" attitude that has made O'Shea survive at ManU and international level.
O'Brien - lack of form? I can think of few Irish centre-backs i'd have behind O'Shea on lack of form, in fairness.
And that's over the last 4 years. The lad is poor at football. End of.

[tricky_colour]

I can't say I think Stan is doing a good job, his "I'm rebuilding for 4 years ahead" attitude is basically saying the thinks (rightly or wrongly) the current crop are a pile of sh*te, and he has given up on qualifying. How motivating is that? I can't say I find him very inspiring,he seems same type as the current England manager (well maybe not that bad to be fair).
But ultimately he doesn't have much experience in management, OK neither did Jürgen Klinsmann, but then he was managing Germanay, not Ireland!!

[ifk101]

Overall, the team is to blame, in all honesty, you do not need tactics to beat San Marino, the players knew what they would do, expected a very easy win and therefore thought, easy win, no need to try. Half-time, they knew they had to do something, they did and then after that, dour again.

I know must will say, Staunton is to blame for getting into the players to perform well, I am very sure he did this all managers say to their players not to take it easy. Also, Staunton is not an experienced manager, what do people expect of him, to be like Alex Ferguson after 1 year of management. I think he should be judged after the Qualifiers, whether Ireland fail or do it. There is still a good 7 games to go.

It's not players - it's the manager that picks them. Enough is enough. Stan OUT!

Yes - Stan's inexperienced and that's why he shouldn't be manager. He got the top job in Irish football with absolutely no experience - why? Isn't it reasonable of supporters to expect that somebody in the top job of Irish football can demonstrate some managerial skills? Stan hasn't done this in more than 13 months in the job. The only thing he has done is, with a arrogant swagger, state that he's building for the future. What worrying for me is that he's breeding a second-best mentality into our new caps - the future of our team. Is this our future - relying on luck to score against San Marino?

I'm really knocked back by Stan's aftermatch comments. Again this is the man in the top job of Irish football and he can't give a honest assessment of a match he has just witnessed played before his eyes. Stan if you are reading have a gentleman's decency to admit last night is not good enough and scoring from a goal mouth scramble is not "fighting spirit". San Marino are the worst team in Europe, after us, and they're not going to cause the other teams in our qualifying group any trouble. Be a man and admit you're out of you depth, and take John Delaney with you when you are closing the door on your managerial career.

[antrimgreen]

As agreed with the fast majority stan is a muppet being employed by another muppet, muppets can not run an internatonal team ffs. Another thing all this bull that Stokes has no experience, he scored 14 goals in Scotland against players that are about 10000 times better than that shower of s**t we were up against last night. He should have started ahead of Long IMO, the grief i have to listen to from these Windsor fans, it's embrassing. Stan is a walt and his interview was a disgrace, show some accountability stan you spinless c**t.

[Billy Lord]

Why do the glory-hunting Micks support Ireland? They follow British clubs because Irish football isn't 'good enough' for them, yet they folly deh boyz in gree-in when England and even Cyprus and the Vatican are far better. Is it because follying Oireland gets them away from their ugly wives and gurlfriends now and again to drink themselves sick while dressed as leprechauns?

[antrimgreen]

Why do the glory-hunting Micks support Ireland? They follow British clubs because Irish football isn't 'good enough' for them, yet they folly deh boyz in gree-in when England and even Cyprus and the Vatican are far better. Is it because follying Oireland gets them away from their ugly wives and gurlfriends now and again to drink themselves sick while dressed as leprechauns?

What's this got to do with the match last night??

[neutrino]

Unfortunately Stan isnt up to the task. Delaney was hell bent on appointing him for some reason. Stan will go sooner than later. If he's managing us come the world cup qualifiers, even San Marino will be ahead of us in the rankings.

I feel sorry for Stan - he's like a rabbit in headlights.

Stan must go and the self-appointed dictator Delaney must go with him.

[Paddy Garcia]

Why do the glory-hunting Micks support Ireland? They follow British clubs because Irish football isn't 'good enough' for them, yet they folly deh boyz in gree-in when England and even Cyprus and the Vatican are far better. Is it because follying Oireland gets them away from their ugly wives and gurlfriends now and again to drink themselves sick while dressed as leprechauns?

:confused: :confused: :confused:

[padzer]

We were seconds away from being the laughing stock of world football. How this gang of premiership players can go back to training with their clubs with any dignity is beyond me. The stick being dished out would be gas.

Imagine payin €200 or more for croke park tickets only to be witnessing meaningless drivel.

I am embarrassed, but relieved.

Get them all out. We have a few weeks to put a decent manager in charge with time to sort out this mess.

[Paddy Garcia]

Eleven a Side Ratings

Wayne Henderson: 4
Steve Finnan: 5
John O’Shea: 5
Richard Dunne: 5
Ian Harte: 4
Damien Duff: 7
Lee Carsley: 5
Stephen Ireland: 6
Kevin Kilbane: 6
Robbie Keane: 4
Shane Long: 4
Subs:
Paul McShane: 5
Stephen Hunt: 5
Anthony Stokes: 7

Probably about right though I felt Finnan was almost on a par with the others on 6. Harte barely deserved a 4 as does Henderson.

[Lim till i die]

Wayne Henderson: 0
Steve Finnan: 0
John O’Shea: 0
Richard Dunne: 0
Ian Harte: 0
Damien Duff: 0
Lee Carsley: 0
Stephen Ireland: 0
Kevin Kilbane: 0
Robbie Keane: 0
Shane Long: 0
Subs:
Paul McShane: 0
Stephen Hunt: 0
Anthony Stokes: 0

Would be a far more accurate reflection I feel ;)

How could you give one of those muppetts a 7 :eek:

Against San Marino :eek:

[eirebhoy]

My opinion on the game is as follows, I was so embarassed and ashamed and them 2 words sum up my most postives feelings on the game. The defenders through the game were comfortable but too comfortable, their passing was not great, it was slow and predictable. The Midfield was the same, but spent longer on the ball dilly-dallying. Robbie Keane was woeful and really poor, everytime he was on the ball, he somehow lost it and took him till 85 Mins to get a shot on target.

Duff was poor in the 1st half, thinking that it would be easy for him but only really started playing well after the goal. Shane Long did not get into the game at all, so really can not say if he was bad or good. When Hunt and Stokes came on, the team looked much better and a bit more lively.

Hendo wanted to do something in the game so came out to clear a non existent ball that he had no chance of getting and did not let Dunne deal with it.

Overall, the team is to blame, in all honesty, you do not need tactics to beat San Marino, the players knew what they would do, expected a very easy win and therefore thought, easy win, no need to try. Half-time, they knew they had to do something, they did and then after that, dour again.

I know must will say, Staunton is to blame for getting into the players to perform well, I am very sure he did this all managers say to their players not to take it easy. Also, Staunton is not an experienced manager, what do people expect of him, to be like Alex Ferguson after 1 year of management. I think he should be judged after the Qualifiers, whether Ireland fail or do it. There is still a good 7 games to go.
Come on. Not every ex-pro is cut out to be a manager. He hasn't got the brains for it. He doesn't notice what is going wrong.

[eirebhoy]

Is 4 the lowest rating they can give? No way did Harte deserve a 1.

[G-Man]

I'm sitting here in work and have the feeling of having lost a game. I'm really annoyed at having watched that crap last night and have that sinking feeling in my gut whenever my team loses a game. Its like the Cyprus game all over again. And I know we got the 3 points, but points dont matter at this stage as we wont qualify, so that result last night is like a loss to me.

And to compound matters and make it worse, listening to that drivel being said by stan the gaffer after the game made me sick. Everyone knows at this stage what he said, but i would have had slightly more respect for him if he came out and said 'it wasnt good enough. we should be winning these games comfortably. We know the fans will be unhappy'. But no, Delaneys puppet comes out and talks about heart, and spirit and hard to handle teams.

[greatbleddyman]

Wayne Henderson: 0
Steve Finnan: 1
John O’Shea: 0
Richard Dunne: 0
Ian Harte: -4
Damien Duff: 0
Lee Carsley: 0
Stephen Ireland: 1
Kevin Kilbane: 1
Robbie Keane: -3
Shane Long: 0
Subs:
Paul McShane: 0
Stephen Hunt: 0
Anthony Stokes: 0

[cavan_fan]

The worst point of last night was the fact I junped out of my seat to celebrate a goal against San Marino. (In my defence I immediately felt a bit of a prat). I think there's a lot of us who want Stan out but cant stand having a draw against San Marino on our records.

One thought I had was that this team thinks playing teams like this with no players they've ever heard of is beneath them. They drifted around in the first half thinking about their new cars. Then when they heard the booing at half time they put in a few minutes of effort and scored. But then they just went back to sleep. The fact we could have had 2/3 goals after the equaliser is not a good sign. If they had been bothered they would have played like this the whole game, only the possibility of humiliation made them play properly.

Then thing is that seemed to effect them all even guys like Shane Long. This must be the manager's fault, the team is just not in the right frame of mind.

[Paddy Garcia]

actually thats about right - Duff though 1 ?

[BradyIsMyHero]

Wayne Henderson - could he be sued in a court of law for impersonating a professional goalkeeper ?

[Paddy Garcia]

A half decent u-21 team could have done better. They should be ashamed. Germany scored 13 when they came here.

A half decent U 19 team even!

[bennocelt]

You obviously havtn given Stan enough time. OK a year might seem a lot but considering we havnt played too many games under him we need to give him time. What good is it getting on his back, we all know the FAI wont sack him. Do you really expect a top performance with the team thats out. No Given, O'Brien, Kavanagh, Doyle etc. There are players to come back who will make the side better. Also theyoung players on tonight will get a bit of experience for them in the future

:rolleyes:
you do know we were playing san marino, postmen and the like against guys who rake in thousands every week

[Peadar]

Taken from BBC Sport... (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6340571.stm)

Republic of Ireland boss Steve Staunton says his side displayed "tremendous fighting spirit" to beat San Marino 2-1 and move to third in Euro 2008 Group D.
The Republic boss argued that "San Marino were always going to improve as the group went on" despite the minnows having conceded 25 goals in their first three qualifying matches. "The lads are disappointed with the performance but I am delighted to get the three points with two matches at Croke Park to come."


What a coward of a man!
He's not big enough to tell the truth and admit that we were absolutely rubbish, against a team that would struggle in the eircom League.
He simply hasn't a clue and is living in a fantasy world. Wake up to the reality of the situation, you floundering buffoon!
I'm so glad I didn't waste money, travelling out there, to witness that debacle.
Pathetic!

[passinginterest]

I was almost dissapointed we scored the winner, it was the most gut wrenching match I've ever watched, Cyrpus was appaling, we all felt sick, but this is a whole new level of sick. At least had we drawn there could be no defence, no ah sure didn't we get the three points, no player could walk down a street, had we drawn that game, without feeling completely ashamed (they still shouldn't but most probably will).

It's impossible to feel symapthy for anyone after this, the FAI, Staunton, the players, words fail. I cant imagine how devestated anyone who paid for a trip to San Marino must feel, I hope the sight seeing was good!

On the field we desperately missed a true centre forward, Long tried to play everywhere except right up on the last man where he was needed, at least Stokes looked a more natural goal scorer when he came in. It's a sad day when Kilbane is man of the match and it's hard to argue, he got the first goal and always looked the most likely to get more (what that says about Keane I shudder to think). Duff had a few moments, but, where was the genius? The dominance? Stephen Ireland, again, didn't look international class.

The horror... the horror....

[bennocelt]

yeah well we won 2-1 anyway without you keane
you sell out traitor


****:rolleyes:

[neutrino]

City Till I Die Quote

You obviously havtn given Stan enough time. OK a year might seem a lot but considering we havnt played too many games under him we need to give him time. What good is it getting on his back, we all know the FAI wont sack him. Do you really expect a top performance with the team thats out. No Given, O'Brien, Kavanagh, Doyle etc. There are players to come back who will make the side better. Also theyoung players on tonight will get a bit of experience for them in the future

er are you delaney in disguise. So what if people want to come on and vent their feelings. that's what the forum is for. you are trying to defend the totally undefensable. Ireland should win games like this with ease no matter who is playing. Of course players coming back will make the team better, but no point in griping about players not being in san marino. you can only play the players available and they should have been more than enough to win that game very easily last night.

Need to give staunton time ? :eek: U must work in the FAI.

[Jerry The Saint]

keane botlled it -said he hated the lack of professionalism-

this is his brave new world


Kerr brought in the professionalism but people said that didn't work. Delaney got rid of the professionalism and brought back Staunton, Mick Byrne and the SCOOPS.

[Peadar]

Kilbane is one of the only players with a bit of self respect left!

[ollie]

Well the Kevin Moran made a good point in studio when he said that we seem to struggle against **** teams that throw 10/11 men behind the ball.we do better against decent teams that come out of their shell so i would still be positive going into the next 2 games.when San Marino got the goal they were throwing men up the field a bit and left some gaps.In that period we almost had more chances than during the rest of game.
Still no excuse for last night's performance.No cutting edge whatsover up front.Keane was septic,Long tried but faded in the 2nd half.Kilbane as usual was a workhorse and you can only respect him for that.Thought Hunt did well when he came on though how he missed that chance beats me.
Anyways Onwards and Upwards!:ball:

[Donal81]

yeah well we won 2-1 anyway without you keane
you sell out traitor

Very good sir :D

The lack of sarcasm on this site is shocking at times...but back to the debate

[Istabraq]

Spare a thought for our long suffering compatriots who are now stuck in Italy if they few via London. Just got a call from a mate who is stuck in Ancona. No flights to stanstead cos of the snow. Talk about a grueller after such a poxy night. The best Ryanair can do is let them make thier own way to Milan or Rome, and hopefully they will get a flight tomorrow!
Thank God I stayed at home.

[pete]

Wayne Henderson - could he be sued in a court of law for impersonating a professional goalkeeper ?

Had to laugh in the Indo where they gave him 3 points which was the same as most the other players. Henderson was a liability so get -1 rating. Ireland would have been better with no keeper as at least would have extra outfield player.

:eek:

[hoops1]

Have to agree with Garry Doyle in the mirror Hunt and Duff did well the rest
were awful.

[antrimgreen]

Spare a thought for our long suffering compatriots who are now stuck in Italy if they few via London. Just got a call from a mate who is stuck in Ancona. No flights to stanstead cos of the snow. Talk about a grueller after such a poxy night. The best Ryanair can do is let them make thier own way to Milan or Rome, and hopefully they will get a flight tomorrow!
Thank God I stayed at home.

Are thoughts are wih the fans travelling back from the horror show last night. San Marino still can't get that in my head they are sh*te and we just scrapped a win.

Safe home to all the travelling fans........I bet Stan is tucked up under his duvet somewhere on the emerald isle, if i were him i would have stayed in San Marino (but i doubt the locals would be happy with that).

Stan = Great player and servant while playing
Stan = Crap manger & coward.

[Dr. Ogba]

Wayne Henderson: -20
Steve Finnan: 1
John O’Shea: 1
Richard Dunne: 1
Ian Harte: -100000000 (God I remember how crap he is now)
Damien Duff: 5
Lee Carsley: 4
Stephen Ireland: 5
Kevin Kilbane: 3 (At least he tried)
Robbie Keane: -50 (wave your hands in the air)
Shane Long: 1
Subs:
Paul McShane: 1
Stephen Hunt: 4
Anthony Stokes: 5 (10 mins......why??????????)

[Jamjar]

I feel REALLY sorry for San Marino! Its so lousy, I'd have happily given them a win if it was guaranteed that Stan would f*%k off afterwards. What the hell was Henderson doing?! What a looper!

Heres the email address for the San Marino football association if you want to personally commiserate with them.
fsgc@omniway.sm

[wws]

Heres the email address for the San Marino football association if you want to personally commiserate with them.
fsgc@omniway.sm


disappointed - for some reason I thought they'd have a hotmail address

s.and.m.gaffer@hotmail.com

[Jamjar]

but, in last nights game, considering who the opposition was the players should still have enough skill and talent to have played San Marino off the field.
The unfortunate thing is they will put up a better performance against Wales. The really scary thing is that we could be joint second after the next match, and Stan and the team will think everything is fine.

[dcfc1985]

Spare a thought for our long suffering compatriots who are now stuck in Italy if they few via London. Just got a call from a mate who is stuck in Ancona. No flights to stanstead cos of the snow. Talk about a grueller after such a poxy night. The best Ryanair can do is let them make thier own way to Milan or Rome, and hopefully they will get a flight tomorrow!
Thank God I stayed at home.

Yeah my girlfriend and a few others are stuck in bologna, getting xfered to milan for dublin flight at 9, then flying to stn tomorrow afternoon then she has to make her way to glasgow then. :(
Who said travelling to away matches is good fun?? :confused: :mad:

[Jamjar]

disappointed - for some reason I thought they'd have a hotmail address

s.and.m.gaffer@hotmail.com

Well maybe they'll change it to wewuzrobbed@hotmail.com

[McGinty]

Thought Lee Carsley was the best we had last night which is not saying much.

thought the same myself, funny how kilbane looked so embaressed taking that MOM award... says a lot