Czech Republic 1-0 Ireland post match discussion thread

[Billy Lord]

Surely Irish people should support England and get it over with? We follow their clubs, speak their language, drink their beer, watch their TV, accept their media spin and live in their shops. What is there left to concede?

[feo123]

Fooking Scotland winning 1-0 in Paris!!! We've far better players than them, but they've a good manager :mad:

Scotland team v france:
Gordon,
Hutton, McManus, Weir, Alexander,
McCulloch, Ferguson, Fletcher, Brown, Hartley,
McFadden
Subs: O'Connor, Pearson, McGregor, McEveley, Caldwell, Boyd, Maloney.

Ireland v czechs:
Given,
o'shea, McShane, Dunne, kelly
McGeady, Carsley, Reid, Kilbane,
Doyle, Keane
Subs: Colgan, Hunt, Keogh, Douglas, Gibson, Long, Murphy.

-We have a better goalkeeper
-in defence, don't know hutton, mcmanus and mcshane are around the same, dunne is better than weir and alexander is better than kelly
-mcculloch is better than carsley, ferguson is better than reid, fletcher is better than kilbane, hartley beats mcgeady
-doyle beats brown and keane beats mcfadden

[Billy Lord]

Seriously, until those with influence take a long-term view of Irish football, and I mean IRISH football rather than trying to send kids to Britain in a more streamlined fashion, we're all just wasting our time.
Shake your head. Let's go to bed.

[hoops1]

Scotland team v france:


-We have a better goalkeeper
-in defence, don't know hutton, mcmanus and mcshane are around the same, dunne is better than weir and alexander is better than kelly
-mcculloch is better than carsley, ferguson is better than reid, fletcher is better than kilbane, hartley beats mcgeady
-doyle beats brown and keane beats mcfadden

2 Players on our team tonight would get into the Scots team Dunne and Keane.

The Scots are equal or better in every other position. Brown is probably the best player out of the two teams

[dcfc1985]

Luck of the irish eh? Where did they get that saying out of??? Theres is no fu*king luck - (never has been except the odd time)..and i think i broke my toe kicking the washing machine (only because there is no cat to kick) ask babysis :mad:

Heres to Antartica 2062 World Cup Campaign :rolleyes:

[NeilMcD]

I thought Hunt let his team down tonight with a silly tackle. It might have been harsh but it was a stupid tackle. Dunne again was immense and Andy Reid proved that he can play in midfield. If we have Darren Potter , Darren Gibson, Joey O Brien and Owen Garvan to step in there over the next year we could have a good central midfield. We need a new manager though. I am optimistic about the future of the national team but we need a decent manager in place.

[eamo1]

i dont see him applying for the job,i love to see him actually get it then we'd see does he have a real clue about football management.
yes stan should go and john delaney too but dunphy moaned about charlton and mc.carthy too.id just love to see him in that position.im actually gonna email him tomorrow and ask him to apply for the job.

[DonO'Bate]

Surely Irish people should support England and get it over with? We follow their clubs, speak their language, drink their beer, watch their TV, accept their media spin and live in their shops. What is there left to concede?

You are absolutely correct, a work of colleague of mine was going to watch the English match because there was more Spurs players playing for England than Ireland.

On another unrelated point, something I raised before but who in the hell is the guy who is constantly shadowing Staunton 24/7 and almost started a row with the Czech bench after Hunt was sent off.

[soccerc]

You are absolutely correct, a work of colleague of mine was going to watch the English match because there was more Spurs players playing for England than Ireland.

On another unrelated point, something I raised before but who in the hell is the guy who is constantly shadowing Staunton 24/7 and almost started a row with the Czech bench after Hunt was sent off.

Tony Hickey, Team security head honcho :cool:

[tricky_colour]

Assuming we win our final 3 games :rolleyes: (well I did say miracle :D) then the Czechs need 3 points, here is how they could fail.

Germany Away lose 0 points - likely a 'dead cert'
Slovakia Home draw 1 point - least likely I can only see the Czechs winning
Cyprus Away draw 1 points - fairly likely we lost 3 points there, germany lost 2, they are a decent side at home (so far anyway).

We could also qualify with win win draw, 7 points, if he Czechs lose all their matches. But then again two miracles back to back is asking a bit much.

Actually the Slovikia result which I say is least likely might happen they can run hot or cold as witnessed against Wales where they won 5-1 away yet lost 5-2 at home, they might actually beat the Czechs!

Having said that we will be lucky to get 4 points. But the glimmer of hope is that they struggled against us with 10 men.

Qualification is in our hands lads - unfortunately ;)

[theworm2345]

Assuming we win our final 3 games (well I did say miracle) then the Czechs need 3 points, here is how they could fail.

Germany Away lose 0 points - likely a 'dead cert'
Slovakia Home draw 1 point - least likely I can only see the Czechs winning
Cyprus Away draw 1 points - fairly likely we lost 3 points there, germany lost 2, they are a decent side at home (so far anyway).

We could also qualify with win win draw, 7 points, if he Czechs lose all their matches. But then again two miracles back to back is asking a bit much.

Actually the Slovikia result which I say is least likely might happen they can run hot or cold as witnessed against Wales where they won 5-1 away yet lost 5-2 at home, they might actually beat the Czechs!

Having said that we will be lucky to get 4 points. But the glimmer of hope is that they struggled against us with 10 men.

Qualification is in our hands lads - unfortunately
Being a Cubs fan (Baseball) here is what I'd expect to happen. We're even on points with the Czechs in the last game (after an own goal in victory gives is 3 points and 2 goals from Richard Dunne and Ian Harte get us past Cyprus while the Czechs are obliterated by the Germans and lost in injury time to the Slovaks). We go up early on an early goal from the EPL's top scorer David Connolly (OK, more likely Robbie Keane :p;)) we score a second around the 60th minute and the Czechs are tied 1-1 going into the last 10 minutes. In injury time, Rosicky lets fly from 30 yards, the Cypriot keeper gets a hand to it, but not enough, and we lose on goal difference. :o

[neutrino]

Assuming we win our final 3 games :rolleyes: (well I did say miracle :D) then the Czechs need 3 points, here is how they could fail.

Germany Away lose 0 points - likely a 'dead cert'
Slovakia Home draw 1 point - least likely I can only see the Czechs winning
Cyprus Away draw 1 points - fairly likely we lost 3 points there, germany lost 2, they are a decent side at home (so far anyway).

We could also qualify with win win draw, 7 points, if he Czechs lose all their matches. But then again two miracles back to back is asking a bit much.

Actually the Slovikia result which I say is least likely might happen they can run hot or cold as witnessed against Wales where they won 5-1 away yet lost 5-2 at home, they might actually beat the Czechs!

Having said that we will be lucky to get 4 points. But the glimmer of hope is that they struggled against us with 10 men.

Qualification is in our hands lads - unfortunately ;)

let's stop dreaming and focus on the world cup. This campaign is over. Wonder how many tickets will be returned for croker games now !! Scotland on the verge of qualifying while we continue to wallow in mediocrity.

[Noelys Guitar]

We were a shambolic nightmare tonight and yet the computer brigade don't understand that! Against a poor Czech team we gave up. Baros the phoney laughing away with our "captain" Robbie Keane who as far as I'm concerned should never play for Ireland again.

[Noelys Guitar]

Terrible. Anyone who justifys Stan and his ineptitude should'nt be on a football board. This was a return to Eoin Hand. And the few idiots on here who justify him and airbrush what he did and was. Just **** off. We are going backwards rapidly. Horrible night for Irish football.

[OwlsFan]

:rolleyes: Do you honestly think that if we were managed by Alex F or Arsene W etc etc we would have gone out and beaten the Czech Republic? Only Germany has won there in the last number of years. True they might have picked the correct team to start with but that doesn't necessarily mean we would have won. Gives us a better chance ok but far better Irish teams than that haven't won away from home. There are some very average players in the team with a poor manager. I honestly believe no matter who was running that team, we wouldn't have qualified. We might be closer and perhaps not have lost in Cyprus but other than that based on history, I just don't see it.

[Hibs4Ever]

:rolleyes: Do you honestly think that if we were managed by Alex F or Arsene W etc etc we would have gone out and beaten the Czech Republic? Only Germany has won there in the last number of years. True they might have picked the correct team to start with but that doesn't necessarily mean we would have won. Gives us a better chance ok but far better Irish teams than that haven't won away from home. There are some very average players in the team with a poor manager. I honestly believe no matter who was running that team, we wouldn't have qualified. We might be closer and perhaps not have lost in Cyprus but other than that based on history, I just don't see it.


Yeah. I think we would. We have the players. Czechs were bad last night. A decent manager would have got us something from last night. Team selection and tactics of Stan cost us

[antrimgreen]

Stan is a rookie and not a manager that should be in charge of a national team. What happened to working your way up the ladder?? Hunt should have strated both matches, Lee Carsley came back into the team played 1 great game then that was good enough to guarntee a start every other game, he didn't want the ball last night (no heart), kelly too weak and inexperienced.

Building for the WC says Stan, you couldn't build a house out off lego ffs.

[disko]

Building for 2010? We're doomed with this man in charge. Anyone that can't see this needs their head examined. I like Stan but he is not cut-out for International management.
The Czechs have been on the back foot since 2004 and they were there for the taking in this group.
If we'd had a decent manager in place we would be looking forward to the Germany game now to sort out the group winners. Instead it's all rather pointless unless Stan takes his suit to a different dry cleaners!

[endabob1]

:rolleyes: Do you honestly think that if we were managed by Alex F or Arsene W etc etc we would have gone out and beaten the Czech Republic? Only Germany has won there in the last number of years. True they might have picked the correct team to start with but that doesn't necessarily mean we would have won. Gives us a better chance ok but far better Irish teams than that haven't won away from home. There are some very average players in the team with a poor manager. I honestly believe no matter who was running that team, we wouldn't have qualified. We might be closer and perhaps not have lost in Cyprus but other than that based on history, I just don't see it.

Scotland, have a weaker first XI than ours but have beaten France home & away are top of a group with the 2 world cup finalists & the Ukraine who are no mugs. The difference, watching them play they are organised, disciplined & difficult to break down, all traits instilled by a good manager.
You can't accuse Ireland of being any of those, this was never going to be an easy group but we should be a minimum of 5 points better off than we are and we would be very much still in with a chance of qualifying.

[Hibs4Ever]

Scotland, have a weaker first XI than ours but have beaten France home & away are top of a group with the 2 world cup finalists & the Ukraine who are no mugs. The difference, watching them play they are organised, disciplined & difficult to break down, all traits instilled by a good manager.
You can't accuse Ireland of being any of those, this was never going to be an easy group but we should be a minimum of 5 points better off than we are and we would be very much still in with a chance of qualifying.


Even look at Finland. 2nd in their group ahed of Portugal with 3 games left. Reason, Roy Hodgson

[jbyrne]

Against a poor Czech team we gave up. Baros the phoney laughing away with our "captain" Robbie Keane who as far as I'm concerned should never play for Ireland again.

sorry, but what a load of nonsense. one thing we actually got right last night was that we DIDNT give up. robbie was also chasing all over the place and no one works harder for the cause

[Stuttgart88]

Onve the forced substitution was made the game changed and we improved dramatically. I can't fault the players for their effort & commitment at all.

[dr_peepee]

I wanted Roy Hodgson. Seriously, my posts on here will verify. He was available at the time and all.

Stan should not be cutting his teeth at our expense.

There's more than stan accountable for this debacle.

[shakermaker1982]

Onve the forced substitution was made the game changed and we improved dramatically. I can't fault the players for their effort & commitment at all.


JOS going off was the turning point. We improved no end when he went off and Hunt's running gave the players encouragement and even a bit of momentum before HT. Kilbane even looked decent at LB after having a bit of a mare on the left wing. I have tried defending JOS on occassion here before but never again.

I think we'd only embarass ourselves at Euro 2008 and were a miracle to happen then it would be a painful experience for our players and supporters. Let's build for the WC qualifiers, get rid of the old mob that is left (Carsley, Carr) and start afresh.

[antrimgreen]

Wind your neck in Robbie Keane is a brilliant player, he needs the ball, and when he doesn't have it he is working like a mad man, which isn't shown on your TV. You may feel gutted like all true fans do today, but to blame Robbie Keane is a fcuking joke if ever i heard one.

[dr_peepee]

No way it warranted a red.

[shelbourne1904]

cant argue with you there mate...i think you know what i meant though -it was more how i felt!! the end of the RTE show summed it up there, list of Premier**** fixtures and then an add for the CL:rolleyes:

Didnt mind that what really got me was here we are battling away for our lives and these annoying little adds for the upcoming GAA matches flashing up on the screen.That the basis of the problem.
We as a nation are more interested in local tribal battles and should withdraw from all international sport as we are totally under funded and do not have the numbers or stucture to seriously compete.

[Dotsy]

I thought the players were brilliant ilast night. Whatever you think of their ability they gave it everything right to the last kick of the game.

[Stuttgart88]

Fair play to Scotland indeed. But just like when Norn Iron beat Spain, a few points:

Football's not an exact science. The Scots rode their luck as did Norn Iron but you can earn your luck. NI's winner came from a brutal defensive error just seconds after Raul missed a sitter for Spian. I read that France staged a late rally and came within inches of equalising in injury time. Scotland's goal was a speculative strike from distance that found the goalkeeper badly positioned.

International football these days is played by tall lean athletes in the main. Scotland have tall players who can compete, we are predominantly a bunch of shortarses who can't. McGeady was simply brushed aside last night. Stephen Ireland gets blown over in the wind.I italicised "compete" because that's the bare minimum you have to do to earn the right to win games. You may win narrowly, lose narrowly or draw, but at least you're in the mix. In fairness I thought we did manage to compete once Hunt came on and even after he went off.

Scotland have a functional central midfield and balance everyuwhere else, with only a few properly good players. The rest are good enough but importantly they don't try and force square pegs into round holes.

Scotland have a decent but not brilliant coach, but one who has a lot of experience.

The can of worms that is the domestic league is already open on other threads. Scotland have a decent league system that allows young players to be developed at home whilst the good ones move on to England or the Old Firm.

There are some important points here I think before people get too carried away. Did Scotland defend their lead by keeping the ball up the pitch or did they defend deeply and ride their luck?

The annoying thing about Scotland's "success" is that they never saw it coming themselves over the past few years, certainly not the Scottish papers I read. Yet any of us who have seen Scottish football on telly noted that they have had quite a few decent young players coming through over the last 5 years.

I think our management has been out of its depth and I think we need a change.

This campaign has been really frustrating for several reasons, some in Stan's control others not. For example:
- Loss of Given, Finnan, Steven Reid & Damien Duff at crucial times.
- Poor finishing at vital times (Dunne in Stuttgart, Robbie at Lansdowne)
- Poor selections on multiple occasions

I still think we have a team more than capable of qualifying if we get the wind in our backs a bit but this campaign in particular was an opportunity missed because of the second place teams qualifying automatically.

[mackannovic]

Effort yes. Gameplan zero! I don't buy into this idea that they're playing for Stan either, if you need a manager to inspire you to put the effort in when playing for your country you need to reaccess your position in the squad. Effort is notch one for any game of football, all Irish teams have put in the effort they just have never been properly organised. Look at Trinidad and Tobago in the last World Cup, they have no significant players whatsoever yet they were organised and played decent football under Beenhakker and perhaps with one or two decent players they could have easily turned over England.
I find it very hard to credit him with anything. Even Stans crucial decisions just aren't being made they are being forced upon him. He'll make the claim that he's bringing on young players but through injuries he's been forced to bring a few through e.g. Long, Kelly and McShane and the rest i.e. the Hunt, Doyle, McGeady and Ireland pick were always gonna make the squad regardless of who's in charge. It tells the whole story when all through the last few qualifying campaigns our best performers have been Dunne and Given.
On a separate note from Stan, if a new manager is appointed, Robbie Keane should be stripped of his captaincy. His performance last night was simply unacceptable and they have been for a while (I think most people are in agreement that the Danish result was irrelevent). The new boss needs to start by lifting this unwritten rule that no matter how poor Keane plays he'll remain on the pitch. If any other player on the pitch was as poor as him last night they would have been off after 60 minutes.
Stan out, O'Leary in. Keane stripped of captaincy, Richie Dunne to have the armband permanently grafted to his left arm.

[Bluebeard]

Terrible. Anyone who justifys Stan and his ineptitude should'nt be on a football board. This was a return to Eoin Hand. And the few idiots on here who justify him and airbrush what he did and was. Just **** off. We are going backwards rapidly. Horrible night for Irish football.

That is a shocking statement to make.

Eoin Hand was never this bad.

[shakermaker1982]

International football these days is played by tall lean athletes in the main. Scotland have tall players who can compete, we are predominantly a bunch of shortarses who can't. .

Did you see the size of the Czech's lined up in the wall when McShane stood next to em? I don't have one uncle or male cousin (exluding the 5 year old toddler) under 6 ft. Ireland have it's fair share of big men, giants even. Are they all going to gaelic football or rugby?

[Stuttgart88]

Did you see the size of the Czech's lined up in the wall when McShane stood next to em? I didn't notice it in that instance but I noticed it at Lansdowne last year. I said at the time that they'd give Munster a run for their money in a line out.

I noticed it in Stuttgart, I noticed it on TV against Cyprus, I noticed it in the last WC when I saw Italy, Australia, Croatia, not to mention the African countries. Italy's full backs dwarfed their centre backs even.

That's why I bang on about the likes of S. Reid, Garvan, Joey O'Brien and Darren Potter. Long, Keogh and Stokes are other examples of players with the athleticism & physique required in today's game.

[Dodge]

Awful tackle.

[Scruttox]

What man wouldnt take a €450,000/year job doing something they love. You cant blame Staunton for being Manager but he is to blame for results / tactics / formation etc.

Its the mutton heads in Merrion Sq who are wholly to blame. A decent International Manager is gonna cost you €1m a year. They did the "yellow Pack" option for the last 2 Managers and it hasnt worked.

:ball: Vicente Del Bosque?

:ball: Ruud Gullit?

:ball: David O Leary? (Yellow Pack Option)

[Dodge]

Eoin Hand was never this bad.
Within an inch of qualifying...

[monutdfc]

Agree with Dodge. Sure, he won the ball with his left, but he chopped the man's standing leg down with his right. Straight red was a bit harsh, but definitely a 'yellow and a half' and given the way the ref was flashing the yellow it was a red.

[Battery Rover]

You can appeal a red card on video evidence but not a yellow

[shakermaker1982]

How much would Hodgson or Troussier cost?

[ifk101]

The intent in Hunt's tackle was there for all to see.

A clear red card offence.

[eaststand85]

:rolleyes: Do you honestly think that if we were managed by Alex F or Arsene W etc etc we would have gone out and beaten the Czech Republic? Only Germany has won there in the last number of years. True they might have picked the correct team to start with but that doesn't necessarily mean we would have won. Gives us a better chance ok but far better Irish teams than that haven't won away from home. There are some very average players in the team with a poor manager. I honestly believe no matter who was running that team, we wouldn't have qualified. We might be closer and perhaps not have lost in Cyprus but other than that based on history, I just don't see it.

The issue here is not one of qualification, as was said on RTE last night it's a question of getting the best from the players available and that hasn't happened under Staunton apart from the Czech game at home which was a response to the humiliation in Cyprus more than anything Staunton did or said.

The other point to note is that anything positive that has happened to the team over the course of the qualifiers has been as a result of decisions forced on Staunton rather than any plan on his part (emergence of McShane and Hunt because of unavailability of O' Brien and Duff, recall of Carsley etc.).

[mackannovic]

Who cares really??

[macdermesser]

What man wouldnt take a €450,000/year job doing something they love. You cant blame Staunton for being Manager but he is to blame for results / tactics / formation etc.

Its the mutton heads in Merrion Sq who are wholly to blame. A decent International Manager is gonna cost you €1m a year. They did the "yellow Pack" option for the last 2 Managers and it hasnt worked.

:ball: Vicente Del Bosque?

:ball: Ruud Gullit?

:ball: David O Leary? (Yellow Pack Option)

The Czech manager .. who has got them to World Cups and a Euro semi-final is on half of what Stan is on .. allegedly

Last time round names like O'Neill and Hiddink were being bandied about .. ridiculous now when you think about it in hindsight .. although we all bought in to the World Class Manager Delaney was promising

[macdermesser]

might be the first time for the ref to see it as well .. how can you send someone off when you have not even seen the offence.

[Henrik]

The FAI are clowns, Dunphy was spot on last night. International management is not somewhere a manager learns his trade. its not like club management where they have a full season working with players day in day out....
hunt starting both games was a no brainer yet it took him almost a game and a half to realise this, by that stage the lad was so wound up he got himself sent off....yes i am blaming staunton on that even!
Staunton served this country well as a player but by no means should he be allowed to learn by mistakes as a manager in our qualification group.....
id get rid of him today, now...whatever silly money its gonna cost, theres no point in letting him finish the campaign

[eaststand85]

Staunton has to go and probably Delaney too.The issue here is not one of qualification, as was said on RTE last night it's a question of getting the best from the players available and that hasn't happened under Staunton apart from the Czech game at home which was a response to the humiliation in Cyprus more than anything Staunton did or said.

The other point to note is that anything positive that has happened to the team over the course of the qualifiers has been as a result of decisions forced on Staunton rather than any plan on his part (emergence of McShane and Hunt because of unavailability of O' Brien and Duff, recall of Carsley etc.).

[Ozymandias]

Staunton again points to long term
Mary Hannigan

Managers' reaction: Well, that's that. We came, we saw, we were conquered. But not without a fight. The valour yielded nothing in the end, we will, barring the Czechs imploding, be spectators once more at a major championship, already flimsy qualifying hopes now all but turned to dust. But it wasn't for the want of trying.

Maybe Steve Staunton has been too loyal to some of his players, as he was accused of after starting with 10 of the team that played against Slovakia, but he could have no cause to gripe about the returns he got on that fidelity from the 10 who attempted to rescue something from what looked nothing less than an unsalvageable situation after Stephen Hunt's dismissal.

There were, though, spells in the early stages of the first half when the viewing was as uncomfortable as it must have been for any members of the Green Army who dropped in to Prague's Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments during their stay in the Czech capital.

The locals had reassured us that this was an ordinary Czech team, by recent standards. Ordinary? God help us, the Christians among us muttered, when Marek Jankulovski danced through us to score in the 15th minute.

But it got better. Stephen Hunt's arrival, after John O'Shea limped off, added some thrust and energy down the left, and also woke the home crowd from their slumber: the Reading man was reminded that his clash with Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech last season was neither forgotten nor forgiven.

Inevitably, his red card in the 61st minute was greeted with unbridled ecstasy, grown Czech men nigh on wept with joy, and robbed Ireland of the main driving force behind its rally.

How did Staunton see it?

"I thought it was very harsh. He won the ball, his momentum took him through. The player who got injured was up running around the minute Stephen was off the pitch. There was a lot of play-acting. I wasn't happy with their centre-half, Kovac. He was looking for Stephen to be put off, until then it looked like the referee would give him a yellow. It's a bitter pill.

"But there were a lot of decisions, the yellow cards . . . What can we do about it, it's history. I'm sure the referee's assessor will have his own report, we'll just have to wait and see what's the outcome."

Can you say something about the match?

"What do you want me to say? I'm bitterly disappointed. We had enough chances to get something from the game, even with 10 men. We started badly but came in to it. By the time of the sending off we were well on top, it looked like we would go on and get an equaliser."

Is that the end of Euro 2008?

"Well, it's out of our hands, it's up to the Czechs, a lot of results would have to go our way. We know it's a tall order, but we'll give it a go. But we're building for the 2010 World Cup. We've done well so far, we've brought in a lot of young players, but we can do better."

In hindsight, bearing in mind the impact Hunt had when he came on, do you regret not starting him?

"No, because Kevin Kilbane did well on Saturday. Stephen's better performances have always been as a sub - when he's started he hasn't done as well, he's an impact player."

And that was it, there was a plane to be caught, Staunton bid farewell.

By then Czech coach Karel Bruckner, who looked two decades younger than he did in his pre-match conference, had the look of a contented man.

"It certainly wasn't easy, but we coped," he said. "Our performance was better in the first half, but the speed of the game was extremely high and it was impossible to maintain it.

"I wish to thank the Republic of Ireland team, they played very fair even though there was a red card, but I don't think that was necessary. So yes, I want to thank them, a very fair team."

With a six-point lead, how close are you to qualification, Mr Bruckner? "Yes, it is in our hands now completely. Full stop," he beamed.

The time will come, he will trust, that Staunton will be able to anticipate one of these post-match chats with all the eagerness of a Lotto winner en route to collecting their prize, much like Bruckner seemed to do last night.

That pesky old statistic had been rearing its head all week, the last time we had a competitive away victory of note Stephen Roche won the Tour de France, Johnny Logan won the Eurovision (again), and the Dusky Seaside Sparrow became extinct. And when Mark Lawrenson scored the winner against Scotland at Hampden Park Darron Gibson wasn't even born.

We dreamt of an end to 20 years of (away) hurt, Stan's Infants of Prague Bounce the Czechs, that class of thing, but it wasn't to be.

And we're still left wondering if this is actually a team of real potential, overseen by a manager simply not equipped to help them realise it, or whether we're just losing the run of ourselves, overestimating the ability of even our better players, so often in this group made to look ordinary, worse than that at times, by modest opposition. Whatever the truth, another championship will pass us by

[tetsujin1979]

When Andy O'Brien was sent off, the red card wasn't rescinded on appeal, but it was reduced to a one match ban so he missed the away game against the Faroes.

[Ozymandias]

Eamo leads Made Men in Steve hunt
Keith Duggan

TV View: It was clear by 10 o'clock last night that RTÉ's Made Men had already arranged for a horse's head to be dispatched to Steve Staunton's bed.

"It was nothing personal in any way," clarified John Giles, the don of Montrose, in a voice that sounded genuinely sombre. It was that kind of evening.

But the bosses were agreed. Stan had been a good earner in his playing days but now he had to go.

As usual, Eamon Dunphy was the man who wanted to close the curtains on the Staunton regime - just as he had heckled for the doors to close on the Kerr, McCarthy and Charlton shows. In summing up the Staunton era, he managed to insult football managers, the lads in Heuston Station, just about anyone who has enjoyed a kick-around in Dublin's main nature reserve, and for good measure he threw the travelling plans of half the nation into disarray.

"I wouldn't give him any credit," Eamo snapped.

"He doesn't look like a manager. He doesn't talk like a manager. He looks like someone in the Phoenix Park."

And then, mystifyingly and unforgettably, he demanded Bill O'Herlihy answer this question: "Would you let him drive the train to Cork without training?"

It had been a rough enough night for Stan without the nation having to picture him in Thomas the Tank Engine mode, peaked cap pulled down just so.

Bill looked blankly at his old sidekick and finally asked 'Chippy' Brady if he agreed that Stan had to go. For a long time, Chippy was silent and glum.

This was the question he had always dreaded.

"I wish I didn't have to say it but I think that is the case. Because why did he play McGeady after his performance on Saturday. He is a mate of mine but I have to call it. I wish I didn't have to say it. I think the FA have to move."

By the sounds of things, Staunton would be better off staying in Prague.

Things might have been better had he thrown his chips in with Stephen Hunt. Few commodities have risen as fast as the reputation of Hunt, who was referred to in godlike terms by pretty much all the RTÉ pundits over the past few days. In Prague, he appeared. Briefly.

"I think Hunt is getting ready," Ray whispered with the kind of reverence we have not heard since Alex Higgins was shooting black for the 147 in the crucible.

And sure enough, it was the Lesser Spotted Hunt. In a generally awful match, the appearance of Hunt was intriguing. Thanks to the ravings of Eamo and Gilesy over the last few days, he had been transformed in our imaginations from being a good young Premiership player belonging to a modest club into a kind of Maradona. And there was something instantly likeable and reassuring about the lad.

Like a lot of the Czech preeners, our Hunt sported long hair. But not for him the namby-pamby hair braids or headbands that the Europeans favoured. He was half footballer, half Angus Young from AC/DC. Fleetingly, a generation of Irish football fans sighed for the ghostly image of the youthful Liam 'Chippy' Brady, who many decades ago strolled onto the turf at Dalymount as a long-haired 18-year-old and tore the old Soviet Union apart with his sheer skill.

But those, as Eamon and John Giles would sing in the Shelbourne after a skinful, were the days.

Hunt is more about heart. As Ray told us many, many times, "he likes to run and he will have a go." Just ask Peter Cech. The Czech goalkeeper bore the full brunt off Hunt's full-blooded style while playing for Chelsea last season.

And in Prague, the home crowd were determined to exact revenge. Hunt proceed to rip the Czech left flank apart through heavy booing, the kind of scenario that will guarantee him hero status in Ireland.

Hunt was the shot of whiskey we needed and after just six minutes, Ireland had hit the Sparta Prague post and generally looked a much better team. It was all the vindication that Dunphy needed, and as early as half-time it was clear how his full-time manifesto would sound.

"He now, after a game and a half on the road, has something like the right team. You cannot fault this Irish team for effort. It is a disgrace, Bill. Because we should be going to Euro 2008 with these players."

That was half true and half wishful. Our boys were certainly heroic. The Czech brought about their Republic with less bruising than they inflicted on big Richard Dunne last night. Hunt, in fairness, evened the score, continuing his remarkable vendetta against the Czech nation by slicing through Polak and earning himself a red card and another resounding chorus of booing from the stadium.

You had to like him. His dismissal was the whiff of injustice and bravery for which Eamon Dunphy has always had a soft spot: he may now officially be in love with Hunt. Such is the price you pay for representing your country. We went close at the end but it was one of those glorious nights of moral victory, a bloody good chorus of Molly Malone afterwards and then away like the clappers to hit the dance clubs in downtown Prague. Back in Dublin it was different.

Dunphy was blunt: "I don't feel sorry for any manager. I buggered up in plenty of jobs and it was out the door."

As if the night wasn't gloomy enough, there was worse news for Richard Dunne. He won the Eircom "man of the match" award - again. Poor guy had to lug another fruit bowl around the airport at Prague after midnight.

If the Made Men have their way, big Dunne should just pass it on to the Gaffer as a memento, as something to remember them by.

And if you hear a familiar Dundalk voice announcing "This is yer boss, this is the gaffer here, the train stops with me" on the 5.15 to Cork next Friday, you will know how this week has ended.

[Ozymandias]

Striking difference over group prospects
Emmet Malone

Players' reaction: As John O'Shea used crutches to make his way towards the team bus and Stephen Hunt was ushered towards it by FAI security, Ireland's strikers stopped and drew somewhat different conclusions about the impact of last night's defeat.

While Robbie Keane insisted the team would continue to fight for a place at next year's European Championships until it was definitely beyond them, Kevin Doyle freely conceded that Marek Jankulovski's first-half goal had already ended the team's hopes of qualification.

Keane's line was understandable given the conventions of holding the captaincy, but his disappointment was clear after he emerged from a dressing-room where, he said, there was only devastation and despair.

"We did everything we could out there tonight and it wasn't enough. Obviously when you go a goal down, you're always going to be chasing the game but they're a good side and I thought we matched them for everything.

"You can take some consolation from the fact that we look to be on track for a better future with some of the younger players that have been brought through. That's encouraging but it's for another day.

"Never say never. People will say we're out but it's not mathematically the case and so we'll keep battling away.

"We'll look forward to the next games and look to win them, we know qualifying will be very hard now but we'll keep on trying until it's impossible."

Doyle was more accepting of the inevitability of elimination but he disputed the suggestion that the team's fate had, ultimately, been decided last October in Nicosia.

"Nah, we knew that we would still have chances after that and if we had won tonight then we were right back in it. Obviously for the first 15 minutes it was difficult but after that I thought we were okay."

The Irish certainly made a game of it and Doyle might have grabbed an equaliser shortly before the break. Instead, his shot came back off the post.

"It looked as if it was going in and then I thought it was going to drop for Paul McShane for a tap-in but when your luck's not in, it's not in.

"In the end," he continued, "everybody's very down because we knew it was our chance. We needed to win and we couldn't. All we can do now is take a little pride from it and try to play well in the last few games."

Doyle was critical of the Greek referee's handling of the game with the sending off of his Reading club mate, Stephen Hunt, only the most serious of the errors he believed the match official had committed.

"There was a little bit (of niggle) but maybe the ref made things worse with some decisions."