Worl Cup 2010 Qualifiers-Who would you like?

[supasparx]

With the draw for the qualifiers on the 25th of this month, was wondering which countries people would like to be grouped with.
It will be a group of 6 teams so i was thinking.

Romania
Croatia
Bulgaria
Armenia
Belgium

[Sligo Hornet]

A little bit of "sunshine" in there would be nice.........Malta perhaps?

[Ash]

Hopefully get the Faroes again. Best trip ever!

Failing that, a group with Norn Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England
... purely cos I'm still wrecked from the bus/boat/train/bus/train ...
train/bus/boat/bus over the weekend!!!

[Sligo Hornet]

Hopefully get the Faroes again. Best trip ever!

Failing that, a group with Norn Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England
... purely cos I'm still wrecked from the bus/boat/train/bus/train ...
train/bus/boat/bus over the weekend!!!

Ash...how was the sea journey on the return....did you manage to hold onto to your dinner?!:D

[Ash]

Ash...how was the sea journey on the return....did you manage to hold onto to your dinner?!:D

Boat back was grand, little bit choppy but my drunk stumbling cancelled
that out so I hardly noticed :D

Worst part coming back was a drunkard who got on the train and
shat himself a few times. Stank out the whole carraige!!!!

[cobra]

with a decent manager, the following group would be ok:
czech rep
scotland
ireland
wales
lichenstein
andorra

Fans nightmare:
croatia
russia
ireland
georgia:eek:
azerbijan:eek:
kazakshtan:eek:

[Bluebeard]

with a decent manager, the following group would be ok:
czech rep
scotland
ireland
wales
lichenstein
andorra

Fans nightmare:
croatia
russia
ireland
georgia:eek:
azerbijan:eek:
kazakshtan:eek:

Actually, I'm hoping we get the Kazakhs or Azerbis, to be honest. Good away trips they'd be.

[cobra]

they would be a killer to get to unless on a package trip(no way)

[lopez]

Yeah. I want to see the house Borat grew up in.

Sweden would be good, although I think tickets would be tough. Bosnia, from a historical point of view, and Montenegro is recovering from the post Yugoslavian nightmare, and is tipped as a good holiday spot (my sister was there in eighties and said it was very modern then). Slovenia as well, as long as they aren't that good at football. Italy in Florence or Naples would be nice too.

Definite nos are the Tans, Macedonia, Bulgaria (was there in the eighties; got electrocuted twice by the police and their cattle prod style truncheons going into the ground for wearing shorts); Slovakia (same reason without the electrocutions), and of course, Spain. :D

[AidoM]

Whats the priority here :rolleyes: qualification or the trips :D

[Battery Rover]

Would love to visit the Faroes after listening to Ash and Schloomp talking about it over the weekend.

So my group of choice would be from any of the following

England
Wales
Scotland
N. Ireland
Faroes

Even though after what turned out to be a bit of a horror trip to Wales as Welsh Rail decided to do track maintenance this weekend I would go that way again and will do a sail rail for a good long distance one if we draw one on the WC Qualifiers

[cobra]

Whats the priority here :rolleyes: qualification or the trips :D

My exact thoughts Aido:confused:

[btid1]

Even though after what turned out to be a bit of a horror trip to Wales as Welsh Rail decided to do track maintenance this weekend

You think the train was bad.We drove and their roads are terrible.Took 5 hrs to do Cardiff/Holyhead and the road consists of treks through mountains and valleys!!!

[cobra]

The think the train was bad.We drove and their roads are terrible.Took 5 hrs to do Cardiff/Holyhead and the road consists of treks through mountains and valleys!!!

was caught that way before, go to devon often from holyhead..1st time made mistake going across wales(bloody terrible alright)..now know its quicker to go across to the M6 and down

[lopez]

Would love to visit the Faroes after listening to Ash and Schloomp talking about it over the weekend.Just don't end up being stranded there. I'll give that place a miss next time. Bit like position 103 of the Karma Sutra. You'd love to go there once, but never again. :D

[shakermaker1982]

From an away trip point of view I wouldn't mind Sweden/Finland/Spain. Would any of you wanna go to Russia again? I've never been and would love to go but is it wise when travelling as a football fan?

[reder]

England or Scotland, Faroes, Northern Ireland, Finland, Poland. Would be happy with 2 or more of them.

[Reddladd]

I went to Moscow in 2002 to watch Babb score that wonderful goal! Wouldn't go back again for football or anything else!

[Risteard]

Anyone got the seedings or a quality estimate?

[Sligo Hornet]

I wonder how many have US on their "wish list"?....based on our Away form most would consider their home game as 3 points almost guaranteed:(
Plus we are a nice friendly place to visit an enjoy........in the main!

[Schumi]

Hopefully get the Faroes again. Best trip ever!Definitely agree there! Kazakhstan would be interesting too. Of the big countries, Italy would be my choice.

[citizenerased]

Czech Rep
Hungary
Scotland
Estonia
Sweden
Andora

[Claret Murph]

Hell take it as it comes , but on the other hand England would be one hell of a game for one reason or another .

[Sligo Hornet]

Hell take it as it comes , but on the other hand England would be one hell of a game for one reason or another .

I would hate to get England........with my wife English, and me having "persuaded" my two kids;) (who were born in England ) that Green is better than White.....whatever the result my household would be a disaster zone!:eek:

[AidoM]

I would hate to get England........with my wife English, and me having "persuaded" my two kids (who were born in England ) that Green is better than White.....whatever the result my household would be a disaster zone!

You'd be outvoted cos they would play in grey :eek: and the confused kids :confused:would probably side with mammy (Mrs H) :D

[Bondvillain]

Greece
Czech Rep
Ireland
Belgium
Hungary
Malta / Luxembourg.

An eminently winnable group, were we to have a half decent manager, a nice run of injury-free squads, and some hypnotherapy to stop our lads thinking a one goal lead is money in the bank, and to stop the defence feeling compelled to do the mad person dance instead of defending in the last 5 minutes and throwing away 1 goal leads.

Luxembourg & Belgium in the Summer & Greece and Malta in the Autumn would be a nice couple of double headers too...:D

[SUB of the day]

England at the new Wembley in September, with the return in Croker the following year, if that doesn't excite,then you are not a football fan or clinically dead.:)

[zenokelly]

Just for the trips I'd choose:
1. Netherlands/England
2. Norway
3. That's us
4. Not much here, probably Belgium
5. Iceland
6. Kazakhsatan

The best possivle group in terms of qualifying:
1. Czech Republic
2. Serbia
3. Us
4. Moldova
5. Liechtenstein
6. San Marino

Once the latter meant a trip to South Africa in 2010 I could live with them trips. But I would not go to Russia if we drew them. They are no go's after 2002 on a footy trip.

[SuperDave]

Anyone got the seedings or a quality estimate?

well seeing as it's based on fifa rankings, then i suppose this is as close as you'll get prior to the next rankings coming out this thursday (they actually changed the date of ranking calculation to be later on this week so the final euro qualification results and other internationals could be taken into consideration):

Pot 1
Italy
France
Germany
Spain
Netherlands
Portugal
Czech Rep
Croatia
England (right at the bottom. if they **** up against croatia, they could go second pot)

Pot 2
Romania
Scotland :eek:They'd probably have been first seeds, at England's expense, if they'd beaten Italy
Greece
Russia
Poland
Norway
Ukraine
Sweden
Serbia

Pot 3
Turkey
Denmark
Ireland
Bulgaria
Northern Ireland
Israel
Switzerland
Finland
Hungary

Pot 4
Bosnia
Slovakia
Belgium
Cyprus
Wales
Moldova
Albania
Georgia
Macedonia

Pot 5
Slovenia
Iceland
Armenia
Latvia
Austria
Lithuania
Belarus
Azerbaijan
Liechtenstein

Pot 6
Kazakhstan
Estonia
Malta
Luxembourg
Montenegro
Andorra
Faroe Islands
San Marino

Croatia, Serbia, Albania, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan ... probably worst we can expect in terms of travel, though double headers would make things easier. (croatia serbia and albania azerbaijan)

easiest in terms of travel would probably be something like England, Scotland, Wales, Austria, Luxembourg/San Marino.

Anywho, they'll have new rankings out soon, and we'll see seedings then

[SUB of the day]

well seeing as it's based on fifa rankings, then i suppose this is as close as you'll get prior to the next rankings coming out this thursday (they actually changed the date of ranking calculation to be later on this week so the final euro qualification results and other internationals could be taken into consideration):

Pot 1
Italy
France
Germany
Spain
Netherlands
Portugal
Czech Rep
Croatia
England (right at the bottom. if they **** up against croatia, they could go second pot)

Pot 2
Romania
Scotland :eek:They'd probably have been first seeds, at England's expense, if they'd beaten Italy
Greece
Russia
Poland
Norway
Ukraine
Sweden
Serbia

Pot 3
Turkey
Denmark
Ireland
Bulgaria
Northern Ireland
Israel
Switzerland
Finland
Hungary

Pot 4
Bosnia
Slovakia
Belgium
Cyprus
Wales
Moldova
Albania
Georgia
Macedonia

Pot 5
Slovenia
Iceland
Armenia
Latvia
Austria
Lithuania
Belarus
Azerbaijan
Liechtenstein

Pot 6
Kazakhstan
Estonia
Malta
Luxembourg
Montenegro
Andorra
Faroe Islands
San Marino

Croatia, Serbia, Albania, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan ... probably worst we can expect in terms of travel, though double headers would make things easier. (croatia serbia and albania azerbaijan)

easiest in terms of travel would probably be something like England, Scotland, Wales, Austria, Luxembourg/San Marino.

Anywho, they'll have new rankings out soon, and we'll see seedings then
Great post, are we safe in 3?......not having norn iron israel or switzerland is a bonus.

[Naitch]

The group i would pick would be

Spain
Norway
Rep of Ireland
Belgium
Liechtenstien
Andorra

For me this would be the ideal group for us, all teams are beatable home and away(apart from Spain maybe), and there is also some good away trips to Spain twice (Andorra will play in Barcelona), Norway and Belgium

[SuperDave]

Great post, are we safe in 3?......not having norn iron israel or switzerland is a bonus.

based on the results of the teams beneath us since last results:

wales 2-2 ireland - will probably harm us slightly
bulgaria 1-0 romania - might overtake us, especially if they beat slovenia
northern ireland 2-1 denmark - might overtake us, especially if they get a result in spain
israel 2-1 russia - might overtake us, especially if they beat macedonia
swiss - haven't played, and don't, so we should be safe enough
finland 2-1 azerbaijan - shouldn't be enough, unless they beat portugal

hungary 0-3 moldova - ****ed. probably going to be fourth seeds themselves
bosnia - haven't played yet
slovakia - 1-3 czech rep - even if they beat san marino, probably won't be enough
belgium - 0-2 poland - not a threat
cyprus 0-4 germany - even if they beat czechs, not likely to overtake us.

there is a big gap in rankings points between finland and hungary, so i'd say we are 99.99% certain to be third seeds. a win in wales could even have propelled us into second, with other results going our way, like denmark, sweden and norway losing. though i think that was highly doubtful.

[pineapple stu]

Actually, I'm hoping we get the Kazakhs or Azerbis, to be honest. Good away trips they'd be.
Kazakhstan would be a great trip. Just started reading a book about the place - In Search of Kazakhstan by Christopher Robbins; highly recommended apparently. Birthplace of the apple, 17000ft mountains on your doorstep, steppes, horse riding, falconry - different world entirely, and a great excuse to visit.

Netherlands
Norway
Republic of Ireland
Belgium (double header week with Holland?)
Latvia
Kazakhstan

[SuperDave]

Kazakhstan would be a great trip. Just started reading a book about the place - In Search of Kazakhstan by Christopher Robbins; highly recommended apparently. Birthplace of the apple, 17000ft mountains on your doorstep, steppes, horse riding, falconry - different world entirely, and a great excuse to visit.

Netherlands
Norway
Republic of Ireland
Belgium (double header week with Holland?)
Latvia
Kazakhstan

travel to kazakhstan? cheap? horseback from the airport into town?

p.s. the country is mega oil wealthy and the president is a lunatic. i'd imagine you need about ten visas, including one for russia as you probably have to fly through.

[pineapple stu]

Direct flight from London, with a stop in Yeketarinburg. Get in about 4am.

Turkmenistan's the one (or was the one) with the nutty PM. Though maybe Kazakhstan has one too; hadn't heard anything about one though.

[SuperDave]

Direct flight from London, with a stop in Yeketarinburg. Get in about 4am.

Turkmenistan's the one (or was the one) with the nutty PM. Though maybe Kazakhstan has one too; hadn't heard anything about one though.

Turkmenistan's president for life died last year. as far as i know, they haven't appointed a replacement, but worship his corpse as a deity or somesuch.

the kazakh guy is having a new capital built in the desert, including a gigantic glass pyramid, designed by norman foster, with a 'church of the world' or somesuch on the top floor. gigantic folly. he's a bit weird too, by all accounts, but because he has oil and is willing to sell at a reasonable price and isn't too pro moscow, nobody bothers him much.

what i really love though is the "truth about kazakhstan" section on the kazak embassy website. (www.kazakhstanembassy.co.uk)

[lopez]

For the opposition:

Croatia
Norway
Ireland
Slovakia
Liechtenstein
Andorra

For the trips:

Italy
Greece/Sweden
Ireland
Bosnia
Slovenia
Kazakhstan

[Kingdom]

For the opposition:

Croatia
Norway
Ireland
Slovakia
Liechtenstein
Andorra

For the trips:

Italy
Greece/Sweden
Ireland
Bosnia
Slovenia
Kazakhstan

The first is winable the second is qualify-able (?):)

[Paulie]

Would any of you wanna go to Russia again? I've never been and would love to go but is it wise when travelling as a football fan?

Having been there for the game in 2002, never again. Russia and Turkey are the two places I would completely rule out for a football trip.

[meathkeeno]

Having been there for the game in 2002, never again. Russia and Turkey are the two places I would completely rule out for a football trip.

paulie, I've heard a few people giving out about Russia, just wondering could you tell me what all was wrong with the last trip there?

[Paulie]

paulie, I've heard a few people giving out about Russia, just wondering could you tell me what all was wrong with the last trip there?

Myself and my friends were not involved in anything but we saw a number of lads around our hotel after the game that had been beaten up. Also, one of the pubs being used by Irish fans was raided by a gang of skinheads while the police watched on (The police in Russia are also particularly corrupt). Coming home, our flight was help up for in the region of 24 hours because a Russian official would not let our flight leave unless he was paid a bribe. I'd go to Russia again on a holiday but not on a football trip. I was in Moscow and St. Petersburg in 1990 (a great place to go on your first foreign holiday!) and had a great time. It's just unfortunate that in the very odd country football can bring out the wrong sort of people.

[NeilMcD]

they would be a killer to get to unless on a package trip(no way)

How the hell is Croatia a nightmare. I hope we get them, Great country and fairly cheap great people also.

[Stuttgart88]

fairly cheap great people
The importance of punctuation!

[Sligo Hornet]

The importance of punctuation!

Unless it was intentional:D

[NeilMcD]

You know me too well Sligo.

[Armando]

Czech Rep
Hungary
Scotland
Estonia
Sweden
Andora

And who do you hope Ireland get in their group;)

I want us to be in the 5 team group. Less games for us to lose ground in!

If we're in a 6 team group and get Montenegro from the last pot we a proper fooked!

looks like Romania could squeeze into pot 1, so my preference would be

Romania
Norway
Ireland
Wales
Liechtenstein

[SUB of the day]

How the hell is Croatia a nightmare. I hope we get them, Great country and fairly cheap great people also.
Zagreb was the best trip of the lot, despite the result.

[cobra]

How the hell is Croatia a nightmare. I hope we get them, Great country and fairly cheap great people also.

I said killer trips in reference to bluebeards post before mine, where he mentions he would hope we get kazahstan and azerbijan..

[head the ball]

Has to be Engerland, scotland wales and somewhere sunny! (not cyprus thank you)
I love the atmosphere of high octane games, local derbies. can you imagine if we played wales early this time at a full millenium, wembley and hampden away, the tension and build up would be fantastic. Returns at croker!! Plus the satisfaction of possible beating them would be heaven!
Maybe our lads would finally be up for it too.
I honestly think we would have a decent chance also.
Roll on Sunday!

[Green Tribe]

I'd say we are definitely getting Kazakhstan and England for 2 - I just know it