Republic of Ireland V France - Monday, 27th March 2023 - Euro 2024 Qualifier

[BOOMSHAKALAKA]

It's an advantage I'd quite like to have in the here and now.

Not sure of how much an advantage it is.

[Stuttgart88]

Those clubs put themselves first and foremost. Especially the Glasgow two, who consistently buy in players from abroad at the expense of giving opportunities to local young players.

To answer your question, it depends on the approach of the club to youth development and how open they are to giving first team opportunities to developing players. The Glasgow clubs are not good examples of how to do this and, if you moved those two clubs to Dublin (let's say minus the sectarian element, but keeping the club rivalry) I very much doubt the Ireland team would be any better off as a result.

Well I disagree. Yes, you're right that these clubs look after themselves first and foremost but the spillover effects impact the whole ecosystem there. I think if we had a couple of competitive Europa League / lesser Champions League clubs in Ireland the economic impact would be huge. Similarly if we had clubs that can generate the revenues that the Welsh clubs can.

[ifk101]

top left quadrant?

The Spanish keeper is not saving that.

[Eirambler]

I have to say I find something very uncomfortable about that tweet. Basically still bigging up, two days later, that we almost scored a goal, that would have scraped us a point, in a home qualifier.

[Stuttgart88]

Was it the French defender with the first header?

Yes, looks like it. And the way he held his hands afterwards was like he knew he'd got away with one.

[ifk101]

I have to say I find something very uncomfortable about that tweet.

All tweets from that account big it up. Surprisingly.

[Eirambler]

It would be nice if we had a point on the board that they could big up, rather than a header from a corner that was saved.

[ifk101]

We were all there to see Mbappe anyways.

[BOOMSHAKALAKA]

Nor should there have been but I’ve read most posts here, discussed it with my mates and read the Irish Times, The Indo and The Sun’s match reports. The overwhelming consensus view was that there was plenty of merit in the performance but it was a defeat all the same and we’ve got to start winning soon. So I'm not sure why celebration has come in to the discussion.

I understood the jist of the Scotland discussion as being "see what can happen with a good manager" (as if that's the single most important variable in Scotland's result) and that Scotland beating understrength Spain should somehow put some perspective on the assessment of our game.

I think it's just a sign of how negative the perception of our senior team has become. Our chances were written off before a ball was kicked in this group by many. We haven't been beaten at home in euro qualifying since 2010 but many just assumed we'd get ripped apart. Where has this negativity come from? Prior to 2020, it was all about our managers being past their sell by date and not getting the most out of our players. Since 2020, it's all about our players being poor and the manager is doing as well as he can. And before 2020, our results were actually decent for the most part, the opposite after 2020.

If you put our team and the Scottish team side by side, I think most would say it's pretty even. We should be expecting better from what we have available, Scotland demand that. Let's stop talking our players down. They've proved on Monday that they are good enough. We can qualify from this group. Coming third or way off qualification is not acceptable. When you accept defeat, more will follow.

[Fixer82]

I honestly think part of it is Kenny being such a poor interviewee.

[Stuttgart88]

Scotland weren't playing France.

And I said I was hopeful of a result. And I'd have been more than hopeful if we were playing a makeshift Spain team at home.

[tetsujin1979]

Was reading the programme from the game earlier, when I noticed something

[Stuttgart88]

Dunne missed a great chance late in that game. Headed over the bar.

Alan O'Brien had a comically bad first touch when he came on.

[texidub]

In terms of reaction to the match, I would favour France to beat any team in the world on their day. They are the elite of the elite. A 1-0 loss isn't bad at all - but most importantly Ireland's performance was magnificent on the night. What's so exciting is the age profile of the players and the experience they are getting.

Another poster mentioned that hoofball is OK sometimes. I agree. I said it during the match in relation to Bazunu too - at least 3-4 hoofballs in a game has to be allowed rather than getting into too much jiggery pokery close to goal.

[seanfhear]

top left quadrant?

If it was in the top left corner the goal-keeper would not have been able to reach it ~ ~ It was an excellent save but the ball was Not in the top left corner.