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Euro 2008 - Is there any hope?
Many may question the sanity of even posing the question but just thought I'd throw it out there anyway.
The margin for error is practically down to zero (need a series of big wins both home and away) and the obvious chasm of points to claw back is demoralising before we kick a ball.
Are we dead in the water for 2008 or is a comeback of Lazarus / Noel Edmunds like proportions remotely attainable?
Deal or no Deal?
Agree, agree, agree.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tuff Paddy
Paul Le Guen anyone? :)
We could do with Paul Daniels to turn this one around.Quote:
Originally Posted by Qwerty
not a lot, not a lot.
i think we got caught up in the emotion of the cyprus/ czech republic week. when you look at our table in the cold light of day - it does not look good. I'll cheer them on anyways, but pity about that fiasco in cyprus. Wonder if duff and keane will ever fulfill their potential. we would need to go on an unprecedented run of results, and quite honestly, when was the last time that happened? The only positive is the fact wales / cyprus / slovakia may take points off other teams, but in fairness they are probably saying the same about us!!!
As long as were arent mathematically eliminated, there is hope. You learn that when your from Chicago. If there is a chance, then you can hope (see: Chicago Cubs :()
worm , i was going to post this self same thing yesterday and i'm glad you did. truth be told i think we won't qualify but were we to win the next 4 games and other results to go our way then we would be heading to prague and trnava with a full head of steam. bottom line is we will not do it but i reserve the right to dream the dream if we put slovakia and wales emphatically to the sword in croker.
Beating San Marino means we are 3 points off the leaders having played a game more. The Germans drawing with Cyprus has tightened up the group and puts pressure on them. If we then win our back to back games with Wales and Slovakia in March then we are sitting on 13 points whilst zee Germans have to play the Czechs away on the same day as our Welsh fixture (someone will drop points here - maybe even a draw). Maybe I'm too optimistic but if we will all our games at home we have a fighting chance...... keep the faith!!!
For some reason I got over the Cyprus match very quickly but I'm still disappointed we failed to beat the Czechs. Any team will be doing well to win in Cyprus so if we beat the Czechs we'd have as much chance of qualifying as ever. In saying that, I'd have taken a win here and a defeat over there so a draw over there might make up for it (assuming Germany win the group). 3 wins from our next 3 games is vital though.
Agreed eireboy, 9 points in the next three games is a must and if you look at it- San Marino and 2 home games against mediocre opposition-we should win them, otherwise we def dont deserve to qualify.
Im not looking beyond those three games at the moment, if results go our way and Germany beat the Czechs (or at worst draw with them) away then we are right back in it.
If we can keep and improve on the standard we saw against the Czechs then we might just have a chance.
If we are to have any hope of qualifying we need Slovakia and Wales to take a few unlikely points of Germany (possibly one or the other by drawing with them in Germany or one beating and another drawing with them at home) and then I still think we'll probably have to beat Germany at Croker.
I think the Czech's should coast now - we are not going to beat them away and they've already hammerred Slovakia away. Germany might beat them at home but I can't see that in itself doing us any good.
In all honesty I think you'd have to be very optimisitc (maybe even slightly insane) to expect us to finish anywhere higher than 3rd and under Stan that in itself is going to be tough.
theres plenty of matches left, i wouldnt write anybody off. would have preferred if cyprus drew with the czechs and not the germans but anyway. i still believe its going to be germany to top the group and ireland chasing the czechs until the wales match. i also believe there is no point in blaming stan solely for the results either. roy keane has given him his full backing and thats enough for me. roy is a straight talker and says it like it is. no bulls@%t .....
Quote:
Originally Posted by billybunter
un·prec·e·dent·ed [uhn-pres-i-den-tid] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/unprecedented
–adjective
without previous instance; never before known or experienced; unexampled or unparalleled: an unprecedented event
yours,
p. dant
I'm not generally a pessimist but this for me, is definitely over. The recurring statistic that consistently comes back to haunt us is the fact that we have failed to win a competitive match against a footballing nation of note(many mediocre nations included i.e. Israel) since Holland. There is no hiding from this at all,thats why we hear it so much and it both speaks serious volumes and illustrates that we have no character, killer instinct, guile or cutting edge, in terms of both attitude and footballing talent. In addition, none of our stars(excluding Shay Given) ever fulfil trheir potential for their country. Allied to the fact that we have an unsuccessful Walsall defensive coach in charge of the whole thing,who is hypocritical and scared s*&tless to try and change things, this means the odds are stacked against us to get wins agaisnt Wales and Slovakia(probably even Cyprus at this stage), let alone Germany and the Czechs. Obviously I hold some hope but there's not a snowballs chance in hell we'll make it. My main worry is that we'll do so badly our seedings will be irreversibly damaged for the next few campaigns. Thats what we should be aiming to put right at this stage.
i agree here. 9 points from 9 and we're not out of it. personally i will be hoping that the germans win every remaining match. first place is unrealistic but if the czechs, slovaks, welsh all lose points they can be caught. with 2 qualifing automatically and no play-off to negotiate we gotta still push for it. if the germans beat the czechs and we win our 3 games we're not a million miles away although it would mean getting major results away from home..... positivity over: will we get there: don't think so espically under current regime.Quote:
Originally Posted by 0325422
:rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by 0325422
the fact roy keane is currently working under niall quinn and apparently on talking basis with mick mcCarthy after all the mutterings and writings of the past 5 years should surely show that not EVERY little sentence that roy keane speaks is the Gospel. apparently not to some people
Quote:
Originally Posted by republicofwhite
If only we did, Stan wasnt the anything coach at Walsall, he was put on the coaching staff as a way around the salary cap for players. We should check if he had this fake job on his CV then have him done for fraud.
This doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Thanks for the heads up. My exasperation has been accentuated but at least I'm more enlightened...:cool:
Surely someone in the FAI other than Delaney and Blood must have had major doubts about Staunton before appointing him. And must have known after hearing him speak in person that he did not and does not have a ****ing scooby!
super dave - apologies for the "beckhamism" ....... : )