Yeah I agree but. Fahey is much neater in possession and doesn't give the ball away cheaply very often. But I thought Andrews was better than Whelan on Saturday and has been in last few games he's played.
Yeah I agree but. Fahey is much neater in possession and doesn't give the ball away cheaply very often. But I thought Andrews was better than Whelan on Saturday and has been in last few games he's played.
Paul, what happened there? first you were serious then all of a sudden there was an edit to make it a bit lighter.Quote:
Originally Posted by paul_oshea
Pity you can't do that with your life, go back and throw in a few edits :)
The original one? I never edited the above one. The original one cos I spelt pedestal wrong and i didn't want to get caught out ;)
im not really a fan of whelans at all. i would go with fahey and andrews for slovakiaQuote:
Originally Posted by Fixer82
Srsly? That's like Brian Cowen telling critics of his economic policy to come back when Ireland's the richest country in the world. Teams don't have to be champs to grind out the occasional result, particularly at international level.Quote:
Originally Posted by paul_oshea
It's easy to say the team is rubbish when it goes wrong, but there's not question when things go right - all luck. But there's been too much luck for it to be simply that.
I agree with you about what Trap will ultimately be judged by, as loads of people surely do, but I don't know why you see that as incompatible with giving the team an occasional bit of credit.
Ah come on, credit where credit is due. The team we put out tonight consisted of a hell of a lot less experienced and accomplished players than our Italian counterparts, yet through sheer endevour and enthusiasm we managed to beat them 2-0. It was clear to me that the Italians were already on their holidays but what you will always get with Trap's teams is honesty of effort and 100% commitment (I'm referring to the players, when they are on the field). It's well publicised that our players do not feature regularly with their clubs, yet we lie joint top of our group. What more can the naysayers ask for?
To be outright top?
As a result of Ireland's win over Macedonia on Saturday, the team has equaled the Irish record for most games unbeaten away from home. They are equal with the team of 14th October 1992 - 3rd June 1995. (Ended 6th September 1995 when losing to Austria 3-1)
Last away defeat was 1-0 loss to Czech Republic on the 12th September 2007. So if they avoid defeat against Russia in September a new record would be set.
strange how the fact that we won in the white jersey has not been mentioned...
It's the hooped socks.
Ever since the team have had the hooped socks, the jinx has been lifted.
I remember some Umbro spiel about the hooped socks when the new kits were being unveiled. They were claiming that they'd have the effect of dazzling opponents and would make it more difficult for them to read the movements of our players' feet. Sounded like a load of bull**** at the time, of course, but maybe it is something rooted in the psychology of perception, after all.Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
When was our first win in white? Cyprus 2001?
Did the infamous orange jersey only ever have one run out (ie the 3-2 defeat to Macedonia in 1997)?
Malta 99? Nearly lost that one tooQuote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
I'm pretty sure we wore green in that one.
Surely did wear green in the Malta 99 game. It's one of the photos I used in the Keane goals article.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
yep, we were in green
there's some photos on sportsfile, here's Staunton in that game: http://www.sportsfile.com/id/029162/
I did, yep. Typo.Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
Nope; what was said was "in fairness the keeper and defenders heard the whistle and stopped playing a good 3 or 4 seconds before the ball hit the back of the net." Big difference. And, I think, correct.Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
Actually, I was looking for highlights to do just that, and all the ones I found left it out entirely! Bit strange.Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
My dad was telling me he read in one of the papers today about a scuffle in the camp prior to the Macedonia game where one player confronted another and pushed them to the ground, the grounded player being a "well known long time player".
All sounds very vague, anyone know anymore on that?
Surely, that would have been all over the papers at the time, no?
it's on the cover of today's Sunday World, according to some posts on this thread on ybig.ie - http://www.ybig.ie/forum/forum_posts...ay-world-today - it's supposed to have been Paul McShane and Andy Keogh, although some of the later posts refute this
The McShane and Keogh post was a joke comment, as the poster doesn't like either player and hopes they're kicked off the team. So to say it's either of them is totally unfounded.
Yeah, that comment clearly wasn't to be read in seriousness. 'The GerK' - not sure who he is as I just skim through YBIG from time to time, but he appears to be with the media or in the know - claims that it wasn't two players but that "the two involved makes it an even better story". He then goes on to claim that "a senior player was decked", so I think we are to assume it was a dispute between a player and a member of the back-room staff. Although later: "Two players were involved, one who is single"; "a member of staff punched a senior player full force in the face, sending him to the ground, another player jumping in and a fight ensuing"; " if people knew who threw the dig, attitudes would change - fact". Maybe Trap would be a dark horse in the boxing ring?
Who knows? I'm sure arguments occur within squads all the time. That's what you'll get when you've a group of 20 or more testosterone-fuelled footballers together for two weeks. Is this really a big deal?
Not really. But won't stop the Sunday World trying their hardest to make it into.one.
which players were sent home after Macedonia again? :)
No idea if it happened or not, but although arguments within a squad are pretty common I'd imagine, a staff member knocking a player down with a punch to the head is a pretty big deal.Quote:
Originally Posted by DannyInvincible
Continues to generate interest this supposed fracas!
http://www.independent.ie/national-n...m-2673005.html
And even more!
http://www.independent.ie/sport/socc...e-2672913.html
as usual with this kind of report not a name in sight.
this kind of thing, if it actually happened, happens all the time with other high profile teams in other codes in the country (just ask a certain irish scrum half how he missed about 6 weeks of action recently) but never hits the papers but sure lets use an unsubstantiated nothing story, put it on front of a couple of papers and have another cheap dig at our national football squad. pathetic really
Looks like we've a national crisis on our hands then. :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by gastric
Well said jbyrne.
Usual football is crap, rugby players are saints bullsh1t.
The "Leon Best incident" was when he was injured, went to a nightclub and didn't drink alcohol.
I'm OK with people being apathetic towards the football team. I'm not OK with deliberate and persistent attempts to undermine it. Who penned the second Indo article linked above - Kelly?
Jaysus lads feeling the heat here - just reporting the news!
I assure you, my eye-roll was directed towards Kelly and whoever wrote the other piece; not the messenger. :)
Same hereQuote:
Originally Posted by DannyInvincible
Mentioning the Leinster team in Kiely's in the same article skips over the loss to Munster in the Magner's League final 5 days laterQuote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
...where Marcus Horan cynically bodychecked BO'D off the ball, and minutes later went down like a big girl's blouse pretending he'd been hit in the face by a Leinster player, when nothing of the sort happened.
But it's all different in rugby.
and if they were on a "self-confessed late-night in Kiely's following their win" shouldn't the first question be "what time were you served until and was it after legal drinking hours?"
Which night was this though? I can't believe they would be in a bar drinking the night before a crucial game like that. Am I stupid and nieve?
Was it really necessary to put this bit in at the end?
High emotions between players and staff have been a feature of Irish football in recent years.
During the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, Roy Keane famously walked out following a spat with manager Mick McCarthy in Saipan over training conditions.
Absolutely necessary. Assuming that the purpose of the article is to be as scurrilous as possible.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fixer82