Quote:
My problem is that it was my girlfriend's Barclaycard I was referring to!
:8 When/where did ye get her? www.putherinthepost.ie.co.uk or is she a FIFA exec, in the legal department by any chance ;)
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Quote:
My problem is that it was my girlfriend's Barclaycard I was referring to!
:8 When/where did ye get her? www.putherinthepost.ie.co.uk or is she a FIFA exec, in the legal department by any chance ;)
Hard to answer this question at the moment but If we get Jewell or Houillier as a manager I'd say very few teams would want us in their group. However if we get Souness or Brady the answer is everybody.
It's also unfair to say we are a less attractive proposition for opposition managers than NI at present. I'd say currently most managers in Europe would prefer to get the ROI, a team currently in turmoil and freefalling in the rankings over recent years to a more settled NI team seemingly on the up. Until a new manager comes in and rectifies this I'd expect that situation to remain.
Obviously it's not an exact comparison between Sam and Stan, but I would point out that it was not Stan who billed himself a World class manager, but JD.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
And if Sammy had some experience in management, it was only at a lowly level i.e. taking Macclesfield from non-league to the (old) Fourth Division i.e.hardly more than the Eircom.
Moreover, whatyever else you think of him, it must have been very hard for Stan to walk away from the massive salary he was being paid by the FAI. Whereas, Sammy broke his Contract with the IFA to desert to the mighty Stockport County (where, btw, he sunk like a stone before being sacked and re-emerging once more in non-League).
But for all that I must be amongst his sternest critics as a manager, I also respect Sammy both as a player and a human being, and so would never personally abuse him in the same way as some abused Stan, when he found himself in similarly difficult or unfortunate circumstances.
And before anyone has a pop at me for making that point, I am not insinuating that ROI fans are any less inherently reasonable than their NI counterparts. If pushed, I'd guess it is primarily because ROI fans have much greater expectations than NI fans.
(Of course, if you were to ask me whether those expectations were reasonable, you might not like the answer! But that's a topic for another thread...;))
Then again maybe there was enough Northern Ireland fans at the time to get an abuse campaign going against Sammy McIlroy. Out of interest what was the average attendance at Windsor during McIlroy's reign??Quote:
Originally Posted by EalingGreen
Quote:
Originally Posted by ifk101
I presume they got a full capicty still.
Its not as if Windsor is 80,000 seater
Would I be right EG?
How the fupp did this turn into another ROI vs NI thread. I know we are both in pot 3 but there's a selection of other teams in there too!
It's a fact that NI did better than ROI in the current qualifiers, beating one of the top two seeds and still (bearly) in contention up until the last game. Maybe they will go one better and qualify for the WC or they have reached their peak and will fade away. Maybe ROI will appoint a messiah of a manager that will give their supposedly superior players a good kick up the hole resulting in a vast improvement or maybe we are going to be submitted to another 2 years of dross and ultimate failure. To be honest this ROI vs NI debate is starting to get on my tits here. One or two threads which I can choose to avoid is fine but it's infiltrating too many threads IMO. I was actually looking forward to reading people's opinions when i saw the title of this thread but it looks like another one I will be avoiding, unfortunately. :(
In my opinion, pots 2 and 3 are almost inseperable in terms of standard.
Turkey, Bulgaria and Switzerland are very decent teams, while Denmark regularly qualify for most tournaments. Israel are a decent side too. Finland have had a very good campaign in a tough group but I wish they had been a fourth seed at the expense of a team like Bosnia or Georgia. Hungary don't belong as a third seed. As already pointed out, they're a fourth seed at best.
As for Norn Iron, on paper they are an average team but they certainly deserve to be third seeds. Their home record is outstanding and they have gone to places like Denmark and Sweden and come away with points. I am happy to avoid them, as I could see them taking points off us in both Dublin and Belfast.
Ideal group:
Czech Republic, Scotland, Moldova, Liechtenstein and Andorra.
Horror group:
Holland, Russia, Georgia, Armenia and Kazakhstan
That group contains exactly the type of teams that could take points off us. Holland could conceivably win both games against us, while Russia are always tricky in Moscow. In none of the other games would I put too much money on an away win.
I wouldn't mind you guys again, but you're probably about on a par with most teams in your pot, bar maybe Switzerland who are a really decent team in my opinion. I'd like Hungary at the moment, they are just about in pot 3 but have had a disappointing campaign this time around and we could be looking to beat them.
Northern Ireland would also be good as we've shown fairly recently we can beat them, though whether we'd beat them if we played each other tomorrow is debateable.
Cymro, I see your U21s are beating France. That'll be a great result.
If we do get Wales again it'll be good to have you back on here. Good luck.
Thank you, Stuttgart. Equally, I'll enjoy posting on here if we're drawn together again. I have really enjoyed the banter and discussion in this campaign.
True I know there on rich vain of form but there one of teams that I think most people will see as having no chance of getting out of there group. There away record is not good enough and will have to improve greatly if they are get near South Africa.
I know there very hard to beat at home but think all pot one teams would win there and would learn from the mistakes that Sweden and Spain made there as well as Denmark who at end of day Ireland hammered away not so long ago.
Don't mean to be pedantic but the spelling on this site is atrocious. This is not the worst but jayzuz......
An Muinteoir
Vein , their , Their , they're.Quote:
Originally Posted by BobbySands
if you are going to be pedantic at least get it right.Quote:
Originally Posted by RogerMilla
vein, they're, their, their
and there's another 'they're' missing at the start of the second paragrapah :)
i just picked a few examples eekers , the whole thing was a shambles !Quote:
Originally Posted by eekers
i hear hibernian learn to write on a carpark!Quote:
Originally Posted by RogerMilla
ah there their....lets stop this fussin and a feudin'Quote:
Originally Posted by eekers
To get this back of it's tangent I will deal with the peripheral matter to the thread first. Norn Iron are better than the Republic Fact!. We would not have picked up as many points in their group as they currently have end of. They have played well as a team bar two disappointing performances. Compare that to the Republic who only had two decent performances one of which was a 0-1 defeat in Germany.
To get back to the question raised at the outset of the thread. Any 1st or 2nd seed would love us in their group as they know they will beat us in their home game. So a handy three points is always welcome. Before anyone accuses me of being overly negative. Two decent competitive victories away from home in 40 years, history speaks for itself!
agreed college , in fact our reputation rests at the moment on the fact that people on the continent watch the premiership and they know finnan and keane and given.
new manager has a huge job to do
??????? what you on..Quote:
Originally Posted by eekers
agree 100%Quote:
Originally Posted by Irish_Praha
Well, regardless of all the fights that go on here, I'm sure I won't be the only one cheering for "Norn Iron" tonight. They've had a great campaign and it would be cool to see them make a tourney.
And me. They deserve it.
I was '' gutted'' they didn't make it
Very creditable performance both last night and overall. Who was the co-commentator on BBC NI? It was funny in the first half, Fullerton(?) saying they've got to get closer to the Spanish and the co-commentator saying "that's easy to say but I've tried and you just CAN'T get close to them" and laughed.
was it John O'Neill?
Norn Iron had some great nights in this campaign sadly counterbalanced by a couple of horror show afternoons ...most noteably Iceland.
Last night they had plenty of huff and puff but ...it's still Spain away. They were a little lucky not to be behind sooner as that was a stone cold penalty in the 7th minute.
They can be very happy with their campaign though. To answer the question that gives this thread it's title, notwithstanding our generally better players I'd agree with whoever said you'd have to be an idiot to want NI in your group ahead of us at the moment.
They're better organised and they've a striker who's got his shooting boots on. While we conceded six goals to Cyprus, won two home games against weak teams and by the only goal, can't win away, can't hold a lead, have become sub-useless at set pieces, can't retain possession...
It's not rocket science to conclude that anyone who gets us will conclude they could scarcely get us at a better time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lionel Ritchie
Yes I dont think anyone will loose sleep if they get us I know.
But lets say Sweden get in our group we have given them few hammerings (all be it in worthless friendly matches I will add) would they be not thinking to themselves we dont want them after the last time we played them??
Also do any ye guys think teams should be higher or lower pot(seed) then what they should be. I mentioned earlier that I cant believe that Hungary are in Pot Three. What are your taughts on this guys???
I suppose England should be in pot Five after last night;)
[quote=Bungle;819480]In my opinion, pots 2 and 3 are almost inseperable in terms of standard.
I respect your comment
IMO I dont think they. I think Pot 1 are the teams everyone has to beat (or get above) in order for them to qualify for WC2010.
Pot2 have teams which certainly not as strong as Pot 1 most teams in Pot 2 I would not fear
but San Marino in Pot 6 does frighten me;)
Norway
Ukraine
Serbia
Denmark
Northern Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Finland
Switzerland
Belgium
If i was looking at this as a pot 2 or 4 team, i would want to avoid Switzerland, Serbia, Ukraine and Ireland. Norway or Denmark i take if offered. I would consider Finland, Belgium or NI a result.
Notwithstanding that it couldn't happen since we share 3rd Seeding, I would remind you of our last 5 competitive home results:Quote:
Originally Posted by backtowalsall
Spain W 3-2
Latvia W 1-0
Liechtenstein W 3-1
Sweden W 2-1
Denmark W 2-1
You might well beat us at Croke, but we'd hammer you at Windsor. That's right, I said "hammer". :eek:
We have better players than the North that's beyond doubt. But they are getting results at the minute where we aren't and fair play to them for it. I'd still expect us to take at least 4 points off them in a qualifying group though, espicially if (when?) we get a decent manager.
Fingers crossed we get Israel from pot 2. I would sincerly like to give Mr. Dudu Awat a nice good Dublin welcome:cool:
Looking at this group we are maybe only ahead of Denmark at the moment. I think a top seed would be worried about playing us away from home but I dont think they would consider us a threat to their qualification. Remember we are a country who have not won a decent game away from home since 1987!!Quote:
Originally Posted by backtowalsall
Notwithstanding that it couldn't happen, i would remind you you haven't beaten us in a competative fixture since 1979. I would remind you that NI are at a high point, while we are at a low. Despite this we both finished 3rd in our groups. We sacked our manager, while you lot are getting the MBE's out.Quote:
Originally Posted by EalingGreen
History is against you maintaining that level of performance, and against us maintaining our recent bad form.
But don't feel you have to believe me, why not ask someone with real experince of international football?
"I will be going to UEFA to ask if there's any possibility of exchanging the Republic of Ireland for Northern Ireland in our Group."
Karl Bruckner - Jan 2006
I wasn't basing my prediction on events from nearly 30 years ago, rather events from the last 3 or 4 years. (Anyhow, competitive fixture or no, remind me of the score the last time the two teams met? It was recent enough for half of our team still to be playing, after all ;))Quote:
Originally Posted by backtowalsall
Aye, but NI are unlikely to slump immediately from our "high point", nor the ROI to rise immediately from your "low point" - at least not before the last WC Qualifier in 2009.Quote:
Originally Posted by backtowalsall
You finished 3rd in a weaker Group, having gained 17 points, almost all of them from the minnows in your Group. We finished 3rd in a tougher Group, having gained 20 points, including 11 out of 18 against Spain, Sweden and Denmark.Quote:
Originally Posted by backtowalsall
Er, we lost our manager (poached by a Premiership team) half way through the qualifiers, when we were top of the Group. It could be argued that had we kept him, we might well have qualified. As for a replacement, we may be closer to securing a decent appointment (Worthington) than the FAI.Quote:
Originally Posted by backtowalsall
Perhaps, but these things don't change overnight. I'm talking about if we met ROI in the next 18 months to 2 years.Quote:
Originally Posted by backtowalsall
Nah, he left his best years behind him at Bresden...Quote:
Originally Posted by backtowalsall
http://www.royoftherovers.com/whoswho/brucknerkarl.htm
Besides, as the man says, these days Roy of the Rovers reads David Healy comics ;)
There's a flaw in your argument EG. You say yourself you only get points from good teams and we only get points from the small teams. We're crap, you're small, so only one outcome...
The one area i will agree you lot are stronger is an abundance of half decent managers. If Ian Dowie was from the south he would probably have been appointed by now
We were also the only team in our group to go through our home programme unbeaten, which is more than can be said for our NI friends. With a decent boss, we'd have at least picked up 5 more points from the Cyprus games and a win in Slovakia, to claim 24 points, possibly 2 more from Wales away, and a draw from Prague to make it 27 in total.Quote:
Originally Posted by EalingGreen
Our EC campaign was a fluke with a clueless puppet "in charge". Things will return to normal next time, even if only with a semi-decent boss.
Hibernian makes a very valid point that what we really need is a fairly weak 1st seed (Greece or Czech Republic spring to mind), as ultimately if we get a team like Italy, the chances are we will be fighting it out with the second and fourth seeds for the playoff place.
i was watching Eurosport yesterday and the commentator made the point that the average age of the Czech team is approaching 30. After this tournament, they will have to seriously rebuild and whoever gets them as a frst seed has landed on their feet.
ultimately, Ireland need to learn to go to places like Georgia and Azerbijan and come away with the three points, if we are to have any hope of finishing in the top 2 of our group. This is a major flaw with our team at the moment. I could genuinely see us beating a top seed in Dublin, but I would be highly anxious about trips to the old soviet union or yugoslavia. I have a feeling that we will struggle to qualify for tournamanets until we correct this problem and become ruthless like countries like sweden.
regarding northern ireland, their incredible home record makes them a great team for us to avoid. a **** poor n.i team could get a result against us, let alone a well organised and motivated n.i team. also, they have some great talent like cathcart and j.evans coming up. i for one am glad to avoid them.
dream on. while ye are getting good results at home ye still very rarely beat teams by more than a goal - the above exception being liechtenstein. yet you would expect to hammer us???? of the teams listed above the Irish team, at this moment in time, would sit somewhere in the same stakes as sweden / denmark. in that we would be reasonably confident playing either team (and they of us i am sure).Quote:
Originally Posted by EalingGreen
to even think ye would hammer us is a bit rich. also while i think sanchez did a fantastic job with ye i don't really rate Worthington since he took over. losses against iceland and latvia would not inspire confidence in me anyway.
i have a feeling that the 'punching above yer weight' which sanchez had ye doing fairly regularly may prove too much for the players ye have who, lets admit it are not world class incl. the effective, for ye, healy who has struggled in ther EPL.
that said i think ye could manage 3rd in yer world cup qualifing group, but i reckon ye may finish 4th/5th tbh.