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:DQuote:
Originally Posted by SalvadorSanchez
Reminded me of the Harry Enfield sketch where Arsenal of 1901 play the Liverpool team of the 90s.
That never fails to make me laugh heartily.
As for the tournament, should be a decent laugh, hopefully by then our young players like Hennessey, Bale, Ramsey, Gunter et al will have improved even more and playersd like Bellamy and Koumas will still be at their peaks.
D69 Why not play teams who's style that we arent used to playing against instead of a typical english prem league encounter - and I include Norway/Swedan in that etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by Drumcondra 69er
Bulgaria and Italy and now Cyprus by all accounts all good technically, so how do we practise against these type of teams if not if frinedlies , one of the good things v Montenegro is that we didnt look to hoof it all the time.
Anyway we will agree to disagree
It took 3 friendlies, but we finally purged ourselves from the hoof ball by the time we got to Oslo. Though there were times I was worried in the Colombia game that this was going to prove an impossible task.
BT (before Trap) we played friendlies and féck know what the actual plan was.
Trap has actually achieved something quite remarkable through the training camp and a few friendlies.
I think we are set up now for the rest of the qualifiers.
I can't think that far ahead to 2011 about a mini tournament stuck in between the real things, even to consider if it might or might not be interesting.
Ciaran still being nice and positive about this then.....:rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by Ciaran
Why don't you at least wait until you've seen one of the games before dismissing it out of hand? You might actually like it. Our games versus NI in the World Cup '06 qualifiers were the most entertaining ones in that campaign.
A good name, free of political reverberations and with full approval of the politically correct BBC: The NOGBI cup. Natives Of The Geographic British Isles
I think this is being set up just to get our estranged northern brothers used to coming down to Dublin for when the inevitable united Ireland Team is established.We will give them some help getting their tongues around the more difficult gaelic words of the soldiers song(Amhrann na Bhiann).There is no need for them to be embarassed if they do not understand the words as there are a few of us that do not either.
This is a wind up for those that are easily wound up(I am a bit bored at the moment)
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Originally Posted by Orangecelt
Natives? You racist!
brilliant.:DQuote:
Originally Posted by SalvadorSanchez
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Originally Posted by Cymro
Well our games v.Cymru were sh*t! The Welsh fans were more promising, until the game started in Dublin & they stopped! They were almost as quiet as us!
You'll get the odd exciting 'derby', but personally prefer the FAI played away friendlies in those months instead of lining up countless cr*p at Lansdowne/Croker because of their poxy BB scheme which is just there to milk the fans.....
Yes as a 3rd seed in the World Cup draw we are really being brought down toQuote:
Originally Posted by ArdeeBhoy
banal levels by playing against another 3rd seed, a second seed and a fourth seed team:rolleyes:
The main reason against this is that we learn nothing by having our middle ranked Premiership players and championship players playing other players from the premiership and the championship and the SPL. Football wise we would be much better playing eastern european team who are lowered ranked like Albania etc these are the away friendlies that make the most footballing sense as they often make or break a qualifying campaign.
However the financial realities mean that it is more profitable for the Football Associations to play in this sort of tournament and I am sure Delaney is delighted to have the new stadium and for us to host out first ever tournament. That is not a dig against him but just the reality of the situation.
On a personal level I would also rather travel to more exotic places that Dublin 1, Belfast, Glasgow and Cardiff. Nothing against any of these cities but their women and prices do not compare to the likes of Montenegro and Bologna and Israel etc.
light on facts and heavy on cynicism.:(Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
We could well be up to second seed next draw and the other teams could just as easily be up or down as well. as a barometer of how good or bad a team is its meaningless.
Id say the reason it will be in Lansdowne first is because the block booking scheme guarantees sell out crowds.
These teams play the same type of technically inferior football as us. what are we going to gain from playing them at a time when we are trying to move away from it?
I'd dispute wether the players will take it seriously either. Mickey Mouse cup indeed.
Fair enough but the fact is that most friendlies we play at present don't make footballing sense and are against random teams picked for little rhyme or reason.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeilMcD
And it may not suit yourself to travel to Belfast, Glasgow etc which is also fair enough but there's plenty of fans who can't make the exotic destinations due to family pressures, finances etc who will probably be able to make some of these games. A lot of the lads I traveled all over Europe with don't go anymore for those reasons but I'd imagine a day trip across the water will suit them.
No Bill, I was not being cynical, I was being mildly sarcastic as denoted by the use of the sarcasm smiley.Quote:
Originally Posted by Billsthoughts
I already expressed my opinion on the competition.
As I wrote before, we played loads of friendlies before Trap against good opposition and learned nothing of value that translated into competitive success.Quote:
These teams play the same type of technically inferior football as us. what are we going to gain from playing them at a time when we are trying to move away from it?
We play 3 friendlies under Trap and achieve much, we get rid of the long ball game, players going through cold turkey:) and have a solid system set up for the campaign.
I don't know about 2011, it's too far away.
So far, the evidence points to that the most important factor is the man in charge of the team and what he needs to do to get his message across to the players.
Eh hence the reason I said on a personal level. Fact of the matter is there is no footballing reason for this tournament, only a financial one. It will cost less and get good crowds. Its a money decision which is fair enough if it allows us to put money into grassroots football. However our players will learn very little from playing Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland at home. Then again international friendlies are not worth much anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by Drumcondra 69er
Long ball game?Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
that was introduced in the friendly with Serbia under Trapp!!!
Anybody thought about 'The Delaney Cup' seeing that none of the teams competing look likely to be playing in the finals of the 'Delauney' Cup in the near future if this is their idea of quality preparation opposition.
I had to laugh at 'bragging rights' quote. The only people looking for those will be our wee minds from up north. I personally would have thought the 0-0 draw in Montenegro would be more worth a 'brag' than beating any of these three sh*te teams. I dare say the Welsh and Scots think the same. :rolleyes:
Sorry mate wasn't having a go hence why I said your point of view was fair enough. Just stating that there's plenty of people that this will suit better then the usual ****e friendlies we endure.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeilMcD
Think your final line is the main point.
The whole thing sounds like the perfect cure for Insomnia....
Complete waste of time. Players will learn nothing. This will be known as either the "Hammy Cup" or "Where's Giggsy Cup" with the amount of withdrawals.