It depends where you are standing of course but if you go right , you might get to Portugal, France or Greece, Straight on is Russia. Theres no top seeds left to the left, right?Quote:
Originally Posted by Crosby87
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It depends where you are standing of course but if you go right , you might get to Portugal, France or Greece, Straight on is Russia. Theres no top seeds left to the left, right?Quote:
Originally Posted by Crosby87
You need to take the quality of opposition into account there. Over 2 legs we can beat Greece. If the away leg is first I would expect and away score draw on current form.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
Quote:
Originally Posted by gufct
Of course its relevant who we get in the play-offs. Just because we we want the easiest draw possible does not make us "knockers".I agree wholeheartedly that Dunphy was way off target the other night. Nonetheless, this bravado of "I don't give two ffs who we get" is nonsense.
However, I'm wth you all he way regarding your point on Bertie Ahern and Tubridy
Read "Zone 22" by Tig Hague before you go to Russia!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Arnold Layne
Did any of you lads experience the problems Irish fans had when we played there in the 4-2 defeat under Mick?
This is the response back I got from FIFA after I sent an email in about the recent seeding announcement.
We thank you for your enquiry. As this is a decision taken by the Executive Committee in Rio last month, please understand that we're not in a position to give you any comments.
very helpful.
I hear that the FAI have said they are giving first preference for the home leg of the playoff to people who go to the match on wednesday. Does anybody know anything about this.
I have a feeling the match on wed will be empty...Im going regardless.
I think I am mid flight for the 2nd leg so if its at home I will miss it anyway...sh!t.
Yes I also heard this, if you post or return your Ticket stub from the Montenegro game you will recieve ticket however this on a first come first served basis but I presume this only applicable to ticketmaster and the extra tickets fai will sell as everybody else has their tickets block booked anyways ...
I'd definitely want greece out of those 4 and want to avoid russia for footballing and travel reasons. Portugal with no Ronaldo would be okay too but if he's fit he could tear us apart. France would be beatable too over 2legs plus we owe them one!
[QUOTE=donalmcdonagh;1248352]I hear that the FAI have said they are giving first preference for the home leg of the playoff to people who go to the match on wednesday. QUOTE]
Heard this on radio this morning alright but they gave f*ck all details, nothing on the fai site about it earlier either
Mid flight?? cor, are you superman?Quote:
I think I am mid flight for the 2nd leg......
I know someone who nicked a pair of your pants, you should go over and sort him out.
Details are on over at eleven a side. It's for people who aren't members/block bookers,and buy their tickets from Ticketmaster etc. You send your stub to the FAI after the game on Wednesday along with your details and then hope that you are one of the first that they open.Quote:
Tickets for the playoffs
I hear that the FAI have said they are giving first preference for the home leg of the playoff to people who go to the match on wednesday. Does anybody know anything about this.
i wonder how soon after the draw is made will the country we are facing confirm the venue.
So far france have played all their home matches in the stadium st denis in paris, portugal alternate between lisbon, braga and oporto greece alternate their home venue as do russia.
would it be fair to say the most likley the games will be played in the country's capital and national stadiums or will some have it in less appealing locations to tryand deter a large away support from travelling.
hoping to watch the draw and book asap before the airlines jack up their prices
Sorry had way too much to drink yesterday.Quote:
Originally Posted by blobbyblob
Ugh.
Going by the scenario we had going to Italy I would assume venues would have to be announced at the draw(90 day rule i think it was)- but i aint done any research here so most likely the guy's in the know will confirm itQuote:
Originally Posted by wexfordman
Cheers to all the posters for the info on russian visa's - god i hope it aint there - i'll need to take 2 weeks of work just to sort the visa out alone:eek:
Quote:
Originally Posted by wexfordman
France did not play all ther matches in Paris, They played the Faroes the other night in Brittany I think Althought if they play us it will be in Paris no doubt.
I'm trying to forget Greece are in the draw, because we won't get the most favorable of the bunch. Preparing for France, Portugal, or Russia. If there's a consensus so far it seems to be to avoid Russia. Then again, Russia could be the least experienced of the "big 3."
Without Ronaldo I'd probably say Portugal. With him, hard to choose between Portugal and a talented yet underperforming French side. Will the playoffs turn out to be the straw that breaks Domenech's back or, like Italy, will they turn it on just enough to get over the finish line?
I've butterflies already thinking about the draw, nevermind the ties. Going to be a long month of anticipation. Soak it in boys, cuz there's a lot of countries around the world would give their right arm to be in our boots, and that was us 4 years ago!! Very grateful we have a playoff to direct our attention to, really takes the edge off that bloody equalizer.
I watched Russia against Germany and wasn't too impressed. You'd hardly fear Portugal either.
the reason id fear portugal is.....
nightmare scenario they have a good night in lisbon, passes start sticking, free flowing one touch passing through midfield and then there is ronaldo(if fit). nooooo i could see a bad result against them. id put money on us getting them.
It really is a tough draw in terms of the playoffs and the seeds. To be fair there are a couple of groups (GR 1,3,5,6,7) where the uninformed (and that includes a few of us :D) wouldn't have expected the teams that finished 2nd to actually finish there.
So does that mean we overestimated the quality of say, France and Portugal, or did we underestimate the ability of Serbia and Denmark?
I'd go along with what the likes of CF Ed have been saying re: Russia. Moscow is a horrible place to go to, and the Russians I feel would eat us alive over there.
I would like to see us getting Greece as on paper they would appear to be the most functional of all teams left, quite similar to ourselves, and that we would have a real shot at qualifying.
France and Portugal are very similar. Yes they stuttered through qualifying, but look at the two groups. Portugal were in a nasty enough group with a grudge between Sweden and Denmark, without taking into account a resurgent Hungary who were right in the mix with three games to go, while France were demoted to runners up by arguably the most impressive of group winners, so while some might say 'they're in decline', perhaps they were just were just edged out by better teams? I mean realistically a France attack of Henry and Benzema supported by Malouda and Ribery attacking Killer puts the shivers down my back. Portugal not as much but they have a very, very skillful group of players and the thoughts of Raul Merieles sitting in the park dictating play makes me feel queasy.
We really need to be drawn away first. For a few reasons. It would suit Trapper Tony's tactics I'd imagine to play away for the draw or to nick a goal and sit back, and keep the game alive going to Dublin. Having to set his team out for either a narrow victory first or prevent conceding a goal would be more difficult first up at home. Also having the second leg, alive at home, would make a massive difference to the atmosphere in Croker. No disrespect, but we seem to have a serious amount of either unknowledgable, or stupid 'supporters' at our home matches, and this can be good and bad.
Can you imagine how people would perceive a 0-0 draw at home first off? A shocker thats how, and the longer the game would go on, the more frustrated the fans would get, and this always permeates its way to the players. Whereas if we bring a team to Lansdowne with the tie 0-0 or 1-1 and we need some specific result, the atmosphere would be exceptional.
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Originally Posted by wexfordman
yeah, it'd have to be fairly soon after the draw. don't wanna go booking flights to the wrong city. i think france would be wary of playing it in paris following 2004, but we'll see.
portugal could have it anywhere. i can't afford russia, but any of the other three i'll do.
Surely they would work better if the gloves were off the other foot?Quote:
Originally Posted by boysingreen
Getting to Russia isn't that expensive. You'll get flights there for €250-300. Do you think you'll get a flight to France or Portugal for that price should Ireland get there?Quote:
Originally Posted by magnumpi
The Visa cost and hassle adds to it though, but if they lift that for this game it won't be as expensive as you might think.
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Originally Posted by Evertonian
http://foot.ie/forums/showpost.php?p...9&postcount=40
Over two legs I am 100% confident of beating any of the sides that could possibly finish 2nd in the other groups.
My first point would be, if they were anything to seriously fear then they would have finished top of their respective groups.
Secondly, we are unbeaten in our group so far and over two legs Trappatoni should have his team organised to bring a good side to at least extratime in the second leg.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arnold Layne
FRANCE - not an issue, i live in paris.
PORTUGAL - i imagine there'll be cheap flights
GREECE - easyjet fly to athens, probably get a return for €100/150.
RUSSIA - have looked at Moscow from Paris, minimum €500 return. maybe i'm looking in the wrong places.
I really hope Switzerland don't mess up against Israel on Wednesday night and end up in the playoffs instead of Greece.. I'm sure none of us want to see the Swiss for a long long time!
Don't know about Paris, but from Dublin - Moscow for the dates of the second leg the cost is €261.31
Sure you could drive from Paris to Moscow ;)
it's been tried.Quote:
Originally Posted by Arnold Layne
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_invasion_of_Russia
Well if it was a posibility that the Swiss would be one of the top 4 seeds I would love to get them.I will never forget being out in Dublin after the nil nil draw which meant that they made the playoff ahead of us.Their fans were the most miserable bunch Ive ever come across anywhere.There didnt seem to be any emotion from them at all and I remember thinking at the time (while severely depressed and having consumed a number light ales) that I couldnt imagine a bunch of fans that were so undeserving of success. I said to my mates at the time that if we had beaten them they would have been acting in exactly the same manner so Id like to test if my theory is true:)Quote:
Originally Posted by holidaysong
Au contraire mon ami! Few things in life would give me more pleasure than giving them the mother of all hidings. I would have to be sedated if we drew them as I would derive so much joy from a victory against them. They are a poor side, beaten by Luxembourg at home in a result that will live long in the memory (well my memory anyway) we would have nothing to fear from them except nepotism from FIFA/UEFA in terms of refs.Quote:
Originally Posted by holidaysong
A poor side which beat Greece twice this campaign...Quote:
Originally Posted by cfdh_edmundo
They were probably the poorest side in the weakest Euro 2008 group*, being defeated by Czechs and Turkey and only winning the dead rubber match with an already progressed Portugal. Pretty dire in the previous competitve match before Euro 2008, 0-0 with the Ukraine in Cologne and missing all of their penalties. Even in this campaign they've drawn away in Israel and Latvia, I'd say they are probably a touch poorer than Greece and would grab them with both hands if we got the chance to be drawn against them in the play offs.
*Austria, France and Greece ran them close too but at least they had harder groups.
Absolutely. A second leg at home is the priority for me. Bring it on!Quote:
Originally Posted by Evertonian
Weighing up the options in terms of probability of victory and ease of travel, I'd hope we get Portugal just ahead of France.
The Portuguese will struggle without Him. Their recent revival has come against weak sides after failing to get the better of Denmark and Sweden. And it's been mentioned somewhere the curse of the 3rd/4th Place Play-off will keep them out of the 2010 finals. So long as we don't concede last minute goals again, we can win this.
Getting to Portugal won't be too hard either, but France would be better in terms of travel. Another 30,000+ at the Stade de France for sure and I can see French parallels with the Dutch team of 2001; Some of the best players in the world, but not playing together as a unit, coming up against an organised Irish side.
As pretty much everyone has pointed out, Russia is the team to avoid. Yes they lost twice against Germany, but were unlucky to do so. Plus they won all their other matches. Getting visas will be a nightmare. Moscow in November on a plastic pitch will be grim. And it's the most expensive city in the world. And seem to recall some Irish fans being beaten up by Russian gangs in 2002?
Moscow in 2002 was an experience alright.Quote:
Originally Posted by newrynyuk
The night before the match ended up drinking with local down and outs at a chip van and had great crack, fantastic tour of Red Sq the day of the match and returned to our hotel to find out a gang of skinheads had attacked a group of Irish fans (men in their 60s) INSIDE the hotel.
Trying to get taxis after the match was a disaster like Xmas in Dublin prederegulation, and that was after been held back for almost an hour by the Russian cops.
The day after the match we couldnt leave our hotel due to the smog and then chaos at the airport where fans were fined for their Visas having expired ( the Visas were due to expire that night but as the Russian Cops said your Visa will have expired before you leave if you dont pay!!)
And it was cold in September
It will have improved since then, but I would advise caution at all times. Wearing team colours is a bit risky on the way to and from the ground. Nine times out of ten there will be no problems, but there are real problems with gangs of feral youths who think every Western European football fan is a cross between Danny Dyer and Ray Winstone. Also, especially amongst the youth, there isn't an understanding that Ireland and England are different countries - much in the way young people here mightnt understand that there is a difference between say Belarus and the Ukraine.
It's well worth avoiding the cops, even Moscovites strive to avoid them. There are special tourist police who speak English (sort of) now, and they have only introduced them recently. If you get hassle off them (and I never have despite being there a few times) your best bet is to say "Jah pozvohnyu posol-stvo Irlandii" - I will call the embassy.
If there are groups of you staying all in the same hotel arrange for a coach pick up and wait, most hotels can arrange this. Taxis are bizzare there, most people hail local traffic (it's the done thing). You could walk to the Luzhniki from Central Moscow, it's a fine walk along the river takes about 1 hour at a slowish pace, but on a November evening that would be suicide. Also what ever you do, don't get totally wasted - if you want to do that stay in the hotel, or have at least 2-3 people in the group who will stay sober. Every year a lot of (well some) tourists die by getting drunk then lost, then not being able to speak the language and ask for directions / taxi etc. Sitting on a bench at night can mean you never wake up due to the cold. Write down the cyrillic address of where you are staying on bits of paper so you can give it to a taxi driver if you are stuck (get front desk to do this).
Some people say it's cheaper to fly to Eastern Europe (Tallinn, Kiev, Riga) etc and get a night train to Moscow, probably true but its more hassle and aviod going thru Belarus or you will need another visa (in advance) to transit.
Put the in date on your visa 1-2 days before you intend to travel (to avoid a mess in case there are problems with flights) and exit date 3-4 days after you intend to leave.
If anyone has questions or needs (bad) translations for phrases let me know and I'll try and help. You need health insurance to go into Russia, sometimes they check - not too often - and usually you can show them a debit credit card and say it has health over. If you have any illness (like diabetes, or are on anti biotics) get the relevant medical words in cyrillic.
Also in terms of expense it's not that bad, just try and keep outside of the inner metro ring as beyond there stuff is cheaper.
Moscow was an experience, but in fairness 25c minimum during that weekend wasn't cold. It was a good deal warmer than here.Quote:
Originally Posted by Greenforever
Managed to avoid all the aggro in the city, but then again, I didn't wear any colours except at match time.
You're probably right though on the visa scandal.
In other words they finished with 3 times more points than France at Euro 08 and also shared in the Silver Boot. While in the previous World Cup they became the first team ever to go out while undefeated. (That same tournament they won as many games as Ireland ever have in 3 World Cup participations, finishing top of their group).Quote:
Originally Posted by cfdh_edmundo
But your most bizarre statement has to be that they are poorer than Greece, a team they beat home and away and are currently 3 points clear of...
I see Feech is back with his persecution complex. Welcome back.
From a travelling point of view, Switzerland would be a good bit better than Greece, so getting them would be a good draw, and for the football as well.