You don’t know how lucky you are boy!
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You don’t know how lucky you are boy!
Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
Given all that's happening, this is disappointingly glib.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fixer82
Ah shucks EG, that sounds so corny, faux outrage, don't read so much into it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eminence Grise
Don't mind me, half of what I say is meaningless!Quote:
Originally Posted by Eminence Grise
I see FIFA have disgraced themselves again, by saying they will move the Russian game to neutral venue! cheers you corrupt scum bags!
We should salute Poland, Sweden and the Czech republic for not tolerating this.
It's not neither faux, nor outrage, just disappointment. There's a time and place for levity, maybe not just now.Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
I appreciate you're trying to be helpful... but... um... which half? Help a fella out, like.:cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by Fixer82
In fairness, you both have a better moral compass than FIFA.:mad:
https://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/ir...e-1266054.html
Fair play.. its a small thing but they all count
You can always count on FIFA to do the right thing... once they've exhausted all other possibilities: https://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/60560567Quote:
Originally Posted by Diggs246
Ukraine have asked for their World Cup tie with Scotland to be postponed.
We're due to play them twice in June. It's not impossible now that those games don't go ahead as scheduled.
If things remain much as they are now in western Ukraine, I'd encourage the FAI and the players to go ahead with both games. Things still seem quiet enough in Lviv, and it would be a chance to give Ukrainians a boost.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
They could stay in Poland and go in and out for the country for the game.
If things stay the way they are, there's no way it'll go ahead in Ukraine
it's not just the players and management, it's fans travelling, UEFA officials, the team from whoever is broadcasting the game.
Bear in mind part of the reason they're asking for a postponement is because they have a lot of players in the domestic league, which is now abandoned because Putin's a *****.
It's a bit unfair to ask them to play a game of football when (a) they mayn't have played club games or even trained for three months and (b) they're taking up arms to beat off an invasion by a foreign power.
Bigger picture thinking is needed here I think.
yes, Ukraines matches should only proceed for the foreseeable future if they want it themselves. It would be impossible for them to play in the current circumstancesQuote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
I'd imagine that by June the Ukrainian FA and Ukrainian football fans will want nothing more.Quote:
Originally Posted by jbyrne
It would be impossible to play in Kyiv, but there's a perfectly good stadium there in Lviv where things are largely peaceful.
Things are certainly more peaceful in Lviv today than they were in Belfast when we went there in November 1993. Of course that could change by June, but if the Ukrainian FA want to play the game, I'd say the FAI should start making preparations to base themselves over the border in Kraków and fulfil the fixture.
And if things change at short notice I imagine the Polish FA and Ukrainian FA would all be prepared to host the game at and Wisła Kraków's stadium.
If the Ukrainians want to postpone I'd obviously have no problem with that, but if they want to play we should be prepared to move heaven and earth to fulfil the fixture.
The Ukrainian FA right now don't want that. They're the ones asking for a postponement, and the main reason given is that domestic football is off. Their players can't prepare for an international football game when they're holed up in bunkers firing AK-47s at Russian teenagers.
Putin has stated his aim is to take over the whole of Ukraine, and there's worries about him moving further west into Moldova and maybe even Poland/Latvia/Lithuania. You can't say Lviv is fine now and sure we can play there in three months' time. (I don't think he has the resources - with sanctions - to drag things out for three months to be honest, but that's a separate matter)
And seriously, I can think of plenty of things Ukrainians want more than a game of football right now, or things they'd rather see us move heaven and earth to achieve.
Seriously, perspective here. People are being bombed for no reason, in the knowledge that foreign powers can't help because it could very well trigger nuclear war, and all you can think of is a ****ing game of football?
I deleted my original post to step away and try and get some perspective before posting again.Quote:
Originally Posted by backstothewall
I genuinely can't believe what you've written. the 'situation' is one of despair, and there is talk of public executions in the coming days, across the country.
The only thing giving the Ukrainians a 'boost', will be survival. And I can't stress that enough.
I'm flabbergasted
Exactly.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
I'm seeing the genuine concern at what potentially is unfolding there on daily basis. We're looking at potential famine in Ukraine, and elsewhere next year, because of the impact of this invasion. Nobody seems to realise the reliance on Russian and Ukraine cheap primary produce by some of the poorest African nations.
Even allowing/ignoring that, no insurance company in the world would provide cover to travel there for a sports team
I'm capable of thinking of more than one thing at a time. I also think the defence forces should be sending them whatever they can spare, but the FAI won't have many rocket launchers knocking about, and this doesn't seem like the place to criticise the government for not doing more to help. The FAI do football, so the most they can possibly do is help deliver a soft-power defeat to Putin.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
Having an international football team is one of the things that can define a nation. A Ukrainian international football match, at a time when Russia are trying to snuff out Ukrainian nationhood, and have been more or less banished from international sport, would be a defeat for Putin and his kleptocratic regime. Particularly if it could be done within the boundaries of Ukraine.
Although the match practice issue for the domestic players has given me a thought. Given that all visa requirements have been dropped for Ukrainians to visit Ireland, and that the League of Ireland is only 3 games in, a squad of players could come to Dublin and compete in the League of Ireland for the year.
I am very aware that the Ukrainian people face a desperate situation. That millions will without the basic needs for survival. But people need more than food and water to survive.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2...ur-best-lives/
- Food
- Water
- Shelter
- Sleep
- Others
- Novelty
The FAI can help with the last 2.
backs - stop talking. Seriously.
Could we invite Ukrainian players over to play in the LoI? What sort of crap is that? Their focus is on defending their homeland. Football is not important right now. Football is not the be all and end all - that really shouldn't be a tricky concept to grasp.
The FAI can help out with "Other" and "Novelty"? Those needs are utterly irrelevant when there's a fight on for food/water - and survival. Actually living through another day. If you spend your day focussing on basic needs, the more mundane ones become irrelevant.
Do you think Ukrainians would really be interested in watching a football game right now? Sleeping in underground stations, seeing reports of the genocidal Russians coming ever closer, hearing the bombs outside, wondering if family and friends and homes are ok or are blown to smithereens? Wondering how long all this will go on for? Wondering where your next meal is going to come from?
Again - perspective is needed here.
Edit - backstothewall, not benno!
We have absolutely no way of knowing what the situation will be in June. The invasion only started about a week and a half ago. Assuming the western part of Ukraine to be "quiet enough" in three months time may just be wishful thinking.
By June, it could be anything from a Russian retreat due to international pressure (unlikely, I think) to a total capitulation of Ukraine or even an escalation of the conflict beyond Ukrainian territory. Or a protracted standoff along a front line somewhere in Ukraine. It's impossible to predict, but most of the possible scenarios don't look suitable for an international football match.
I imagine the time will come when the people of Ukraine will want a football match as much as the besieged people of Sarajevo wanted to hold a beauty pageant in 1993, and that I think we should make some preparations to fulfil the fixture until such times as they tell us that they don't want to play the game. I note that they have asked for the Scotland game to be postponed rather than cancelled.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
If they want to play the game, would you seriously suggest that we say no?
The time for a game of football will come - but it's hardly now. We are making preparations for the games - easy to do when we have four games in June anyway; we just prepare for the other two.
I have never suggested we refuse to play the game if the Ukrainians are ok to play. What I have said is that they clearly don't want to play now and that fanciful drivel like bringing their players here to while away the time in the LoI is really, really unhelpful and ignorant of the reality on the ground.
I am very well aware of the reality on the ground. This shows all the signs of becoming a protracted conflict. The Russians are making very little progress, and even if that changes and they start taking towns and cities, they will almost certainly face a better armed and bigger version of the sort of insurgency I've already lived through once. But that's all wildly off topic.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
In time those footballers will be able to offer much more to their country by giving hope to the guys in the trenches, rather than by joining them there.
Then why in the name of God are you suggesting the game could be played in Lviv?Quote:
Originally Posted by backstothewall
And why are you coming up with fanciful stuff about the FAI signing the Ukrainian players to LoI teams just so they can fulfill a meaningless game of football in three months' time?
I'd argue that, unfortunately, at this stage being in the trenches is much more valuable than spreading hope and joy through football. It's a war.
Let the man talk Pineapple.
And stop speaking for & indeed prescribing for, the people of Ukraine while you're at it.
They're both doing that though?
I'm going off the Ukrainian FA wanting the March games postponed because of the domestic situation regarding players. That's not me speaking for anyone. That's me taking what the Ukrainian FA have said, and arguing that it's clear that stuff like planning for the game to go ahead in Lviv, or saying "ah sure they should play the game to keep people in good spirits" or "let's move the players to the LoI so they can keep match fit" is not remotely helpful.Quote:
Originally Posted by CraftyToePoke
I haven't, as backs has suggested, said that if they want to play the game, we should say no. I'm suggesting we respect what they're asking for at the moment and stop trying to shoehorn a football match into their situation unnecessarily.
Editing posts at the first sign of trouble? just as well for the Ukrainians that you're not fighting in Kharkiv Pineapple....
Because the war isn't in Lviv. The distance between Kyiv and Lviv is massive. It would be like us moving a game from Dublin to Brest in France.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
The Russians are held up in from of Kiev, and are being beaten back every time they attempt to approach the city. If that continues it may be possible to play 300 miles away in Lviv, which would allow the sporting integrity of Ukraine enjoying home advantage in one of the games to be retained. And if Lviv becomes impossible, the logistics of shifting across the border to Kraków make that a decent fall back option. If this game is going to be played in June certain logistics like flights and hotel bookings will have to be done sooner rather than later.
This is horrific, but it isn't a unique. War is a constant in the world, and football carries on in whatever way it can. Guys like Mo Salah and Edouard Mendy go to some pretty hairy places representing their country.
The one thing being in a job where you're privy to sensitive information, is not being able to share/debunk some absolutely "out-there" thinking.Quote:
Originally Posted by backstothewall
And they all think you are "just" the ice cream guy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kingdom
Much more than that sweetie. I put the cherry on the sundae.
Been away from the forum most of the day.
If the situation continues as it is, there's no way the game will go ahead in Ukraine. Stop arguing otherwise, it's crass and disrespectful, at best.
I’m really not trying to be helpfulQuote:
Originally Posted by Eminence Grise
UEFA have already announced all Ukrainian games are on neutral ground, so it won't be Lviv. And Kingdom has rightly pointed out the insurance issues of playing in UkraineQuote:
Originally Posted by backstothewall
Putin has said he wants to take all of Ukraine, so you can't judge what'll happen in three months. We might have nuclear war, Ukraine might have repelled Russia, Putin might have accidentally shot himself in the head three times. It's far too far away to be planning for it. And if/when they do get back to playing games, the World Cup playoffs will be their priority. If they're in June, there's no space for our game.
Africa can be a basket case for sure, but I'd challenge you to name an African country as bad as Ukraine right now. South Sudan maybe? They're already playing in a neutral venue.
Can't remember what was edited, but you can see it was in two minutes of the post, so probably a typo...Quote:
Originally Posted by Kingdom
Poland is an obvious option for Ukraine to play their 'home' NL games should it come to that.
The hopes for Ukraine now making the WC play offs depending on a request for postponement whilst war is raging in their homeland look forlorn in my opinion.
Why not Uefa invite the Ukraine ladies team to take Russia's place in the Euro finals even if they have suffered the ignominy of being beaten by NI in a play off?
Any chance of us having new kits for the Nations League?
This stuff is just horrendous. From the jerseys (1990 rip-off) to the training gear to the lounge gear
https://www.elverys.ie/Elverys/Footb...1?cat=Football
Sweet jesusQuote:
Originally Posted by Fixer82
Who designed that?
Bohs: We got Marley!Quote:
Originally Posted by Fixer82
FAI: Hold my beer!