The France Prediction Thread

Ok , here we go . This will sort out the wheat from the chaff !!

Last couple of years of friendlies - AH HA HAHHA !! See, here last year they beat Andorra (dont they make nice sweaters) 4-0 at home !!

Then they beat Bosnia - it says 0-0 but I dont believe that for a second. Poland 1-1 ?? must be a misprint , we are talking about a team that plays football from another planet here. BRAZIL 0-0 !!! there you go - only pure class gets you any sort of result against those golden thighed boys from the Copacabana !! EAT IT , this is going to be 5-0 at least !

Sweden 1-1 - nah , must be another misprint. Holland 0-0 - fluke, dont believe that either. Hungary 2-1 ?? 2-1 at home to a fourth seeded bunch of gibbons ?? nope , must have been 20-1.

IVORY COAST 3-0 - thats more like it ! Giants of the African plains hammered to smithereens.

Ireland - you have no chance against this kinda oppo.

(If you would rather stay at home than watch our certain defeat I will take the tickets off you for cash - I'll even throw in my Sarcasm-ometer for free :rolleyes: )

Ireland 2-1 France and if you find me upside down in Temple bar please roll me over so I dont swallow my tongue - ALLEZ LES GREEN !

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Originally Posted by wallis

ALLEZ LES GREEN !

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VERTS is probably the world you're looking for :)

I propose we get Wallis to address the team before kick-off. If they have any doubts now they certainly won't after speaking to you. Good on ya.

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Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

VERTS is probably the world you're looking for :)

I propose we get Wallis to address the team before kick-off. If they have any doubts now they certainly won't after speaking to you. Good on ya.

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I agree, I also think he should stay on the sidelines from motivational purposes throughout the game :) I look forward to a win

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Originally Posted by wallis

Yes France are such a top side they are bound to stuff us, you only have to look at their record. I mean in the last 2 years they have ...err.. beat Israel at home , oh no wait that was 0-0. Ok I know we played them at fortress Paris and they thrashed us that day .. no hang on that was 0-0 as well. Wait a minute, I'll find one in a sec... ahhh here we go they were at home to the Swiss last March and ..oh... that was 0-0 as well.

Ok , I'll find a match where they actually scored.. AHA !!! Israel , 1-0 up and then went on to ... DRAW ?? they drew 1-1 - No way this lot are a world beating class act. How can anyone blow a 1-0 lead away to Israel ? the manager should have been sacked , formation must have been wrong.

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...and how many of those games, did France have ZZ, and the other ex-retirees available? If they played in the qualifiers, France would have been out of sight by now, cos we can't defend nor capitalise on others mistakes, time and time again.

Who did we beat so far in the group? Yeah that's right, F.Islands, and Cyprus. Spot the difference. That's all we're capable of beating under the current conservative boss, who treats an international draw as a moral victory. :mad:

Who did we beat so far in the group? Yeah that's right, F.Islands, and Cyprus. Spot the difference. That's all we're capable of beating under the current conservative boss, who treats an international draw as a moral victory. :mad:[/QUOTE]


Spot the difference ?? There is no difference - thats the point !!! :confused:

None of the top four sides have beaten each other which is why the group is so tight. Who did we beat , F Islands and Cyprus ? thats the only teams France and Switzerland have beaten . I find it staggering how overboard people are being about France and the complete lack of faith in our team to get the job done.

The return of ZZ, Thuram and Makele is a last desperate throw of the dice by Dommenech and the french. They all quit because they admitted they are not up to international football anymore. Now they are faced with two games in 4 days.

As far as I can remember I think I read an article suggesting that Thuram didnt even want to come back. ( I will try and dig that out)

RUN FOR THE HILLS - HERE COME THE FRENCH !

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Originally Posted by wallis

Who did we beat so far in the group? Yeah that's right, F.Islands, and Cyprus. Spot the difference. That's all we're capable of beating under the current conservative boss, who treats an international draw as a moral victory. :mad:

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Spot the difference ?? There is no difference - thats the point !!! :confused:

None of the top four sides have beaten each other which is why the group is so tight. Who did we beat , F Islands and Cyprus ? thats the only teams France and Switzerland have beaten . I find it staggering how overboard people are being about France and the complete lack of faith in our team to get the job done.

The return of ZZ, Thuram and Makele is a last desperate throw of the dice by Dommenech and the french. They all quit because they admitted they are not up to international football anymore. Now they are faced with two games in 4 days.

As far as I can remember I think I read an article suggesting that Thuram didnt even want to come back. ( I will try and dig that out)

RUN FOR THE HILLS - HERE COME THE FRENCH ![/QUOTE]


:) Wallis, I can't help but admire the optimism.

It almost makes a grizzled pessimist like me believe... :p

Im trying my best Terry but its a grind ! :D

I honestly think we will do it. I understand the point of view that France are a 'better' side and could beat us etc etc but I just think we have nothing to be worried about. Joke all you want about it but the facts are Lansdowne is a 'fortress', we just dont get beat there (take out the last friendly and the Swiss debacle).

Ireland is easily good enough to hold the French and then beat Cyprus and Switzerland. I think we do our players a great injustice by commenting that they are not good enough. We are ranked 14th in the world (thats right IN THE WORLD) on the FIFA standings. Considering the pool of players that we have to pick from and the fact Ireland doesnt have a strong 'professional' league its an amazing achievement. Someone must be doing something right.

Unfortunately I think a lot of fans are going on Frances' reputation and name rather than their current ability which is some way short.

Heres a question for those who dont think we can do it. If France didnt have the 3 old boys coming back would you still feel the same way or is it their return that suddenly makes you think we will get beaten ? are you saying that without those three we would win or would you still feel that we arent good enough if we had played the same side as we did in Paris ?

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Originally Posted by wallis

As far as I can remember I think I read an article suggesting that Thuram didnt even want to come back. ( I will try and dig that out)

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He said he was disappointed to receive the invitation from Domenech but couldn't turn down his countries call.

France haven't been world beaters since before the 2002 World Cup. They were crap in that tournament and very poor in Portugal. The three boys retired because they recognised that their time was up and there was a need for a new team to be built. This takes time as we know ourselves. I think they have effectively been pressurised into coming back by the French public and team management. It's a backwards step for the French team.

We are perfectly capable of beating them in LR. It won't be easy but IMO we have beaten teams just as good as them in key competitive matches with Irish teams that weren't as good as this one (Croatia, Yugoslavia, Holland)

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Originally Posted by wallis

Heres a question for those who dont think we can do it. If France didnt have the 3 old boys coming back would you still feel the same way or is it their return that suddenly makes you think we will get beaten ? are you saying that without those three we would win or would you still feel that we arent good enough if we had played the same side as we did in Paris ?

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Well, it would have Vieira, possibly Boumsong and Malouda in the squad for a start. But yes, if it wasn't for these 3 players coming back I would fancy us to beat them at home. It's the presence of Zidane in attack (there or thereabouts), Makalele in midfield and Thuram in defence - not to mention the surge in French confidence as a result - that's changed the complexion of the whole side for me.

ireland 0-3 France

ill say ireland 1 (robbie keane ) france 1 ( zidane penalty)

Gustavo , I just have to know......

whose fault was it for the penalty ??

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Originally Posted by wallis

I honestly think we will do it.

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Keep the faith, mate!

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I just think we have nothing to be worried about.

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We're only playing one of the best teams in the world, who won the World/Euro double not that long ago, up against a side that can't defend. Of course, we have nothing to worry about!! :rolleyes:

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the facts are Lansdowne is a 'fortress', we just dont get beat there.

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Russia, Switzerland, Israel, Turkey, Brazil, and Italy all came to fortress Lansdowne too. They didn't get beat either.

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Ireland is easily good enough to hold the French and then beat Cyprus and Switzerland. I think we do our players a great injustice by commenting that they are not good enough.

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They are good enough, but they are let down by bad tactics, and the fact that they are rudderless without Keane. Many of them don't play in the first team for their clubs, others don't play top flight football, others have no experience at club level playing European games. But that makes them suitable to face Vieira, Gallas, Zidane, Cisse, and co. Lads, it's no contest.

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We are ranked 14th in the world (thats right IN THE WORLD) on the FIFA standings.

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The USA are ranked 10th in the world. Are they really, the 10th best team in the world?

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Considering the pool of players that we have to pick from.

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We have an entire pool of players here to pick the best of to play for Ireland. The boss is too lazy to consider them. They are full-time, getting first-team football, match-fit, and have faced and beaten clubs in Europe this season. Can the 4th choice striker at Spurs, Robbie Keane, and Brummie reject Morrison, say the same? Can ancient Cunningham, and Gary Doherty say the same? We have loads of options. What does the boss do at NL games, sleep during them? Because he won't pick them for any reason, whether we're down to the bare bones or not.

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Heres a question for those who dont think we can do it. If France didnt have the 3 old boys coming back would you still feel the same way or is it their return that suddenly makes you think we will get beaten ? are you saying that without those three we would win or would you still feel that we arent good enough if we had played the same side as we did in Paris ?

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We have had 4 opportunities to take control of this group, we have failed on each occasion to do so, throwing 3 leads in the process, including a sickening surrender at home to Israel. The players/boss must take the blame. They're his tactics, and his players. Now France are raring to go at us. It was a tall order for us to win before their galacticos returned, now it's next to impossible. I shudder to think about how they'll dismantle our defence next week, when Italy did it in half an hour of a friendly. :( Those who expect the status quo to return against France, are looking at the game through their green-tinted blinkers.

We're only playing one of the best teams in the world, who won the World/Euro double not that long ago, up against a side that can't defend. Of course, we have nothing to worry about!!

and who can forget that magnificent performance in the euros ?? and how about they way they failed to score a single point or goal during WC 2002 with all those 'galacticos' ?

Over hyped , over praised , over the hill and soon to be over here !

Im staggered how much people can be taken in. A team in such dire trouble they are pleading for three 33+ year olds to come and bail them out and somehow its in peoples head they are world beaters.

Have you watched Zidane in the last two years ? have you seen his performances in La Liga and the champions league. Did you see Thuram in the CL last year ??

"Vieira, Gallas, Zidane, Cisse, no contest" ??? I think my sides have split. Keane should fear Viera ?? Cisse who cant hit a cows arse with a banjo ?? William Gallas ???

God good man , wake up and smell the java ! ;)

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Originally Posted by mypost

Keep the faith, mate!



We're only playing one of the best teams in the world, who won the World/Euro double not that long ago, up against a side that can't defend. Of course, we have nothing to worry about!! :rolleyes:



Russia, Switzerland, Israel, Turkey, Brazil, and Italy all came to fortress Lansdowne too. They didn't get beat either.



They are good enough, but they are let down by bad tactics, and the fact that they are rudderless without Keane. Many of them don't play in the first team for their clubs, others don't play top flight football, others have no experience at club level playing European games. But that makes them suitable to face Vieira, Gallas, Zidane, Cisse, and co. Lads, it's no contest.



The USA are ranked 10th in the world. Are they really, the 10th best team in the world?



We have an entire pool of players here to pick the best of to play for Ireland. The boss is too lazy to consider them. They are full-time, getting first-team football, match-fit, and have faced and beaten clubs in Europe this season. Can the 4th choice striker at Spurs, Robbie Keane, and Brummie reject Morrison, say the same? Can ancient Cunningham, and Gary Doherty say the same? We have loads of options. What does the boss do at NL games, sleep during them? Because he won't pick them for any reason, whether we're down to the bare bones or not.



We have had 4 opportunities to take control of this group, we have failed on each occasion to do so, throwing 3 leads in the process, including a sickening surrender at home to Israel. The players/boss must take the blame. They're his tactics, and his players. Now France are raring to go at us. It was a tall order for us to win before their galacticos returned, now it's next to impossible. I shudder to think about how they'll dismantle our defence next week, when Italy did it in half an hour of a friendly. :( Those who expect the status quo to return against France, are looking at the game through their green-tinted blinkers.

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What totoal ****** Robbie Keane is not 4th choice at spurs. Are you saying that players playing in the EL should be getting in ahead of Robbie Keane and Clinton Morrisson. If the EL players were so good then EL teams woudl be consistantly getting further in European Compeititions.

I'm saying Keane's not match-fit, which he isn't. For a long time now, he hasn't got his game at Spurs regularly. You can't play games sitting on the bench. Morrison has just been sold to a club outside the Premiership. On current form, is that really our best strike force available??

There are other options. The boss must consider them, or else we won't score goals. If players are not playing well, then they must be replaced. The same goes for Keane, and Morrison. Just because they play in England should not guarantee them automatic selection, every time. A coach must play the best players currently available for selection, even if it means widening the net, or alternatively, he faces the consequences.

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Originally Posted by mypost

I'm saying Keane's not match-fit, which he isn't. For a long time now, he hasn't got his game at Spurs regularly. You can't play games sitting on the bench. Morrison has just been sold to a club outside the Premiership. On current form, is that really our best strike force available??

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Isn't match fit? He got top scorer and voted most valuable player in the Peace cup after playing 2 full games. He also played another 3 or 4 full friendlies and 90 minutes against Blackburn in the league. The same amount of league games as any player in Italy or Spain.

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Originally Posted by wallis

and who can forget that magnificent performance in the euros??

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They, er.. topped their group, and only lost in the quarter finals to the eventual winners.

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A team in such dire trouble they are pleading for three 33+ year olds to come and bail them out and somehow its in peoples head they are world beaters.

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What age is Roy Keane?? 34 I believe. With the return of the Messiah to the Irish team, we have FAILED to win in Israel, we have FAILED to win in Basel, and without him, we have FAILED to beat Israel at home having been 2 up in 12 minutes. Now, we're expected to WIN at home to France, knowing that we can't score enough goals, nor can we be trusted to defend leads when required to do so.

Even if we do avoid defeat, knowing us we'll fk-up again in the last 2 matches, because we are INCAPABLE of making life easy for ourselves.

France 2 Ireland 0