Ya can tell;)
You could decompose all bar a few elite teams down to that. Take Englands first team, they have a below average premiership keeper, an aston villa reserve striker and half the spurs bench on their first team. Having a team composed of strong bottom half of the EPL players is no longer a negative like it was. Scotland/Wales/NI would kill to have that luxury.
I'd have settled for that before the game. Dunphy just got a hump because he had a very large wedge on a 0-0 draw and has lost his money. Considering the limited ability of the players at our disposal Trap has more than earned his money. I would certainly consider leaving out all the players on yellow cards, as I think they carry on into the playoffs. So that would mean Given, Andrews, Whelan, McGeady and Best are all out of the game on Wednesday. O'Shea could play in midfield with Kelly at RF, call up Andy Reid to play alongside him. Hunt for McG.
Would have taken a draw before hand but it felt like a defeat at the end, why oh why were italy able to break against us and score a goal they might have gotten if we were chasing the game and leaving gaps but ffs we were winning, where was the two banks of 4? and minimal personel up front, how very naieve of us and most un-Trap like!
Hindsight is a great thing and i have nothing but respect for all Kilbane has done for us but IMO he has cost us 6 points in this group campaign, Bulgaria home and away and then not coming inside tonight and cleaning up like any full back worth his sault would, but as i said, Hindsight nd all that! So close!
Greece in the play offs please! It wont be pretty but its our best hope!
Close to stealing it. Most disappointing not to hold onto that lead for the last few minutes.
Hard working effective performance. Well pleased with Lawrence, looked like he was on his 50th cap.
On to the playoffs with a game to spare, luxury.
Well deserved plaudits to the management and the squad.
I said before the game that a draw would have been a great result and i'm still delighted with that,even though it was dissapointing to go ahead twice and not hang on to our lead. Defending set pieces is our biggest downfall and it proved again tonight. Trappatoni has done a great job with a more or less average squad to put us into a really good position to qualify, even if it is by the playoffs. Lets hope we can get a good draw Monday week and that we will see the Irish out in South Africa next year.
my biggest worry going into the playoffs is conceeding the away goal, we dont look capable not conceeding a goal. Italys 2nd was like a kick in the stomach
Would have seemed so much better if we had snatched a draw in the dying minutes.
If the world champions cannot beat us whio can?
We have a wealth of players to pick from too.
S.A here we come!!
We have some serious options in the wing positions now, thought Lawrence was very good tonight
Don't ask Trap though, saw two interviews tonight , TOD asking nervously about calling him up and getting a short sharp "Andy Reid? Again Andy Reid?" and the Sky interviewer saying the people of Ireland demand it and getting a blast from Trap before he stormed off.
We will be favourites to qualify through the play offs I beleive.
will you stop irish players cheat as well. bet you weren't complaining when duff dived against spain in 02:rolleyes:
unlucky tonight. didn't have the suspense that i thought the game would have had. in the end it didnt matter we didnt win as it would have been unlikely italy would have lost against cyprus
Maybe they do dive, but Portugese teams are constantly at it...and worse always trying to get opposing players into trouble. I remember Cuto and Baia in Dublin a number of years back and they were disgusting...as was Porto's performance against Celtic in UEFA cup final a few years back