Good god i'm nervous. We need a perfect storm to go through. A french squad at war with themselves, the worst they can play, and the best we can muster. What makes me nervous is that it might just happen.
If we can keep a clean sheet tonight and get Sagna, Evra and Gourcouf booked (they are all 1 yellow away from a suspension, along with Gallas and Abidal), i think we might just go through.
Marks out of 10 for the first half
Given 11
O'Shea 11
Dunne 11
St Ledger 11
Kilbane 11
Lawrence 12
Andrews 12
Whelan 12
Duff 11
Keane 11
Doyle 11
If anyone ever gives Whelan or Andrews stick again I will personally get in the car, drive to their house, and personally kick the living sh1t out of them.
Come on Ireland!!!
Keep reminding self to breath. Can't do analysis now. Oh Jesus.
I posted this thread during the anthems. In the first half it got 2 views. Both me. Since then its gone up to fifty.
Thank the lord i don't have a heart condition. I am also drinking at an incredible rate.
Dont forget to go to the toilet before the second half starts :DQuote:
Originally Posted by backtowalsall
were going to win...i hope:)
I've worked out a sweet spot in the back garden where i can pee in the drain and still see the tellyQuote:
Originally Posted by Irish_Praha
Funny :DQuote:
Originally Posted by backtowalsall
But more seriously France are pinning us back now. If it continues like this it will be time to make a change in the next 5 mins. Would like to see McGeady or Hunt coming on but the only problem is that Lawrence and Duff are playing fine but we do need some kind of change.
Edit: Best coming on for Doyle
**** **** ****
:( sh!te
Excellent sitting back by ireland again
Heartbreaking stuff.
I think I'll start a facebook group called "Leave Kevin Doyle on for 90 mins please". He was playing well didn't look totally wrecked and Best came on and gifted the French the ball they scored from.
They looked a couple of levels better to be honest, massive task in the second leg but we live in hope. :(
Quote:
Originally Posted by passinginterest
In fairness they are a couple of levels better. An og split the teams. France deserved it, but both teams had chances.. Gignac missing an open goal but almost exactly the same as lawrence missing an open goal. We could have sneaked it at the end.
1-0 isn't a disaster. The tie is still open. And at least we know we have to go and win now. The one advantage is that the French naturally don't sit back so there may be opportunities.
We should have won when we played them in France a few years back. I was in the stands that day, unfortunately I'm an ex pat now but everyone who is heading over will make the 12th man and hopefully we can pull it off!
Its a long shot now. But it was always a long shot.
I don't think blaming anyone achives anything. We move onto Paris, score 2, and forget about tonight.
That's right, it ain't over yet, not by a long way, can we play 180 minutes without scoring?
do you still feel the same after the 2nd half :D:DQuote:
Originally Posted by backtowalsall
thought both andrews & whelan excellent in first half but we still need a bit more creativity in midfield also ..
I have a feeling Henry demanded they change the tactics in the second half, he said as much in the post match interview, saying the players played in a way they preferred (rather than the way Domenech set out at the start). But maybe I am wrong.
Completely different French teams in both halves, they were supurb in the second half and could give any team in the world problems if they play like that which they probably will in Paris.
Any team with Henry and Anelka in the side will be difficult to beat. That's not to mention the bench. Domenech could look around and see Benzema and Malouda on the bench, did Trap have anyone near that quality to bring on?
To be honest I think we are lacking creativity all over the park not just centre midfield. The French defenders and forwards are far better passers of the ball than their Irish counterparts. It was shown tonight that we cannot pass our way out of defence except with a long hoof. We just don't have 10 outfield players who can pass like the French.
i live in Rush, Co. Dublin. I support Blackburn, ever since Dave Worrell was their youth captain, and Keith Andrews is the worst player EVER to play for us. You have my address, GO FOR IT!!Quote:
Originally Posted by backtowalsall
If you look out your window you'll see a man holding a dead raven. He knows where you live. If he isn't there anymore that's a bad sign. Sleep well.
Keith Andrews was my man of the match, for what it's worth
Another one of the many who couldn't stop giving the ball away. Madness in our own box at one point.
Keane played well, laying passes off well to teammates and winning 50-50 tackles. Unlucky with his chance pre-Lawrence. Seeing his miss from the Davin Stand looked like a goalmouth scramble. Seeing it since on tv is heart-breaking. :(
I do actually. They were both superb. Like I said befoe the game, to get something we needed a perfect storm, the worst the French could play. In the first half thats exactly what we got, they were terrible, and our combative approach had them on the ropes. In the second half we played as well as we did in the first, but they were a different kind of animal.Quote:
Originally Posted by old git
Even at that we could have on. If the ball goes off St. Ledger for a corner, and Lawrence puts that away, we have a fomous victory
I thought Andrews had a super first half, less good in the second.
Didn't think doyle deserved man of the match. I don't blame trap for subbing him, he was looking tired. I do blame trap for bringing on Best to replace him. I really think Morrison should have been on the squad ahead of him.
i thought duff was class on sat night. couldnt believe they took him off.
Best was told to help out midfield. Surely a midfielder would be better at helping out midfield.
It was crying out for Andy Reid between midfield & Keane, Trap's potential plan B from a year ago.
Ce'st la vie.
If France stick to the same formation I'm hoping we have an extra body in midfield. I daresay that Keane and Doyle will start, so I'm hoping one of them will be deep most of the time in Paris. In the second half Paris were killing Whelan and Andrews in the centre through the sheer weight of numbers. We desperately need someone to help crowd the midfield, and like Stutts says, to bridge the gap between the midfield and attack. Otherwise we have very little chance.
i thought that too. when they came out after half time he was giving instructions to two or three players.Quote:
Originally Posted by Emmet7
it's widely accepted that zidane did this in wc 2006. i think henry is trying to replicate that.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/b...ymond-domenechQuote:
Originally Posted by foureyes
It's been going on longer than just this match too.
I was shocked when I read that yesterday, was convinced Anelka was MOTMQuote:
Originally Posted by Larks
Put it this way, if Anelka had played for Ireland, we would have won.
I cant honestly remember the last time a player for the away team got man of the match in lansdowne/croke park. Im sure it happened at some stage but then again maybe not :confused:
When Spain beat us 3-1 in the USA '94 qualifiers, one of their players got MOTM. After that I honestly can't say. Unless in the last France game in 2005?Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle_Joe
I wasn't there, but didn't Litmanen get MOTM against us a few years back? Which I assume would have been under McCarthy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmurphyc
that makes sense. I was at that game. I seem to recall it being one of a few friendlies of annoying nature around that time.
scotland at home (loss)
greece at home(loss I think)
and that one
Corrado Grabbi, Kevin Davis, Barry Ferguson.... Though to be fair Blackburn are such an average side there are any number of flops I could have picked.Quote:
Originally Posted by weldoninhio
These days I think the award is for the Irish motm.
It's given by Eircom, so I'd think it's just a home side award.
There was a spell that Paul McGrath got it for showing up.
I'd swap Andrews for any of those. He might put in the occasional tackle, but he also dwells on the ball, gives away possession, can't complete a 5 yard pass and panics under pressure.Quote:
Originally Posted by cfdh_edmundo
Corrado Grabbi ?? 30 games 2 goals.... and he was a striker. Andrews has got 4 goals in 40 odd games and he isnt even a goal scorer...
I really wonder if anyone except Trap and/or the men whispering in his ear think Best should have been in there ahead of Morrison. Morrison isn't exactly a world-beater or anything, but he does have plenty of international experience and a decent goal-scoring record for us, including some important ones (away to Switzerland and Israel in the last WC campaign) and at least one classic (against the PRC - as long as you ignore the celebration). His work-rate in an Irish shirt could never have been faulted either, unlike Best's at the weekend. Can his exclusion since the start of the Trap reign be down to anything but pettiness on behalf of someone of influence in the camp? Seems to be a prominent feature of this regime...Quote:
Originally Posted by Larks