http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/foot...ls/8392932.stm
Printable View
last two friendlies against brazil have been fairly uninspiring. id rather play a big european team ie. germany holland or spain
i would prefer a big european team myself, however the uninspiring game against brazil the last time was down to the fact that we had a temporary manager in charge who should have had his association with coaching our national sides, ended quite some time ago.....Mr Givens take a bow!!Quote:
Originally Posted by dan o d
hopefully my love for football is back by then!!!
I would have preferred Argentina/Spain or Holland myself.
I think we should play some games against Scotland, Wales and Norn Iron. Nice short trips for away supporters, none of us are playing at the world cup, and we'd have a better chance of winning, to improve our world ranking.
And I'd love to see a match or two against an LOI select, but I doubt that's going to happen.
The Real World Cup Final!
Ireland against Costa Rica?! :pQuote:
Originally Posted by stiffler
not really in favour of this, 3rd time playing Brazil in recent times, surely there are other teams in Europe we could play that would attract a big audience?
Argentina are set for the opening game in the AvivaQuote:
Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
Funny out :DQuote:
Originally Posted by stiffler
You've that to look forward to in 2011.Quote:
Originally Posted by peadar1987
France would be handy..................Quote:
Originally Posted by dan o d
You beat me to it:pQuote:
Originally Posted by Wolfie
I won't get tickets for that one though!!Quote:
Originally Posted by tetsujin1979
Zzzzz. We'll have enough of that in the next few years anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by peadar1987
I don't see why the Zzzzz was called for, I'm actually really excited about the 4 nations torunament. You never hear the rugby heads going "Oh no, not another crucial 6 nations match against England at Croker", so why should the football equivalent draw any less excitement?Quote:
Originally Posted by Schumi
beacause wales and scotland are a great deal better at rugby than they are at football!
We're not playing England in this for a start. Besides that, Wales, Scotland and the North are mediocre sides at best. Would you honestly be more interested in a friendly against Scotland than Spain or Germany?Quote:
Originally Posted by peadar1987
but how often do we play the likes of spain or germany? the little bit of competitive edge the home tournament brings is far more desireable than a non event brazil friendly that is nothing more than a photo opQuote:
Originally Posted by Schumi
Competition against the North? Yes
Competitions against Wales and Scotland? Not a chance. Nobody will go to these games. Theres no rivalry. What do Irish know about Scotland or Wales? More of a rivalry with Poland or hell Lithuania I'd say.
Will there be much of a competitive edge to this? I can't imagine there being much prestige to winning the tournament.Quote:
Originally Posted by jbyrne
I agree on the Brazil friendly by the way, nearly everyone who wants to see Brazil play in Dublin has at this stage. There must be other more interesting teams available.
Well seeing as I live in Scotland, I'd be very interested in a friendly against them! And I was using the six nations as an example of another sport where we play the same teams repeatedly, yet don't get bored of it. I could (and probably should) have used Wales or Scotland in the example.Quote:
Originally Posted by Schumi
Who do we have a rivalry with? England and the North, and that's pretty much it. Cyprus, maybe?!Quote:
Originally Posted by irishultra
And your post reveals the problem with the Irish event junkie attitude. We won't even go to watch our national team in a tournament if it's not against a glamour team we deem worthy of our attention. At least if we play against Scotland or Wales, there's some chance of them bringing over some supporters.
But those rugby teams are good!Quote:
Originally Posted by peadar1987
I don't have any particular problem with friendlies against those teams (although at current ticket prices, the value's not very good), they just wouldn't be anywhere near my top choices and the tournament doesn't excite me at all.
TBH I would rather play anybody but those onesQuote:
Originally Posted by peadar1987
The rugby analogy is a total red herring. Different crowd altogether, all their games are competative and there are only a dozen major rugby countrys in the world and only half a dozen in this neck of the woods.
As regards competative ? TBH if its not the WC or EC I couldnt give a monkeys about the result - granted it probably wouldnt do our ranking anygood but Celtic Cup - hopefully will be strangled at birth
Why? Just because it hasn't got the golden stamp of approval from FIFA and UEFA's money-making division doesn't mean it's not worth winning.Quote:
Originally Posted by Newryrep
I actually relish the chance to see Ireland win any tournament, whether it's organised by FIFA, UEFA, or individual associations. I know if we won the 4 nations tournament, I'd be immensely proud to be Irish, and knowing we'd earned that trophy, and anyone who says any different is probably lying.
Bald men and comb spring to mindQuote:
Originally Posted by peadar1987
Are you not immensely proud now to be Irish ?
Scotland would be a brilliant option, not NI or Eng disaster waiting to happen i'm afraid.
On second thought, wouldn't mind a Scandinavian team, Denmark, Sweden or Norway
I can't think of anything more boring than playing somebody like Scotland in a friendly. Total snorefest, technically abysmal team who throw themselves about enough to try and bring the opposition down to their level. no thanks.
There's no pride to be gained from beating 3 abysmal teams, only shame from potentially losing to them. It's a no win competition for us.Quote:
Originally Posted by peadar1987
That's quite shocking arrogance!Quote:
Originally Posted by Murfinator
So only teams in the top ten are good enough for the mighty Irish to play against? It's a good thing for you that the Brazilians, Spanish and Dutch don't share your contempt for lower-ranked nations, because if they did, then we'd never get to play exhibitions against them.
I know some people will take offence at this but sounds a bit like us (up until recently perhaps) to be honest.Quote:
Originally Posted by Murfinator
Russia, Croatia, Hungary, Bosnia, Turkey - these would be good games that would actually test us and those teams would all be available in the summer.
We should use Friendlies to get the optimum number of ranking points.
Edgar here said that he offered his services to the FAI to suggest games to move us up the rankings. Wonder if he'd still be willing to do it.
I thought we had Argentina next year allready?Quote:
Originally Posted by shakermaker1982
The words that catched my attention when reading about the proposed Brazil friendly were "money" and "spinner". Personally I'd like us to wait until the Euro 2012 draw, see who we get, and play friendlies against teams with similar styles of play to those of the top seeds we have been drawn against. But Brazil again, and Brazil don't come cheap, plus factoring in the lost revenues from failing to qualify for the WC (did this more than anything else motivate the manner of the FAI's actions in the aftermatch of the French game?) and then the cost of the Lansdowne Rd project/ slow ticket sales - all brings you to wonder is there cause for concern?
Those 3 games have 0-0 written all over them :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Riddickcule
seeing as we have the Argentina game already, from the WC10 qualifiers I'd like for us to play Spain and then any from Portugal, Japan, Ghana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast depending on how many games we play.
Er, what's the problem with playing one of your neighbors next year as well as in the 2011 tournament? Which may not become a regular thing anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by Schumi
Mediocre sides tend to play other mediocre sides, basically because the top dogs want to play each other.Quote:
Originally Posted by Schumi
As a NI fan, I'm all for an occasional game with Tartanarnia. Close, cheap, there's always some edge and we haven't forgiven the b*st*rds yet for doing a runner from the Home internationals ;)
Ha ha. If you can nearly fill Croke for a nothing game against the Black Mountain-top, fans will turn out for your neighbors with even a minor trophy at stake. I imagine fans of the Scottish club sides that are the first and fourth best supported teams in Ireland know a bit about the country?Quote:
Originally Posted by irishultra
It'd be similar to Ireland playing against a regional Connacht select. Those from connacht might be interested in the game but would it capture the imagination of the rest of the country?Quote:
Originally Posted by Gather round
Yes and why would we want to play NI then?Quote:
Originally Posted by Gather round
I thought you were going to bring up something about national anthems there ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Gather round
Not the highest priority for the players, but the fans will take it seriously enough I think. The four teams have managed ONE successful qualification between us from 20 attempts in the last 10 years. Any success is welcome.Quote:
Originally Posted by Schumi
OK, but presumably for reasons other than boredom. A friendly against a weak, defensive, unsupported Kazakhstan or Moldova might not be a bundle of laughs either.Quote:
Originally Posted by Newryrep
I know anecdotally (basically from reading this forum and the Tartan Army MB equivalent) that there's plenty of opposition in the two bigger countries, but I've feeling it may be reasonably well supported come the time. I'd give it a chance.Quote:
Celtic Cup - hopefully will be strangled at birth
I recognise your concerns. There must be a risk of crowd trouble at either game. On the other hand, you'll have to play England in a tournament sometime (and us when you manage to get into a different seeding pot).Quote:
Originally Posted by Riddickcule
There must also be the possibility of a British team making the Europa League final in Dublin 2011, so a game with England could act as a 'rehearsal' for that.
There's no 'shame' per se in losing to similarly-ranked teams, which Scotland and Northern Ireland are. You need to recognise your own place in the grand scheme- third rate over the last three tournaments and thus seeded for the next; 19th in Europe on the basis of the qualifiers just finished.Quote:
Originally Posted by Murfinator
PS morning IFK. Shouldn't you be in hibernation with all the other nordic trolls?
Gather roundQuote:
Originally Posted by Gather round
(a) Games against NI would not fill Croke Park
(b) Games against NI would not cover the rental costs of Croke Park
(c) The "fans" won't pay to watch games against NI.
Games against Brazil on the other hand .....
I would pay to watch a game against NI at Croke Park. Does that mean I'm not a fan?Quote:
Originally Posted by ifk101