Portugal, Greece, France or Russia

[paul_oshea]

Im sorry but if i thought there was underhandedness in the way we didnt qualify, and it was pretty clear cut, I dont think I could support the team again, its not the teams fault i know but it would be brick wall stuff.

[Wolfie]

Im sorry but if i thought there was underhandedness in the way we didnt qualify, and it was pretty clear cut, I dont think I could support the team again, its not the teams fault i know but it would be brick wall stuff.

Jaysus, Paul!!! That's not the attitude!!

If that was the case nobody who was around in the 70's would bother with us!!!

[carloz]

as i said in another thread
yeah for all the conspiracy theory people, Russia Portugal and France will all qualify and Ireland will draw greece and the ref will favour us and we will qualify because Trap used to manage Platini at Juve and will have a word in the ear of his former star pupil.

thus fifa will then say they did not favour the seeded teams as they all did not qualify. so iam in favour of fifa/uefa and their underhand ways

Ireland will also be drawn away to greece first as Trap has said he wants an away draw first and low and behold his "lucky" manager tag will come through again. But it is not what he knows in football but who he knows that will be the hallmark of this story.

This tongue in cheek comment was made in jest but i for one will not complain if we benefit some favourtisim and get through

This is exactly what will happen. Plus out of the 4 unseeded teams, i think FIFA will know we will bring a lot more fans to South Africa than Bosnia, Ukraine and Slovenia. 92nd minute Paul McShane handball on the line will be missed by the ref while we score the winning goal in the 97th minute. Bound to happen

[Arnold Layne]

That won't bother FIFA, it's TV audiences they're interested in. In Japan/Kores Spain only had about 50 fans.

Ireland is a small market.

[paul_oshea]

Jaysus, Paul!!! That's not the attitude!!

If that was the case nobody who was around in the 70's would bother with us!!!

cant think of a good analogy here, ok i dont mean that but it would feel like supporting the mafia, fifa that is. Corrupt to the core and nothing can be done about it as all competitions are run by them, like playing in a casino where ye know ye cant win any money as you are being cheated cos its mafia run. Obviouslly on a far bigger scale.

[irishfan86]

cant think of a good analogy here, ok i dont mean that but it would feel like supporting the mafia, fifa that is. Corrupt to the core and nothing can be done about it as all competitions are run by them, like playing in a casino where ye know ye cant win any money as you are being cheated cos its mafia run. Obviouslly on a far bigger scale.

I know what you're saying, but I honestly think the seedings thing is the worst they will do.

Call me naive, but I think refs have an interest in making the correct calls.

In addition, with the Euro tournament expanding in future years, this is not the time to jump off the Ireland bandwagon, as we will be playing in many more tournaments in the years to come.

[mypost]

All the 2nd seeds had their home legs first aswell, something was a bit fishy about it alright.

That was the procedure used. They happened to come out in that order. Only Ukraine failed to qualify.

[carloz]

This is shamelessly robbed from another forum, but its from a portuguesse tabloid and asks a few people who they want in the playoffs

Octávio Machado a former Portuguese football player and coach picked Bosnia cause he reckoned they were the weakest and also Ireland because he reckoned their style of football suited Portugal. He wanted to avoid Ukraine as 'they have a fearsome selection'.

Manuel Fernandes - some other old foggie - wanted Bosnia or Slovenia - he reckons Ireland are very dangerous at home and also Ukraine are good.

Àlvaro Magalhães - wanted to avoid Ireland first because of Trappatoni and supposedly cause of the high level of our players. Bosnia he reckoned would be the one to get.

Toni - also wanted Bosnia. He wanted to avoid us and the Ukraine.

I guess they are judging Bosnia simply on the home defeat they had to Spain. Other than that they have been very impressive



Poll from a French paper saying who the fans wanted in the playoffs

L'Irlande - 22.68%.
La Bosnie - 22.43%.
L'Ukraine - 14.24%.
La Slovénie - 40.65%

http://www.lefigaro.fr/sport/2009/10...n-barrage-.php

[MeathDrog]

What time is the draw at?

[carloz]

2pm local time for Zurich, so i think thats 1 pm here

[dr_peepee]

Had a dream we got Portugal last night....

[ofjames]

is the sequence of who plays at home/away first also determined by the seeding? or is this decided by the draw?

i.e. will the seeded team play us away or at home first?

sorry if this question has been asked already


a quick search answered my own question:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...pean-play-offs


Quote:
"The draw will pair the teams into four ties and then a separate draw will decide which team will host the first leg. Therefore, the seeded team will not necessarily enjoy home advantage in the crucial second leg"

[Bungle]

In the playoffs for world cup 98, euro 2000 and world cup 2002, we played at home in every game first so hopefully this time we get a bit of luck.

[DeNiro]

In the playoffs for world cup 98, euro 2000 and world cup 2002, we played at home in every game first so hopefully this time we get a bit of luck.

Dunphy made a good point on Wednesday about this though. If we lost 0-2 away could you really see us overturning that in Croke Park? As you could see from Italy we're nervy holding a lead and very often concede it.

[back of the net]

Had a dream we got Portugal last night....

thats spooky man

[geysir]

It took me a few seconds to get proper focus, when I read it first, I was sure I saw the word wet in there.

[back of the net]

It took me a few seconds to get proper focus, when I read it first, I was sure I saw the word wet in there.

lol lol....brilliant

[shakermaker1982]

Gut feeling? I think we'll get Portugal.

I'm hoping for Greece. PLEASE. Even then we'd probably be classed as underdogs.

[noddy102]

Hoping for anybody but Russia, and a home draw on the Wednesday.

If that happens, then I'm off to the away leg!

[philliyk]

I still think we're nailed on for Russia who are weaker than France + Portugal.

My cynical draw prediction -
I'll go for Portugal v Ukraine, France v Bosnia or vice versa leaving us either Russia or Greece so that FIFA are playing it safe by numbers so to speak i.e The 2 big guns go thru & the 4 other teams will all bring relatively the same income from TV & fans attending the matches although for this reason they may pair Eire with Greece & Russia with Slovenia - some russian billionaire will offer a bit of spare cash for this no doubt.