Republic of Ireland V Sweden - Friday, 6th September 2013 - World Cup 2014 Qualifier

[elroy]

We are not going to qualify but for any chance we need to win Tuesday night, beat Kazak and get something in Germany. Would also need Sweden to get no more than 3 points in their last 3 games.

Time for Trap to go. His first campaign was excellent, particularly in comparison to what had gone under Stan before. But I think the last campaign (albeit successful) was not won with any great style or assurance. We couldnt beat Slovakia and needed Armenia to do us a favour there. We did however dispose of Armenia and fluked a point in Russia. We got fortunate with the Estonia draw in the playoff.

This campaign couldve been over in the very first game bar a remarkable turnaround in a few minutes.

In fairness to Trap, he has been superb at getting results home and away against the lower seeds in the group. However, we have not got the results required, particularly at home, against the first and second seeds.

The tactics last night were futile and inept. We created absolutely nothing. The subs baffling. Time for change is now. It will do us no good, rankings or otherwise for us, to lose Tuesday night. We need to finish out this campaign as well as possible.

[pineapple stu]

I knew you'd say that. You're not interested in having a discussion.

I am.

I'm showing where you're talking nonsense.

[mark12345]

You've already got an all-Ireland team, albeit bulked out with players from England and currently Scotland. Your pool of players/ overall population, even if combined with NI's, is similar to say Croatia and Slovenia, who are doing quite nicely separately. They've managed 10 qualifications between them since independence. You aren't going to get what you presumably want but won't spell out, ie the NI team and Irish FA dissolving themselves. What then could you realistically offer in negotiation? Maybe that you wouldn't pick players who'd already appeared in NI adult teams- but obviously that would contradict what you actually want.

Yes, many players from NI aspire to play for the South, and a handful have achieved it in recent years. You don't need any framework or negotiation to provide that, it's already there.

The problem isn't that your pool of potential players is reduced by lack of co-operation with NI. It's that British-style football and its players have obvious limitations. England make quarter finals and not further, the smaller countries rarely look like qualifying. As you broadly say below.

Agree with everything you say here. You're attempting to put them in order though, the wrong order. That is to say that we (Ireland and let's hope it's an all Ireland team one day) need to get away from the British style game (could not agree with you more and have been saying this for twenty years now) before we should think about merging North and South. But it would not hurt to have the larger pool of players when the time comes.

[bishbash]

I think if we are going to lose, it would be nice to lose having a go. I think the Euro qualifying carried more luck than most irish managers have enjoyed, but, credit to him & now it's time to go cause we are basically going no where under trap. He is tactically inept now. His decision making is nonsensical. A yr and a half ago when James McClean was in form and playing well he couldn't get near the team. Now he is out of form not playing well and he starts while robbie Brady sits on the sidelines unable to get 5 mins. We need a change of system that allows us to compete instead of Hail Mary long balls. Do we have the players? yes we do. Gibson does want to play for Ireland just not for Trap and let's be honest he wouldn't pick him anyway. Gibson McCarthy and Hoolahan would at least allow us to retain the ball so that's a starting point.

[tricky_colour]

Whelan out of the Austria game.

Hardly sounds like a loss do it? I would have preferred Paul Green's industry anyway.
Stephen Quinn called up. Not sure we have any other realistic options.

[DannyInvincible]

Has Trap organised every other team he has managed in such restrictive and uninventive fashion or is it just ourselves he sees as uniquely limited so as to necessitate it? It will be interesting to see how he approaches Tuesday night.

[tricky_colour]

Has Trap organised every other team he has managed in such restrictive and uninventive fashion or is it just ourselves he sees as uniquely limited so as to necessitate it? It will be interesting to see how he approaches Tuesday night.

As his away record is half decent I would expect more of the same.
Could be an interesting evening, Austria need a win too realistically.
What would be really interesting is if Kazakhstan got a result against Sweden in their game which finishes about a hour
before the Ireland kick off.

Kazakhstan held Austria to a draw, we only beat them 2-1 at home.
Going by the bookmakers odds there is a 22.5% chance of Sweden not winning, but even that slim chance makes little change for us.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Tbf to Stu he has beaten the Venerable Bryaniesta into a pulp here...

[shakermaker1982]

http://www.theguardian.com/football/...p-robbie-keane

Robbie not a happy bunny & rightly so. Will we get a reaction on Tursday?

[Gather round]

Agree with everything you say here. You're attempting to put them in order though, the wrong order. That is to say that we (Ireland and let's hope it's an all Ireland team one day) need to get away from the British style game (could not agree with you more and have been saying this for twenty years now) before we should think about merging North and South. But it would not hurt to have the larger pool of players when the time comes

Mark, read what I wrote. You don't need to daydream about having an all-Ireland team in 20 years time. You have one already.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Except it'll be nothing to do with that when it eventually gets binned off.
Plus thought you'd "retired from the internet" ??

[bennocelt]

I don't agree with Never Felt Better at all. I've seen Eastern European minnows play much better than Sweden. I honestly don't think I have ever seen an international match so lacking even one midfielder on either team capable of doing the midfield basics right. Larsson impressed me in the second half, but I think they just twigged after 30 minutes or so that we had nothing but long balls to offer.

Ha I agree with you Stutts Didnt see a whole lot in that Swedish team either, they beat Ireland easy enough without even going into first gear (if they have that ability)

[DannyInvincible]

Just been watching player interviews as well as the studio analysis from RTÉ.ie and thought the sentiment expressed by Robbie from around 02:19 to be worrying: http://www.rte.ie/sport/player/813/472803/

Tony O'Donoghue asks could we have varied the tactics when required but Robbie openly admits that we didn't/don't have an alternative approach to "feeding off scraps" and "try[ing] to get the second balls". Simply put, "that's the way we play... We only know one way". I suppose it shouldn't really come as a surprise - it was obvious we had no alternative to offer - but I don't think it's too much to expect Trap to have some sort of plan B up his sleeve when the plan A is so clearly taking us nowhere.

[DannyInvincible]

1. Concorde Serious overtures should be made to the IFA, by the FAI.

Why should the IFA and their fans be expected to voluntarily give up their history and identity by subsuming their side into ours? Would we or the FAI, on the other hand, be happy to give up our history and identity to be subsumed into the IFA?

[NeverFeltBetter]

The only way we'll have an All-Ireland team and league is if the country is re-united. So, you know, lets not bust out Ireland's Call just yet.

It really is pointless talking about it. The IFA would never, in a million years, go for the idea.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Why should the IFA and their fans be expected to voluntarily give up their history and identity by subsuming their side into ours? Would we or the FAI, on the other hand, be happy to give up our history and identity to be subsumed into the IFA?

As if we (or they) should be so 'lucky'.Regardless of what happens in the next decade, both/any future 'united' team face a bleak future...

[third policeman]

Why should the IFA and their fans be expected to voluntarily give up their history and identity by subsuming their side into ours? Would we or the FAI, on the other hand, be happy to give up our history and identity to be subsumed into the IFA?

But our histories already overlap. The FAI broke away from the IFA and so many players turned out for both Associations in the post war decades. The future means more than the past in any case and on current evidence both teams can only view that with trepidation. It's not guaranteed to make a huge difference, but I would like to see it and surprisingly so would many IFA international over the years. What's fundamentally unhealthy about our footballing divisions at the moment is that they are increasingly sectarian and bitter. In the North today the respective shirts have become emblems of sectarian identity. Rugby, cricket, boxing and other sports have proved that sport can straddle political division and can bring people from two states and different traditions together behind a common cause that accommodates and respects their respective identities.

[osarusan]

Please, not this **** again.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Or instead of whining, just ignore the post...

[Eminence Grise]

But our histories already overlap. The FAI broke away from the IFA and so many players turned out for both Associations in the post war decades. The future means more than the past in any case and on current evidence both teams can only view that with trepidation. It's not guaranteed to make a huge difference, but I would like to see it and surprisingly so would many IFA international over the years. What's fundamentally unhealthy about our footballing divisions at the moment is that they are increasingly sectarian and bitter. In the North today the respective shirts have become emblems of sectarian identity. Rugby, cricket, boxing and other sports have proved that sport can straddle political division and can bring people from two states and different traditions together behind a common cause that accommodates and respects their respective identities.

I think I understand this.

Is it about a bicycle?