Gibraltar (H) - Sat, 11th Oct. / Germany (A) - Tues, 14th Oct.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Except Holland creamed Espana by more and the latter had their day, so what?

[DannyInvincible]

Calling up players for the sake of it instead of when the situation warrants it.

Noble, Naughton, Grealish etc etc... haven't worked out so has to call up some Granny ruler to prove a point, satisfy Irish journalists and prove it wasn't a fruitless exercise.

Do you seriously think O'Neill has been engaging in discussions with Christie simply for the sake of it (whatever that would even mean; do you mean to suggest he might be considering selecting players at random or what?...) or because he's a journalist-fearing manager keen to impress the gathering media mob? He's already demonstrated he isn't remotely bothered about getting on the wrong side of journalists. He'll select a player if he thinks he'll add something to the squad. It's as simple as that. No need for baloney. Why wouldn't the situation in which we find ourselves (very low on experienced right-back options) warrant consideration of a player like Christie?

Richard Keogh is a big injury doubt now as well.

What's happened Keogh? It's getting worryingly threadbare at the back. Will Delaney be brought in? Dunne must have said he'd come back in case of emergency?!

Have both Coleman and McCarthy been officially ruled out of Tuesday's game by the FAI yet or is there still even a slight chance one or both might make it? Just on Martinez and the FAI, as some seem to think Martinez is constantly out to debilitate us, he speaks of his "very good relationship with the Irish association" in this piece.

If Coleman is out of Tuesday, who's going to play in his place? Meyler?

[Stuttgart88]

Except Holland creamed Espana by more and the latter had their day, so what?

is Holland the only country you refer to in its English form?

I think it's still a big scalp. There might be one or two Slovakian self loathers who are on the forums moaning about Spain clearly being past it on the evidence of their WC showing but I'd hazard a wild guess that most people are happy.

Equally I'd hazard a wild guess that Tets' point is that lesser teams can beat big teams do we should take encouragement from that rather than throwing in the towel before a ball is kicked.

[DeLorean]

I think the Dutch for Holland is Holland, and it's not a country

Only AB could dampen that win for Slovakia. Spain are obviously one of the front runners to win the Euros still. Casillas had another nightmare for the first goal, surely a matter of time before De Gea takes his place.

[DeLorean]

What's happened Keogh?

Heard it on the radio yesterday. A bit more here-

[Kingdom]

is Holland the only country you refer to in its English form?

I think it's still a big scalp. There might be one or two Slovakian self loathers who are on the forums moaning about Spain clearly being past it on the evidence of their WC showing but I'd hazard a wild guess that most people are happy.

Equally I'd hazard a wild guess that Tets' point is that lesser teams can beat big teams do we should take encouragement from that rather than throwing in the towel before a ball is kicked.

Holland isn't a country, it's essentially a Province. The good people of Northern Netherlands (Friesland) get especially miffed by the term Holland.

I had a good look at the second half, and it was painfully obvious that Spain were going to equalise; Slovakia kept retreating, and retreating, to the point where from a goalkick the SLovakian centre backs were about 20 yds from the penalty box, with Hamsik the furthest forward. The crazy thing was as soon as Spain equalised, Slovakia went back on the front foot. Madness Ted. The winner from Slovakia was a peach of a move, even if Casillas was atrocious trying to save it.

[DeLorean]

Don't think he could be blamed for the winner but it was like he was actively trying to get out of the way of the opener. If it was Bruce Grobbelaar, there would be some serious questions asked.

[Kingdom]

Don't think he could be blamed for the winner but it was like he was actively trying to get out of the way of the opener. If it was Bruce Grobbelaar, there would be some serious questions asked.

You just couldn't let me go, could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible, aren't you? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won't kill you because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever.

I repectfully disagree

I actually felt sorry for him for the first goal; should he have saved it? yes, but it took a horrid swerve just after Pique or Juanfran (I think) stuck out the leg to try and block. There was definitely no full-on deflection, like Germany vs us for Khedira's opener, but I wonder did the ball move slightly due to the proximity of the out-stretched leg to the flight path of the ball. You could see he was trying to change direction, but got it horribly wrong.
Whereas for the winner, the header was straight at him, and I would have expected a keeper of his stature to have touched it at least.

It's horrible to see a stellar career such as his go downhill, a similar feeling I had watching Marc Sé for our bogballers, but thankfully that righted itself correctly in the end

[DeLorean]

The winner was a header down into the ground from close range, all he could do was spread himself and hope it hit him. The quality of the cross meant he was scrambling across his goal also. I would accept that the swerve was a factor in the first goal but still a brutal attempt at saving it. There's actually another thread for Euro qualifiers in World Football. I suspect this will keep happening though, as my suggestion of moving the thread fell on deaf ears (blind eyes?)

[Kingdom]

The winner was a header down into the ground from close range, all he could do was spread himself and hope it hit him. The quality of the cross meant he was scrambling across his goal also. I would accept that the swerve was a factor in the first goal but still a brutal attempt at saving it. There's actually another thread for Euro qualifiers in World Football. I suspect this will keep happening though, as my suggestion of moving the thread fell on deaf ears (blind eyes?)

It didn't hit the ground until after it crossed the line, and he was on the 6yd line outside the line with the post, but I appreciate it was a difficult header to save. I put it this way, if Forde concedes that type of goal on Tuesday, I would be expecting Westwood to save it. :-)

[ArdeeBhoy]

is Holland the only country you refer to in its English form?

Actually, it's what the Dutch refer to it as, well all their fans I've met since the last time we played in Gelsenkirchen...

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Hopefully, McGoldrick, Bamford, Grealish, Crowley, Noble, Kane and Christie all come on board soon. It will be great to have new options. Great move by O'Neill to bring in Lenihen too. Always nice to see a fresh face in the squad. It's amazing how Wikipedia has become a source of info on here, some people never learn!

What Christie might mean for Ireland is that Coleman could move into right midfield if necessary. Having two players who can attack as well as defend would certainly strengthen the team. If only Christie could play at left back!

Forgive me. He played for Coventry the season they got relegated from the Championship and he has played two seasons where they toiled in League One. Now he's set for a call up on the back of ten League games. I just don't see the logic of going through the fuss of bringing him in as back up to Coleman and O'Brien when Matt Doherty has played U-19 and U-21 with merit and has as much PL, Championship and L1 experience. Even Richard Keogh can play that position.

Grealish is not going to come on board soon. Crowley is years away from playing Intl. football at any level. Bamford and Kane have declared no interest in playing for us. Noble clearly does not have the right attitude.

That leaves McGoldrick. Hopefully he comes on board and challenges Keane, Long, Doyle, Murphy, Stokes and Walters. The more the merrier - though he wouldn't/shouldn't take overtake any of them yet.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Doyle's surely finished at international level? And Robbie has another year max.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Leaving club form aside (and he has earned a PL move on the back of a good spell with QPR), Doyle has shown he still has what it takes at Intl. level. Keane is on his last legs but he's going to start for the foreseeable future.

We don't know if McGoldrick will adapt to Intl. football. We know it suits Doyle.

[p2011]

i don't think hoolahan has any real role to play in the bigger games. he gives the ball away too easily and is not able to win it back. for every 1 good ball there's a ball lost.

This really is a very strange opinion, and probably symptomatic of all that is wrong with football on these isles.

Hoolahan is the most comfortable on the ball of all our players and generally turns us from a "hoofball, treat the ball like a hot potato" team into a team that can keep the ball for more than a few seconds. Nobody thinks he's a worldbeater, but he can receive the ball, turn, create himself some space and pick a pass.

Sure, he might try a defence-splitting pass that doesn't come off every so often, but that's the definition of a defence-splitting pass.... it's high risk. Other than that he's about the best we have at keeping possession. I really fail to see how anyone could suggest the complete opposite.

As regards winning it back: I watched the Oman game on the TV with Keith Andrews as co-commentator. He said Wes is great at pressing and, more importantly, at knowing when to press and when to hold back. He also said Hoolahan is a surprisingly tenacious tackler.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Leaving club form aside (and he has earned a PL move on the back of a good spell with QPR), Doyle has shown he still has what it takes at Intl. level. Keane is on his last legs but he's going to start for the foreseeable future.

We don't know if McGoldrick will adapt to Intl. football. We know it suits Doyle.

Really, love to see him back to his form of 5 years ago, but suspect it won't ever happen.
When was his last decent game for us? Estonia 3 years ago?

[IsMiseSean]

Holland isn't a country, it's essentially a Province. The good people of Northern Netherlands (Friesland) get especially miffed by the term Holland.

I remember Bill calling out Giles & Dunphy for referring to them as Holland during the WC. Apparently someone complained to RTE....

[tetsujin1979]

I remember Bill calling out Giles & Dunphy for referring to them as Holland during the WC. Apparently someone complained to RTE....

didn't Bill apologise, and then someone contacted RTE saying it wasn't offensive? I could be wrong though.

[jbyrne]

I remember Bill calling out Giles & Dunphy for referring to them as Holland during the WC. Apparently someone complained to RTE....

sure many dutch fans refer to the team as Holland

[DeLorean]

Probably those in the Holland provinces. Yeah, Bill apologised and a while later Dunphy referred to them as Holland again. Bill corrected him and Dunphy laughed saying something along the lines of "They'll always be Holland to me Bill". Bill, foreseeing a potential sh!t storm, said "ah no Eamon, call them The Netherlands".

North & South Holland are two of twelve provinces that make up The Netherlands. They are the most densely populated but you can see why it must be a bit insulting to those that make up the other ten provinces. It would probably be like Ireland being called Leinster. More here-