So now in the rankings - we are down to 37th placed - bloody hell - we getting worst .....
I find the rankings completly flawed I know we haven't qualified for any major tournaments since 2002 but we still were steady performers and didn't suffer lots of defeats but looking at some of the teams ahead of us shows how flawed it is Isreal who didn't qualify for any tournament in a good while same with Bulgaria
I guess thats what they are hoping for. Think the team that finished bottom of the Dutch league went bust last year. Guess there are posititives and negatives to it.Originally Posted by irishfan86
i have to ask have you been watching our recent games? poor attempt at a pop at one of our true current great players.
i couldnt care less if dunne was playing for my local side as long as he kept playing the way he is for Ireland. his performance last week was world class.
Credible away draws don't seem to do much to climb the rankings table.So now in the rankings - we are down to 37th placed - bloody hell - we getting worst .....
I agree. Pointless cheap shot.
http://www.rsssf.com/tablesi/isra-intres00.html
If you look at Israel's record in competitive games (WCQ and Euros), they've only lost 6 in their last 34 games, with only one of 16 at home (3-4 vs Croatia). This has earned them a lot of points.
Granted, they don't win enough to get into the top rank of teams (or qualify), but their solid consistency and difficulty to beat puts them up there in the second rank.
Imo some people dismiss or overlook their record over the last few years, which is decent (imo), because historically they were always in the 3rd/4th/5th rank of teams.
Just a point to add with that above. Im quite sure i read that Israel were the first team ever to go through a qualifying process unbeaten and still not qualify when they were in our group along with the French and the Swiss
Yes I have he was class, his tackle when Petrov(was it?) went through was Baresi-esque but I want to see Irish players excel, playing for Stoke City is crap. If one of our best players is playing for Stoke City then I would be dissapointed, very dissapointed.
i want to see irish players in europe lifting trophies like roy keane, if they're playing for stoke they might as well play here, it would be a way to watch them every week, since we don't get to see the 'main' irish players play every week i would rather they were competing for medals and at the top of tables rather than playing for some random team.
Last edited by irishultra; 16/06/2009 at 8:30 PM.
Too be fair Stoke finsihed 12th last season. But I now what you are saying though. The days of our players filling the Man Utd and liverpool teams are well dead now
When Roy Keane was playing he was the only one grabbing trophies right, and now John O'Shea is the only one....so whats changed?
Mr Irwin's hired goons would like a word.
You can't spell failure without FAI
Put it like this today I heard the Austrian centre back Pogatetz was linked with Roma, Dunne is linked with Stoke City. Why? Why will Dunne most likely end up at Stoke and a player he's far superior to end up playing for Roma? I just don't get it tbh. Are Irish players not very flexible when it comes to transfers or something?
Last edited by irishultra; 16/06/2009 at 10:49 PM.
Was just about to say!
Auld Denis was a hero.
Also, I suppose you could argue, for current players, that Finnan has got his fair share of trophies too? Damien Duff hasn't got a bad collection either. Even Aiden McGeady has a few trophies...
At the end of the day though, it's not the success the player has in his domestic career that matters, it's the (relative) success they bring to the national team that counts...
Last edited by Predator; 16/06/2009 at 10:51 PM.
Obviously yeah but the international experience is a bit crap then really, I like watching how Irish players do abroad, like seeing 3 Irish players in the UEFA cup(yes including steven ireland *shifty*) I was so hoping Manchester City would win Uefa Cup to see big Dunne lift the cup, when Ireland scored against Hamburg I was so happy
I would like to be able to see Dunne line up against Ibrahimovic, Hunt scamper past Lahm, Doyle head past Casilias etc. etc. As a fan I want to see this, it would be unique and something new. I don't follow English football except to watch Irish players so thats my reasoning.
*i realise i ended this post without any real conclusion, lol ran out of things to say*
Well, in this World Cup qualifying campaign, we've seen Ireland play Italy who have several world-class players in their team. Admittedly it's a weak Italy team in comparison to their predecessors, but they are nevertheless the World champions and consistently a top competitor in world football. In the 2002 World Cup, we played against Germany and Spain - both giants in terms of international football; Portugal, Holland, France in other qualifiers, the list goes on. I think that international competition is (or should be) the pinnacle of sporting endeavour. The World Cup for example, sees the best players in the best teams from across the globe compete for victory. Irish players have played and proven themselves against top opposition time and time again.
I do understand that you mean in terms of domestic and European competitions, but I think that the international stage provides more than ample opportunity for Ireland's players to demonstrate their ability against world-class opposition.
Last edited by Predator; 16/06/2009 at 11:42 PM.
its because 99% of irish players are content to play for championship teams and lower premiership teams than play further afield on the continent (especially with the amount of money in the english leagues), and therefore their agents dont try and engineer moves outside england. sad but true
Last edited by WexCar; 17/06/2009 at 12:04 AM.
I think Irish players prefer England (and are preferred by English teams) for a number of reasons.
-The English league has the best wages in Europe on average.
-England is close geographically to Ireland.
-Similar culturally and linguistically (little cultural adaption required).
Why play in Spain for lower wages, further from your family/friends in Ireland, and have to learn a new language if you don't have to?
Obviously it's a cultural experience a lot of people would jump at, but from a career perspective in terms of making money, playing in England makes a whole lot more sense.
it shows either a lack of ambition (as in being successful and winning trophies) and being in it for the money, or low self-confidence in their ability to be competitive consistantly at the highest level.
The English league is regarded as one of the best in Europe.
If you're playing against Europe and the world's best week in and week out, and not winning any trophies, I would call that more ambitious than going to a weaker league and winning trophies.
Is joining Celtic more ambitious than joining Everton or Spurs? I don't know. You've got a good chance of winning trophies though.
IMO playing for a top 5/6 team in spain, italy, germany is a hell of a lot better than playing for a mid-table mediocore premiership side as not only would you be competing for domestic trophies but have a better chance to play in CL. Whereas in england unless you play with the "big 4" you wont be playing CL football. By staying with an everton or a spurs there is only so far you can go and it shows a lack of ambition to challenge themselves to play in a new environment.
as regards ur point about going to weaker leagues there would be a limit(for lack of a better word) as playing in the EPL is better than for a top Belgian,french,danish etc. teams
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