Predictions for rest of campaign

**Bungle** · 31/03/2009, 12:51 PM

Italy 0 Ireland 0 (tense game but Ireland show guts and heart to eek out a draw)
Bulgaria 1 Ireland 1 (terrible game to watch with Ireland taking an early lead and throwing it away)
Cyprus 1 Ireland 1 (Ireland play awful and throw away a lead)
Ireland 1 Italy 2 (An Italian team already qualified gives chances to some young players. A good game but Ireland are undone on the break)
Ireland 2 Montenegro 1 (Better from Ireland and they just edge a dangerous Montenegran side)

Bulgaria 2 Cyprus 1
bulgaria 2 Georgia 0
Bulgaria 1 Montenegro 1
Bulgaria 1 Ireland 1
Italy 1 Bulgaria 0
Cyprus 1 Bulgaria 1

Ireland into play-offs as other groups are tight and we should avoid being the lowest 2nd place team. Maybe the heart is ruling the head but you have to hope don't you.

What do the rest of you think?

**Duggie** · 31/03/2009, 12:58 PM

Italy 0 Ireland 0 (fingers crossed)
Bulgaria 0 Ireland 0 (fingers still crossed)
Cyprus 0 Ireland 1 (should take this one)
Ireland 1 Italy 1 (fingers still crossed)
Ireland 2 Montenegro 0 (goodnight montenegro)

**weldoninhio** · 31/03/2009, 1:08 PM

Originally Posted by Bungle

Italy 0 Ireland 0 (tense game but Ireland show guts and heart to eek out a draw)
Bulgaria 1 Ireland 1 (terrible game to watch with Ireland taking an early lead and throwing it away)
Cyprus 1 Ireland 1 (Ireland play awful and throw away a lead)
Ireland 1 Italy 2 (An Italian team already qualified gives chances to some young players. A good game but Ireland are undone on the break)
Ireland 2 Montenegro 1 (Better from Ireland and they just edge a dangerous Montenegran side)

Bulgaria 2 Cyprus 1
bulgaria 2 Georgia 0
Bulgaria 1 Montenegro 1
Bulgaria 1 Ireland 1
Italy 1 Bulgaria 0
Cyprus 1 Bulgaria 1

Ireland into play-offs as other groups are tight and we should avoid being the lowest 2nd place team. Maybe the heart is ruling the head but you have to hope don't you.

What do the rest of you think?

Italy 3 Ireland 0 - media to say it is Irelands worst performance since the Staunton campaign. Midfield completely overrun.

Bulgaria 2 Ireland 1 - Go behind within first 30 mins, claw one back early second half, sit back and eventually get hit with suckerpunch between 75-85th min.

Cyprus 1 Ireland 1 - Robbie Keane penalty, Cyprus to score from long range with help of a deflection.

Ireland 0 Italy 2 - Again Italy prove too strong

Ireland 2 Montenegro 0 - Too little, Too late

With regard Bulgaria, i think they will win their home games, lose to Italy and get something from Cyprus.

**CJTheGull** · 31/03/2009, 1:34 PM

In reality we really needed to beat a weak Bulgaria team to have our destiny in our own hands. To be honest I was so fed up leaving Croke Park on Saturday - every time the team just lets us down and it occured to me that it's like that after every single game we play.

I hate being negitive but really we are quite a poor side and we will proabably finish 3rd by the end of the group - I hope I'm proved wrong but there is absolutely no spark there.

**Umberside** · 31/03/2009, 2:54 PM

Originally Posted by Duggie

Italy 0 Ireland 0 (fingers crossed)
Bulgaria 0 Ireland 0 (fingers still crossed)
Cyprus 0 Ireland 1 (should take this one)
Ireland 1 Italy 1 (fingers still crossed)
Ireland 2 Montenegro 0 (goodnight montenegro)

Italy 0-0 Ireland
Bulgaria 2-1 Ireland
Cyprus 1-1 Ireland
Ireland 1-0 Italy
Ireland 2-1 Montenegro

**mypost** · 31/03/2009, 3:08 PM

Italy 0-0 Ireland
Bulgaria 3-0 Ireland
Cyprus 1-2 Ireland
Ireland 1-0 Italy
Ireland 1-0 Montenegro

That will give us 21 points from the campaign, and should be enough for a play-off place, despite the Sofia result.

**Closed Account 2** · 31/03/2009, 3:57 PM

Italy 2-0 Ireland
Bulgaria 0-0 Ireland
Cyprus 1-2 Ireland
Ireland 0-1 Italy
Ireland 1-0 Montenegro

I think Bulgaria will drop points against Georgia and Cyprus in their remaining fixtures, I think we can still finish second simply because we are in a tight group with a lot of average teams of the same ability as us and so far, with 3 wins and 2 draws mathematically we've done reasonably well. I fear we might end up being the worst runners up though and even if we were not we'd need a huge crystal of luck to beat a play off opponent.

Here are the team's we'd be likely to face in a play off:

Denmark, Sweden or Portugal (probably Sweden)
Greece, Switzerland or Israel
any from group 3 except Dan Marino
Russia or Germany
Bosnia, Turkey or Belgium
Croatia or Ukraine
France or Lithuania
Iceland, Macedonia or Scotland

It will be tricky whatever happens.

**mypost** · 31/03/2009, 4:17 PM

Originally Posted by weldoninho

Bulgaria 2 Ireland 1 - Go behind within first 30 mins, claw one back early second half, sit back and eventually get hit with suckerpunch between 75-85th min.

Uncannily similiar to last time.

It seems the consensus is we'll get something out in Bulgaria.

They don't seem to have factored in the fact, we've always lost in Bulgaria, they'll have Berbatov back, it'll be extremely hot, very hostile, and our players will be tired after a long season.

To me, it will be our hardest game in the group, which is reflected in the score prediction.

**weldoninhio** · 31/03/2009, 4:20 PM

Originally Posted by mypost

Uncannily similiar to last time.

It seems the consensus is we'll get something out in Bulgaria.

They don't seem to have factored in the fact, we've always lost in Bulgaria, they'll have Berbatov back, it'll be extremely hot, very hostile, and our players will be tired after a long season.

To me, it will be our hardest game in the group, which is reflected in the score prediction.

And how do you explain the 4 points we take off Italy in your score prediction??

**paul_oshea** · 31/03/2009, 4:22 PM

starting from the game against bulgaria we could end up with 3 points from these 3 games i.e. our next 2 and the game last saturday, bulgaria could end up on 5, not including the game in hand over us, which would then bring them to within 2 points of us. scary stuff, but at least we would only have cyprus away then though.

**mypost** · 31/03/2009, 4:26 PM

Originally Posted by weldoninhio

And how do you explain the 4 points we take off Italy in your score prediction??

As predicted.

Those two games will be the most boring of the campaign.

**weldoninhio** · 31/03/2009, 4:32 PM

Originally Posted by mypost

As predicted.

Those two games will be the most boring of the campaign.

There is no way, unless Messi, Aguero and Dani Alves unearth irish ancestry and FIFA change the rules to let them play for us, that we will take 4 points from those games.

**lionelhutz** · 31/03/2009, 4:48 PM

Italy 0 - 0 Ireland

Bulgaria 2 - 0 Ireland

Cyprus 0 - 1 Ireland

Ireland 1 - 1 Italy

Ireland 1 - 0 Montenegro

This would give us 19 points, which would probably leave us in second - Bulgaria to lose in Italy and draw away to Cyprus

It might leave us vulnerable to being worst second place though

**mypost** · 31/03/2009, 4:56 PM

Originally Posted by weldoninhio

There is no way, unless Messi, Aguero and Dani Alves unearth irish ancestry and FIFA change the rules to let them play for us, that we will take 4 points from those games.

I remember similiar dire forecasts in 1990 and 1994, yet both games finished 1-0.

Ireland and Italy play the same way, and are not designed to attack. Both bosses know each other's tactics inside out. Trap will park the bus tomorrow night, and is easily capable of getting a point. At home, I fancy us to nick one, and then survive the rearguard reaction. Somehow.

**weldoninhio** · 31/03/2009, 5:13 PM

Originally Posted by mypost

I remember similiar dire forecasts in 1990 and 1994, yet both games finished 1-0.

Ireland and Italy play the same way, and are not designed to attack. Both bosses know each other's tactics inside out. Trap will park the bus tomorrow night, and is easily capable of getting a point. At home, I fancy us to nick one, and then survive the rearguard reaction. Somehow.

Unless you have a time machine or have cyrogenically frozen Paul McGrath/Roy Keane/Ray Houghton or players of their quality and are going to premier them tomorrow in Traps XI instead of McShane/Glenn Whelan/Stephen Hunt, i think you are wrong.

And i will have no problem coming in here tomorrow night after the game and saying i told you so.

**DmanDmythDledge** · 31/03/2009, 5:15 PM

Lose all the away games and Italy at home, draw last game. That's only if Trap doesn't change things.

**cobra** · 31/03/2009, 7:17 PM

Bulgaria 1 - 1 Cyprus
Italy 2 - 0 Ireland
Georgia 2 - 0 Montenegro
Cyprus 2 - 0 Montenegro
Bulgaria 1 - 1 Ireland
Cyprus 1 - 1 Ireland
Bulgaria 2 - 0 Montenegro
Georgia 1 - 1 Italy
Italy 0 - 0 Bulgaria
Montenegro 1 - 2 Cyprus
Cyprus 2 - 1 Bulgaria
Montenegro 2 - 2 Georgia
Ireland 0 - 1 Italy
Ireland 2 - 0 Montenegro
Bulgaria 2 - 0 Georgia
Italy 1 - 0 Cyprus

Italy - 24
Ireland - 16
Cyprus - 15
Bulgaria - 13
Georgia - 7
Montenegro - 3
.

**John83** · 31/03/2009, 7:30 PM

Originally Posted by DmanDmythDledge

Lose all the away games and Italy at home, draw last game. That's only if Trap doesn't change things.

Dman, if we get just one point in the remaining games, I'll eat my hat. And I don't even own a hat.

**Pike B** · 31/03/2009, 7:33 PM

Italy 1-0 Ireland
Bulgaria 1-0 Ireland
Cyprus 1-2 Ireland
Ireland 1-1 Italy
Ireland 3-0 Montenegro

**richieos** · 31/03/2009, 7:45 PM

Italy 0 Ireland 0
Bulgaria 1 Ireland 1
Cyprus 1 Ireland 3
Ireland 1 Italy 1
Ireland 2 Montenegro 1

Bulgaria 2 Cyprus 2
bulgaria 2 Georgia 0
Bulgaria 1 Montenegro 1
Bulgaria 1 Ireland 1
Italy 2 Bulgaria 0
Cyprus 1 Bulgaria 1

that would leave bulgaria on 14 points, and ireland on 20 and into a playoff
i can see this happening purely because we have duff, s.reid and finnan to come back into the team before this campaign is over