Ireland VS South Africa Pre Match Thread

**eirebhoy** · 07/09/2009, 6:29 PM

Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

Keogh out wide again, or is a 4-3-3?

I'd say McGeady was certain to start if he wasn't injured so I don't think he'd change the formation this late.

**Stuttgart88** · 07/09/2009, 6:31 PM

It could be a 4-3-3 as Andrews, Gibson and Lawrence would suit that. Keogh could drop off the front two.

If 4-4-2 it's just wrong. Only one natural wide player, and right footed so somebody would have to be playing on the wrong side, and neither would be as versatile in that regard as Duff or McGeady, or even Hunt.

**geysir** · 07/09/2009, 8:21 PM

Trap would have to be a very good mood to hand out a free role.

**old git** · 07/09/2009, 9:17 PM

Originally Posted by Colbert Report

If it was an English friendly you'd have 80,000 people playing fifty pound a ticket to watch them play. The FAI have only sold 4000 tickets to this match. Big difference.

so wonder will the fai deceide to hand out free tickets tomorrow ... usually you would normally release a load of free schoolboy tickets to try and increase attendance ...

then again when you let most of your first choice 11 return to clubs in england seems to show a total lack of respect to the paying fans .. christ i have a feeling it is going to be a brutal game with no atmosphere at all..

**Rovers1** · 07/09/2009, 9:37 PM

I take it you can buy tickets at the gate?

**Jicked** · 07/09/2009, 10:00 PM

Originally Posted by old git

so wonder will the fai deceide to hand out free tickets tomorrow ... usually you would normally release a load of free schoolboy tickets to try and increase attendance ...

then again when you let most of your first choice 11 return to clubs in england seems to show a total lack of respect to the paying fans .. christ i have a feeling it is going to be a brutal game with no atmosphere at all..

The great Munster sporting public eh! Counting the days until a return to Lawnsdowne. Playing in the RDS or Tallaght Stadium with the temp stands up ala the Real Madrid game would even have been preferable to a crowd of 9,000 or so.

**tetsujin1979** · 07/09/2009, 10:36 PM

O'Shea and McGeady have been excused from the game because of injury fears.
this game could set a new record for first starts.

**abbeyvale** · 07/09/2009, 11:01 PM

Originally Posted by Jicked

The great Munster sporting public eh! Counting the days until a return to Lawnsdowne. Playing in the RDS or Tallaght Stadium with the temp stands up ala the Real Madrid game would even have been preferable to a crowd of 9,000 or so.

dont think the location has anything to do with the poor sales of tickets........if the game was on in dublin they would still struggle to sell tickets, especially with the poor quality of players on show

**eirebhoy** · 07/09/2009, 11:05 PM

Originally Posted by tetsujin1979

O'Shea and McGeady have been excused from the game because of injury fears.
this game could set a new record for first starts.

Not sure if that's just a typo but the team was announced earlier Tets.

http://foot.ie/forums/showpost.php?p...4&postcount=36

**osarusan** · 07/09/2009, 11:16 PM

Originally Posted by abbeyvale

dont think the location has anything to do with the poor sales of tickets........if the game was on in dublin they would still struggle to sell tickets, especially with the poor quality of players on show

With a population about a dozen times bigger, even the same ratio of atendees per population would fill a 26,000 seater stadium.

I live in Limerick, and apart from a few flags on O'Connell street and on the roads around Thomond Park, I've seen nothing anywhere about the game. The FAI seems to have seriously over-estimated the interest Limerick people will have in attending an "event", even when that event is meaningless.

I'm going, but only because I got a free ticket from Limerick FC.

**4tothefloor** · 07/09/2009, 11:25 PM

I have a spare East Terrace ticket for this which I'll sell for �20. PM if interested

**tetsujin1979** · 07/09/2009, 11:39 PM

Originally Posted by eirebhoy

Not sure if that's just a typo but the team was announced earlier Tets.

http://foot.ie/forums/showpost.php?p...4&postcount=36

d;oh, missed that
saw the report on skysports.com and just dumped it at the end of the thread

**old git** · 07/09/2009, 11:50 PM

Originally Posted by Jicked

The great Munster sporting public eh! Counting the days until a return to Lawnsdowne. Playing in the RDS or Tallaght Stadium with the temp stands up ala the Real Madrid game would even have been preferable to a crowd of 9,000 or so.

fair point ,,, but it also helps if fai try and sell games a bit more only real advertisment i have seen is on their website .. hardly a mention of games in local press ./ radio etc.. me thinks fai just asumed the paying public would turn up to watch the mighty aussies and the mighty south africa and in fairness performance against australia was s**t and then you let 9 first team players return to england before tomorrow nights match.. overall a pr diaster by the fai ... looks like the great munster sporting public don't follow soccer ... but then again why are the great leinster / connacht public not coming down to limerick to support ireland

**Duggie** · 08/09/2009, 8:07 AM

they should never play friendly games down in limerick again. disaster.

**drummerboy** · 08/09/2009, 8:07 AM

Unfortunately it will probably be the last game played outside Dublin for many a year. Whether it be the lack of advertising, the resession, absence of star players or whatever the reason: the sporting public of the area have declined the chance to see the team play. If the game was played in Dublin, you could expect 25,000 at the game.

**Razors left peg** · 08/09/2009, 8:19 AM

Must admit I debating myself whether to go or not, its not a long journey from Galway but on a miserable wet day going to see the 2nd string in a brutal atmostphere isnt the most appealing prospect in the world.

**Lionel Ritchie** · 08/09/2009, 8:45 AM

Originally Posted by Duggie

they should never play friendly games down in limerick again. disaster.

Originally Posted by Jicked

The great Munster sporting public eh!

Lads, back up in fairness. I think it'd be a very interesting exercise to find out what proportion of whoever does turn up are locals and how many dubs bothered their @rses to travel on these very rare occasions they've been asked to do so. The rest of us have to travel for every game and do so.

The population of Limerick is about 80,000 when the colleges are closed and closer to 100,000 during semester. Did you seriously expect 1 in 4 of the local population to buy overpriced tickets to watch an underperforming team in a less than glamouous midweek friendly? (I'm not remotely bothered by the absentees btw ...happy to see them get game time)

**Duggie** · 08/09/2009, 9:04 AM

its got nothing to do with ticket prices or who is in the starting eleven IMO. think its just nobody cares about soccer much in limerick or the surrounding areas. rugby country and thats fine. sooner lansdown is open again the better.

**tetsujin1979** · 08/09/2009, 9:08 AM

Originally Posted by Duggie

its got nothing to do with ticket prices or who is in the starting eleven IMO. think its just nobody cares about soccer much in limerick or the surrounding areas. rugby country and thats fine. sooner lansdown is open again the better.

no soccer fans in Cork then? Or Galway?

**elroy** · 08/09/2009, 9:13 AM

I think the fact that the fringe players are been given a run out is a great idea and will make the friendly much more competitive and interesting than if the best regular XI started. At least we'll learn something tonight.

Interesting tactic by the FAI to get numbers in tonight, tickets for Italy game going on sale in Thomond Park tonight:

http://www.fai.ie/index.php?option=c...tid=1&Itemid=8