QuoteIf Austria can beat them 3-1 I don't see why we can't.
My memory is a bit fuzzy, but didn't Andy Reid hit the post from a free kick against France in Dublin?
My Guarantee
Am looking for old Irish matches on VHS, PM me if you have some and I'll upload them here
If Austria can beat them 3-1 I don't see why we can't.
why is everyone so pessimistic about France?
Benzema has been poor this year and pretty much has admitted he doesn't like playing for France
Henry won't be back to full fitness in time
Ribery can be handled, very good player but one who does it more at club level than international by all accounts (I admit I don't watch the Bundesliga, but I know people who do so I'll go with their opinion)
Domenech has lost the team and isn't that great a manager when things go wrong anyway
I'd actually rather us be at home first given the way we play and how nervous we get holding a lead. A 0-0 in Dublin (which France would probably take) followed by us scoring from a set piece in Paris and we're in business
Also playing France is a damn sight better than travelling to Moscow against a Russian team that looked very good in qualifying, it's also better than playing a Portugal team that has come into form at the right time, and I also personally think we have a better chance against France than against a strong enough Greek side that we would find hard to break down
I wonder with Finnans return to fitness will Trap play OShea in midfield in the first leg with the aims of keeping things really tight. Wouldnt be ideal, but I could see it happening
Its really not that complicated!!!
Originally Posted by paul_oshea
If you can't get tickets from the FAI, they'll be available from
http://www.francebillet.com/
English language option is available on the site. Tickets not on sale there yet though.
We had the Sud Tribune (South Stand) last time and will probably get the same again so try for tickets near there. But don't worry if you sit elsewhere, there'll be no bother with the French fans.
ah was always going to be. definetly going, anyone want to stay with me in my cousins gaff in paris
anyone going over from rosslare?
Agreed 100%. Top post.
Was dreading the draw, but ever since it has been made, I'm full of optimism. Forget about admiring and scarmongering about their players. Lets get stuck into them and really see what they're made of.
You've got no fans.
if he was goin to bring finnan back id rather he moved o shea to LB instead of dodgy kilbane
Last edited by Wexford Delboy; 19/10/2009 at 8:44 PM. Reason: spelling
Lads does Ribery play on the left or right? Anytime I've seen him he's been on the right. I would prefer Finnan on him than O'Shea. Kilbane no way. He got scorched with that Bulgarian guy in the away game last June.
'And Crouch must score'
I think O'Shea needs to go up against Ribery, and Finnan slot in on the right.
I fear that Trap rates Kilbane though, and that he will retain his starting spot.
kilbane will be our downfall hes our weak link in an otherwise solid enough back 5
You are right. Outside of post i think
I thought I saw Ribery on the left for Bayern in the CL this season.
That might mess up an advance containment plan.
Best just focus on that dodgy ankle of his.
Also playing France is a damn sight better than travelling to Moscow against a Russian team that looked very good in qualifying, it's also better than playing a Portugal team that has come into form at the right time, and I also personally think we have a better chance against France than against a strong enough Greek side that we would find hard to break down[/QUOTE]
Yes, absolutely...no doubt in my mind - this was my first choice. we'll never take them for granted, but might just enjoy rising to this one. Greece could have been a right pain to play...
Ireland 0-0 France
France 1-1 Ireland
Domenech knows what to expect from our 'England B' side
EMMET MALONE
GIVEN THAT his diplomatic efforts in the past have prompted some the country’s leading players to hang up their boots early – and there appears always to be at least one feud with a major star in progress – it should not come as any great surprise that France manager Raymond Domenech yesterday described Ireland as the “England B team” after hearing who he and his side must overcome if they are to make it to another World Cup finals tournament.
Speaking on RTL radio, in no small part because his relationship with large sections of the rest of the French media is so difficult these days, the 52-year-old went on to welcome the outcome of the draw, insisting the knowledge he and his players possess of next month’s opponents would more than compensate for having to face the second-highest-ranked of the non-seeded sides.
“We know what we have to do and that is the important thing,” said the former Lyon, PSG and Bordeaux player, who was also in charge when France came to Dublin four years ago and won thanks to second-half strike by Thierry Henry.
“Whatever the opposition I would be saying the same thing: that our only objective is to qualify. As it is, it is the Republic of Ireland and so now we must do it by beating them.
“But the best thing is that we know all their players because they play in the Premier League. Some of my players know them very well. There won’t be any surprises. We know precisely what to expect.”
Domenech acknowledged that Ireland have emerged unbeaten from a group that included the world champions, but he did not sound overawed by the achievement.
“They are very solid, very physical, but we also have these qualities. They are the England Bs.”
The remark might come back to haunt him.
But it is hard to imagine he would have any future in the job anyway should his side lose to Ireland over two legs and fail to qualify for next summer’s tournament finals in South Africa.
His grip on the manager’s job looked just as precarious when he brought the French to Lansdowne Road in September 2005, however, with the qualification group still extremely tight ahead of the game against Ireland.
The three points secured by the French that night provided the impetus for qualification, and while a great many of the country’s football media then presumed that a poor showing in Germany would force his departure, the team, driven on by a resurgent Zinedine Zidane, went all the way to the final in Berlin where they came within a whisker of regaining the title by beating Italy.
Since then there has been the rather dismal failure of the European Championships. The team qualified despite losing at home to both Ukraine and, more ominously, Scotland, but it was in Switzerland that things really came off the rails.
A goalless draw with Romania was followed by tame defeats by Italy and the Netherlands.
For many, Domenech had played a key part in the team’s failure with questionable selections and his poor relationship with key members of the squad seen as having undermined the chances of a group that was already in decline.
For a while his future hung in the balance. In the end, however, the federation opted to stick with him for another campaign.
His employers are unlikely to worry too much about who they might turn to in the event that Ireland come out on top next month, but Domenech, they know, has surprised his critics before and few in France would bet heavily against him doing it again.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...257057245.html
What an idiot. If a team talk was ever needed, I don't think it will be now. Why give your opponents more motivation?
I'm absolutely pumped for this.
I've booked for Paris but not going to Dublin, which is a big gamble.
I think France are beatable though they're obviously favourites.
France are not a united squad, the manager has little authority, their results have been unimpressive and they unconvincing keeper and central defence. Arguably France is the most vulnerable to Trap's tactics of frustrating the opposition in possession and us being a threat from set pieces. That's the "glass half full" outlook anyway.
we will take them over two legs - no doubt about it, providing we stay injury free..
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