I was thinking about this the other day. I wonder who we will get in the draw in February?
Maybe:
Croatia
Slovakia
Republic of Ireland
Macedonia
Estonia
Andorra
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Takes place in feb 2010.
We're currently in pot three.
By my calculations a draw and a win against france by a margin of one goal would only be worth an extra 240 points or so which would make a difference of only one place.
So it looks like we'll stay in pot three for the draw. however, a couple of wins in the world cup would possibly push us back into pot 2 as the 4 teams currently above us aren't going.
however if we don't go, we're probably destined to stay in pot 3 for a good couple of years.
Especially as Poland and ukraine will go back in the pots probably in pots 2 and 3 respectively and above us as well.
http://www.football-rankings.info/20...cients_16.html
none of the pot 2 teams are particularly scary. We've every chance of splitting the top two again in the Euro qualifiers.
I was thinking about this the other day. I wonder who we will get in the draw in February?
Maybe:
Croatia
Slovakia
Republic of Ireland
Macedonia
Estonia
Andorra
![]()
The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist thinks it will change; the realist adjusts the sails.
would be nice to get Estonia if only to get the beautiful women to translate 12 months
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T41ZRw45obs
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I must not have been clear enough.
The qualifiers/play offs will have a bearing on the draw
however I meant that if we went to the world cup it would have a bearing on the draw for 2014.
Apologies, thread should probably be called "Ireland in qualifying draw pot???!"
The Czechs wouldnt be the worse second seeds to get either, they seem to be going backwards at the moment.
Def dont want Cyprus as third seeds again, Liectenstein from the fifth seeds would be nice, not Montenegro or Albania anyways. And anyone bar Azerbajan from the bottom seeds.
There isnt a huge difference in standard between the second, third and fourth seeds i.e. Im sure Cyprus or Belgium would give Slovakia a good game.
Lets worry about the small matter of the world cup first
Unless/until their new manager sorts things out, the Czechs are underperforming at the moment. That said, they still have some excellent players, so I suspect they'll recover soon enough.
Liechtenstein may have receded during the last campaign, but I can tell you they were definitely not to be underestimated during the previous (Euro2008) campaign - hence their being seeded 5th.
What is your basis for dismissing Slovakia? It certainly cannot be their results over the last two years:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/prelimi...esresults.html
After a slow start to their campaign, they simply got better and better. And I suspect their late home defeat to Slovenia was a case of nerves getting the better of them when on the brink of qualifying, something which they put right five days later by winning in Poland.
Of course, it may be that qualifying for SA (in a more competitive Group than ROI's, btw) may represent a "high water mark" for them. Alternatively, it might just provide them with the boost they need to push on even further. Remember, Slovakia traditionally provided the bulk of the players when the old Czechoslovak teams were in their pomp - especially the 1976 European Champions (8 or 9 out of 11?).
Liechtenstein are actually a tidy little side despite the small size of their country. Probably the easiest of the fifth seeds, but better than your typical sixth seed. They drew against the Finns and nearly got a draw with Russia in our group this time round. Although we beat them home and away the away game in particular was quite awkward.
I'd like the following group:
Croatia
Israel
Northern Ireland
Wales
Liechtenstein
San Marino
In my view we could challenge for 2nd place with the top three teams in that one. Conversely, there are some very tough potential draws out there.
"Life is like a hair on a toilet seat. Sooner or later you are bound to get pi$$ed off."
"In this league, a draw is sometimes as good as a win" - Steve Morison
Yeah, thanks for correcting me there. If I remember right, Romania had a mediocre campaign this time too. I'll just be glad to avoid Denmark from that pot - really surprising they're only on the lower fringes of pot 2. They seem to qualify for everything.
Other teams to avoid are for me Montenegro and Norway. Croatia are the best of the top seeds to get but for us it's largely irrelevant which pot 1 team we get.
I'm just disappointed we have to wait til February for the draw. Between now and then there's virtually nothing to get excited about. (for us)
"Life is like a hair on a toilet seat. Sooner or later you are bound to get pi$$ed off."
"In this league, a draw is sometimes as good as a win" - Steve Morison
I would be happy with this group for us:
1.Croatia
2.Slovakia
3.Republic of Ireland(becouse of fans)
4.Wales
5.Montenegro
6.San Marino
We are all Montenegrans.
As nicked from elsewhere
And only Germany's group finished in order of seeding.
Here are the seeding pots and where the teams actually finished in their groups:
Pot 1:
Italy - 1st
Spain - 1st
Germany - 1st
Czech Republic - 3rd
France - 2nd
Portugal - 2nd
Netherlands - 1st
Croatia - 3rd
Greece - 2nd
Pot 2:
England - 1st
Romania - 5th
Scotland - 3rd
Turkey - 3rd
Bulgaria - 3rd
Russia - 2nd
Poland - 5th
Sweden - 3rd
Israel - 4th
Pot 3:
Norway - 2nd
Ukraine - 2nd
Serbia - 1st
Denmark - 1st
Northern Ireland - 4th
Republic of Ireland - 2nd
Finland - 3rd
Switzerland - 1st
Belgium - 4th
Pot 4:
Slovakia - 1st
Bosnia - 2nd
Hungary - 4th
Moldova - 6th
Wales - 4th
Macedonia - 4th
Belarus - 4th
Lithuania - 4th
Cyprus - 4th
Pot 5:
Georgia - 6th
Albania - 5th
Slovenia - 2nd
Latvia - 3rd
Iceland - 5th
Armenia - 6th
Austria - 3rd
Kazakhstan - 5th
Azerbaijan - 5th
Pot 6:
Liechtenstein - 6th
Estonia - 5th
Malta - 6th
Luxembourg - 5th
Montenegro - 5th
Andorra - 6th
Faroe Islands - 6th
San Marino - 6th
Serbia , Denmark and Switzerland all topped the group from Pot 3
Slovakia from Pot 4
Last edited by Newryrep; 23/10/2009 at 11:31 AM.
Funny thing is that by going by the finishing positions of teams in the WC qualifiers, you are better off in pot 3 (thus avoiding other high finishing Pot3 teams)
Who is this guy, Trapper Tony?
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