Yes only the results of the 6th team from 6 team groups is discounted. Liechtenstein are by far the weakest 5th seeds so would be a fantastic draw.Originally Posted by Junior
In calculating the best runner up - do all games count in a 5 team group? i.e. it is only the 6 team groups that have to discount the results against the bottom team?
I thought you were off the drink Ronnie?
"No, I drink to help me mind my own business....can I get you one? (c) Ronnie Drew
Yes only the results of the 6th team from 6 team groups is discounted. Liechtenstein are by far the weakest 5th seeds so would be a fantastic draw.
Zero baring on who we'd get but if timeframe had an impact, we're due England (or Spain)!!!
The last time we featured in a group with (Off top of head):
Spain - 1994 WC Quals
Germany - 2008 EC Quals
Holland - 2002 WC Quals
Italy - 2010 WC Quals
England - 1992 EC Quals
Croatia - 1998 WC Quals
Portugal - 2002 WC Quals
France - 2010 WC Quals
Russia - 2004 EC Quals?
Quoting years at random since 1975
we had romania in WC 1998 quals, and croatia and yugoslavia in 2000 EC quals
I love this time of year.
For travel
Croatia
Switzerland
Ireland
Latvia
Kazakhstan
Andorra
To avoid
England/Spain
Turkey
Ireland
Slovenia
Montenegro
That travel group isn't very travel friendly. We'd need a few neighbouring countries in central/Eastern Europe for that. Similiar to Latvia/Lithuania in WC'94, and Germany/Czech/Slovaks for the last Euros, and a 6-team group preferably.
Our last group was certainly not travel friendly, the closest visit pre-Georgian war was in Bari, Montenegro isn't great either, Cyprus is another long haul nightmare.
No Kazachstan please. There's a recession on.
If we are lucky enough to get a travel-friendly group, I hope the FAI negotiate double-header away weeks, and not the Home-Away-Home stuff that Kerr loved.
What's travel friendly got to do with it? They're five interesting places to visit. You sound like you'd be happiest with a group with England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the North.
...........
Neighbouring contries also don't necessarily make a good group. Yes, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia would be fun, but very samey. Broaden your horizons, mypost.
The ease of travelling counts as much as the interest in different places.
I'm sure Tbilisi would have been very interesting, but who wants to go there under threat of war? Who wants to need visas for going to Bela/Russia, and Kazachstan?
Israel is a fascinating country too, but only a few went over when we played there. More might have gone if we had played them and Cyprus away in the same week, instead of 6 months apart.
Where did I mention anything about war?
I'm sorry if everything needs to be nice and easy for you, mypost. Lord knows, a visa is a tremendously difficult thing to get. As I said, broaden your mind.
(And as I recall, there were a few thousand in Israel)
so if you don't mention war, then it won't happen/isn't a threat?
most ireland fans can't afford to travel / would have some family members wary of travelling this far afield (Kazakhstan / Israel).
The best group for qualifying would be a five team group, with varied, but close/easy to get to and cheap destinations.
There are some real snobs on here who value there own cultural experience above the ease for other irish fans in getting to the games.
If I want culture, I'll get it on a separate holiday. If I want a loads of craic, a great atmosphere, and result, i'll go to a well-attended ireland away.
mind - don't expect everyone to have an unlimited pot of cash with which to be able to fly to Kazakhstan and Moscow.
If a war breaks out in any country, then obviously it's off my away trip list. But you can't go around worrying about whether a war will break out somewhere just because it's someplace that you have a dodgy stereotype of. The war element was a silly point mypost raised, and I've no problem dismissing it as such. Show me which of the countries I mentioned are likely to have a war soon?
LOL at your pathetic definition of snobs by the way. How dare I, while listing the draw I'd like to see us get, consider only what I want out of an away trip. And you can quite easily combine a cultural trip with an Ireland game, unless you think an Ireland away game means going to a foreign city to drink yourself silly in an Irish pub for four days solid.
And the best Ireland away games I've been at have been the smaller ones (thinking the Faroes in particular) without thousands of barstoolers.
and a "LOL" to you too, at your pathetic redefining of my enjoyment of "craic and atmosphere, and hopefully result" as being - "getting ****ed in an irish bar for four days".
on the contrary, i can rarely afford to take four days off work. so, it's usually an in and out job for me, so, in all fairness i'll take the convenient aways.
and you missed my point re: amount of fans having an effect on result.
france - loads of fans, maybe even some barstoolers, played a top seed off the park
faroes - difficult to get too, only people who have the time/money to go went. - struggled to beat a mediocre team.
i can enjoy culture on an ireland trip, but often can't afford too, be that money or not being able to take time out of the office.
was not and montenegro or cyprus due to work, went to all the others, and far enjoy the bigger crowds. bar stoolers some may be, but at least there not the "i'm a better fan than you" types that litter this forum.
And you're absolutely entitled to do so in your own "Who do you want to draw?" post. I posted who I wanted to draw, and mypost's comments directly on my group were nonsense (as were your comments on war and "snobs" who "who value there [sic] own cultural experience above the ease for other irish fans in getting to the games")
That the one where the flights were diverted to Norway, where even the team couldn't get out of there after the game? The Swiss goalkeeper said after his team's visit there the weekend before, that he couldn't wait to leave this "god awful place".
Several countries are dodgy to travel. London is under permanent Islamic terrorism alert, Chechen rebels like the odd bomb or two in Russia, Israel is off limits due to the political violence, which can flare up at any time. Belarus requires visas, and everyone knows from last time, how difficult Russia is. Just 6 weeks after the trip to Moscow, the theatre hostage took place. It could have easily been us targeted instead.
Norn Iron potentially got a wonderful travelling group last time, only to make a mess of their fixture timing. That's the kind of group I'd be looking for, though if others want to dodge bombs and bullets in places off the beaten track, good luck to them. Each to their own.
Last edited by mypost; 17/12/2009 at 4:59 AM.
If you want to dodge bombs and bullets, then avoid horrible places like London or places which require visas? FFS. And although I didn't go, all the reports I heard indicated that the Israel away game was one of the best in recent years.
Again, show me which of the countries in my preferred group would be liable to have a war?
And I got in and out of the Faroes just grand; don't understand this mentality of fly in three hours before a match and fly out straight after. Stunning place, but you seem too happy to have others make your mind up for you as per usual.
Last edited by pineapple stu; 17/12/2009 at 9:38 AM.
That sounds like an ideal trip TBH, after watching the prog on Kerr, the Faroes looks like a beautiful place to visit
yes, about 2,000 in Israel. Great trip in many ways but the stadium was apalling
Israel was not an expensive trip, hotels were very reasonable, pubs cheap etc I would class the recent French game as expensive as the last Israel game if you add the 3 days spending to the price of the trip.
I want to suport my team all else is a bonus, and normally you get culture and a great athmosphere no matter if its Aarhus with 300 or PAris 30,000 as in 04.
To fly to Moscow return next March with Aer Baltic is €266 inc taxes,
The ideal group is one we can win, with hopefully a few nice trips thrown in for good measure.
Fair Play died Nov 18th 2009, Stade Francais.
We had at least 3,000 in Israel.
The entrance/exit to the stadium was poor but not a bad stadium and a great atmosphere.
It was a great trip.
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