QuoteWhat's the supposed issue with Hargreaves? His Dad is English. No question at all he qualfies for England. It doesn't matter if he never lived there.Originally Posted by irishfan86
You do know what 'invariably' means, I hope? We're poor away from home, but when it matters we beat minnows and often draw with stronger teams.
Maybe you should watch more closely. The Faroes almost always lose, so even a weak NI will be favorite to scrape home.Yeah I think I did write that. Obviously I can't guarantee something that falls outside my control but I've seen enough of the Faroes under Brian Kerr to know that a team that can't score goals will struggle against them
WC qualifying:
NI 4-3-3-13-9-15
FO 1-1-8-5-20-4
Fine, I think we can agree they're stronger than Andorra or San Marino.I'm certainly glad we didn't get drawn against them
Based on comparable record I was right. We got 15 points, they only managed nine.But anyways I'm sure I told you that Montenegro were a stronger team than NI, which you dismissed
We had four or five on target. Stop posting nonsense.Don't think NI had a shot on goals against them in the recent friendly
What's the supposed issue with Hargreaves? His Dad is English. No question at all he qualfies for England. It doesn't matter if he never lived there.
Of course not.
The only competitive away wins in the last 10 or so odd years have been against San Marino, Malta and Liechtenstein. Away defeats were recorded against the minnows of Iceland and Latvia during NI's arguably most successful qualification campaign in recent decades. Away draws against stronger nations have mostly come towards the end of qualification campaigns when the opposition are going through the motions of fulfilling a fixture. The away draw against Denmark was played early in a qualification campaign but if I recall that was a "backs to the wall" performance from NI but agree that it was a fanastic result for NI and a disappointing result for the Danes (and a qualification campaign on the whole that the Danes want to forget).
NI will be favourities of course. But l'm confident that the Faroes will give a good account of themselves against NI. Both France and Serbia had to dig deep for their away wins against them and the Faroes did, in their most recent competitive home game, record a win against Lithuania, who are ranked higher than NI in the FIFA ranking table.
But you weren't playing the same opposition. When NI finally got to play Montenegro, NI were soundly beaten.
The words "rarely troubled" describe Montenegro's goalie's performance against NI.
One issue is that he played regularly for Wales's youth teams, then moved to England's U-21. He also qualified for Canada and lived in Germany for long enough to qualify under the current rules, had he not chosen England.
Not true for the Poland game last time, nor that against Sweden in Euro 2008 (your neighbors only qualified in the last game of 12). And while the Czechs were below par when we played them, qualifiers are never completely irrelevant. I mean, there are seeding points to be earned.
Indeed, We certainly won't under-estimate them and would be quite pleased with a narrow win.NI will be favourities of course. But l'm confident that the Faroes will give a good account of themselves...Faroes did record a home win against Lithuania, who are ranked higher than NI in the FIFA ranking table
We were playing in a group of roughly equal standard, including a team that finished 12 points ahead of you in previous qualifying. Clearly we were better in qualifying, they beat us comfortably in a one-off friendly. Unless, according to your warped logic, Montenegro's two draws make them as good as the RoI despite finishing nine points behind.But you weren't playing the same opposition. When NI finally got to play Montenegro, NI were soundly beaten
Didn't see it, did you? Their keeper made three excellent saves.The words "rarely troubled" describe Montenegro's goalie's performance against NI
Yeah but one person said Hargreaves doesn't qualify for England under the new rules and someone else can't see the distinction between Hargreaves and Arteta.
What you say is correct AFAIK but none of it would mean he's ineligible for England.
Hargreaves doesn't qualify as homegrown for the new 25-man squad requirement - there's no question he doesn't qualfiy for the national team.
I think John Barnes would be a better comparison to Arteta. England fans never had a problem accepting him, presumably because he came from an English-speaking country and picked up an English accent very quickly. Most people are probably not aware that he didn't set foot in England until he was 16.
All this is fascinating, but the North are even more mediocre than Ireland away from home.
It's nothing to do with seeding points in either case, but invariably grabbing a goal and/or holding out against their goal(s) being under siege and hanging on for dear life. Yet another reason why a UI team could hardly do any worse....
One last point, Montenegro, a new country and FIFA member, will prove themselves to be better than the North in the longer term. And the basis of their two draws last time round., maybe the proper Ireland team also.
Thanks for clarifying. Completely different issue though as you say as that has nothing to do with nationality.
English accent?! Have you heard him speak?
When NI played Sweden away, Sweden only needed 3 points from their last 3 games to qualify. I know they expected to confirm qualification the night they played NI at home and duly went through the motions in the expectation that they would win with the minimum of effort. NI punished them accordingly but really should have won given Sweden's disinterest. Poland and the Czechs were pretty much out of the reckoning when they played NI.
What seeding did Montenegro have? They didn't enter the qualification process on a similar footing to NI. The game and result between the two sides speaks for itself.
Ireland A were playing.
It wasn't my description of their goalie's performance.
Owen's decision to declare for us has already been documented here.
There were 2 letters of invitations on his kitchen table at the same time, one from Scotland and one from Ireland, to join up with the relevant u21 squads. For him it was a no brainer and he chose Ireland, his first u21 game was lining out against Scotland.
Aye, as IFK said we invariably lose except when we don't. Good value for those draws, although admittedly against Denmark the home side may have been distracted by the giant blow-up doll behind our goal.
Zzz. You've already got a united Ireland plus English and Scottish guest players, yet you think it's likely to fall behind Montenegro in future? Stop posting nonsense.Yet another reason why a UI team could hardly do any worse....
If you're going to judge them on WC qualifying, they won one game. Let's see how they get on this time.One last point, Montenegro, a new country and FIFA member, will prove themselves to be better than the North in the longer term
Ha ha. Another game you didn't watch, clearly. The draw was a fair result. In any case, with NI widely regarded as out of the reckoning after losing to Iceland and Latvia, the Svens should have won given our disinterest.
The Poles weren't- they still had four of their eight significant games left. Excluding San Marino, with due respect to their slight improvement in Euro 08.Poland and the Czechs were pretty much out of the reckoning when they played NI
Spare us the rhetorical flourishes. Everyone enters qualification on the same basis; everyone played eight or 10 games; Montenegro managed one win against similarly mediocre opposition to that in the other groups. The game between us and them was a one-off friendly which speaks for very little compared to a whole qulifying series. Your suggestion that the RoI-Montenegro group was somehow more difficult than the others is a bit silly. They, Georgia and Cyprus won three games out of 30 between them. Hardly World-beaters. As for the rest, it's luck of the draw.What seeding did Montenegro have? They didn't enter the qualification process on a similar footing to NI. The game and result between the two sides speaks for itself
Get some new material. With you as Goteborg's top comedian it's little wonder the suicide rate's so high.Ireland A were playing
We know that. It was still wrong.It wasn't my description of their goalie's performance
Last edited by Gather round; 25/08/2010 at 11:41 AM.
Why do you have to go and spoil a reasonably argued post with pathetic hypocritical sniping at the fact that a small minority of our players weren't born in Ireland?
He has like a half-and-half accent. Maybe I'm just mental.
Lighten up, Boo. I'm merely coming down to Ardee Troll and IFK's wind-up level to answer them. Nor is it hypocritical- I'm not saying you shouldn't have British players in your squad, if they are eligible.
Whether the draw was a fair result or not is irrelevant to the point I'm making which was Sweden underperformed on the night. Given my location, you can assume that I have seen Sweden play on countless more occasions than you so you can also assume that I'm the better judge of whether they underperformed or not. Regardless the main factual piece of information that's not subjective is that Sweden only needed 3 points from their remaining 3 games and the Swedish FA had made preparations for a "qualification party" on the night of the NI game.
Hence the use of the phrase "pretty much out of the reckoning".
Groups are seeded. Montenegro were 6th seeds at the time. NI were 4th seeds (if I recall correctly). Again Montenegro played NI recently and recorded a comfortable win.
In your opinion. Others have a different opinion. Can we agree on the result? Montenegro 2 - 0?
Er, why would I assume any of that? You're just another anonymous poster on the internet, variously pontificating about games you haven't seen, quoting supposed facts that you've made up and indulging in childish wind-ups. I couldn't care less if you've seen every Swedish international since the break-up of Abba, presumably in some parallel universe while simultaneously watching the Republic of Ireland's games on the same dates. I've only seen a handful, including the two against NI, but I also managed brief youtube highlights of most of the other games in Euro 2008. More than enough to assess all the teams in the group.
More fool them.Regardless the main factual piece of information that's not subjective is that Sweden only needed 3 points from their remaining 3 games and the Swedish FA had made preparations for a "qualification party" on the night of the NI game
If you equate "pretty much out of the reckoning" with "not out of the reckoning at all", you must realise that other readers will be confused?Hence the use of the phrase "pretty much out of the reckoning"
You don't, we were seeded third. Are you the Belfast Telegraph's Goteborg correspondent?NI were 4th seeds (if I recall correctly)
Aye, and Queen Anne's dead. As I said, according to your warped logic one game- even if a friendly- trumps a series of 10 qualifiers- on which basis presumably Montenegro are as good as the RoI despite finishing miles behind? Bizarre.Again Montenegro played NI recently and recorded a comfortable win
Indeed, although I'd be wary of opinions not based on watching the game.In your opinion. Others have a different opinion
You're the one making up stats, dear. Have a ryvita and stop posting rank-pulling nonsense.Can we agree on the result?
Last edited by Gather round; 25/08/2010 at 12:44 PM.
Ignore him people, if anyone's a Troll it's someone who says they're British &, er, 'Irish' trying to be a WUM.
But ending up generally looking pretty retarded, simply because they have nothing better to do with their time....
Proof enough from his ill-considered response to Post #1628 in #1632 where he fails to answer the points made!
Last edited by ArdeeBhoy; 25/08/2010 at 11:19 PM.
Afternoon, troll. You can stop trolling and all.
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