Euro 2012 Qualifying Group B - General Discussion

**the bear** · 07/06/2011, 1:53 PM

i would like to see fahey come into the team for the slovakia match in center midfield. we should be looking to be more creative.

**SwanVsDalton** · 07/06/2011, 1:57 PM

Originally Posted by DannyInvincible

Not entirely true if, say, the following not-all-that-unlikely scenario was to arise:

If we beat Slovakia, lose to Russia and win our other two, we'll finish on 22 points with 4 points from our 4 games against Russia and Slovakia.
If Slovakia lose to us but beat Russia and win their other two, they'll finish on 22 with 7 points from their 4 games against us and Russia.
If Russia lose to Slovakia but beat us and win their other two, they'll finish on 22 with 6 points from their 4 games against us and Slovakia.

That would leave us finishing third on 22 points.

If the thinking is becoming that complex, than revert to default - simply play to win.

**the bear** · 07/06/2011, 1:59 PM

Originally Posted by DannyInvincible

Not entirely true if, say, the following not-all-that-unlikely scenario was to arise:

If we beat Slovakia, lose to Russia and win our other two, we'll finish on 22 points with 4 points from our 4 games against Russia and Slovakia.
If Slovakia lose to us but beat Russia and win their other two, they'll finish on 22 with 7 points from their 4 games against us and Russia.
If Russia lose to Slovakia but beat us and win their other two, they'll finish on 22 with 6 points from their 4 games against us and Slovakia.

That would leave us finishing third on 22 points.

basically this group could go any way really, we can't afford to slip up in any of the 4 games

**jbyrne** · 07/06/2011, 1:59 PM

will the Russia match be on the all weather pitch? I know slovakia won on it but isnt it a huge advantage for the home team?
i would be concerned about how we will cope with it. personnally i think all weather and grass pitches are worlds apart and i cant understand how Russia (or anyone) can be allowed play on them.

**BonnieShels** · 07/06/2011, 2:01 PM

Originally Posted by SwanVsDalton

If the thinking is becoming that complex, than revert to default - simply play to win.

great point.

Let's take it game-by-game though. Get a good run out against Croatia a good solid win against Slovakia and then who knows.

**SwanVsDalton** · 07/06/2011, 2:08 PM

Originally Posted by BonnieShels

great point.

Let's take it game-by-game though. Get a good run out against Croatia a good solid win against Slovakia and then who knows.

Absolutely. I think the double header's a real all or nothing - beat Slovakia and I'd really fancy us to upset the Russians. But if we go there absolutely needing to win, I'm not so confident.

**dotts101** · 07/06/2011, 3:24 PM

we have bein shaky enough in this group but trappatoni solid, so its old school ireland. yet i see us getting a good early goal against the slovaks and then the usual backs to the wall ireland. yet still confident of securing the 3points.

then comes russia, trap has us performing strong away from home, so i feel we can secure a point against an average russian team. remember 2002 and the horrible 4-2 defeat there. even then they were for the taking and in the return game at landsdown. BELIEVE!!!!

then comes the big trip to Andorra or should i say barcelona? i am confident that we have enough in the tank to break down a stubborn andorran team (in this campaign), not conceding as many as usual. Suprisingly giving it a go in games, including the aviva. should be a home away from home game with a big number of irish support following over.

then armenia at home? Full AVIVA (for once)(dont get the fai excited, they will hike the prices) 3points and qualification secure as russia will drop points in bratislava.

**French Toasht** · 07/06/2011, 4:36 PM

Interesting stat: The victory over Macedonia on Saturday night was only the second time in the 18 competitive matches under Traps reign where we have won by more than 1 goal. (The other occasion being our 3-1 victory over Andorra.)

That said, we have only lost twice in 18 matches, which is an extremely impressive stat.

**paul_oshea** · 07/06/2011, 5:27 PM

Can someone please explain the difference between revert to default - simply play to win i.e. win...but play it game by game.

These mean absoloutely nothing like most soccer cliches or dumb footballers coming out saying something totally obvious.

**Stuttgart88** · 07/06/2011, 5:36 PM

It's a game of two halves.

**the bear** · 07/06/2011, 5:41 PM

Originally Posted by Stuttgart88

It's a game of two halves.

obviously it is at the end of the day, obviously

**DannyInvincible** · 07/06/2011, 6:03 PM

Half an hour into Russia's friendly with Cameroon in Austria and it's still 0-0. If anyone's interested in following it, there are working links here: http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?ma...08&part=sports or http://www.livefootballol.com/stream...on-russia.html

**pineapple stu** · 07/06/2011, 7:16 PM

Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

I think Montenegro already did, drawing with Bulgaria on Saturday. They'll need to get at least 4 points from England at home and Switzerland away to qualify automatically.

I think Sweden'll romp best second tbh. 3-0 up against Finland at half time.could easily see them getting 18 or 20 points overall (beating everyone else and drawing/beating Holland at home).

No way we'll come close to that obviously.

**DannyInvincible** · 07/06/2011, 7:36 PM

Just looking at that and I'd have to agree that the very least you'd expect Sweden to finish with is 24 points in the group (18 points in the second-place rankings table). And that would include a loss against Holland in Sweden. They've got Hungary, San Marino and Finland away otherwise. If they slipped up and drew with either Hungary or Finland and went on to lose to Holland, we'd have a very realistic chance, but it's not really that likely, is it?

Russia and Cameroon drew 0-0 this evening, by the way.

**MeathDrog** · 07/06/2011, 8:43 PM

F*ck it, we're gonna top this group.

**SwanVsDalton** · 07/06/2011, 9:29 PM

Originally Posted by paul_oshea

Can someone please explain the difference between revert to default - simply play to win i.e. win...but play it game by game.

These mean absoloutely nothing like most soccer cliches or dumb footballers coming out saying something totally obvious.

Can you explain what 'win...but play it game by game' means? Do you mean take it game by game? Why have the win in front of it?

Obviously it just means we should be looking to win the game and forget about permutations at the end of qualifying (so it's quite specific and does actually mean something). And since when was 'revert to default' a cliche outside of computer programming?

Don't know what sort of bad day your having but judging by this and your occasional grumpy post over in the match thread, you must be having a howler of a day.

**Stuttgart88** · 07/06/2011, 10:44 PM

Originally Posted by MeathDrog

F*ck it, we're gonna top this group.

Mods, can we ban MeathDrog for that post? Make him watch George Hamilton videos for a week.

**gastric** · 08/06/2011, 1:01 AM

Begrudgingly, I have to agree with you Stutts. We have to put results before entertainment and because of this, we should be proud of recent results and contrast where we are at now, compared to under Stan. However, in the back of my mind I keep asking myself, is this a team capable of captivating a nation? The answer presently would be no and would explain many of the low attendances of late. Maybe qualification for the Euro Finals might help, but the jury is still out on the team's ability to engage the nation.

**SwanVsDalton** · 08/06/2011, 9:12 AM

Originally Posted by gastric

Begrudgingly, I have to agree with you Stutts. We have to put results before entertainment and because of this, we should be proud of recent results and contrast where we are at now, compared to under Stan. However, in the back of my mind I keep asking myself, is this a team capable of captivating a nation? The answer presently would be no and would explain many of the low attendances of late. Maybe qualification for the Euro Finals might help, but the jury is still out on the team's ability to engage the nation.

I think a big result would captivate the nation though. McCarthy's team didn't really capture attention in terms of the quality of its football, but because they beat Yugoslavia, Croatia and, of course, Holland. Back-to-back victories in September would go some way to getting the nation engaged again. At the moment the jury is still out, but it's mainly because doubts exist about whether we can beat big teams in big games.

**Stuttgart88** · 08/06/2011, 9:43 AM

Screw the nation if they don't want to engage with this team. We're Ireland. We can't compete with Man United or Liverpool for quality, glamour or competitive context. We can't just invite the same big 6 teams to Dublin every year like they do in the rugby, or make up a competition from four countries and call it the European Cup. We have to earn our corn against the likes of Macedonia and Armenia and once every four years or so we earn the right to a meaningful game against a big team. That's the way it is.