If he hadn't scored

[mypost]

Irish international football arguably changed when, circa 5.10pm Irish time on a mundane Wednesday evening in mid-November 1987, Gary McKay scored for Scotland in Sofia. The goal was probably more celebrated here than in Scotland, and the time since has been a rollercoaster of emotions for us, usually positive, with the odd negative thrown in. On the field, the team got stronger and gained invaluable experience at the finals and later tournaments, off the field the FAI got increased revenue streams and capacity home crowds. What they did with that money is maybe a debate for a later time, but the fans got wonderful trips to finals and other exotic locations, while home games led to schools and workplaces closing early in anticipation of another Ireland win in front of a full house.

But if McKay hadn't scored, Bulgaria would have qualified for the finals at our expense, so what direction would Irish football have taken in that eventuality? After the other near misses of 78 and 82, would crowds have remained at 15,000 for the next campaign? Would lights have been installed at Lansdowne? Would Lansdowne ever be rebuilt? Would football still suffer from an inferiority complex compared to other sports here? Would we attract players to play for a team who had never made a finals, or would we end up like the North? Would Charlton and his long ball game have been dispensed with after the Euro'88 qualifiers, as suggested by Eoin Hand years later? After all, the fine line at the time between Hand and Charlton was, McKay was playing for Jack.

Debate.

[rebelmusic]

I think one of the most important aspects is the carry over of players that has happened since 88. Since we qualified then there has always been players desperate to get to the next finals, and we've always had someone from the previous team.

In 2002 we still have Quinn and Staunton. Now we're approaching the same situation. We still have Keane, Duff and Given. This is to me is a massive reason why we need to get to the euro 2012 finals. Have kids like McCarthy, Cunningham etc experience it and then we'll "safe" for another few years. The worst thing that could happen is the irish national falls back into a pre 88 state of constant "almosts".

[TheBoss]

I would think that Liam Brady's 90 minute goal v Belgium would be just as important.

[mypost]

Brady's goal was revenge for the late goal in Brussels 5 years before. Hamo's commentary leading up to the kick is legendary, doing his best to jinx it, by telling everyone what happened with his last penalty in the stadium for Arsenal.

Bulgaria absolutely dominated Scotland in 87, but the shock of losing for the first time at home in years, had an effect. It was 6 years before they qualified for another finals, with that last minute goal in Paris. It eventually led to a fourth-place finish for them in the finals.

Back to us, I think JC would have been fired if Scotland hadn't scored. The long ball game was very unpopular at the time, and the likes of Dunphy and other journos would have been screaming for his head, blaming him for refusing to accommodate Brady and O'Leary in the team, as well as the style of football. Instead, they had to bite their tongue.

Going into the next qualifiers, we were fourth seeds, only ahead of Malta. The first 3 qualifiers were away from home to the other teams, and under a new coach, could have led to 3 straight defeats, given our abysmal away record pre-JC. Which would have killed another campaign, and stalled the growth of the game here long term.

[OwlsFan]

Back to us, I think JC would have been fired if Scotland hadn't scored. The long ball game was very unpopular at the time, and the likes of Dunphy and other journos would have been screaming for his head, blaming him for refusing to accommodate Brady and O'Leary in the team, as well as the style of football. Instead, they had to bite their tongue.

No they didn't. They through RTE continued their vicious assaults on Charlton, including an article in the Sunday Independent by DUnphy depicting him as an Andy Capp figure.

What you are saying is that if Ireland didn't top their group for the one and only time in a European Championship then what followed wouldn't have taken place. It is not the Scottish goal in Sofia that got us there. It was all the games in the group and we ended up with more points than Bulgaria. If Scotland had won there in the first game, it would have been forgotton and our last match against Bulgaria would be the one which would be remembered and not just for the Brady sending off.

I still think Charlton's team would have kicked on and we would have qualified for Italia '90 and all that implied. Brady, Giles and O'Herlihy would have continued with their bile as they have also done for Hand, McCarthy, Kerr, Staunton and Trapp. It puts bums on seats in front of RTE but success on the field will always overcome that. If we didn't qualify for Italia '90 he would have gone ok but I don't think there was much chance of that.