selfish french brats!
not the best news to hear but i am hoping that it will not be the resulting factor, france are still sh!te-ish as a unit, they are not playing well as a team, i am not going to panic as i know this group is going to be close right down to the last game..
And they nearly beat us. Rewatch that game if you have a chance and you'll see that the French were as good as us and might have gotten a winner themselves.Originally Posted by Cowboy
There is no such thing as a miracle cure, a free lunch or a humble opinion.
France Team to Play Ireland
France:
Lama, Boli, Blanc, Leboeuf, Deschamps, Durand, Platini, Cantona, Ginola, Papin, Loko.
All the stars brought out of retirement!!
I think there is a definite benefit to France in bringing back Zidane and Makelele and not just because they are better players than they would otherwise have but there is a significant psychological boost for the French whose confidence must be low - to bring in a legend like Zidane must give them a huge lift.
And on our side it can at best have no psychological impact but will probably become a bit of a worry until the squad gets together at least, at least we know now rather than later.
But you could argue France won't be a well oiled machine with Dommenech in charge and they are a far cry from the team that won a World Cup and Euro title. Look to Greece and learn the lessons of the value of an excellent coach - the coach is the most important individual, no pressure Brian
Well said. Zidane retired for a reason, because he couldn't hack international football anymore. He'll make no difference whatsoever.This French move smacks of desperation. So typical of people on here to immediately get negative. 7 pts and we are there. We can afford to draw with France . . . that being said, I still think we will win 1-0.
If I was half as pessimistic as some on here I wouldn't get out of bed in the morning.
Agreed, Tuff Paddy. Zidane is obviously still the most naturally skillful player in the world but he remains one player alone. Apart from the last few minutes against England, he and France didn't set the Euros alight and they were shocking in 2002. He is one of the players that I would pay any amount of money to watch but he is not the Zidane of 1998.
If we're serious about competing in this World Cup, we're going to have to play teams like France and, especially on our home turf, expect to beat them. Did we see anything in Paris that was particularly troubling? No. Fair enough, their midfield has been stiffened by Makelele and Zidane and French morale will obviously be lifted but have they become far superior team overnight? I don't think so. I don't wish to sound hackneyed but in Lansdowne, we can take anyone, which we've proved before. Yes Henry is brilliant but our defenders aren't slouches either and nor is our midfield. Damien Duff is world-class as are the Keanes. Maybe we should look at our own attributes a bit more, and not just those of the opposition. Let them do what they want, we should be focusing on what we can do.
I'm worried about the game as we haven't had the best of luck throughout this campaign and Kerr's decisions have worked against him at times. I have a horrible vision of us going 1-0 up before they nick a lucky goal with half an hour left. With the game there for the taking, we instead play for the draw, that's my nightmare, not Zidane scoring a hat-trick and Makelele getting four for good measure.
As for the rest of the group, the Israelis were proved to be a very poor team and not deserving of the ridiculous hype they received on this site but one that was lucky (as well as cynical) in the extreme and they'll get their dues in Switzerland (no pun intended at all). We'll do the Swiss at home no problem - if we don't, I'm giving up this football lark.
Tetsujin has prepared the definitive piece on what can happen in this group.
If we lose to France we need to hope France at least draws with Switzerland and also hope that Israel doesn't beat Switzerland. In that case two more wins will guarantee second.
A loss to France virtually rules out winning the group.
A draw against France makes things complicated. 7 points would guarantee at least second in all circumstances as long as Israel doesn't beat Switzerland. If Israel beats Switzerland we're vulnerable to Israel pipping us on GD* as they have the Faroes to play twice still (though they'll find it tough up there).
The next really big game in our group is Switzerland vs Israel. I think it's 100% certain that the worst outcome in this game is an Israel win.
But as TP says, we'll win all 3
If anyone's looking for any further comfort, I was speaking with a client in Limassol last week who says we have nothing whatsoever to fear from Cyprus. I asked about the result in Basle when the Swiss only scored in the 90th minute but he still says not to worry!
* Before anyone starts this all over again, I am fully aware of when GD ultimately counts.
That was my first reaction "they are getting desperate". They already have enough class players in their squad to put together a first class team, yet they haven't yet functioned as such and now it is admitted, that as things stand they haven't a chance of living up to their inflated odds on favourite tag of topping the group with two of their toughest games coming up.This French move smacks of desperation. So typical of people on here to immediately get negative. 7 pts and we are there. We can afford to draw with France . . . that being said, I still think we will win 1-0.
If I was half as pessimistic as some on here I wouldn't get out of bed in the morning.
Adding on two more class players does not neccessarily mean their problems are fixed. They have been on the slide since the time when both players were part of their squad.
Its okay by me if they have their male hen's tail up when they come to Dublin. Dominech can't make them all play as a team.
I would be worried about calamities affecting our squad like the recent Mad Dunne Disease. MDD is as the name suggests a mad sort of delerium which happens after the recipient is first infected by scum saliva on the hands. It rapidly spreads to the brain area, causing the victim to do maniacal acts of self destruction. I would suggest that all our squad players wear protective gloves (sprayed with the essence of preserved turd from Saint Tib. of course) when moving about in vulnerable areas.
so what? my point is we need to be positive about our ability to beat them, if we turn up expecting to be beaten then we probably will be.
Right on brother, some here would have you believe we should not bother even playing the game as our fate is sealed.This French move smacks of desperation. So typical of people on here to immediately get negative. 7 pts and we are there. We can afford to draw with France . . . that being said, I still think we will win 1-0.
If I was half as pessimistic as some on here I wouldn't get out of bed in the morning.
totalfootball if we finish level on points with Israel, they will finish above us cos of the aggregate over the two games against them-they scored twice in dublin.
This does hint at desperation but no doubt is a psychological boost for the french. Having said that I'd be more worried about Henry than ZZ or Makelele. Its looking very much like the do or die situation the Dutch were in when they came here in 01.
The most important thing for us is that we have a clean bill of health going into this game, particularly need the keanes, duff, given, cunningham, reid and finnan to be fit.
Remember we dont lose at home that often, 7 points is a very realistic target and with a bit of luck(which we are due) 9.
WRONG! Honestly, I've checked it out. The rules are on FIFA's website - no mention in the rules of away goals counting if two sides tiew having drawn both their games. It's actually very clear. It'll go down to GD in ALL group games in this situation.
Bring it on!!!!!..... It's already been Brought!!!
I think you'd be naviie to think that the addition of Zidane, Makellele and Vieira (who didn't play in Paris) to the team in Dublin wouldn't give the french a huge boost coming into the game although that's not saying it'll make a huge difference
I still think we can beat France but i do believe it'll be a big boost for them to have players of that magnitute return to the team.
I am of the opinion that France will come good in this group at some stage, hopefully it doesn't start in September.
From a footballing perspective only, I'm delighted to finally get the opportunity to see one of the most talented players ever in the flesh ..........hopefully Kilbane will start but if not Zidane will have to do!!!!!
Foot.ie - NFL Fantasy Football Champion, 2006!
Thuram will be back too according to a French journo on newstalk last night (backed up by this: http://football.guardian.co.uk/break...89209,00.html).
Any chance of Garry Kelly, Lee Carsley, Steve Staunton, Dean Kiely and Curtis having a change of mind?
Together with all our hearts.
I would not mind if Kiely changed his mind, I certainly would be shaking if Shay Given goes on the injured list.
Reading this thread you'd think the fans are going to be playing the bloody French.
BTW - Zidane said he has no doubt Thuram will return aswell. I haven't seen him play in a while but I'd still say he's top class. Duffer better be on form.
I disagree, what happens if things dont go well in the first few mins and this pessimism transfers itself to the players via the atmosphere? A positive attitude from the start leads to better support which ultimately helps our team.Reading this thread you'd think the fans are going to be playing the bloody French.
I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic, well I am not pessimistic anyway,
not overconfident either. I predict we win 10:0
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