Fear of French?

[mountie]

Watched the French game and I have come away even more confident about Wed. I saw nothing to be afraid of,in fact I thought France were very ordinary as they have been throughout the qualifications. Roll on Wednesday Ireland 2 France 1 if they are lucky.Any thoughts?

[boysingreen]

Didn't see the game but from some of the commentary I've read they were pretty vulnerable in the air. With Duffer and Reid swinging them in.. we need some Clinton magic.

[geysir]

Hats off to the Faroese, they tackled as if their cod quota depended on it. ZZ was the first casualty after an ankle whack and Thuram's thigh received a direct hit after 70 minutes. I would call them "smart tackles".
If our Laughing Bill was looking to do a bit of commentary he should look no further than the French TV5, channel 825 on Sky. The only thing I could compare it to was the time I watched the Port. v Irel. 2000 on Portugese tv. The difference was, these TV5 guys (about 6 of them) were knocking back the wine with gusto and had a rip roaring time. A few times they mentioned Landsdowne rd and Roy Keane, but I don't think they will last the pace in Dublin (the commentators of course)
The French look dangerous enough from set pieces. Boumsong tends to go up front to add another 2m. to the average height. If he had a bit of hair on his shiny skull he would have scored from one header. They looked good but it was little more than a training session for them. Henry missed some gilt edge chances. Quite a bit of showboating went on. They looked like they could pulverize any opposition. Gallas looked a bit clumsy at times, Boumsong gave the commentators a few heart flutters any time the ball came near him. When Zidane went off around 60m with a shiny bruiser they didn't look to have the same threat, the pulse rate went down a few beats.
Lets say I wouldn't like us to be defending deep hanging onto a result after 10 minutes, other than that its gloves off and if Kavanagh is anywhere near fit I hope he is under consideration by Brian.

[tetsujin1979]

I can't see Kavanagh starting, but he should come on as he's a serious threat with set pieces, late in the game with the opposition tiring, he's a definite asset.

[wallis]

Watched the French game and I have come away even more confident about Wed. I saw nothing to be afraid of,in fact I thought France were very ordinary as they have been throughout the qualifications. Roll on Wednesday Ireland 2 France 1 if they are lucky.Any thoughts?

Mountie - you are wasting your time trying to play down the french on here ! The majority think they are the greatest thing since sliced bread !

But you are right , they are very ordinary. Nothing to be worried about as long as Ireland concentrate and cut out the silly mistakes that were made against Israel. I have always maintained that Harte must play on Wednesday because the French look particulary weak in the air. Every dead ball and corner will give us a chance to grab a goal. Regardless of anyones opinion of Harte (pace !) there is hardly a better player in europe when it comes to free kicks and crosses.

I cannot see us losing this match.

[Stuttgart88]

Extract from today's The Times (Russell Kempson who cover all the Irish games for them):

Yet amid the Gallic joy, doubts remain in a camp riven by dissatisfaction at the eccentric ramblings of Domenech. Massaging millionaire egos is as important as a solid 4-4-2 formation; cajoling the best from strong-willed superstars is crucial. Domenech appears to be battling against the tide. “It kills me to see how playing for the French national team is no longer seen as an honour,” Willy Sagnol, the outspoken Bayern Munich right back, said recently. “The overriding goal of some players is to be on the front page of newspapers and to be rich and famous.”

Sagnol was at it again on Saturday, after France had beaten the Faeroe Isles 3-0 in Lens to assume co-leadership of group four with Switzerland and Ireland. He has yet to be convinced that the World Cup winners of 1998 and European champions of 2000 are back on the road to glory, yet to believe that they can take a big step by beating Ireland in Dublin on Wednesday evening.
“Am I optimistic? Maybe more than a while ago but I’m still wary,” Sagnol said. “It is not fear and there is no doubting our individual quality but we weren’t special against the Faeroe Islands and it was not good preparation to face Ireland. We played much too predictably.
“Everyone was looking to do their own thing and that’s not getting us very far. We have to talk to each other and remember what our priorities are because we seem to have forgotten them. Thuram tried to organise us at half-time but no one was listening to him.”
Zidane’s influence cannot be underestimated. Domenech replaced him during the second half in Lens, because of a minor calf injury, and Sagnol immediately spotted the difference. “After Zizou went off,” he said, “we fell back into the confusion that reigned before he returned to the side.”
Thierry Henry, whose prolific goalscoring fades when he exchanges the red of Arsenal for the blue of Les Bleus, was not happy, either. After missing a number of chances, he was substituted by Domenech and barely glanced at the coach as he left the pitch. “I was annoyed,” Henry said. “Not because I hadn’t scored but because I don’t like being taken off. I like playing.”

France cannot be all bad. No team that also includes Patrick Vieira, William Gallas and Djibril Cissé — who is doubtful for Wednesday’s match after picking up an ankle injury, along with Thuram, who has a dead leg — and can afford to leave Robert Pirès on the outside looking in after a falling out with Domenech can be dismissed lightly.

Yet the sum of their parts is a mess. That they are depending on a 33-year-old who has visited the dark side and seen the light illustrates their predicament. Strange but true.