Draw for Play-Offs

[Dotsy]

I read yesterday (in the IT i think) that result of Holland v Czech Republic will have a big bearing on whether second place in England's group qualify automatically. I think England need Holland to win.

[dynamo kerry]

I second the call for windsor park.

[footballplease]

Windsor Park???? Are you mad????

Give me Tolka any day - you can get 12,000 in there - Windsor only holds 14,000. Not that much a difference and it keeps the game in Dublin.

Or wait a mo - what about RDS?? I seem to remember Bohs playing Rovers in front of 23,000 in mid nineties!!!!

[thejollyrodger]

Windsor park it is so :P

Can someone please list the possible teams who we will be facing (if we make 2nd spot) in the play offs ?

England
Poland
Spain
Czech Republic

who else are POSSIBLES

[dynamo kerry]

mad? possibly. tolka isn't a bad ideanot enough cash in it though

[finlma]

Windsor park it is so :P

Can someone please list the possible teams who we will be facing (if we make 2nd spot) in the play offs ?


who else are POSSIBLES

Most likely playoff teams:

Czech Republic
Turkey / Greece
Slovakia / Russia
Norway / Slovenia / Scotland (unlikely though)
England - team most likely to get through as 2nd best but could be Czechs too
Spain / Serbia - Serbia have the easier of the last fixtures so looks like Spain for the playoff
Croatia / Sweden


I'd fancy our chance against most teams but not Czechs, Turkey, England or Spain

[Dublin12]

Most likely playoff teams:

Czech Republic
Turkey / Greece
Slovakia / Russia
Norway / Slovenia / Scotland (unlikely though)
England - team most likely to get through as 2nd best but could be Czechs too
Spain / Serbia - Serbia have the easier of the last fixtures so looks like Spain for the playoff
Croatia / Sweden


I'd fancy our chance against most teams but not Czechs, Turkey, England or Spain

I wouldn't be confident against any of them bar Slovakia or Norway at home,wherever that mayl be,and I wouldn't fancy us against any of them away.Imagine a trip to Moscow in November,nightmare.

[concanta]

There would be no easy game but I would take spain now just to be in the play off.....alot of the top teams like spain and england are struggling so you never know...I know we do not inspire confidence....... I did'nt realise france have so many injuries for the saturday game - all there players were there for our game......

[eirebhoy]

I'd fancy our chance against most teams but not Czechs, Turkey, England or Spain

England would be up fairly high up the top of the list of teams I'd most want to face. As long as they stick with not playing a holding midfielder. If they put Carrick/Parker in the team I'd fear them.

The Czech's are an excellent team but like us they have maybe 1 or 2 real star players.

[Stuttgart88]

The Czech's are an excellent team but like us they have maybe 1 or 2 real star players.

We've discussed this before I think. The Czechs are a classic example of how you don't need class in every position to be a class team. Obviously it helps to have quality payers, but balance throughout the team is crucial too.

I think Jan Koller is actually out for 6 months which would be a help I reckon.

The injury came about 4 years too late for Paul Butler though!

[wallis]

" the draw for the playoffs will take place on October 14th at 12.00CET " (thats 11am for us)


I wonder who the Swiss will get ?

[concanta]

f8ck off and give the team a chance

[eirebhoy]

" the draw for the playoffs will take place on October 14th at 12.00CET " (thats 11am for us)


I wonder who the Swiss will get ?

afaik they're arranging a tournament with the likes of Wales and Romania while the WC is on.

[tetsujin1979]

I think Jan Koller is actually out for 6 months which would be a help I reckon.

Yep, tore his cruciates playing in Germany recently. Bad luck for the Czechs with the Holland game coming up.

[wallis]

f8ck off and give the team a chance

We wont need the play-offs when we win the group !

Loosen that collar and let some off....

[geysir]

England would be up fairly high up the top of the list of teams I'd most want to face. As long as they stick with not playing a holding midfielder. If they put Carrick/Parker in the team I'd fear them.

The Czech's are an excellent team but like us they have maybe 1 or 2 real star players.

The Czech's are playing Holland. According to reports the first team is weakened by injuries to the 2 strikers. The call went out for Nedved to return but after some crossed signals he reversed an apparent decision to return. I think we know what the next move will be - new manager, Nedved returns.
Is it an advantage to play the away game first in a play off situation?
One example, Celtic in their Uefa run, turning the tables in the away leg in 4 games, retrieving the situation after home draws.
I quite like the scenario where the home team in the second leg turn to jelly with the fear of an equalizer sending them out.

[geysir]

I think it was Paul Lennon who wrote it in the Star - can't remember exactly, but know that I read it in one of the papers yesterday.

Then it could well be speculation. I did not read anything about it on the Fifa site. At the last draw WCQ play offs Fifa made a point about no seedings.

[onenilgameover]

How is the home and away leg decided? Surely it would be better to get the away leg over first?

We were lucky enough to get the second goal against Iran and would have crumbled out there I reckon if we didnt get it.

[shakermaker1982]

http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/051007/2/e5jr.html

this is the article to answer all the Q concerning the draw

[thejollyrodger]

Thanks for that post Dublin12. Some of the teams there sound awesome and Im not sure if we can beat them. But at the end of the day they are coming second so something must be going wrong for them (and you take into consideration that the 2 strongest 2nd place teams automatically are gone through).

So the play offs are a fighting chance if we do fight. I dont want to face England, Spain or Czech Republic so I guess we will draw one of those three if we can beat the Cyprus and the choclate makers.