Welsh fans seem confident

[elroy]

I think this Irish team is on a last chance with an awful lot of Irish supporters this weekend. The Cyprus game was taken as an one off blip, but the SM performance was inexcusable. Sat is a big day for Irish football, first game in croker etc and the team really need to put in a big performance and a win.
This game will be decided by the midfield, our worst area. Our best performance of the campaign was against the Czechs and one of the reasons for that was that our midfield were up to the job that night (we had 3 in CM), if our midfield match that performance sat, we'll be fine.

If we can at least match wales there we will win. I have no doubt that we can score in this game, given the quality of our attacking players, the wide open pitch and the sub standard welsh defence.

With Shay in goal, I have confidence in our defence but giggs and bellamy need to be kept under control.

[shakermaker1982]

worries me how many of you think Wales have a good chance of victory. I'll be gutted if we only draw. It's 6 points or nothing for me. Without Gabbidon our chances of victory surely increase.

[Cymro]

I think we both need six points from our next two games to be honest. Qualifying isn't on the radar for us but it's crucial we get a good seeding for World Cup 2010 where we will hopefully have a strong squad. At the moment we are in the fifth pot of seeds for that so we need to move up to the fourth. So we need every point.

If I'm honest, and I apologise if I cause offence here, I don't think Ireland can qualify either. I think we will be competing with you for fourth place in this group with Slovakia, Germany & the Czechs all being better sides at the moment.

So this game could well have a bearing on who finishes fourth........that's the way I see it anyway.

[pineapple stu]

I think Wales will win with clear sky between them and us on the scoresheet. 0-2 ...0-3 even. And that's just Wales. Slovakia might very well DESTROY us.

Wasn't it 5-1 Slovakia beat Wales at home in September?

[shakermaker1982]

Wasn't it 5-1 Slovakia beat Wales at home in September?

yeah they were lethal in front of goal that night. Remember watching the highlights and they looked clinical. I thought Wales at home could have snatched a draw at the very least before the game.

[Torn-Ado]

Croke Park should do it for us.

Over 70,000 fans screaming. It might sound like a cliche but with a crowd that size, it should and could well act as a 12th man. If the players fail to perform in these two games, with all the support and hype surrounding them, then they should not wear the green of Ireland again.

We are better than Wales and we are better than Slovakia on paper and if those player cannot extend that to the pitch on the days of the matches then they should all be booted back to England by every Irish supporters in Croker.

I think they will do it and it will be about time.

[Ceirtlis]

Like the most of you i reckon if we had a decent manager we should be putting these two sides away. Wales squad looks very weak, if we were to match them for effort and tactically we would beat them fairly easily. As for Slovakia they have had fairly schizophrenic results so far hammering two teams and getting hammered them twice. Lets hope we get them on a bad day.

[Jerry The Saint]

Croke Park should do it for us.

Over 70,000 fans screaming. It might sound like a cliche but with a crowd that size, it should and could well act as a 12th man. If the players fail to perform in these two games, with all the support and hype surrounding them, then they should not wear the green of Ireland again.

We are better than Wales and we are better than Slovakia on paper and if those player cannot extend that to the pitch on the days of the matches then they should all be booted back to England by every Irish supporters in Croker.

I think they will do it and it will be about time.

I think so too. If only the team can pick themselves up and play like actual professional footballers it could be a cracking atmosphere. 70,000 Irish fans and surely less tourists than went to the rugby.

Leaving aside the qualification group, we really need to treat this as similar to a big 6 Nations game (only with WAY more singing from the crowd) and a chance for these wasters to restore some pride against our neigbours.

[Torn-Ado]

Like the most of you i reckon if we had a decent manager we should be putting these two sides away. Wales squad looks very weak, if we were to match them for effort and tactically we would beat them fairly easily. As for Slovakia they have had fairly schizophrenic results so far hammering two teams and getting hammered them twice. Lets hope we get them on a bad day.

Hello C ya dawg.

How ya keeping?

[Torn-Ado]

I think so too. If only the team can pick themselves up and play like actual professional footballers it could be a cracking atmosphere. 70,000 Irish fans and surely less tourists than went to the rugby.

Leaving aside the qualification group, we really need to treat this as similar to a big 6 Nations game (only with WAY more singing from the crowd) and a chance for these wasters to restore some pride against our neigbours.

Exactly. Thats why I think they will turn on the style a bit.

About time too.

[Cymro]

Wales squad looks very weak, if we were to match them for effort and tactically we would beat them fairly easily.

Really, there isn't much difference between our bog-standard Championship journeymen and your bog-standard Premiership ones. Yours just get paid more.

[geysir]

Cymro, out of curiousity what are ye paying Toshack?
How many in the management team?

[Cymro]

Toshack's wage can't be more than about £250K p/a as the FAW are tight-fisted ****s.

He has Roy Evans as his assistant plus a Basque, Salva Iriarte. Bryan Flynn coaches the under 21s and Neville Southall the under 19s.

That's about all I know.

[geysir]

€370,000 p/a. We'll keep that in mind for future reference
He's a sound man, knows his football.
Do you support him in the way he stood firm with Savage?

[Cymro]

Hands off!

And yes, I do support him on Savage, as long as he gets results and performances, which he has for the most part so far.

[citizenerased]

if stan watched the wales slovakia match his match tactics should be take long range shots outside the box(something which we never ever do) as Paul Jones is a horrendus goalie, every long shot the slovaks tokk it seemed to hit the net

[NeilMcD]

Will he be in goals or will it be the lad at Sunderland.

[eirebhoy]

Really, there isn't much difference between our bog-standard Championship journeymen and your bog-standard Premiership ones. Yours just get paid more.

I don't know if you're being sarcastic but I'm suprised that a lot of Welsh fans don't see much between the 2 sides. You may well win but we clearly have the better players.

[kingdom hoop]

Will he be in goals or will it be the lad at Sunderland.

almost definitely sunderland's first choice in-form ward instead of arthritic third choice QPR man paul jones. who, unfortunately for us and him, looks as though he'll suffer an ignominious exit from the international stage

[Cymro]

I don't know if you're being sarcastic but I'm suprised that a lot of Welsh fans don't see much between the 2 sides. You may well win but we clearly have the better players.

When we have everyone available, we would be a match for your best XI. We are missing a few players for this game, so I'd agree that the players you will have on Saturday will be better man for man than ours.

We are missing five key players for Saturday: Price, Delaney, Koumas, Earnshaw and Gabbidon.

With those fit we would have a first XI of:

Price, Delaney, Collins, Gabbidon, Bale, Davies, Fletcher, Koumas, Giggs Bellamy, Earnshaw.

Of those six are real Premiership quality and five are top Championship players with the ability to step up to the top level. Not any worse your than first XI.