Then we had Tony O'Neill in charge at the FAI and he was determined to get a top manager. And he did. I know it gave me and other hardcore fans a renewed spring in our steps. From utter dejecton to a new lease on life. We could dream again. But this time with real conviction. This Delaney, FAI, Stan axis is souless and lacking in everything that is now needed. We need someone to come in and rekindle the belief. Someone with real experience and vision that they can get this squad of players playing to their maximum.
Hang on, that was very good Denmark side! Besides, we gave as good as we got until the second-half, when they took over. There's no comparison between that loss and the 1-1 with Cyprus. Cyprus! I'd go back to the 4-1 home defeat against Austria at Dalymount in 1971 for a worse home result. That was 36 years ago.
Of course, there was the 0-0 against Iceland a few years ago that wasn't so smart, with McCarthy playing Roy Keane as a sweeper. That was possibly more embarrassing.
I'm not talking about the individual results themselves Billy but the overall campaigns of Hand 84/85 and Staunton 06/07. And how the hard facts have to be faced by the FAI and Staunton.
I was thinking about this last night NG. I agree with BL that there is no comparision in the matches (that was a cracking Danish side who went on to do well in Mexico). I take your point about the campaign overall but there were some good performances during it too and I don't think it was as bad as what we have just witnessed.
That said I cannot remember feeling this dispirited. I don't thrust Delaney and don't believe he has the interests of Irish football as a priority over his own ambitions. TON was ambitious sure but his overriding concern was doing what was best for the game so there was some hope.
"I'd rather play in front of a full house than an empty crowd" Johnny Giles
that was a class denmark side that wnet to mexico and played the best football of all the countrues there. A terrible keeper was their achilles heel. After that game I was priviledged to have seen laudrup preben elkjaer olsen etc....after last night I just feel cheated by our fai manager and players but mainly the former two
Bring back the plank
I didn't feel so bad in '85. I had no real expectations back then. Hope yes, but not expectation. Finals were something I watched on telly, qualifiers were when we got one or two decent teams coming to Dublin and sometimes we lifted our game and got famous wins.
In the meantime I grew to expect. Not necessarily to qualify but to give it a bloody good shot.
Now all expectation is long gone and hope is all I have again.
I fear we may be perpetually mediocre (at best). The national association is failing stakeholders and the players are failing the supporters.
The only crumb of comfort I can take from last night is that 1985 represented a turning point and I can only hope that this is the same.
Last edited by Stuttgart88; 18/10/2007 at 9:21 AM.
Agree with Stuttgart88.
We were never as bad under Eoin Hand as we have been in this qualifying tournament. If it wasn't for injury time goals against San Marino and Cyprus we'd be second bottom in the group, big difference between that and beign outclassed by a very good Danish side.
It's the worst I've ever seen anyway.
Cork City: Making 'Dream Team' seem realistic since 2007.
This is much much worse than the dark days at the end of Eoin Hand's regime.
Eoin Hand could manage but he had just lost it. Denamrk had a decent team in 1985.
The only 2 countries Cyprus have ever beaten away from home in a competitive match are San Marino and Malta. It should have been 3 last night. Their coach was disgusted and rightly so. Our mupper could only say "do better".
Cyprus are a poor football team. They have totally outplayed us twice. Bad finishing and some questionable refereeing decisions denied them the win they deserved.
This indeed should be a turning point. We have until next September to prepare for the WC qualifiers, a new manager installed NOW is what needs to be done. Look at Scotland a couple of years ago, they sacked Vogts and Smith came in and they were like a new team straight away. Proof that change in manager can work. It's obvious that the players aren't responding to Stan, if they give him the next campaign and we do badly, we'll be 5th seeds for the next few campaigns.
We took one point from a poor Norway team in that group. We had Paul McGrath, Brady, Stapleton, O'Leary, Robinson, Galvin, Cascarino, Moran, Whelan. So lets not get foggy memories here. We had more fans at the away 81 WC qualifer in Belgium than at that home game against the Danes. And yet within 3 years of that home Denmark defeat, the Danes lost all 3 games at Euro 88 and we got to within 4 mins of the semi-finals.Originally Posted by tiktok
Last edited by Noelys Guitar; 18/10/2007 at 10:06 AM.
I remember that game well and I remember the lousy sick to the pit of your stomach feeling I had as I left Lansdowne that day but I wasn't angry like I feel now because as pointed out we had been slaughtered by a very good Denmark team on the day and we were outplayed and outclassed in every position. In this campaign we have been humiliated twice by Cyprus and we were totally shown up by San Marino, that night in Serravale I lost all respect for Stan and had the ref not played over the alotted injury time we would have been even more humiliated by the worse team in Europe and we would have deserved it. It was bad enough as it was but we all know SM deserved a point that night. 3 of the worst displays in Irish football history have taken place under the Delaney/Staunton set up and I can't see a bright future with either of these clowns in charge. GO NOW! PLEASE for the sake of Irish football and the sanity of the nation GO!
I remember being gutted after it, but not angry like last night.
Like Stuttgart88 said, it's the difference between hope and expectation, I hoped to beat Denmark, but I expect us to put a team like Cyprus away, they nearly did the double over us and should have beaten us last night, whatever the danes and we were like three years after (remember that we relied on a favour to actually get to germany), on that night they were a good side playing good football.
Cork City: Making 'Dream Team' seem realistic since 2007.
Nothing can compare with this qual. except the bitterly dissapointing 86 wcQ. Noely is spot on there, we had a vg team and the 2 games against Norway were the pits. There were 2 teams to qualify and nothing to play for in the last game was as low as this campaign. Denmark were not invincible, they had lost 2 away games.
BTW Giles did walk away but it was clear there was a poisonous air against him and that played a big part in his decision, ironically at a time when he would have taken us through that group.
Goodness I loved watching that Denmark team.They played fantastic football.
Sivebaks goal was incredible.Stan be a good lad and hand in your resignation.
Just to qualify: I was miserable after we drew 0-0 at home to Norway in our Kerry GAA strip. A shot by Dave Langan was all I can remember. But by the time Denmark came around I expected nothing except maybe a half decent game. Man, was I jealous of the huge Denmark support in the East Stand that day!
The only saving grace that day was the Danish women in amongst the Roligans! Tried to speak to some of them but i came out with utter gibberish. Do you come here often or something.
I think as well last night the chances that a good team would have taken and they missed. 3 one on ones including 1 3 on 1! if that lad had not tried to chip given and just kept running they would have walked it in with a few passes. that would havebeen something to see.
I
Don't see the comparison myself - this is much much worse. The is by far the worst qualification campaign in my personal experience of going to games (since the late 70s).
Together with all our hearts.
In the 20 years that I've been attending home internationals that was far & the away the worst performance I've had to witness. We don't have a great side and we certainly have no divine right to qualify for the major tournaments, however, stan is making a mockery out of us.
Simple positional changes could have resulted in a much sturdier set-up, stan isn't going to learn all this. He has to walk and delaney too.
And you ask me to help you??!! Man is evil!!!! Capable of nothing but destruction!
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