Re: Euro 2012 Thread

**Boxtyeater** Tue Oct 11, 2011 11:30 pm

Boxtyeater wrote:
Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:We are hopeless!

Nothing new there Loyal....a form of exercise and/or enjoyment one associates with urbanites....What would you expect..

I'll await with anticipation a post in a similar vein in about 3 weeks, when the egg-chasers have their arxes handed to them in the Antipodes...

FYI....

**Podger** Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:15 pm

Turkey v Croatia
Estonia v Rep of Ireland
Czech v Montenegro
Bosnia v Portugal

Home 2nd leg too!!!!!!!

Wooooooooooooooooo hooooooooooooooooooooo

**Grenvile** Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:17 pm

Great Draw for Ireland.. Funny thing is Estonia are probably saying the same thing! But we have a very realistic shot of getting there now. Euro 2012 Thread - Page 15 417703

**Real Kerry Fan** Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:17 pm

Booking flight to Poland already. Or should that be Ukraine? Very Happy

**Grenvile** Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:24 pm

Ryanair flights have gone up 300% in the last few minutes apparently.. affraid

**Podger** Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:26 pm

Great draw. You have to hand it to Sepp for putting right the wrong. Wonder if we can get the same ref as the other night.

**Grenvile** Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:28 pm

Podger wrote:Great draw. You have to hand it to Sepp for putting right the wrong. Wonder if we can get the same ref as the other night.

This would be UEFA though not FIFA?

**Podger** Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:29 pm

Jonsmith wrote:
Podger wrote:Great draw. You have to hand it to Sepp for putting right the wrong. Wonder if we can get the same ref as the other night.

This would be UEFA though not FIFA?

Don't be so innicent lad. greasy paws all over football everywhere.

**Grenvile** Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:37 pm

If it was actually a fix then Portugal would have drawn Estonia as UEFA would want Ronaldo there.

The Poland/Ukraine fund starts now!! All donations welcome...

**Podger** Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:42 pm

Shamrock rovers beat their champs in the Champs Lge qualifiers so they can't be up to much. Mind you they bet NOrn Iron home and away - some feet!

But let the complacensy begin!

**Real Kerry Fan** Thu Oct 13, 2011 1:14 pm

Podger wrote:Great draw. You have to hand it to Sepp for putting right the wrong. Wonder if we can get the same ref as the other night.

McQuillan is available Embarassed

**Podger** Thu Oct 13, 2011 1:27 pm

Real Kerry Fan wrote:McQuillan is available

Cd be good alrite. Lot of DUbs on team.

**Grenvile** Thu Oct 13, 2011 1:31 pm

Real Kerry Fan wrote:
Podger wrote:Great draw. You have to hand it to Sepp for putting right the wrong. Wonder if we can get the same ref as the other night.

McQuillan is available

The Kerry ref in our Ladies replay exacted revenge for McQuillan.

**Grenvile** Thu Oct 13, 2011 1:42 pm

John Delaney apparently was shown laughing when the draw happened. Muppet. Shades of the French Manager calling us the England B team...

**Podger** Thu Oct 13, 2011 1:52 pm

The guy in front of him was laughing louder. He is his Estonian equvalent.

**Parouisa** Thu Oct 13, 2011 3:10 pm

Well if you were asked to select the draw you would have picked that one exactly with away first.

Now if the manager allows us to play football we should have too much for the Estonians

**Loyal2TheRoyal** Thu Oct 13, 2011 10:24 pm

Parouisa wrote:Well if you were asked to select the draw you would have picked that one exactly with away first.

Now if the manager allows us to play football we should have too much for the Estonians

A team's playing style must be reasonably rigid from game to game.

You cannot expect to train - and play - like Brazil against weaker sides and then park the bus against the better teams. The result will be that neither system will maximise the team's strength to play that system.

Best example I can think is the Dublin footballers this year. Even though they were comfortably superior to Laois and Wexford, they still opted to play in defensive mode in both games and the result was a brace of wins but neither as easy or as stylish as past games against same opposition. Same system versus the best teams though worked to perfection, scrapping two and one point wins over teams, who in the past would have been better than Dublin.

**Parouisa** Fri Oct 14, 2011 9:34 am

Can't agree with your analysis there viz-a-viz Dublin.

Dublin walloped Laois comfortably, struggled against Wexford again. So how does your theory explain performance against Tyrone?

While soccer players are not the more intelligent beings on the planet I think they are capable of changing and varying tactics from game to game depending on opposition. I am not suggesting wholesale change but we should approach Estonia a little more offensively than say Russia.

**The Puke** Fri Oct 14, 2011 11:27 am

Quite happy with that draw and it is one which will decide the faith of Trap and Tardelli. If they fail to qualify then I don't see them getting a new contract. If were to have drawn Turkey or Bosnia and lost out over two tight games they probably would be renewed but if we can't beat Estonia over two legs then it is time for a fresh approach as at the end of the day it is a results business. But it goes without saying that if we get to the Euro's that they deserve two more years.

The only problem for us is that we will be overwhelming favourites to progress, which is something that has never sat well with Irish sides. But given the fact that we don't give away sloppy goals I don't envisage too many problems in the tie, barring Richard Dunne getting injured between now and then.

Hopefully we get there as the likes of Dunne, Kilbane, Given, Duff, Keane and in more recent years O'Shea have all been excellent servants for Ireland and now that they are all the wrong side of 30 it would be be a fitting tribute to their commitment to the Irish side to get to play in a major tournament again or for the first time for O'Shea and Dunne*.

*Dunne went to WC 2002 but saw no game time

**Parouisa** Fri Oct 14, 2011 11:40 am

I would doubt even this far out that Kilbane will be part of the squad if we qualify.

**The Puke** Fri Oct 14, 2011 11:43 am

Parouisa wrote:

While soccer players are not the more intelligent beings on the planet I think they are capable of changing and varying tactics from game to game depending on opposition. I am not suggesting wholesale change but we should approach Estonia a little more offensively than say Russia.

But it is a double edged sword. It is not about a players intelligence but their technical limitations which is why we suffer. It is easy say we should be more offensive or that the full backs should push on more or that Whelan and Andrews whould be far more positive on the ball but the fact is that they have their limitations and for the most part are either not comfortable to do this or simply not good enough to do it effectively. John O'Shea had a few years at United where he was first choice right back and he did a very decent job too, but he was never a swashbucking attacking right full and more often than not only pushed on when United had the possesion and territory to do so, Whelan and Andrews while being honest and wholehearted do not play any more positively at club level and are playing something similar for Ireland like they do at club level, neither have been players who have been able to retain possesion and pick forward passes. We have been excellent from a defensive viewpoint in 2011 and this is down to the fact that our full backs and midfielders never abdicate their defensive responsibilities or expect others to pick up their slack, I don't think that they are being overly cautious or negative but more so playing their natural games as they have done throughout their careers to date.

I wouldn't mind seeing Keith Fahey brought into the side as he is a bit more positive on the ball compared to the two we have in midfield but Trap's hands have been tied in this regards as well, since Fahey's decent cameo against Macedonia in March he missed very squad up until last week due to injuries, hopefully in 5 weeks time he might get his chance but I don't think he is going to transform the side but might retain the ball maginally better than the two we have

**Parouisa** Fri Oct 14, 2011 11:46 am

I would see Fahey as giving us something more positive going forward. I would not advocate attacking full backs, leave that to Duff and McGeady.

**The Puke** Fri Oct 14, 2011 11:48 am

Parouisa wrote:I would doubt even this far out that Kilbane will be part of the squad if we qualify.

I would be surprised if he is left out given that we have a paucity of options at left back. Stephen Ward has shown to date that he isn't the answer, he awful positioning was a huge contributing factor to the Russians exploiting us time and time again down the righ in Moscow, Kelly showed on Tuesday night that he isn't a left back and the only other alternatives would be Greg Cunnigham who is recovering from a broken leg with a dozen or so games at club level under his belt in his career to date or Ciaran Clark who was destroyed in the 4 nations cup last summer and will struggle with any right sided midfielder that runs at him with any conviction.

While i would like to see one of two of these lads stand up and make the position their own Kilbane is far from out of the picture

**Parouisa** Fri Oct 14, 2011 11:56 am

There is always the option of Coleman at right and switch O'Shea to left.

**The Puke** Fri Oct 14, 2011 12:01 pm

Parouisa wrote:There is always the option of Coleman at right and switch O'Shea to left.

Coleman is not an option at right back. He is very poor positionally, far far too green and reckless. David Moyes has even stated that he is a right sided midfielder for the time being and that is the way it should remain. If he cannot get ahead of the likes of Tony Hibbert to play right back for Everton then he shouldn't be considered at right back for Ireland ahead of the likes of Kevin Foley and Stephen Kelly who are both good solid right fulls. Until Coleman is playing in that position regulary at club level and gets more experienced at it he should not be considered for it

I wouldn't be a fan of switching O'Shea over, his best performances for both club and country have been at right back and he has had some stinkers at down throuigh the years for Ireland on the left

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