Ireland - Deutschland (2 Viewers)

[Jerry Twig]

pearce hasn't played as many games as clark since the oman game.

Just to be clear, I am not against Clark being called up, just the knee jerk call from fans for the most unsubstantiated reasons. The above statement is exactly what I'm talking about. Let's pick players on the basis of how many games they've played in the last 5 weeks. Noel Hunt up front then.

In terms of tomorrow, I am excited anyway about Fahey, Coleman and especially Long getting a good go (if it does in fact happen) and I think we'll surprise ourselves, play our socks off and draw 0-0.

Oh yes!

 

[Luther Blissett]

Team announced:

Westwood

Coleman / O'Shea / O'Dea / Ward

Cox / Fahey / Andrews / McCarthy / McGeady

Walters


Plus points: 5 man midfield at last, Keane not lone striker (though that's by accident rather than design), Coleman gets a start

Minus points: Cox on the wing again.. Ward.. Long on the bench yet again (all well and good having him fresh to run at their defence for the last half an hour, but not if we're already 3-0 down by then)

Nice to see Coleman and Fahey starting but I can't believe Long isn't in the team. The mind boggles. Walters is a decent player and Cox is a good finisher, but Long is surely Ireland's best forward at the minute. He could even do a good job on the wing if needed. His run and cross for WBA's first goal against QPR at the weekend being a case in point.

Hopefully Long will get a decent run out in the second half, but the fact that he can't nail down a starting place given that both Keane and Doyle are out injured is frankly depressing.

http://videa.hu/videok/film-animacio/webrque32go-poOdma0qZAG2wmLj

 

[Hector Grey]

A lorra, lorra talk. 7-0 to Germany.

 

[Jerry Twig]

It is very depressing. Long's problem is that he actually plays to win and believes he can beat anybody. Trap obviously wants to believe we're all useless. Same with Wilson - he'll have to shoot Ward to get in the team.

Still, as a very minor consolation, I would have taken Walters up front at the outset.

 

[Luther Blissett]

A lorra, lorra talk. 7-0 to Germany.

You said the same about the Holland game back in 2001 ; )

 

[Hector Grey]

You said the same about the Holland game back in 2001 ; )

It's the power of predictions. It usually happens the other way. I've given us real hope there.

 

[Luther Blissett]

It is very depressing. Long's problem is that he actually plays to win and believes he can beat anybody. Trap obviously wants to believe we're all useless. Same with Wilson - he'll have to shoot Ward to get in the team.

Still, as a very minor consolation, I would have taken Walters up front at the outset.

Big time. Long was outstanding up front on his own against Uruguay in that friendly a few years back. He ran rings around Lugano & Co. I agree that Walters can definitely do a job up front, but Long would surely be a better bet than Cox on the wing? Cox has been decent for Ireland in the few games that he's played, but out wide? I just don't see it.

 

[Luther Blissett]

It's the power of predictions. It usually happens the other way. I've given us real hope there.

Touché!

 

[Jerry Twig]

Big time. Long was outstanding up front on his own against Uruguay in that friendly a few years back. He ran rings around Lugano & Co. I agree that Walters can definitely do a job up front, but Long would surely be a better bet than Cox on the wing? Cox has been decent for Ireland in the few games that he's played, but out wide? I just don't see it.

Yeah, if anything it should be Long up front and Walters on the wing (if it has to be a striker). That's where he plays at Stoke, FFS, unlike Cox who's never played on the wing at club level.

 

[Hector Grey]

I think that Jogi Love might have shot his bolt with the nationalmanschaft. We have a real chance.

 

[Hector Grey]

I think if they have a few injuries, say the top 356 players in the country, we could really give it a go. I mean, who's even heard of Mike Konneke?

 

[Luther Blissett]

I think if they have a few injuries, say the top 356 players in the country, we could really give it a go. I mean, who's even heard of Mike Konneke?

The quotes below from Raphael Honegstein's article give me some hope that Ireland could catch Germany on an off day. Plus the fact that Jerome Boateng is likely to start at right-back in place of the injured Philipp Lahm.

“There is friction [in the camp],” admitted general manager Oliver Bierhoff at yesterday’s terse press conference in Frankfurt.

Bierhoff was at pains to insist the discord in the ranks was simply a natural by-product of increased competition and as such not negative per se.

“We have a strong Bayern bloc, a strong Dortmund bloc, two confident players from Real Madrid (Sami Khedira, Mesut Özil) and the two Londoners (Per Mertesacker, Lukas Podolski),” said the 44-year-old.

“We’ve rarely had a situation where so many players felt they should start. We are happy and grateful this is the case. Of course, there will be some who’ll be unhappy about not getting in but the team spirit has been totally sound and I’m sure it will continue to be so.”

Not everyone would agree. Schweinsteiger, for starters, pointedly remarked that “the whole bench didn’t jump up [to celebrate a goal] at the Euros”, in an interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung 10 days ago. Bierhoff and Löw since spoke to him but he was unapologetic yesterday.

“That’s how I saw it, and that’s my opinion,” he said. A lack of harmony had also been evident in the aftermath of a nervy 2-1 away win against Austria a month ago. Dortmund centre back Mats Hummels publicly criticised Lahm’s positioning in the run-up to the hosts’ goal and a few days before, Khedira had disagreed with the Bayern full back about the team’s targets for the World Cup.

“We want to win it,” Lahm had said, but the Madrid midfielder, in contrast, said “talking about the World Cup final was all wrong”.

Germany, and Low in particular, seem to be under lots of pressure at the minute. They have nothing to show for all of their current talent. They were arguably unlucky against Spain in 2010 and weren't expected to win the World Cup, but they were many people's favourites for the Euros and then completely bottled it against Italy.

Brazil will be the last chance for many of the current crop of German players to win something. They were reportedly lucky to get a win against Austria and the pressure will clearly be on tomorrow night from their own fans and media. That could mean a backlash of course, but you never know what could happen if there is discord in the German ranks. COYBIG!

 

[Hector Grey]

The quotes below from Raphael Honegstein's article give me some hope that Ireland could catch Germany on an off day. Plus the fact that Jerome Boateng is likely to start at right-back in place of the injured Philipp Lahm.



Germany, and Low in particular, seem to be under lots of pressure at the minute. They have nothing to show for all of their current talent. They were arguably unlucky against Spain in 2010 and weren't expected to win the World Cup, but they were many people's favourites for the Euros and then completely bottled it against Italy.

Brazil will be the last chance for many of the current crop of German players to win something. They were reportedly lucky to get a win against Austria and the pressure will clearly be on tomorrow night from their own fans and media. That could mean a backlash of course, but you never know what could happen if there is discord in the German ranks. COYBIG!

They've been desperately unlucky recently. They're Ronaldo to Spain's Messi. ANd then there's the Italians, who they can't seem to beat. Still, i think they could throw on Thomas Helmer and still win this group at a canter. If Schwieni needs to be reminded that there's other players who can do his thing, a couple of Benders could do his thing, then now would be the perfect time to make that point. For me, their squad is more balanced than spain's, it's just that Spain have better players.

 

[Luther Blissett]

They've been desperately unlucky recently. They're Ronaldo to Spain's Messi. ANd then there's the Italians, who they can't seem to beat. Still, i think they could throw on Thomas Helmer and still win this group at a canter. If Schwieni needs to be reminded that there's other players who can do his thing, a couple of Benders could do his thing, then now would be the perfect time to make that point. For me, their squad is more balanced than spain's, it's just that Spain have better players.

Didi Hamann effectively said that the current German team are a bunch of bottlers in an interview on Newstalk tonight. He said that they have the talent to win a tournament but lack the mental strength when it comes to big games. Time will tell I suppose, but they folded like a cheap camera against Italy when the heat was on, so there are undoubtedly questions about their temperament.

Also while Germany have an abundance of midfield and forward talent I'm not fully convinced by their defensive options. Metersacker and Boateng seem fairly average players at best. Hummels and Badstuber looked great against Holland when Germany were show boating, but were really poor against Italy.

 

[Hector Grey]

Didi Hamann effectively said that the current German team are a bunch of bottlers in an interview on Newstalk tonight. He said that they have the talent to win a tournament but lack the mental strength when it comes to big games. Time will tell I suppose, but they folded like a cheap camera against Italy when the heat was on, so there are undoubtedly questions about their temperament.

I may have argued that Jogi lacked flexibility and had a Trapesque attachment to the same players and tactics, but last season's champions league final was a complete and utter bottle job. I thought that some of the Munich lads were tainted by that in 2012. Still, we don't look like much competition.

 

[Unicron]

Metersacker and Boateng seem fairly average players at best.

The BFG has been brilliant for my lot this season, reads the game astonishingly well.

 

[Cormcolash]

They'll win 2-0 and Trap will go back to his usual 11 when they're fit for the next game

I believe we are getting the reality of this thread right there.

Keane being out is a fucking massive plus. McShane has done something good for once.
Cox on the wing is dopey of course, but at least Cox has been in great form recently, even if it is at Championship level.
We might actually have a midfield for this game. IMAGINE THAT!!!

 

[nutmeg81]

i wonder had whelan been fit would it have been fahey who lost out or mccarthy?

even if mcclean had been able to play i still think cox would have started, which is a bit of a joke imo.

i had hoped long would start up front, as mentioned earlir he was class against the uruguains in dublin and walters does play on the wing a bit for stoke.

anyone think pilkington ot hoolahan will get a look in for the poland/greece games? as keogh and green cannot be considered better players!

 

[Cormcolash]

anyone think pilkington ot hoolahan will get a look in for the poland/greece games? as keogh and green cannot be considered better players!

Are you seriously asking "Does anyone think that Trappitoni will bring in these 2 players for the poland/greece games instead of using the same old total shite he's been using for the past 6 years?"

 

[washingcattle]

So many regulars out that I'm getting excited. Really confident now heading to the match early to get a few pints in before hand. So confident in fact that I'm re-evaluating my earlier prediction in line with the new developments, I'm now going for 5-0 to Germany. COYBIG!