Ireland vs Macedonia (1 Viewer)

[CinnamonBoy]

The fact that Clark picked up 5 yellows in 9 games this season shows how raw he is. You could imagine him taking down Pandev, giving away a peno and getting sent off in the first 15 minutes.

 

[Cormcolash]

Anyone any idea if it would be possible to get a ticket for this, being so last-minute about it and all that? And not wanting to be completely ripped off either.

 

[washingcattle]

Not a clue it cost me and the auldfella €200 for tickets for this and the friendly against Uraguay, another one of those you have to book both or you don't get either rackets, I honestly don't know why we bother booking anymore there won't be a sell out in Landsdowne until the last home game if we're top, when all the fir weathered bastards show up and at this point it'll take a collosall Russian fuck up to make that happen.

 

[Richie]

I dunno if we'd be any better off with Ward or Harte than Killer, Ward's generally seen even by Wolves fans as a weak link in the team and error-prone, and Harte's got to be even slower now than he was last time he played for Ireland despite the sweet left foot. I'd rather see Clark at full back but Trap's thinking is presumably that we need an experienced head in there with Foley, O'Dea and Westwood already forming most of the backline.

Watching the highlights of Macedonia's home game against Armenia, they may have a decent strike force but they were torn to shreds over and over again in the 2nd half by a few neat passes and a decent through ball from the Armenians and really got out of jail with a soft peno right at the end. It's all going to depend on our approach, if it's sit back and soak up pressure and invite them onto us then it'll be the same nerve racking 90 minutes as ever but we could do some real damage with Duff & McGeady on form if Trap encourages them to keep a positive attitude and keep pressing for the whole game.

 

[washingcattle]

Duff played well (ish- Fulham were fairly shite) against us last saturday I'm hoping that him and Keane link up like the days of old, Looking forward to seeing Kevin Doyle get actual chances, He really has to live off scraps at Wolves, if ever a player needed to move to Everton it's him (and Keane).

To be honest I'm sort of (and I mean sort of) glad that Kilbane is playing if he wasn't there we'd only have one member of our regular back five (including keeper) playing that may not seem like a massive deal in open play, but it is at set pieces. I expect us to struggle at set pieces anyway but you need experienced mouthy lads to get everything sorted quickly and early on, It's all well and good doing this in training but then you show up and they have 5 6 footers and a Tim Cahill all huddled on the peno spot the plan goes out the window and before you can deal with it at half time you're 2-0 down. Dunne and Killer should be pushing, shoving and screaming people into position on saturday because you can't really expect Westwood, O Dea and Foley to be perfectly organised having never played together before. Kilbane is the right call, unfortunately the right thing isn't always the best thing, if you get me.

 

[Jerry Twig]

I wasn't advocating for Harte, and I know that Trap would never draft in a 34 year old for one game, but I was just saying that there are better eligible players (he may be slow but I reckon he's still got more to his game than Killer), but I agree with Cattle that Kilbane the stalwart makes sense given the options.
Just keep hammering the fuck out of them from the wings is what I hope to see. Please god no bypassing the midfield with hoofs to Doyle's head, back to goal, for Keane to run on to like a broken whippet.
C'MON IRELAND TO FUCK!

 

[washingcattle]

, but I agree with Cattle

No one ever agrees with me. Frame that post.


P.S

C'Mon IRELAND TO FUCK!!!!

 

[CinnamonBoy]

Can't wait to watch Duffer tomorrow night. I believe their full backs are far better going forward than they are at defending so I expect him to run riot. He'll win a serious amount of free-kicks anyway. He has that down to a fine art. Honey Monster to score with a header tomorrow night and to celebrate with a drinking/fighting-themed celebration.

 

[Cormcolash]

Ireland to win 6-0. Daddy Dick and Leon Best to invade the pitch at the end of the game and show off their tattoos. Stan The Gaffer to come running on wearing an orange Ireland away kit circa. 1998 (or whatever year it was) and run about screaming in the faces of the Macedonians. Alexander The Great and Spartacus to fight to the death, only for Kirk Douglas to intervene by throwing Colin Farrell at them. Orpheus to leave the stadium with his wife in disgust at half-time, only to look back down the tunnel on his way out and see his wife snatched away by Trappitoni's charms.

 

[SomethingManic]

Stephen Ward and (ahem) Ian Harte, and you said it yourself - O'Dea, and play Clark in the middle.

Harte's career seems to be back on the rise again, I don't see why he should be dismissed so easily anymore. Even if he just comes in for one qualifying campaign.

 

[Cormcolash]

CAUSE HE'LL MISS A FUCKING PENALTY AT THE CRUCIAL TIME!!!!!

 

[SomethingManic]

It's easy to remember the negatives, isn't it?

Disregard all the free kicks and penalties he has scored. And the fact he's a (small) bit younger, and he plays in a better league than Kilbane.

 

[ratmonkey]

CAUSE HE'LL MISS A FUCKING PENALTY AT THE CRUCIAL TIME!!!!!

Do we actually have anyone capable of regularly taking a decent penalty?

 

[Moods For Mallards]

Do we actually have anyone capable of regularly taking a decent penalty?

Robbie Keane, obviously. He misses one and all of a sudden he should never take a penalty again, right?

 

[SomethingManic]

Robbie Keane, obviously. He misses one and all of a sudden he should never take a penalty again, right?

Just like Ian Harte! Although, I think I would trust Keane a bit more.

 

[Richie]

Armenia 0 - 0 Russia - Full time .|..|

That is a great result for us, win tonight and we're right back in the mix.

 

[ann post]

earth hour during an ireland match. planet is doomed.

 

[ratmonkey]

Robbie Keane, obviously. He misses one and all of a sudden he should never take a penalty again, right?

I don't think his club record is that great either.

 

[rettucs]

I sat in and watched that last night. Far be it from me to come over all expert on soccer, cos I'm not, but I know enough about sport to be able to make the comment I'm gonna make.

To beat Macedonia you only need to be better than Macedonia. Ireland were better than Macedonia and deserved to beat Macedonia. Yes, some of Ireland's players were crap (I'm thinking those 2 lads in midfield who I didn't even know were playing til a good chunk of the game was gone).

My point is you don't need to play like fucking Brazil to beat a shitty team like Macedonia. Dunphy and gang could do with cooling the jets a little bit. They won the game. Thats better than playing deadly and losing the fucking game. Some of that criticism was a little unwarranted IMO.

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

I sat in and watched that last night. Far be it from me to come over all expert on soccer, cos I'm not, but I know enough about sport to be able to make the comment I'm gonna make.

To beat Macedonia you only need to be better than Macedonia. Ireland were better than Macedonia and deserved to beat Macedonia. Yes, some of Ireland's players were crap (I'm thinking those 2 lads in midfield who I didn't even know were playing til a good chunk of the game was gone).

My point is you don't need to play like fucking Brazil to beat a shitty team like Macedonia. Dunphy and gang could do with cooling the jets a little bit. They won the game. Thats better than playing deadly and losing the fucking game. Some of that criticism was a little unwarranted IMO.

Fair enough, but their remit is a little greater than 'Can we beat Macedonia?'
They're looking at the larger picture of whether we're good enough to qualify.

Plus they like to have a go. It's their thing.

Brady was great value last night. Livid. He must have seen that Top 60 poll.