Ireland's WC qualifier in Georgia is set to be moved to a neutral venue. (1 Viewer)

[Richie]

Yeah Ireland looked decent for the 20-25 minutes coming up to half time, pity things were a fucking swamp after the break.. Stephen Reid definately steadies things in the centre of the pitch. I still don't agree with the tactic of having Glenn Whelan as an additional defensive midfielder instead of having Andy Reid in there, though Andy Reid mightn't have got much joy last night with the ball sticking to the quagmire every few yards. Keane took his goal well anyway.

 

[Moods For Mallards]

I don't think you can play Andy Reid if you are intent on starting McGeady, Duff and Steven Reid. You need someone who puts the foot it. Whelan's distribution doesn't seem to be the greatest, I'm hoping that's just a symptom of nerves in his first few caps. He did steady down after 20 minutes or so.
It's sad to see Duff unable to beat players anymore, I'm wondering if he has anything left. He never backs himself to go by anyone anymore.
Pleasantly surprised by Steven Reid. Maybe I've had a blind spot with him, I always thought his touch was woeful and he was nothing but a physical presence who could hit the odd long-range shot. His passing was lovely in the first half last night though. I might have to reassess. He'll be delighted with me.

 

[Hector Grey]

Yeah Ireland looked decent for the 20-25 minutes coming up to half time, pity things were a fucking swamp after the break.. Stephen Reid definately steadies things in the centre of the pitch. I still don't agree with the tactic of having Glenn Whelan as an additional defensive midfielder instead of having Andy Reid in there, though Andy Reid mightn't have got much joy last night with the ball sticking to the quagmire every few yards. Keane took his goal well anyway.

i don't think that trap sees redi (s) as a holding midfielder tho, i think he expect him to get up in support of the attack and back again, meaning we'd still need an actual holder. traps idea is to have all the creativity down the wings, with two busy mids. andy reid will have to be a bit more all action. it's the only thing that would explain picking a vastly inferior footballer over fat andy.

i suppose trap might just think he's a fat bastard too.

funny, i only ccaught 25 mins of the end of the first half, and we knocked it about nicely, kept possession, kept it simple, played to our strengths. what the fuck was stan staunton saying to the team? hoof it up the yard lads, and run about like eejits?

 

[Jerry Twig]

I disagree. It was a waste of 45 minutes. .

I know - I was only venting after the 2nd half. The 1st did have its moments for the purposes of a friendly, if only to prove to the likes of smarty pants above that we are not 'lesser people' for being able to spot talent in the likes of Stephen Reid.
As for Fat Andy, he's always eats a lot of chips and cake over the summer, but hopefully he can get in there.

 

[Moods For Mallards]

I know - I was only venting after the 2nd half. The 1st did have its moments for the purposes of a friendly, if only to prove to the likes of smarty pants above that we are not 'lesser people' for being able to spot talent in the likes of Stephen Reid.
As for Fat Andy, he's always eats a lot of chips and cake over the summer, but hopefully he can get in there.

No, I'll hand it to you on this one, you've a fine eye for talent.

 

[Jerry Twig]

No, I'll hand it to you on this one, you've a fine eye for talent.

RRrarrr...

 

[Luther Blissett]

Germany it is then:

Ireland set to play Georgia in Germany
The Georgian Football Federation have confirmed that their World Cup group eight qualifier against the Republic of Ireland will take place in Karlsruhe, Germany.

FIFA decided that the match, due to take place on 6 September, must be moved from Tbilisi played at a neutral venue due to security concerns in the country.

The GFF have now selected the Bundesliga ground - where striker Alexandre Iashvili plays his club football - as their chosen venue.

FIFA are expected to give their official seal of approval to the Georgian Football Federation later today.

A spokesman explained: 'The Georgian Football Federation have provided us with an alternative venue in case the match has to be moved out of Georgia.

'They were given until yesterday to provide that alternative venue, which is Karlsruhe in Germany.

'Now today, there is a meeting of the board of the organising committee of the FIFA World Cup when they will decide whether the match should be played in Karlsruhe, or in Tbilisi, or wherever.'

The German venue, the 32,306-capacity Wildparkstadion, is the home of Karlsruhe SC. FIFA ordered the Georgians to nominate an alternative as political unrest continued in their country last week.

 

[7 - No tomorrow]

It's to be in Mainz near Frankfurt

10,000 capacity

 

[Scientician 0.8]

Awww I wanted it to be in the Neutral Zone.

 

[johnson jackson]

http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2008/0828/ireland2.html

"Ireland look set to play Georgia in Mainz"

the karlsruhe venue has been cancelled because the stadium is actually unavailable. the georgians have a john delaney tye in charge.

 

[Luther Blissett]

Good article about Montenegro in the Guardian.

When he was appointed as Montenegro's first manager Zoran Filipovic spoke of his excitement at having a blank history to write. After 18 months of preamble, the real story gets under way on Saturday as Montenegro take on Bulgaria in their first competitive international. The following Wednesday, the Republic of Ireland go to Podgorica and then, in October, Montenegro travel to Italy. As gloomier commentators have noted, Montenegro's first World Cup qualifying campaign could be over just a month after it has begun.

There is little reason for them, though, to be so pessimistic. Montenegro are not minnows in the same sense that Andorra and San Marino are, their low ranking being born of their newness to the international scene rather than a history of failure. And, while it would be astonishing for a country with a population of 600,000 to finish second in the group, it is not totally beyond the bounds of possibility. Only Sweden have beaten them in Podgorica so far, while they have claimed the scalps of Hungary, Norway and Kazakhstan, and they can be sure of passionate, patriotic support.

What they don't have is depth. Any injuries, suspensions or slumps of form could derail a squad that essentially picks itself. In that context, Filipovic has sprung a major surprise by calling up the previously uncapped forward Dejan Damjanovic. Filipovic had been widely expected to bolster his defence after last month's 3-3 draw away to Hungary but, with the 19-year-old Borussia Dortmund defender Neven Subotic, an ethnic Serb who holds Bosnian and US passports and would also qualify for Montenegro, seemingly holding out for German nationality, Damjanovic is the only new face in the squad.

The 27 year old was born in Mostar, Bosnia, to a Montenegrin father, and fled with his family to Belgrade when the war began. He began his career there with Zeleznik, then moved on to Bezanija before opting in 2007 to quit Serbia for South Korea. His career has taken off since, with 14 goals in 26 games in his first season there at Incheon United leading to a move to FC Seoul, where he has banged in 14 in 16 this season. His goals, though, may be less important than his 6ft 4in bulk.

Filipovic has stressed Damjanovic's movement off the ball, while his height equips him to play as a front man in Montenegro's 4-2-3-1. The formation was popularised in Spain in the 1990s having been invented, at least if the Spanish magazine Training Futbol is to be believed, by Juanma Lillo at the second-flight side Cultural Leonesa. Filipovic, however, insists it was pioneered in the early 1970s by Miljan Miljanic's Red Star Belgrade side, in which he was the centre-forward.

Wherever it sprang from, the system is ideal for Montenegro, who have a glut of skilful attacking midfielders-cum-forwards, and not a lot else. Most obviously, there is Roma's Mirko Vucinic, who scored in each of his country's first four internationals. He is likely to play to the right of the three, with Stefan Jovetic, the 18-year-old who cost Fiorentina €8m million in the summer, inside him. Jovetic has one of the best mullets in European football and is a player of immense promise, but the most intriguing of the creative trident is the man to the left, Branko Boskovic.

At 28, he has reached the age when he must accept that his career will never scale the heights it appeared it might when Red Star Belgrade picked him up from Mogren as an 18-year-old. Back then, it looked as though he had everything to make him one of the greats - touch, vision, a nose for goal, a great sense of calm and, so important in these days of marketing, a passing resemblance to Keanu Reeves. When he joined PSG in 2003, it seemed a stepping-stone to greater things.

They never materialised. Boskovic fell out with the coach, Vahid Halilhodzic, spent two largely unhappy years on the fringes, was sent on loan to Troyes, and then went six months without a club before Rapid Vienna rescued him last summer. The temptation would be to say that the experience has chastened him, but Boskovic was never particularly arrogant even at the peak of his celebrity. Still, he could have been embittered by the sense of rejection, but instead he seems to be returning to the sort of form that so enthralled people six years ago. He has scored eight goals in 34 games for Rapid, and was excellent both in the 3-3 draw with Hungary and the 3-0 win over Kazakhstan.

If only the excitement of the front four was matched by solidity elsewhere. The two holding midfielders, Nikola Drincic and Milorad Pekovic, both have a tendency to get sucked up field, while it is telling that the left-back, Vladimir Bozovic, usually plays in midfield for Rapid Bucharest. They will score goals, but they will also concede them. That will almost certainly not be enough to secure World Cup qualification, but it might improve their coefficient sufficiently to give them a more realistic seeding next time round. It might also win them friends and, at the moment, for a youthful squad to remind the wider world that their young country exists is a far from unworthy goal.

 

[dAndAn]

What channel is the match on?

 

[dAndAn]

What channel is the match on?

Scratch that

WORLD CUP QUALIFIER: Georgia v Ireland
Republic of Ireland - 4.30pm
John Giles, Eamon Dunphy and Graeme Souness join Bill O'Herlihy for live coverage of Ireland's World Cup qualifier against Georgia

 

[Hector Grey]

stupid tv told me a different time. is k.o 5.30 or 6.00?

 

[Jerry Twig]

stupid tv told me a different time. is k.o 5.30 or 6.00?

I think it's 6 local time, so 5 for you

 

[Hector Grey]

I think it's 6 local time, so 5 for you

SCROTUMS!

 

[skinnerchinner]

roll on the match

cmon you boys in green (who are shite)

am i (certainly not) the onnly one who thinks glenn whelan isnt really even fit for a job as a roadsweeper ?

surely fatty reid is a better option ?

wheres that cunt stephen ireland ? we need him
hunt must have really pinned him down and tried to pull his hair off - something fishy went on there anyway

 

[Janer]

Anyone see where Ireland were taking of Kevin Doyle as substitute and the number 13 was held up on the boards for the oncoming player Liam Miller and the Georgian #13 thought he was going off and was actually going over to the touchline b4 he realised his mistake!

On the game their keeper gifted us a very early Xmas pressie for our 2nd goal, important it was too as Georgia had started to stamp their authoirty on the game and were getting closer to an equaliser.

 

[BonsaiSuperstar]

not great - but we will take it....

 

[CinnamonBoy]

roll on the match

cmon you boys in green (who are shite)

am i (certainly not) the onnly one who thinks glenn whelan isnt really even fit for a job as a roadsweeper ?

Ahem. Whelan was good today. Did what's needed and got a goal. I dunno what kind of chaps sweep your roads.

We used to be shite but now we're organised and purposeful and with still plenty of room to improve. Please God we'll get another 3 points on Wednesday.