Slovakia vs Ireland

shane86

Might as well start the discussion, seeing as we have had the first bad news

http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2007/0904/ireland.html

homerjay2005

many on here going to this? 4 of us heading over on friday evening...

Kanney

Finnan out is really bad news, great addition to the squad. I personally am really confident in Ireland winning these next two games.

jameshayes

Confident about the slovak game, but I think we will need to push hard in czech rep, a point will do, 3 would be great..

gosplan

This is a bit of a problem because Carr is also out which means Kelly would be brought into the first team for the most important qualifier yet.

I wouldn't be too worried though. It still is only a doubt and regardless, we've a serious centre back pairing and are scoring goals at the moment so hopefulyl the matches won't swing on a fullback.

It'lll be amazing what a win on Saturday would do to our confidence and chances of qualifying.

shane86

homerjay2005 wrote:

many on here going to this? 4 of us heading over on friday evening...

Part 2 in Prague myself (well, in an Irish bar anyway, tickets couldnt be sorted so its Tuesday to Sunday of hopefully good results, both on and off the pitch wohahhaha Flying out with a win against the Slovaks in the bag and then seeing us do the business against the Czechs would make my year tbh)

I wouldnt dare write off the Slovaks, Id reckon they were the toughest opposition a largely first choice Ireland squad has contended with in these qualifiers, cant remember wanting a match to end faster than after Doyles goal, theyd a few decent shots on goal and denfensively werent bad.

Mind you its by no means confirmed Finnan is out from that article but its not looking good.

Vokes

V. bad news with Finnan out

Has Kelly being playing well or at all for Birmingham ?


Im guessing:

Given

Kelly - Dunne - McShane - O'Shea

McGeady - Carsley - Reid - Hunt

Doyle - Keane

_blank_

Ireland will be lucky to get one point from these two games.

Take off the green tinted specs lads.

jameshayes

DesF wrote:

Ireland will be lucky to get one point from these two games.

Take off the green tinted specs lads.

As far as I remember it was out defense that let us down and let slovakia to hit shots on target, if we tighten up we should be safe..

Prediction;

2-1 ireland

gosplan

DesF wrote:

Ireland will be lucky to get one point from these two games.

Take off the green tinted specs lads.

wager?

Kanney

Nah, they'll do it, i have full confidence. We need McGeady to play like he did against the Danes and Doyle to get one or two. Long on the bench is an exciting sub to have.

jameshayes

if Dunne plays like he has done in the PL we should have a confident defensive line... Specially if hunt and McGeady pulling there weight..

genericgoon

DesF wrote:

Ireland will be lucky to get one point from these two games.

Take off the green tinted specs lads.

Im gonna have to agree. I see maybe 1-3 points from the two games.

homerjay2005

DesF wrote:

Ireland will be lucky to get one point from these two games.

Take off the green tinted specs lads.

if we dont get 4 points,forget qualification. all our rivals have san marino to come. that cyprus result really did so much damage. 3 points more now and we could have afforded 2 draws, but we cannot loose to the czechs and must beat the solvaks. then we have to hope that the germans beat czechs and we get something when they travel to croker.

_blank_

gosplan wrote:

wager?

Yes.

homerjay2005 wrote:

if we dont get 4 points,forget qualification.

Exactly.

jameshayes

9 - 1 odd's on betfair for a 2-1 ireland victory...

Galvasean

I'd say Ireland have what it takes to beat Slovakia. Czech republic on the other hand will be very difficult. We'd do well to get a point from them.

eirebhoy

homerjay2005 wrote:

if we dont get 4 points,forget qualification.

2 points may be good enough if we won our remaining 3 games.

I'm just very confident since Paul McShane came along. Himself and Dunne are a force for anyone. Great to have A.Reid back too. With him in the team we're capable of controlling the game. Without him we're not.

Slovakia are missing their captain and probably best player, Vittek.

jobonar

i'm going with 2 draws can't see Ireland winning either tbh. they may sneek a narrow win against the Slovaks but the Czechs will be too strong.

WellyJ

shane86 wrote:

Part 2 in Prague myself (well, in an Irish bar anyway)

Rockys?

kryogen

my heart says we can step up and do something, but my head is telling me a lack of firepower will hurt us...doyle has not had a good start to the season and when ive watched him he looks like hes lacking confidence.. keane? well who knows which robbie is going to turn up n the days? i think defensivly we will be solid and strong so i dont see us conceding much and maybe one goal out of somewhere in each game would be enough!

i really think we can beat the slovaks, who are not to be underestimated by the way,but i think it will be a hard game.the czechs are a different prospect completely and we will really need to be playing well to get something there.

whatever happens ill be cheering n the team anyway!

Kanney

Exactly, I'll be cheering every second of the game.

homerjay2005

anybody know some good spots for beer saturday in bratislava and all day wednesday in prague? im sure though,there will be 4000 or 5000 irish fans over there,probably more,and they wont be too hard to find.

WellyJ

homerjay2005 wrote:

anybody know some good spots for beer saturday in bratislava and all day wednesday in prague? im sure though,there will be 4000 or 5000 irish fans over there,probably more,and they wont be too hard to find.

Rocky O'Reillys in Prague!

Great spot, great drink, great food, all the football, and lots of lovely women serving.

shane86

DesF wrote:

Ireland will be lucky to get one point from these two games.

Take off the green tinted specs lads.

It could go every way and any way. We would be very unlucky with the mostly full strength squad to get zero points, but its a possibility. The Czechs are no pushover, but they arent the same team as the 90s either. Ireland showed good away form in Denmark. The Czechs struggled to beat Cyprus at home iirc. Its nervous times and its hard to predict. Will have to get out the oul pen, paper and fixtures list to see again just how many points we can afford to potentially forfeit (technically none, however a Czech loss/draw or two in the fture could nick it). As of now all 3 have 5 matches left, a max of 15 points to gain. The Czechs are currently a point ahead of us. A win against them and a Czech draw against someone else and we could just take it. Im hoping we arent left completely out of the running by Wednesday week, it could go either way really. Are the Czechs and Slovaks playing anyone on the Sat and Wed that they arent playing us? If they are it would certainly leave the table looking a bit clearer post Wednesday.

WellyJ wrote:

Rocky O'Reillys in Prague!

Great spot, great drink, great food, all the football, and lots of lovely women serving.

Rockys it is so Hope its a decent Irish place though, I was in a supposed Irish bar in Glasgow that had all the old country charm of Fitzsimons or any other random souless Temple Bar superpubs

herbieflowers

Slovakia are in the midst of a bad patch so a win would be a marvellous result, although I'd most definitely settle for a point. Thing is, Ireland's record away from home is poor and it's a bad sign if we go a goal down...I can't remember the last time we came from behind to win a match or even draw.

Defensively I think we're solid, although with McShane a slight doubt the defence looks a bit bare. Hopefully he'll be passed fit and can pair up with Dunne. I hope Finnan plays right-back and O'Shea left-back (which he does and has done for Man U anyway) rather than the other way round. Not that it's a major problem, I just feel the better player should be given priority. But apparently he's a doubt, Kilbane could fill in at left-full if that's the case (as he has been doing for Wigan this season).

In midfield I'd like to see Ireland play through the centre, he's far more effective there than out on the right (despite playing there against Wales his goal did come from a burst through the middle). It'll be interesting to see whether Hunt is preferred to Kilbane and whether McGeady - who was good against Denmark imo - can claim a starting berth. Carsley should start in the centre with Ireland...although I think Staunton will start a conservative team, possibly Carsley and Kilbane in the middle as opposed to Ireland / Andy Reid (who's looked impressive for Charlton imo) and Carsley.

Up front Doyle and Keane. As good as Keane is for Spurs I don't think we've really seen him play the deep-lying striker role well for Ireland yet. Doyle's form hasn't been fantastic either of late (the latter half of last season) but I think they work well together and are good finishers. Hopefully they'll take their chances if they come along.

One thing which I've noticed from the squad is that there are a lot of young players coming through who possess good technical ability, the kind that can change matches - Gibson, Ireland, McGeady, Long (has the potential to be a very good player). Overall though I'd be happy if Ireland finished third, surpassing their seeding. The McCarthy and, to a lesser extent, Kerr eras took a while to filter out but I think we're getting there. A far cry from the initial indifference from the media and fans to Staunton when he first took the job. I think we need to lower our expectations slightly, it's a work in progress...a solid finish to this campaign will leave us in good stead for the WC qualifiers.

smemon

a point is no good. a point means we go to the czechs needing 3 points and the reality is if we can't get 3 points in slovakia, we don't have a hope in hell of getting them in the czech rep.

We need to ditch the losing mentality which we have, it's still there. Maximum points is the only option. Nothing less will do.

If you go into matches not aiming to win, you fail before you even step out on the pitch.

herbieflowers

Read the end of my post...are we good enough to win? Are we good enough to play at a Euros? When was the last time Ireland played consistently well over a period of, let's say, three matches?

Andrew 83

shane86 wrote:

Rockys it is so Hope its a decent Irish place though, I was in a supposed Irish bar in Glasgow that had all the old country charm of Fitzsimons or any other random souless Temple Bar superpubs

In my opinion Rocky's is like a Temple Bar superpub and pints are 4 times what they cost in most places (I was there about 3 years ago). There is a lovely smaller Irish pub called Molly Malone's near Huss Square. Beer there is your usual Czech 1 euro a pint kind of thing and although it's small it had a really good atmosphere when I was there. I watched our qualifier away to Switzerland there when we drew 1 all and Clinton scored and had a great night (they had the RTE coverage live with Bill and the boys). A warning that it's a bit quiet and small but if you want a Dublin comparison I'd say Rocky O'Reilly's is like Messrs Maguire or Fitzsimons.

gosplan

DesF wrote:

Yes.

I'll make it easy for you.

1 point or less and you win, 4 points of more and i win.

cash or degrading forefit?

_blank_

gosplan wrote:

I'll make it easy for you.

1 point or less and you win, 4 points of more and i win.

cash or degrading forefit?

Fair enough.

Two draws and it's void?

Cash.
http://www.sigmasolns.com/images/handshake.jpg

gosplan

DesF wrote:

Fair enough.

Two draws and it's void?

Cash.
http://www.sigmasolns.com/images/handshake.jpg

deal, was gonna try and push for anything above one point = win for me but that would be unfair.

How much, you better not be a super rich russian billionare

_blank_

A Score?

Twenty shiney Euros?

Do you live in Dublin?

The_B_Man

Oh, so Dunne is fit? I musta been on a different planet. Coulda sworn he was injured!! Even me little sister said she saw him clubbin in Dublin the weekend. hmmm, weird.

gosplan

DesF wrote:

A Score?

Twenty shiney Euros?

Do you live in Dublin?

between Dublin & Wexford. How about winner pm's postal address to loser who can send money and egg house when drunk for revenge.

leninbenjamin

if we're gonna qualify i think we need to take all 3 against the czechs at least. not an easy task. unless we get all 6 in these matches i still can't see us qualifying.

_blank_

gosplan wrote:

between Dublin & Wexford. How about winner pm's postal address to loser who can send money and egg house when drunk for revenge.

Fine by me.

MrJoeSoap

To quote Paul Osam, I could see Ireland picking up 4 or 5 points from these two games.

shane86

Andrew 83 wrote:

A warning that it's a bit quiet and small but if you want a Dublin comparison I'd say Rocky O'Reilly's is like Messrs Maguire or Fitzsimons.

Hmm, sounds like Rockys has a good tv set up though. Probably watch the match there but socialise the other nights pre club in the smaller joint so. The place in Glasgow was crap, the DJ didnt even have any irish tunes, it was all Britney and Christina type stuff Thankfully found a great oul sod spot the next afternoon, the Failte pub.

MrJoeSoap wrote:

To quote Paul Osam, I could see Ireland picking up 4 or 5 points from these two games.

Five? Whats Osam on about?

Apart from what herbie mentioned Ive no idea of the Slovaks fitness situation, however i do remember they were without 4 or 5 odd first choice lads in Croker and they still put in a hard fight

Mikeyt086

Vittek out = MASSIVE bonus for us.

Keane in sparkling form, the best Centre Back partnership we have had for years, tricky wingers, a top notch centre forward for Keano to play off.

We can do it.

jameshayes

Mikeyt086 wrote:

Vittek out = MASSIVE bonus for us.

Keane in sparkling form, the best Centre Back partnership we have had for years, tricky wingers, a top notch centre forward for Keano to play off.

We can do it.

And a reliable goalkeeper (performace-wise, not fitness-wise!)

ninebeanrows

I feel we must beat the Czechs.

A point against the Slovaks and a win against the Czechs is going to be much more beneficial than the other way around.

I reckon we will get 2 draws, obviously not enough for our qualification hopes but decent results nonetheless and 3rd spot almost secured which will help us for our world cup qualifying group.

shane86

jameshayes wrote:

And a reliable goalkeeper (performace-wise, not fitness-wise!)

Have to be honest I think that if Shay had been in Cyprus we might have got away with a draw despite the awful defense. I dont mean any disrespect to him but Kenny is one of the worst goalies for Ireland Ive ever seen, in Cyprus and the Holland match he let in more goals than Shay has in god knows how many years. Obviously a good defence helps but still, Shay is number one a generally great goalie (the Germany result was horribly unlucky) and number two a presence on the field, when the defence arent up to scratch he is there roaring the bollix off them to pull the finger out.

re Henderson, he has impressed lately but re the Czech home game he was a bit overrated. Iirc Kilbane made a vital goaline clearance of a shot that bounced under Hendersons save (if you told someone 2 years ago that Irelands qualification hopes would only be alive thanks to Kilbane goals v San Marino and Czech and a goaline clearance against the Czechs yid have been laughed at. He is like the Ronaldo WC 2006 of our campaign- not particularly good but in the right place at the right time to do the business)

Weathercheck- it desnt matter either way, 4 points is 4 points. And tbh i think it would be better, if necessary, to beat the Slovaks and draw the Czechs. If we beat the Slovaks there is an air of "we got 3 pts, lets get another 3 in and f.ucking bury this campaign". Atfer all, we have a (hopefully) home win against Cyprus, a tough but winnable game against Germany and a hopefully beatable Wales side who tbh cant be too bothered seeing as they have now no chance at all of qualifying. If the Slovaks either beat us or hold us to some sluggish drawn out draw the morale will be low for the team going to Prague. A win in Slovakia and a draw in Prague- its not the best but it aint the worst either, and if its enough to take 2nd place id be satisfied (satisfied i said, not happy mind ) Slovakia need to be beat to give it that mental edge, it will make it two away wins in a row.

edit

http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2007/0904/ireland.html

Final word is Friday. Maybe doesnt sound as bad as it did earlier but at the same time i dont want him playing if he isnt phycially on top.

And if Given is injured in training or the Slovak match yil find my body hanging in Dublin airport jacks next Tuesday,i just wont be arsed going :eek:

eirebhoy

Weathercheck wrote:

I reckon we will get 2 draws, obviously not enough for our qualification hopes

It could be. It would require us winning our remaning 3 games and Cyprus to hold the Czechs. I think the latter is very possible. Cyprus are pretty decent at home. Slovakia beat them after their keeper got sent off but Germany only got a draw.

leninbenjamin

Shane86 wrote:

Weathercheck- it desnt matter either way, 4 points is 4 points.

we cannot afford to give the czechs any points. we have to beat them if we are to overtake them at all.

The Rooster

leninbenjamin wrote:

we cannot afford to give the czechs any points. we have to beat them if we are to overtake them at all.

And we're well capable of it. The Czechs are no better than us - anyone who thinks they are better are thinking of a different Czech side. It'll be an even game and it'll come down to who takes their chances.

We're a bit better than the Slovaks, but them being at home, they'll be hard to beat. Again it comes down to who takes their chances.

And of course it'll come down to team selection. Six midfielders to be picked from: Ireland, Carsley, Reid, Kilbane, Hunt and McGeady. I'd bet on the latter two being left out. No way would I pick Kilbane in midfield.

jameshayes

The Rooster wrote:

No way would I pick Kilbane in midfield.

I dont know why the pundets and alike favour him so much, I cant stand the guy, 4 out of every 5 passes he makes are not on target.. He does give 110% every game, but unfortuantly we cant keep people on the team because they try hard.. The need to perform, and I beleive the rest of the mid field have.

I would suggest; keeping him off the field because he's only going to make mistakes... But he is a great person for the young lads to learn from so we need him in the camp..

homerjay2005

its no hard to pick this irish team tbh.....but then again,its stan that we are dealing with.

id go for .....

given

finnan(if fit)
dunne
mcshane
o shea

ireland
a reid
carsley
hunt

doyle
keane

jameshayes

homerjay2005 wrote:

its no hard to pick this irish team tbh.....but then again,its stan that we are dealing with.

id go for .....

given

finnan(if fit)
dunne
mcshane
o shea

ireland
a reid
carsley
hunt

doyle
keane

Good team, young squad, hopfully full of energy!!

eirebhoy

leninbenjamin wrote:

we cannot afford to give the czechs any points. we have to beat them if we are to overtake them at all.

Anyone that wouldn't take a win in Slovakia and draw in Prague now is crazy imo.

gosplan

jameshayes wrote:

Good team, young squad, hopfully full of energy!!

If we want to win we should be starting mcgeedy.

No way can we play Andy Reid on the wing, it's just not an option.

Carsley
Reid
McGeedy
Hunt