We are going to the playoffs - discussion

kenco

Whoever we play, it is absolutely crucial that we get to play the second leg at home.

Absolutely key LL!

Its going to be tough no matter who we draw in the playoffs but regardless if we can go to them first, get the draw and then try to take them in Croker we might make it through against any of them.

I think the seeding will only kick in in there is a chance of say Portugal having to play France in a playoff. This would not suit Uefa/Fifa so we will see. AFAIK the last set of WC playoffs were not seeded. I remember the Swiss got the Ukraine (I think).

aidan24326

kenco wrote: »

Whoever we play, it is absolutely crucial that we get to play the second leg at home.

Absolutely key LL!

Its going to be tough no matter who we draw in the playoffs but regardless if we can go to them first, get the draw and then try to take them in Croker we might make it through against any of them.

I think the seeding will only kick in in there is a chance of say Portugal having to play France in a playoff. This would not suit Uefa/Fifa so we will see. AFAIK the last set of WC playoffs were not seeded. I remember the Swiss got the Ukraine (I think).

It's a bit of a joke if they just make up the rules as they go. That should all have been clarified long ago.

Maybe it was though? Anything about this on the FIFA or UEFA websites?

JerryHandbag

I'd like the runner up from Group 2, Israel/Latvia/Greece. We really shouldnt fear that lot, but whether we get them or not is another story. Oh and we still need to get 2 pts from last 2 games to be sure, to be sure!

briany

JerryHandbag wrote: »

I'd like the runner up from Group 2, Israel/Latvia/Greece. We really shouldnt fear that lot, but whether we get them or not is another story. Oh and we still need to get 2 pts from last 2 games to be sure, to be sure!

Well as far as Israel goes, I would hope against it as theyve nicked unlikely draws against us both times before. Latvia would be the one I'd pick out of those three.

yahoo_moe

aidan24326 wrote: »

It's a bit of a joke if they just make up the rules as they go. That should all have been clarified long ago.

Maybe it was though? Anything about this on the FIFA or UEFA websites?

Nope - FIFA site says in several places that the 8 best runners-up will contest play-offs but never goes into detail. Plus it's all "preliminary", meaning they can change it as they see fit, for whatever reason.

I think ArmaniJeanss is right though - we can't be too naive about this. If it suits FIFA to have a seeded draw to make sure the big countries and big players are there, I'm sure that's how it'll happen.

Anyone know at what point they decided to seed the play-off draw last time around?

NabyLadistheman

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Could we progress in a packed Croke park for a second leg where Ireland need just the one goal and Trapp is going for it? Stranger things have happened in football.

Id agree with you on principle of having the home leg at home second game but I don't think we have the quality needed to make an impression. Imagine us chasing a 2 nil, even 1 nil defeat from the first leg. We'd be picked off Id say - we've been brutal at home this campaign. Cyprus & Georgia should both have won as should Bulgaria

briany

Ireland have not been defeated in competitive fixtures, though that could easily change I'll grant you. Like a previous poster mentioned, it's not gonna be too easy for any of the current second placed teams to break us down but I'd still fancy them to do it if only narrowly.

JerryHandbag

briany wrote: »

Well as far as Israel goes, I would hope against it as theyve nicked unlikely draws against us both times before. Latvia would be the one I'd pick out of those three.

Yeah but we really should have won BOTH those games, how we conspired to drop 4 pts against them I'll never know....pure carelessness. I could see a 1-0 home and 0-0 away against that type of opposition under Trap.

dogpile

kenco wrote: »

Whoever we play, it is absolutely crucial that we get to play the second leg at home.

Absolutely key LL!

Its going to be tough no matter who we draw in the playoffs but regardless if we can go to them first, get the draw and then try to take them in Croker we might make it through against any of them.
.

We've yet to dominate anyone at home under Trappatoni, quite the opposite really and the atmosphere has yet to erupt, fortress Croker is aint.....home or away under his "system" makes no difference, always on the back foot

briany

dogpile wrote: »

We've yet to dominate anyone at home under Trappatoni, quite the opposite really and the atmosphere has yet to erupt, fortress Croker is aint.....home or away under his "system" makes no difference, always on the back foot

Maybe the ideal situation would be for us to nick a 1-1 all away and hang on for a nil-nil at home? I'm getting to the stage where I don't like to see us go a goal up against decent opposition because you just know we're gonna let the opposition back in.

SK1979

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

As a third seed going into the competition

AFAIK we were actually the 4th seed in this group?

1st - Italy
2nd - Bulgaria
3rd - Georgia (a bit of a joke in hindsight)
4th - Ireland

Boskowski

A_Fitz wrote: »

Ah a point is a Given, surely

FYP. Could well be down to him.

Daysha

SK1979 wrote: »

AFAIK we were actually the 4th seed in this group?

1st - Italy
2nd - Bulgaria
3rd - Georgia (a bit of a joke in hindsight)
4th - Ireland

Nope, we're definitely 3rd seeds. We were 4th seeds back in the Euro 2008 qualifiers when we got Germany, Czech Rep and Slovakia ahead of us.

SK1979

Daysha wrote: »

Nope, we're definitely 3rd seeds. We were 4th seeds back in the Euro 2008 qualifiers when we got Germany, Czech Rep and Slovakia ahead of us.

You're right, we were 3rd this time (its pretty sad when I cant even remember that much, such is the apathy the current performances create! ).

Anyway, I guess it is progress if we do finish second.

Any hope for us being 2nd seeds next time around?

mormank

Daysha wrote: »

Compared to some of the other teams yeah. We could take them.



Cristiano Ronaldo up against Kevin Kilbane.

Kilbane to have the game of his life and keep ronnie in his pocket and score the winner from a header...put down ye're money now on this one guys, would be massive odds and it will happen, fact!!

mormank

but in all seriousness we should probably all stop getting our hopes up and start trying to decide who will support at the world cup(besides whatever team happens to be playing england that day!!!!)

ArmaniJeanss

SK1979 wrote: »

Any hope for us being 2nd seeds next time around?

51 countries will be chasing 14 qualification slots (Poland/Ukraine auto qualifiers obviously).

So they'll either do 7 groups (5 with 7 teams, 2 with 8 teams) with top 2 qualifying and no playoffs.
Or 9 groups (3 with 5 teams, 6 with 6 teams) with the 9 winners qualifying, the best runner-up qualifying and the 8 other runners playing off for the remaining 4 places. Both these systems have been used by Uefa previously, Platini on record as preferring the latter.

Method A we need to be ranked 14th or better to be a second seed, method B need to be ranked 18th or better.

We are currently ranked 21st in Europe (when Poland/Ukraine are excluded) so a couple of good results in the next 2 games would be useful.
http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=m/fullranking.html#confederation=27275&rank=185

briany

Who do you all think would be the "Dream team" for us to face based on the current second place rankings anyways? Who would you be praying for when the playoff draw comes around? Also, will the draw be televised?

Cake Man

briany wrote: »

Who do you all think would be the "Dream team" for us to face based on the current second place rankings anyways? Who would you be praying for when the playoff draw comes around? Also, will the draw be televised?

To be honest, at this stage there doesn't seem to be any dream team we could get. Whoever we get (assuming we do get second spot of course) will be tough but if it was Greece/Latvia it would probably as good as we could do and that's not saying much! I'd probably settle for Slovenia/Czech Rep. aswell. Testing times lie ahead.....

briany

Do you think that supporters of all the other potentially second placed teams are going " Ooooohhhh I hope we get Ireland in the playoff, those guys are pushovers! I'm amazed theyre in second place.:D" In a foreign language of course. The last two times Ireland have played a playoff against European opposition its been very close, 3-2 to Belgium on agg and 1-1 all with Turkey, with them going through on away goals so you'd kind of feel (hope) that we're due to get one sooner or later.

briany

OK, now we really are going to playoffs. Can we reverse-jinx this? Come on, I want Russia or France.

Peyton Manning

Greece would be our best bet it seems, although wouldnt mind Portugal given their current form.

dyl10

Great job by Trap to get us here.
Qualification would be an amazing achievement, given the players we have at our disposal.

culabula88

briany wrote: »

OK, now we really are going to playoffs. Can we reverse-jinx this? Come on, I want Russia or France.

When will the play offs be on..

Boskowski

briany wrote: »

OK, now we really are going to playoffs. Can we reverse-jinx this? Come on, I want Russia or France.

Not sure about France but if I was you I wouldn't really fancy Russia... Unless of course you dont really want to go to the World Cup.

Daysha

Should look something like this by Wednesday (world rankings in brackets)

Russia (6th)
France (10th)
Greece (12th)
Portugal (17th)
---
Ukraine (25th)
Ireland (38th)
Bosnia (46th)
Slovenia (54th)

The only possible change is Slovakia (45nd) ahead of Slovenia, but that's really it; those top 4 teams are pretty much set in stone unless Greece or Portugal fcuk it up against Luxembourg or Malta.

Kind of annoying that Ukraine got it ahead of Croatia though. Had Croatia won 2nd that would've pushed Portugal out of the seeds because of Croatias 9th place in the rankings, and regardless of Portugals crap form I really don't fancy meeting them.

Greece are obviously the team we want to draw.

joe123

Daysha wrote: »

Should look something like this by Wednesday (world rankings in brackets)

Russia (6th)
France (10th)
Greece (12th)
Portugal (17th)
---
Ukraine (25th)
Ireland (38th)
Bosnia (46th)
Slovenia (54th)

The only possible change is Slovakia (45nd) ahead of Slovenia, but that's really it; those top 4 teams are pretty much set in stone unless Greece or Portugal fcuk it up against Luxembourg or Malta.

Kind of annoying that Ukraine got it ahead of Croatia though. Had Croatia won 2nd that would've pushed Portugal out of the seeds because of Croatias 9th place in the rankings, and regardless of Portugals crap form I really don't fancy meeting them.

Greece are obviously the team we want to draw.

Damn that looks tough. Really hate the way Fifa went about making it seeded at the last minute. Wouldnt like to meet Russia or Portugal. France aswell but Domench (sp?) is a clown but....

Please let us get Greece!!

briany

Yeah, Sweden would have to bloody well lose to Denmark, wouldn't they?
Let's face it, Greece is our only real chance out of those four. It would be absolutely immense for Ireland to beat or at least not choke against any of those other teams.

Daysha

If it's any consolation, the top 4 teams would see us as one of the tougher sides to meet of the non-seeders.

joe123

briany wrote: »

Yeah, Sweden would have to bloody well lose to Denmark, wouldn't they?
Let's face it, Greece is our only real chance out of those four. It would be absolutely immense for Ireland to beat or at least not choke against any of those other teams.

If Ronaldo was out injured I wouldnt mind facing Portugal but Ronaldo against Kilbane could be painful.

When does the draw take place?

The playoffs take place November 14th and 18th I think.

cooker3

Draw takes place October 19th.
Obviously Greece is the one you want. I think I'd take Portugal just over France. Both teams are better then us obviously but they have clowns managing them so we would have a chance.
I would want to avoid Russia at all costs.

builttospill

We are definitely going to draw France. It is written in the stars but somehow you heard it here first. I would rather play France than a couple of the other teams in the mix. Someone said they would prefer Portugal? No way. France are dodgy and like Italy they could buckle under pressure. We could give them a tough game. However I can see it all now-we'll be playing well but Terry Henry will break our hearts in the 77th minute away from home.

THE END

(Dunphy wins)

GLaDOS

Considering our results and performances against Italy, beating France or Portugal is far from impossible.

Russia would be scary though

orourkeda

I think its an achievement. Win lose or draw. From virtual laughing stocks the manager has at least restored some pride.

I hope they get there now.

The Volt

I think Russia have to be avoided at all costs.

Daysha

Whether we get to play in Croker in the 1st or 2nd leg is absolutely crucial. If we get any of Greece, Portugal or even France with the 2nd leg at home I honestly think we could pull off something special.

But if we have to travel to Moscow we haven't a hope in hell.

JerryHandbag

Traps luck will continue, we will draw Greece

Oliver1985

Anyone but Russia it would be a nightmare to go over there !! Only a select few fans would travel!!! France would be good we would get the fans!!!

Kev_ps3

Just wondering, will we improve in FIFA World Rankings because of our good results in the qualifiers? and could it effect the seedings for the playoffs?

Krusader

I would fancy ourselves against Greece or Portugal
Portugal just don't have any strikers and thats why they've struggled in this campaign.
I'd fancy ourselves least against the Russians
Russian winters are cold!

What dates are the play-offs on?

Oliver1985

Crosáidí wrote: »

I would fancy ourselves against Greece or Portugal
Portugal just don't have any strikers and thats why they've struggled in this campaign.
I'd fancy ourselves least against the Russians
Russian winters are cold!

What dates are the play-offs on?

14th and 18th of november!!!

Krusader

Oliver1985 wrote: »

14th and 18th of november!!!

Damn!! my mate is getting married on the 14th,
hope he doesn't mind me going in my Ireland jersey

Bandit12

Fingers crossed we get one of the big nations. We seem to always ramp up our game againest the better sides.

Oliver1985

It be like that episode in friends when Joey is listening to the match in the church with his ear piece in!!!!:eek:

IRISHSPORTSGUY

God, Allah, Buddha, Zeus, whoever PLEASE let us draw Greece.

Krusader

Oliver1985 wrote: »

It be like that episode in friends when Joey is listening to the match in the church with his ear piece in!!!!:eek:

haha, hopefully its a 3.00 kick off, since the mass is at 1.00, if its later we'll be sitting down for dinner

My mate said if the play-offs are on the 14th that his missus will understand :P

Stacksey

Blatter and platini are absolute plonkers for seeding this playoff, does this also mean that we will be playing at home for the first leg aswell? who dictates if we are home or away for first leg

Daysha

I think FIFA should go one step further and give the higher seeds the easier playoff. 1st v 8th, 2nd v 7th, 3rd v 6th and 4th v 5th, like what they do in the tennis.

I'd be pretty happy with that

Xavi6

Bandit12 wrote: »

Fingers crossed we get one of the big nations. We seem to always ramp up our game againest the better sides.

When was the last time we beat one?

Krusader

Once we don't get Russia. I'll be happy with that
Trapattoni is a lucky manager and I can see us scraping through against the other 3 teams over 2 legs