Republic of Ireland vs. Montenegro - 14/10/09 **KO 7:00 PM**

briany

vs





*Live from Croke Park on RTE2/Sky Sports. KO 7.00PM*

Teams (As announced Sep 25th) :

Republic of Ireland:

Goalkeepers

Shay Given (Manchester City),
Keiren Westwood (Coventry City),
Joe Murphy, (Scunthorpe United)

Defenders

John O'Shea (Manchester United),
Kevin Foley (Wolves),
Richard Dunne (Aston Villa),
Stephen Kelly (Fulham),
Kevin Kilbane (Hull City),
Eddie Nolan (Preston North End),
Sean St. Ledger (Middlesbrough),
Paul McShane (Hull City),
Darren O’Dea (Reading)

Midfielders

Aiden McGeady (Celtic),
Damien Duff (Fulham),
Darron Gibson (Manchester United),
Glenn Whelan (Stoke City),
Keith Andrews (Blackburn Rovers),
Liam Miller (Hibernian),
Stephen Hunt (Hull City),
Andy Keogh (Wolves),
Steven Reid (Blackburn Rovers),
Liam Lawrence (Stoke City),
Martin Rowlands (QPR)

Forwards

Caleb Folan (Middlesbrough),
Kevin Doyle (Wolves),
Robbie Keane (Tottenham Hotspur),
Shane Long, (Reading)
Leon Best (Coventry City)


*******************************************


Montenegro:

Goalkeepers

Poleksic (Debrecen),
Bozovic (Partizan Belgrade);
Blazic (Levadiakos,. Greece),


Defenders

Pavicevic (Kavala, Greece), defender
Zverotic (Lucerne), defender
Basa (Lokomotiv Moscow),
Batak (Antalijaspor),
Dzudovic (Spartak Nalcik, Russia),
Jovanovic (Rapid Vienna),
Pejovic (Mogren),

Midfielders

Bozovic (Rapid Bucharest);
Drincic, Novakovic (Amkar, Russia),
Kascelan (karpaty Lvov),
Boskovic (Rapid Vienna),
Vukcevic (Sporting Lisbon),
Pekovic (Mainz),
Delic (Buducnost);
Jovetic (Fiorentina),


Forwards

Vucinic (Roma),
Damjanovic (Seoul),
Delibasic (Hercules, Spain)

_blank_

Is this kicking off at 7 :eek:

Shít, I won tickets for this, and I don't finish work until 7.

flahavaj

Vucinic and Liverpool-destroyer Jovetic are a handy enough strike force for Montenegro. I presume trap will experiment a little in this one, maybe a start for Rowlands if Whelan is out?

Stevecw

flahavaj wrote: »

Vucinic and Liverpool-destroyer Jovetic are a handy enough strike force for Montenegro. I presume trap will experiment a little in this one, maybe a start for Rowlands if Whelan is out?

They are both missing for the game Wednesday. Vucinic is injured and Jovetic is suspended after getting a 2nd yellow card on Saturday.

flahavaj

Stevecw wrote: »

They are both missing for the game Wednesday. Vucinic is injured and Jovetic is suspended after getting a 2nd yellow card on Saturday.

Ah lord a barely interesting game just became even less so.:mad:

briany

Des wrote: »

Is this kicking off at 7 :eek:

Shít, I won tickets for this, and I don't finish work until 7.

As far as I know according to both FIFA's website and Wikipedia. I'll be optimistic and predict two nil to Ireland in a game that sees Ireland attacking and not conceding soft goals.

noodler

Des wrote: »

Is this kicking off at 7 :eek:

Shít, I won tickets for this, and I don't finish work until 7.

I'll take them off your hands for a non-existent fee.

_blank_

If I can't get off a half hour early, you can have them. I paid nought for them, so yeah, you can have them for nought.

manutd

Des wrote: »

Is this kicking off at 7 :eek:

Shít, I won tickets for this, and I don't finish work until 7.

All the games are at 7 GMT. It is because all the games of the last round must be played at the same time.

Nalz

Des wrote: »

If I can't get off a half hour early, you can have them. I paid nought for them, so yeah, you can have them for nought.

If Noodler backs out, I'll glady take them off ya Des. Be a pint or two in it for ya too

noodler

Des wrote: »

If I can't get off a half hour early, you can have them. I paid nought for them, so yeah, you can have them for nought.

I was just being cheeky, I'll give you something of course if you can't use them.

CCCP^

Just wondering does the result of this match matter? Can Norway still pip us for the final play-off place?

briany

CCCP^ wrote: »

Just wondering does the result of this match matter? Can Norway still pip us for the final play-off place?

NoooooOOOOOOOoooooooOOOOoooooooo! They're gone! They're very upset about it too.

Agent Smith

Des wrote: »

Is this kicking off at 7 :eek:

Shít, I won tickets for this, and I don't finish work until 7.

i'll take them off your hands, cost price`

ArmaniJeanss

CCCP^ wrote: »

Just wondering does the result of this match matter? Can Norway still pip us for the final play-off place?

No, Norway can only pip the Portugal group now, it's unlikely as they would need Portugal and Sweden to lose at home to Malta and albania.
Every other RunnerUp is guaranteed 11 points.

@briany. Any link as to why they unhappy by the way? I don't think being in the 5 team was in anyway a disadvantage or anything.

briany

Nah, I don't know if they're really upset about it. I'd imagine that they are sad that their World Cup dreams have evaporated on front of them though and it must be especially galling when it's not something that's in your own hands. I reckon the possibility of Ireland imploding was probably the most realistic chance they had of making it to the playoff stage and therefore something that they were hoping for no matter how unlikely. If you want the view from their side though, try putting footaball forum into google Norway and looking at the first page of results but why would we care what they think? If you like to see the view from other countries though, check out one of the top French football forums, http://www.soccers.fr/ and have a look at the international section with google translate. The opinion there lately seems to be that Ireland is the draw they don't want.

ArmaniJeanss

briany wrote: »

Nah, I don't know if they're really upset about it. I'd imagine that they are sad that their World Cup dreams have evaporated on front of them though and it must be especially galling when it's not something that's in your own hands.

They've actually been unlucky twice running (to a certain extent).

This time being the unlucky Runner Up (99% likely) and in 2006 the playoffs being seeded late put them in the same position that we are in now and they were unlucky enough to get Spain.

I'm actually not 100% sure whether being in the 5 team group was a disadvantage. In theory its not, but maybe not having the chance of an 'easy intro' game against SanMarino or Andorra, blooding new players in a competitive environment or whatever - maybe it does reduce your chances by a tiny fraction.

Het-Field

From the point of view of world rankings, and potential seeding for the Euro qualifiers, I think Trappatoni should put out his best side. Even to climb an extra few places on the cak of a four point salvo wouldnt be a bad thing. Equally, we need to take our rightful place ahead of Northern Ireland.

Seeding matters little, save when you know you will be guaranteed to face two decent teams as opposed to one. I want the unbeaten run to continue. It may be an exhibition, but it must be taken seriously.

ArmaniJeanss

Het-Field wrote: »

From the point of view of world rankings, and potential seeding for the Euro qualifiers, I think Trappatoni should put out his best side. Even to climb an extra few places on the cak of a four point salvo wouldnt be a bad thing.

Yep, we are currently ranked 20th of the 51 participants in the Euro2012 qualifying system - and because there will be 9 groups if we could improve our position to 18th we would be in the 2nd pot thus the possibility of a kinder draw.

Headshot

we're going to missing some players for this because if they pick up another yellow they'll miss the play offs

has a draw written all over it

briany

A draw with Montenegro? Nah. I'd say Trapattoni will let his players off the leash a bit and if he doesn't, I'd say the players will have a go anyways. I mean, it's no pressure home competitive match and we haven't had one of those in about eight years by my reckoning so I bet any fringe players will be trying to have a go at it in order to impress, even more so than the end of season friendly.

8-10

manutd wrote: »

All the games are at 7 GMT. It is because all the games of the last round must be played at the same time.

But how come France kick off an hour after Romania tonight in their group? England game is hours after the other 2 in their group, Estonia half an hour after the others. Liechtenstein v Wales kicks off 2 hours after the rest of their group.

I think you're quite mistaken, only our group and groups 1,2 and 3 have synchronised kick offs, other groups, such as France's which is decided as much as our group is, don't kick off at the same time.

It can't be because of what you suggest.

_blank_

noodler wrote: »

I'll take them off your hands for a non-existent fee.

Trilla wrote: »

If Noodler backs out, I'll glady take them off ya Des. Be a pint or two in it for ya too

Agent Smith wrote: »

i'll take them off your hands, cost price`

I'm going to the game guys.

The Rooster

8-10 wrote: »

But how come France kick off an hour after Romania tonight in their group? England game is hours after the other 2 in their group, Estonia half an hour after the others. Liechtenstein v Wales kicks off 2 hours after the rest of their group.

I think you're quite mistaken, only our group and groups 1,2 and 3 have synchronised kick offs, other groups, such as France's which is decided as much as our group is, don't kick off at the same time.

It can't be because of what you suggest.

It is because of what he said.

Fixtures can't just be announced in 48 hours. When these times were announced there was a likelihood the final games would determine qualification/playoff places

noodler

Des wrote: »

I'm going to the game guys.

Cool , picked up two tickets yesterday for 60 all in anyway.

Enjoy.

aidan24326

Headshot wrote: »

we're going to missing some players for this because if they pick up another yellow they'll miss the play offs

Andrews and McGeady are on yellows and will not play any part tonight.

Given is also on a yellow and WILL play. Even though keepers don't often get carded, it's still a risk imo. Given is one player we can not afford to be without. If I was Trap I would not play him, let him wait for his hundredth cap 'til the next game. Will be absolutely ridiculous if he picks up a yellow tonight and misses a vital playoff game.

Frisbee

Silly question I'm sure but if Given made it through the qualifiers without getting another yellow would his slate be wiped clean for the actual competition (if we qualify) or would he go into the first group game knowing that if he were to be booked he would miss the second game?

Limerick Dude

aidan24326 wrote: »

Andrews and McGeady are on yellows and will not play any part tonight.

Given is also on a yellow and WILL play. Even though keepers don't often get carded, it's still a risk imo. Given is one player we can not afford to be without. If I was Trap I would not play him, let him wait for his hundredth cap 'til the next game. Will be absolutely ridiculous if he picks up a yellow tonight and misses a vital playoff game.

Given just needs to keep his mouth shut and not do anything stupid, i'm sure he is well aware of the risks.

Dave!

Any chance Trap will go wild today and experiment with the formation and line-up?

_blank_

2-3-5?

aidan24326

Frisbee wrote: »

Silly question I'm sure but if Given made it through the qualifiers without getting another yellow would his slate be wiped clean for the actual competition (if we qualify) or would he go into the first group game knowing that if he were to be booked he would miss the second game?

I'm pretty sure they wipe the slate clean once the qualifiers and playoffs are finished.

Limerick Dude wrote: »

Given just needs to keep his mouth shut and not do anything stupid, i'm sure he is well aware of the risks.

Oh I know, and you'd expect a player of Given's experience not to do anything silly. But it only takes a finickity ref to card him for something inoccuous, and however low the risk it's a risk we don't need to take considering tonight's game is no more than a glorified friendly. Surely the sub keeper could get a run-out?

Dave!

Des wrote: »

2-3-5?

Yes.

With a team of Andy Reids

Number onnneeee.... is Andy Reid
Number twooooo... is Andy Reid
Number threeee... is Andy Reid
Number fooouuurrr... is John O'Shea
Number fiiiiivvvveee... is Andy Reid.......

noodler

Dave! wrote: »

Yes.

With a team of Andy Reids

Number onnneeee.... is Andy Reid
Number twooooo... is Andy Reid
Number threeee... is Andy Reid
Number fooouuurrr... is John O'Shea
Number fiiiiivvvveee... is Andy Reid.......

Just put two in goal and it is a guaranteed clean sheet....

The fat jokes worked better when he was a big load.

Villain

Just bumping this really, I have corrected a lot of people on the time of this match today.

KICK OFF IS 7PM folks

PCros

Given is captain tonight with Keane not starting. Noel Hunt most likely to partner Kevin Doyle.

patmac

briany wrote: »

NoooooOOOOOOOoooooooOOOOoooooooo! They're gone! They're very upset about it too.

Can't blame them either, so would we be if we had missed out. Should have been a play off between the bottom 2 or a 3-way for the bottom 3. A team that finished 2nd in a Euro qualifying group should be involved in a play-off. Bahrain finished 3rd in theirs and they are in a play-off with New Zealand having knocked out the Saudis. Would be interesting if it was France or Germany in the 9th position I'm pretty sure the rules would have changed somehow.

briany

What a cruel way to lose out on a playoff position for Norway. Ireland weren't too far from being in that position either. Okay so we were a couple of results away from maybe topping the table but we were also a couple of results away from maybe losing out on a playoff spot. If things had gone the wrong way in Bari, Nicosia or Sofia we would be decrying the unfairness of the playoff system, not that we'd have much reason to because it was set out at the beginning of the competition so no leg to stand on there. I would have to be in the happy with a playoff camp myself, I didn't really give the Irish team much of a chance going into the campaign but I was always secretly hopeful that they could pull it off and they have but they're now in another position of not a great chance but still secretly hopeful. It seems that's always been the way of it for this team, that's just the level that they are at. Bring on the playoffs! If there is any justice, Ireland will come out the winner just to sicken everyone.

JerryHandbag

Cmon Ireland, finish in style - not often we finish a group unbeaten

Headshot

any team news?

JerryHandbag

Given

McShane St.Ledger Dunne Kilbane

Duff Miller Rowlands Hunt

Hunt Keane

That_Guy

PCros wrote: »

Given is captain tonight with Keane not starting. Noel Hunt most likely to partner Kevin Doyle.

Keane does start.

Mikeyt086

McShane?

Game. Set. Match, Montenegro.

im only joking

Pro. F

Dunphy talking about Hunt in the RTE preamble there: ''He's a hard working, honest player who'll get in your face for the full 90 minutes. And I believe he'll be getting a job with Rent-a-Kill when he retires from football''

Thanx 4 The Fish

He has read Hunt's interview then

That_Guy

Dunphy seems like he's gonna burst into tears.

Dave!

Does Dunphy look a bit like Alf tonight?

That_Guy

Jesus. That camera shot of George Hamilton was eerie.

JerryHandbag

That_Guy wrote: »

Jesus. That camera shot of George Hamilton was eerie.

Even more so with Ray Houghton in the background!

kincsem

We are at home; the pressure if off; the opposition is not top class.
Can we perform, or will we drop a level? I hope we show we are quality.

The Muppet

I hope the decisiion to play Given doesn't backfire on us.

That_Guy

The Muppet wrote: »

I hope the decisiion to play Given doesn't backfire on us.

Given is a professional and I think he'd rather concede a goal than do anything stupid.