Republic of Ireland vs. France WC Playoff Sat/Wed 14/18 November **K/Os 8 PM/9 PM**

The_Kew_Tour

briany wrote: »

I guess Duff on one wing and Lawrence on the other could be the way Trapattoni goes. A dead ball specialist on one side and someone who can pick out a cross on the other might be the way to go no?

Yes thats what I would like too tbh

Limerick Dude

adrian280582 wrote: »

Yes thats what I would like too tbh

Yeah Duff and Lawrence to start, then have the option of Hunt or McGeady to come on and inject a bit of life into the team if needed.

BraziliaNZ

yes and both seem to be much better at tracking back and defending set pieces than McGeady, Lawrence is a big strong lad too, we need physicality for this system to work

GO'S

to win we will need a magic moment like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePNST9aczFI

GO'S

or this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ITtluqbg80

mink_man

vestanpance wrote: »

Do Sky definitely have the away leg, last I heard no one has ponied up the money for the rights to show it.

rte cant even pay to show the 2 legs yet they give 600k to pat kenny for 11 hours work a week!

briany

Someone speculated that RTE were waiting for the result of the first leg before lumping in for the second. A cynical tactic if ever there was one, presuming there's any truth there. Surely there's rules against cutting it so fine?

GO'S

briany wrote: »

Someone speculated that RTE were waiting for the result of the first leg before lumping in for the second. A cynical tactic if ever there was one, presuming there's any truth there. Surely there's rules against cutting it so fine?

smart though if we get hockeyed noone will watch second leg

tolosenc

The key for us, I reckon, is keeping a clean sheet in Croker. A scoreless draw, or even a win, would leave the French unable to rest easy, possibly exposing them in the second leg. If you look at their team:

Goalkeepers: 17 caps in total. 17! Hardly the most experienced bunch of keepers...
Carrasso (Bordeaux)
Lloris (Lyon)
Mandanda (Marseille)

Defenders: Couple of good players. Otherwise, inexperienced.
Abidal (Barcelona) - Hot headed, but solid in what I've seen of him.
Cissokho (Lyon) - Uncapped, only has a handful of club games as well. Unknown, though I don't anticipate him to be any great shake...
Escudé (Seville) - 30 years old/10 caps. Not exactly a first choice...
Evra (Manchester United) - I've always thought he was hugely overrated...
Fanni (Rennes) - Regular for Rennes, not France. That and look at his name :P
Gallas (Arsenal) - Past his best. Solid, but no Cannavaro.
Sagna (Arsenal) - Meh.
Squillaci (Seville) - Very good player. Very impressed with him at Lyon, less so in Spain.

Midfielders: Very defensive, moderately experienced.
Diaby (Arsenal) - Good for the Gunners, but little experience in a crunch game.
Alou Diarra (Bordeaux) - Good all round. But defensive minded.
Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid) - Solid player, but again, more defensively minded.
Gourcuff (Bordeaux) - The Danger Man. Best option might be to break his leg, tbh.
Malouda (Chelsea) - Well, he's a known quantity.
Sissoko (Toulouse) - Young, offensive mided player. Hero at times down here. Don't think he'll start though...
Toulalan (Lyon) - 1 goal in 231 professional games doesn't say much for his mentality.

Forwards: Best part of the team, unfortunately. An injury here or there would leave them screwed though. No real depth.
Anelka (Chelsea) - Not much that we don't know...
Benzema (Real Madrid) - From what I've heard, he's not been performing at Real, but I really can't back that up.
Gignac (Toulouse) - Heart and soul of Toulouse team. Dunno if he's quite there for international level
Govou (Lyon) - Lyon everpresent. Not the creative tyoe, however.
Henry (Barcelona) - I heard he had a twinge in his thigh. Please let him pull a hammy.
Rémy (Nice) - Who?

BraziliaNZ

is every one of those guys black apart from Squillachi? I think Benzema is of North African extraction.

Vurnon San Benito

Needless to say if RTE aren't showing it, they'll be getting a lot of hassle in their email inbox come Monday morning.
National football team in a play-off for the World Cup Finals v's one of the most famous footballing countries in the world and there's doubt whether they'll show it.
Fees or no fees, they show an American dance show nowadays which not many really tune into and I'm sure cost a nice shilling.

The_Kew_Tour

Toulousain I agree. I think clean sheet is massive cannot say it enough.

If we keep a clean sheet we will have right good chance of getting to South Africa. Im not sure we will do it though tbh. Have sneaky feeling it be 1-1 from Croke Park which wont be a disaster but means we will have chase the game in France.

Its going to be a bunch of nerves over the 180 minutes I think myself.

I really hope the atmosphere on Saturday night will be something speical no doubt it will.

OPENROAD

Toulousain wrote: »

The key for us, I reckon, is keeping a clean sheet in Croker. A scoreless draw, or even a win, would leave the French unable to rest easy, possibly exposing them in the second leg. If you look at their team:

Goalkeepers: 17 caps in total. 17! Hardly the most experienced bunch of keepers...
Carrasso (Bordeaux)
Lloris (Lyon)
Mandanda (Marseille)

Defenders: Couple of good players. Otherwise, inexperienced.
Abidal (Barcelona) - Hot headed, but solid in what I've seen of him.
Cissokho (Lyon) - Uncapped, only has a handful of club games as well. Unknown, though I don't anticipate him to be any great shake...
Escudé (Seville) - 30 years old/10 caps. Not exactly a first choice...
Evra (Manchester United) - I've always thought he was hugely overrated...
Fanni (Rennes) - Regular for Rennes, not France. That and look at his name :P
Gallas (Arsenal) - Past his best. Solid, but no Cannavaro.
Sagna (Arsenal) - Meh.
Squillaci (Seville) - Very good player. Very impressed with him at Lyon, less so in Spain.

Midfielders: Very defensive, moderately experienced.
Diaby (Arsenal) - Good for the Gunners, but little experience in a crunch game.
Alou Diarra (Bordeaux) - Good all round. But defensive minded.
Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid) - Solid player, but again, more defensively minded.
Gourcuff (Bordeaux) - The Danger Man. Best option might be to break his leg, tbh.
Malouda (Chelsea) - Well, he's a known quantity.
Sissoko (Toulouse) - Young, offensive mided player. Hero at times down here. Don't think he'll start though...
Toulalan (Lyon) - 1 goal in 231 professional games doesn't say much for his mentality.

Forwards: Best part of the team, unfortunately. An injury here or there would leave them screwed though. No real depth.
Anelka (Chelsea) - Not much that we don't know...
Benzema (Real Madrid) - From what I've heard, he's not been performing at Real, but I really can't back that up.
Gignac (Toulouse) - Heart and soul of Toulouse team. Dunno if he's quite there for international level
Govou (Lyon) - Lyon everpresent. Not the creative tyoe, however.
Henry (Barcelona) - I heard he had a twinge in his thigh. Please let him pull a hammy.
Rémy (Nice) - Who?

Gallas is having a top season for us while Sagna is as realiable as he always has been, hopefully both come through the match with no injuries.

BraziliaNZ

Sagna is an injury doubt I think

The_Kew_Tour

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

Sagna is an injury doubt I think

Think he is actaully but more likely will be in great shape from a cure come Saturday;)

BraziliaNZ

i think it's his calf, so hopefully he starts then effs it up after 5 mins and they have to sub him

OPENROAD

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

i think it's his calf, so hopefully he starts then effs it up after 5 mins and they have to sub him

Hopefully not

CR 7

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

is every one of those guys black apart from Squillachi? I think Benzema is of North African extraction.

Toulalan, gourcuff and lloris are quite white too.
I think evra is being underestimated here, he is probably the best left back in the world. We will struggle greatly to contain his attacking runs. McGeady could possibly expose him defensively, by emulating his nemesis, aaron lennon. Sagna too is very good offensively. And toulalan is an excellent holding midfielder. I would say gourcuff and evra will be our downfall unfortunately.

Lloris is a very good young keeper too.

BraziliaNZ

OPENROAD wrote: »

Hopefully not

You should leave this thread now if you dont want absolutely everything to go wrong for the French players regardless of who they play for!

NaiveMelodies

the_pm_of_17 wrote: »

I think evra is being underestimated here, he is probably the best left back in the world. We will struggle greatly to contain his attacking runs. McGeady could possibly expose him defensively, by emulating his nemesis, aaron lennon. Sagna too is very good offensively. And toulalan is an excellent holding midfielder. I would say gourcuff and evra will be our downfall unfortunately.

The ABUs are underestimating him, naturally. He's prob just behind Ashley Cole but is definitely world class and will prove a massive threat.
Dunno about Gourcouff, great player, but this is a massive stage now and he has alot of pressure on him so lets hope he bottles.

rameire

Q. is the training being held in Gannon Park?
and should they be training there tomorrow.?
cheers.

baalthor

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

is every one of those guys black apart from Squillachi? I think Benzema is of North African extraction.

Gignac is actually a member of the French Gypsy community - there was an interview with him in last week's Tribune. In his spare time he helps his mother sell clothes from her market stall.

tolosenc

only1stevo wrote: »

The ABUs are underestimating him

I think United fans think he's better than he is. Well, he is immensely talented, but just doesn't play to his ability most of the time.

NaiveMelodies

Toulousain wrote: »

I think United fans think he's better than he is. Well, he is immensely talented, but just doesn't play to his ability most of the time.

Wow. If Patrice Evra is not playing to his ability most of the time than the possibilities of how good he can be are quite frightening, and would make him easily the best left back in the world.

CR 7

Toulousain wrote: »

I think United fans think he's better than he is. Well, he is immensely talented, but just doesn't play to his ability most of the time.

Well how many other defenders do you know that have the ability to single handedly drag their team to victory?

tolosenc

Hold on, what's he done in the last 2 months since I've been away?

CHD

Toulousain wrote: »

Hold on, what's he done in the last 2 months since I've been away?

Ran over the halfway line few times -v- Chelsea so he is the world's best now. Who else could do something like that.

NaiveMelodies

CHD wrote: »

Ran over the halfway line few times -v- Chelsea so he is the world's best now. Who else could do something like that.

Yes, thats all hes done. Definitely a world class left back and as toulasain says, although im not sure i agree, he doesnt play to his ability which is frightening!

CR 7

CHD wrote: »

Ran over the halfway line few times -v- Chelsea so he is the world's best now. Who else could do something like that.

That's a few times more than cole managed to do. Does that make him a championship standard player?




It's clear to most people that cole and evra are the best left back's in the world. After that it's a matter of personal preference.

Vokes

France look pretty weak at CB. Gallas is playing pretty well at the moment but other than that there's no one that stands out. Hopefully, Doyle and his aerial ability can make something of that.

That's a fantastic midfield trio though, of Toulalan, L. Diarra and Gourcuff. We have to get at them from the off.

greendom

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

is every one of those guys black apart from Squillachi? I think Benzema is of North African extraction.

Is there a point to that question ?

Crow71

Wow getting really nervous now and the dreams are starting. Last night we won through a Maradona like solo run by kilbane (heres hoping).
I see the game as Irelands passion v France' technical ability and over 180 minutes u would think France should win but dammit theres something about Ireland that says we can take them as well as the fact that Ireland can psyche themselves up for the big teams. Individually France have one of the top teams in the world (2nd behind spain imo) but they cant gel while we have a well-drilled unit under trap, i think our best bet is a 0-0 at home and a score draw there.

briany

Crow71 wrote: »

Wow getting really nervous now and the dreams are starting. Last night we won through a Maradona like solo run by kilbane (heres hoping).
I see the game as Irelands passion v France' technical ability and over 180 minutes u would think France should win but dammit theres something about Ireland that says we can take them as well as the fact that Ireland can psyche themselves up for the big teams. Individually France have one of the top teams in the world (2nd behind spain imo) but they cant gel while we have a well-drilled unit under trap, i think our best bet is a 0-0 at home and a score draw there.

Word.

SimpleLogic

[FONT=&quot]German lad Felix Brych is the referee for the game. He recently reffed the Real and Milan game. I thought he had a bit of a shocker. Made a few bad important decisions, I think it was Pato's goal he got wrong and a few other decisions. If he messes up again lets just hope it goes our way [/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]

briany

Let's hope Felix has not been "Briefed", as it were.

The_B_Man

the thing about france is that they have 3 or 4 world class forwards but sure they play 4-4-2 so can only play 2 at a time! so if its henry and anelka up front, then benzema will be on the bench!! phew!!

Bottle_of_Smoke

Think 1-1 would be a good result. Ireland play better when the opposing team is defending.

Winning 1-0 could put us in a dangerous position in France.

ctrl-alt-delete

Looking forward to this, can't wait, whatever happens on Saturday i'm hoping we go to France on level terms, make it a 90 min decider.

Did anyone see Domenech getting booed at the French Open? he was in the audience and when he appeared on the big screen a chorus of boo's rung out. The camera then switched to a group of French players including Henry who were laughing at it

cruiserweight

ctrl-alt-delete wrote: »

Did anyone see Domenech getting booed at the French Open? he was in the audience and when he appeared on the big screen a chorus of boo's rung out. The camera then switched to a group of French players including Henry who were laughing at it

Not the best quality, but you can just about make it out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbR4PGVt4j8

BraziliaNZ

greendom wrote: »

Is there a point to that question ?

No none, I just think it's unusual for a European team to be almost all black no? Oh no maybe I'm racist

dubmick

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

Think 1-1 would be a good result. Ireland play better when the opposing team is defending.

Winning 1-0 could put us in a dangerous position in France.

Are you saying you would rather draw 1-1 than win 1-0? lolz

BraziliaNZ

dubmick wrote: »

Are you saying you would rather draw 1-1 than win 1-0? lolz

yes but most of us are finding it hard to see France not scoring in Croke Park. We just can't hold onto a lead for more than a few minutes it seems.

big_show

dubmick wrote: »

Are you saying you would rather draw 1-1 than win 1-0? lolz

all Ireland can hope for is a smash and grab victory, better to have that in France then here.

JPA

How did Domenech survive Euro 2008? They were a disaster.
He must have friends in high places.

Soby

Damm miller's out..Were fecked now

noodler

Soby wrote: »

Damm miller's out..Were fecked now

Are you serious?

What a fcukin joke.

Can we replace him? Let Trap find some nobody in League 2 to really rub Reid's nose in it.

JerryHandbag

0-0 at home with Given saving a peno
1-1 away, John O'Shea in stoppage time. The French crowd attacks Domenech at the final whistle.
South Africa here we come!

builttospill

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

Think 1-1 would be a good result. Ireland play better when the opposing team is defending.

Winning 1-0 could put us in a dangerous position in France.

lol

NaiveMelodies

Burner- wrote: »

[FONT=&quot]German lad Felix Brych is the referee for the game. He recently reffed the Real and Milan game. I thought he had a bit of a shocker. Made a few bad important decisions, I think it was Pato's goal he got wrong and a few other decisions. If he messes up again lets just hope it goes our way [/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]

Oh god.... I know the penalty was harsh but that pato goal was way worse! If he favors teams like real he's bound to favour les bleus!

highgiant1985

noodler wrote: »

Are you serious?

What a fcukin joke.

Can we replace him? Let Trap find some nobody in League 2 to really rub Reid's nose in it.

no replacement being called up apparently.

according to the report on breakingnews anyway