Euro 2012 playoff Ireland v Estonia.

Shanotheslayer

tolosenc wrote: »

They got within 30 yards of our goal about twice.

People are convinced it's all luck and no ability with Ireland, and will cling on to anything they can to justify a very blinkered opinion.

The draw was luck. If we played like that against a semi decent team, we wouldn't of won imo. But then again, can only beat whats put in front of you.

orourkeda

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

We created nothing either until that 2nd goal. It was a crap game to watch. then was no great chances.Just goals from us that we put away(Thankfully) but as usual even tho we scored 4. Still awful to watch.

Thats as emphatic a victory as any team is going to get in international football.

Whether or not one likes the style of play is irrelevant. The irish team are playing to their strengths and achieving results. Results cannot be argued against in professional sport. Simple as

orourkeda

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

The draw was luck. If we played like that against a semi decent team, we wouldn't of won imo. But then again, can only beat whats put in front of you.

Pointless and irrelevant argument

Shanotheslayer

starbelgrade wrote: »

None of the Irish performances in this campaign have been pretty to watch. I actually fell asleep during the last game - that has never happened before when I was watching a game of football.

But, Trap has done an amazing job with a squad of players that are either reaching the ends of the international careers or really not that great on talent.

His man management skills must be fantastic, because at the start of the qualifiers, you wouldn't really have fancied Ireland's chances of making it to Poland-Ukraine.

It's a huge achievement - not great to watch, true - but football is all about the results in the end & we've got them this time around.

I agree 100% it's all about the result, but then again, who have we played that's anyway decent? Russia? We lost and drew against them. And that draw.. well.. lets just say luck was on our side for that. How Russia did not score is beyond belief! But we'll take that result!

orourkeda

amacca wrote: »

as poor as they were they have some abilities we seem to need a bit of help with........................................we got the run on them to a certain extent.

you must have noticed their passing was a lot more accurate than ours and they had the ability to hang on to the ball for longer than we did.

They may have had more possession. The simple facts are that they created jacksh1t for all their passing.

Shanotheslayer

orourkeda wrote: »

Pointless and irrelevant argument

Not at all considering WE are going to Poland/Ukraine, we'll be playing much better opposition. We'll need to step it up a gear completely. It's teams like Estonia we should be stepping it up a gear against and we didn't do it. If we can't do it to them then...

headmaster

Robbie Keane is Ireland's top goalscorer ever with 53 goals.
he is now in the 14th highest ranked player of all time

---

Wow, what a record. Now, tell me what he's ever won, then tell me what he'll ever win? As a matter of interest, what will Ireland ever win, ever?

I must say the CEO of the FAI was disgracefull tonight with his gestures after the match. Awful to see the top executive of the game, giving great example to our youth with an imaginary bottle showing that the win will be the start of a big alcohol session. An apology would be in order.

Shanotheslayer

orourkeda wrote: »

Results cannot be argued against in professional sport. Simple as

France beating us before. But lets not go into that! But yes, they can be argued

crash davis

With only a few exceptions, nobody really remembers teams or how they played in this game or that; it's all about results, especially when trying to qualify for a major tournament. They've done it and fair play to them.

Might not be pretty, but last time I looked we don't have a Xavi, Messi etc on our team. Play to your strengths and with the talent you have.... Trap's done that. I doubt any other manager would have done it any differently, and if they did we would have been beaten. You think Guardiola would have Ireland playing champagne football? No chance.

starbelgrade

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

I agree 100% it's all about the result, but then again, who have we played that's anyway decent?

Armenia weren't bad at all. The only real difference between them & us in this group is that we had better results away from home, conceding just one away goal.

It was sheer hard work & determination that saw us through.

Dotrel

headmaster wrote: »

Robbie Keane is Ireland's top goalscorer ever with 53 goals.
he is now in the 14th highest ranked player of all time

---

Wow, what a record. Now, tell me what he's ever won, then tell me what he'll ever win? As a matter of interest, what will Ireland ever win, ever?

I must say the CEO of the FAI was disgracefull tonight with his gestures after the match. Awful to see the top executive of the game, giving great example to our youth with an imaginary bottle showing that the win will be the start of a big alcohol session. An apology would be in order.

Delaney's a disgrace generally. The stupid head on him.

orourkeda

tolosenc wrote: »

They got within 30 yards of our goal about twice.

People are convinced it's all luck and no ability with Ireland, and will cling on to anything they can to justify a very blinkered opinion.

Our defence have been excellent throughout this campaign and this has been borne out by a record breaking run without conceding a goal and a record unbeaten run away from home. The defence did their jobs again tonight.

starbelgrade

headmaster wrote: »

Robbie Keane is Ireland's top goalscorer ever with 53 goals.

Wow, what a record. Now, tell me what he's ever won, then tell me what he'll ever win?

A serious amount of bragging rights, a mountain of respect from football fans, a lifetime of self fulfillment based on his achievements and a shit load of money.

It's not all about the trophies you know.

amacca

headmaster wrote: »

Robbie Keane is Ireland's top goalscorer ever with 53 goals.
he is now in the 14th highest ranked player of all time

---

Wow, what a record. Now, tell me what he's ever won, then tell me what he'll ever win? As a matter of interest, what will Ireland ever win, ever?

well in fairness to him...it wont be his fault we may not win anything significant during his time here, hes done his job to the best of his abilities......I dont remember him crying off and making excuse etc ..... it is hard to argue with that record even though I tried. its better than scoring 52 goals, 51 goals etc

headmaster wrote: »

I must say the CEO of the FAI was disgracefull tonight with his gestures after the match. Awful to see the top executive of the game, giving great example to our youth with an imaginary bottle showing that the win will be the start of a big alcohol session. An apology would be in order.

drinking gesture doesnt bother me at all tbh.......400k in salary whereas winning team in league of ireland receives 100k does bother me slightly however (only slightly tho...ill sleep soundly really)

orourkeda

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

Not at all considering WE are going to Poland/Ukraine, we'll be playing much better opposition. We'll need to step it up a gear completely. It's teams like Estonia we should be stepping it up a gear against and we didn't do it. If we can't do it to them then...

We'll be playing against some of the worlds most accomplished sides. I'd expect us to be competitive and difficult to beat.

In all fairness getting to these championships is an achievement in itself and anything else is a bonus. We cant be expected to be in the same class as the spains and netherlands of this world and any suggestion to the contrary is fooldhardy but I expect the team to acquit themselves well regardless

ballsacky

orourkeda wrote: »

Pointless and irrelevant argument

Too right and sick of hearing it. Can't understand all the nagativity at all. We're a hard team to beat at any level and have a decent unbeaten streak behind us. That's huge considering the quality of players we have isn't the best. I wish people would get behind what we have because they are actually not capable of a whole lot more and do their best every time. I for one am delighted we managed to come out of a tough group and find ourselves in this situation,regardless of luck and quality.

crash davis

starbelgrade wrote: »

Armenia weren't bad at all. The only real difference between them & us in this group is that we had better results away from home, conceding just one away goal.

It was sheer hard work & determination that saw us through.

Absafeckinglutely. We don't have players with the required technical skills to compete with the bigger teams in an open game of football. That's the reality. Guts, heart and pride, that's what we have.

Although having said that, Andrews header was top drawer stuff.

Red21

starbelgrade wrote: »

Robbie Keane is Ireland's top goalscorer ever with 53 goals. Not one player from England - from all the great strikers they've had - has ever broken the 50 goal mark for the international team. Not even Bobby Charlton.

Also its got to be considered that Keane has only played in one finals (world cup 2002) the strikers for the bigger teams get to play in a tournment every 2 years.

Shanotheslayer

orourkeda wrote: »

We'll be playing against some of the worlds most accomplished sides. I'd expect us to be competitive and difficult to beat.

In all fairness getting to these championships is an achievement in itself and anything else is a bonus. We cant be expected to be in the same class as the spains and netherlands of this world and any suggestion to the contrary is fooldhardy but I expect the team to acquit themselves well regardless

I agree 100% there mate. No arguments against that. I'd just wish we'd play some better football like we all do!

amacca

crash davis wrote: »

You think Guardiola would have Ireland playing champagne football? No chance.

he might have taught mcgeady how to cross the ball a bit better more often though or occasionally not try to overrun it:eek:

orourkeda

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

France beating us before. But lets not go into that! But yes, they can be argued

4-0 wins away from home cannot be argued against.

The best performance of Mr Trapattoni reign was in Paris. The result did not go our way rendering the performance meaningless. Its the result that counts in the end.

Dotrel

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

I agree 100% there mate. No arguments against that. I'd just wish we'd play some better football like we all do!

At least were smart enough to realise we can't play and make alternative plans. By comparison watch England next summer yet again try to teach the world how to play the game when most of them still can't even kick the ball with either foot.

crash davis

amacca wrote: »

he might have taught mcgeady how to cross the ball a bit better more often though or occasionally not try to overrun it:eek:

Don't get me started on him. But still, he's the most skillful player we have. Having said that, himself and Ward need to learn how to cross a ball properly. Even look up from time to time!

Shanotheslayer

crash davis wrote: »

Don't get me started on him. But still, he's the most skillful player we have. Having said that, himself and Ward need to learn how to cross a ball properly. Even look up from time to time!

I've seen better crosses in a church

amacca

Red21 wrote: »

Also its got to be considered that Keane has only played in one finals (world cup 2002) the strikers for the bigger teams get to play in a tournment every 2 years.

yeah but surely you can balance that with the competition for places in the bigger international teams being fiercer due to much larger pools of players to choose from...big domestic leagues etc leading to the strikers from these countries getting less caps overall and therefore less opportunities to score goals?

orourkeda

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

I agree 100% there mate. No arguments against that. I'd just wish we'd play some better football like we all do!

We'd all like better football but playing to ones strengths and team spirit are more important.

sgb

Fell asleep and woke up in the Soccer Forum

starbelgrade

Dotrel wrote: »

At least were smart enough to realise we can't play and make alternative plans. By comparison watch England next summer yet again try to teach the world how to play the game when most of them still can't even kick the ball with either foot.

The English players are all highly talented - they've an unbelievable wealth of talent, but always fail to impress on the big stage. I'm not sure that has anything to do with them not being able to use both feet though.

Paul Scholes recently said that the huge rivalry between players from the top clubs doesn't stop when they put on the England jersey & as such never really manage to play together as a team & that it's particularly bad between the United & Chelsea players.

It may not be the full root of the problem, but I'd tend to believe that happens - he'd said it matter of factly, rather than with any mal-intention.

amacca

sgb wrote: »

Fell asleep and woke up in the Soccer Forum

there there...rest your little head young one.

all tired out from a hard days interwebbing...ah bless.

Godot.

Damn, was hoping they'd lose. The longer they don't qualify for stuff, the more Irish rugby becomes more popular amongst youths than the cheater's game.

Super-Rush

Can i just remind people that this is After Hours.

If you want to talk about the good and bad points of the christmas tree formation then i suggest that you go to the soccer forum.

amacca

starbelgrade wrote: »

The English players are all highly talented - they've an unbelievable wealth of talent, but always fail to impress on the big stage. I'm not sure that has anything to do with them not being able to use both feet though.

Paul Scholes recently said that the huge rivalry between players from the top clubs doesn't stop when they put on the England jersey & as such never really manage to play together as a team & that it's particularly bad between the United & Chelsea players.

It may not be the full root of the problem, but I'd tend to believe that happens - he'd said it matter of factly, rather than with any mal-intention.

some of it has got to be down to the massive expectation the English Media whips up every time they are in a major tournament and the pressure cooker atmosphere that generates

I actually think they are a little like us in that they would perform really well (maybe outperform) if they were given no chance or told they were useless...............................................that would make them gel.

crash davis

starbelgrade wrote: »

The English players are all highly talented - they've an unbelievable wealth of talent, but always fail to impress on the big stage. I'm not sure that has anything to do with them not being able to use both feet though.

Paul Scholes recently said that the huge rivalry between players from the top clubs doesn't stop when they put on the England jersey & as such never really manage to play together as a team & that it's particularly bad between the United & Chelsea players.

It may not be the full root of the problem, but I'd tend to believe that happens - he'd said it matter of factly, rather than with any mal-intention.

I think there's alot of factors concerning the English team underperforming so much.

One is their press and the country bigging them up too much when they haven't won anything in over 4 decades right? Lay off them a bit. Too much expectation and hype.

The other thing is the price tags that average English players get in the Premiership (Carroll, Henderson) compared to guys they get from Europe and elsewhere. How much were Suarez and Hernandez again? Puts so much pressure on them.

And a crucial problem - that Irish players going over there share - is that so many of the squad from most Premiership clubs contain more foreigners than home grown talent. Bound to effect the development of youngsters.... and it's only going to get worse.

Dotrel

starbelgrade wrote: »

The English players are all highly talented - they've an unbelievable wealth of talent, but always fail to impress on the big stage. I'm not sure that has anything to do with them not being able to use both feet though.

No they don't. They have an unbelievable wealth of media hype behind them which makes their top players out to be better than they actually are. All you had to do was watch them against Germany in the last world cup to see how far behind they are. They were destroyed and it had nothing to do with preparation. England couldn't even do simple things like pass and retain the ball.

England will never win a major competition until they go back to the drawing board. They create players who are big and strong and can run and head and cross and little else. Then they're surprised when they get knocked out time and time again by some small country like Portugal or Croatia.

The game has passed them by. I'd nearly go as far as to say we have a better chance of winning Euro2012 than England do, and that's not saying much.

orourkeda

Godot. wrote: »

Damn, was hoping they'd lose. The longer they don't qualify for stuff, the more Irish rugby becomes more popular amongst youths than the cheater's game.

Did you fall off your bandwagon?

At least we didnt see any spear tackles, eye gouging, blood injury scandals or players having their head stamped on

Pherekydes

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

It's teams like Estonia we should be stepping it up a gear against and we didn't do it. If we can't do it to them then...

Eh, what are you expecting against the likes of Estonia? 4-0 away? Don't be ridiculous. That'll never happen. We'll be lucky to win 0-0.

Shanotheslayer

crash davis wrote: »

I think there's alot of factors concerning the English team underperforming so much.

One is their press and the country bigging them up too much when they haven't won anything in over 4 decades right? Lay off them a bit. Too much expectation and hype.

Happens with a few sports to do with the English. Tennis-Murray, F1-Hamilton.

Same shít different sport.

emo72

aren't we just deadly?:D roll on poland.

Super-Rush

At least we won't have to get up at crazy o clock to watch the games this time.

Roll on the summer.

I think i'll buy a chipper van with me best mate.

crash davis

super-rush wrote: »

At least we won't have to get up at crazy o clock to watch the games this time.

Roll on the summer.

I think i'll buy a chipper van with me best mate.

I know how to make spectacular battered food, and don't have a snapper in tow to ruin it all with the odd stray nappy.

Super-Rush

crash davis wrote: »

I know how to make spectacular battered food, and don't have a snapper in tow to ruin it all with the odd stray nappy.

Will ya be me partner.

Dotrel

Hope this guy makes another appearance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_DFVIxuc9Q

crash davis

super-rush wrote: »

Will ya be me partner.

You jumped over the fence there baby. What kinda bread are we talking about here?

starbelgrade

super-rush wrote: »

At least we won't have to get up at crazy o clock to watch the games this time.

Roll on the summer.

I think i'll buy a chipper van with me best mate.

"I'll have a Dunphy & chips"

" A wha?"

"A Dunphy & chips.. a sausage & chips.. y'know"

"Why'd ya call it a Dunphy & chips then?"

"Coz a sausage looks like a prick & Eamon Dunphy's a prick"

Latchy

Keeping on the soccer theme , I thought it was going to be one of thoise Irish nights were they scraped through ie ...1-1 because Estonia had their chances and 1-0 up , it wasn't until the first Estonia player was sent off that we knew we the game by the balls .The home game is just a formality now and the rest of Europe 2012 will sit up and take notice to .

Arawn

The scoreline completely flattered us, even though we were 1-0 up and had a man advantage for along time they looked in control, it was only the second sending off that killed the game

overshoot

well that and we were 3-0 up by the time of the second sending off...

neris

super-rush wrote: »

At least we won't have to get up at crazy o clock to watch the games this time.

Roll on the summer.

I think i'll buy a chipper van with me best mate.

could do you a deal on nappies if you get the van

Latchy

Considering it was a classic header by Andrews which gave Ireland the 1-0 lead would Ireland (prior to the sending offs) have finished them off with 11 on the pitch ?

I'm not so sure ... Keanes peno was deserved and his tapp was just that but with 11 against 9 , the scoreline favored Ireland than maybe the whole team performance deserved .

sgb

Iv'e drunk too many can's and ended up in the Soccer forum