Loving the under estimation of Ireland's chances

grenache

Croatia are the team to be worried about, they are the second best team in the group, if we let them play at all, they are capable of spanking us. I don't expect us to let them play, but i'm really concerned that Modric and Srna could have a field day in the middle of the park against Andrews and Whelan - on paper at least it's a mis-match. They also have a top class forward line, Olic and Jelavic who've both had very productive seasons. It will be easy for Ireland to lift themselves when underdogs against the two Latin nations. A bit more difficult though against Croatia when it's a 50/50 game, and you know a win is imperative to progress from the group.

Italy are the most inexperienced they've been in some time, even if they still have a formidable group of players. Confidence is not high in the group at the moment, they will either have a really good tournament and thrive on adversity (like at 82 and 06) or else they will have a shocker. I'm more inclined to think it will be the latter. Very weak in the forward division at the moment, Cassano is only just returned, Di Natale doesn't do it at international level like he does for Udinese, Balotelli is a liability, Giovinco is too inexpericenced. Only Fabio Borini would inspire me with confidence if i was an Azzurri fan.

Spain will take beating. They could always implode, unlikely though.

SantryRed

grenache wrote: »

Croatia are the team to be worried about, they are the second best team in the group, if we let them play at all, they are capable of spanking us. I don't expect us to let them play, but i'm really concerned that Modric and Srna could have a field day in the middle of the park against Andrews and Whelan - on paper at least it's a mis-match. They also have a top class forward line, Olic and Jelavic who've both had very productive seasons. It will be easy for Ireland to lift themselves when underdogs against the two Latin nations. A bit more difficult though against Croatia when it's a 50/50 game, and you know a win is imperative to progress from the group.

Italy are the most inexperienced they've been in some time, even if they still have a formidable group of players. Confidence is not high in the group at the moment, they will either have a really good tournament and thrive on adversity (like at 82 and 06) or else they will have a shocker. I'm more inclined to think it will be the latter. Very weak in the forward division at the moment, Cassano is only just returned, Di Natale doesn't do it at international level like he does for Udinese, Balotelli is a liability, Giovinco is too inexpericenced. Only Fabio Borini would inspire me with confidence if i was an Azzurri fan.

Spain will take beating. They could always implode, unlikely though.

Do you watch Ireland play? We let any side play ball and get horrendously lucky a hell of the lot of the time. Look what happened the two times we let Russia play. We got destroyed but then got two late goals to make it respectable and then got further destroyed in Russia but for Dunne and Given heroics we would have lost 4-0 and we should have still lost 4-0. We are very lucky to be even going to the Euros as we were poor every time against the better sides in the group. Do people not remember last August when Croatia rippe us apart in the Aviva too. Don't know how that finished 0-0. I just don't see us doing enough to win a game unfortunately to get out of the group. Could get 2 draws though.

helimachoptor

I'm hopeful.. however.. so much rides on the Croatia game.
I think a win or draw there and our chances are good.. a loss and it's over IMO.

Avoiding deafest against Croatia i think will mean an epic Italian game

Richard Hillman

A serious amount of fanboyism in this thread

re: Dunne
He's a poor mans John Terry and an Irish Jamie Carragher.

Rekop dog

grenache wrote: »

Croatia are the team to be worried about, they are the second best team in the group, if we let them play at all, they are capable of spanking us. I don't expect us to let them play, but i'm really concerned that Modric and Srna could have a field day in the middle of the park against Andrews and Whelan - on paper at least it's a mis-match. They also have a top class forward line, Olic and Jelavic who've both had very productive seasons. It will be easy for Ireland to lift themselves when underdogs against the two Latin nations. A bit more difficult though against Croatia when it's a 50/50 game, and you know a win is imperative to progress from the group.

Italy are the most inexperienced they've been in some time, even if they still have a formidable group of players. Confidence is not high in the group at the moment, they will either have a really good tournament and thrive on adversity (like at 82 and 06) or else they will have a shocker. I'm more inclined to think it will be the latter. Very weak in the forward division at the moment, Cassano is only just returned, Di Natale doesn't do it at international level like he does for Udinese, Balotelli is a liability, Giovinco is too inexpericenced. Only Fabio Borini would inspire me with confidence if i was an Azzurri fan.

Spain will take beating. They could always implode, unlikely though.

What's all this about Italy's confidence not being high? Based on the scandal or the friendly loss were they conceeded three late goals after tonnes of substitutions in the game? FWIW I think it's rubbish, they sailed through their group fairly impressively, albeit looking like one of the easier ones with Serbia's problems ect but still you have to beat what's in front of you and they did it clinically. Also the team will be very Juventus player heavy who are coming in with confidence sky high after managing to remain unbeaten all season conceeding the least number of goals in all of Europes elite league.

Di Natale hasn't figured much in the squad in recent years so it not easy to do it when you're not playing, he'll be playing more in his favoured position this time as opposed to when he featured last world cup. Think it's going to be Mario and Cassano starting first game though.

kitakyushu

wonderfullife wrote: »

re: Richard Dunne - he is basically the exact opposite of Messi, Hazard, Lampard etc. Hit and miss, error prone, inconsistent at club level. And a BEAST at international level. The others leave their beast performances for their clubs.

We've nothing to fear in the first game. Modric has been anonymous at times for Spurs in the 2nd half of the season.

Funny how you've allowed yourself to big-up Dunne because of his international form but at the same time downplay the likes of Modric for Croatia based on his club form.

noodler

Richard Hillman wrote: »

A serious amount of fanboyism in this thread

re: Dunne
He's a poor mans John Terry and an Irish Jamie Carragher.

We can only go on how he has played for Ireland i.e. excellently.

dsmythy

Poor old Dunne getting jinxed. Guaranteed to do a couple of his own goal specials.

Banjaxed82

wonderfullife wrote: »

re: Richard Dunne - he is basically the exact opposite of Messi, Hazard, Lampard etc. Hit and miss, error prone, inconsistent at club level. And a BEAST at international level. The others leave their beast performances for their clubs.

We've nothing to fear in the first game. Modric has been anonymous at times for Spurs in the 2nd half of the season. Sure, he might buzz and tear us apart but we've really nothing to fear. The Spain game, you don't need to be Mystic Meg .....they will have 70% possession and try walk the ball into the net. If we frustrate them long enough, we can do well. Put it this way, 0-0 at half time in that game looks an amazing bet whatever the odds. Spain simply do not rip teams to shreds, mainly because teams know to park the bus against them.

I fancy Italy to shock Spain in the 1st game. Italian football is in dire straights and the players, if they have any pride at all, will give the performance of their lives to try restore some pride. Italy have some really good defenders and who knows what mood Super Mario will be in. Feel free to quote this as an absolutely ridiculous post but i can genuinely see Spain struggling to make it out of the group.

The worst possible result for us. Can only imagine the Spanish back lash. We need Spain to demolish everyone, except us, of course.

Kristian_

Sorry kinda off topic but does anyone know if Setanta will switch off freeview for the match later? It's showing the tennis on free view at the moment, will they switch it off when the match starts tonight?

monkey9

Kristian_ wrote: »

Sorry kinda off topic but does anyone know if Setanta will switch off freeview for the match later? It's showing the tennis on free view at the moment, will they switch it off when the match starts tonight?

No it won't be freeview. I had a look there, it says Freeview for the tennis, but it doesn't say Freeview for the football!

Pudsy33

but does everyone not have setanta ireand anyway?

homerjay2005

homerjay2005 wrote: »

italy have beaten us once since 1990. since then, we have drawn with them 1-1 and 2-2 being the better side in both games and beating them 1-0 and 2-0. they beat us in a friendly 2-1 in 2005 in lansdowne.

id like to think we can beat them.

Just to correct you there they beat us 2-0 in the 1992 US Cup also but that doesn't deter from the point you are making.

Richard Hillman wrote: »

A serious amount of fanboyism in this thread

re: Dunne
He's a poor mans John Terry and an Irish Jamie Carragher.

Jaysus :eek: Only for his performance in Moscow Ireland could have been watching the tournament on telly. Age isnt on his side ill agree and he was never blessed with pace but he is a better centre back then he gets credit for at both club and international level. Villa fell down the table like a stone when he got injured back round Feb/March.

THFC

THFC wrote: »

On a side note Pique only played about 20 of the 180 minutes vs Barca (came off after treatment on 26 mins), and it goes without saying that he's a better defender than Dunne ever was, that's not up for debate.

Pique is a good player and yes a better footballer from the back but i couldn't see him coping as good with having to do desperate defending like any of our centre halves tbh.

He just hasnt really been tested as a centre half really because of the class he has in front of him in Spain

mike65

My prediction (applies to England as well!)

SirDelboy18

I cannot believe people are trying to compare Pique with Dunne.

Kristian_

monkey9 wrote: »

No it won't be freeview. I had a look there, it says Freeview for the tennis, but it doesn't say Freeview for the football!

Shoite will have to go to the pub then :rolleyes:

Kristian_

Pudsy33 wrote: »

but does everyone not have setanta ireand anyway?

No sky sports & espn but not sellotanta

kitakyushu

I think you could sum Dunne up in one little cameo from Moscow. He heroically stops a certain goal on the line and that the kind of thing that makes everyone love him. Unfortunately the replays doesn't always show how how 4 seconds earlier he got easily duped inside the area by a Zhirkov feint leading to the situation in the first place.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

cgpg5 wrote: »

Better footballer yes.

Would he do a better job for us in these Euro's than Dunne? No way.

Would he do a better job for a premier league side than Dunne? Absolutely

He's a better defender, full stop. None of this shíte about how he's better just because he has better ball control skills.

kitakyushu

kitakyushu wrote: »

I think you could sum Dunne up in one little cameo from Moscow. He heroically stops a certain goal on the line and that the kind of thing that makes everyone love him. Unfortunately the replays doesn't always show how how 4 seconds earlier he got easily duped inside the area by a Zhirkov feint leading to the situation in the first place.

Are you joking? He made several timely interventions that night to the point the great Paul Mcgrath even said it was one of the best perfomances by a centre half in an irish shirt.

Ability to recover is also a big factor in determining the value of a good centre half.

Defence is Ireland's main asset and Richard Dunne is at the heart of it. Brilliant centre half in my opinion and very undervalued and underestimated. Even a big man like LLorente wont like going toe to toe with him i can tell ya.

Pro. F

kitakyushu wrote: »

I think you could sum Dunne up in one little cameo from Moscow. He heroically stops a certain goal on the line and that the kind of thing that makes everyone love him. Unfortunately the replays doesn't always show how how 4 seconds earlier he got easily duped inside the area by a Zhirkov feint leading to the situation in the first place.

He made a mistake and then made up for it. He had a brilliant game against the Russians. I don't think anyone can deny that.

THFC wrote: »

He's a better defender, full stop. None of this shíte about how he's better just because he has better ball control skills.

He's nowhere near as good a defender in the air. Dunne is a stopper type, Pique is a sweeper type.

Pro. F

Pro. F wrote: »

He's nowhere near as good a defender in the air. Dunne is a stopper type, Pique is a sweeper type.

Good point. Both are so different really and play in different types of systems so by making comparisons you may as well be comparing either with Messi. they are so different its virtually two different positions they play in. In the same way Dunne probably couldn't spot a pass from the back, Pique probably wouldn't cope against the Russians the way Dunne did that day.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

Pro. F wrote: »

He made a mistake and then made up for it. He had a brilliant game against the Russians. I don't think anyone can deny that.



He's nowhere near as good a defender in the air. Dunne is a stopper type, Pique is a sweeper type.

Dunne is better in the air, no denying that, but overall, as a defender, based on defensive abilities, Pique is still far better than Dunne.

aindriu80

well in terms of rankings we are the worst of the 4 but I don't think we will come last in the table. Spain definitely will top it but as to who comes second is a tough one. Losing the opening game against Croatia would be a real sickener.

TimeToShine

Pro. F wrote: »

He's nowhere near as good a defender in the air. Dunne is a stopper type, Pique is a sweeper type.

I really don't know how this argument is still going. It's the equivalent of an Everton fan comparing Cahill to Messi because he "fits into their system better". Pique is one of the best defenders in the world, he has an absolutely sensational long pass, swift tackler, good at closing down, good in the air, extremely good at getting forward when needed and can put the ball in the back of the net from corners on occasion. Dunne is a mediocre (yes, mediocre, no more) defender who's been forced to step up due to the below-par support surrounding him. He is average on an international level, and a middle of the road bottom half premiership defender who, like all football players, has his golden moments. Comparing him to Pique or almost anyone else on that list posted a few pages back is ridiculous. I would love for Ireland to progress more than anyone but putting false hope and lumping all the responsibility on one man who is most likely unable to handle it is not only overly optimistic but also unfair.

Pro. F

TimeToShine wrote: »

I really don't know how this argument is still going. It's the equivalent of an Everton fan comparing Cahill to Messi because he "fits into their system better". Pique is one of the best defenders in the world, he has an absolutely sensational long pass, swift tackler, good at closing down, good in the air, extremely good at getting forward when needed and can put the ball in the back of the net from corners on occasion. Dunne is a mediocre (yes, mediocre, no more) defender who's been forced to step up due to the below-par support surrounding him. He is average on an international level, and a middle of the road bottom half premiership defender who, like all football players, has his golden moments. Comparing him to Pique or almost anyone else on that list posted a few pages back is ridiculous. I would love for Ireland to progress more than anyone but putting false hope and lumping all the responsibility on one man who is most likely unable to handle it is not only overly optimistic but also unfair.

It's not like comparing Messi and Cahill because a defender who is good at winning the ball in the air combined with a centre back who is good at reading the game and dealing with the ball played in behind on the ground is the default combination. It's not about fitting into our system, it's just a fact that most CBs fall into one camp or the other. Pique is well rounded, but he is nowhere near as good in the air as Dunne. Pique is a better defender overall, world class as you say, but to say that Dunne is mediocre is just a joke.

Frankie Lee

Dunne has regressed in his time at Villa to a medocre Premier League centre half but at international level has performed far better probably due to the way we are set up.
Pique is a genuine world class footballer and comparing the two is just silly.

noodler

Frankie Lee wrote: »

Dunne has regressed in his time at Villa to a medocre Premier League centre half but at international level has performed far better probably due to the way we are set up.
Pique is a genuine world class footballer and comparing the two is just silly.

I think there is a fair bit of sense in that.

A defender is usually going to do better in a defensive formation - be less exposed - give himself an extra step etc.

I can't say for sure of course but I do note how easily Villa seem to get sliced apart compared to Ireland for example.

I really think Pique is being overated here though and I also think they are different kind of centrehalves - as much of a cop-out that might seem.

Still Pique plays for the world champions and the world's best club team so he will never fair badly in a comparison.

Noting their relative performances for their countries over the last 18 months or so though - I don't doubt they would at least be comparable. Thats obviously the best I can do - I certainly wouldn't swap Dunne for Pique in our current setup - whether thats down to an acknowedging Dunne's international form or blind patriotism I would leave up to other posters.

Probably best not to worry about it too much though!

LuckyLloyd

Pique might have world class ability, but he certainly has not been enjoying world class form the past few months.

Beefy78

I've no idea how good a defender Pique is. Playing centre-half for Barcelona and Spain must be the easiest job in the World.

I might pick him ahead of Dunne though....

LuckyLloyd

To put it another way, I think I'd be happier starting Richard Dunne at CB for us in this tournament than Javier Mascherano...:)

Orando Broom

Frankie Lee wrote: »

Dunne has regressed in his time at Villa to a medocre Premier League centre half but at international level has performed far better probably due to the way we are set up.
Pique is a genuine world class footballer and comparing the two is just silly.

Dunne has been exposed to lethal doses of Alex McLeish. It's not his fault.

wonderfullife

kitakyushu wrote: »

Funny how you've allowed yourself to big-up Dunne because of his international form but at the same time downplay the likes of Modric for Croatia based on his club form.

the post had nothing to do with 'form'. I meant it as a generalised point - if you compared Dunnes international career with his club career, for the most part his consistency in an Irish shirt is far higher than his consistency in City/Villa/Everton shirts. Modric, on the other hand, has been devastating for club and country for most of his career.

Some people excel at international level where they don't do it at club level. Then there are the guys like Messi/Hazard/Lampard who for the most part have been brilliant at club level and not brought the same form to their national sides.

You can never downplay a serious talent like Modric.....he could run the show. He has the ability irrespective of form. We just have nothing to be fearful of with any nation. We're not going in expecting to win the tournament so we just need to be well organised and give it our best shot. Whether that's facing Modric or Xavi in whatever form won't matter.

wonderfullife

Banjaxed82 wrote: »

The worst possible result for us. Can only imagine the Spanish back lash. We need Spain to demolish everyone, except us, of course.

genuinely disagree. The consensus is "lets hope spain demolish italy and croatia (and even us)" but let's pick up 4 points from the other 2 games and that's likely to see us through.

If we beat Croatia, then i dont think Italy winning makes much difference. 3 points on board and a likelier scenario is that all 4 teams go down to the last game in with a massive shout of qualifying. If we lose to croatia, very little else will matter.

iregk

I can honestly see us going straight out of the group stage with 1 point if we are lucky. Croatia and Spain will do us. Our only hope is Italy and even at that I see a scrappy 1-1 draw.

wonderfullife

TimeToShine wrote: »

I really don't know how this argument is still going. It's the equivalent of an Everton fan comparing Cahill to Messi because he "fits into their system better". Pique is one of the best defenders in the world, he has an absolutely sensational long pass, swift tackler, good at closing down, good in the air, extremely good at getting forward when needed and can put the ball in the back of the net from corners on occasion. Dunne is a mediocre (yes, mediocre, no more) defender who's been forced to step up due to the below-par support surrounding him. He is average on an international level, and a middle of the road bottom half premiership defender who, like all football players, has his golden moments. Comparing him to Pique or almost anyone else on that list posted a few pages back is ridiculous. I would love for Ireland to progress more than anyone but putting false hope and lumping all the responsibility on one man who is most likely unable to handle it is not only overly optimistic but also unfair.

“Ever since I’ve come to this club Richard has just been quality. I play with him week in, week out and I think he’s one of the best players I’ve played with. I’ve played with John Terry and Rio Ferdinand in the England squad but Richard is right up there with them.”

- micah richards


the quote is a few years old but its worth recalling he won Citys player of the year 4 years in a row. "mediocre" is just wrong.

Seaneh

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Pique might have world class ability, but he certainly has not been enjoying world class form the past few months.

This. He's been Shiite for about 15 months.

G.K.

Messi's actually usually been excellent for Argentina or used wrongly.

bwatson

wonderfullife wrote: »

“Ever since I’ve come to this club Richard has just been quality. I play with him week in, week out and I think he’s one of the best players I’ve played with. I’ve played with John Terry and Rio Ferdinand in the England squad but Richard is right up there with them.”

- micah richards


the quote is a few years old but its worth recalling he won Citys player of the year 4 years in a row. "mediocre" is just wrong.

He might very well be as good as Terry, he probably is. That doesn't mean that his ability and importance is not being overstated. I've yet to hear an English person suggest that "The French really won't fancy coming up against John Terry" in the same manner as has been suggested about Dunne!

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

Seaneh wrote: »

This. He's been Shiite for about 15 months.

15 months? Seaneh you really all things Barca don't yea? Always, negative. He was excellent at the tail end of the 10-11 season, and if you're referring to the summer months, well, he had 2 matches in August. Also, at the start of this season gone by he was doing well, he played the vast majority of games and a good number of them were clean sheets. He form did nose-dive after Christmas and he was rightfully dropped from the squad altogether, that shouldn't take away from the fact he's an excellent defender.
Anyways, apologies for going OT, I'll leave it at that.

Renn

For what it's worth here's some stats for teams playing vs Ireland:

Fixture|Shots (On Target)|Corners|Possession

Hungary vs Ireland (0-0)|22 (9)|3|50%
Ireland vs Bosnia-Herzegovina (1-0)|11 (2)|2|50%
Ireland vs Czech Republic (1-1)|20 (5)|5|60%
Ireland vs Croatia (0-0)|13 (1)|3|64%
Ireland vs Estonia (1-1)|10 (5)|3|48%
Estonia vs Ireland (0-4)|7 (2)|4|40%
Ireland vs Armenia (2-1)|13 (5)|5|51%
Andorra vs Ireland (0-2)|3 (1)|2|30%
Russia vs Ireland (0-0)|24 (10)|12|62%
Ireland vs Slovakia (0-0)|15 (11)|4|46%
Italy vs Ireland (0-2)|21 (1)|4|68%
Macedonia vs Ireland (0-2)|12 (7)|3|45%
Ireland vs Scotland (1-0)|12 (5)|1|51%
Ireland vs Northern Ireland (5-0)|1 (0)|1|43%
Ireland vs Uruguay (2-3)|14 (7)|4|45%
Ireland vs Macedonia (2-1)|13 (7)|3|45%
Ireland vs Wales (3-0)|3 (1)|5|48%
Ireland vs Norway (1-2)|12 (7)|2|45%
Ireland vs Argentina (0-1)|9 (4)|1|68%
Slovakia vs Ireland (1-1)|17 (5)|7|47%
Ireland vs Russia (2-3)|16 (6)|4|54%

LuckyLloyd

Kind of puts to rest this idea that we give the ball away all the time doesn't it?

kitakyushu

Northern Ireland : 1 shot off target. They really are a joke.

Renn

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Kind of puts to rest this idea that we give the ball away all the time doesn't it?

In a way but look at the stats vs the type of teams Ireland will be playing against:

Ireland vs Croatia (0-0)|13 (1)|3|64%
Italy vs Ireland (0-2)|21 (1)|4|68%
Ireland vs Czech Republic (1-1)|20 (5)|5|60%
Ireland vs Argentina (0-1)|9 (4)|1|68%
Russia vs Ireland (0-0)|24 (10)|12|62%
Ireland vs Russia (2-3)|16 (6)|4|54%

So it's not that wild to suggest that Ireland could be looking at possession stats of no greater than 35% for their group games. If that happens you're going to most likely see, on average, 20 shots on goal per game. 60 shots in 3 games. I'll be shocked if they survive that group.

And yes, massive lolz at Northern Ireland.

Father Damo

recylingbin wrote: »

England are in an easy group, but will still probably not make the second round. That's the reality of how poor they are right now.

They have the best manager in that group mind. They are not going to be playing fast free flowing attractive Arsenal style ball, but they are a dark horse not to be written off. tbh because Hodgson is such a class act I think its probably the first time I wouldnt find it amusing if they went out in the 1st round, after getting shafted at Liverpool I wouldnt mind seeing him do moderately well.

In truth, the earlier Italy vs Spain is nearly as important a our own- a goaless draw in that one gives us the opportunity to rip the thing apart.

Renn

I'm guessing Italy and Spain wouldn't mind a draw at all tbh.

briany

I don't know if the statistics go this far but I'd like to know how many of the total shots were taken inside the box. No one will deny that Ireland concede possession and opportunities but they strive to limit it to strikes from range.


Oh, and stop laughing at Northern Ireland everyone. They have a big, big game coming up against Finland in August which they're going to try really, really, really, really, really hard to win. I'd say the excitement amongst N.I. fans is already at fever pitch for that epic clash.

aidan24326

EuropeanSon wrote: »

Ireland are, realistically, the weakest team in the group, and light years behind Spain and Italy.

Way behind Spain yes, but not so much Italy. Italy will be tough opponents yes, as usual, but this is not a vintage Italian team by any means. If Croatia beat us I'd fancy them to take second ahead of the Italians.

The game on Sunday is key to the whole thing. Get a result there and we're in with a shout, lose it and we're toast. Simple as that.

AgileMyth wrote: »

Did Crooks say Gerrard is one of the top 5 midfielders in the world? What a clown.

Then he tips Croatia based solely on the three or four lads hes seen play in England..

Crooks is cringeworthy. How he has a job at the BBC is beyond me. He exclaims that Croatia have class players but when pressed he struggles to name any of them bar the obvious couple of prmier league players that we're all familiar with.

Then arrogantly dismisses Ireland's chances without even elaborating. Ireland are up against it for sure but we're far from the no-hopers that that kind of snotty put-down would suggest.

We go in to the tournament as a team that's unbeaten in 14 games, concedes very few goals and hasn't lost a competitive away fixture in years. For all that we may lack world-class players that still makes us a team to be taken seriously.

Father Damo

aidan24326 wrote: »

Crooks is cringeworthy. How he has a job at the BBC is beyond me. He exclaims that Croatia have class players but when pressed he struggles to name any of them bar the obvious couple of prmier league players that we're all familiar with.

Then arrogantly dismisses Ireland's chances without even elaborating. Ireland are up against it for sure but we're far from the no-hopers that that kind of snotty put-down would suggest.

We go in to the tournament as a team that's unbeaten in 14 games, concedes very few goals and hasn't lost a competitive away fixture in years. For all that we may lack world-class players that still makes us a team to be taken seriously.

I just read a review on sky sports by various foreign journos contributing opinion on Ireland. It is all a bit pointless seeing as most of them clearly have not seen any of our matches and are just working off cliches and our poor form post 2002.