Ireland v France + scores

wheres me jumpa

thought the build up deserved a thread of its own.

despite all the kerr bashing, its been a while since i have been so excited about a game. the return of zz, thuram and mak have only added to the excitement. international football has gone down hill recently but the boring friendlies are worth enduring when games like this come along.

as for the result i really dont know. i have no doubt we can do it but its going to take a huge performance.

cmon on you boys in green...

jubbly

a bit early for the thread dont you think ?

Necronomicon

jubbly wrote:

a bit early for the thread dont you think ?

Didn't you start a thread about Cork's second leg match in the UEFA Cup about 2 or 3 weeks early?

wheres me jumpa

youre telling me you have never seen a thread which will probably contain scores, started more than three days before a match?

Villain

My heart says we can win this one, but my head thinks we'll be very very lucky to get a draw. As as they all give 100% I'll be happy.

Bateman

I'd take a draw, and hope to get second place. I'd love to think we could win, and with a lot of luck, we probably can, but a draw would be acceptable IMO. We have to make it as hostile, and imtimidating for the French as possible. Never mind this "I can't wait to see Henry and Zidane" crap, those posts should read "I can't wait to abuse Henry, Zidane"...

PHB

A nil all draw would do me nicely, don't want a 1-1 draw.
If someone scores, I want to win.

0-0 would suit me.

[Jackass]

It's never to early for a thread about our biggest international match since 2001.

I have to say im really looking forward to this one....it's going to be a cracker, and i cant see any more than a goal in it between the sides.

My main concern, tacticly, is Kerr's inability it seems to be able to judge when to close down teams, when to press them, and when to sit back. ESPECIALLY when we take a lead (Russia, Switzerland, Israel home, Israel away). So hopefull it will be 0-0 untill the 94th minute....then Robbie keane scorer a hat-trick in the last 20 secods...just to be fancy.

I also think his selection will be very conservative, possibly Finnan on the right flank (not that thats a bad thing), but i feel he wasted oppertunitys to test players in friendlys, especially against top opposition. Elliot should have started against Italy. O'Shea should have been tested in CM (Keane only has a few internationals left.) Finna n should be tested at left back. McGeady should get a run. Macken should be in the squad, as we have no 4th choice striker (Connoly and Doherty don't count).

Also, hopefully the rumours of a bust up between Kerr and Keane are rubbish. Although if their was i'd have to say i would agree with keanes (imaginery? ) stance that it's a disgrace the squad went and got locked on Friday noght beore a game of this magnitude...it shows ill discipline in the squad, a lack of leadership and conroll over his players by kerr, lack of respect towards Kerr and the nation by the players, and brings us back to the old days of the pathetic party Irish....im ashamed. (regardless of wheter there was a bust up, that's my opinion...it'sa disgrace what they did.)

[Edit] Finally, i wouldn't worry about the "freak" knee injury sustained by Duff...mind games i tell ya! He's defenatly fine and will defenatly start.[/edit]

Prediction: Ireland 1 - France 1

Zidane 1st half goal, Andy Reid second half goal.

d22ontour

I would be happy if we got a draw though our back four doesn't look like it could stop any half-decent team from scoring.

jubbly

yeah, i did, someone asked me if it was too early.


I think were going to draw. I would be shocked if we lost it and surprised if we won it. Can France finish second if they lose ? Ive got permutations coming out of my head.

I dont want the play offs, there are some really tough teams in there and I dont know if we will go through

fred funk }{

I think we will win on wednesday. I think the atmosphere in Dublin will do us the world of good and i dont think the french will be in control of the game.
I think we will score early on and batton down the hatches early as usual but i think we will hang on and scrap a 1-0 victory.

I think Roy will have a stormer and will control the center of the park, Duff will be fit and will also have a stormer. Our weakness will be defense and trying to keep the ball if we go ahead.

Ireland 1 France 0

Duff to score first half.

Vokes

We'll need both Keane and Kilbane to have stormers if we're gonna control the centre of the park.

jubbly

if there is a goal it will be more than 1.

applehunter

I am not into the buzz of the whole game yet.

Maybe after the u-21 match in Cork tomorrow Ill be more up for it.

I think Ireland have a good chance. We are always tough to beat at home, and this is an average Frech team IMO.

scuba steve

Ireland have a great chance, but only if they stay focused through out the full 90minutes and not concede two goals like the Israel game

Davei141

Im not as confident that we can win, i mean if vieri and co can cut our defence apart, then im fearful of henry and cisse running rings around cunningham and o brien. I watched france vs the faroes and all this waffle brian kerr is talking about ''we thought they would win 6-0 but 3-0 doesnt scare us'', france cut the faroes apart with beautiful football, it could of been so so much more, the keeper had a stormer.
Ill go with a lucky draw, hoping im wrong.

tetsujin1979

d22ontour wrote:

I would be happy if we got a draw though our back four doesn't look like it could stop any half-decent team from scoring.

Brazil, Portugal, Romania, Croatia, France (away game), Holland (European Championship warm up game for them)

Necronomicon

Actually, what was the length of Trezeguet's suspension? Did he serve it? If he was still suspended with Cisse looking an injury doubt, it leaves them looking a bit thin up front.

d22ontour

Lots of meaningless friendlies hardly tells us anything though the competitive games show we have done that but we have also conceded goals to teams from slack defending.Our defence at the moment does not give me the greatest of confidence but i would like to be proved wrong on wednesday.

redspider

Good news from the French camp, unless Thierry's lulling us into a false sense of security!

HENRY SETTLING FOR DRAW IN ADVANCE
Thierry Henry believes victory over Ireland is not essential in France's quest to qualify for next summer's World Cup finals. Les Bleus are one of three teams tied atthe top of Group 4 on 13 points along with Switzerland and Ireland - the side they will face in Dublin on Wednesday.

Ireland held France to a goalless draw at the Stade de France last October, and through the French will be hoping for three points, Henry insists another stalemate would not end their chances of a trip to Germany in 2006.

According to the Arsenal striker: 'We are now concentrating fully on Ireland and this will be a very important match. 'But on the other hand we should not try to score at any price because we are not obliged to win. 'We will have to negotiate this match well with all the experienced players that we have. 'We will have to be patient and see how the match goes to strike at the right time.'

jubbly

France need 7 points and Ireland need 7 points AFAIK. Henry just pointing that out but he is always the first to surrender

StickyMcGinty

we feckin love being the underdogs, thats ther only way i'm giving us a chance in hell of winning this game, if we can get the auld team spirit together. we'll need the 12th man there too, i dont expect to have a voice thursday morning

eirebhoy

d22ontour wrote:

Lots of meaningless friendlies hardly tells us anything though the competitive games show we have done that but we have also conceded goals to teams from slack defending.Our defence at the moment does not give me the greatest of confidence but i would like to be proved wrong on wednesday.

First of all, you're contradicting yourself mentioning the Italy game which to me shows your biased for some reason. I rate Dunne really highly but he was the reason for most of the slack defending against Italy. O'Brien did well when he came on.

What goals have we conceded so far? A sloppy pass by Carr to Kilbane giving Switzerland possession. I very much doubt Carr will start ahead of Finnan and judging by A.Reid's interview he pretty much sounded certain he was starting. Talking about him and Duffer on the wings, he can't wait to play, etc. The other 2 goals were against Israel. One was Matt Holland fouling a player in the middle of the pitch which led to a header outside the box. The other was from a miskick from Given which gave Israel possession. O'Shea played a big part too.

So that leaves O'Shea as the only player who's slack defending has cost us. As I said, Carr won't start. Cunningham-O'Brien have been rock solid for us. Actually, the one game O'Brien didn't start (Faroes away) we didn't look very secure at the back.

evilhomer

eirebhoy wrote:

First of all, you're contradicting yourself mentioning the Italy game which to me shows your biased for some reason. I rate Dunne really highly but he was the reason for most of the slack defending against Italy. O'Brien did well when he came on.

What goals have we conceded so far? A sloppy pass by Carr to Kilbane giving Switzerland possession. I very much doubt Carr will start ahead of Finnan and judging by A.Reid's interview he pretty much sounded certain he was starting. Talking about him and Duffer on the wings, he can't wait to play, etc. The other 2 goals were against Israel. One was Matt Holland fouling a player in the middle of the pitch which led to a header outside the box. The other was from a miskick from Given which gave Israel possession. O'Shea played a big part too.

So that leaves O'Shea as the only player who's slack defending has cost us. As I said, Carr won't start. Cunningham-O'Brien have been rock solid for us. Actually, the one game O'Brien didn't start (Faroes away) we didn't look very secure at the back.

I agree with all of that. Dunne is a great defender, but I don't think he was listening to Cunningham the way O'Brien does.
Cunningham may not be the best defender in the world but he can certainly direct a defensive line. O'Brien listens to him, Dunne doesn't (that's why we parted like the red sea against Italy).

Dunne-O'Brien or Dunne-Mccarthy will be our next centre-half pairing after the WC (If we get there).

We are solid enough when Cunningham and O'Brien play

Kingp35

The Irish defence will play a big part in the game especially Kenny Cunningham as it will be his job to ensure that the defence is working together and to organise everything. Im a little worried about the midfield that we will be facing. France will more than likely play a 3 man central midfield system with Zidane, Viera and Makelele operating in there and they will be up against Roy keane and probably Kevin Kilbane. The two irish guys will need to be supported by either one of the wide players coming inside or by one of the strikers dropping deep. Im sure Brian Kerr will have devised a way of stopping this, well at least I hope he has. Roy Keane will have a big job of making sure players stick to their tasks.

Ireland will have to push on from the start and not let the French guys settle into the game. The best way of defending is to attack and maybe Brian Kerr should have a look at how Cork City played against Djurgarden and see how well a team can do if they continue to attack. We need to keep pushing on and pressing the French from the start. The fans will have a big part to play as well and we need a hostile atmosphere in Landsdown to edge the Irish lads on.

We already know that we can score goals and create chances. People give Clinton allot of stick but he has done the business so far in the qualifying campaign and he is a much better player when he plays alongside Robbie Keane. We have Duff who is simply world class and can rip any defence to shreds. Andy Reid is a superb crosser of the ball but we will need to get players in the box to support the front two as France have strong and capable defenders in there to win the aerial battles.

To me the most likely result is a draw but it really can go either way. Ireland are possibly the underdogs now with the French having gotten so many players back and this will suit is right down to the ground. My head says a draw my heart says a famous Irish victory just like against Holland in 2001.

eirebhoy

Kingp35 wrote:

Ireland will have to push on from the start and not let the French guys settle into the game. The best way of defending is to attack and maybe Brian Kerr should have a look at how Cork City played against Djurgarden and see how well a team can do if they continue to attack. We need to keep pushing on and pressing the French from the start.

I agree but I can guarantee you that Cork would not have pushed on so much if they were 1-0 up. It wouldn't be the game plan, it probably wouldn't even be conscious but that is the psychology of the sport. Cork didn't push on as much in the last 10 minutes as Djurargen new they had to score. Their main priority wasn't not to concede but to score. It was the opposite for Cork.

It would require a working hypnosis for Ireland to push on for the rest of the match at 1-0 up. When you are 1-0 up the priority is to not concede. This causes the defence to drift further and further back. There's nothing the manager can do about this as the players will do it every time they lose possession. Unfortunately managers have to take the blame when their team does this though.

WhiteWashMan

DubGuy wrote:

Prediction: Ireland 1 - France 1

Zidane 1st half goal, Andy Reid second half goal.

damn you to hell!

that was my predication.

although, i am hoping ZZ breaks a leg walking onto the field.....

i think it will be a draw, or we will win.
if we lose, then we better hope the french fire it all against the swiss, win by a hatful of goals, and worse case scenario is a draw against the swiss in the final game will get us through.

but right now, im going to for 7 points out of three games.

i think cyprus will be the draw

mike65

I see one of these at the Irish end for most of the game.

Mike.

jubbly

im so excited, just 25 hours to go or so.. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh come on Ireland !! dont lose !!!!

Necronomicon

jubbly wrote:

im so excited, just 25 hours to go or so.. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh come on Ireland !! dont lose !!!!

25 hours plus another 10 minutes! Kick-off has been put back to 7:55 to suit French television needs.

I wish it was tonight!

jubbly

I see the French are trying to out think us tatically so maybe they will try something different to throw us off. Fighting words by the French only going for the win. A defeat for us would be a nightmare

wheres me jumpa

kerr has a full squad to pick from which im delighted with. it means we have no excuses now and the team that wis will be the better team. i notice andy reid is trying to recall the spirit of the holland game. which is fine but we cant just rely on history repeating itself. we need to focus on every player giving their all. if we do that we will win.

im going 2-1 ireland.

Necronomicon

Reidy had a little jab at the French as well, saying that they aren't the team that won the World Cup in '98.

Davei141

Anyone think its disgraceful how the media keep slagging france off and twisting everything they say so much? there was a headline in the mirror today saying 'bunch of cisses', because vieira said it would be a physical game! 'French running scared', because henry said it would be a tough match! Anything they say thats respectful gets turned into something negative. I think i seen a quote about andy reid saying something about the lansdowne 'fortress', shame it wasnt up for the past 3 years.

redspider

Does anyone have to hand the Irish team and formation that was played in the match in Paris? Eirebhoy?

Btw, Rumour has it that Dunne may be preferred over O'Brien because of Andy's recent flu, one of which I have right now, although I'll definitely be watching the game. O'Brien is not as sharp as he should be, seemingly.

KingP35: did u ever reply to a response I sent to you on the Italian match thread re: Finnan's culpability? I realise you may have been away on a beer tour (lucky for some) but as I've gone to the bother of responding to one of your "mini-rants", have a read of it and reply to it.

redspider

jubbly

Dunne does have great pace and is an intelligent defender but he didnt exactly set the world alight when he play in the Italia game. I guess it just comes down to which player is better mentally and physically so Dunne could well start :S

StickyMcGinty

anyone hear the Strawberry Alarm clock boys ringing Zinidene Zidane this mornin???? classic!!

the Star has a 12-page match pull out aswell today

KdjaCL

Come on Ireland!!!



kdjac

redspider

WhiteWashMan wrote:

if we lose, then we better hope the french fire it all against the swiss, win by a hatful of goals, and worse case scenario is a draw against the swiss in the final game will get us through.

No, thats not the case. If we lose against FR, and if CH lose against FR, and if our game against CH is a draw, we will be on 17 pts (presuming we beat CY) and Israel will be on 18 pts (presuming they win their two games). That is a worse case scenarion, and unlikely imo, although not impossible.

Today, France will be happy with a draw, we will be happy with a draw, so it has draw written all over it. I know that Brady and Giles have been calling for the Irish to get at them from the start, to go at a high tempo, put em under pressure, etc and cracks could develop. From the outside I would also think the same, if we are going for the win. However, Kerr may not want to do that per se. I think its crucial to match the tempo of the French. ie: if they start hell for leather, then we would need to match them. But if the French start knocking it around, and not creating anything dangerous, we can do likewise. Both teams will try to sneak a win, but its unlikey that either team will take massive risks in getting that win. We could put em under pressure at the start of the 2nd half, come out with a much higher tempo. I think its a much wiser approach. In some games, its more dangerous to score early. Can you imagine if we did score early on, would we be able to defend for the rest of the match and keep them out? I only have 10 nails on my hands !!!

redspider

jubbly

the strawberry alarm clocks ??

Im so excited about this game. If Kerr manages to pull off a win then it will really be a big coup for his management career and should give us the best chance in the group of qualifying.

tetsujin1979

jubbly wrote:

Dunne does have great pace and is an intelligent defender but he didnt exactly set the world alight when he play in the Italia game. I guess it just comes down to which player is better mentally and physically so Dunne could well start :S

It was his first game back after bruising his foot off a wall in the Joey Barton incident on preseason, since coming back for Man City he's been a rock.

jubbly

sounds like dunne has got the nod according to http://www.eleven-a-side.com/worldcup2006/irish_soccer_detail.asp?newsid=19026

StickyMcGinty

shyte, he was useless in the last game.

o'briens flu must have gotten the better of him

evilhomer

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!!!! only 4 1/2 hours to go :eek: :eek: :eek:

jubbly

when will Kerr show the team ?

THere is a few other games in our group starting at 6pm isnt there ?

I CANT WAIT !!

whiskeyman

holy friggin crap.
I cant believe the tension!!! aargh!
Need to go to pub now and settle me nerves with a few pints!!
C'mon the boys in Green... just think of the buzz in town tonight if we win!... eh, I mean *when* we win!
Am still convinced now we're going to see a performance of a lifetime from the boys.

yermandan

only 3.5 hrs to go now....any team news???...I am so bleedin excited!!!
I see thuram and cisse are nearly defo out...

COME ON THE LADS

Kingp35

redspider wrote:

KingP35: did u ever reply to a response I sent to you on the Italian match thread re: Finnan's culpability? I realise you may have been away on a beer tour (lucky for some) but as I've gone to the bother of responding to one of your "mini-rants", have a read of it and reply to it.

redspider

Sorry redspider I'm not sure what your talking about. I have just re-read the entire Ireland Italy thread and the only comment you about with regards to my analysis of that game was this

I agree with most of what you say Kingp35, except for the Andy Reid bit.

Am I missing something?

ntlbell

yermandan wrote:

only 3.5 hrs to go now....any team news???...I am so bleedin excited!!!
I see thuram and cisse are nearly defo out...

COME ON THE LADS

Where did you read that?

soma

whiskeyman wrote:

holy friggin crap.
I cant believe the tension!!! aargh!
Need to go to pub now and settle me nerves with a few pints!!

Yup a severe amount of liquid courage is required! I guess one benefit of the match kicking off slightly later is that another pint of courage can be squeezed in!

yermandan

ntlbell wrote:

Where did you read that?

Sorry mate i just heard it on newstalk 106fm news at 1600...thats my only source