FAI...New Manager is Heimir Hallgrimsson

[The Worker]

Anyone here going to the finals?

[Capt Pat]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li-nN6-f0uY

Robbie Brady for the Euros. Why not I say. We're gonna get beat anyway. I remember the play off against Belgium for the world cup 98. We had a young Damien Duff and Robbie Keane sitting at home while an aging Ray Houghton did his best to inspire an aging Ireland team. We lost with David Connolly getting sent off, I have never forgiven him for that. 14 years ago, time flies.

Anway Brady looks like a class act, Blackpool were in the Premier league last year, not a bad team to be able to perform like that against, he is two footed as well.

Bring on the talent in the freindlies. Himself and Coleman could chage the look and fortunes of this team in the summer.

Shit.

Surely not. It is just the highlights of one game and shows great promise of better to come.

[trileacman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li-nN6-f0uY

Robbie Brady for the Euros. Why not I say. We're gonna get beat anyway. I remember the play off against Belgium for the world cup 98. We had a young Damien Duff and Robbie Keane sitting at home while an aging Ray Houghton did his best to inspire an aging Ireland team. We lost with David Connolly getting sent off, I have never forgiven him for that. 14 years ago, time flies.

Anway Brady looks like a class act, Blackpool were in the Premier league last year, not a bad team to be able to perform like that against, he is two footed as well.

Bring on the talent in the freindlies. Himself and Coleman could chage the look and fortunes of this team in the summer.

Shit.

Surely not. It is just the highlights of one game and shows great promise of better to come.

Nah I'm just trolling. It's unimpressive from the point of view that in some of the shots he is dispossessed, fires wide or passes poorly but that what happen's every player over the course of the match. The majority of these "whoa, look at this guy" video's feature a very selective compilation of their best play over the course of a match/matches.

He seems a good honest player right enough. Would prefer to see him let the ball go earlier, seems to overplay it in some of the moves. For example he often receives the ball wide behind the strikers but runs into a position goalside of them so that his resulting cross is travelling away or parallel to the goal rather than towards it.

[Whitehair]

Anyone here going to the finals?

Few of us booked Luton to Rzeszow in SE Poland a few weeks back 6th-17th for £120 return. Getting the 6days travel in a month Interrail ticket for 80euro and doing something like Warsaw 7th-8th(Opening ceremony/Poland v Greece), Poznan 9th-10th(Ireland v Croatia), Gdansk 11th-14th(Ireland v Spain), Warsaw 15th-16th(Greece v Russia) then down to Rzeszow and home on the 17th. Maybe get the odd night in a hostel but mainly camping/passing out. Cant't wait!

[tyroneStatto]

ireland will have a better team spirit and camaraderie than a lot of the other nations and that is a major advantage in tournament football.

i'd even say the irish will have a bond much like a gaa club team.

compare that for e.g. balotelli and italy - there's no way that he will be able to stay couped up for a few weeks without incident.

the french, english and dutch have proved in past tournaments that once team unity is broken you might as well pack your bags and go home.

[Shortso79]

Anyone here going to the finals?

Flights booked - heading over for a week

[Hoof Hearted]

Anyone here going to the finals?

Few of us booked Luton to Rzeszow in SE Poland a few weeks back 6th-17th for £120 return. Getting the 6days travel in a month Interrail ticket for 80euro and doing something like Warsaw 7th-8th(Opening ceremony/Poland v Greece), Poznan 9th-10th(Ireland v Croatia), Gdansk 11th-14th(Ireland v Spain), Warsaw 15th-16th(Greece v Russia) then down to Rzeszow and home on the 17th. Maybe get the odd night in a hostel but mainly camping/passing out. Cant't wait!

fcuk for a single man that sounds class !

[ThroughTheLaces]

10 of us flying over. 12th to 19th, can't wait already!

[Milltown Row2]

I love all the optimism but Ireland won't win a game. Sorry if I burst your bubble

Well there you have it everybody. Cancel your flights, no point in going now.

Well England are there............ Besides  I'm not a "saccer" man. I don't mind it though. I just think and it's my view of course that Ireland won't get out of the group.

If you say different, thats grand.

[sammymaguire]

A little bit of optimism doesn't hurt now does it Milltown? I think we all know Ireland will be hard pushed to get 2 draws but everyone will go to give it their best shot and enjoy it as much as they can. It could be another 10 years before we see another major international tournament involving our national team (well some of us anyway as we seem to have plenty of West Brits on this board who I am sure will expect their glorious England to keep qualifying for them  )

[Orangemac]

As ugly as Irelands style of play is there is a gameplan and sense of purpose behind it. There is a great camaraderie amongst the Ireland players and this goes a long way.Compare this to Paul Scholes recent comments that the Utd and Liverpool players did not get on with each other on international duty.

Ireland have 4 strikers palying well and if Given/Dunne are fit the defence should be ok. I know Trap won't change but for the Spain game he should play Doyle up front on his own and put an extra body in midfield(Fahy probably). We saw against Russia how Ireland struggle against good passing teams and 2 wingers would be wasted especially as Spain don't play with a lot of width.

Italy are not the team they were and can be got at. I would be optimistic of getting a point from this game. Croatia is a must win. Obviously Modric is the player to watch but have they not got a lot of players who are past thier best and not playing at the level they were such as Kranjar,Corluka and Eduardo still starting for them?

Would love to go to this but can't see the wife or bank manager being happy about it.

As for England they have some good young players coming through but Capello is a bit of a clown and as long as there are egos such as Terry around they will win nothing.See they are preparing properly anyway

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2069646/England-head-Marbella-Euro-2012-build-up.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

[Main Street]

I love all the optimism but Ireland won't win a game. Sorry if I burst your bubble

Well there you have it everybody. Cancel your flights, no point in going now.

Well England are there............ Besides  I'm not a "saccer" man. I don't mind it though. I just think and it's my view of course that Ireland won't get out of the group.

If you say different, thats grand.

Is there a lot of optimism here? Maybe you are confusing hope with optimism?

There is not a lot of difference between us and Croatia, maybe you have seen their group games especially the one where they were beaten by Greece and decided otherwise. But I'd see the first game as a 50/50 game. Them being technically superior but us as a better team.

A rank outside chance against Spain

Maybe Italy will be functioning to a higher levels by the time of the Finals than they have shown in the group games, but more often than not, Italy have demonstrated varying degrees of disfunction at the Finals and come a cropper against well organised teams
Also I'd expect that we will be well prepared for all these games by Trap and Tardelli.
Trap dwarves Prandelli, when it comes to managerial nous.
So there is always hope and reasonable grounds to be optimistic of getting through to the next stage.

[NetNitrate]

Have a feeling we'll come under severe pressure in the first game but sneak a one nill win after some donkey type defending from the Croats. We'll be no hopers in the second game but we'll score a goal out of nowhere and look set for a famous victory until a danger here moment in the last few minutes and the Spanish equalize. A draw in the final game will see us through and this looks likely until a jammy goal in the last few minutes after the ball takes a cruel spin and we're out.

[Billys Boots]

Have a feeling we'll come under severe pressure in the first game but sneak a one nill win after some donkey type defending from the Croats. We'll be no hopers in the second game but we'll score a goal out of nowhere and look set for a famous victory until a danger here moment in the last few minutes and the Spanish equalize. A draw in the final game will see us through and this looks likely until a jammy goal in the last few minutes after the ball takes a cruel spin and we're out.

That account sounds a bit familiar. 

[Main Street]

It is noteworthy that George Hamilton hasn't been around since we started to put the qualifying results together, in particular one result where we didn't concede a late goal in Moscow.
Would we have survived had George prematurely claimed a historic result was in the bag?
"Oh no, Dunne has put the ball in his own net"

Such are the fine margins we survive by.