Estonia Ireland Ireland Estonia

1

According to a piece by Brian Kerr for the Irish Time Estonia are:

  • A very, very competent, well organised and disciplined
  • Likely to play 4-4-1-1 against us
  • Dangerous from central shooting areas. Vassiljev is deadly from thirty yards in
  • Well capable of whipping in dangerous frees from wide areas and have many aerial threats from setplays
  • Content at times to play it long up to big men up front
  • Much more content at being underdogs
  • Certainly beatable

I think we struggled a bit when Armenia were more direct in last thirty minutes at Lansdowne.

2

They also score an inordinate amount of jammy goals.

3

McDevitt chairing a good discussion on the publicā€™s attitude towards the Irish team on setanta. Brian Kerr giving it both barrels. One thing McDevittā€™s very good at is taking a skeptical position that gets way more out of the panelists. He was maintaining here that Trap and Tardelli have no responsibility to football in Ireland beyond the national team and Kerr was seething.

4

Crossed wires between Brian Kerr and Kimmage leads to some marvellous tension on the show.

5

Larry, you never mentioned that he finished that article by saying weā€™re far better than them and that we should win handy enough.

Ireland should have both. All logic suggests we should beat them. We should be far too good for them.

6

It didnā€™t tie in my negative mood this morning but I have since ameded the post. Good article actually. Link to it doesnā€™t work unfortunately. Sometimes get impression off Kerr though that he has his own agenda.

7

Kimmage rambles on too much when trying to make his point. He seems to like to bring old quotes/press clippings with him in advance. But he forgets sometimes to relate itā€™s relevance to the original point of discussion. Certainly Kerr seemed bemused with him.

Fair play to McDevitt for highlighting examples of cheating in rugby also.

Christ I really hope Ireland qualify - if only to stick to the ever increasing scantimonious anti-football brigade in this country.

8

The more I think about this upcoming tie, the more I feel if we can avoid monumental fuck ups like Dunne maybe getting sent off then we should have no problem getting through. If our attitude is right in the first game, which to be fair to Trap I canā€™t see there being any issue with, we should win the away leg and leave us needing only a draw in the home leg to get through. I think we are capable of that.

Dunne is our most important player though, any issue with him and we are in trouble.

Which of our players is in yellow card trouble - Whelan and who else?

9

One of my uncleā€™s knows his assistant and he says heā€™s a maddening, impossible man. It was a good article though and the Irish set-up should certainly consult with him.

10

Kerr has been fairly hostile towards him since that. Kerr totally misinterpreted the point but Kimmage took too long in getting to it in fairness.

11

TRAP: WEā€™RE NOT VERY GOOD. - Irish Sunday Mirror, Oct 16, 2011

HE tried to deliver it gently, but the message from Giovanni Trapattoni was clear ā€“ Ireland are doing as well as they can expect to do, given the limited resources available.

Ireland are in the playoffs for a major tournament for the second time in a row under the Italian, a stage the country had failed to reach since they qualified for the 2002 World Cup.

That hasnā€™t been enough to satisfy some critics, but the Italian has hit back at those who criticise his style ā€“ and wants them to look at the players at his disposal.

Compare them to the riches at Fabio Capelloā€™s disposal, he says to the snipers, and tell me weā€™re underachieving.

ā€œWhat strikers do you want (me to pick)?ā€ he asked, ā€œ(my players) are playing in the second tier of clubs, like Wolves.
ā€œThe players who play in the England team play in the Champions League, that is the reality.

ā€œI couldnā€™t say our players can only play in this situation, I canā€™t give that as an excuse because itā€™s not fair.

ā€œI must give them confidence that they can play for [big teams].ā€

Trap maintains that he has enough quality to qualify with this group of players, but only playing his way.

The Italian has a name for defensive football, but only, he insists, when itā€™s required.

ā€œI played with Milan in the League, the Champions League and afterwards I had the team with technical and creative skills,ā€ he argued, ā€œThe football (Ireland play) is not show-football because you only show when you can.

ā€œWhen you are not this quality (as at Juventus) you must try to achieve the same in an other way.ā€

Trap has had to deal with many differences between Irish players and those he managed in Germany, Italy and Portugal.

One of those ā€˜culturalā€™ differences raised its head very early on in his reign and helped quicken the exile of Andy Reid, after a late night drinking session in Mainz, Germany.

Last week, injured skipper Robbie Keane was photographed in a pub in Malahide, and while the Italian had no problem with him being there on his day off, he admitted an Italian player would not have done the same.

ā€œThere is a habit when you say in Germany, they drink beer, in Italy, we drink wine, but the players in Italy donā€™t have this habit.

ā€œAn Italian player wouldnā€™t have done it. When I ask sometimes why this happen, I see that previous management had a different habit. For us itā€™s impossible to understand.

ā€œItā€™s a habit but we change it a little bit.

ā€œBefore they didnā€™t answer the secretary, and they disappeared (failed to report for international duty), there was no reply. That has improved. They answer always now, the physio and doctor.ā€

12

Joe.ie are reporting that Robbie Keane should be fit for both Estonia games. :clap: (Although the story originates from the Star so may not be true)

http://www.joe.ie/foā€¦tonia-0016813-1

Robbieā€™s Keane to face Estonia

When Robbie Keane sat out the final group game against Armenia last week, it was widely reported that he was out for four to six weeks.

It was reported like that because Robbie told everybody he was out.

ā€œItā€™s a four-to-six week injury, but Iā€™ll have a scan and weā€™ll know more in 10 days. Itā€™s a muscle injury not just pain. I would love to play in the Euros and Iā€™ll do everything I can - the lads will as well,ā€ said the American based striker just after the 2-1 win over Armenia.

Well it seems Robbie has recovered quickly and the good news is he now expects to be fit for Estonia now.

ā€œI am very happy with the way things are going with my injury,ā€ he says in todayā€™s Irish Star. ā€œI really think I can make it for the first leg [against Estonia]. The way things are going I am going to be available for both games.ā€

Robbieā€™s new employers, LA Galaxy, play the first leg of their end of season play-offs on October 29 and the club expect Robbie to be fit for that one. The second leg is November 6 but Robbie should be released from that to travel to Tallinn for the first leg of the Irish play-off.

If fit, Keane will play. We know Trap loves him and with his goalscoring record he has to start. But who will play alongside him is now the key question.

Kevin Doyle is suspended so Shane Long should slot in ā€“ he was excellent again this weekend for West Brom ā€“ but it seems that both Simon Cox and Jon Walters are ahead of him in Trapā€™s mind.

13

Shane Long got injured today playing in EPL after horror tackle from Alan Hutton. Looks a doubt now.

14

Trap should be looking to the on form young Dubliner, Anthony Stokes.

15

Walters, Best, Cox and most probably Keane all ahead of him in the queue for first leg. Time to look at guys like Stokes is after these two games.

16

So long as Keane, Doyle, Cox and Walters are fit, the loss of Long is not too bad.
Bought my ticket for this yesterday.

FAO Jugs:
Did you salvage your ticket from under your foot on the floor of the 51 and do the same? Iā€™m taking the Wednesday off work and I need a wingman.

17

No he shouldnā€™t. Stokes has a diabolical attitude and isnā€™t good enough either.

18

KIB Man in ā€œI watch Celticā€ shocker

19

failure in EPL, failure in second tier English football, in and out of also ran SPL side, doesnt bother showing up for international games = not good enough.

Watched a few shite EPL games this morning, last night. Stephen Ward is a ridiculously bad defender. Kevin Doyle looked bereft of confidence for 85 mins. Ive said it before but he needs proper coaching not big Mickā€™s hoofball. Would love someone like Aldridge to work with him or for Kevin to move to Europe. Balls takes ages to get out of his feet at the moment and just not in the box enough.
Stephen Reid was ok at right back. Probably no better than JOS. Long started well, good touch and movement before being crudely taken out of the game. Dunne was beaten in the air for the first goal but was decent again. Given made one great save but not the bravest in the world which is only reinforcing the predjudice Iā€™ve held against him for a while. West Brom somehow missed a header from 2 yards out yesterday that Given should have easily come and fisted clear. Finally, Tierney was solid at left back, looked better than Ward anyway. Hoolahan though was probably the most impressive Irish qualified player I saw play. Great touch, awareness of space and very lively. Would have to play him in a free role but if we play 442 against a decent side in the Euros we will be demolished. He could well be worth considering behind Doyle or a lone striker.

20

Irish qualified as opposed to Irish?

good to see you rate the Shels academy so highly.

odd team your setting up for the estonia game- play a midfielder as a striker and/or partner him with a guy who wont be playing as he is suspended