Letās do this for Eoin Hand - robbed by these clowns in 81
Why mess around with the Brady / Hendrick - St Kevins Boys combination that so clearly worked against Sweden? Leave Brady at left full.
The problem is the right wing, with Walters out. Shove Coleman up on the right wing and bring Christie in as right full, then Coleman can do what he does best, if heās bothered, i.e. cross the ball and Christie can actually defend.
Iām not sure about replacing Clark, very unlucky for the goal, very lucky he didnāt score another go, but he had a very good game. The biggest problem Iād see is McCarthy, who is clearly not fit - who do you bring in for him?
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Also, I canāt see the point of bringing Robbie on, he does nothing. Bring Slab on who will at least cause problems and break the ball in the box.
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A couple of things Iāve been mulling over having digested both games:
- Italy had good success along the flanks. Belgiumās full backs looked shaky, and their wide midfielders didnāt help them by covering back.
- They will likely be going all out for the win, so our defence will need to be consistent and assured.
- Walters doesnāt seem to be fit to play, so thatās at least one new face to come in. Hoolahan went off and his inability to play games in short time-spans comes in here. Iād rather have him for the Italy game, which might be more open for us if theyāre through.
With all this considered, my preferred option would be for us to play 5-3-1-1. Get Keogh in there as a 3rd centre half to shore us up. Coleman and Brady as wing backs. Whelan holding, with McCarthy and Hendrick further ahead, linking up with our wing backs. The front two could either be McClean playing behind Long, or Long running off Slab.
Christie defend? Fuck sake 
I like Fitzyās idea best.
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Have you seen Christie going backwards?
Am I correct in saying that Italy would have the group won if they beat Sweden on Friday and Belgium beat us on Saturday. In qualifying and the Champions League head to head is used first as the tie breaker and then goal difference. Assume it is the same in the Euros
If two or more teams in the same group are equal on points on completion of the final tournament group matches, the following criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:
a. higher number of points obtained in the matches played among the teams in question;
b. superior goal difference resulting from the matches played among the teams in question;
c. higher number of goals scored in the matches played among the teams in question;
d. if, after having applied criteria a) to c), teams still have an equal ranking, criteria a) to c) are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria e) to h) apply;
e. superior goal difference in all group matches;
f. higher number of goals scored in all group matches;
g. fair play conduct in the final tournament as defined in Annex C.5.1;
h. position in the UEFA national team coefficient rankings (see Annex B.1.2.b).
18.02 If two teams which have the same number of points and the same number of goals scored and conceded play their last group match against each other and are still equal at the end of that match, their final rankings are determined by kicks II ā Competition System 17 from the penalty mark (see Paragraph 19.02 to Paragraph 19.04), provided that no other teams within the group have the same number of points on completion of
all group matches. Should more than two teams have the same number of points, the criteria listed under Paragraph 18.01 apply.
Yeah if they win and Belgium avoid defeat, Italy top the group.
If Eoin Hand and David Connolly are helicoptered in to give the team-talk, there will be no going backwards.
Belgium may as well be a 11 Dudu Awats such should our desire to tear them asunder be. Theyāll wilt and whinge. 2-1 Ireland. Christie with a goal.
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I fancy Ireland. Team spirit and confidence are massive in short groups like this. In qualifying you can go away and forget any nonsense, not here. The vibe from Belguim aināt good.
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If Italy beat Sweden, which they should, I think we should do everything possible to get a tie against the Belgians. Italy will be on 6 points and untouchable at that point. If we can secure the tie, we will be on 2 points, and Belgium on 1, so the best they can do is 4. We have a far better chance of a win imo against an Italy who wonāt care and will want to avoid injures and cards, than beating Belgium who for all their supposed disharmony have the potential to rip us a new one. NI versus Spain 1982 should be the template.
What colour tie and what kind of knot?
Kevās called this one and weāll go and win.
I think we should everything possible to get a win against the Belgians.
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Belgium are the ones who absolutely need a win. We should expect to see an attacking lineup from them with Dembele instead of Fellaini, Hazard at 10, Mertens and Carrasco on the flanks, and Origi replacing the useless Lukaku. Origi is wasteful as well but is a real handful. If we go out to try and get a win, and with a similar structure to Monday, we could ship a right beating which is the last thing we need. Frustrate them and try and nick a goal is the correct approach.
Italy have a recent poor record against Ireland, iād be worried they would want to prove a point. They are young. Conte doesnāt have a record of easing up either after a quick look. Even when they won leagues Juve went on to destroy teams in last few games.
I feel Sweden are the danger if we donāt beat Belguim. In a big game with it all on the line they have Zlatan who has the balls for that shit and just historically when it needs to be done Sweden will come up trumps. If we draw with Belguim we will definitely need to beat Italy. 3 draws and Sweden will end on 4 or 5 points and Italy on 5 or 6. We need to beat this rabble of pre-madonnas. Italy winning is a must i think as well against Sweden for us.
Just reading more from Belguim tgere. Definitely fragile. No mas in the manager and making excuses about the Italians diving etc.
Iād be disappointed if we donāt beat these moaning cunts, comfortably. Everyone looks at their āvalueā and ātalentā but team sport just isnāt like that.
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The loss of Kompany is huge. These cunts are weak. OāNeill even had a dig at them on FAI TV about how they are individuals and sometimes that can be hard to gel as a team. Wilmots is a cunt. Always has been.
I dreamed last night that James McCarthy scores early for us. It has been written.
Decent enough piece as Alan Moore talks about Wes and his rise from when he first encountered him.
