Iād say Bosnia were ranked higher. Definitely similar. That was a great win really it was so rare it deserved more credit.
Actually yeah true I forgot the Bosnia (and Herzegovina) match. Maybe cos it was played in such heavy fog that I never actually saw it.
Definitely our best play off win
Yea the home leg was the only time we ever went into a game at home knowing a win would qualify us and actually went and did it.
Donāt mention the Danish game in 2017. 
The only thing is that France were managed by a clown from 2004 to 2010
Kilbane played centre midfield beside Roy that day. Killer was everywhere!
Still beat Spain, Brazil and Portugal to reach the final in 2006. Although player power probably brought them that far.
Hunt always denies bullying Stephen Ireland but some truth in it i imagine.
Iād say they had to get someone to tie Hunts shoelaces for him. A fucking ape
i was talking about the relationship between media and manager earlier as opposed to assessing their performance and i am concerned that coverage of kenny may not necessarily be objective as he is on great terms with the media - which is no bad thing btw.
mick in fairness was as well - i mean that 1 nil in gibraltar was up there with the all time worst ever irish performances of all time but the unfolding JD show took the heat off and by god did the journos do a him a favour with that one. Hogan in that article yesterday commented on a big booze up the day after landing organised by the FAI for the media and team and staff just after landing in saipan - with an attutude of if you write about this you get buried on the islandā¦ now obviously those days are gone .
OāNeill did very wall as ireland manager to a point, yeah i know denmark and he stayed too long but the media went after him and he treated them like absolute shit, im not talking TOD, watch his pressers pre match , his tone would be very short and agressive, it turned post serbia in belgrade,
now i think the kenny appointment is fantastic - look he is a man steeped in the domestic game, has managaed its best ever club side, reached the holy grail by winning a Europe league group stage game ( lads dont seem to be aware btw what an achievement that actually was given the resources) and it may never happen again btw in our lifetimes, he is doing brilliantly with the 21s and his appointment creates a link between grassroots and the national team and this is what the FAI wanted under Delaney.
Kenny also will give respect back to home grown players , we cant have noel king and his rhys grego cox merchants playing 21s, what sort of message does that send to the system you are trying to create and that is LOI clubs will be a feeder of talent thru?
bringing in the likes of pardew might be ok for the EPL merchants but we are trying to get away from this shit - a huge problem with the game in ireland is the absolute disconnect between the league and the national team and the absolute indifference of the vast majority of national team supporting EPL punters who have no interest or care in the national league and football in the country ( * dundalk - shite, dunno who they are playing , wanna see united in moldova as the young lada are playing) - hopefully the kenny appointement is a bridge between the system domestically and the international setupā¦ a huge issue the likes of me had is that the FAI show no recogniton of the national league, well at least now they have made that step i must say with kenny appointment ( he was of course the cheapest option to a bust association), there is a long way to go btw but i hope it is the start of something positive
anyway notwitstanding all that i have my doubts coverage of him will be objective in the media- his shit smells of roses currently to the journos who operate in group think mode- he has the media on his side for now and i think he will certainly need that in the event slovakia goes sour
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i was typing away but we stopped for dinner
kids in bed now so ill drive on
love your hatred of rhys grego cox
Replace Kenny with Kerr and you could be typing about 2003
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our 21 side was a joke for ages under king
wheeling in these nobodys from the woking reserces as they were ācross channelā
the 2009 UCD team would have done an awful lot better than the absolute farce he presided over
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Iāll never forget the night I went to Tallaght Stadium to see the 21s against Azerbaijan with Rhys Grego Cox leading the line.
Declan Rice and Josh Cullen were in the middle of the park the same evening.
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Wasnāt there something in Kingās contract that any player he scouted in the UK that got capped at senior level, he got a bonus?
So he kept picking these lads for the 21s.
Think Kenny will play better football than Kerr. Remember turning on dundalk away to zenit, couldnāt believe how good dundalk were against a top class zenit team.
Ah stop?
you do have a very valid point
kenny dosent have kerrās ego tho
kerr has one in a big way- stephen ireland for example - the journos got stuck right into him too especially in cyprus
remember it there - post WC 2002 we were talking about winning euro 2004, then we went to moscow and it all fell apart
i know kerr had a fine squad and i agree with @Big_Dan_Campbell - but i think he is more of a football tutor than a manager
look at his record, 16s/18s took those simpletons in the faroes to new levels but heād clash with lads who wouldnt listen to him like fellas playing in the UK who didnt know him
kenny is different thoā¦ and the key is he needs to be allowed BUILD a team- kerr inherited a team- kenny will build one, there will be a cull of lads who arent on board and he can do that because he is starting off a low base, Callum Robinson dosent fancy it, no loss, bring in Zacch Elbouzedi - heāll play an LOI X1 if he has to