Paddy Power Odds :
Slovakia = 6/4
Draw = 11/5
Ireland 7/4
No doubt the forum members who will be quietly wishing for a Slovak success will be tempted by the 6/4…you know who you are !!!
flango & farmer
6/4 isn’t great. Vittek is out for them and they’re replacing him with Sebo. They’re very poor so might have a look at 7/4.
therock67 wrote:
6/4 isn’t great. Vittek is out for them and they’re replacing him with Sebo. They’re very poor so might have a look at 7/4.
betting with your head and not your heart then Rock !!!
therock67 wrote:
6/4 isn’t great. Vittek is out for them and they’re replacing him with Sebo. They’re very poor so might have a look at 7/4.
betting with your head and not your heart then Rock !!!
Just read there that Finnan is almost definetly out. Big loss as he is probably our best full back at the moment and we are quite short in that area. Means O’Shea will certainly start (I’m sure he would have anyway though) which is worrying me already.
I think they’re quite generous odds on Slovakia myself. Our away record is desperate and if he plays people out of position in midfield, like Ireland on the right, then we could be in for a long night. Finnan would be a huge loss as we have fook all full back cover with Stephen Kelly or someone coming in.
FingalRaven wrote:
flango & farmer
Wahey!
Huge match for us tonight. I think we have a very good chance of winning if we go out with the right attitude. If we look to outscore them I am confident we will. I fear however we will go out thinking a draw would be a decent result (which it isn’t). Starting McGeady tonight is a key. Himself and Reid were excellent against Denmark and similar stuff from them tonight and we are bound to create chances. As much as I like him Hunt hasn’t got the talent so starting him would be a negative selection imo.
Can’t see anything but a draw this evening. Last competitive away win against a decent side was 20yrs ago. Stan will claim it as a decent result. Realistically if we don’t beat the Czechs were out.
Just hope Reid and McGeady both start, it’s no time for defensive set-ups.
The thing is though Slovakia aren’t a decent side. They’re missing Vittek who is a huge loss for them. There’s no point in playing for a draw against them. They’re an inferior side and we should have no problems going out there and beating them.
With them missing Vittek Ireland should win. I fancy them to do it. I have faith, gotta have faith. Fath-a faith-a faith yeah.
Christ that was a shocking 2 points to drop. They were as bad as I thought they were. Awful at the back, tidy enough in the middle, and a bit wild with their shooting up top. We panicked at the end though. We got caught with a couple of long balls over the top so obviously decided to hold a deeper line but we ended up dealing with a long ball at the edge of our own box which was always risky. One simple deflection and their winger is in acres of space because O’Shea decided to cover the long ball that our two centre halves and other full back had all gone for as well. Disaster.
Not going to comment too much on individual performances because while I saw the entire game the viewing conditions weren’t the best so I found it difficult to formulate clear opinions.
Given was fine obviously. As a unit we defended quite well though McShane had a few odd moments and should have done better on the first goal. Dunne was excellent. Didn’t think Carsley did much in midfield and we need him to pass the ball much better if he’s playing there. It’s no use being 100% destructive. Ireland took his goal very well but lacks authority in the middle. McGeady was quiet and so was Kilbane but we weren’t getting the ball out to them in good areas. Keane didn’t get any ball because we didn’t pass it. Doyle didn’t have a great game but scored a great goal.
Bringing on Douglas and Gibson was crazy.
Very disappointing performance where we were lucky to get a draw against a very average sides.
My views on selected players:
Robbie Keane was too quiet and was caught offside too often needlessly. He shoould have done more to link up play with midfielders too and held onto the ball too long.
Richard Dunne had an excellent game and was our best player by a distance. Kelly didn’t have a good game but was nowhere near as inept as John O’Shea. To be fair my comparison of Kelly with O’Shea is probably a little harsh on the Birmingham player. He doesn’t let us down in nearly every match he plays in and he appears to care. O’Shea turning his back for their equaliser sums him up for me.
I was happy to see McGeady start but he had a poor game and didn’t do anything when given the ball in good opportunities (which was all too seldom in fairness).
Carsley’s passing was poor and he didn’t do enough to break down their play
Ireland showed nice touches but was all too quiet for a central midfielder. Giles views that he should impose himself on games more seems correct
Agree with all of the above. o’shea is a disgrace and it looks like he will be the reason we wont qualify.
90th odd minute. he should be throwing his whole body at the ball instead of a lazy attempt. Douglas also let his man get in behind him on about 4 occasions. Strange decision to bring him on.
Anyone hear stan the man’s interview after the game? tosser.
I was actually more impressed with Stan after the game than at any time in his reign so far
He said that Ireland were poor and needed to beat the Czechs which is a fair enough assessment
Maybe he said something I missed…
On the game itself, I feel that Dunphy was correct when he said that Dunne was a good as any centre half in Europe last night. Superb performance. His block on the shot when Given came off his line towards end was superb
Robbie Keane was poor. This is our captain. This is our top scorer and con tributed nothing and hasn’t in a long long time for Ireland. He needs an unmercifully good kick up the arse
Just saw there that Ireland is out of the Czech match due to the death of his grandmother…
Agree with farmer I thought Stan was grand after the game. Said we were poor which we were. His substitutions were poor though I thought.
Gibson??
Looks a decent player but completely untried. Why bring him on in such an important game?
Thought the RTE lads blew their load over Andy Reid a bit in the end. I mean he’s decent enough of a player but would things have been much different if he played?
Where on earth is Stephen Reid? We miss him badly…
farmerinthecity wrote:
Gibson??
Looks a decent player but completely untried. Why bring him on in such an important game?
Thought the RTE lads blew their load over Andy Reid a bit in the end. I mean he’s decent enough of a player but would things have been much different if he played?
Where on earth is Stephen Reid? We miss him badly…
Agree with on all of the above farmer. RTE lads got a bit carried away I thought. They were acting as if Reid and Hunt were superstars who shouldn’t possibly have been on the bench. Granted Reid probably should have started but if the toss up was between Hunt and McGeady there is no comparison for me. Stephen Reid is injured apparently.
agree - reid is a 1st division player playing at charlton- not sure what he would have done to change things- i wouldnt be overly critical of staunton- not his fault that o’shea didnt throw himself at the last ball- staunton can only pick from the players avaialable & we are not that good- the slovakians are a lot more comfortable on the ball & its not up to staunton to change the kick & rush culture that we have in ireland. felt srry for mcgeady as he didnt get much decent ball