Euro 2020 Qualifiers and associated friendlies

[anton pulisov]

You mean 2002 surely?

Euro 2012. Keane pointed out that there's no use in having the best fans if the football is shite. The media headlines were "Keane criticises fans"

Wasn't the straw that broke the camel's back the fact that McCarthy had outfield players in goal for five a side games on a rock hard pitch, due (I think) to the fact that the actual keepers/goalkeeping coach had refused to because there was too big a risk of injuries?

Steve Finnan and Lee Carsley actually did their ankles in on the pitch.

[George C.]

Hmm. Trappatoni was manager.
WTF was he expecting?

That and how did his teams play?
Sunderland/Ipswich fans to thread.

An ego, nothing more, nothing less.

Encapsulates all that is wrong with the modern game.

[3 Colours Red]

That will only be enough if we beat Azerbaijan away (and we just squeaked a 2-1 win at home)

We can't be that bad again, can we? CAN WE??????

Slovakia drop points away to Croatia.

Slovakia are gonna win 5-0, I just know it. This group has been bonkers.

[Kevin S]

Yeah, but every time he does a press conference, you become 10% more curious as to how he hasn't been killed by an enraged fan in the meantime. He's just a clueless wage thief, who hides his complete incompetence behind a facade of niceness, and it's really fucking boring

Because he's really good at knowing when to quit too. Not when is best for the team - but when is the moment that the monetary value of the abuse he receives becomes equal to his wage.

The optimum point for Ipswich to have got shot of him was just after they lost the playoff semi final in 2015. Instead everyone had to put up with three more years of stagnation, then decline, then antagonism.

[Patrick Thistle]

We can't be that bad again, can we? CAN WE??????


Slovakia are gonna win 5-0, I just know it. This group has been bonkers.

Sadly I share 3CR's pessimism. I can imagine Wales losing in Azerbaijan and the Hungary game being a dead rubber.

[Nocturnal Submission]

Wiggy's resigned: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50054475

I presume that Bulgaria doesn't have any pertinent anti-hate laws? Shame if not as the faces of many of the perpetrators were quite clearly visible.

[Satchmo Distel]

The Bulgarian PM had ordered all finance to the FA to be cut until Syrup was removed.

[Nocturnal Submission]

Doesn't FIFA take a dim view of governmental interference in their local FAs?

[Gangster Octopus]

Yeah, I was wondering about that too.

[anton pulisov]

Is it government interference? They are simply withdrawing funding from the Bulgarian FA. I assume the Bulgarian FA is free to continue without government money. That would be the legal argument anyway.

The Irish government recently withdrew funding from the FAI until a full audit was done. Which ended with John Delaney buggering off.

[Satchmo Distel]

And they only withdrew funding to get Wiggy sacked, not to take over the FA's policies.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Because he's really good at knowing when to quit too. Not when is best for the team - but when is the moment that the monetary value of the abuse he receives becomes equal to his wage.

The optimum point for Ipswich to have got shot of him was just after they lost the playoff semi final in 2015. Instead everyone had to put up with three more years of stagnation, then decline, then antagonism.

I was at the last game of his first spell , and he would have taken a savage beating if he had appeared. The mood was absolutely murderous. Garcia was at his last couple of games for Wolves, and they were waiting in the carpark for him. he basically had to dress as a woman to escape like DeValera getting out of lincoln jail. It's hard to explain just how fucking furious he can make you.

[anton pulisov]

Bookies giving 1/2 for the Swiss and 7/1 for Ireland. 3/1 for the draw, which is fairly generous. Or is it... I can see us nil nilling our two final games and going out unbeaten. Would be very Mick.

[Tactical Genius]

The English FA only a couple of years ago were openly supporting a racist coaching staff and blackballing players who spoke out against it (much like the NFL) and only got rid of him when hauled into Parliament and into the glare of the international media. The head then indulged in whataboutary and obfuscation when questioned by trying to shift the subject onto the remuneration of the PFA leader.
And whilst people are slagging off ex-Bulgarian footballers, An ex-Englsh footballer who played around the same time period was recently sacked for being a racist bigot.

[anton pulisov]

Here you are, Mick last year explaining how and why the team ended up in Saipan.

Scroll to 18:30 for the right bit.

If he had been this honest in 2002, then he'd have never made it back to Ireland alive.

edit: Dunphy is really turning into Emperor Palpatine, isn't he.

Something else that must be remembered was that Roy Keane had his own room to get angry about shit in. Normally he shared with Denis Irwin, but Denis Irwin retired from international football early two years earlier, because of... Mick.

[Sporting]

The English FA only a couple of years ago were openly supporting a racist coaching staff and blackballing players who spoke out against it (much like the NFL) and only got rid of him when hauled into Parliament and into the glare of the international media. The head then indulged in whataboutary and obfuscation when questioned by trying to shift the subject onto the remuneration of the PFA leader.
And whilst people are slagging off ex-Bulgarian footballers, An Englsh footballer who played around the same time period was recently sacked for being a racist bigot.

All completely true, but reasonable people are still perfectly morally able to call out the Bulgarians.

[Satchmo Distel]

Finland 2-0 up against Armenia and will be through if this result holds and they win their last two (away in Greece and home v Liechtenstein), whereas Bosnia would have to win v Greece (A) and Italy (H) to have any chance of catching them.

[anton pulisov]

Swiss-Ireland game going ahead after pitch inspection. Pitch still fairly waterlogged. Will suit the side less able to play football.

[Satchmo Distel]

UEFA tend to keep games on in circumstances where a domestic game would be off.

[anton pulisov]

Darren Randolph
Seamus Coleman
Enda Stevens
Shane Duffy
John Egan
Glenn Whelan
Alan Browne
James McClean
Jeff Hendrick
Aaron Connolly
James Collins

https://twitter.com/VMSportIE/status/1184155419486367756

[Lang Spoon]

Whelan looks fucked and past it at Hearts ffs.

[Satchmo Distel]

I'm not sure how that constitutes a pitch inspection: rolling it six yards. How about hoofing it and seeing how it bounces?

Groundsman will be thrilled to see his pitch turned into liquid toffee

[anton pulisov]

Swiss playing 3-4-3 with Zakaria and Xhaka in the centre of the pitch.

Ireland playing 4-3-3 with Whelan up against those two by himself.

Mick must figure that the pitch is very, very wet indeed.

[Diable Rouge]

Finland 2-0 up against Armenia and will be through if this result holds and they win their last two (away in Greece and home v Liechtenstein), whereas Bosnia would have to win v Greece (A) and Italy (H) to have any chance of catching them.

So long as they beat Liechtenstein, only require Bosnia to draw one of their last three games.

[Satchmo Distel]

Is a draw any good for Ireland here? They'd still have to beat Denmark, I think, assuming the latter beat Gibraltar and the Swiss beat Gibraltar and Georgia.