there are nine groups.the nine winners automatically qualify for the world cup.then the best eight runners up out of the nine groups go in to a playoff.

OLLIE (Louth) - Posts: 12224 - 27/03/2009 23:20:49    241870

What a pile of pants!!! The players are poor. Trap's style has always been defensive but I don't think that was deliberate tonight. I just think they weren't good enough to win the ball and hold it and that's the players fault. As for Robbie Keane, I really don't see the fuss. No wonder he got booted out of Liverpool. He's just not the standard. Stephen Ireland isn't coming back any time soon and Andy Reid should not be back until he loses at least 3 stone and shaves! But how come there's no talk about Finnan? I know he's injured but the panelists don't even mention his name as a possible return. I think with the three Stephen's back (Reid, Ireland & Finnan) it would be a much improved side.

Real Louth fan (Louth) - Posts: 3157 - 28/03/2009 23:04:41    242357

"There's only one team in Ireland".

Still, nice to see Richard scoring for the ROI, but the soccer love of my life, Italia, win again.

patrique (Antrim) - Posts: 13709 - 29/03/2009 02:55:27    242405

The two best players, Andy Reid and Stephen Ireland, are missing and I fear they always will be.

patrique (Antrim) - Posts: 13709 - 29/03/2009 15:17:00    242523

patrique
County: Antrim
Posts: 2614

242523 The two best players, Andy Reid and Stephen Ireland, are missing and I fear they always will be.

Why mention Stephen England, he does not want to play for Ireland. But yes Reid should be in the team, can't understand why he won't pick him.

PJ (None) - Posts: 2288 - 29/03/2009 17:45:45    242621

Give it up about Andy Reid! He's not an international player. That's Dunphy grasping at straws and trying to be controversial again like he was during the Charlton years. He is a pure sensationalist. He said that if they continued not to pick chubby unshavin lad that he'd take out the tapes where Brady was apparently praising reid as a player. Well if they do so I hope the pull out the tapes where Dunphy was praising the selection of Trappatoni in the first place and where he and Giles said that it wasn't important whether or not Trapp went to see Irish lads play club football or not. Andy reid and Andy O' Brien would be no advantage to the Irish team at all!!! The real losses are the three Stephen's as mentioned above. Dunphy was also mouthing off about the importance of a coach and how he can change a team. He used Declan Kidney V Eddie o' Sullivan as an example. Good example so lets do the same with the soccer team. Trap V Steve Staunton Trap V Brian Kerr Trap V Mick Mc Carthy Take your pick Dunphy!!! Furthermore he went on to say how he and guys like Giles etc are "...part of the soccer community..." So where did Trap and tardelli come from??? Hockey???!!! As I said he is a sensationalist so ignore his ramblings he contradicts himself and cares not a jot for it.

Real Louth fan (Louth) - Posts: 3157 - 29/03/2009 18:43:23    242666

Andy reid should be on that irish team he is a great player just because trap fell out with him he is not on it .

Dellboypolecat (Tyrone) - Posts: 15069 - 29/03/2009 19:22:06    242701

Andy Reid can't tackle, head the ball, run very fast or run for very long. He can spot a good pass but that's not much use when we don't have possession and he can't get it back for us.
Stephen Ireland will not be part of this Irish campaign and that's not down to Trapatonni, it's down to Stephen Ireland and partly the interim manager (Don Givens?) who said some things he shouldn't have said.

donegal_insider (Donegal) - Posts: 584 - 29/03/2009 20:05:56    242747

If awards wer not given to the most successful teams and rather to the deserving, think of this.

This year, week in week out, Ireland has been the best player in the premiership, in a poor enough side. He should be footballer of the year, but won't be.

Last year I would have given the award to Andy Reid who single handedly transformed Sunderland into a football team, rather than a cross country team chasing a ball.

And I am glad to hear that Eamon Dunphy agrees with me. How is he, haven't heard him in ages?

patrique (Antrim) - Posts: 13709 - 29/03/2009 20:34:40    242773

Lads even if all the players were available there wouldn't be room for ireland and reid in the same team, unless trap played five across the middle. A ballwinner is needed. I would probably play carsley with ireland in the middle, but if stephen reid ever solved his injury problems he would be in there with ireland for sure.

an-lu-abu (Louth) - Posts: 118 - 29/03/2009 21:58:03    242826

People can rant and rave about the chubby unshaven fella as much as they like as they know they won't be called on it. Simply because Trap will never pick him as long as he is 20 stone!

You'd swear it was Saipan or something!

But what it really does demonstrate is how desperate people feel about this Irish team if they believe that a guy playing in the relagation zone is going to outwit the likes of Pirlo and Cannavaro!!

I have oceans of respect for Brian Kerr and upon ocassion even for Dunphy but lets compare their CVs to Trap's?

My personal opinion is that in the modern game Trap is a good coach - not a great one. He's not in the same league as Lippi or Capello. His most recent international career with Italia was not a popular one either. He was too defensive even for the Italians liking. Granted he suffered some of the most awful referring decisions in 2002 that any manager ever faced but he never pressed home an advantage. That doesn't make him wrong over the chubby fella - far from it! I don't believe that any manager should rely upon Andy Reid.

I don't believe he is a wonderful coach but he's a huge step up from Kerr and Staunton and he has some experience, let's not forget. So if he says Reid is not up to it then we should take that as an expert opinion! Also if Stephen Ireland doesn't want to play (for the time being) there is nothing Trap or Brady or anybody else can do. If the guy's heart isn't in it then there's little you can do. Dunphy is way out of line blaming the lads for that one! It would be worse if he came back and played on a downer. Leave the lad some peace.

But Finnan is a real loss and Stephen Reid too but not as much as Finnan and Ireland. For the life of me I don't know what Mc Shane is doing there, he may get the hurl out again as Wicklow need him!!

Real Louth fan (Louth) - Posts: 3157 - 29/03/2009 22:43:15    242881

Andy Reid is being blown up into this brilliant footballer by all the media. Lets face the facts about him.
He plays the odd time for Sunderland for 50-55 minutes before being taken off.
He didn't make it at Spurs and was out of the Notts Forest team in the championship when he was sold to them.
He is 2 stone overweight and cannot cover any ground.
He can pick out a pass but he cant tackle, run or even track back.
If he is the saviour of Irish football then were well and truly screwed.

denzel (None) - Posts: 452 - 30/03/2009 10:29:38    243064

I agree 100% with what denzel said. Reid is not the messiah . He is average at best and would make no difference to ireland despite what dunphy says

zidane (Galway) - Posts: 272 - 30/03/2009 10:47:33    243089

Spot on Denzel.

Time Dunphy and others stopped looking for excuses and stopped ignoring the fact that apart from Finnan and Ireland - that's all we have and it ain't pretty!!

Real Louth fan (Louth) - Posts: 3157 - 30/03/2009 10:52:07    243094

Stephen Reid is a huge loss also. RLF.

denzel (None) - Posts: 452 - 30/03/2009 11:17:52    243124

Andy Reid is getting better and better with each game he misses!! Trap has no faith in our players. He made a comment last month that the players dont matter only the system, but the players would matter if we had Pirlo, Totti, Perotta, Nesta, Cannavaro etc. Truth is this lads, much as many wont like to hear it. Duff is totally over rated. Robbie tries TOO hard and in effect runs himself out of games out on the wing. McGeady aint half the player some think he is, Whelan and Adnrews are awful, McShane is a joke, Kilbane is....kilbane..... We dont have the players, our manager knows this, but he is far too negative anyway. We are horrible to watch, awful. Even Big Jack played better football than this and he was a disgrace.

Liamwalkinstown (Dublin) - Posts: 8166 - 30/03/2009 12:17:01    243215

Agree with denzel too.

Since he got dropped from the panel, Andy Reid has turned into the one our greatest ever footballers, while in the squad, few woulod have started him if we were injury-free.

He is not a good central midfielder.

Never has been never will.

Even if he was in the squad I'd pick, Whelan, Andrews or Gibson ahead of him.

He is useful to our squad as a wide player but Trap obviously prefers Hunt, McGeady, Duff and also Keogh. Trap is a hugely successful football maanger/player. Eamon Dunphy is not.

Breffni40 (Cavan) - Posts: 12291 - 30/03/2009 12:19:48    243221

Also, when we had both Reid and Ireland in the team, our results were worse and we qualified for nothing.

Breffni40 (Cavan) - Posts: 12291 - 30/03/2009 12:21:42    243230

100% right denzel and co... Andy reid is average at best. Maybe trap realises that with the players at his disposal we are never going to be a force going forward (and to be honest we never were) so the best thing to do is tighten up at the back and play two ball-winners in the middle. The only problem is we are missing steven reid so the ball-winners available are not as good as they should be. Trap knows alot more about soccer than any irish man so why not give him a chance? He was dead right with andy reid, he's supposed to be an international professional soccer player for christ sake! Imagine lookin at him there playin a guitar, way past the curfew, 2 stone overweight and happy out... Could you blame him?
I think dunphy saying he hadnt seen andy reid play is a nonsense... There is no way that he could know that...

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 30/03/2009 15:20:11    243507

denzel County: All Posts: 211 243064 Andy Reid is being blown up into this brilliant footballer by all the media. Lets face the facts about him. He plays the odd time for Sunderland for 50-55 minutes before being taken off. He didn't make it at Spurs and was out of the Notts Forest team in the championship when he was sold to them. He is overweight and cannot cover any ground. He can pick out a pass but he cant tackle, run or even track back. Track back? Did you EVER see Zidane, Ronaldinho, the real Ronaldo (Brazil) Puskas, Pele, Maradona, Cruff or Platini tracking back. Footballers do not track back. And the problem is people in these islands, being swayed by English attitudes, do not appreciate footballers. Hudson, Currie, Wothington, McKenzie, Osgood, Phil Neville has more caps than all of them put together. Matt Le Tissier, best English footballer since Matthews, doesn't track back or run. But a GENIUS. If you want people to run get a load of Ethiopians or Kenyans, best runners in the world. Andy Reid is not sensational but he can make something happen. Who else can, bar Stephen IRELAND who doesn't want to play.

patrique (Antrim) - Posts: 13709 - 01/04/2009 23:37:31    245973