Saturday 7 July 2012

Don't look back in anger

So now its all over there is no escaping the brutal facts. Ireland's record at Euro 2012 does not read very well. We played three and lost three, with a goal difference of minus eight. All in all, a bit of a let-down, even though two of the teams we lost to ultimately got to the final and all three of them were ranked in the world's top 10. In fairness though given the scant resources at our disposal, should we really be surprised?

Monday 2 July 2012

There's no doubt about it, they are the greatest...

Simply the greatest
Straight after the European and World Champions reclaimed trophy last night, all football supporters around the world were debating whether Spain could now be considered as the greatest footballing side of all time. The first international side ever to claim three major titles in a row while playing the best football seen since the 1970 Brazil team.

Thursday 28 June 2012

The Boys in Green left their mark alright

You'll never beat the Irish...at singing anyway!
If ever proof was needed that the 30,000 Paddies who descended on Poznan for Ireland's Euro 2012 group fixtures with Croatia and Spain, left a major impression on the locals then here it is... The video clip below shows a bunch of Poles singing the now infamous chant of "Stand up/Sit down for the Boys in Green". Yet this clip was recorded not while the Green Army were still in Poland, but in the lead up to last night's dour semi final between Spain and Portugal, some 10 days after we got knocked out by Italy.

Monday 25 June 2012

John Delaney 'Hard at Work'

John Delaney keeping things in check in Poznan

John Delaney has been on the defensive these last few days. In Poland the fans chanted "he used to be a w*nker.... but he's alright now" at him. But were they right? Is he alright? Or is he a w*nker?

There's nought wrong with having a few beers and heaven forbid being photographed having a few beers but given the current state of the League of Ireland and Irish football at the grassroots level, is it appropriate for the head man of the FAI to be caught langered and making a show of himself? Or does it show that he's an ordinary grounded bloke who is just really a fan at heart?

Here's an article of him defending his recent behaviour with Dion Fanning from the Irish Independent. One thing's for sure and that is he seems to like more than just the 'odd night out' judging by all the photos and videos on the web.
 http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/euro-2012/irish-news/fans-carried-me-headhigh-home-now-if-thats-a-crime-im-not-guilty-trust-me-3147496.html




Friday 22 June 2012

Top 5 goals of the group stage

Here are my top 5 goals of the group stages:


1. Zlatan the Great - Sweden vs France.

Tuesday 19 June 2012

A radical overhaul is required

So now we've finally been put out of our misery and lost our 3 group games, it's time to reflect on where we stand as a footballing nation and where we go from here into the future. There can be no doubting that a radical overhaul of Irish football is required. And I'm not talking about Trapattoni and his conservative tactics or team selections. That would be just skimming the surface. The real problem with Irish soccer lies in the grassroots.

Saturday 16 June 2012

Dunphy's always wrong


Last night when it was half time and 1-0 to England, Eamon Dunphy advised viewers the 2nd half was going to be a bore fest with no more goals and "they might as well just switch off and go down to the pub". In the end the game finished 2-2 after a great 2nd half of end to end football.

Thursday 14 June 2012

Time to hold your breath

Last night's football between Germany and Holland was in the words of Harry Redknapp "A fantastic game, with fantastic players and fantastic goals.. Absolutely fantastic". Thanks for that level of insight there Harry. But he was right it was a fantastic game. At this stage the Germans are still my favourites for the whole thing. They look so solid all over and they haven't won a major tournament since 1996 which for them is like a lifetime. Not to mention their squad is bulging with talent almost as much as the eyes on their talisman Mesut Ozil.

Wednesday 13 June 2012

The boys march on

I was still really disappointed about Sunday's game until I saw this clip. The boys in green, the supporters I mean are doing us proud over there with the amount of banter going on. There's going to be a lot of sore throats by the weeks end. Hopefully the team will play a bit better against Spain and get the all important bit of luck for every minute of the 90 and sure, we might be grand...    




Sunday 10 June 2012

Best Ireland Football Songs


The build up tonight's game is everywhere. It's on the radio, on the streets, in the pubs. Everyone is talking about only 1 thing: how are Ireland going to fare tonight against Croatia? Instead of discussing this here however, the priority is to soak up some pre-match build up. So I thought I'd put up my favourite football tunes from this and our previous Euro and World Cup adventures. 'Put em under pressure' is my personal favourite. The Horslips guitar hook is what gives it it's knock-out punch. Let me know what yours is or if I've left any out.

Friday 8 June 2012

Fever Pitch

The fever is setting in... You know it's setting in when you start singing 'Put em under pressure' in the shower first thing in the morning, doing your best impression of a Jack Charlton accent. I even bought an Ireland jersey for the first time in years today. I was backed into a corner because the only one I have is from USA 94 and the OPEL logo on it is starting to fall off, never mind the fact that its blue instead of white. There's retro and then there's crap, but I'm still gonna wear it, I just need to have a backup plan.






Poland and Greece squared off today to start the ball rolling, closely followed by Russia and the Czech Republic. I thought it ended up being a few hours of decent football. More likely the case that I was just starved of it over the past few weeks. Overall the Russians look like they should easily top Group A, whereas 2nd place is up for grabs, and could be taken by any of the other 3 teams. No surprises there then, but how will Russia fare against Holland/Germany/Portugal in the quarter finals, that my friends is the question?

Back home in Ireland meanwhile, the country is draped in tricolours , there's a buzz in the air, the football has started, we're part of it for the first time in 24 years, Roy Keane is laughing along with Patrick Vieira on ITV, everything is going to be brilliant... Ireland is smiling again. It's great to be here right now. But don't get me wrong it would be better to be in Poland. I keep saying to myself 'France 2016, that will be my chance'... One thing at a time, all that matters is Sunday night. Bring on the Croatians and their stupid looking jerseys.

Wednesday 6 June 2012

Walters the best option for a tactical change now

For a man who could easily be described as a journey man, given that he has been with 7 clubs in the past 10 years, could Jonathan Walters spectacular rise to top of the professional game be topped off by forcing his way into the starting X1 against Croatia on Sunday?

Walters the best option for a tactical change now


Tuesday 5 June 2012

Golden Boot Contenders


So many of the world's greatest strikers will be on display, but who will be the one to claim the glory and bragging rights of being the highest scorer at the Euros? A review of www.paddypower.com shows no surprises with the usual contenders at the top of the list. Mario Gomez and Robin Van Persie lead the way at 8/1 and 9/1 respectively, closely followed by Christiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema at 14/1.


Tuesday 29 May 2012

In McShane We Trust?

The sports pages of the world's most famous broadsheets were only concerned with one news item today, namely that Paul McShane has been drafted into the Ireland Euro 2012 squad to replace the injured Kevin Foley. Foley is now the second withdrawal from the squad hot on the heels of Keith Fahey who was replaced by the equally imperious Paul Green. I expect that the likes of Iniesta, Jelavic and Balotelli are now having nightmares at the prospect of coming face to face with the man who makes Alan Kernaghan look like a quality defender.

McShane in fairness strikes fear into hearts every time he steps onto the pitch for Ireland. The problem being that it is the Irish fans' whose hearts I am talking about. That is something even his club's fans at Hull City haven't had to endure recently, since he was on loan at Crystal Palace for the second half of last season. Now don't get me wrong, we all love players who have lots of heart and would die for the cause, and there is no doubt that McShane satisfies both of these criteria, but we also love players who can actually play too.

McShane seemed to be totally out of the picture in terms of getting a starting berth in the Irish team only a few weeks ago, but the subsequent injury doubts surrounding John O'Shea have suddenly propelled him into a  situation, where he will be very much in the frame for the first game against Croatia now that he is in the final 23. There is always Stephen Kelly of course, who I would like to think could reasonably get the nod. But a niggling feeling persists that should O'Shea not be ready for the Croatia game, and there is every reason to believe he won't, McShane will step forward as the man upon whom we trust. As the little montage below suggests, that will not be an easy thing.


Friday 25 May 2012

McLean our secret weapen?

James McLean has been given the nod by Giovanni Trapattoni to start tomorrow's friendly against Bosnia. The young 23 year old Derry native will be hoping he can impress the manager enough to stake a claim for a starting place when Ireland's Euro adventure kicks off on Sunday 10 June in Poznan. My guess is that most fans would probably prefer to see him start ahead of Trap's current first choice left winger Aiden McGeady, although knowing Trap (for the record we go way back!), the safety first mantra of experience over excitement will probably win out.

So what if McLean scored a hat-trick against Bosnia? Would that be enough to make the starting X1... It's hard to know. But what is clear is that his form under Martin O'Neill at Sunderland was so consistently at a high level last year that Trap went from talking about him as a player for the future, to saying that he was 90% certain to be named in Ireland's Euro squad. That is a significant turn around from a man who usually doesn't change his mind too quickly. Trap has gone further by saying that he could be an important player for Ireland in the 2nd game against Spain and maybe even 3rd game against Italy, suggesting that a start against one of these giants may indeed be possible.

There is no doubting McLean's stake for a place in the team  is gathering momentum. Not only is he foremost in Trap's thoughts but he is possibly the only player in our squad who can excite the crowd, by doing something unorthodox and being unpredictable. Stephen Hunt used to have this honour,  but comparing these two is like comparing a Bentley to a broken down Cinquecento with no windows. Who can forget the roar of the crowd at Landsdowne Road (yes Landsdowne Road) when he came on the pitch for the last 12 minutes in the friendly against the Czech Republic back in February. A new hero was born.

For tomorrow's game I hope that McLean plays a disciplined role, obeying Trap's instructions and tracking back to help the defence when needs be. I hope he keeps it simple with short crisp passes and doesn't give the ball away too much like the rest of the lads on the team. Throw in a few direct runs down the line and one or two decent crosses for Doyle and Keane and he should keep the main man happy. Once Trap is happy McLean will have a role to play. Imagine the scenario where we are a goal down with 20-30 minutes to go against Croatia, Spain or Italy, my gut feeling is that no matter how well he plays tomorrow, only then will our secret weapon be given his chance to shine.

Wednesday 23 May 2012

Ten years on...

Ten years ago day Roy Keane walked out on the Irish team in the build up to the World Cup in Japan/South Korea. It was one of those occasions where I can remember exactly what I was doing, jut like 9/11 and the death of Princess Diana, two of the other earth-shattering monumental media events of the past 20 years.

I vividly remember buying a copy of the Irish Times that morning as there was word on the radio that Keane had undertaken an explosive interview with Tom Humphries, where he blasted the Manager Mick McCarthy, the FAI and the whole training set-up. A few hours later word filtered through that Keane had been expelled from the camp after a big bust-up with the Manager. The nation was gripped.

What followed was a debate which carried on for years. This debate aroused more passion in the average Irish person than various referendums and general elections which would have greater implications for the country as a whole. Until it came to the point, only a few years ago where people were sick of the whole thing. I personally think that in the time which has passed since 2002, those who originally sided with Keane may have mellowed, due mainly to some of the bust-ups and outbursts which he has been party to in the recent past, most notably of which were his ultimate downfall at Man Utd, media spats with Fergie and his infamous "who's phone is that?" press conference when manager of Iswich Town. In contrast I believe that those who sided with McCarthy have not changed their opinion.

Anyway the real point of this post is to draw a line under that fateful day once and for all as the Boys in Green are about to embark on a new journey in 18 days time, which will hopefully be less controversial and more successful. Expectations are unusually high this time - it seems half the country has bought a van and will be traveling over. I would love to hear from people out there on how well you think we may get along in the Euros.