Will we qualify for Euro 2012?

IRISHSPORTSGUY

Poll to follow.

Augmerson

Yneos.

wandatowell

Moo

NmotherfcukingNO

Kiwi_knock

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

We will get to the playoffs, all depends on who we draw then. I do not think we will get through the playoffs.

Mikeyt086

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

We should definitely get to the Playoffs. Where will we probably get a team better than us, who's star player will dive for a peno or something and the facebook petitions will be out in force as we watch Spain and Germany battle it out for Euro 2012.

Cynical I know, but I've been in this exact situation before too many times.

madma

More play-off heartache

Playoffs I think..

Even if Slovakia beat Russia we'll more than likely balls it up against Armenia..

We really need long back.. Doyle and keane just don't look sharp at all and the lack of service also...


I think we need alot of luck and hopefully be drawn against someone beatable..

Crazy group so far results have been mad.. So hard to call...

Coillte_Bhoy

Mikeyt086 wrote: »

We should definitely get to the Playoffs. Where will we probably get a team better than us, who's star player will dive for a peno or something and the facebook petitions will be out in force as we watch Spain and Germany battle it out for Euro 2012.

Cynical I know, but I've been in this exact situation before too many times.

Sorry but how exactly have you been in this situation 'many times before'??? Though ya, we will almost certainly will get a better team than us. Though Spain/Germany in the final would be something to look forward to

tolosenc

More play-off heartache

We'll get to the playoffs anyway. Depends on whether or not we get seeded and who we draw as to where it goes from there.

steelcityblues

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

More playoff heartache

Mikeyt086

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

Coillte_Bhoy wrote: »

Sorry but how exactly have you been in this situation 'many times before'??? Though ya, we will almost certainly will get a better team than us. Though Spain/Germany in the final would be something to look forward to

Last qualification campaign. In the hunt to win it up until the last two games... Went to playoff.

Same goes for the group with France/Switz/Isreal, World Cup 2006 was it? although we didnt make the playoffs that time.

The time we lost to Turkey in the Euro 2000 playoffs, right in the hunt until the end.

So there is 3 previous times with 2 games remaining we could win it, make the playoffs, or **** it all up. As we are at this moment in time.

5starpool

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

Coillte_Bhoy wrote: »

Sorry but how exactly have you been in this situation 'many times before'??? Though ya, we will almost certainly will get a better team than us. Though Spain/Germany in the final would be something to look forward to

There was a 'Belgium' incident before iirc, although more low key than the France one, probably due to the lack of facebook/twitter then.

tolosenc

More play-off heartache

There was an issue in the 96 Holland game as well I remember. I was only 7 or so at the time, so I don't remember what it was.

Was the Belgium one that the guy who scored the winner wasn't actually elligible or something?

The_B_Man

More play-off heartache

Looking at the best runner up spot, its not looking like we'll get that. Looks like it'll go to Scandinavia. I think the runner up will need 16 pts (with 5th place teams points not included) which we can't get.
Denmark, on 13 pts, have to beat Portugal(13 pts also)*** at home to get it.
If they lose, then Sweden need 4 points from Netherlands at home plus Finland away.

Bosnia are there too, but only have one game (that counts) left, away to France.

I'm not sure if the points score against the 5th place teams in 5 team groups count but if they do, then Denmark have to only win against Cyprus and they're sorted.
IF they dont count and Denmark lose/draw to Portugal, and Bosnia lose/draw to France, and Sweden lose/draw to Holland AND Finland, and we win against Armenia, then we have it.


***In this case, Denmark will top the group, and Portugal will be 2nd. If points against 5th team Cyprus count, then they'll be on 16 (thy play Iceland next) and probably go through automatically anyway. Oddly enough, Portugal drew 4-4 and lost 4-0 to Cyprus so that might go in their favour!!


Either way, Group H is the one to watch...

tolosenc

More play-off heartache

The_B_Man wrote: »

Looking at the best runner up spot, its not looking like we'll get that. Looks like it'll go to Scandinavia. I think the runner up will need 16 pts (with 5th place teams points not included) which we can't get.
Denmark, on 13 pts, have to beat Portugal(13 pts also)*** at home to get it.
If they lose, then Sweden need 4 points from Netherlands at home plus Finland away.

Bosnia are there too, but only have one game (that counts) left, away to France.

I'm not sure if the points score against the 5th place teams in 5 team groups count but if they do, then Denmark have to only win against Cyprus and they're sorted.
IF they dont count and Denmark lose/draw to Portugal, and Bosnia lose/draw to France, and Sweden lose/draw to Holland AND Finland, and we win against Armenia, then we have it.


***In this case, Denmark will top the group, and Portugal will be 2nd. If points against 5th team Cyprus count, then they'll be on 16 (thy play Iceland next) and probably go through automatically anyway. Oddly enough, Portugal drew 4-4 and lost 4-0 to Cyprus so that might go in their favour!!


Either way, Group H is the one to watch...

Points gained against the top 5 teams in the group count, thus all points that Denmark have will count. I did an analysis in another thread (the Slovakia-Armenia one).

Also, Portugal beat Cyprus 4-0.

Kev_ps3

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

Very hard to call, I think we will get to playoffs and **** up

fryup

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

tolosenc wrote: »

Was the Belgium one that the guy who scored the winner wasn't actually elligible or something?

no, they're second goal came from a throw in, that should have been given to ireland

Leiva

Whats the chance of getting the automatic qualify for best second place .

We cant be that far off .

listermint

Through the play-offs

All this talk of will we qualify for 2012, We should be more concerned with the Venue for the party when we return with the Trophy.

Le King

mixednuts wrote: »

Whats the chance of getting the automatic qualify for best second place .

We cant be that far off .

We are 4th in that table atm.

All the teams are beat-able that are in second. If Slovakia beat Russia we should really win the group.

TheTosh

Through the play-offs

I'm going to be the optimist and say we'll win the group. I'm not basing it logic or reality just my belief that we will.

Essien

More play-off heartache

TheTosh wrote: »

I'm going to be the optimist and say we'll win the group. I'm not basing it logic or reality just my belief that we will.

Regardless of what we do from here, if we want to win the group we need Slovakia to beat Russia.

Also, can we view the best runner up table online anywhere?

HalloweenJack

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

Essien wrote: »

Also, can we view the best runner up table online anywhere?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_2012_qualification#Ranking_of_second-placed_teams

We really need to beat Armenia if we finish second because thrashing Andorra won't help us in the second-place calculations.

EDIT: I'm guessing the ratings column on the right hand side is our ranking within UEFA so going by those, as it stands, we'd be second seeds for the play-offs and could draw one of Sweden, Greece, Czech Republic or Serbia.

Uncle Mclovin

More play-off heartache

HalloweenJack wrote: »

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_2012_qualification#Ranking_of_second-placed_teams

We really need to beat Armenia if we finish second because thrashing Andorra won't help us in the second-place calculations.

EDIT: I'm guessing the ratings column on the right hand side is our ranking within UEFA so going by those, as it stands, we'd be second seeds for the play-offs and could draw one of Sweden, Greece, Czech Republic or Serbia.

They're all beatable to be honest. Czech Republic are gone way back and were lucky to get a result with Scotland who we'd be roughly on the same level as. Serbia have Jovanovic starting. Enough said. Greece would be a difficult away fixture but I'd see us coming through two legs. Sweden would probably be the most dangerous.

I was't that worried about the thought of facing Armenia until their result yesterday. I can't see Slovakia beating Russia so it looks like coming down to a final crunch game for second place between ourselves and Armenia. I'm going to say we're going to pick up 6 points from our last two games and then scrape through the playoffs and we'll have a great summer next year on the beer over in Poland / Ukraine. Can't wait. And yes I'm an optimistic sort of guy.

Lemlin

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

I'm not confident of this Irish team even getting a result in Andorra. I'm even more skeptical of getting a result against Armenia after they beat a Slovakian team 4-0 who were superior to us on Friday night.

Cypher_sounds

Hope so, its all to play for now, believe in trap with his 7 clean sheets in a row with some dodgey players is an achievement in itself.

Essien

More play-off heartache

Lemlin wrote: »

I'm not confident of this Irish team even getting a result in Andorra. I'm even more skeptical of getting a result against Armenia after they beat a Slovakian team 4-0 who were superior to us on Friday night.

We've already beaten both Armenia & Andorra in this campaign. We'll do it again.

SDTimeout

Mikeyt086 wrote: »

We should definitely get to the Playoffs. Where will we probably get a team better than us, who's star player will dive for a peno or something and the facebook petitions will be out in force as we watch Spain and Germany battle it out for Euro 2012.

Cynical I know, but I've been in this exact situation before too many times.

That's actually only happened once

spiralism

Through the play-offs

Lemlin wrote: »

I'm not confident of this Irish team even getting a result in Andorra. I'm even more skeptical of getting a result against Armenia after they beat a Slovakian team 4-0 who were superior to us on Friday night.

Its not for a few weeks yet, they've another match still and could well lose a good bit of momentum by the time we play them.... if any of us were told at the start of the campaign that 6 points against andorra away and armenia at home would guarantee a playoff with a slight chance of a group win we'd have snapped at it. None of the teams currently occupying 2nd spot should hold any fear for us, seeding or not. Czechs, Greece/Croatia, Serbia and Sweden are all very beatable, though Croatia would admittedly be difficult.

Would rather not get Greece though as the prospect of two Ireland/Greece matches goes against every football loving bone in my body!

jonnyfingers

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

SDTimeout wrote: »

That's actually only happened once

The handball, yes. But I still remember losing to Belgium where, close to the end of the game, they got a throw in that should have went to us and ended up scoring from it. So frustrating.

kfallon

After being trounced at home last night I'm sure the Slovaks will be right up for the visit of Russia next month. Sometimes the wounded tiger can be the most dangerous animal and you'd expect a reaction from the Slovaks. Whether that will be good enough to beat Russia is another thing but all through this campaign Russia have struggled to score goals (apart from at Lansdowne ) I wouldn't be surprised if we did top the group but I dread the play off as our record is abysmal in them!

If we do get through I hope the players decide that this hoofing the ball as far down the pitch as possible won't help us in the Finals and throw off the Trapp shackles and play a bit of football. I think that happened to some degree in Paris and it was by far the best performance from an Irish team since WC 2002. I think once everyone got over the disappointment of that night we all realised that we had a team that could play football against the more established nations but we seem to have regressed in this campaign. Playing like we have done in the last 2 games will see us dumped out early next summer but one thing we do have is spirit and we have never disgraced ourselves in any major final, I hope that continues next summer

We desperately need someone in the middle of the field to get on the ball and pass it about, the best way to stop the opposition scoring is by keeping the ball. McCarthy needs to get in for either Whelan or Andrews. The 3 best Irish players last night were Given, Dunne and Lady Luck, she won't always be on our side and if we keep giving the ball back to the opposition as quickly as we did last night somebody is gonna give us a hiding. I don't want that to happen in a major finals!

cooker3

I think we have a reasonable chance. We have a very good chance of getting in the top 2. The slovaks have to go out and beat Russia, a draw is not an option so they will give it a go. If they sneak a win then we "just" need 2 wins to qualify.

As for a play-off going through the list of 2nd placed teams doesn't scare me. We maybe underdogs but doubt many of those teams would want to play us either.

TaosHum

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

We will get exposed against good sides in the playoffs, thats if we have enough to get by Armenia (which will be very difficult).

mossyc123

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

We'll be doin well to win a play-off against the current 2nd placed teams.

Imhof Tank

fryup wrote: »

no, they're second goal came from a throw in, that should have been given to ireland

No 11 Jan Cullemans scored

We also had a perfectly good goal disallowed shortly before the throw in that never was iirc.

I've heard Eoin Hand say those decisions in that game changed the course of his life for the worse. He is still bitter over it.

On topic - I think we will only need a draw v Armenia in the last game, Trap will take no chances, so another 0-0 and into the playoffs where, this time, our lucky general will be the difference.

Lemlin

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

spiralism wrote: »

Its not for a few weeks yet, they've another match still and could well lose a good bit of momentum by the time we play them.... if any of us were told at the start of the campaign that 6 points against andorra away and armenia at home would guarantee a playoff with a slight chance of a group win we'd have snapped at it. None of the teams currently occupying 2nd spot should hold any fear for us, seeding or not. Czechs, Greece/Croatia, Serbia and Sweden are all very beatable, though Croatia would admittedly be difficult.

Would rather not get Greece though as the prospect of two Ireland/Greece matches goes against every football loving bone in my body!

I honestly wouldn't fancy our chances against any one of the above teams with the present squad. It's clear that changes are needed.

Even if a central midfielder to play can't be found, O'Shea should be moved into central midfield. Whelans/Andrews do not work and I'm not confident of us beating any team with those 2 playing at central midfield.

Central midfield is the area that everything needs to come through and it's struggling for Ireland.

Fight_Night

I think we will make the playoffs at least and with a bit of luck who knows? But even if we do make it, we are going to be 'that team' like Greece and Switzerland were in WC 2010, the team that everyone hates to watch.

tdv123

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

We will make the play-offs. Only the biggest f*ck up in years could prevent us from atleast making that now with the Slovaks get hammered yesterday.

Think we still have a chance of making it as the best 2nd placed runner up. Think were just a point behind 2-3 teams in that table.

But I don't fancy are chances of beating anybody in the play-offs. Whelean & Andrews are good hearted lads who try there best but there just not able to cope at this level. The likes of Cyprus,Macedonia, Armenia etc...have over run them in midfield. Would hate to see us against the likes of Spain or Germany. Or anyone team with a decent playmaker midfielder for that matter.

dsmythy

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

God help the world if a Greece - Ireland playoff comes up :eek:

froog

More play-off heartache

best placed runner up is very doable imo, the contenders all have tricky fixtures left, denmark have portugal, bosnia have france and sweden have holland.

gustafo

Moo

froog wrote: »

best placed runner up is very doable imo, the contenders all have tricky fixtures left, denmark have portugal, bosnia have france and sweden have holland.

And we have armenia who will proberly beat us

James__10

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

Fight_Night wrote: »

I think we will make the playoffs at least and with a bit of luck who knows? But even if we do make it, we are going to be 'that team' like Greece and Switzerland were in WC 2010, the team that everyone hates to watch.

Who gives a ****? I'd rather watch Ireland in the euros than the likes of Spain and Germany thats just me!

Blatter

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

Meh.

As it stands now and all things considered, I give us a 40% chance of qualifying.

We probably won't but we have a half decent chance to.

IRISHSPORTSGUY

Through the play-offs

froog wrote: »

best placed runner up is very doable imo, the contenders all have tricky fixtures left, denmark have portugal, bosnia have france and sweden have holland.

According to the second place table, Denmark and Sweden have played one less game. Favours needed from Cyprus and Finland, at least the matches will be in Nicosia and Helsinki though.

Mikeyt086

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

SDTimeout wrote: »

That's actually only happened once

Remember Robinho's offside goal?

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=342363623146

Scorpion Sting

More play-off heartache

I think we'll make the play-offs and after all the agony that we've experienced in the past I wouldn't be banking on us being the victors. But I'll go with my heart and say we'll somehow make it to Poland/Ukraine.

briany

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

I don't think Armenia would ever be able to do to Ireland what they have done to Slovakia. Ireland will try to physically dominate Armenia, stop them playing, try to wear them down and stick a goal or two past them. That's how Ireland play so any talk of "Big bad Armenia" is a little bit out of place. I would expect the game to be a pretty fraught affair, though, especially if Armenia have something to play for at that stage.

Actually they may not be able to stop Armenia playing with the hoofball stuff that goes on but I don't see Ireland capitulating defensively like Slovakia did twice so I wouldn't be so worried.

I'd still take it all coming down to Armenia if it meant qualifying outright. I can't remember the last time that Ireland had a shot at qualifying for a tournament on home soil. Usually it's heartbreak in some away stadium : Liverpool, Brussels, Bursa, Paris so now let's try Dublin. *











* Situation predicated on other results going our way.

Deedsie

More play-off heartache

I have to say any person who says that they don't want Ireland to qualify because we'd get hockeyed, kindly F right off.

I hope and pray they qualify, summer 2012 would instantly be improved. I really hope they do it. It will have to be through the play off though. Russia will get at least a draw in Slovakia. Hope I'm wrong! Macedonia might do us a favour against Armenia too!

JerryHandbag

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

Fight_Night wrote: »

But even if we do make it, we are going to be 'that team' like Greece and Switzerland were in WC 2010, the team that everyone hates to watch.

Or we could be "that team" that Greece were in 2004

electrictrad

Through the play-offs

Massive chance now we'll win the group. . .the Slovaks need to beat Russia at home, and will, and we don't deserve to qualify if Andorra, or Armenia at home cause us point-dropping difficulties. .

That said, automatic qualification is now out of our hands, and a bad game in either of the final games will knock us down, possibly to 3rd or 4th. . .we cannot afford a slip up. . .

Crazy Horse 6

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

Deedsie wrote: »

I have to say any person who says that they don't want Ireland to qualify because we'd get hockeyed, kindly F right off.

I hope and pray they qualify, summer 2012 would instantly be improved. I really hope they do it. It will have to be through the play off though. Russia will get at least a draw in Slovakia. Hope I'm wrong! Macedonia might do us a favour against Armenia too!

Agreed. The country needs the lift it will give.

Crazy Horse 6

We'll feck up against Armenia and finish 3rd/4th

Fight_Night wrote: »

I think we will make the playoffs at least and with a bit of luck who knows? But even if we do make it, we are going to be 'that team' like Greece and Switzerland were in WC 2010, the team that everyone hates to watch.

Could'nt care less what others think of us. Sure we're the laughing stock of Europe anyway for what we've done to our country.