Just prove me wrong lads. That’s all we want.

If you have any comments on the match, feel free to drop them in the comments box down the bottom, I’ll address as much of what you have to say as I can in the aftermath. Talk to you all on Friday.

You know the basics by now I’d imagine. We went down 1-0 at home to France. It’s our first competitive defeat for over two years, our first at home since France beat us four years ago. Nicolas Anelka scored the winner, which of course came with the aid of Sean St. Ledger and the post. France controlled large portions of the game and looked the better side, but had the fewer clear-cut opportunities.

Call me pessimistic, I’ll call myself a realist. It’s all over. I said we had to go to Paris with either a lead to nil, or a 0-0 scoreline, we have neither. So forget it. The media will build it up as “But if Ireland can only score that first goal.” What, the same way we scored the first goal tonight? Spare me. The thing that grates the most at the moment is that France were in control without ever really looking that impressive. By and large their threat came through long-range efforts. Impressive, in the case of Lassana Diarra midway through the second half, but it would have required something from the heavens to beat Shay Given from that kind of distance.

I must admit that the match was watched in something of a nationalist haze rather than being broken down for an analysis on here. I remember fragments of the game, with our chances sticking our particularly, such as Lawrence’s effort midway through the first half (although the referee had already stopped play for a foul) and Whelan’s late, late chance to at least give us something to work with tomorrow night. Lloris, as he did with everything he faced earlier in the evening, dealt with it well.

I seem to remember believing that out midfield lacked any sort of conviction, a few tackles thrown in by the central midfield pair, but the only time you really noticed Keith Andrews is when he got involved in those silly handbags with Diarra at the end. Kilbane was his usual poor self, and it’s worrying that we don’t have a ready made replacement to come in (Trap appears to lack faith in Eddie Nolan). His mistake let in France, and it should have been 2-0, but Gignac saw little of the ball and did even less with it, his miss from that opportunity was terrible.

Keano had to come deep to recieve the ball again and whenever he did have possession, France employed the same tactics that we used for their players. He more or less passed through the game, which was a bit irritating. More annoying was Kevin Doyle’s performance. His record now reads 1 goal in every 4 games, and the only two goals that you’d consider being of great significance are the winner at Croker against Slovakia and the opener a few weeks ago in Cyprus. Kevin’s long overdue a big performance in the national shirt but I’m not sure when it’s coming. Wednesday night would be a nice time to start, but I’m not holding my breath…It might be time to think about other options to support Keano, maybe Leon Best. Caleb Folan would be ideal, but he’s out injured at the moment. Aggrivating.

France? I seem to recall being mystified by their formation, because it seemed to restrict Henry particularly. Thierry isn’t a grafter, he’s a man who makes things happen, but he was conspicous by his silence for large swathes of the game on Saturday night. I’d have ventured he would have played a far greater role if he was up front rather than the ineffectual Gignac, but ultimately it didn’t matter too much.

Anelka was class, his game has come on so much since he left Man City and came back to England with Bolton and then onto Chelsea. He held up the ball superbly whenever I saw him in possession on Saturday night. Our work-rate and pressure was impressive in the defensive third, and we closed down as soon as France got close, but Anelka always found another option or kept the ball moving. Getting him to surrender possession was very difficult, and his general performance definitely deserves credit, even if his goal was fortunate at best.

Their defence surprised me somewhat, because I expected it to be a bit more solid than it ultimately proved to be. Gallas looked especially shaky at times, what he was doing for the Lawrence chance I still don’t know, and in general he looked uncomfortable. The others did their job adequate, but we had far more chances than I expected us to had. The fact that we took none of them is infurating.

I hate to be so downcast, but it was such a massive night, our biggest qualifier since the Holland match eight years ago, and our biggest match outright since the Spain match in 2002. That it was met with such a tepid performance, especially in the second half, seriously grates. Sky Sports produced statistics that showed France to have at one point 74%. 74%! At home, against any side, that’s not on. What did we expect against a team of such talents, camping back in our half? Come out and attack them! If we lose a goal, then so be it. It would be so much better than dropping the tie in the way that we have. It didn’t have to be stylish, whack the ball long and drop a few bodies around the box, scare them, give it a go anyways, but that wasn’t good enough.

And now look where it’s left us. Let me provide you with the killer statistic. Our record in competitive matches against leading teams away from home in the last 42 years. Debate the idea of leading teams how you please, but I’m going with this lot: England, France, (West) Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic and Portugal.

Played: 20
Won: 1
Drawn: 7
Lost: 12

Before you ask why 42 years, why not 40 or 50? Our last win against any of those 8 was in Prague, a 2-1 victory…22nd November 1967. No win against a ‘major’ team in 42 years, and suddenly everyone thinks we can win in Paris? Excuse my cynicism…

Team news for tomorrow night? We’re expected to field the same team. France are missing Eric Abidal, who’s struggling with an injury, it’s expected Julien Escude will feature as part of a reshuffle at the back for the home side. Beyond that, more or less as you were, although they won’t play 4-5-1. One of Anelka and Henry will move up front with Gignac, or both will in a 4-3-3 formation which if needs must can become a 4-5-1 once again.

I expect France to win 2 or 3-0 tomorrow night, they have a fairly impressive record at home, James McFadden screamers aside, and they looked like a team in control the other night. I hope, I pray, I would give anything and everything to be wrong, to win 2-1 and go to South Africa, but of those of you who saw our performance Saturday night, and with the weight of those statistics to accompany, who expects to win? Be honest now.

If I’m wrong, I’ll renounce all my doubt in a piece on here and some fantastically shameful act chosen by you lot as punishment for my lack of faith. I fully expect to maintain my dignity, loathe though I will be to do so.

Apologies for sounding so pessimistic everyone, but I’m still as flat as a pancake after Saturday night, here’s to hoping for the biggest pick-me-up ever by 11pm tomorrow night.

Keep the faith, everyone. Some of us need to…

Team news on our front: Everyone who needs to be fit and well is. Damien Duff was sufficently fit to play in the draw with Wigan last Sunday after an Achilles grumble and he starts tomorrow night on the left side. Kieren Westwood had to pull out of the team earlier in the week with an injury, to be replaced on the bench by Bohemians’ Brian Murphy (who is joining Ipswich in January, btw). As far as I know, it’s the first call-up to the national side for any player from the League of Ireland since Jason Byrne was called up to Stan’s squad for the 4-0 gubbing at home to Holland back in 2006. There’s an article in me talking about the ’strength’ of our national league, but that’s for another time.

Liam Miller and Shane Long are out of the game though. Both players have returned to Hibs and Reading respectively after failing to shake off calf injuries. Trap hasn’t called up any replacements to the side, a matter doubtless irking the likes of Andy Reid and Clinton Morrison no end, but in truth neither player would be playing save for a shocking set of injuries, so while the replacements would be nice, they’re not a necessity.

Beyond that, everyone seems in rude health. Trap has named the following 12 players for the game tomorrow, with a decision to be made on the right-wing slot at some point tomorrow. However, if no-one has any objections to us fielding 12 players, I’m happy to go along with it….

GK: Given
DL: Kilbane
DC: Dunne
DC: St. Ledger
DR: O’Shea
ML: Duff
MR: McGeady/Lawrence
MC: Whelan
MC: Andrews
FC: Doyle
FC: Robbie Keane

Anything else would have been a major surprise. I’d expect Lawrence to be picked, simply because he will offer a bit more or protection down our right flank, as Evra will look to bomb forward whenever the opportunity presents himself. McGeady is the more attacking threat, and if we’re chasing a goal, doubtless he will make an appearance, but assuming Trap is going for the conservative approach, Lawrence will start and try to keep Evra quiet when the French are attacking, whilst also looking to present a threat from wide.

Concerns abate again about the midfield more than anything else, but now isn’t the time to question what has already been scrutinized before. I’m still of the opinion that Andrews and Whelan aren’t capable of dominating a midfield in the way you really need to in order to beat the big teams, but at this point, it’s more a case of hoping they decide to turn it on in the next game. If they perform tomorrow night, you won’t hear a word about the pairing in any of the newspapers Sunday, it’s only if they get over-ran where questions will be asked.

There’s little to offer in way of new information about the side, so sorry to any French fan who came here expecting a dissertation on the strengths or weaknesses about the side. What you know already is probably as much as you need to. We’re not going to play you off the park, we’re going to be attritional, we’re going to be tight at the back but we will lack invention up front, especially if someone keeps close tabs on Robbie Keane. Of the eight sides who went into the draw, we’re arguably the toughest to beat of the lot, but one of the less talented. Honesty is the best policy, I guess.

What to make of France? Yeah, they’re alright. World Cup here, couple of European Championships floating around, runners-up last time around…decent outfit.

This is their anticipated line-up according to better informed sources than me, 4-4-2 I presume…

GK: Lloris
DL: Evra
DC: Abidal
DC: Gallas
DR: Sagna
ML: Anelka
MC: Diarra
MC: Gourcuff
MR: Toulalan
FC: Henry
FC: Gignac

Toulalan is tipped to play despite struggling with injury, while Gael Clichy, Franck Ribery and Abou Diaby are all either out or extremely doubtful in the case of the latter. If Toulalan fails to make it, at a guess I’m assuming Gourcuff will move over to the right, leaving either Alou Diarra or Sidney Govou to fill the central midfield position. If I have any of that wrong, feel free to correct me, I’m not 100% sure with this side.

The defence more than anything has me concerned there. In a game where the focus for us needs to be taking whatever opportunities we make for ourselves, I feel as if we’re going to get little from a defence made up of those four. Evra provides the extra option in attack, while Sagna brings a stability to proceedings on the right-side for the French. Eric Abidal, while more pre-dominantly a left-back, isn’t a bad option to slot in at centre-back, and despite my long-held revulsion of William Gallas, there’s no denying both his abilities at the heart of defence along with his threat at set-pieces. Formidable!

The midfield is a bit of a new one to me in some respects. Anelka and Diarra’s talents are well established for English-based fans like me (although I don’t feel Anelka can do himself justice on the left side), but Gourcuff and Toulalan are merely names for me. By all accounts, Gourcuff tore it up last year as part of Bordeaux’s Championnat winning squad, while Toulalan is a solid presence in a transitional Lyon team, but their strengths and merits are rather alien to me. Doubtless we’ll all find out before too long.

Same goes for Gignac, although his record for Toulouse, coupled with his performances towards the back end of the qualifying campaign suggest a potent threat in front of goal. The case of Henry is somewhat more straightforward, as we found out to our misfortune in 2005. The man’s got more ability in his left foot than I have in both of my pegs, but the opposition are there to be respected, not feared from our point of view.

France? I expect them to keep it fairly tight tomorrow night, maybe play a possession game akin to the one which allowed Italy to control large portions of the game. If they exploit our lightweight midfield, it could spell big trouble for our lads, and even bigger trouble will come with the dreaded away goal. One of them, and that could well be all she wrote for the second leg in Paris, so for us it’s all about negating any threat thrown our way and going to Croke either deadlocked after the first leg or with a lead if France manage to score. A 1-1, 2-2 or any other score draw will be bad news for our boys, but France aren’t going to go out all guns blazing for the goals to kill this tie off in the first 90 minutes. Expect a tight game, punctuated by counter-attacking football and the occasional chance, but no spectacular fare, that might have to wait for the Stade on Wednesday night.

A scoreline? I can’t see us winning, try though I might. Just about everyone else I’ve meet, spoken to or written an article from seems adamant that we have anything ranging from a great chance to practically a place in the finals, which makes me smile. I’ve got the pragmatic hat on for the last few days though, and I’m going for either 0-0 or 1-0 to France, Anelka scoring. 0-0 and going to the Stade will suit me just fine, because I have a sneaking suspicion we’re going to score in Paris (again, just a hunch).

Of course it would be lovely to go to France holding a one or two goal advantage, but in the 11 or so years that I’ve been following these boys, we’ve never managed to make it easy for ourselves, so don’t expect that to change tomorrow night. It will be tight and turgid, but that may just suit us fine in some respects, if it means a war of attrition which spoils the game for France. Negative tactics perhaps, but we’re talking about our most important match since the Second Round match against Spain in 2002. Winning is what matters here, style can wait for another day (and another manager!)

Currently I’m a bit like the players involved, wracked with nerves before it actually gets underway, so roll on tomorrow night, let’s get it going once and for all. Let’s hope for the biggest result in Irish football since the 1st September 2001. It promises to be intriguing, I’ll fill you in on the details on Sunday night and we’ll take stock of where we’re at going into Wednesday. Until then everyone… all the best.

Take care.

Quoted yesterday from Martin Kind, President of Hannover 96.

I can’t give you an eulogy about Robert Enke the footballer, I may have seen a handful of moments of his career, so I’m not qualified to say what his strengths or weaknesses are in that respect. But we’re humans first, and football fans second. We can all sympathise with what he went through, if perhaps fail to understand why he felt this was the only way out.

Football can wait. For now, your thoughts should be with Teresa and Leila Enke.

Talk to you on Friday.

You know what I hate? Stupid, ill-informed, disrespectful comments about any team when it’s unfounded, especially a team who was one of five to go through their qualifying group unbeaten. Rant over.

This is the team of over-rated Premiership players who will face France in the play-offs on Saturday 14th November and Wednesday the 18th.

Shay Given (Manchester City)
Kieren Westwood (Coventry City)
Joe Murphy (Scunthorpe United)

John O’Shea (Manchester United)
Richard Dunne (Aston Villa)
Stephen Kelly (Fulham)
Kevin Kilbane (Hull City)
Eddie Nolan (Preston North End)
Sean St. Ledger (Middlesbrough, on loan from Preston North End)
Paul McShane (Hull City)
Darren O’Dea (Reading, on loan from Celtic)

Aiden McGeady (Celtic)
Damien Duff (Fulham)
Darren Gibson (Manchester United)
Glenn Whelan (Stoke City)
Keith Andrews (Blackburn Rovers)
Liam Miller (Hibernian)
Stephen Hunt (Hull City)
Andy Keogh (Wolves)
Liam Lawrence (Stoke City)

Kevin Doyle (Wolves)
Robbie Keane (Tottenham Hotspur)
Shane Long (Reading)
Leon Best (Coventry)
Anthony Stokes (Hibernian)

———-

There are problems. Damien Duff’s participation in the play-off is up in the air. However, there is a development since this morning when I knocked out a first edit of this post spreading doom and gloom. Duffer contacted the FAI last night and stated his hope that he will be fit for the matches, despite his Achilles injury ruling him out of Fulham’s 2-1 defeat in Rome last night and almost certainly meaning he won’t feature against Wigan on Sunday. Up until about an hour ago, the intimations from Roy Hodgson would have it that we were going to have to go in against the French without Duff, but this is good news. Wrap that man up in cotton wool until next Saturday at 7, have someone do his walking for him, just do what it takes to get him on the left side at Croker.

Undeniably bad news. Although it’s debatable how much influence Noel Hunt would have had upon the two legs, (89th minute substitute in the Stade, putting on 5 strikers chasing a goal, maybe) but that’s all fairly immaterial now. His season is as good as over, which is a shame, because the last thing he really needed was a long-term injury. Hunt’s had a track record of knee injuries stemming back to his days with Dunfermline in Scottish football, and he’s yet to truly convince Reading fans of why they paid Dundee United £600,000 for his services 18 months ago. From a selfish perspective, it’s a shame Hunt’s out of the picture, because we may need as many strikers as we can get come the back-end of the game in the Stade, but it’s not the biggest loss.

As far as the squad goes, it’s very much as you would expect, but the story is about Trap’s obstinance in refusing to select either Stephen or Andy Reid, despite the justification for leaving them out of the squad decreasing by the day. Stephen appears to be fighting fit after this chronic spate of injuries which have been plaguing him ever since our opening match of the Euro 2008 campaign. However, Trap thought otherwise, speculating somewhat prematurely that Reid’s career might be coming to an end. This raised the ire of Sam Allardyce, he of no away wins in the better part of 9 months as manager of Blackburn Rovers. This whole sorry tale has reached it’s current denoument with Stephen being omitted from the squad for the two legs, which I have to admit I’m not too impressed with.

Far be it for me to claim I know better than Trap, but leaving Stephen out of the squad smacks of pettiness on the part of the boss, a proverbial middle finger to Allardyce. Now, this would be all good and well if our two central midfielders were 1999 Roy Keane and 1979 Liam Brady, but they’re 2009 Glenn Whelan and Keith Andrews. Simply put, if fit, Stephen Reid must be played in a central midfield slot. He epitomises the box-to-box midfielder player we’ve been crying out for ever since Keane abandoned his country in 2002 (I’m not counting that spell under Brian Kerr, sorry), and while Whelan is an option offensively, he’s not suitable for the role of dominating a midfield which will have at least three, probably four high quality players posing a threat every time the French go forward. Reid has this in his locker, and he should play. However, if Trap was told to pick a 23-man squad to go to South Africa today, I’d venture quite a bit of money Stephen wouldn’t make that list, which would be such a loss.

Andy Reid’s case is also far from convincing, less so now that Duffer is a doubt for the two games. Reid has revitalised himself under Steve Bruce at Sunderland. He’s shedded the better part of 10 kilos (For what it’s worth, the media jibes about his weight are irritating and redundant) and has rediscovered the form which made him probably the best player in the Football League towards the end of his spell at Nottingham Forest. A few cases for the defence include the pass for Darren Bent’s goal at Turf Moor and his free kick last weekend to spark the comeback against West Ham (I love Kenwyne Jones’ sending off in that video as well, hilarious).

Reid is one of the better performers in the Premiership thus far this season, and in normal circumstances he would probably be commanding a spot in the starting eleven for the national side, never mind inclusion in the squad. But there was a falling out there too between himself and Trap, with rumours about disputes stemming from Andy’s weight and a night on the tiles from way, way back.

The only thing that is keeping Andy out of the squad is the number of capable wide men we have within the squad at the moment. Duffer (when fit) and McGeady are the starters, but there’s options in Stephen Hunt on either side, as well as Andy Keogh to a lesser extent, along with Liam Lawrence making a promising start to his international career on the right side. The capabilities of at least four of those players is giving Trap some justificiation for leaving Reid out, but even he will admit it’s becoming thinner by the day. If Duff’s situation gets worse and he has to withdraw from the squad before next Saturday, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Reid called up. There’s no Martin Rowlands to fall back on, and anyone selected beyond that would be met with howls of derision from all sides, so I would expect to see Reid back in the fold before too long, certainly if we get to South Africa and he’s fit and in form, he will go.

Beyond that, the squad is mostly as you were. There are two new faces, with Darren O’Dea earning a call-up along with a return to the international fold for Anthony Stokes. O’Dea will provide back-up for Trap at centre-back, but he won’t feature unless there’s an injury pandemic or we’re 2-0 ahead on aggregate with 45 minutes left at the Stade. (The sheer thought alone!) Personally, there’s the fear he will tarred by association for his spell with a badly misfiring Reading side in Championship, where he is on loan from Celtic, but thus far has recieved largely negative press. O’Dea certainly has a role within the international side for the future though, he’s probably a more viable long-term option than Paul McShane, but he could do with getting away from Celtic, where I can’t see him getting playing time, while I don’t see Reading being the solution neither. Another Championship might do the trick, search me for an answer though…*shrugs*

Anthony Stokes is rewarded for a good start to the season with an improving Hibs side, (where I’ve heard Liam Miller is the standout player, excellent news) scoring 4 goals and helping his club to second spot in the league, however long that lasts for in the SPL is another matter however. Stokes is a decent player, but frankly the only reason he’s in the squad is because Noel Hunt can’t be in the squad, it’s not as if he’s setting the SPL alight with something akin to his 14 goals in 16 games with Falkirk back in 2006 which first brought him to prominence. Couple that with a few bad spells in England (Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Sheffield United) along with a lack of conviction any of the three times he’s played for Ireland, and you can’t make a serious case for him. He’s an option, but I’ll have Leon Best over him if we need a substitute in either game.

Now…France…my plan to decomission all of their players is coming along okay. Gael Clichy has joined Franck Ribery on the sidelines for the two games, the Arsenal left-back is having some grief with a back injury which means he won’t play again for the better part of a month. It would be even better if Eric Abidal or Patrice Evra had incurred the same fate however, given that they are far more likely to start in any case. Nevertheless, throw that in with Henry not getting a world of time at Barcelona…ermm…ooh Patrick Vieira isn’t in the France, squad, so he can’t do this to Shay again…errr other than that…come on help me out here people!

Immaterial of our worries about Duffer and their raft of players fighting fit and in form, I’m still hopeful, if perhaps not as confident as some others. If there’s any update to be made before next Friday, I’ll try to let you all know, but that seems like about it for now.

Have a good weekend all.

A few brief points. We drew 0-0 with Montenegro in our final game, about two weeks ago now. It was played at a testimonial pace, and there were three moments of any note. Richard Dunne hit the crossbar before half time, Paul McShane pulled off a brilliant save to deny one of the Montenegran lads in the second half, a save Shay would have been proud to have made on his 100th appearance, and he didn’t give a penalty away, what a hero! That and Martin Rowlands caught his studs in the turf during the first half, ruling himself out of the play-offs, which sucks a little bit. The experience of the game would have helped him no end, but he was going to be a peripheral figure in the two legs barring injury or suspension, so it’s not a massive loss, merely disappointing.

Game was awful, we were uninspired, Gilardino saved Italy B’s blushes against the Cypriots, meaning we finished 6 points behind the world champions. The chasm wasn’t that big, but we got what we realisically set out to get last September. And then we drew France…which I predicted, but that doesn’t make me feel too much better about it.

What to make of the draw? The worst one we could get, in all truth. Words had been thrown around about Portugal being a more dangerous outfit, but they’ll be without a fully operational Ronaldo at best, which takes an awful lot of their potency away. It would have been tight, would have come down to the away leg for us. They’ll see off Bosnia, but not before getting a bloody nose.

Russia? Bugger going over to Moscow in November, but I’d have fancied us to win at home, they have a sprinkling of decent players (and one very good player) but they’re hardly world beaters. We could have taken them. I’m not sure how they’ll get on with Slovenia, they have a habit of pulling out results when they most need them…

Greece? Given the varied and many disparaging comments everyone made about them, it was probably best to give them the swerve, because our pundits had more or less provided King Otto with all the motivational material he needed for the two legs. That and a night in the bear pit which could have been the Karaiskakis (In those situations, you can’t put a price on hostility, so maybe the Olympic Stadium would have been sacrificed…maybe) could have spelt disaster for us…they’ll beat Ukraine, hold me to that.

Which leaves us with the best side in the draw, although you wouldn’t have known it from the way they staggered through Group 7 in qualifying, especially in the early stages. Defeat in Austria was the disastrous start, but a 2-1 win against the Serbians in the Stade de France four days later put them back on track. A 2-2 draw in Romania a month later was another serious blip for Les Blues, a result which probably put Raymond Domenech on the brink of the P45, failure to win in Lithuania probably spelling the end for the much-maligned boss.

Two successive 1-0 wins against the Lithuanians kept Domenech in a job however, with a scrappy 1-0 win in the Faroe Islands allowing France to at least stay on the coat-tails of the Serbians. But another draw with the Romanians, 1-1 in the Stade, allowed the leaders to go to the brink of qualification before hosting the French in Belgrade on the 9th September. A 1-1 draw, with the French coming from behind, only delayed the inevitable, and Serbia sealed qualification a month later with a 5-0 win at home to the surprisingly off-colour Romanians. For the record, France saw off the Faroes 5-0 in Guingamp on the same night, before recording a relatively impressive 3-1 win against Austria at home on the final night of the group stage, to finish seven points clear of the third-placed Austrians, trailing the Serbians by a point when it was all said and done. And now here we are…

What to make of this French side? What to say of any French side of the last….50 years. They’re hopelessley talented, but like a lot of French sides throughout the years, they’ve flattered to decieve, this time around being no exception, unfortunately. If we’re dealing with a straight comparison, the only players from this Ireland side who would get into the French side who drew in Serbia (I’m not counting those games against the Faroes and Austria, they’re not truly representative examples) would be Shay Given over Hugo Lloris, and Richard Dunne ahead of William Gallas. And that’s not to say that Lloris or Gallas are bad players, it’s more to say that Shay is arguably the world’s best goalkeeper, and that I have a serious dislike of William Gallas (That and from a serious point of view, I worry about his temper in big situations).

Beyond that, you’re talking about Bacari Sagna, Patrice Evra, Lassana Diarra, Franck Ribery (although he will probably not feature in the play-offs due to injury), Karim Benzema, Nicolas Anelka and more so than anyone else, that bastard Thierry Henry. That arrogant, irritating, stuck-up, outspoken yet utterly brilliant Thierry Henry. That’s just six…Domenech discovered Andre-Pierre Gignac in the latter stages of qualifying, and you can also make a case for any from Eric Abidal, Florent Malouda, Yoann Gourcuff and Bafetimbi Gomis. Formidable? Oui.

By all accounts the weak link lies in the management, but I’m not having that, personally. Domenech’s track record shows one serious blip in twenty years, being eliminated in the group stages of Euro 2008, when they were caught in the storm created by a Dutch side who peaked two weeks too early. Admittedly, that fails to excuse their performances against Romania and Italy.

If we ignore that, then you’re talking about a manager with two promotions to Ligue 1, the first with FC Mulhouse in 1989, who then dropped back down into Ligue 2, and swiftly got Lyon up into Ligue 1, following that with finishing 8th and 5th and securing a place in the UEFA Cup. After that, he spent 11 years as manager of the French Under-21 team, reaching the Under-21 European Championship final once and making the semis on two more occasions. There’s also six finals in the Toulon championship to consider, with two victories in 1997 and 2004.

Then his ascension to the big seat after Euro 2004. And France’s second final after wins against Spain, Brazil and Portugal, being undone by penalties and arguably by a momentary loss of control by their best player. So you have two promotions, two decent league finishes in a time when Lyon were trailing in the wake of the talented yet flawed Marseille side, along with a reasonable level of achievement at youth level, thrown in with an appearance at a World Cup final as a coach, something only 32 other men have on their CV’s in the history of football…we’re not talking about a coach with a track record of failure here.

Point to his distrust of Scorpios if you want, point to his very public love life, point to the strange situation with Claude Makelele’s selection back in November 2007, I’ll just worry about the results he’s achieved over the last two decades, alright with you? It’s this habit of pulling out results when required which is a cause for concern on my part, it’s something we’ve been on the wrong end of back in 2005, and a trick Domenech has repeated against the likes of Spain, Brazil and Italy in recent times. Eccentric he may be, incompetent he is not…

But then neither are we…scepticism about our chances is obviously the over-riding feeling amongst the masses, but I’ve heard a few optimistic shouts and a few believing we’ll make the finals. God, I hope they’re right, but I can’t share their faith if I’m using my head. We’re going to give France two very tough games, and if they make the finals, they’ll know they will have had to work for it. The first match at Croke is crucial for us.

Realistically, we need to win and keep a clean sheet. An away goal for France and we’re in massive trouble. If we go to Paris 1-0 up however, it will be an intriguing night. 0-0 wouldn’t be a disaster for us at home, but anything like 2-1 to us or 1-1, essentially anything which involves France scoring in Dublin spells trouble. A win for France in Croke and you can write it off, I’m sorry to say. There is however heart to be taken from our last trip to Paris, a 0-0 draw in qualifying for the last World Cup, in which 70,000 Irish (70,000!) saw John O’Shea miss a great chance to win it for us. That was with a side of similar talents, but less resilliency. If we go to the Stade with something to play with, we could be going to the World Cup, it makes the first leg so, so crucial.

Up to this point, the lads have stayed fit and healthy, of course sans Rowlands. This needs to stay the same until the 14th November. Shay ideally needs to be placed under house arrest, Richard Dunne needs to avoid any further troubles with his knees, Duffer needs to protect his calf and Robbie has to keep his excellent form with injury up. Beyond that, the lads have been playing well for clubs. Glenn Whelan has a winning goal at White Hart Lane to his name, Aiden McGeady is looking good in a very bad Celtic team, and Kevin Doyle seems to be ticking along nicely at Wolves, although I’m sure he and the Molineaux fans would rather see some of the effort he puts in replaced by a few more goals. All things told, no-one is in terrible form for club or country, and with any luck, this will hold for 3 more weeks.

A lot of ifs, but if we keep them scoreless at Croker, if everyone stays fit, healthy and in form and if someone takes a sledgehammer to various kneecaps, then of course we stand a chance. It’s two matches, for a place in the World Cup finals, that’s pure motivation, that along should lead our lads through the two legs. What we lack in ability compared with the French, we more than make up for in desire, it’s arguably the key element to this side. I maintain faith in Trap and his methods, and I believe the players can defeat France, but I’m also realistic as to what will happen if the French decide to turn up. It’s going to be interesting anyways.

Now, I know I have a LOT of things to pass judgment on. Paddy Kenny’s international career, although barely a non-starter in the first place, is dead in the water after his nine-month ban for cough medicine abuse was upheld. Sam Allardyce, he of many irritating views and no away win in 7 months with Blackburn, has decided to take a dig at Trap over the strange case of Steven Reid. And there’s still the topic of Shay and Kevin’s 100 caps to contend with….I shall try my best. Right now, I should be doing an essay on Danish and Norweigan minority governments and their viability as part of a European democracy….but we all know how that one is going to end. Hopefully I’ll have something to put up on these points in the forthcoming weeks, but I’ll see how things pan out. If not, you’ll hear from me when Trap announces the squad for the two games, probably in a fortnight’s time.

Until then everyone, all the best.

We’re playing Montenegro tomorrow night at Croke Park, in our final Group 8 qualifier, and in terms of the result, at least for us, it mean absolutely nothing. If the game against Italy was two and a half minutes shorter on Wednesday, then this could be a must-win, along with praying that Cyprus summoned the spirit of North Korea in 1966. Alas…it’s only the unbeaten record on the line for us, which would be nice to hold onto, but not imperative. Montenegro could finish 4th in the group if they beat us tomorrow night, which could potentially help their seeding for the Euro 2012 draw in Febraury of next year, but beyond that they’re merely going through the motions as well.

The team? Forget what I said at the back-end of my last post, it would appear that there are going to be a number of changes for the match, given the precarious situation for some individuals who are one booking away from a suspension in the first leg of the play-off against France (a hunch, not a conspiracy). Using information gleamed from the BBC and RTE, expect something like this. Assume a 4-4-2.

GK: Given
DL: Kilbane
DC: Dunne
DC: St. Ledger
DR: O’Shea
ML: Hunt
MC: Rowlands
MC: Miller
MR: Duff
FC: Keane
FC: Doyle

Martin Rowlands, Liam Miller and Stephen Hunt are all in because Glenn Whelan, Keith Andrews and Aiden McGeady are all sitting on yellow cards. Liam Lawrence appears to be the only unenforced sacrifice from the team on Saturday night, making away for Duffer, who has recovered from his calf injury. A bit unfair on Lawrence, but expect to see him feature at some point, he will be an asset to this side for a while to come I feel. Also pleased to see Martin Rowlands getting a chance to prove he’s something other than the smoking gun in the Andy Reid feud.

The return of Liam Miller is something else to keep an eye on. A few weeks ago I questioned what Miller was doing in the squad, when he was at the time without a club. Since then, Miller has joined Hibernian and started well for his new club, who find themselves on the coat-tails of the Old Firm, at least for a few more weeks. I hope it continues for Miller, he was a player with enormous potential when he started off at Celtic under Martin O’Neill, before making the (understandable) mistake of joining Manchester United before he was an established player on the European stage. His career has stagnated ever since that move, but certainly given the dearth of quality in our central midfield at the moment, Miller can stake a claim for a place. If a few of his performances for Celtic in the Champions’ League way back when are anything to go by, he’s more than qualified to take one of the two spots in the central midfield. The rest of the side? Standard issue, unless Trap decides to throw a few curveballs in when he does actually announce his side, probably an hour or so before kick-off tomorrow night.

Montenegro? Not bad for a first qualifying campaign, they being the lesser of the two nations formed out of the split of Serbia and Montenegro after the last World Cup. (Congratulations are due to the Serbians by the way, even if it could potentially spell disaster for us…) They drew 0-0 with us at home, were beating Bulgaria at home 2-1 until the 92nd minute (I’ve seen that before!) and also kept Italy honest in Lecce, going down to a 2-1 defeat after pegging them back early in the game. Couple those results with an undefeated record against their genuine competitors in the group (Two draws with Cyprus, four points off Georgia) and it has been a decent campaign for the Montengrans, steady if not spectacular. Their side is compromised of a few familiar names. Simon Vukcevic seemed set for big things early in his career, before Sporting Lisbon snapped him up, where is carving out a decent niche for himself.

More familiar however will be the duo of Stevan Jovetic, the Fiorentina youngster with a hammer of a right-foot shot, and a trade in humbling massive European teams (Ooh, ABBA!) Mirko Vucinic should also stick out in the memory for a few people. For the Serie A watches amongst us, he’s an important if perhaps not integral part of Roma’s squad with a knack for scoring ridiculous goals. For those amongst us whose European knowledge only goes as far as the Champions’ League, he’s the fella who let Arsenal off the hook. (I shudder to think what that text could possibly mean at the start, my Italian is shamefully bad) He also happens to be Montenegro’s top scorer, with 7 goals in 14 games. So no more jibes from me.

Truth be told, I remember scarce little from our goalless draw with them more than a year ago, beyond Given’s lucky save to preserve us a point at the death, so I can’t tell you much about their style of play, sorry. Montenegro’s record however would have them down as a side going through the learning curve. Three defeats from nine qualifiers would suggest a team that is difficult to break down, but one win from 9 also suggests they have a bit to learn about how to get it right in the qualifying process. They’re a decent side, and a hard nut to crack at home. Whoever gets them in qualifying for 2012 should expect two difficult, if winnable matches.

All things told, it should be a fairly even contest. Don’t expect us to be too expansive, just try and keep it tight as against Italy the other night. This isn’t an opportunity to let off some steam, rather a trial run for November, so it should still be of some interest to see who’s going to be in and out of the squad and the starting line-up for the two-legged play-off. Chances are Trap has almost all of his side pencilled in for that first leg, so it will be up to anyone who’s place isn’t assured to give him a selection heache, or an option should someone else succumb to injury or suspension. Beyond that, there’s little to say really…if you want a prediction, go for 0-0. It might suffer for the lack of edge in terms of entertainment, loathe though I am to say it.

Despite the lack of a genuine competitive edge to tomorrow night, the match will bear some resonance for Irish fans. Tomorrow night marks the 100th cap for Shay Given, who has been given the armband for the night, as well as Kevin Kilbane. I’m hoping to provide a write-up for both men in the next few days, unfortunayely University work forbids me from doing so this evening, but this is a landmark which should not go without mention. Expect to see something in the next few days.

For now, I can only refer you to Daryl’s piece on the pair of them on the front of the blog and extend my own gratitude to both men for their service in the national shirt. I may have knocked Kilbane more times than I can remember, I will argue that there are more viable options at left-back than himself these days. I wonder were it not for his own goal in the home match and his mistake in the away game to gift Bulgaria equalisiers in our two matches with them, how much more important tomorrow night’s game would be, and I still can’t fully forgive him for his shinned rebound to Ian Harte’s missed penalty against the Spaniards in 2002…but despite all that, 100 caps for a country playing to our standard is no mean achievement. Thanks are due from all Irish supporters, whether we like him or not. He may not be the best defender we ever had, but it’s not for his lack of effort. Thank you Kevin.

There’s plenty more to come on Shay…for now, all I can say is…if there are any budding scientists out there who have unlocked the secret to cryogenically freezing individuals, could you please inform the FAI, because the longer we can keep Shay Given in between the posts, the better it is for us. The greatest goalkeeper in the history of the national side, and arguably the greatest servant to the Irish national side in it’s near 90 year history…thank you doesn’t even come close to recognising Shay’s contribution to Irish football, so there’s more where that came from. I hope both lads mark the occasion suitably tomorrow night.

For now, I’ll leave it at that, analysis and hopefully a few more bits and pieces in the days to come. Until then, all the best everybody.

First things first, highlights. There’s a few on my jingoistic piece last night, but to round it off, Sean St. Ledger’s goal. He came of age last night, and there’s no doubt as to who is our first choice centre-backs now. What a performance.

What a performance by almost everyone in a green shirt last night. I would love to say that everyone contributed and they all gave the performance of a lifetime…but…there are some occasions when I can take the green-tinted glasses off. Sorry, Keith Andrews, but you’re not international standard…he had another anyonymous game in the centre of the park last night. A willing runner, yes, but there needs to be some quality to go with it, and it was sorely lacking last night.

It’s time to give someone else a go in the centre of midfield, although I feel Trappatoni won’t be changing things around in the last three games of the qualifying campaign, for the sake of familiarity. However, when (if!) Stephen Reid gets fit, don’t expect to see Andrews starting on a regular basis. I hope he improves and he has something else to give to the cause, because you can tell there is some modcum of quality there, but a poor start to the season with Blackburn and some slack showings for us in such a key area of the pitch means changes need to be made, otherwise we could suffer in the last few crunch matches.

As for the rest of them, where to start? Richard Dunne hasn’t played as well in a green shirt for so long, while St. Ledger capped a fine showing with a smart run to get the goal. Hell, even Kevin Kilbane was solid at left-back, although one of Italy’s failings was their lack of penetration down the right hand side, if they had tested him a few more times, then who knows?

John O’Shea was another one who had a fine performance at right-back, twice he made vital interceptions to deny the Italians a goal, the second a glancing header which was top class. However, there is one thing that would stop me joining in the clamour to make him man of the match…why is he over the halfway line, with us leading, and less than three minutes to play? Why was Iaquinta allowed a signifanct headstart over him? Why were we not back in numbers, as Tap alluded to post-match, wasting time and protecting the most precious of leads? Italy broke down the left side, Iaquinta exploited the space and Gilardino was left with a fairly simple finish. O’Shea knew it as well. It’s not to take away from all that he did right in the first 90 minutes, but I’d venture that if he hadn’t pushed forward, then we could be talking about one of our greatest ever wins. The thin line between success and failure…

Aiden McGeady gets my nod for man of the match. Clearly the Italians hadn’t learnt their lessons from a few seasons ago when Paolo Maldini applauded him on-pitch for his play against Milan in the San Siro. McGeady ran at Zambrotta and anyone else who came near him all night, and it left the away side with plenty of problems. If there’s a point to be made, then it could be that his delivery from the wing left something to be desired, but considering that he was deputising on the left-hand side for the injured Duffer, you can take nothing away from his performance, especially in the first half. He was a bit quieter in the second 45, but by that point the Italians had two men around him whenever he had the ball, and he still beat them on occasions. He tired, and was eventually substituted for Hunt, but it was an excellent performance. Certainly he appeared to be our most likely source of opening up the defence, even if ultimately both goals came from set pieces…

I’ve already touched on Andrews, but critical though I’ve tended to be of Glenn Whelan in the last few matches, he put in a very solid showing last night, even when you take away his brilliant goal from Lawrence’s cut-back. He was a prescence in the middle, was confident on the ball and alert to any second ball that came his way. Sometimes the Italians over-ran the midfield with their four, at times five men pinging the ball around the middle, but Whelan kept them honest at least. His goal should see him in credit for a while to come, certainly after last night he deserves to see out the campaign in the middle of the park, if perhaps with someone else to partner him.

Liam Lawrence also turned in a good show on the right side in his first competitive appearance for us. He wasn’t as tricky or direct as McGeady, but he knows and we know he doesn’t possess the ability to run at opponents that the likes of McGeady does. He did a sound job on the right-hand side, acting as a first line of defence for the Italians to break down the left side, then pushing forward and putting pressure on the Italians defence where possible. His cut-back for the goal was smart play, and otherwise his delivery was decent, so certainly he’s another one who deserves another crack, arugably in the centre of midfield with Whelan, with Duffer back on the left and McGeady on his preferred right side.

Up front, both of the lads were keen runners, but the Italians had their bases covered well, and neither of them got much room throughout the game, although whenever Keane got the ball, there was a sense of anticipation that something could happen, where you just didn’t feel the same way about Doyle. Truth be told, Leon Best opened up the game far more when he came on, even if he struggled to create opportunities. It would have been a far more intriguing contest if Caleb Folan had been fit and challenging the defenders in the air, because then it may have freed Keane up to do what he does best rather than chasing around up top to claim possession.

I can’t be too critical of any of the lads up front, it was more a case of very solid defending rather than an inability to create chances on the part of any of the three who played up front. Our style of play didn’t really suit either of the starting two as well, with balls fed down the channels for players to chase. Play the ball through the middle and into the feet of Keane and Doyle, and who knows? However, ultimately the former option was probably the safer, as Italy had the midfield flooded, and with good players who could counter-attack clinically, as we sadly found out at the death.

The subsitutes all contributed, Best I’ve already touched on, while Hunt added that extra bit of energy down the left which had been lost after McGeady ran out of steam. His ball for the second goal was fantastic as well, although maybe questions need to be asked of the Italians’ for allowing a cross from the wing to go all the way across the penalty area. Martin Rowlands seemed like a peculiar choice at the time, but considering that Whelan was already on a yellow card and probably one tackle away from an early bath, Trap was probably preventing against any potential disasters before they came to pass. Doubtless it also had something to do with the general bemusement which accompanied Rowlands’ selection in the squad ahead of Andy Reid earler in the week, a bit of one-upmanship on the part of Trap perhaps. As it was, we didn’t lose anything in midfield for the arrival of Rowlands, he ran for the cause and seemed fairly comfortable on the ball, if perhaps not adding anything going forward.

No complaints from me with Trap’s selection of subsitutions last night, in fact his whole game plan was executed well. The lads knew they had to keep it tight and restrict the Italians to a premium of chances, something which they did well. The two goals were sloppy bits of play, with Camoranesi the first in a long queue of Italian players lining up to equalise after Whelan didn’t connect with a clearing header from the corner, and the second an inexplicable rush of blood to the head by a few lads who should have been back behind the ball, but in the end, the draw was what either side deserved from the game. We pressed the Italians more than we’ve gone at any other side thus far in the group, perhaps motivated by the sense of occasion and also the chance to give the Italians a hairy night on Wednesday, but ultimately it just wasn’t enough. You can’t fault the lads though, a horrendous bit of naivety cost them a famous win, but it doesn’t overshadow an excellent performance.

Italy? I’ve got to be honest, I’m struggling to see where this river of criticism for Lippi and the players is coming from, and what the justification for it is. Hold me to this, the Italians will be right in the mix at the business end of those finals next June and July, because they have the mentality of not being beaten, and also the ability within the side to get what they need. Last night, they came to Croker looking for a point, and for the period of time when it was 1-1, they stroked the ball around with midfield with the most effortless ease, creating space for themselves like second nature. We chased and chased the ball all night, and on some occasions we didn’t see the ball for a minute, a minute and a half. It might not have been going anywhere, but it was controlled and calm, something I’d love to see off our boys, something that is actually slowly creeping into our play.

The class was evident to see in their control of possession when the game was level, and their ability when behind to force the equalise twice. The first goal was inevitable for about 5 minutes before Camoranesi scored, such was their territorial dominance and our retreat too deep. The second goal was particularly impressive (he says through gritted teeth). It was almost certainly going to be the one chance they would get to equalise before the end, and what happens? I’ve barely seen Italy play since that rotten Euro 2008 campaign, but they’re a markedly better side under Lippi than the one I saw with Donadoni in charge.

Not to say that there’s not issues within the side. I’ve got to be honest, when I saw that Di Natale was coming off, I wasn’t actually aware that he had been playing, such was his anonymity, and they were a bit sloppy when it came to opening up the defence, too many balls were in the wrong areas and Given mopped them up easily enough. There are probably some issues with perssonel, and I agree with the comments about Antonio Cassano made by a few fellas, but the hub of a good side is clearly in there. Grosso and Palombo particularly impressed me last night. You’re through to the finals, you have a solid outfit who play smart football, and you’re not in the play-offs, you want our position? We’ll trade! Joking aside, good luck to the Italians next summer, I take pride in being able to say that we played them twice and were undefeated over both games, because I don’t doubt that they’ll be in the mix come next summer, even if they may struggle to hold onto their title.

So, where does this leave us? Well, we’re in the play-offs, no matter what happens Wednesday night, thanks to a combination of our point last night and Bulgaria’s mind-boggling collapse in Cyprus. (Ooh, an operatic version of the Unforgiven, thank you!) Heads need to and will roll over that defeat, especially in the defence, because the first three goals were laughably bad from Bulgaria’s point of view. Not that I’m going to complain too loudly. As far as the play-offs and the seedings are concerned, we will be in the unseeded pot, unless the following happens…

Malta win against Portugal in Guimares
Sweden win against Albania in Solna
Luxembourg win against Greece in Athens
Israel fail to beat Switzerland in Basel
Latvia beat Moldova in Riga 9-0, or 10-1, or 11-2, or…ah, forget it.

Take it as read that we’ll be playing one of four from France, Portugal, Russia or Greece in the play-offs. I have my money on France, not for the sake of a conspiracy, just a hunch. The draw for the play-offs is a week tomorrow.

As for the Montenegro game, I’ll do my best to throw up a more detailed preview before the match on Wednesday night, but it’s lost any spark it may have had with the draw last night, and Bulgaria’s brain fart in Nicosia. Don’t expect Trap to experiment to any significant degree, Duffer will probably come back in, and maybe Keane, Dunne and Given might get rested, but beyond that, changes will be scarce.

Montenegro might be a bit more up for it than us, considering that they can stop our unbeaten streak in competitive matches, and a win coupled with a Cypriot defeat in Parma will see them finish 4th in the group, which may help their seeding for the Euro 2012 qualifying draw next February, but beyond that, there’s not much to play for. It would be nice to finish the campaign unbeaten, it would be nicer to be building this up as a must-win, with Cyprus battering Italy, sealing our glorious return to the finals after an 8-year hiatus…such is life, I suppose.

Mac, I’ll tackle the Stephen Ireland question in another post before too long. It’s equally as messy as the play-off circumstances FIFA devised for this round of qualifiers, unfortunately.

Until next time, everyone, all the best.

Here’s your highlights. Enjoy them while NetResult/UEFA/Lord of the Interwebs allows you to.

Highlights of the first half, including Whelan’s belter, and then Camoranesi’s header. Also includes a few Italian moments from the second half. Italian man on YouTube took down Saint Sean St. Ledger’s headed goal in the 87th minute, I’ll try and find a video of that tomorrow, but Italian man decided to keep his video of Alberto Gilardino’s late equaliser.

I’m gonna give this until tomorrow night before I give anything approaching a balanced and fair appraisal of the match, the adrenaline is still coursing through the veins. I’m so proud though, I know that for sure.

What did you lot make of it. Ireland fans, Italy fans, I want opinions, I want a bit of debate, something to talk about in my write-up. Who’s your man of the match? How did you think we played? Do you honestly think Italy are that bad? What about our chances in the play-offs? What about your chances in the finals? What the hell happened in Nicosia? Give us something to write about.

I’ll catch up with you lot tomorrow. For now, I think bed. Emotionally drained…some night.