Frankie Boyle, that polarising Scottish comedian, came up
with a classic line recently. He tweeted in reference to his beloved Celtic, “If you'd told me as a kid we would have to
fight global fascism but Celtic would be 20 pts clear in the league I'd have
taken it”. I glanced at his Date of Birth, and although Celtic weren’t
exactly hapless in the 70’s, they did have their fair share of misery in the
90’s. That’s when I was growing up and why the tweet resonated so much with me.
Twenty years ago today, Celtic were on course to miss out on the title for
ninth year in succession. They failed to stop Rangers from equalling their
“Nine In A Row” record. Despite their best efforts and some beautiful football,
they couldn’t for the life of them overcome their fiercest rivals that decade,
(apart from one glorious season in 1997/98). Around that same time, the
Republic of Ireland were toiling their way through Group 8 of World Cup
qualification. As Romania steamrolled their way through the group, Ireland were
drawing with Iceland and Lithuania, and infamously lost to Macedonia in those
infamous Orange shirts that were never worn again. We failed to qualify for
France 98, losing out to Belgium in a playoff.
That was twenty years ago. Ten years ago, Ireland were due to play Wales in their Euro 2008 qualification campaign. It was a historic occasion as the game was to be played in Croke Park, the first football game hosted there in over 100 years. Once again however, Ireland were misfiring hopelessly. Under manager Steve Staunton, we had narrowly avoided dropping points to San Marino in our previous game. Even a decade later that sentence beggar’s belief. Fucking San Marino! There was also the fact we lost 5-2 to Cyprus in our second game of the campaign before that. Hapless displays and results poured cold water on any hype machine before this encounter. The subsequent match against the Welsh mirrored that campaign to date and Stephen Ireland’s hairstyle of the time. A dour affair was won by a single goal from the aforementioned precocious talent. It would probably be our brief highlight of the group, Staunton’s managerial career, and Ireland’s international career. The group ended with the Republic finishing third behind Germany and Czech Republic while Wales finished fourth.
And onto today. If you’d told me as a kid we’d uncover mass graves in your hometown but sit atop of our qualifying group, would I have taken it? I doubt I’d have grasped the meaning of mass grave for a start back then. Yet, being top of the group would have appealed to me even more than any Ireland shirt of the time. (I have the 1997 Home and Goalkeeper tops for the record today, that Orange one eludes me). That is the situation I type about right now. Ireland are top of Group D, two points clear of Serbia in second place and four clear of Wales in third. There are no Macedonia’s or San Marino debacles to digest in advance. Our last encounter was a historic 1-0 win away in Vienna against Austria. David Alaba did not break our hearts again. James McClean nearly broke the net with a thunderous shot that sealed three points that could be so precious next October. For the time being, it meant that we enjoyed Christmas on top of the table, something Irish football fans have rarely got to see longer than a couple of hours in the past.
Dare I begin to dream of a trip to Moscow with an Ushanka on my head? Well I never stop dreaming, I never stop believing in the Irish national team. Will I start saving money in confidence? No. Pessimism will forever be ingrained within me for as long as I follow the Irish national team. Two instances of history can give us fans good reason not to get ahead of ourselves. In 1995, Ireland were top of Group 6 in Euro 96 after defeating Portugal at home. We were halfway through the campaign when we travelled to away to play Liechtenstein. And we drew 0-0. The wheels of Jack Cahrlton’s tenure began to fly off in spectacular fashion as we lost out tamely in a playoff to Netherlands a few months later. Four years on, with Euro 2000 qualification only seconds away, Ireland lost top spot in the group by conceding a 93rd minute equaliser to Macedonia. When you compare both of them, its hard to know which is worse! As it stands right now, we’re not even halfway through this campaign. Although we’re in a good position, there is a hell of lot of football to be played. And we only have to ask Scotland how good positions halfway through can end up. We all know who ended up having a party last summer. Four points clear of Wales coming into this game, we have breathing space should a setback occur. Yet if that Euro 2000 near miss should tell us one thing, we should not sit back and enjoy that breathing space too much.
To do so would be greatly underselling ourselves. We are top of the group for a very good reason, having taken 7 points from a possible 9 on our travels. The Welsh encounter will be our second home game in the group. The Aviva Stadium finally found its voice in the last campaign in those victories against Germany and Bosnia. This Friday evening will see a sell-out crowd of 51’000 witnessing a Celtic derby between two teams who enjoyed successful Euro 2016 adventures. Wales may have made it to the semi-finals but in case they’ve forgotten we happened to have a decent tournament as well (I haven’t. I close my eyes and relive it at least once a day). This is no occasion to sit back and soak up what pressure the Welsh can throw at us. Assistant Manager Roy Keane even said as much in a press conference on Tuesday. You would be “gravely mistaken” to think we will settle for a draw. It presents an unfamiliar scenario that will be interesting in how we adapt. Ireland entered every game after losing to Scotland away in 2014 with a must not lose mentality. And up until the last game in the group against Poland, we didn’t. We shouldn’t allow ourselves to lose that defiance, the fighting spirit that has always served Irish teams so well in the past.
.
Where there is legitimate cause for concern is injury list. Five of the team that started the 1-0 win over Austria last November are out injured. Shane Duffy, Ciaran Clark, Harry Arter, Wes Hoolahan and Robbie Brady (through suspension) will take no part in the game. Add to that David McGoldrick, Rob Elliot, Paul McShane, Liam Kelly and Daryl Murphy and it’s the biggest list of absentees Martin O’Neill has ever had to contend in his time as Ireland manager. It will call for some careful reshuffling in the next 48 hours. I have faith in O’Neill to select a strong starting eleven. His substantial provisional squads show an extensive awareness of players. Against Italy at Euro 2016, he made four changes after the Belgium game, one of which was surprisingly dropping first choice striker Shane Long for Murphy. The changes were a gamble that paid off. O’Neill in his time at charge has forged a strength in depth in our squad that we don’t realise we have. Even despite the injuries and absentees, we can still put out a team capable of winning on Friday night. And if it does fall upon giving an uncapped player a chance, I’d like to think they would seize the moment and make an immediate impact.
A weekend which saw the injury concerns develop into a full blown crisis have been overshadowed by the deaths of two prominent Derrymen. On Sunday evening Ryan McBride, captain of Derry City FC, was found dead in his home. At the age of 27, his cause of death is unknown at this point, yet it has left a club no stranger to personal tragedy reeling once more. A devoted Derry City fan, McBride was living his dream to the full. In the week leading up to his death, he had scored vital goals in victories against reigning champions Dundalk and rivals Shamrock Rovers. No sooner as the community began to unite for their fallen captain came more devastation. Martin McGuinness, former Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and IRA leader, had passed away after a short illness. It was no news to anyone that McGuinness was unwell, having resigned as minister and retiring from politics before the recent Northern Ireland elections. However, few expected him to go so quickly. A true giant of Irish politics and the peace process in Northern Ireland, McGuinness rose above the hatred and twisted ideologies in striving for a peace that Northern Ireland enjoys today. Regardless of what role they played in the Troubles, McGuinness worked with everyone and anyone who would help make the Good Friday Agreement last. He never lost sight of his ideals, or his defiance, as shown in his decision to pull out of government in light of the RHI scandal that fellow First minister Arlene Foster of the DUP got embroiled in. It helped bring about an election that saw support for Sinn Fein increase in the North. Away from politics, McGuinness was an avid sports fan. He was a regular at the Derry GAA games and Derry City home matches. In addition to that, he was a firm supporter of the Irish national team and was in attendance for the famous 1-0 triumph over Italy last June.
(credit: Ross Zambra @TheKingOfPing)
What impact these deaths have for us personally will differ. One thing is for sure, it is something that weigh heavy on the heart and mind of James McClean as their memories are honoured. He posted on Instagram in as many days two touching tributes to the deceased, having known both of them personally. McBride and himself were team-mates at Derry City and the two remained in close contact after McClean moved to the UK. He will be excused from training tomorrow to attend the funeral of his friend, and will also wear the number 5 jersey on Friday night in his honour. With McGuinness, he made no secret of his admiration and respect for someone he called a “hero and friend”. They met many times and often exchanged texts prior to Ireland games. And McGuinness was a great source of support whenever McClean was subject to the pathetic abuse for his stance against wearing poppies on jerseys. Bereavement of someone close to you is never easy, it is not supposed to be. For McClean to see two of his close friends pass away so soon to each other is terrible. He never needed any extra motivation when playing for Ireland but I’m sure he will play above and beyond himself to honour these men.
McClean enters the game as Irelands top scorer in the group, and arguably our biggest threat on the night in question. Elsewhere, Aiden McGeady has been born again at Preston, where he was recently crowned Player of the Month in the Championship for some dazzling displays and superb goals. His rebirth at the Deepdale comes with usual mixed response of praise and the reservation that few would be backing him to do the same in the Green shirt. However, he’s made crucial interventions before and any Irish fan will be hoping he can do it again this Friday. After a Euro 2016 that was plagued by injury, it is good to see Jonny Walters injury free and scoring again just at the weekend for Stoke. It will be crucial for Senior players to produce big performances in light of many absentees in the squad. Speaking experienced Senior players, it is to be expected that John O’Shea will make his 117th appearance for Ireland in the centre of defence alongside Richard Keogh. This is the partnership that started Irelands campaign against Serbia so it’s not untested or unproven. The question is how well will they cope with Wales main attacking threat.
Wales find themselves four points behind Ireland due to their inability to beat Georgia at home last October. While the merits of parity on Friday away from home can be argued as a decent outcome, it is my feeling that they are going into this game looking to win. Gareth Bale, the be all and end all for most football fans when it comes to Wales, has recovered fully from an ankle injury picked up last November and will take a full part in the game on Friday. It will be interesting to see how O’Neill plans to combat his threat. However, it would be remiss to set all of our focus on him. The Welsh midfield will pose a tough test for us if we allow it to go it unchallenged. Joe Allen, Aaron Ramsey and Joe Ledley make up a triumvirate that has enough technical ability and workrate to cut Ireland apart. While we can set up effectively and be hard to break down, it could fall upon Glenn Whelan to come in and disrupt any flow Wales can try to create. Whelan is another figure who doesn’t get enough praise for his contribution when playing for Ireland. This game is an ideally set up for him to make a huge impact. Especially with the fitness of James McCarthy a concern, the experience of Whelan in the middle could be invaluable. David Meyley would also be a another good option to have in this regard. The prospect of each defence cancelling the other out is a real possibility however, and would give way to the being heavily influenced by set-pieces. While Wales have struggled to defend set=pieces in the past, the absence of Bradys dangerous delivery will be missed. Attacking wise, they pose both a direct and indirect threat, so defensive discipline will be crucial for Ireland inside their own half. They cannot allow Wales pick up a number of frees for the likes of Ashley Williams to attack or Bale to find his bearings. It may only take one strike.
Since my amazing experience at EURO 2016, I’ve only had the opportunity of getting to one Ireland game since. Last October when we defeated Georgia 1-0, I had hassle getting out of work on the day before securing my exit at half four. And while it was very handy to get the DART into Lansdowne Road soon after, I ended up losing my season ticket before the game and had to source a replacement ticket through contacts half an hour before kick-off. A stressful enough experience that didn’t allow me enough time to drink up the pre-match atmosphere or catch up with my friends from Galway. I will have no such hassle this time, having booked the day off from work well in advance. The excitement is increasing with every passing second and while the game will close, I remain hopeful of a home win that will set us on course for Russia. I’m currently updating the playlist on my phone, with The Town I Loved So Well making its way in honour of those recently departed. The occasion calls for a massive result. The city of Derry lost two heroes. Irish people, of all age and creed, need to honour them as best we can. A win on Friday will put smiles on their faces.
Ryan McBride and Martin McGuiness
May you Rest in Peace
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam
That was twenty years ago. Ten years ago, Ireland were due to play Wales in their Euro 2008 qualification campaign. It was a historic occasion as the game was to be played in Croke Park, the first football game hosted there in over 100 years. Once again however, Ireland were misfiring hopelessly. Under manager Steve Staunton, we had narrowly avoided dropping points to San Marino in our previous game. Even a decade later that sentence beggar’s belief. Fucking San Marino! There was also the fact we lost 5-2 to Cyprus in our second game of the campaign before that. Hapless displays and results poured cold water on any hype machine before this encounter. The subsequent match against the Welsh mirrored that campaign to date and Stephen Ireland’s hairstyle of the time. A dour affair was won by a single goal from the aforementioned precocious talent. It would probably be our brief highlight of the group, Staunton’s managerial career, and Ireland’s international career. The group ended with the Republic finishing third behind Germany and Czech Republic while Wales finished fourth.
And onto today. If you’d told me as a kid we’d uncover mass graves in your hometown but sit atop of our qualifying group, would I have taken it? I doubt I’d have grasped the meaning of mass grave for a start back then. Yet, being top of the group would have appealed to me even more than any Ireland shirt of the time. (I have the 1997 Home and Goalkeeper tops for the record today, that Orange one eludes me). That is the situation I type about right now. Ireland are top of Group D, two points clear of Serbia in second place and four clear of Wales in third. There are no Macedonia’s or San Marino debacles to digest in advance. Our last encounter was a historic 1-0 win away in Vienna against Austria. David Alaba did not break our hearts again. James McClean nearly broke the net with a thunderous shot that sealed three points that could be so precious next October. For the time being, it meant that we enjoyed Christmas on top of the table, something Irish football fans have rarely got to see longer than a couple of hours in the past.
Dare I begin to dream of a trip to Moscow with an Ushanka on my head? Well I never stop dreaming, I never stop believing in the Irish national team. Will I start saving money in confidence? No. Pessimism will forever be ingrained within me for as long as I follow the Irish national team. Two instances of history can give us fans good reason not to get ahead of ourselves. In 1995, Ireland were top of Group 6 in Euro 96 after defeating Portugal at home. We were halfway through the campaign when we travelled to away to play Liechtenstein. And we drew 0-0. The wheels of Jack Cahrlton’s tenure began to fly off in spectacular fashion as we lost out tamely in a playoff to Netherlands a few months later. Four years on, with Euro 2000 qualification only seconds away, Ireland lost top spot in the group by conceding a 93rd minute equaliser to Macedonia. When you compare both of them, its hard to know which is worse! As it stands right now, we’re not even halfway through this campaign. Although we’re in a good position, there is a hell of lot of football to be played. And we only have to ask Scotland how good positions halfway through can end up. We all know who ended up having a party last summer. Four points clear of Wales coming into this game, we have breathing space should a setback occur. Yet if that Euro 2000 near miss should tell us one thing, we should not sit back and enjoy that breathing space too much.
To do so would be greatly underselling ourselves. We are top of the group for a very good reason, having taken 7 points from a possible 9 on our travels. The Welsh encounter will be our second home game in the group. The Aviva Stadium finally found its voice in the last campaign in those victories against Germany and Bosnia. This Friday evening will see a sell-out crowd of 51’000 witnessing a Celtic derby between two teams who enjoyed successful Euro 2016 adventures. Wales may have made it to the semi-finals but in case they’ve forgotten we happened to have a decent tournament as well (I haven’t. I close my eyes and relive it at least once a day). This is no occasion to sit back and soak up what pressure the Welsh can throw at us. Assistant Manager Roy Keane even said as much in a press conference on Tuesday. You would be “gravely mistaken” to think we will settle for a draw. It presents an unfamiliar scenario that will be interesting in how we adapt. Ireland entered every game after losing to Scotland away in 2014 with a must not lose mentality. And up until the last game in the group against Poland, we didn’t. We shouldn’t allow ourselves to lose that defiance, the fighting spirit that has always served Irish teams so well in the past.
.
Where there is legitimate cause for concern is injury list. Five of the team that started the 1-0 win over Austria last November are out injured. Shane Duffy, Ciaran Clark, Harry Arter, Wes Hoolahan and Robbie Brady (through suspension) will take no part in the game. Add to that David McGoldrick, Rob Elliot, Paul McShane, Liam Kelly and Daryl Murphy and it’s the biggest list of absentees Martin O’Neill has ever had to contend in his time as Ireland manager. It will call for some careful reshuffling in the next 48 hours. I have faith in O’Neill to select a strong starting eleven. His substantial provisional squads show an extensive awareness of players. Against Italy at Euro 2016, he made four changes after the Belgium game, one of which was surprisingly dropping first choice striker Shane Long for Murphy. The changes were a gamble that paid off. O’Neill in his time at charge has forged a strength in depth in our squad that we don’t realise we have. Even despite the injuries and absentees, we can still put out a team capable of winning on Friday night. And if it does fall upon giving an uncapped player a chance, I’d like to think they would seize the moment and make an immediate impact.
A weekend which saw the injury concerns develop into a full blown crisis have been overshadowed by the deaths of two prominent Derrymen. On Sunday evening Ryan McBride, captain of Derry City FC, was found dead in his home. At the age of 27, his cause of death is unknown at this point, yet it has left a club no stranger to personal tragedy reeling once more. A devoted Derry City fan, McBride was living his dream to the full. In the week leading up to his death, he had scored vital goals in victories against reigning champions Dundalk and rivals Shamrock Rovers. No sooner as the community began to unite for their fallen captain came more devastation. Martin McGuinness, former Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and IRA leader, had passed away after a short illness. It was no news to anyone that McGuinness was unwell, having resigned as minister and retiring from politics before the recent Northern Ireland elections. However, few expected him to go so quickly. A true giant of Irish politics and the peace process in Northern Ireland, McGuinness rose above the hatred and twisted ideologies in striving for a peace that Northern Ireland enjoys today. Regardless of what role they played in the Troubles, McGuinness worked with everyone and anyone who would help make the Good Friday Agreement last. He never lost sight of his ideals, or his defiance, as shown in his decision to pull out of government in light of the RHI scandal that fellow First minister Arlene Foster of the DUP got embroiled in. It helped bring about an election that saw support for Sinn Fein increase in the North. Away from politics, McGuinness was an avid sports fan. He was a regular at the Derry GAA games and Derry City home matches. In addition to that, he was a firm supporter of the Irish national team and was in attendance for the famous 1-0 triumph over Italy last June.
(credit: Ross Zambra @TheKingOfPing)
What impact these deaths have for us personally will differ. One thing is for sure, it is something that weigh heavy on the heart and mind of James McClean as their memories are honoured. He posted on Instagram in as many days two touching tributes to the deceased, having known both of them personally. McBride and himself were team-mates at Derry City and the two remained in close contact after McClean moved to the UK. He will be excused from training tomorrow to attend the funeral of his friend, and will also wear the number 5 jersey on Friday night in his honour. With McGuinness, he made no secret of his admiration and respect for someone he called a “hero and friend”. They met many times and often exchanged texts prior to Ireland games. And McGuinness was a great source of support whenever McClean was subject to the pathetic abuse for his stance against wearing poppies on jerseys. Bereavement of someone close to you is never easy, it is not supposed to be. For McClean to see two of his close friends pass away so soon to each other is terrible. He never needed any extra motivation when playing for Ireland but I’m sure he will play above and beyond himself to honour these men.
McClean enters the game as Irelands top scorer in the group, and arguably our biggest threat on the night in question. Elsewhere, Aiden McGeady has been born again at Preston, where he was recently crowned Player of the Month in the Championship for some dazzling displays and superb goals. His rebirth at the Deepdale comes with usual mixed response of praise and the reservation that few would be backing him to do the same in the Green shirt. However, he’s made crucial interventions before and any Irish fan will be hoping he can do it again this Friday. After a Euro 2016 that was plagued by injury, it is good to see Jonny Walters injury free and scoring again just at the weekend for Stoke. It will be crucial for Senior players to produce big performances in light of many absentees in the squad. Speaking experienced Senior players, it is to be expected that John O’Shea will make his 117th appearance for Ireland in the centre of defence alongside Richard Keogh. This is the partnership that started Irelands campaign against Serbia so it’s not untested or unproven. The question is how well will they cope with Wales main attacking threat.
Wales find themselves four points behind Ireland due to their inability to beat Georgia at home last October. While the merits of parity on Friday away from home can be argued as a decent outcome, it is my feeling that they are going into this game looking to win. Gareth Bale, the be all and end all for most football fans when it comes to Wales, has recovered fully from an ankle injury picked up last November and will take a full part in the game on Friday. It will be interesting to see how O’Neill plans to combat his threat. However, it would be remiss to set all of our focus on him. The Welsh midfield will pose a tough test for us if we allow it to go it unchallenged. Joe Allen, Aaron Ramsey and Joe Ledley make up a triumvirate that has enough technical ability and workrate to cut Ireland apart. While we can set up effectively and be hard to break down, it could fall upon Glenn Whelan to come in and disrupt any flow Wales can try to create. Whelan is another figure who doesn’t get enough praise for his contribution when playing for Ireland. This game is an ideally set up for him to make a huge impact. Especially with the fitness of James McCarthy a concern, the experience of Whelan in the middle could be invaluable. David Meyley would also be a another good option to have in this regard. The prospect of each defence cancelling the other out is a real possibility however, and would give way to the being heavily influenced by set-pieces. While Wales have struggled to defend set=pieces in the past, the absence of Bradys dangerous delivery will be missed. Attacking wise, they pose both a direct and indirect threat, so defensive discipline will be crucial for Ireland inside their own half. They cannot allow Wales pick up a number of frees for the likes of Ashley Williams to attack or Bale to find his bearings. It may only take one strike.
Since my amazing experience at EURO 2016, I’ve only had the opportunity of getting to one Ireland game since. Last October when we defeated Georgia 1-0, I had hassle getting out of work on the day before securing my exit at half four. And while it was very handy to get the DART into Lansdowne Road soon after, I ended up losing my season ticket before the game and had to source a replacement ticket through contacts half an hour before kick-off. A stressful enough experience that didn’t allow me enough time to drink up the pre-match atmosphere or catch up with my friends from Galway. I will have no such hassle this time, having booked the day off from work well in advance. The excitement is increasing with every passing second and while the game will close, I remain hopeful of a home win that will set us on course for Russia. I’m currently updating the playlist on my phone, with The Town I Loved So Well making its way in honour of those recently departed. The occasion calls for a massive result. The city of Derry lost two heroes. Irish people, of all age and creed, need to honour them as best we can. A win on Friday will put smiles on their faces.
Ryan McBride and Martin McGuiness
May you Rest in Peace
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam
No comments:
Post a Comment