Cheerio France

DerKaiser

Registered User
Messages
1,443
In fairness, has any team ever let itself down more badly all round in terms of how they qualified and how they performed?
 
Even Domenech yesterday said the way France was going was "very poetic", and without being too childish about it I think he's right and they got their comeuppence (though, it must be always said, that even if Henry didnt handle the ball it would have gone to penalties and no guarantee we would have come through that).
 
I just saw the highlights where Domenech refused to shake hands with the SA coach after the match. There is no place for such churlishness and bad manners in any sport at any level (although Clare hurlers and officials come to mind in that regard).

I feel sorry for French players and supporters. There is something badly amiss in French soccer and I hope Mme. Roselyne Bachelot's investigation cleans it up.
 
Raphael Honigstein has tweeted "SA radio saying that #FRA FA booked second-class plane tix for team" :D
 
Was there not some element of poetic justice in all of this?, from the dodgy offside in the 2nd match that cost them a goal, their version of Saipan, having a manager so totally out of his depth (a la Stan, best description I heard of Domenech was from an American journalist who called him "an unloveable Inspector Clouseau), it was like the history of Irish football over the last 10 years, condensed into a fortnight.
 
Domenech gets a seriouslt tough press, can you imagine any other manager taking their country to the final of the World cup and still being compared to Stan?
We all got upset about the handball at the time, but I can't get over how we are clinging onto it still. i can understand the Irish journalists constantly stoking the fire to keep themselves busy but the general public should have moved on by now.
Luis Fabiano handled twice before scoring against Ivory Coast (same national colours as us!) and nobody is saying that Brazil are cheating there way through the world cup.
 
What is ironic is that FIFA changed the rules regards the play-offs to allow seeding, to give the bigger nations a better chance of qualifications.
Ireland still may not have qualified, but if we did I've no doubt we would have given a better display on and off the pitch.
 
Domenech gets a seriouslt tough press, can you imagine any other manager taking their country to the final of the World cup and still being compared to Stan?

Did France get to the final in spite of Domenech or because of him? This is the 2nd tournament final in a row in which they failed to win a match, in 3 matches in the qualifiers against Lithuania and the Faroes, the scored 3 goals in total.

Personally, given the players they have, I'm a bit disappointed to see them gone. The whole Henry thing was just tabloid hype. If Robbie Keane had done the same, would we have offered a replay?
 
The whole Henry thing was just tabloid hype./QUOTE]

+1

Qualifying for the World Cup is easy ;). Win your home games, draw (at least) your away games and you're there (or thereabouts).

Ireland's attempts to qualify for this World Cup included a dodgy penalty in the Georgia away game, failing to beat Bulgaria at home, failing to beat Italy at home, failing to beat France at home in the play-off.

Then, in Paris, the Henry goal prevented Ireland an opportunity to fail to score in yet another 30 minutes of play, and then the lottery of a penalty shoot-out.

Ireland have no-one but themselves to blame for not being in RSA and painting themselves as victims will be of no help when they start the Euro 2012 qualifiers.

And as for the FAI's cack-handed response to the play-off defeat :rolleyes: ?
 
Domenech gets a seriouslt tough press, can you imagine any other manager taking their country to the final of the World cup and still being compared to Stan?
We all got upset about the handball at the time, but I can't get over how we are clinging onto it still. i can understand the Irish journalists constantly stoking the fire to keep themselves busy but the general public should have moved on by now.
Luis Fabiano handled twice before scoring against Ivory Coast (same national colours as us!) and nobody is saying that Brazil are cheating there way through the world cup.

The Henry handball incident will naturally be brought up as they have been a disgrace to themselves in everything they've done.

If they put in an honest effort at the world cup they could move on from being associated with controversy, but they just keep acting like pigs - see below for their final insult to this world cup...

http://www.sbnation.com/2010/6/22/1...raymond-domenech-handshake-south-africa-coach
 
Personally, given the players they have, I'm a bit disappointed to see them gone. The whole Henry thing was just tabloid hype. If Robbie Keane had done the same, would we have offered a replay?

Indeed. Remember this thread

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=126341&page=2

Both France and Italy were there for taking by Ireland in the qualification stage but they didn't do it. It's our own fault we are not there.

France deserve to be out because they are a brutal football team with an absolute nutter as manager. The French Federation make the FAI look professional.
 
Tell us what you really think Tarfhead. Listen I can remember plenty of qualifying campaigns where we had perfectly good goals disallowed due to dodgy (in one case corrupt) refereeing decisions. So I'll take any dodgy penalties that come our way.

There aren't too many teams who would have gone to Paris and won 1 - 0 after 90 mins on the night. I don't want to re open the whole Henry affair, but the fact is he cheated, he prevented the game from going to a penalty shoot out, and who's to say we wouldn't have won that shoot out?
 
True, though if Robbie Keane had done it, we would have a different view.

Very true. Amazing how many people in this Country still applaud Michelle Smith because 'she was never caught'. What about the athletes that lost olympic medals because of her? I don't remember a national outrage
 
Back
Top