Anyone else embarrassed by our performance tonight?

Woeful,totally outclassed and you get the feeling the spanish aren't out of 4th gear

Yeah, I honestly think Andorra or San Marino could have offered as much resistance as we have tonight. Our passing on the ball has actually been laughable.

Hold up, we're saved...Paul 'I don't have a club' Green is coming on.

Cant believe Dunphy was saying they tried hard in the first half. Trap is surely gone after this performance. Another hammering by Italy will seal the deal.


Terrible. Little effort or hunger

It could be worse dan,some people will have to get the dulux tomorrow to paint the house back the way it was.

Show some respect Dan.....thats a Johnstones Paint Trophy winner there

Pa

and he shows his quality there Trap=Shambles

TRAP OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have the FAI given him a new contract?

Hes gone surely after this

please excuse me lads ..i know with me being english ..this may hold not sway at all...but you are playing the best team in the world who were outstanding tonight..i think most of the best teams would have looked no good against this Spanish team..yes ireland are weak....you have to understand that you dont have manny players playing in top teams..so just being in the comp is a win imo...i think you,ll be much better in the last game..italy no were near as good as the spanish imo..good luck lads..if its any consolation..i dont think england will be long behind you

He can't even speak English......he should have never been giventhe job in the first place.....Manuela Spinella would do a better job with the team!!

limited teams like our one survive in these tournaments by compensating for skill and technique with a very high workrate all over the pitch. this irish team lacks that as we have passengers in the guise of keane and mcgeady, so we have in effect just 9 on the park, then add in a championship standard full back in ward so is in the running for the worst back in the tournament(watch the rte panel never mention it). if staunton was managing this non show you would laugh.
italy were 1.6 for mondays game at 6pm. now 1.4 the market says it all.

not a hope in hell of 2014 world cup qualification unless we unearth some new real talent and use it, otherwise we will place 4th at best in the 2014 qualifying group.

What are people expecting? One of the best teams ever in international football against a bunch of players assembled from effectively Championship clubs. I've been watching the golf mainly so maybe I'm underestimating how bad tonight was

Not embarrassed at all but slightly embarrassed by the reaction on here.We were playing the best team in the world and they beat us comprehensively,its not as if we were not trying.The blame game is now in full swing but sometimes no one is to blame the squad is just not good enough,most punters on here knew that and bet accordingly.

Whatever about playing the best team tonight, we got beat 3-1 by Croatia on Sunday!!!!!! Are they the best team in the World too?? Plus if Spain are so good why didn't they trash Italy on Sunday???

The only surprising thing is that people actually expected anything other than what happened.

should people be surprised nobody would off beaten spain tonight,sure the betting told the story 16/1 in the bookies to win tonight,spain are world class,we arnt so thats the facts

No and we should enjoy the likes of Silva, Xavi and Iniesta. Some of the best to ever play the game. I don't think Schweinsteiger and Khedira will see which way they went when the time comes. A great great team.

Didn't expect a result, but I expected better from us in this tournament. No real effort on the pitch, players falling over themselves, trying to avoid the ball. It was pathetic.

Bringing on Paul Green was the biggest joke of all time!!!!

George Hamilton said when he came on "I wonder has a player with no club ever played at a European Championships before??"

Get this OAP out of this million euro job!!!

It's a bit of a minor miracle we even qualified for this and people have forgotten that in a hurry. What do you expect Trap to accomplish with what he has at his disposal. Do you expect Hoolahan to do a job on Iniesta, do you expect Coleman to stop David Silva.

You could pick the best Irish team of the last 30 years and they would still fall well short against an outfit as classy as Spain. The players gave it their all reasonable thinking people expected a result like this months ago.

The 4th goal was an awful one to give away but the game was well gone by then.

Trap has unquestionably done a decent job.

One thing i am embarrassed about is listening to a man who walked out on his country slagging off the current Irish players and to hear him talk of pride is nauseating.

Ireland qualified from a group containing russia, slovenia, macedonia & andorra & after a play-off against estonia. Honestly don't know why this is ramped up into something amazing or extraordinary, the only minor miracle involved was the 0-0 draw in moscow

i wouldnt listen to anything that that bitter traitor comes out with wildman,at the end of the day to play for your country should be your biggest honour in any sport,not to this bitter twisted man

I have a feeling Trap will resign. His four year plan of defensive football has failed miserably. The stadium has been half full for the majority of games, and it's not because of the recession. I just have a feeling he will do the honourable thing and leave the post. Also, to protect his legacy, it would be the logical decision to make. Harry redknapp anyone?

*slovakia not slovenia & forgot the mighty armenia too!

I know Huddys but to hear him talking of pride was irritating,i think they all tried their best it just wasn`t good enough.

Reasons to get rid of Trap:

* He can't speak English
* He is paid an obscene amount of money per year
* He makes ridiculous decisions (brining McShane & Green to the tournament and leaving better players at home)
* He is as stubborn as a mule and he is 73 years old
* He gets turns against certain players (has something against Wes Hoolahan, Marc Wilson, Andy Reid)

Anyone want to give a go at the reasons why he should stay??

Who would you replace him with?

your right wildman,its like a good handicap horse running against frankel,what would people expect the outcome be,ah sure keane is just a big mouth so wouldnt expect anything else off him,just hit the mute button next time the fool comes on

Plenty of options....

Personally I think bring back Brian Kerr, he got a raw deal first time around.

Good Irish man who is passionate about Football!

I agree with you about Kerr,hard done by and people may laugh but he did some job with the Faroe Islands.

I think the Faroes actually won a game when Kerr was in charge
I cant believe the fans were singing right up to the final whistle........
is any wonder that Enda and company can slam any oul charge/tax they want at us and get away with it.....
we must be the softest touch ever, in just about everything going.....
what was it 20k fans over there and happy to get a hammering........ cringe
cringe of the highest order....
and as many on here have said this is a shocking team and Trapp performed a miracle to get them to the Finals, not his fault, just a bit unlucky with the way the draw worked out..... but the fans, ouch cringe, every one must be laughing at us, and will be for sometime,
a sad night for Irish football, so why sing..........cringe time

I think there is huge admiration for the Irish fans,they are sporting and realistic.I always hate when fans turn on their teams in any sport as its generally the fair weather ones that behave that way.Would ye have liked the fans to be snarling and baying for blood,would ye have liked them to engage in a bit of violence,hardly.

Well I don't feel like singing after those 2 performances

Most of the lads over there are just over there for the drink/craic and couldnt care much how well the team do.
The crowds at the aviva in recent times show what football fans think of traps team.

They may be over for the drink but they still want the team to win.
db1974 you know your football so surely you are not surprised,its not as if they weren`t off.
I understand the natural disappointment in any defeat but that does not mean you turn on your team.

No I don't want them turning on the team or getting violent

But I don't want them singing at the end as if "it doesn't matter, sure we'll all have a good time anyway"

It bloody does matter, it matters a hell of a lot.

I don't want to qualify for a tournament every 10 years just to go there and play crap and come home without even one decent performance from the team.

There is a match left.

Well I appreciate that but that match isn't really worth a damn now

Italy 1.3 to beat Ireland !!

I certainly don't want the Irish fans committing acts of violence, nor do I want them turning on the team or management, but I would greatly appreciate it, if they adopted a common sense approach and accept your beating in a more sombre manner, I saw no reason to be singing The Fields of Athenry, or that most ugly song ever sung "You'll never beat the Irish",( thrash), when a hammering is being dished out to your team. IMHO we Irish have sweet dam all to be singing about.....

DRAGON DANCER
14 Jun 12 21:37 Joined: 29 May 08 | Topic/replies: 821 | Blogger: DRAGON DANCER's blog
What are people expecting? One of the best teams ever in international football against a bunch of players assembled from effectively Championship clubs. I've been watching the golf mainly so maybe I'm underestimating how bad tonight was

Well,thats clearly a load of Bóllox,9 of the Republic of irelands starting 11 played in the premier league this season,then you have McGeady  who plays in the Russian Top flight,so thats 10 of their 11 playing in top tier european football.

Compare this to Denmark,3 of their first 11 that beat Holland,play in one of europes bif three leagues,
No excuses.

Im sure plenty of us got caught up in the the buzz of it the last few weeks and expectations maybe got out of hand.
I went from thinking a month ago that we'd get no points to backing us last week to qualify from the group but if you cant dream and get carried away when your team gets a rare tournament appearance then you may give up.
Not sure what people expected tonight,they can bring on Fabregas we bring on a player without a club,just worlds apart.
While its obviously been a big letdown i think people questioning the effort or desire of the players are well off.

So because we've mostly bit players from Stoke,WBA,Aston Villa,Fulham we should be able to match them?
What had they 9 players or so from Barca & Real? Against the above please why would you expect anything different?

Why are we bringing on a player with no club when we could bring on a player who plays for a club that finished 7th in the Premier League and who has played Champions League football?

More importantly why are two other players from that same team not even in the squad and likewise the two irish lads who were almost ever present for Norwich in the EPL this year.

Italy will have to try and beat us by more than two goals so lets hold fire a bit before sending them to the gallows,someone said earlier that Italy are 1.3 well if they are i will be a layer.

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2012/06/14/spain-4-0-ireland-whitewash/

It’s also worth pointing out how dominant Spain were with their passing. They completed more passes than any side has in a single game in European Championship history (788 successes from 860 attempts), while Xavi took the same record for an individual player (127 successes from 136 attempts). Ireland completed 178 passes from 254 attempts. The difference in passing between the two sides was not unexpected, but still extraordinary.

Houlihan, McCarthy, Brady, Ireland, Pilkington, Clarke, Coleman all need to be brought into the setup. Long and Walters should now start from here onwards as well with Walters either forraging on the wing or out wide with McClean on the other side. End of an era but i think if the above mentioned are added to what we have, we could go places. I think the future is bright, but he has to start picking the best available.

I've said plenty on Robbie Keane, but I think it is time we stopped relying on the likes of him,Given Duff and Dunne. they still have a part to play, but it is time to move on. The younger lads with more to offer in the long haul need to take ownership of this team.

The new expanded Euros have done us a huge favour so at least now we will have a tournament every 4 years. I think we will qualify for the World Cup as well, look at that Sweden team, individually bar Ibra, they are not better than us. Anders Svensonn is still there at 35 for god sake.

Idon't want to see the likes of Hunt and Green in any further squads, players who patently aren't good enough and aren't going to improve.

Trap needs to get on to Ireland, talk him around and secure Pilkington. We can still keep the good points of his system, but we need to evolve and develop, especially in midfield, where the likes of Duff, whealan and McGeady don't have the engines to fulfill what he wants anyway.

This is the team i'd put out for the first WC qualifier and in our group, I'm confident the only team we would come up short against are the Germans.


                                        Westwood

Coleman               O'Shea                    Dunne            Clarke

                                   
                            McCarthy           Ireland/Gibson/Andrews

Walters/McClean/Brady                             Houlihan                             McClean/Pilkington


                                       Long

Walters either wide or up front*

dear neill d, you are deluded if you think we will qualify for brazil...we will be lucky to get 1 point from the 4 games involving germany and sweden, and i will happily bet 3000-2000 with anyone offeing me 6/4 that austria finish above us in the group, and they will, 4th at best is an easy conclusion....and as an everton fan, please stop this hyping of coleman, on his performances over the past 12 months for the toffees, hibby was a better option for us and i am afraid he has regressed..kelly of fulham is a better fullback than coleman on 2012 form.

the reality is we just dont have the players,no matter who trap brought,what combination or tactics used we still wud have got  stuffed,any1 argueing otherwise is deluded.the only reason we even got there is because of trap and luck.as for the fans singing after that annihation i found that embarrassing and makes us out to be a nation of fcking idiots

Neill D, Your team involves getting Stephen Ireland to return to International Football, Pilkington to declare for Ireland when he isn't a million miles away from the England squad and 30 year old Houlihan to become the fulcrum of this Irish side. All three unlikely.

We scored 15 goals in qualification, 10 were from set pieces, and the goal we got against Croatia came from a set piece, tells you the massive limitations of a team who rode their luck to get to the European championship anyway, anything after that was a massive bonus!.

Fair enough, i'd have regard for your oppinion so i'll take that on board, I'd see him as more of a winger to be honest, but I would feel moving O'Shea to centreback and dropping St Ledger would be a positive step. Kelly to my mind has had long enough to establish himself and has never managed to do so, I would side with Coleman over him chiefly because I thought that he still has the scope to progress despite the fact that I would concede his career has stalled. I don't mean to hype anyone, he is by no means exceptional, but there is at the very least a serious question to be anwsered as to whether he should be in the squad.
I agree though, he'd want to train on, but i'd give him that chance over someone like Kelly.

I understand how you could see the above as unlikely Squigs, but Ireland has mooted the possibility of returning to the Ireland setup in the relatively recent past and i think the jettison of Hunt might aid matters in procuring his return.

I think Pilkington would be well advised to go with Ireland as I see his position of Left wing/Inside Left as the place Oxlade-Chamberlain is most likely to occupy for England. I would also say that the likes of Young, Downing, Lennon(he can play on both sides), Milner (likewise) would all be a fair bit ahead of him and I wouldn't see him overtaking these lads, not in the near future anyway and he is already coming toward his mid twenties. i think he would end up like Matt Jarvis, namely, a one cap wonder.

Houlihan is a super player operating between the lines, technichally he is excellent, he has a fabulous passing range and great vision. His left foot is a veritable wand. I think his age is a red herring, if he can cope with the demands of the Premier League, i see no reason why he should not cope with the likes of austria, in fact, i'd be nearly certain the slower tempo of international football would suit him better.

One of the chief problems I'd see with my prospective team is a lack of athleticism in the central midfield area, but i don't think we have anyone available to ameliorate this bar perhaps Andrews.

And if ye don't like this lads, I'd hate to see what you'd make of my stance re getting Jermaine Pennant to declare for Ireland

I can understand why many would disagree with me, but i hope this goes some way to justifying my oppinion. FWIW, the most practical and easily implementable change would be the bringing in of Long and walters, this would be the change I would be most certain about as both are strong, extremely relevant Premier League performers who deserve to be in this team.

Regards,
Neill

I'm disappointed but only the most blinkered could even fathom this Irish team as an actual team?, never have I seen an Irish team so totally inept, ok when they're defending, sometimes?, go 1-0 down and the word clueless becomes capital letters "CLUELESS"

championship side and a poor one at that. not that im too embarrassed, thats as good as this team is, theres not one player that can hold on to the ball or control the game in any way.

paul green is without a club...come on, laughable really.

we have the makings of a whole other team of young, hungry players who operate in the Premier League. I'm optimistic, let's give them their head, it will put a few heads on the gate if nothing else.

In truth if Spain really wanted to they'd have scored as many as they liked, could have scored at least 12 tonight without breaking sweat, well they could have? bar good and bad goal keeping.

Average premiership players got showed up for what they are, average!, I was hoping some sort of miracle might happen?, it didn't because it never ever stood a goddamn chance!.

we're aren't aspiring to Spain, there's no bigger fan of the way they play than me, but their level is obviously beyond, the bar is consistent tournament appearances in the manner of the Swedish. I think we have the raw material to do this and it is not the lads that were the main protaginists there tonight that will get us there but the next generation of Irish players.

we aren't*

Neil I've seen some really decent Irish teams not qualify, in truth this team was very lucky to have scraped through, and have been shown up, honest but totally clueless.

Serious lack of quality in midfield, tackling doesn't make you a great player?

Think Moneypenny has it right, most of that lot there aren't there for the football. Sure, they'll attend the matches but its the drink and craic foremost.

I've said on the Keane thread that Trappatoni has worked miracles just to get the team there. Look at those countries who failed to qualify. When you see that list, I doubt even going to 24 teams in the Euros will help Ireland much.

And due to the GAA grabbing a lot of the indigenous sporting talent early, we still have to resort to the second and third generation to make up a squad. Thank god for those lads, as always.

Anyone know of the squad how many are Irish born and raised. I hear a few more Irish accents but there is still a large UK born contingent. To be honest, if it wasn't for the second and third generation lads, we'd never have got to any of these tournaments.

St Ledger,Westwood,McGeady, Gibson, Paul Green,McClean Cox and Walters are the non Republic of Ireland born players.

2 starters it's not the be all and end all tbh.

Squigs would you not consider James McClean Irish born?

I emphasised non Republic of Ireland born players and included as many as possible to avoid people accusing me of forgetting players born in the North. Gibson is also born in Derry and in the squad. I also believe that the importance of the non Irish born players particularly is overplayed these days.

I welcome McClean playing for Ireland but he is born in Northern Ireland and represented the North 7 times at U21 level.

i did expect 3 r 4 but by fu ck it was worse than a thaught

Squigs its an unusual distinction to make.
Years ago James Dillon when talking about Ian Paisley said " he looks like an Irishman he talks like an Irishman he gets excited like an Irishman and whether he likes it or not he is a bloody Irishman "

McClean played for Northern Ireland at youth level and is born outside the 26 counties and learnt his trade. He qualifies for Northern Ireland through birth but has an option to play for the Republic of Ireland and elected to play for the Republic of Ireland.

Historically people played for both federations but politically and for nationality purposes few recognised the border.
George Best  Irish
Pat Jennings  Irish
Martin O`Neill  Irish

What mumbo jumbo are you trying to say Wildman? You're making no sense !

As you barely know what day of the week it is not surprising you are confused and bewildered.

no plan,no shape and most worrying no passion,can blame manager for a lot,but these players are pathetic
trap will go now but need whole new philosophy from grassroots to get something positive going

Those players you named are Northern Irish players, might get 2 of them if this was today but not the top one. You're away with the fairies as usual.

Those players you named are Northern Irish players, might get 2 of them if this was today but not the top one. You're away with the fairies as usual.

If there was no IFA who do you think George Best would have played for?
Asking a question of Rocketfingers is proof of my optimistic nature.

Why stop there? If there was no Brazil we may have got Pele.

Did you ever hear of a rugby player called Davy Tweed?

I'm all for an All Ireland team but at this stage, I could want Jonny Evans to play for the Republic of Ireland,  but he is not available but would he is Irish isn't he?

I'm sure StLedger,Walters and McGeady consider themselves Irish and I'm certainly not bemoaning the fact that chose to play for us but they are born outside the 26 counties and that's clear.

How could we have an All Ireland team? 2 different countries with different FAs. If we are allowed to merge with another country, what would stop say Uruguay, Chile and Mexico pooling their resources? Or the continent of Africa fielding one team? This isn't some 2 bob game for pigs like rugby, where they let us bend the rules so they have enough teams for a tournament, it's football.

Incredible amount of nonsense here but that's no surprise given that most of the posters on this thread have the intellectual capacity of a medium sized onion.

I understand Rocketfingers failure to comprehend thats par for the course but for Thegalwayman to miss the point also makes me think you haven`t read the whole thread.The point i was making is the concept of Irishness which is why i quoted James Dillon,you can be a Unionist and be Irish,Davy Tweed was an Irish International rugby player he is now a DUP councillor.
Rocketfingers point about Pele and Brazil is nearly as stupid as Thegalwayman point about merging and if he thinks a small island playing soccer together equates in anyway to three disparate nations thousands of miles away from each other coming together well     dear oh dear.

We are one island and we merge together in other sports. 2 bob games only allow for teams to come together? Team GB at the Olympics would disagree with you.

What is the difference wildman? If we were to be allowed merge why not others? The Netherlands and Belgium are 2 small countries bordering each other. Should they be allowed play as one? What are your criteria for mergers? Has there been an occasion in the history of Fiifa or Uefa where 2 countries have been allowed to enter a single team in competition?

The Olympics is the ultimate in 2 bobbery. Run by the most corrupt organisation on the face of the earth (yes, worse than Fifa) they promote a wide range of rubbish masquerading as sport where most of the competitors are walking lab rats. It's purely a corporate exercise and the 'sport' is very much secondary. THe IOC have branded them team GB. What the reason for this is, I don't know, but not a whole lot they do makes sense to me.

Well UEFA/FIFA have allowed other unusual actions to take place, most notably allowing Israel to compete in Europe (for political & security reasons) and Australia to compete in Asia (purely for footballing reasons)

Also it would be a "re-merger" of 2 organisations which were previously one, similar to the re-merger of East & West Germany but without the political assimilation

Can't see it happen myself but where there's a will ...

Given very poor both games for some of the goals.Played as if injured,if thats the case why did he start.Academic anyway im afraid ,agree with Keen Leader regarding Keane and Mcgeady.

whats to be embarrassed about? i go to all the home games and we did well to get there, we are a very limited team who came up against the best side around and exposed us for what we are. I wont be going to see any more games while trapp is there, i think the football is puke to watch. I accept that he got us there for which he does deserve some credit but we've got to aspire to a bit more.

Exactly I've been to all the home games and I've seen 10 man Armenia pass us off the park for most of the game. I've seen Slovakia unlucky to come away with only a draw and I've seen Russia race into a 3 goal lead.

Spain and Croatia was no shock.

What about our performances against Italy and France in recent years ?

Games that were in 2009 and 2010 are not form guides for 2012. France and Italy who could not get out of weak world cup groups in 2010 are not Spain.