A shock result… to say the least..
Right then, who are you? [3-2 against Spain??? - Ed]… and what have you done with the other Northern Ireland football team?
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Books
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Turas, by Colin Neill – a story of strangers in a strange land
Colin Neill’s first novel Turas peeks into a world in which many Ulster Protestants feel uncomfortable. It’s 2020 and the Irish unification that unionists and loyalists confidently predicted would never happen has become a reality. President Adams is ensconced in Phoenix Park. The newsreader reported that … a short ceremony at Stormont had confirmed the [...] read our review »
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The Written World
Here’s something to keep you occupied over the weekend. [Will there be a quiz? - Ed] Possibly… The BBC magazine has an short and interesting, but un-embeddable, audio slide-show of Melvyn Bragg’s Radio 4 five-parter, In Our Time: The Written World. The British Library has more online information about the texts and technology featured in each [...] read our review » -
Have we Learned our own Lessons? Book Review of John Brewer’s Peace Processes
Northern Ireland’s peace process has been promoted as an international success story. The Republic’s Department of Foreign Affairs has its Conflict Resolution Unit, which aims to disseminate the ‘lessons’ of the Northern Ireland peace process. And some of the prominent players in our peace process have travelled abroad to other troubled spots to share their [...] read our review »
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Politician alert! They are boarding the bandwagon.
Happy days, i’m from the north and love my football, been all over the place following the ROI but i’ve never been to see a game at Windsor or even in the Irish League because the fans always seemed like a bunch of headcases from TV. Can’t help but look out for NI results though and enjoyed last night, i’d say the fans were having fun? And they didn’t look as scary as i imagined. Fair play, i hope the hangovers aren’t too bad.
tochais
we’ll take it – staunton could probably still do a job for us in defense!!!
Really great result NI. Top stuff.
I have been giving all the Spaniards in my office some serious stick. (I live in Spain, there are loads of them……….quality!!!)
Also really good to see ROI fans from both sides of the border being mature, respectful and sportsmanlike (dare I say British?
…) about the result.
Long may it continue
Congratulations to the north, an absolutely wonderful performance. How times have changed, and how quickly! It seems like no more than five mins since the record-breaking goal drought, yet now it’s possible to talk about Fortress Windsor, and only be referring to the football. (We’ll pretend the Iceland game never happened…)
Goes to show what a good manager can achieve even with meagre resources – food for thought for Republic fans.
Hopefully they can go and get a result in Copenhagen and throw the whole group wide open.
Nick J
“(dare I say British?
…) about the result.”
You may not…
While I am (mildly) pleased that the NI team have won and (very) pleased for their fans I can never whip up much enthusiasm when they are playing, any great pride when they win or any disappointment at all when they lose. I feel just the same about rhe RoI team.
While I can muster some interest in the fact that both are teams of Irish players playing against other national sides and I like to see them do well for that reason, I can never feel that either team represents me nor certainly not that either team represents Ireland.
When either team is playing in international competition I only feel a sense of loss that our country does not have a national team to represent it.
In any case given that I have come to expect poor advancement in any competition by either team I usually defend Ireland’s honour during pub put=downs by reminding my detractors that Ireland are the undisputed world hurling champions and have been for many centuries.
And, boy, does that really impress them or what?
Rory – if you have to defend Ireland’s honour in the pub, don’t forget to tell your detractors that Irish teams have qualified for the World Cup 6 times, twice reached the quarter-finals (and if you count 1982 three times been 90 minutes away from a World Cup semi-final). Its not a bad record.
would you lot please keep the noise down. Some of us still have very sore heads after last night
And a very admirable record too, The World’s Gone Mad, particularly for a team with such a very small catchment base. But still alas, not a team that represents my country, not a national team.
Why is it that the middle class can have an all-Ireland rugby squad but a national soccer team is taboo? Can’t have the great unwashed finding unity of purpose even in sporting matters I suppose, it might upset the necessary divisions that maintain the status quo.
Rory
You are completely overlooking who withdrew from who
That is why we are called the IFA and the ROI is goverened by the FAI
ie which came first.
Rory – if players and supporters want to come back into the fold, and re-join the original Irish Football Association then I’m sure it can be accommodated – the odd friendly played in Dublin and the anthem tweaked for the locals…
After all, this would be similar to the IRFU model.
“Goes to show what a good manager can achieve even with meagre resources – food for thought for Republic fans.”
Republic fans know this, and are incredibly pissed off that the FAI keep going for the motherfucking cheap option, every single time.
“While I can muster some interest in the fact that both are teams of Irish players playing against other national sides and I like to see them do well for that reason, I can never feel that either team represents me nor certainly not that either team represents Ireland.”
Never really understood this. I support the team that plays under my flag, stands for my anthem and has players from all over Ireland.
Good result. Shocked at how poor the Spainish were though.
The group may be a lot closer than first expected, Sweden & Denmark are sure to be lifted by the piss poor Spanish performance last night.
Came across this gem from “the punter”:
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/story.jsp?story=705377
Among other things he says:
“Northern Ireland have never scored against the Spaniards, never mind beating them in Belfast and in 16 meetings, have only one win to boast about.
That of course was in 1982 in the World Cup – the greatest result in IFA history – and Lawrie’s boys are a laughable 9-1 to repeat that this evening.
Yes, it was a similar story against England a year ago and the miracle did happen.
But lightening does not strike twice in the same place, Spain are better than England and judging by Saturday, the spirit that comes with wearing the green shirt, has vanished amongst too many players.
At 1-4, Spain are a banker in any roll-ups while those who fancy a draw, can have 7-2.
One wonders what’s the point in offering 25-1 for Northern Ireland to qualify? Even more ridiculous is 5,000-1 to win it!
No self-respecting punter would even risk a note from the Northern Bank heist.”
what!!!!?????
STILL no MOPErs complaining that there at least FOUR Gibraltar flags in the Kop.Such sectarianism/loyalist triumphalism – no nationalist would feel welcome at Windsor etc etc. Could it be that the ( much appreciated) praise from our RoI supporting friends shows that sport truly can transcend all but the most extreme of the prejudiced that plague us all?
I’m from the south but well done to the North last night, great performance and great last goal from Healy (good Cork name too).
Spain were awful but the North reminded me of the old southern Irish teams of a few years back, with their never say die attitude.
And the fans were brilliant, credit is where credit is due, no sectarian b/s either and the sea of green, fair play you bunch of paddies (jk)
Lots of my colleagues at work here in Cork were saying (half-jokingly) that we should switch allegiance and support the North for the Euros.
Well done lads.
‘But lightening does not strike twice in the same place, Spain are better than England and judging by Saturday, the spirit that comes with wearing the green shirt, has vanished amongst too many players.’
Samwise:
I disagree.
Playing for ones country does not suddenly make one a better player than one is. Sure, a team can perform better than the sum of its parts, but the fact remains that NI has a very mediocre talent pool at present.
What that means is that NI on paper is a very mediocre team. And that translates into mediocre performances against teams in that same position. Like home losses to Canada and Iceland.
The only time that this ‘spirit that comes with wearing the green shirt’ appears is when NI play the big boys, like England and Spain. Only then do NI look good, and it’s all based on playing out of their skins in order not to be humiliated.
In anything in life you should look at the full range of results and throw out the best and worst as unrepresentative freak results. If you do that with NI you end up with mediocre results. NI is a 5th rate team that produces the odd spectacularly positive result (England, Spain) and the odd spectacularly negative result (Iceland, Malta).
NI fans however look at the freak positive results and ssume that this is the true level of NI’s ablility. It isn’t. Good teams never mind great ones take care of business against inferior opposition as well as producing great results on occasion. NI don’t have the consistency to do this. Any spirit that the NI squad has is based on who they are playing, and not the simple fact of pulling on the shirt. When the opposition isn’t glamorous, NI revert to what they really are – a mediocre team.
harpo,
I don’t disagree with a word you say, I just find it unfortunate that our pundits write that the manager is on borrowed time when he is the first manager in years to achieve anything with the small resources he has at his disposal. Of course he has made tactical gaffes, and handled some situations poorly – we are all imperfect- but to write off the man who has masterminded two of our greatest ever results is lunacy – who is going to do a better job? In fact, who would want the job if that is the way a manager who beats both Spain and England is treated?
A little something for Norn Iron fans (and those of Snow Patrol) to enjoy.
http://www.puredarren.com/spain.htm
Turn it up loud and proud.
Losing against soccer lightweight Iceland and winning against soccer heavyweight Spain ? NI as usual – up and down like a whore’s knickers and in and out like the best customer .
Congrats to NI and the Healy God – from ROI – We’ll bate yiz anyway in the quarter final
Thats quality stuff realist.