We’re not Brasil we’re Tuaisceart Éireann

I still prefer 'pub team'. I will just about begrudgingly use 'the North' or 'North of Ireland', never mind anything else.

irishmufc wrote: Your group is definitely tougher due to the fact you have a heavyweight that don't do failure so a playoff at best unless you finish best runner up. Despite us having the worst 6th seed (Georgia) who are certainly no 6th seed when you compare them to the other cannon fodder. (Kazakhstan excepted) , the fact we got the second best possible first seed in Wales (would've preferred Romania myself), avoided France/Italy as second seeds, I was delighted with how the group worked out as 4th seeds.

pre Madonna wrote: ... it seems the only thing he likes from the north is the North of Ireland football team. A very unusual man is Terence.

I have only a passing interest in rugby, and then only in teams which still exist:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_of_Ireland_F.C.

As for the rest, I discover something new to love about the place every day, with this being today's offering, so it is:






Edited by Territorial - 12 Apr 2017 at 11:45pm

Denis Irwin wrote: Bushmills surely ?

Denis Irwin wrote: Bushmills surely ?

I was just thinking that he must have been at the Bailey's.

Morning all. I'm naturally a pessimist and back in August 2016 actually  tipped us to finish fourth, below seeding. Now I think we'll go out in the play-offs.

irishmufc wrote: @Conormac77 Give the devil his due. That was a great win for them in a potential bananaskin and I think they're definite favourites for second place in that group.

Sorry, just seen this myself.

Anyway, maybe the 'dogsh*t' theme was a bit much but there's no denying that they've been fortunate to get a group that has given them a chance of progress and have dodged a bullet by avoiding either of the groups containing France/Holland/Sweden or Spain/Italy (as have we for that matter!)

Having said that, they do deserve credit for taking that chance offered and, at the same time, bouncing back from that disastrous WC 14 campaign when they couldn't even win home bankers against the likes of Luxembourg and Azerbaijan. Many other teams would have just crumbled after enduring a campaign like that and been content just to avoid finishing bottom of the group in subsequent campaigns.

Credit also to NI for not getting complacent after a successful Euro 2016 and kicking on in this campaign (for some reason, a certain other home nation who wear red and actually have a world class player keep springing to mind... ). Win, or even draw, in Baku in June and NI will be well set for 2nd place and a play-off (providing some predictions on here about the Poland/Montenegro/Romania/Denmark group coming up the worst runner-up prove to be true). After that, who knows...?

Edited by ConorMac77 - 30 Mar 2017 at 11:40pm

The next two games in the group may have N.I. home and hosed even if they only draw in Baku as they're going to have at least 4 points (away to San Marino next) whereas the Czechs are away to Norway and home to Germany and I cna only see 2 points at best for them. I think Norway at home (who apparently made it difficult away to the Czechs) will get a draw and Germany are favourites to beat them. I think the Czechs might get a draw though. I can't see the Czechs winning in Belfast. 

Edited by irishmufc - 30 Mar 2017 at 9:01pm