N.Ireland supporters vs Scotland supporters. NI supporters are well better - we support are team through anything unlike you boo the team Scots.
Rubbish! We have higher expectations than you and rightly so! Just because we are bad just now does not mean we should sit back and accept it! We gave Berti a good chance. He blew it.
Jackie McNamara is better than any Northern Irish player. I can't believe he gets overlooked by people so often, he's consistantly been one of Celtic's (if not the) best players in the last couple of years. Which NI player has Paul Dickov's scoring record of late? Nigel Quashie is one of the best players in a very good Portsmouth side and their captian. Gary Naysmith would walk into the NI team as would Darren Fletcher. Colin Murdock and Stephen Craigan can get games for NI, that about sums about their quality! As was said earlier, men against boys! (Although Lawrie Sanchez seems to have them playing with organisation and passion, something we only saw twice under Berti)
McNamara is a player that can be relied upon in any situation, I will give you that. David Healy has an excellent scoring record at international level, something like 15 in 38 or 39, it's a pity we were playing with zero confidence during the 12 game barren spell, but that's life. I would say Healy is a better all round player than Dickov and predict that he will lead Leeds (see what I've done there?) into the play-offs this season. Tony Capaldi might be playing at a lower level than Naysmith, but, again, I'd say he is on a par with his Scottish counter-part. In an ideal world our back-line would be [right to left] Mark Clyde or Chris Baird, Aaron Hughes, George McCartney and Tony Capaldi. All these guys have great potential and none of them are over 25, so we can look forward to a solid defensive base for years to come. Fletcher, I'm not sure about. We've got Damo Johnson who is a great player, Jeff Whitely, who can be a bit erratic but will never stop trying, and Tommy Doherty who was man of the match in our game against Spain last year and possibly the best player on the park. He's a lot better than his League One status would suggest. As I say, all we can ask is that our guys try their heart out, and they really appreciate the support we give them both home and away. If and when this game is confirmed, a NI - Scot fans match is a must. We gubbed the Welsh 8-0 recently, despite half our players being drunk or hungover.
Norn Iron, two times World Cup quarter finalists. Scotland, have never made it beyond the first round. But, oh aye, you beat England in '67 so you were World Champions for a while...
Were those the only two tournaments you've ever taken part in? The fact is, N.I are usually whipping boys in their qualifying groups. Even if we don't make it in the end, Scotland is at least almost always competitive, that (and the shitload of tournaments over the years) is why we have higher expectations.
Nah, we got to Mexico '86 as well, but couldn't be bothered creating any upsets that year. No point qualifying for a tournament if you're just going embarrass youself... Seriously though, I think it'll be a while before we hear any definite news of whether or not this game is going to take place. I sincerely hope it does, and would look forward to the Jockish army squaring up to the Green and White army in Belfast.
my abiding memories of mexico '86 are "the referee's a w**ker" chants ringing around the ground for ages as we got ripped off
Over the years N.I. have produced better players than the Scots. An all time NI eleven would wipe you guys all time eleven.
Really?! Maybe it's just my igorance of NI players(apart from Best). But look at guys like kenny Dalgliesh, Graeme Souness, Dennis Law, Alen Hansen (**************), Jimmy Johnstone, Jim Baxter, John Greig, Willie Miller, Billy Bremner, Andy Ritchie, Andy Goram, Archie Gemmil, Alex McLeish, Jim Leighton, Joe Jordan, Gordon Strachan - I could go on. Scotland have produced some incredible players over the years. There would have to be some very impressive NI players to beat an all time Scottish team.
Yeah, there's George Best.......................eh, Jimmy Nichol, oh that keeper...........does Keith Gillespie count? and eh, Arron Hughs????? LOL
that keeper!Pat Jennings,Danny Blanchflower,Sammy McIlroy,Norman Whiteside,Peter "The Great" Doherty,Martin O'Neill,Bertie Peacock,Harry Greig,Gerry Armstrong(Anaconda),Pat Rice,John McLeland,Iam McFaul,Alan Hunter.Just a few, and most of them played in the second round of World Cups!
Pat Jennings, I'll give you that one, probably better than any Scottish keeper,as far as I know. The rest are painfully average when put beside some of the great Scottish players. I don't even know who some of them are. Only an idiot would claim that N.I are a better footballing country than Scotland. Our league is strrets ahead both historically and now. Our national team have been a far better side throughout histroy (despite your couple of jammy WCs) and at the moment, who knows, it's probably pretty close.
Tell me you are joking! I think some people seem to forget just how many world class footballers Scotland has produced!
All the player redhand said where real quality players! Anyway put it this way an all Ireland all time team would most likely beat an all time Scotland team! Yes or no?
I don't even know who a couple of them are. I'm sure all of them were good players and a couple were exceptional but, as I have said, some of them would get absolutely nowhere near an all time Scotland squad, never mind team, in fact the majority would be nowhere near an all time Scotland team. As Scottish morton says.......No!
Scotland have turned down the chance to play Northern Ireland in a friendly international in February... Scotland turn down NI friendly