Spirit Of 2016 Podcast

10/09/2023

Northern Ireland team to face Kazakhstan 🇰🇿

BPF
McNair-Ballard-Evans-Hume
S. Charles
McMenamin-McCann-Saville-Kennedy
Washington

(Guessing on the formation like, but that’s what it was vs Slovenia)

Substitutes:
Hazard, Southwood, Spencer, Toal, Lane, P. Smyth, Price, Thompson, Lyons, Magennis, D. Charles, Jones.

Up the GAWA.

07/09/2023

🎧 Slovenia 4-2 Northern Ireland:

Pod 👉🏻 http://bit.ly/3Z6ml2b

07/09/2023

Slovenia this evening then. Some night this was!

19/06/2023

Not the most exciting one tonight.

Basically the fixtures of this group can be split into your free hits: Denmark home and away (although they don’t seem very top seed-y).

Your rivals: Finland and Slovenia home and away.

Your major banana skin: Kazakhstan away.

And your absolute must-wins: San Marino home and away and… Kazakhstan home.

When you go from a free hit to a must-win, it all of a sudden becomes a lot less about excitement and a lot more about fear. Fear that after tonight it might be completely done.

It’s a game where the Fins and Slovenians should have no issues, and therefore it’s a game where we need to have no issues either. The away game is a different story, but that’s September’s concern. Just win tonight.

The sort of annoying thing about this international break is that as positive a performance as Denmark was, it’s possibly the last time in the group that we’ll be able to set up like that. Similarly the approach tonight probably won’t be able to be replicated in any other game aside from San Marino at home. The away game will be so fundamentally different to this evening it will not even seem like playing the same nation.

But while games against Finland and Slovenia will be very different, we ultimately find ourselves in a position of needing to demonstrate attacking creativity at some stage of all of these games. We are going to need to beat either Finland or Slovenia away from home to have any chance here, and while we’d all take 1-0 in the 95th minute off Dion Charles’ hole, I feel a convincing and purposeful attacking performance is required to really give us some momentum going into the crucial games.

How likely that is, remains to be seen. Dion Charles is surely nailed on to start given that he’s a penalty box striker and you’d imagine a lot of the game will be played in Kazakhstan’s half. How effective are Whyte and Lavery in a game where the opposition are camped? It wouldn’t astound me to see a Taylor or a Marshall from the start, as mad as that would appear.

It would appear sensible to throw Hume into the back three and get a McNair (didn’t train yesterday) into midfield for some much needed creativity. If Conor Bradley is out, I’d be tempted to do Gavin Whyte at right wing-back. Lane may well find himself on the left.

With still no striker showing they can hit 5 in a campaign, no real creative spark in the middle of the park and potentially missing our two first choice wide players in this system; let’s hope it isn’t one of those really frustrating Baraclough-y home games.

I suspect Michael might just make sure that’s not the case.

Andy

18/06/2023

Kazakhstan and general waffle

18/06/2023

Live at 12:30. Kazakhstan and general waffle. Do join.

16/06/2023

Tonight's Northern Ireland team, thoughts? Formation?

16/06/2023

Northern Ireland team to face Denmark 🇩🇰

BPF; Evans, Brown, McNair; Bradley, A. McCann, S. Charles, Saville, Hume; Lavery, Price

Dion Charles on the bench. Wow.

16/06/2023

Finland at home was a killer result. A proper knife to the stomach.

Everyone will have felt differently about it afterwards. Optimists would point out there’s still 24 points to play for - that’s fair. Misery merchants like myself will say you need to win your homes, especially against your qualification rivals.

When we drew 0-0 at home to Bulgaria in the second game two and a half years ago, I felt qualification had become a major uphill battle. And I feel that now.

But there is a way to counteract a killer result, and that is to deliver one of your own. Finland lost 3-1 in Copenhagen. San Marino, Kazakhstan and Slovenia are getting bu**er all there. It’s an opportunity to get points where nobody else will. An opportunity to put this group right back in the balance.

3 points against Kazakhstan has us mathematically in the mix. But I feel we need to accompany it with a point tonight to have any real hope. A win tonight? Don’t be silly.

How realistic is a point tonight? Highly unlikely. Almost all of Denmark’s eleven are recognisable as playing for top clubs across Europe. Our boys probably even out at low-level Championship.

But Rotherham can go to Brighton in the FA Cup and get a replay.

There are very exciting parts of our squad too. I’m desperate to see Lavery and Dion as a two. I don’t care who you are, those two can put the sh*ts up you on the break.

The absence of Jamal is a blow because he’s basically the only left-back in the squad. But every cloud has a silver lining and a pragmatic pick like a Brown or Hume in that position could give Bradley a bit of freedom and transition quite nicely into a back four at times, giving us a threat whilst also making sure we aren’t obviously susceptible to a break ourselves.

Height is an issue and defensive set pieces are a worry as well, so another big lad chucked in at left wing-back might be worth the limitations going forward.

The old Bill Shankly quote was that you need eight piano carriers and three to play it. There weren’t many positives from Finland, but it didn’t make me doubt our boys’ ability to carry a piano. Those lads grafted all night, and there’s still plenty of fight in this team. Whether the quality is there as well is another story, and may well be a secondary story when you’re away to Denmark anyway.

Anyway, let’s see. Don’t concede early. Don’t panic if you do concede. At 1-0 you’ll always get a chance. At 2-0 it’s done.

We could all do with a positive performance after Finland, but to be completely honest I’m a bit sick of positive performances ending in narrow defeats.

Lady Luck is due on the side of the Ulster boys, and rest assured we’ll bloody need it.

Andy

14/06/2023

Denmark vs Northern Ireland - Starting XI Prediction 💚

11/06/2023

Recording the Denmark preview tonight 🇩🇰

15/04/2023

𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐈𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝-𝐔𝐩

Dion Charles became the first Bolton player to score 20 goals in a league season in 22 years after Conor Bradley’s cross was parried to Dion in the 7th minute to send Bolton 5th and in a strong position for a League One playoff.

Trai Hume bagged his first goal in English football this weekend, heading home from a corner to contribute to Sunderland’s promotion push.
Daniel Ballard, while having played a huge part in the season, remains injured while club captain Corry Evans remains injured.

With Burnley already promoted, second choice Bailey Peacock-Farrell made his second start and kept a clean sheet as Burnley drew 0-0 at struggling Reading.

George Saville, as ever, played 90 championship minutes for playoff Millwall while Paddy McNair was at centre half as Boro hammered Norwich 5-1 to strengthen their own promotion push.

Liam Coyle and Tom Flanagan both received red cards this weekend in League One. Southwood, Aaron Donnelly, Carl Johnston, Carl Wi******er and Dale Taylor all played 90 minutes in League One.

Trevor Carson saved a James Tavernier penalty in Scotland today albeit in a 5-2 defeat. Michael Smith was taken off after 5 minutes with an injury for Hearts. McMenamin got an assist for the Glens while McGinn and McGeehan also played 90. Paul Smyth got an assist while McClelland, Matty Lund and Alfie McCalmont started matches in League Two.

26/03/2023

FT: Northern Ireland 0-1 Finland 🇫🇮

Thoughts? Will read some out on the podcast.

26/03/2023

Northern Ireland team to face Finland 🇫🇮

Peacock-Farrell; Cathcart, Ballard, Brown; Bradley, McNair, S. Charles, Thompson, Lewis; Washington, D. Charles.

1 change - Thompson for Saville.

25/03/2023

🎙 NEW - Finland Preview

, , & Pete for this one!

chats to for the opposition view 🇫🇮

SoundCloud 👉🏻 bit.ly/3LT3P8Y

Apple Podcasts 👉🏻 apple.co/42QULrc

Spotify ⤵️
https://bit.ly/3lMj3ld

24/03/2023

4 years today since we first podded.

75 pods later - big thanks for all the support ✊🏻

24/03/2023

🎙 NEW - King Charles! 🟢⚪️

, & Peter Baker react to Northern Ireland’s 0-2 win in San Marino 🇸🇲

RT’s & shares appreciated 😃

SoundCloud 👉🏻 bit.ly/3lIQ9lZ

Apple Podcasts 👉🏻 apple.co/3FRwd7p

Spotify ⤵️
https://bit.ly/3Zcg17y

23/03/2023

FT: San Marino 🇸🇲 0-2 Northern Ireland

Thoughts? Will read out on podcast.

23/03/2023

King Charles 👑

23/03/2023

Northern Ireland team to face San Marino 🇸🇲

Peacock-Farrell; Cathcart, Ballard, Brown; Bradley, McNair, S. Charles, Saville, Lewis; Washington, D. Charles.

19/03/2023

🎙 San Marino vs Northern Ireland - Build-Up

is joined by & to preview an exciting new campaign!

RT’s appreciated 💚

SoundCloud 👉🏻 https://bit.ly/40nTaah

Apple Podcasts 👉🏻 https://apple.co/3LAGhW5

Spotify ⤵️
https://bit.ly/4006P7E

09/12/2022

🎧 Michael’s Coming Home 💚

SoundCloud 👉🏻 https://bit.ly/3FfiGoZ

Apple Podcasts 👉🏻 https://apple.co/3YaT4CA

Spotify ⤵️
https://spoti.fi/3W5ndRK

07/12/2022

OFFICIAL CONFIRMATION - Michael O'Neill has returned as Northern Ireland manager on a 5 and a half year deal.

“🤩 He's back! 💚”

06/12/2022

He’s coming home 💚