Kazakhstan is a long way to go for redemption. It’s about as far away from Poznan as you can get. Still licking the wounds from the summer, Trapattoni’s Ireland are cat-hunting again but, criticised for his unwillingness to change, if perfomances don’t improve, the claws will be out.
About three weeks ago Poland’s men’s volleyball team crashed out of the Olympic Games at the quarter-final stage. Odds on for the gold medal, their failure sparked a tidal wave of criticism at home. The debate soon turned to discussion of the Irish football fans as the Polish asked why they coudn’t follow the example set by the Green Army at Euro 2012. We wonder if they’d ask the same question this week.