England and Republic of Ireland prepare for Euro 88

On the eve of the start of Euro 88, a look ahead to England and Republic of Ireland's chances from ITV's preview show - includes live interviews from managers Bobby Robson and Jack Charlton and the views of studio guests Brian Clough and Trevor Francis with Nick Owen. England were fancying their chances of success in West Germany but they would infamously lose all three group games, including to Ireland in their opening match as the Irish only narrowly missed out on a semi-final spot.

[@tombarryantik7115]

this is Gold...now Jack met them in heaven playing cards. in 88 I barely speak a word of English

[@mikecleary8307]

Brilliant. Fantastic characters from a golden era of football.

[@guitarreilly]

golden era my arse. Look at the scumbags who used to attend football games. english teams banned in europe is absolutely embarrassing. Football is far better today. Better standard better fans better everything

[@user-fy6xv6xw7n]

He was right about Ireland being eternally grateful to Gary Mackay.. Here in 2021 anyone over the age of 40 knows exactly what you are talking about when his name is mentioned.. Served Bulgaria right as they had cheated their way through a lot of the 1980s with dodgy refs.. Great to see them coming unstuck in Sofia..

[@FionanOMurchadha]

I'm under 40 and know of Gary McKays goal vs Bulgaria

[@blackguardian76th]

Excellent post again mate. Love stuff like this!

[@roryobrien4401]

"Best England side since 66"......then went out and lost every game. 🤣

[@SuperTed19021]

*WHAT ELSE IS NEW 33 YEARS ON?*

[@nicholasweaver7809]

@@SuperTed19021 At least this team had some fight in them and tried

[@mohdazmi10]

Too much expectations.

[@theodorebundy2234]

Shilton complete w⚓

[@wobblertv8083]

Dreadful tournament for England. Especially the game against USSR .Gary Lineker had hepatitis which didn't help .Defence was appaling.

[@greglyons2526]

We were without 2 world class payers in Brady and Lawrenson

[@mohdazmi10]

Yes both missed the Euro through injury. And Mark was worse. He retired prematurely.

[@wonjubhoy]

I think O'Leary missed it too.

[@davidpryle3935]

It’s often forgotten that Ireland lost excellent Liverpool left back Jim Beglin to injury early in 1987, in a league cup game against Everton. He was heavily involved in the move that led to Ireland’s equalising penalty scored by Liam Brady against Belgium in September 1986, in the euro qualifiers. This truly was Ireland’s greatest ever generation of footballers.

[@FionanOMurchadha]

12 June 1988, what a day

[@thelstanedwardsson4374]

Terry Butcher was badly missed in Euro 88. Tony Adams hadn't quite peaked at that point - so we need the experience of Butcher. Not sure why Des Walker wasn't tried out.

[@Smudgeroon74]

Yes indeed Des Walker was a very capable defender for Nottingham Forest.

[@memorywarrior8752]

Have you got the coverage of the half time conversation or the post match conversation?

[@moc7323]

There are there I’ve seen them .. Just type in Euro 88 and have a route around ... class watch

[@johnmc3862]

And Ireland did surprise!

[@chrisbayes2972]

"Derby's Mark Wright tends to make mistakes" - Later went on to star in Italia 90 and was signed for a large fee by Liverpool. Expert analysis from James Rosenthal.

[@barnbersonol]

Robbo, what a legend. Such a pity a) He was crocked in 2 world cups, b) English clubs couldn't compete in Europe during his best years (:

[@Asaint100]

Are we good enough to win it haha little did they know we`d get hammered

[@SuperTed19021]

Same thing for England football fans year after year, tourney after tourney, decade after decade.

[@theodorebundy2234]

Shilton complete 🔔 end

[@paulmcgrath3248]

Bobby a sound man

[@nigefal]

Clough slagged of Mick McCarthy in studio on the night of the match. Looked a bit silly after the match.

[@mazzgoldie9149]

How silly did cloughie and Trevor Francis feel... we can win this 😄

[@shane-irish]

Good memoryies

[@user-fy6xv6xw7n]

The England team were only marginally less embarrassing than their supporters - Ireland only marginally more impressive than theirs..

[@Asaint100]

shilton was in the 1970 squad he must have felt old by the 1990 world cup

[@xpat73]

he certainly played like it in 1990.

[@OlizerVanAntoninus]

Asaint100 He wasn't in 70 world cup squad.

[@alastairsaint9631]

Johnzoil You`re right not sure why I thought that.Wonder if he would have done better than Bonetti if he`d been second choice against West Germany!

[@OlizerVanAntoninus]

I used to think he had been in the squad. I'm sure I read it in an old book, but according to wiki it was Banks, Bonetti, Stepney. Probably would have got to semi with Shilton.

[@harryantino]

Would have gone to West Germany 74 had we qualified though so your point stands

[@chrisbayes2972]

"We don't always prat about on the ball like they do in some other countries" - Boss from Jack Charlton.

[@barnbersonol]

Lol mentions the "crisis" of losing Butcher then immediately offers four fantastic players competing for his place!

[@collen26]

John Barnes - if he was playing today he would be untouchable

[@lucasm3879]

White Tony He may not have had an outstanding career for England, but he was a fine player. He did well in Mexico '86. England played poorly as a whole in '88, in '90 he was in and out but England got to the semi. After that he had a career changing injury and missed Euro '92. If Liverpool were allowed to play in Europe in the late 80's and early 90's, he surely would have been able to show his quality on the European stage.

[@SuperTed19021]

Back in an *different* age. Also must remember (off tangent), despite England getting *nearly* to a final, Italia 90 as a whole was overrated and poor. Only West Germany, England and hosts Italy were the best teams. Aside from a Brazil in translation, an *beyond* declined Argentina (who *miraculously* made the final), an typically ultra-talented Holland which self-destructed before landing in Italy, and an impressive ROI relishing their first WC, there was not much to go on. In all there, England only beaten Egypt, both Belgium and Cameroon (both also in extra time) and then bottled it in a well-fought but evenly-matched West German team. At least *however* Lineker turned up, which is more than *any* other English international striker since Alan Shearer.

[@johnmc3862]

Meh, he was good but he wasn’t good in every game. He went missing in games.

[@hikernob1213]

@@SuperTed19021 "bottled it" is abit harsh. Germany's goal was a fluke and had England's late shot gone in off the post then who knows. Apart from 2010 and 1970, England's matches in 90 and 96 were lost through bad luck as they were more talented than the Germans. Over 90 minutes England have played Germany 6 times in major competition, lost 2, won 2 and the others were a draw in the 90 minutes. Also your comment about Linekar being the only striker since Shearer to be most prominent at major tournaments is abit harsh on Harry Kane who helped take England closer to a trophy than both of them put together.

[@markc3258]

In fairness England had a crackin side .. Ireland game knocked them to the core .. never recovered .

[@lucasm3879]

Bryan Robson, Lineker, Barnes, Waddle and Beardsley in the team - didn't they play poorly in this tournament though? I was only 5 in '88 so it was before my time.

[@jamesconnolly7410]

Holland who they played in the group won the tournament. Soviet union reached the final who a craic team too. World cup 90 and euro 92 did better with more experienced teams.

[@lucasm3879]

@@jamesconnolly7410 Thanks, they were shite at Euro '92 though! Think they scored once in three games!

[@kailashpatel1706]

They did not poorly, the results don't tell the story...they played Ireland off the pitch, made half dozen chances which were wasted by an ill Lineker who had hepatitis..Butcher was injured that hit the defence...in the Holland game they were 1;1 after 70 mins in a knife edge match with Lineker and Hoddle hitting the post before Van Basten scored the opening goal..(a great Dutch side) and the Soviet game did not matter anyway

[@greglyons2526]

@@kailashpatel1706 they didnt have half a dozen chances.3 or 4 maybe.Ireland scored 1 and had 2 other chances.Before the game nobody was talking about Linekers so called illness,on the contrary they were talking him up to no end,only afterwards did the excuses come.ROI were missing 3 world class players in Brady Lawrenson and Beglin,the Latter 2 were Liverpool stalwarts who had won the lot.Liam Brady was one of the most cultured players in Europe at the time and had won 2 seria a titles with Juventus.Those three probably had more medals than most of the England team at the time.It was no shame to be beaten by that Irish side as they had champions all over the place.Whelan Houghton Aldridge Sheedy,O Leary,Moran,Mgrath who went on to win the first division player of the year two years later and help get Ireland to get the qf of the world cup.A fantastic side full of power and ability,just check out the great Ronnie whelans goal in ROIs next game against the USSR.One of the best goals I have ever seen,from one of the best players in the world at the time,and soon to be Liverpool captain.People look at the size of Ireland but forget to count the medals our players had in their possession,it was the latter that counted,a lesson that was not learned in the last wc against that little country Croatia...with several champions league winners.In future forget about how big the population of the country is and check on the titles that their players have won.

[@kailashpatel1706]

@@greglyons2526 I recall Ireland being outplayed for almost the whole match, 3 or 4 is a lot in a international context really. i don't underestimate Ireland at all...

[@SuperVinceybaby]

Dorigo was underrated....good at Chelsea

[@leecoulson4224]

That Aussie accent though, should have come back to play for us!

[@chrisbayes2972]

Good free kick taker from memory.

[@markcheung1974]

England was very confident before the start of this tournament

[@09weenic]

They always are 😂

[@markcheung1974]

@@09weenic I guess when they're not, they played better

[@SuperTed19021]

*How much has changed in 33 years, mate?* PS: this is coming from an Englishman.

[@johnmc3862]

As usual! 😂

[@thomasnolan4792]

A young Bobby....be god!!

[@mrkipling2201]

Bet England don’t travel on monarch airways now!! Surprised they did then and not British airways!!

[@shockmeoff5505]

England got battered as usual and the fans ran riot 😂

[@tmckboston417]

🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪☘️☘️☘️!!!👍💪✌️

[@chrisfallon9678]

How Irish do you feel ? Come on ! That was a ridiculous question!!

[@markc3258]

If you said that today You’d be sacked .

[@waynegrow4141]

That interviewer is a prat.

[@brody5211]

Then beaten by ROI

[@greglyons2526]

And we were missing Brady,Lawrenson and Beglin.Count the medals there.Pity we didnt have our strongest side during the tournament as we might have done better,unlucky against the Dutch as we went out to an offside goal.

[@johnmc3862]

@@greglyons2526 We had more or less our strongest in Jacks preferred style. Brady didn’t fit into that. Unlucky against The Dutch for sure.

[@adamw2911]

What a funny old tournament that was for England. Battered Ireland but lost 1-0. Lived with the Dutch but lost 3-1. I think the main difference here was Van Basten was on fire....Lineker was suffering with a long term illness. When England played the USSR they were already out and played like a team that wanted to go home. That was a really decent England side which just had a mare of a tournament.

[@greglyons2526]

You didnt batter Ireland.Whelan hit the crossbar and Aldridge came close.We dropped back early after we scored as you would expect.Ireland were missing Mark Lawrenson Jim Beglin and Liam Brady,count the medals anong those three.Very unlucky not to get to the semis.Eng picked it up following tournament.

[@roryobrien4401]

@@greglyons2526 and that fantastic England team did us no favours either

[@roryobrien4401]

Funny old tournament? What shite is this? English phlegm? You were a disgrace, amazing Robson kept his job

[@adamw2911]

@UCgt6Lsug36mKrZigHLq7cnw Agreed. The hype machine was relentless back then. It was the same old story. Overdone build up, players being picked in spite of being injured, underachievement. The same old reaction post tournament. Players are 'tired' etc. Yet they all go straight back into pre season training with their club sides and are world beaters again.

[@SuperTed19021]

A bit of misfortune in an 8-team tournament losing to the eventual winners, but it was same in-between (1986: Argentina ; 1990: West Germany). I can understand losing to a Holland side boasting Gullit, Rijkaard, the Koemans and Van Basten at their peaks, but they *still* should have got a result against either/both ROI and USSR with the talent at their disposal. Again, it was just typical Euro tourney for England, all hype and hope, no end product, wherever the excuses were English teams banned from Europe, injuries, possession, etc, etc. Aside from maybe Euro 96 (which was at home) our record at European Championship has so far been *abysmal!* You could ever say so far that Wales has achieved more at the EC (2016) then England so far have in the *whole* history of the tournament.

[@waynegrow4141]

Most of those on here are now dead, most recently Trevor Francis.

[@nikreece6295]

So yet still england's barmy army making the headlines instead of the team

[@paulmcgrath3248]

Top bull

[@09weenic]

9:40 - Clough talking crap

[@roryobrien4401]

" I fully expect England to win....and young Webby is due a goal".......🤯

[@SuperTed19021]

Nothing changed from that night in November 1973 with him, did it? By the way, I am an Englishman who desperately wants the England football team to well and defo believes that Brian Clough would have been the best England manager ever! Same nearly would have gone for Harry Redknapp.

[@SuperTed19021]

@@roryobrien4401 *Pffffttttt!*

[@wobblertv8083]

1_0 Ireland then !

[@shanemcnamara5224]

Bet Cloughie hated hearing Don Revie's name!!

[@bigswig7187]

Did England go all the way ?

[@hudson7354]

Of course they did 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 The muppets

[@tearitloosetearitloose4670]

Ireland won a game we should have lost (England). Drew a game we should have won (Russia) and lost a game we should have drawn (Holland).

[@roryobrien4401]

And England, lest you forget, did the ROI no favours.

[@user-fy6xv6xw7n]

@@roryobrien4401 England never did Ireland any favours.. In football or anything else..

[@marian1634]

The talent England had...

[@seanbonella]

still lost to us hahahahahaha

[@paulmcgrath3248]

We won

[@seanbonella]

you never beat the Irish...ask England under Jack Charlton

[@user-mk2fz8mv8e]

Getting off to a good start is over rated. it's ok to lose the first game. And the second one too.... Mabees like

[@hudson7354]

Did you win pingerland? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 No you didn’t of course 😂😂😂😂

[@michaelmuldowney8]

England were complete shite at Euro 88 ... zero points, conceded 7 goals.

[@SuperTed19021]

Worst to come. Getting knock out of the Euros by Iceland 28 years later ..... *Hmmmm!*