Judgement Night in Dublin!

Don't play this down. There's a lot more at stake tonight than qualification for Germany 2006. If we don't get a play off spot tonight (and we need a win Mister Kerr, none of your famous draws will do tonight), we are being relegated to the doldrums. We become an also ran in FIFA's eyes and our seeding position for tournaments going forward drop a level, making it harder and harder to realise our ambitions for God knows how long.

A word of warning! Look at Northern Ireland. In 1982 and 1986 they qualified for two world cups, but successive failures immediately afterwards means they are ranked alongside Cyprus (who we barely beat last weekend) and Malta. Their groups have been tougher than tough since the 90's and now they are talked of in nostalgia terms only.

There but for the grace of God go...

"Completely out of sorts without the talismanic Roy Keane". How often have we heard that? Switzerland came from behind against France to earn a 1-1 draw on Saturday. They look like we did 4 years ago, but now we are "completely out of sorts wi..."

Compounding the scale of the task is also the injury to Damien Duff, add to this the dire loss of form of Tottenham's Robbie Keane, and the 9 journeymen who make up the numbers and we're in deep shit.

We're gonna need a heluva lot more than the famous Lansdowne roar to stem a confident Swiss team tonight.

I fear the worst, but then again, I always do...