The North have made it with a game to spare

[Valiant62]

Huge achievement for the six counties making it to France 2016. It will be faitytale stuff next summer. I wonder if Michael or Ryan can sneak into the squad by then.

[JOHNNYAITCH]

Great achievement

[Paul6754]

The last time they qualified for a major tournament, the World Cup in 1958, Billy Bingham played for them and he joined the Vale from Everton (I think) in the early 60's. Brill. for the N Irish people.

[davidatpreston]

The last time they qualified for a major tournament, the World Cup in 1958, Billy Bingham played for them and he joined the Vale from Everton (I think) in the early 60's. Brill. for the N Irish people.

 

Sadly Billy Bingham was a massive letdown for the Vale, though very young at the time I remember being very excited when Vale signed Bingham and Albert Cheesbrough for £15,000 each in 1963 in a bid to get promotion. BB came from Everton, and Cheesbrough from Leicester.

Neither really fitted in well, and that was a huge amount of money then, equivalent to at least £500,000 each now.

That season Vale had a wonderful cup run,beating top flight Birmingham away 2-1 and then drawing at Anfield 0-0 with Liverpool, only losing the replay in the last minute of extra time in a legendary match which returned a crowd of 42,000.

 

Some say there were nearer 60,000 there as thousands of Liverpool fans broke the gates down and some fell through the roof of the railway stand, many thousands watched from the pitchside in scenes of hysteria. The park opposite the ground had all its trees and plants destroyed and Burslem was a battlefield I'm told.

 

However, I digress - Bingham never really shone as a player at Vale, and sadly had a terrible broken leg injury at the start of the following season as Vale lost heavily at Brentford, then fell to the bottom of the table and were relegated in a very dark period that lasted from 1964-1965 to 1969-1970.

I don't think Billy ever played again, certainly not for Vale, but became one of the greatest managers NI have ever had, and was liked and respected by nearly everyone who ever met him.

Good luck NI in the Euros, I hope Wales get there too.

[Houston Valiant]

The last time they qualified for a major tournament, the World Cup in 1958, Billy Bingham played for them and he joined the Vale from Everton (I think) in the early 60's. Brill. for the N Irish people.

 

 

They qualified for the World Cup finals in 1982, and reached the 2nd round, before being beaten by France. A win would have taken them to the semi-finals. They qualified again in 1986 but went out in the group stages.

Well done to them, and Michael O'Neill is a very good manager, who, only a few years ago , was managing Shamrock Rovers. Delighted for them.

[Paul6754]

They qualified for the World Cup finals in 1982, and reached the 2nd round, before being beaten by France. A win would have taken them to the semi-finals. They qualified again in 1986 but went out in the group stages.

Well done to them, and Michael O'Neill is a very good manager, who, only a few years ago , was managing Shamrock Rovers. Delighted for them.

 

Yep you're right, I had it in my memory that it was the Republic of Ireland in '82 and '86, Wiki says Billy Bingham was manager.

[CAVALIER]

It was ROI. O'Leary scored the winning penno in one match.

[Valiant62]

1982 victory over Spain was a classic "I remember where I was" moment. All the talk in the Spanish press was of these ferrel Irish out drinking the night before a big game. Martin O'Neill quiped that they'd send a bottle of champagne through to the Spanish dressing room when they beat them..... following which they did!!! Gerry Armstrong lost 7lb in sweat that night and putting in the cross from Billy Hamilton for the winner. Classic footie moment for me and a beautiful moment for a troubled community.