Bulgaria V Republic of Ireland - Friday, 6th June 2009 - World Cup 2010 Q

[youngirish]

Thought the defence were solid with the exception of Kilbane as usual who is the obvious weak link when McShane is absent. If Finnan gets himself fit next season how would people feel about a defence of Finnan, Dunne, St Ledger and O'Shea playing on the left?

Thought the midfield was pretty poor all round. Other than Duff who let's face it is in the twilight of his career we have absolutely no quality in that department at the moment. Trap's priority should now be to sort out the midfield in the same way he's worked miracles with the shambles of the defence we were used to under Staunton. We need McCann, Gibson or McCarthy to come through next season before the World Cup (if we qualify) and we need to ditch Andrews and Whelan. They are not good enough for this level imo and that's not based on just last nights performance. I generally think they've been a weak link throughout though I believe Andrews has more to offer than Whelan and has put in a couple of decent performances.

We also need to give Lawrence another run out in a friendly. I just don't rate Hunt or McGeady. Doran or Judge for Blackburn could become viable options next season to fill one of the wide positions.

I didn't think Folan was as impressive as some people on here though for the first 30 minutes he did make a nuisance of himself. Other than throwing himself about he has little to offer. I'd still start with Doyle and Keane until a better alternative becomes available.

Anyway to sum up a decent result against a terrible Bulgarian side.

[NeilMcD]

Just woken here in Sofia. Down in the lobby in the sveta with the hottest bar girl, ever.I like her new haristyle today too. Nervous as hell in the second half last night as we never kept the ball. Dunne was immense again and St Ledger really stepped up to the plate. Folan was very good for about 70 mins and is a good back up for Doyle at the moment. A real option to have. Do not think he will make a career much as a club player but could be one of those guys that international football suits as the Bulgarians did not know how to handle him. Duff had his best period in an Ireland jersey for a long time in the first 60 mins. Best and McGeady did not do much whenthey came on other than the effort that hit the post. Robbie was off the pace tonight and usually works well with a target man. I hear he may have had a knock but certainly was not himself. All in all delighted that we are unbeaten after 4 away games. I think youngirishs back four has a very solid look about it.

Great weather, great beer and cheap as hell now for the tourist bits today:)

[KR's Post]

Maybe i'm wrong but i don't think the top team in that 2nd placed table(France) have played there bottom team,(Faroes), so that'll be two games they play and they will still stay on same points, and we have played our bottom team twice. So we'll have 2 games in hand on France aswell to make up 3 points. Montenegro could still finish bottom mind you, although highly unlikely! Doesn't matter anyway. Scotland are cast iron to finish bottom! Scotland on 7 points at moment. They play Norway away, Macedonia home and Holland home. Realistically they could get 9 points, but more likely 6.

[NeilMcD]

Do no always agree with youngirish and I am a Bohs fan but I agree with stutts and Sheridan here. Surely Sheridan can be seen as a windup meerchant here. I do not go on to the Rovers forum.

[Gather round]

And 3 of those would be taken away as Macedonia and Norway are one of the teams that'll finish bottom! So in the 2nd placed table i think the most Scotland will get is 10 points! Also, it would be criminal to miss out. That table shows we're the only team in it not to lose so far

No- whoever finishes second in the Netherlands group keeps ALL their points in the play-off calculation, as there are only five teams in the group. Your records are basically the same- seven points from five matches (same as NI's too).

[geysir]

Best and McGeady did not do much whenthey came on other than the effort that hit the post
Considering the flow of the game when McGeady came on, he settled into his role quite well and created our only chance in the 2nd half. We had not enough shape about our team then to make more use of him, but he looked to be on his game.


Folan was very good for about 70 mins and is a good back up for Doyle at the moment. A real option to have.As it stands now, Doyle is the man and Foley - a real effective option from the bench.


Robbie was off the pace tonight and usually works well with a target man. I hear he may have had a knock but certainly was not himself. They said his foot was was in a much more banjaxed way than what was reported and in other circumstances would not/should not have played.

[zenokelly]

No- whoever finishes second in the Netherlands group keeps ALL their points in the play-off calculation, as there are only five teams in the group. Your records are basically the same- seven points from five matches (same as NI's too).

He had taken that into consideration...

[mypost]

Oh, by the way, we are 8th out of 9 second place teams so we still have a whole lot to do to even make the play offs.

In the whole scheme of things, we haven't had ANY result of note other than a 1-1 against a 10 man Italy. That realism.

We have had 7 results of note, including this one. Nobody goes to Bulgaria or Italy, and beats them up.

It doesn't matter how we get the results, as long as we get them. If that means sitting back for eon, so be it. The result against Bulgaria at home was disappointing, but we've cancelled out the damage from it, with last night's result.

We have put ourselves in a very solid position, and the whingers can't be helped.

Next up, Australia in Limerick in August.

[FarBeag]

Great result. I am so glad that St Ledger has finally got his chance and taken it with flying colours. Lucky Preston got to the playoffs because if not he would not have being there last night. He and the unbelievable Dunne were immense . O’ Shea is finally living up to the talent he always had . We are fine in the backline apart from the left and unless we sort it out soon it will be our downfall.

It would be great if finnan was back for the Cyprus game and move O’ Shea to the left.

Midfield is still a big problem. I would stick with Andrews for now but we have to find someone to fill in for Whelan. Both of these guys should not be on the same pitch imo, not sure if Lawrence can play there but we need to get Garvan, McCann or McCarthy into the squad and see how they do.

If we could sort these problems we could top the group

[Stuttgart88]

McGeadys effort - created it himself and was just a whisker outside the post but in all honesty I wasnt surprised, I see it week in week out at Celtic Park. His shooting leaves a lot to be desired and he regularly skies his shots/gets them off target. Once he made the space, he really had all the goal to aim for (from memory). Not trying to be overly critical but those opportunities, if taken, could mean the difference between qualifiying and not (Bulgaria at home, and Montengro away I think he had a similar chance in each game) - he needs to improve his shooting!!!!!

I think he chose the wrong side last night - if he'd gone across the keeper I think there was more goal to hit. It looked to me like the keeper had it covered anyway.

Similarly he made the wrong decision in Montenegro.

I think his effort in Dublin lacked conviction.

I think his shooting is what makes him still a way to go before he can even be thought of as Joe Cole like player. That's one area where Joe Cole really upped his game.

[Mcgeady46]

excellent result. Dunne was superb 10/10 made st ledger look better than he was.
cant see what all the fuss is about with that fella and he was party at fault for the goal- although he is better than Mcshame but not O'dea IMO

[Mcgeady46]

I think he chose the wrong side last night - if he'd gone across the keeper I think there was more goal to hit. It looked to me like the keeper had it covered anyway.

Similarly he made the wrong decision in Montenegro.

I think his effort in Dublin lacked conviction.

I think his shooting is what makes him still a way to go before he can even be thought of as Joe Cole like player. That's one area where Joe Cole really upped his game.

his decision making can be poor, it is the weakest part of his game. obviously I have nailed my colours to the mast with my username as a huge fan of mcgeady.

his shooting is bad when like last night he just swiped at it! didn't realy give it enuf thought. similarly with his crosses just swings it in anywhere. when he trys to pick out a man he does quite well.

[Manblue]

Considering the flow of the game when McGeady came on, he settled into his role quite well and created our only chance in the 2nd half. We had not enough shape about our team then to make more use of him, but he looked to be on his game.

As it stands now, Doyle is the man and Foley - a real effective option from the bench.

They said his foot was was in a much more banjaxed way than what was reported and in other circumstances would not/should not have played.

Obviously geysir i stand to be corrected by future team selections but i will be shocked if Mcgeedy starts against Italy, or other qualifiers for that matter, i honestly dont know how you can talk about shape ect when it was he who took us out of shape, he may have nearly won it but his positioning is one of the worst ive ever seen, he was getting exploited big time on the left and that is a major problem from traps point of view. Poor decision to bring him on in my opinion but shows lack of options we have.

[KR's Post]

No- whoever finishes second in the Netherlands group keeps ALL their points in the play-off calculation, as there are only five teams in the group. Your records are basically the same- seven points from five matches (same as NI's too).

noticed how thick i was about 5 mins after posting!

[elroy]

Just re-watched a good bit of the game again this morning. Just a few extra things not mentioned already:

The amount of time Whelan had his back turned to the ball when Bulgaria were advancing was unreal, rather than closing the attackers down, Trap seems to have enstilled a tactic of marking the forwards rather than closing down the man on the ball. The longer the game went on, Andrews and Whelan essentially played like two centre defenders in front of Dunne and Ledger. Personally I would like to see us put more effort putting pressure on the first ball in as opposed to marking the targets. Cant fault the work rate of them however.

Andrews was much better with his distribution of the ball but it was a bit of a concern how many times in the second half in particular we hoofed to ball to no one. Our greatest success with long balls was to Folan in the first half (when he had support) or long to either corner.

Folan played very well in the first half and is a genuine alternative up front. Would anyone else feel that Folan and Keane up front with Doyler on the right might be the best way to utilise each of their strengths.

Duffer still in my opinion is our best player with the ball at his feet, much better than McGeady and Hunt.

Not Keanes greatest game, think he was carrying an injury along with a few others. He didnt get a huge amount to work off plus it was a very marginal decision for offside when he was clear on the keeper in the first half.

On the ref, i think he was fair and thank god didnt not get carried along by the hostile crowd. Does anyone else feel that Trap may be a big factor in this?? Trap is an influential figure in World football and would command alot more respect and influence than say a novice like Stan. Less likely to get a ref giving homer decisions against us.

With a fit Steven Reid and a solid left back this team can go places.

Looking at the table at the fixtures ahead, even if we win our next three games, i still think we'd finish a point off Italy. Next up, Cyprus and revenge!!!

[Delbertt]

Maybe i'm wrong but i don't think the top team in that 2nd placed table(France) have played there bottom team,(Faroes), so that'll be two games they play and they will still stay on same points, and we have played our bottom team twice. So we'll have 2 games in hand on France aswell to make up 3 points. Montenegro could still finish bottom mind you, although highly unlikely! Doesn't matter anyway. Scotland are cast iron to finish bottom! Scotland on 7 points at moment. They play Norway away, Macedonia home and Holland home. Realistically they could get 9 points, but more likely 6.

We dont have two games in hand on France take away the faroes they still have three games to play like ourselfs, agree about scotlands group think they will miss out

[geysir]

i will be shocked if Mcgeedy starts against Italy, or other qualifiers for that matter, i honestly dont know how you can talk about shape ect when it was he who took us out of shape,
We did not have any shape in the 20 minutes before McGeady came on, except defend, lump it and lose it.
Whelan and Andrews stuck to hanging around the D. Duff was pinned back to our half Any high ball lumped up and won by Folan, there was nobody from midfield there to support. There was a 30 to 40 m gap to where Whelan and Andrews were policing.
That is not a shape.
I was quite happy with Hunt's effect in the first half, anybody can see how cynical the Bulgarians can get on their home turf, he was the right man for the job. Even a class player like Brady would endorse that selection and role 200%
Lawrence has not shown anything to be considered even as a sub.

[carloz]

I'm sorry to **** on everyone's parade, but I can't see us beating another 2nd placed team over 2 legs. People are assuming that 2nd place is our ticket to SA. Far from the case, and we need no reminder about our poor record in playoff matches.

Well lets just assume that we did finish second and all the groups remained as they are now. What in gods name do we have to worry about if we got drawn against Hungary, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Bosnia or Scotland. If we got any of them in a playoff we really should fancy our chances. If we can't beat any of them then we really don't deserve to get to South Africa. Some Irish fans are so pessimistic. We do need luck in the draw if we manage to finish second, and if we get that then we should qualify. However i can see us getting Turkey, Russia or France:(

[stojkovic]

Well said Carloz.

Only Russia and France would worry me in a play-off.

[geysir]

Worry would be an understatement.
Against much of the rest of possibles, I'd bank on Trap to get us (painfully) through the 2 legs.

[third policeman]

But we're on the up, and the Dunne-St. Ledger partnership is here to stay. Which allows for Foley to come in at RB, O'Shea to move to LB, and Kilbane to be allowed a dignified, gradual exit from the team he's served so manfully. Lets hope Steven Reid will be okay for September.

Totally agree that Sledge / dunne partnership is the future with Josh at LB. Always liked Foley, but I wouldn't be surprised if Andrews plays at RB for Blackburn next season, especially if Reid is back, and there is always Stephen Carr..........................

[donalmcdonagh]

All in all we must be happy, I agree with the majority of the postings so far.
Great result last night, performance was excellant for one third of the game, for the rest is was dogged.

Our problem is defence, if you think back, 4 of the goals we have conceded have been defensive errors (Kelly V Georgia, McShane V Italy, Kilbane V Bulgaria & Kilbane V Bulgaria) and maybe these have contributed to us going into our shell a bit. So basically we still need to finalise our defensive make, having said that we have defended excellently at time.

And this brings me to the point about Whelan and Andrews, if we take these out we will be much more open to being played through. AT the moment we are so hard to play through, I dont think anybody has played through us to score yet??? I am not the biggest fan of the CM style of play (negative & defensive) but it is very effective. Maybe they will progress over time.
I said before that this team is building and I still believe that, we do not have a settled team , many positions are up for grabs and to be in second place in our group whilst building our a team is a great achievment for Trap, the staff and the team. I think the only way is up for us, we are learning.


Word on the Robbie Keane critics...he is the groups top scorer!!!

I agree with all who said the ref was excellent last night, really impressed and happy to see sane refs still exist.

Roll on september with a fully fit, on form squad (fat chance); and team as follows for Cyprus
Given
Finnan Dunne O Shea Kilbane
McGeady S Reid Whelan Duff
Doyle Keane
Squad: Keily, Kelly, St Ledger, Foley, S Hunt, Folan, Gibson, Andrews, Long

[irishultra]

Actually just thinking about our right back situation, a rejuvinated Carr, Stephen Kelly, Kevin Foley and Steve Finnan(don't know if he'll stay with espanyol, they were relegated right? He will probably move to the English League) so that is 4 right backs playing in a top tier European league. Pretty good :)

Whelan, Fahey, Andrews(? i reckon he'll be sold) Carsley, Gibson, McCann all playing in the Premier League as well.

[eirebhoy]

Roll on september with a fully fit, on form squad (fat chance); and team as follows for Cyprus
Given
Finnan Dunne O Shea Kilbane
McGeady S Reid Whelan Duff
Doyle Keane
Squad: Keily, Kelly, St Ledger, Foley, S Hunt, Folan, Gibson, Andrews, Long
Finnan and O'Shea at full back for me. People have been saying a player getting caught out at full back isn't as critical as a centre half getting caught out. But as you said yourself, pretty much all our goals have come from the full back positions. Bulgaria clearly targetted Kilbane last night.

[Manblue]

,
We did not have any shape in the 20 minutes before McGeady came on, except defend, lump it and lose it.
Whelan and Andrews stuck to hanging around the D. Duff was pinned back to our half Any high ball lumped up and won by Folan, there was nobody from midfield there to support. There was a 30 to 40 m gap to where Whelan and Andrews were policing.
That is not a shape.
I was quite happy with Hunt's effect in the first half, anybody can see how cynical the Bulgarians can get on their home turf, he was the right man for the job. Even a class player like Brady would endorse that selection and role 200%
Lawrence has not shown anything to be considered even as a sub.

Exactly what youv said there was our shape, watch it again, midfield and defence were moving as a unit until his introduction, shape isnt about attacking or defending its about the overall game plan, which was to defend and it worked, if anything the shape was to rigid

[geysir]

Kelly looked decent enough when he came on. In the absence of Finnan, he is the next choice at RB, as long as he gets his game time with his club.

[SkStu]

yeah YI, my inebriated state last night led to me posting that. I just read it totally wrong and dont even remember posting it.

[tetsujin1979]

Given: No chance with the goal, only had one other shot to save

O'Shea: Kept Petrov's influence on the game to a minimum. Looked calm in possession even under pressure

Dunne: Quite possibly the best performance from Dunne since single handedly keeping Liverpool at bay more than a year ago

St. Ledger: Leapfrogged McShane and Bruce in the two games. Might not start every game, but is first back up at centre hald

Kilbane: Was clearly targetted for the majority of the game. Got sucked into the middle when their right winger was stuck to the touchline and needed marking. Possibly could have done with more cover from Hunt/McGeady

Duff: Great first half. Didn't work a tiring Kishishev enough in the second half, but wasn't given the ball to do it either

Whelan: Not sure if he was anonymous or was too busy stopping their midfield from getting forward to get on the ball

Andrews: Worked very hard, and covered at right full until Kelly came on. Was unlucky not to score with a long shot in the first half

Hunt: Great free kick for the goal, but not enough else from the winger

Keane: Could have taken the shot on the turn down before shooting, instead he got right under it. Was clearly not 100% and wasn't surprised to see him substituted

Folan: Along with Dunne, one of the better performers on the night. Won the ball in the air, and held it up well. Rightly complained to Keane that he wasn't available for the knockdown

Subs:

Kelly: Performed well, considering his lack of game time recently

McGeady: The long ball tactics we were playing at the time clearly didn't suit the diminutive winger, but he nearly scored with the one real chance he had

Best: The large and large partnership was surprising, but made more sense with the amount of long balls coming from defence

If you had offered me a 1-1 draw at 5, I would have taken it. Having said that, the game was there for the taking in the first 20 minutes. Once again, we retreated after going ahead. I felt we learned a lot from the first game, but still didn't deny Stilian Petrov time on the ball enough. St Ledger and Folan have definitely emerged as squad players over the last few games, but we're still lacking a strong central midfielder and left full.
A point gained, and more importantly two points denied to Bulgaria, keeps second spot in our own hands. With two winnable games away to a fading Cyprus and home to Montenegro the real question is where the team is going to finish in the second placed teams table.
Reviewing the goals we've conceded recently, it seems that we're concededing due to mistakes we've made more than the opposition creating chances. While Trapattoni has improved the defence, and the organisation of the team in general, these mistakes still need to be removed.

[Manc Irish Wolf]

Great result and encouraging performance yesterday. Shows the benefit of Old Trap having the players at his disposal for a week as the players seemed well drilled from the start. Ended up watching it in O'Sheas here in The Republic of Mancunia and had to doubletake when I walked up to the bar next to Darron Gibson - Reckons he staying at United and spends a bit too much time texting during the match - but seemed like a nice lad and did give a massive cry of delight at the goal (dare say I would if it increased my chances of playing in a World Cup too).

Thought Dunne and St Ledger were immense - the beginning of a great partnership - both are leaders, talkers and can play the lead or sweeping defender. I know that Foley didn't acquit himself as well as he could against Nigeria, but with a year's experience in the top flight - I reckon we'll be sorted for the finals with him or Kelly on the right and O'Shea on the left (Killer needs to call it a day - great servant and always gives his all but is sadly going to be remembered for the wrong reasons at this rate).

Thought Folan was quality as well - didn't realise what a big old unit he was - he'd be a handful against any defence and surprised he didn't get more games at Hull. Has quite a good touch for a Big Man - took one high ball down instantly in the first half. As mentioned before, not sure he's as prolific as needed, but with him, Dunne, St Ledger and O'Shea we are a threat from Set Pieces.

Bit worried by the lack of availability showed by the midfield. Worked hard defensively but seemed to be passengers, especially in the 2nd half. We are desperate for a box to box midfielder - need someone to demand the ball in there as the game just bypassed them with the long balls to Folan and the wings. Basically, we need Steven Reid - hope to God this is the last of his injuries. Hope McCarthy can get a year of Premier League football next year also (preferably with Wolves) - could be the difference between a good world cup and a great world cup if we get there.

Looking good for the future though.

[geysir]

Good work Tets, considering how drunk you were last night :)

You're right, Keane wasn't himself last night and the partnership did not click. Robbie was nowhere close to the sharpness he displayed in Bari.

What did you make of the chance he had from the knockdown in the first half?

I think there are games where Robbie would have buried it.

[The Fly]

Great result and encouraging performance yesterday. Shows the benefit of Old Trap having the players at his disposal for a week as the players seemed well drilled from the start. Ended up watching it in O'Sheas here in The Republic of Mancunia and had to doubletake when I walked up to the bar next to Darron Gibson - Reckons he staying at United and spends a bit too much time texting during the match - but seemed like a nice lad and did give a massive cry of delight at the goal (dare say I would if it increased my chances of playing in a World Cup too).


Did you ask if he was transfer listed? ;)

[Junior]

What did you make of the chance he had from the knockdown in the first half?

I think there are games where Robbie would have buried it.

I've not seen it again so could be way off the mark here but was it a bit similar to Rooneys goal earlier in the day? Rooneys technique was superb to re-adjust his feet and return the high ball back in to the net with his right boot, back to goal.

[Stuttgart88]

Rooney's technique was superb alright but the ball wasn't running away from him as it was for Robbie. Robbie reacted a fraction late I think and failed to connect, that's all.

[corkboy360]

My dad said there was a load of casuals there who went to the game to stare and shout at the Irish.He said none of em saw much of the game.

[carloz]

Actually just thinking about our right back situation, a rejuvinated Carr, Stephen Kelly, Kevin Foley and Steve Finnan(don't know if he'll stay with espanyol, they were relegated right? He will probably move to the English League) so that is 4 right backs playing in a top tier European league. Pretty good :)

Whelan, Fahey, Andrews(? i reckon he'll be sold) Carsley, Gibson, McCann all playing in the Premier League as well.

Espanyol weren't relegated. They went on an amazing run in the last few weeks and actually finished in the top half. Finnan didn't play in any of the games though

[elroy]

:)Good news for the Cyprus game, Konstantinou (we all remember him, scored twice in the away game last time) and Makrides both got booked on sat and are out of our game!!!

[tetsujin1979]

good news indeed!
Milanov is suspended for Bulgaria's trip to Italy as well after being booked in saturday's game

[magnumpi]

My dad said there was a load of casuals there who went to the game to stare and shout at the Irish.He said none of em saw much of the game.

there was a real scumbag element to their fans. i was told more than once to "f**k off" before the game - once at 11:00am.

only a few of the locals were up for any banter, most i think are used to football fans being hooligans so didn't want to engage.


to comment on a point raised earlier in the thread, Steven Reid is definitely coming back to the Ireland squad.

[geysir]

good news indeed!
Milanov is suspended for Bulgaria's trip to Italy as well after being booked in saturday's game That weakens Bulgaria.
Bulgaria grabbing a point in Italy would be a godsend - if they did, it doesn't change anything for us except to leave an interesting tie in Croke Park.

[Den Perry]

If we win next 3 games we'll win group I reckon.

I'd love it for obvious reasons but also to promote football back above egg chasing as the sport of the moment! How on earth can Free State Cheethas vs a Lions non-test XV with some Irish in it even come close to Bulgaria vs Ireland as a sporting conversation piece this weekend?


Brilliant point about the Lions and all that

[Den Perry]

All in all we must be happy, I agree with the majority of the postings so far.
Great result last night, performance was excellant for one third of the game, for the rest is was dogged.

Our problem is defence, if you think back, 4 of the goals we have conceded have been defensive errors (Kelly V Georgia, McShane V Italy, Kilbane V Bulgaria & Kilbane V Bulgaria) and maybe these have contributed to us going into our shell a bit. So basically we still need to finalise our defensive make, having said that we have defended excellently at time.

And this brings me to the point about Whelan and Andrews, if we take these out we will be much more open to being played through. AT the moment we are so hard to play through, I dont think anybody has played through us to score yet??? I am not the biggest fan of the CM style of play (negative & defensive) but it is very effective. Maybe they will progress over time.
I said before that this team is building and I still believe that, we do not have a settled team , many positions are up for grabs and to be in second place in our group whilst building our a team is a great achievment for Trap, the staff and the team. I think the only way is up for us, we are learning.


Word on the Robbie Keane critics...he is the groups top scorer!!!

I agree with all who said the ref was excellent last night, really impressed and happy to see sane refs still exist.

Roll on september with a fully fit, on form squad (fat chance); and team as follows for Cyprus
Given
Finnan Dunne O Shea Kilbane
McGeady S Reid Whelan Duff
Doyle Keane
Squad: Keily, Kelly, St Ledger, Foley, S Hunt, Folan, Gibson, Andrews, Long


No, Kilbane has to go. I like no player more than him, but he has had a terrible campaign.

[Den Perry]

there was a real scumbag element to their fans. i was told more than once to "f**k off" before the game - once at 11:00am.

only a few of the locals were up for any banter, most i think are used to football fans being hooligans so didn't want to engage.


to comment on a point raised earlier in the thread, Steven Reid is definitely coming back to the Ireland squad.


Did the boo our national anthem?

Makes me laugh, that despite the alleged intimidation from the home fans, next time the play here they'll be treated with open arms,same thing should happen them. Rem Turkey a number of years ago.?...and no bloody repercussions for them

[tetsujin1979]

RTE's post match web analysis here: http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2009/0606/worldcupextra_av.html

[dr_peepee]

I think he chose the wrong side last night - if he'd gone across the keeper I think there was more goal to hit. It looked to me like the keeper had it covered anyway.

Similarly he made the wrong decision in Montenegro.

I think his effort in Dublin lacked conviction.

I think his shooting is what makes him still a way to go before he can even be thought of as Joe Cole like player. That's one area where Joe Cole really upped his game.


Coaching.. I remember reading an interview with Duff and how he felt when Dean Saunders came in a Blackburn he worked specifically with him on shooting and improved big time (Though Mourinho scared it out of him again when he went to Chelsea)

[dr_peepee]

I agree with most of the ratings posted, so wont duplicate.

Folan - Is really really impressing me. What has he got about 4 caps? He always makes an nuisance of himself and with no little amount of skill and control and use of a footballing brain. Dont get me wrong he's no Sheringham but I really like what im seeing (Great burst of pace as well in the last few minutes just over ran it in the box - not bad after the shift he had put in)- its a pity Robbie was so quiet tonight, I thought he had something to work with here.

I'd rather the whole package of Doyle than what Folan offers. Doyle ticks more boxes than Folan,,, For me anyway.

[Junior]

I'd rather the whole package of Doyle than what Folan offers. Doyle ticks more boxes than Folan,,, For me anyway.

Yep Im a fan of Doyle too, his progress over the last 10 appearances or so has been great, an important player no doubt. Folan has yet to prove he can hit the back of the net, which Doyle certainly has - So yes, Doyle for me too at this stage.

Its great though that we now also have Folan who has produced (IMO) on his few outings. Id be quite happy to throw him on now from the bench and know it could be a good substituion. In the past we have had Elliott, Murphy, Quinn and the likes, who I was never really convinced about as backup (although in all honesty I hadnt seen that much of them play).

[Stuttgart88]

Doyle & Folan could be an option, with Robbie playing deeper like he did in Bari.

[the doc]

Just back from Sofia!

The lads did the job, defended well, just needed more belief when they have the ball.

Early days yet, But the Saint/Dunne partnership looks very promising.

I have a feeling that Trapps "Irish Cannavaro" could be playing in Italy before too long! ;)

Thank god Preston made the play offs or he may not have got the chance to show what he can do.

[Duggie]

:)Good news for the Cyprus game, Konstantinou (we all remember him, scored twice in the away game last time) and Makrides both got booked on sat and are out of our game!!!

really ? that bloody great news....have to win that game.

[eaststand85]

there was a real scumbag element to their fans. i was told more than once to "f**k off" before the game - once at 11:00am.

only a few of the locals were up for any banter, most i think are used to football fans being hooligans so didn't want to engage.


to comment on a point raised earlier in the thread, Steven Reid is definitely coming back to the Ireland squad.


Did the boo our national anthem?

Makes me laugh, that despite the alleged intimidation from the home fans, next time the play here they'll be treated with open arms,same thing should happen them. Rem Turkey a number of years ago.?...and no bloody repercussions for them

Some of the Bulgarian fans were ok and we had a bit of craic in one of the Levski Sofia bars on the way to the stadium singing songs back and forth but they were a nasty bunch generally, lots of throat slitting motions and abuse in the stadium rather than banter and they did boo our national anthem which is disgraceful. What do you expect when they have to segregate their own fans though I suppose?

Regardless, I don't think that should affect how they're treated next time they're over here though, no point descending to their level and best possible response would be to qualify for Africa at their expense.