Negative Media

[Emmet7]

People who think A.R. would cause problems for a French midfield and defence who are comprised of international world class and champions league players are deluded.

He'd spend the entire night chasing their shadows, everyone with half a brain knows that. This is not Cyprus or Georgia, this is France a team of world class players who'd make mince meat of A. R.

I think A. R. should be lucky he's not in the team, as his status grows while he is out. Stick him in and he'd be cut to pieces.

[cavan_fan]

Getting bac to the original point (Giles/Dunphy), I think its right that they are on the way out. I was watching Scotland Wales on Staurday and thought, that's where we'd be if any of the other candidates were given the Ireland job. Trap has taken our weakest set of players since the mid 70's to the play offs. The idea that this is a disgraceful failure is insane.

The way the groups have wored out we either have to put Italy or france out to get to the world Cup. No-one outside Ireland would believe the coverage on Irish TV. It was taken as read that it was a crap performance and that the only question was why it had been allowed to happen.

The 3 panellists on RTe between them wouldnt have got Ireland into the playoffs.

[weldoninhio]

People who think A.R. would cause problems for a French midfield and defence who are comprised of international world class and champions league players are deluded.

He'd spend the entire night chasing their shadows, everyone with half a brain knows that. This is not Cyprus or Georgia, this is France a team of world class players who'd make mince meat of A. R.

I think A. R. should be lucky he's not in the team, as his status grows while he is out. Stick him in and he'd be cut to pieces.

As opposed to Man Utd and Liverpool who have poor defences and midfields, who A.R. held his own against.

[FarBeag]

People who think A.R. would cause problems for a French midfield and defence who are comprised of international world class and champions league players are deluded.

He'd spend the entire night chasing their shadows, everyone with half a brain knows that. This is not Cyprus or Georgia, this is France a team of world class players who'd make mince meat of A. R.

I think A. R. should be lucky he's not in the team, as his status grows while he is out. Stick him in and he'd be cut to pieces.

You are right Emmet on you assessment of A R .You know why? Because you believe you are right and what I have highlighted in your own post. End of.

[jmurphyc]

People who think A.R. would cause problems for a French midfield and defence who are comprised of international world class and champions league players are deluded.

He'd spend the entire night chasing their shadows, everyone with half a brain knows that. This is not Cyprus or Georgia, this is France a team of world class players who'd make mince meat of A. R.

I think A. R. should be lucky he's not in the team, as his status grows while he is out. Stick him in and he'd be cut to pieces.

I'm not hoodwinked by anyone's opinion in the media, but I do think Reid would at least offer us another option off the bench. At least. If Reid isn't capable of doing anything against a team composed of "international world class and champions league players" then why should we bother? Can Duff, Lawrence, McGeady and Hunt really do that? Obviously any decent team is going to destroy us by that logic.

Anyway, besides the Reid point, I'm fully behind Trapattoni and the players on the field and always have been. I just don't like it when people claim that anyone who thinks Reid should be in the team pays too much attention to the RTE panel.

[Predator]

The negative media doesn't bother me really. It's what the team does on the pitch that counts. We have a fair chance to turn the result in Croke Park around and that's what matters. We were the better team in the first half of the game and were unlucky not to score. Anything could happen in Paris.

The media waffle is just that and it won't change how the lads feel about playing the second leg in Paris.

With regard to Dunphy and Giles, I respect their opinions. Dunphy often makes germane points if you look past his hyperbole and Giles does likewise. Besides, what's the problem? It would be boring and wrong if they all agreed that Trapattoni was doing a fantastic job and that his system has absolutely no flaws. They provide a bit of entertainment if nothing else!

[irishfan86]

They provide a bit of entertainment if nothing else!

The problem is that they are supposed to be doing analysis, not stand-up. They've become an absolute parody lately.

If they want to be entertainers, that's fine, but they'll need to come up with some new material instead of the same tired old sh*t after every game.

-no Andy Reid, wah wah wah
-can't keep the ball, wah wah wah

The fact that Graeme Souness, one of the most derided and mocked managers in Britain, is the voice of reason on that panel should tell you all that you need to know.

[Acornvilla]

The problem is that they are supposed to be doing analysis, not stand-up. They've become an absolute parody lately.

If they want to be entertainers, that's fine, but they'll need to come up with some new material instead of the same tired old sh*t after every game.

-no Andy Reid, wah wah wah
-can't keep the ball, wah wah wah

The fact that Graeme Souness, one of the most derided and mocked managers in Britain, is the voice of reason on that panel should tell you all that you need to know.

wouldnt agree with that..
there are plenty worse out there.

at newcastle especially he was alwayd doomed to failure. and did a good job at blackburn before that (i think his most recent is the most appropriate to consider)

i think souness coms across really well on the show

[Predator]

There hasn't been much different game-to-game, so you can't expect them to analyse what hasn't happened in the game. They're right; we can't keep the ball and we don't have Andy Reid in the squad. Trap's approach to the games has been the same and we've performed similarly throughout the campaign - there won't be much variation in analysis to be fair.

[Emmet7]

The basic premise of Giles and Dunphy is simple.

Sacrifice one of your defensive midfielders for another attacking midfielder. Someone said that Reid is good for Sunderland and one of the reasons is he has strong aggressive ball winners up front who will give any defence including Man Utd problems.

Another issue here and what people are missing is players like Kenwen Jones play very well at club level but put them into an international arena against top defences and not just the Man Utd defence which with Ferdinand and Vidic has been poor this season, and they get shown up to be average.

It's the same with A.R., looks well in the premiership, gets badly exposed against Champions League players.

I wouldn't have Andy Reid in any Ireland team. We'd be cut to pieces without any doubt. Only an idiot would put him in the centre of the park for Ireland. We'd have been hammered by Italy had he been playing on both occassions, because he would have played exactly like Andy Keogh, nice going forward, horrendous when called on to defend.

Andy Reid is a walking defensive mistake waiting to happen. His fans are still ignoring his schoolboy error which allowed Keane score against Sunderland, with A. R. playing as a central midfielder.

If Robbie Keane can exploit Andy Reid's hopeless defensive midfield abilities, can you imagine what Henry and Anelka would do.

Cut to pieces we would be with A. R. in the side. Trap knows it, I know it, his fans know it, Giles and Dunphy know it. But for them that's beside the point, Reid serves as a convienent stick to beat Trap with. It's just a pity Giles and Dunphy never really had the courage of their convictions and actually tried to manage a team at a top level for any considerable length of time. Maybe they did but found eventually, that no-one wanted to hire them as managers.

Instead they retreated to the relative safety of studio pundit where they could fantacise about this player and that player and make judgements about situations in which they would never have to face the consequences, kind of like playing soccer on a playstation, if they make the wrong decisions and get it wrong, no-one will lose their job or money or anything or Ireland won't fail to qualify.

Trap however has never had to rely on being a studio pundit to earn his crust, such is the high demand he has been in. He has spent his whole career at the coalface and standing on the side line making real decisions, not fantascising in a studio.

Andy Reid belongs to an era of Irish soccer which was a shambles. Boozing in the week of games, staying out half the night, wasn't that one of the reasons for the Saipan saga and Dunphy's faux outrage at lack of discipline in the Irish camp and the perception that preparation for important upcoming games were a shambles.

Trap comes in and imposes strict discipline and now we have the same Dunphy outraged that a player has become a victim of that strict discipline, although must suspect it's because Reid doesn't fit into Trap's football plans. So what do we want? Do we want a return to the shambles of old with no discipline or cohesion. Or do we want discipline and cohesion?

[irishfan86]

Our pundits will not rest until there is discipline, cohesion, and samba football!

God bless them.

[Den Perry]

He also started in what was Stan's last game against Cyprus in Croke Park which proved to be the final nail in the coffin of Stan.

For something like 90 minutes we huffed and puffed against the might of, wait for it, Cyprus, with the great Andy Reid pulling the strings in midfield. We eventually got a goal from a defender in the last minute or two which was probably not deserved.

And if this guy cannot drive Ireland from the centre of the park to a convincing win over Cyprus at home, then what hope has he against the French in Paris? None.

But these are realities the pundits would rather ignore. The longer Reid is out of the team, the better he gets in their mind. But the reality is Reid was part of the least effective attacking and defensive Irish team in a generation. And he will not give us the defensive steel we need against creative teams in the centre of the park. As a wide player maybe, but not the centre of the park.



here we go again...:rolleyes:

I'd love to get a poll started as to whether Emmet the 7 year old is the most disrespectful poster on this forum.If anybody disagrees with his views on Andy Reid they are accused of being a "Dunphyite" or being "led by the media"

I know we all probably annoy people at times,and have insulted one another, but this guy has to be the greatest moron ever to consistently post on this great site

[monutdfc]

One other thing, although the IT is usually excellent, Tom Humphries begins his column today with

which is a horrible thing to write at this stage.
:mad:
Humphries is a joke, haven't read a word he's written in years. Head stuck so far up his own backside he hasn't seen a game in years either

[republicofwhite]

Officially no longer a fan of Tom Humphries self important musings...What poor timing, particularly when no one requested a "dose of realism". Keep your opinions to the bar of the GAA Clubhouse Tom, the rest of remain true supporters who will retain hope (until its officially extinguished) for an epic voyage in South Africa...

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2009/1116/1224258923337.html

[MariborKev]

Humphries in anti football article? Shocker.

Away and cry into your pint Tom about yer buddies in Tallaght.

[Reality Bites]

Humphries like the rest of the Irish football hacks is just bitter cause he won't get a free junket to South Africa with a great potential for a book afterwards - that is of course if we don't qualify. If we do, I am boycotting his spin-off self indulgent penned tome.

[NeilMcD]

He is not a football fan.

[Den Perry]

Humphries like the rest of the Irish football hacks is just bitter cause he won't get a free junket to South Africa with a great potential for a book afterwards - that is of course if we don't qualify. If we do, I am boycotting his spin-off self indulgent penned tome.

what a cnut Humphries is. This guy and Curtis are far worse than Dunphy
in my opinion

[Beavis]

I read it earlier and had no problem with it.
Where's the issue? The main thrust of the article is that the national psyche has changed hugely since 1990, which it has :confused:

[Reality Bites]

Listening to Newstalk this evening they had a French Hack on for his opinion on match, the same guy was attacking Domenech last week as being weak and indecisive,this time around he was hailing him as a tactical genius who was well in control of the french camp and he accused Trap of being tactically poor and inept with Tardelli calling the shots...just goes to show you, you can't win in football management, but if we do get something on Wednesday I really want to chase down the next interview with this guy.

[Emmet7]

Ah you get sick of listening to the pundits and experts after a while.

If you listen long enough you hear it all and especially how they contradict themselves over and over again and feel no shame or embarassment in contradicting themselves. They only have to be right once in a blue moon to be hailed as experts, but a stopped clock is right twice a day.

Once more Trap shows his intelligence and experience by completely ignoring everything pundits have to say. He knows well they have nothing to teach him, nothing!

What I find most unbeliveable is they cannot see when certain players just aren't doing the business, and instead they talk about how these players were great in the past. Yes, but they aren't doing it in the particular game we need them to do it in.

No player should be left on the field if he isn't adding something to the team or doing their job. A forward's job is to create chances, shoot on goal and hopefully score. Our forwards did none of that the last day and haven't done it in ages because of the current partnership. It just isn't set up right to create concrete scoreable chances. I could live with it if our forwards were capable of scoring from scraps and half chances like Anelka and Henry are capable of doing. Unfortunately our forwards need very scorable chances before they score and Robbie Keane is infamous for needing a lot of chances in the box before finally scoring.

[old git]

I read it earlier and had no problem with it.
Where's the issue? The main thrust of the article is that the national psyche has changed hugely since 1990, which it has :confused:

firstly he said anelka shot deflected of st ledgers derrier ( arse) which it did not,.. but take more offence at him describing irish fans as drunks and ignorant fools when we go away to away matches / tournaments a flucking disgrace by him to try and label the best fans in the world as a bunch of drunken leprucahuns :mad:

[Emmet7]

Humphries knows nothing about the game and I'd be very surprised if he has ever played in a competitve match.

He is basically an outsider looking in and that gives him a certain perspective that football insiders don't have but inevitably means he has little insight into football. He is more often than not cynical and with a "seen it all before" attitude which usually covers for the fact he doesn't understand football.

Plus he was central to Roy Keane being sent home from Saipan by stirring sh*t. The decision to print the Roy Keane interview probably cost us a quarter final place in the WC if not further.

[TheOwl]

Just read Tom Humphries piece in the Irish Times

Cannot remember being so angry about a piece of journalism in a long-time. Hope all this negative, self-important guff that the Irish papers' keep spewing out (to be fair it usually comes from the Sunday Independent) doesn't spawn a generation of self-loathing Irish people

I use to have some respect for Humphries but he just comes across like a jaded hack in this piece.

The pomposity of it is what really galls though. Just because he seems to have fallen out of love with his country doesn't mean everyone else has.

As Mark Twain said: "Loyalty to your country always. Loyalty to your government when it deserves it."

Just because the country has been f**cked over by those running it, doesn't mean all of us care for it any less. This is our NATIONAL TEAM we are talking about.

The pride of being Irish generates the drinking and the partying, not the other way round.

Come on Ireland….

I'd love to see Traps pull off a masterstroke in Paris so that we could watch all these idiots pathetically backtrack.

It is sad that I have to read the English papers for solid, well reasoned reporting of the Irish team. I think David Hytner in the Guardian usually calls it quite well.

But the Fannings, Dunphys and Humphries of this world? Traps has forgotten more about football than these clowns will ever know.

France 1-2 Ireland (Andrews and Whelan with the goals - how sweet it would be)

[DotTV]

Humphries knows nothing about the game and I'd be very surprised if he has ever played in a competitve match.

He is basically an outsider looking in and that gives him a certain perspective that football insiders don't have but inevitably means he has little insight into football. He is more often than not cynical and with a "seen it all before" attitude which usually covers for the fact he doesn't understand football.

Plus he was central to Roy Keane being sent home from Saipan by stirring sh*t. The decision to print the Roy Keane interview probably cost us a quarter final place in the WC if not further.

Most of these hacks just landed a job at a newspaper and happened on the sportswriting gig...and eventually hung around long enough to make a name for themselves. They're not football people...with a few exceptions of course.

As for RTE, it's a joke at this point. There is no analysis of the game. It's overly negative and completely unbalanced. Souness is the only one who makes sense. Anyway, f uck them all.I watched the game with French commentary the last day and it was actually refreshing not to have to listen to someone else's opinion sway your view of the game.

[elroy]

Not a fan of Humph at all, seeing as he clearly idolises the gaa about every other sport I dont see why he should be writing about our sport. However I was expecting a far worse article from the clown than he did write, maybe hes saving that with the hope that Ireland wont do it wed. Something along the lines of how Ireland not in the WC is good for the GAA..... :mad::rolleyes:

Anyways, the worst piece has to be the one written by Pat Dolan in I think the star yesterday, one telling Trap to call up A Reid, ok nothing too crazy there but wait for this he agrees with SI that there is too much emphasis in the Ireland team on dublin players and not Cork players. Like WTF, whatever respect I had for the big mess is now long gone. Shocking journalism. The only decent football journalist we have imo is Liam Mackey.

[SwanVsDalton]

It's Pat Dolan. He's not a journalist.

As for the Humph piece, don't really see the big deal. It's just his usual self-important, uninformed guff. To anyone getting worked up, it is Humphries after all.

[jay1]

Everyone here seems to be a bit hard on the RTE Panel. I think the RTE Panel are great. They tell it like they see it. I love the Irish team but in all fairness the current squad isn't up to much. I have seen better games up in my local Park. I wish them all the best for wednesday. They may as well go out of the tournament now in a blaze of glory none of this boring stuff - keeping every man in defence and bore your opposition into losing. just go for it , i mean the chances are anyway they will loose so they may as well just go all out from the start and give it 1000000000000 %

[OneRedArmy]

Giles and Dunphy haven't been involved with football in any meaningful manner for decades. They know no more about the modern game than most of us do, except many on here at least watch a bit outside the Premiership.

Humphries should stick to what he knows, underage Dublin camogie. There are a number of threads detailing his pomposity already, but after his stance on Tallaght, its clear he isn't a football supporter.

[yapster]

It surprises how little Giles knows about the game, I expect it from Dunphy but Giles was a top player in his day. Ronnie Whelan is clueless & cliche-ridden. Souness must laugh his head off with his mates telling them about working with Giles & Dunphy. Humphries should emigrate if feels that way,his timing again was impeccable.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Im sick to the back teeth of the negative media coverage of the Irish Soccer Team with the Sindo and RTE in particular being the main culprits. We were beaten on saturday night by a jammy goal but from reading Dion Fanning and listening to Eamon Dunphy you would swear we were blitzed off the park.

Im going to paris tomorrow a proud Irish Soccer supporter willing to keep going till the final few seconds in supporting our national Team and **** the begrudgers. We will never dig ourselves out of the hole that Bertie & his cronies dumped us in if we dont have belief so BELIEVE its not a major miracle were looking for.

Er, Well Don't read that rag. It's pure S***. Disappointed by Fanning, albeit I thought we were 'rubbish' on the night, but what else do you expect from that other crock of ****, D*nphy.

[irishfan86]

I think my main problem with the RTE panel is that they have decided that they will evaluate Ireland based on how aesthetically pleasing they are, rather than how effective they are.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure if it was simply about being entertained, Andy Reid would be effective....but are you seriously stating that Andy would have been capable of making some of those tackles Andrews made on Saturday?

"Ah, but we've have the ball more if Andy played."

Bring out the facepalm pictures....

[Reality Bites]

I am depressed already at the thought of the media autopsy after Wednesday night if and what seems likely France advance..There will be lots of talk of end of the road for Dunne, Given, Duff etc.. and with the exiled Ireland and the terrible result from the U-21 tonights the football future looks as bleak as the economic future...Christ I think I'll bury my head in the sand for a week unless of course we get a Miracle of Biblical proportions in Paris tmw

[Acornvilla]

I am depressed already at the thought of the media autopsy after Wednesday night if and what seems likely France advance..There will be lots of talk of end of the road for Dunne, Given, Duff etc.. and with the exiled Ireland and the terrible result from the U-21 tonights the football future looks as bleak as the economic future...Christ I think I'll bury my head in the sand for a week unless of course we get a Miracle of Biblical proportions in Paris tmw
fingers crossed! :D

[Reality Bites]

Although I just read Paul Parkers article in the French view thread and it lifted the clouds temporarily - Good on ya Paul I will sleep a little easier with your positive tones invading my sub-concious and fully expect to wake up tomorrow much more optimistic about Paris.....