ireland 1 romania 0

[cookie]

good win and good goal.

first off thought the booing of roy was an absolutr discrace and just stupid to boo your own player!!

he was my motm.

i thought robie hogged the ball to much tonight..

[Condex]

Won £40 but the money was sweating towards the end.

Miller & Roy Keane played well Holland OK, Reid I'm not sure.

Maybury should not be allowed near a football.
Morrison is not an international class forward.
Robbie Keane is ball hoggin boll*cks always over doing it.

Romania gave us a good workout I've never seenan oppossing team that put us under so much pressure.

[cookie]

agreed totally..

[Ozymandias]

good work out.....the booing was very minor and was only in a small pocket of the ground didn't like it but there are always gonna be a few like that...In general Keane got a great reception

Maybury is very limited
Miller was inventive and passed the ball brilliantly looked quality
Reid was quiet but worked hard with maybury
Roy was Roy
Holland played only in spots but it was his best game in over a year
Robbie needs to look up and play the easy ball
morrison is a stop gap.....if anyone half decent comes through he is gone
he is not up to international football

even With a number of players missing the team is taking shape and play good football..future is looking good

[eirebhoy]

Copies and Pasted from what I said in another forum:

i'm delighted with the teams performance tonight. Its amazing to think that if you took Keane out of that midfield (even though he could have played better) tonight and replaced him with someone like Kinsella we wouldn't have played half as well. I'm delighted only a minority of the fans booed Keane and he settled in very well considering what had gone before.

The defence didn't look the strongest tonight but the quality of the midfield play made up for that. I don't think Finnan has been performing to his standards since his move to Liverpool and tonights performance was average. Carr still owns that spot but he also needs to raise his game if we want to go to Germany. The Cunningham-O'Brien partnership now looks certain to be the no.1 for the qualifiers. Maybury again didn't have he best of games but he was forced into giving long balls a lot of the time as Reid was playing inside a lot.

There wasn't a lot of width in midfield but that suited the team and forced them to play short passes (We're slowly moving away from the Jack Charlton era). We have a history of getting goals from set pieces or long balls but tonight we seemed able to break the Romanian's down and get in a couple of through balls. Miller played excellent out on the right and I think he could make that position his own, he's no winger but he has played on the right of midfield for Celtic a few times and always impressed. He doesn't get the chance to run with the ball as much playing in the middle. We have about 5 players in with a chance of partnering Roy and I really hope its not Holland. He plays so much better for Charlton and I don't think we need a player who doesn't give 100% for 'his' country. I also don't think he is the type of player that should partner Roy, Kavanagh would be my preference.

Morrison worked very hard tonight and unless McGeady shoots onto the stage he will partner Robbie for the qualifiers. I couldn't care if he scored 1 goal in every 10 games, he holds the ball up well and spots the right passes. The only other option is to play Duffer up front, a lot of people slated McCarthy for it but with Reid and Miller now in the team I think it would work. When McCarthy was in charge he would play Kilbane, Keane, Holland/Kinsella, McAteer in midfield. I think the team we have now would suit having Duff up front or just behind Keane.

Ratings: Given (6) - Nothing much to do, I always feel nervous when the ball is rolling to him and he stops it giving players time to attack him.
Finnan (6) - Nothing special but good defensively.
Maybury (5) - He passed the ball backwards to much and put Given under unnecessary early on.
Cunnigham (6) - Caught out on pace a couple of times but otherwise good.
O'Brien (7) - He was the best of the back four, worked hard and won nearly everything in the air.
Miller (9) - Every pass was spot on and many of them were long balls into the box. Was always in the right place at the right time.
Reid (7) - Gave the Romanians a bit of trouble and a few of his passes went astray but otherwise worked hard and had a positive effect.
Keane (8) - He played a lot more forward than usual and it nearly paid off on a few occasions. He could have put in more work but he wasn't 100% fit and not to be risked in a friendly.
Holland (6) -I would be repeating what I say after every match, he got the 6 rating for his goals and a few tackles.
Morrison (6) - If I was to rate him by his standards he'd probably get an 8 but he's not international class. He falls over too much and he never (ever) wins a header. His wide play was good and the assist was well taken.
Keane (6) - He got a lot of supply but didn't put it to good use. He should have passed it to Miller on one occassion but never even looked up to see him. But, worked hard and at 23 has a lot to learn.

Good match overall and I learnt a lot from a match a lot of people call(ed) meaningless.:)

[4tothefloor]

Just back from the game. Thought Keane and Miller were excellent. Holland was better than usual, but still only ok. Wouldn't be my choice for the central midfield role alongside Keane at all. I'd stick Miller in there, with a choice of Kilbane\Reid\Duff out on the wings. Morrison is brutal, we need to do something, maybe fast-track McGeady, but we're in trouble up front in the qualifiers. Thought Robbie Keane was rubbish tonight, wasted some great chances. His first touch when through on goal is brutal. The more time he has, the more brainless he is. Very very frustrating.

Overall, a good workout, although Romania offered nothing going forward, and in that respect, they were sh.ite.

[tricky_colour]

Good result, Rominia are a decent side, you can see why the beat
Gremany 5-1 or whatever it was.
.

Having said that I don't recall them having a decent chance in the
whole of the match, but they did get quite a bit of possession in parts
of the second half but never threathened with it.
Generally we defended very well.

Matt Holland showed his worth, cool head in front of goal, and I think
it was Morrison who supplier the cross

I though everyone played well particularly Miller, Roy was class as usual,
always aware and rarely wasted a ball, but then you expect that.


People who pay to boo their own players need their heads testing.

[1MickCollins]

I think if Roy Keane was a Dub there would have been even less booing.

On the other Keane, I don't understand why the coaches at Spurs haven't forced him to keep it simply, he has a bad habit of holding on to the ball too long missing opportunities to release to players in better positions. I suppose I just don't understand why coaching seems to be so poor in the Premership, I can't understand why Ian Harte has got as far as he has without knowing the first thing about defending.

O'Brien & Miller definitely positives.

[Ringo]

I think if Roy Keane was a Dub there would have been even less booing.

:rolleyes:

[the 12 th man]

leaving aside the rights or wrongs of the famous bull & cow in saipan.............

the boy keane did well.the side definitely ticked better with him on board.his presence seemed to galvanise people around him and imho is an asset to the team.

as for the people who booed him,cop on to yourself,you are booing someone in an IRISH shirt representing YOUR country.

[Crusader Al]

Booing a player from your OWN TEAM, tut tut tut .... ;)

[tiktok]

very poor game, good goal to win it.

should probably have had a couple of extra goals though, Roy missing a sitter.

ratings,

given had little to do, made one good save, doesn't inspire confidence though
finnan and maybury did little, but i guess that can be put down to not having played much with those in front of them
Cunningham and O'Brien started badly, caught out by the same ball three or four times early on, but they knuckied down and improved
miller did ok, but was nowhere near MOTM, looks promising, but needs a few more games under his belt
Keane and Holland played very well, the former doing all the basic stuff well, few surging runs, the latter getting stuck in and took his goal brilliantly, Holland just about shaded MOTM for me
Reid did ok, copy the comment for Miller
Morrison wasn't that bad, he won and held up a fair amount of ball considering poor service but seems to have no understanding with Robbie at all, great cross for the goal but we probablt need another option in there
Robbie, broke clear on goals four times I can remember, didn't shoot once, can't remember him having an effort, took too much out of the ball, between him and Maybury for worst player on the night (and that's not just because we expect more from him).

Rowlands got stuck in, but only for a few minutes, at least he took players on, hope we get a longer look at him over the next three days

I think Kerr told them all to take it easy though ;)

[only1kilbane]

I know the booing for keane wasnt right last night but cheering every time he touched the ball was really getting on my tits. It was a team performance but felt like the roy keane show. Fair play he had a good game but the non stop keano chants really started to get annoying.

Thought Miller was decent but imo a good bit away from motm. Holland was excellent as was andy reid who was my motm as he seemed to be the only one creating our chances. After a shaky start obrien and kenny looked quite assured as ever.

Robbie seemed to have an off night but at least he was getting in the positions to have the chances. Clinton is deffo still the best option we have unless we put duffer up front again and have reid and miller on the wings or kilbane ?

All in all decent performance and hopefully we will get to see rowlands given a full game on sat as he really got stuck in last night

[Bring Back Mick]

Is Keane (Roy) coming over for the unity cup games ................

[loscherland]

Yea, some muppet standing infront of us cheerin 'Keano Keano' every time he so much as looked at the ball... - Sad.

Got home & watched a bit on sky sports... actually heard someone shout "GO ON ROY" -- When he gave a simple 5 yard back pass to Kenny Cunningham!

Hopefully that's the end of the Roy Keane show & we can just get on with it now...

Anyone headin to France? -- Got flights on Wednesday with Ryanair for €50!!! - Sweet! (And they're gone back up to €240 now!)

[only1kilbane]

yeah hopefully people have had there day and can now cheer the team as a whole instead of a bloke getting rapturous applause for a 2 yard back pass. NOt saying he didnt play well he had good game but it really did get annoying after a while. He not going to unity or holland game but I am tmow happy days !

[tiktok]

i think a few people overdid the cheering to drown out those who were booing every touch. it had pretty much died down by midway through the second half. at least it's all over with now.

[the 12 th man]

down by midway through the second half. at least it's all over with now.


lets just hope it is :)

[eirebhoy]

Thought Miller was decent but imo a good bit away from motm.
I don't know if you were at the match or not but I watched on telly (twice). I always notice that people who go to the match always have different views than those who watch it on TV. Try and get a look at the match again on Sky Sports (they show it about 3 more times after the live coverage) and you will see Miller's impact.

Also, those who went to the match say Holland had a good game, I thought he was his usual self with a few extra tackles and a goal. He probably copped on that he has competition for his place, he won't be dropped though. I thought he had a much better game against Canada. He came on for the injured Kavanagh and played a lot better than usual. I think all he needed was to know he has a bit of competition for his place.

BTW - Was that Roy's bodyguard with him after the match?

[only1kilbane]

yeah was at the game so maybe i would need to watch game again. Yeah cause i thought Holland had a better game than miller and most people around me on terrace were a bit shocked when miller got motm. Though andy reid was excellent again is looking like the real deal and hopefully he can get a decent move in the summer

[tarzan_bray]

Last night's game was rubbish, found myself drifting off a few times because of boredom, basically it was a typical end of season friendly hyped up because of Roy's return, the FAI were some cute hoors making us all buy those tickets just to see the Brazil game, roll on the competitive matches

[carnstien]

There is no point in bashing Morrison, he is not an international class striker but until someone else comes along he stays in the team. Last night his finishing was woeful but in fairness he held the ball up well and won quite a few long balls in the air.

Andy Ried and Liam Miller will be two world class players. There passing and composure on the ball was a joy to behold and there all round game was light years ahead of those muppets Kilbane and Carsley who were our wingers for the qualifiers.

With O'Shea, Carr and Duff to return the future is looking bright.

Maybury will definately be dropped and I reckon it will be between Holland, Finnan, Miller and Ried for the chop also.

[only1kilbane]

yeah was agreeing with your thread at start when you were talking about clinton he did hold the ball up very well as is the best we have at the moment . Then you ruin all your good work by calling kilbane ( best player in last few games ) a muppet.

What a clever comment . The competition for places is excellent now it gives Brian big problems but good problems

[carnstien]

yeah was agreeing with your thread at start when you were talking about clinton he did hold the ball up very well as is the best we have at the moment . Then you ruin all your good work by calling kilbane ( best player in last few games ) a muppet.

What a clever comment . The competition for places is excellent now it gives Brian big problems but good problems
Ok, maybe he isn't a muppet, but he is extremly limited. Watching some of the things Andy Ried could do with the ball last night made me realise how talentless Kilbane is. Ried had the ability to pick out sublime 70 yard passes and make it look easy, Kilbane has never hit a 70 yard pass in his life.

I conceed that Kilbane is definately worth having in the squad, but he should be behind Ried and Duff in the pecking order on the left and in my opinion should be behind Keane, Holland, Ried and Miller in the pecking order in the centre.

[Slash/ED]

yeah was agreeing with your thread at start when you were talking about clinton he did hold the ball up very well as is the best we have at the moment . Then you ruin all your good work by calling kilbane ( best player in last few games ) a muppet.

What a clever comment . The competition for places is excellent now it gives Brian big problems but good problems

Are you related to Kevin Kilbane?

Judgeing by the fact that you're woefully biased towards him, your username, the fact you even seem to be under the illusion he had a good world cup and can't accept when anyone says that he just maybe, maybe shouldn't get his game for Ireland.

The fact is he's a tryer, he works his arse off, but he just acks the quality to play at this level. When you compare him the people we do have in mid field he's simply not good enough to get in there. A good squad player alright, but nowhere near good enough to start for us.

[carnstien]

Are you related to Kevin Kilbane?

Judgeing by the fact that you're woefully biased towards him, your username, the fact you even seem to be under the illusion he had a good world cup and can't accept when anyone says that he just maybe, maybe shouldn't get his game for Ireland.

The fact is he's a tryer, he works his arse off, but he just acks the quality to play at this level. When you compare him the people we do have in mid field he's simply not good enough to get in there. A good squad player alright, but nowhere near good enough to start for us.
Agree 100%

[only1kilbane]

ok so you wont admit that he did a very good job when he was put into centre mid in the last couple of friendlies no ? Not related to the bloke but do think he should be in our team every game. A midfield of him keane duffer and miller/areid is looking a good bet to me though im sure you will all disagree. I think Brian will go with kilbane in the centre as well imo ..

[tiktok]

i think Kilbane has been our best player recently. He's obviously not going to replace Duff on the left (unless Kerr decides the Duffer will be a better option upfront with Robbie), but his recent performances IMO mean he shouldn't be dropped.

You can say he's limited and giving it his all isn't enough, but the passion he's shown in recent outings is exactly what we were missing in CM at the swiss game and right through the qualifiers.

Miller Kilbane Keane Duff/Reid (depending on where the former plays) across the middle have what it takes.

[Slash/ED]

Duff Miller Keane Reid

Sorry he's not better than any of them, therefore he doesn't get his game. It's not a case of 'dropping him', and he'd certinaly be in my squad, but he's just not going to force himself into that mid field. Passion isn't enough to get into an international team for christs sake, or I'd be the new Maradona. I thought we'd moved on from that. Anyway, like him or not, we have that commodity in spades now with a certain players return from retirement.

[Declan_Michael]

Has it become fashionable to slag off Kevin Kilbane all of a sudden? Yes, I watched the World Cup and he didn't play well at all. But as Roy Keane sympathisers will tell you, its in the past. Kilbane has had an excellent season with Everton. Can you find me another Irish player - except, say Duff who has had such a good season? You would think we had a team of world beaters. Yes, Kilbane is not the most naturally gifted but he offers commitment, experience and good form. Has Steve Finnans form in a Liverpool jersey justified international starts? Is either Connolly or Morrisson the right partner for Keane? Does Liam Miller have enough experience for a big international match? Does Andy O'Brien's form at Newcastle inspire you with confidence? Lets look at the BIG PICTURE.

[Slash/ED]

Erm, the bigger picture being that we have four better players in mid field then? I'm not slagging him off personally, I'm just saying we've four better players than him who should start. If that's slagging Kilbane off than it's also slagging off every Irish mid fielder eligble to play for us. Why are you whaffling on about right backs, centre halfs and strikers exactly? :confused:

To answer your question about Miller, yes.

[Declan_Michael]

Erm, the bigger picture being that we have four better players in mid field then? I'm not slagging him off personally, I'm just saying we've four better players than him who should start. If that's slagging Kilbane off than it's also slagging off every Irish mid fielder eligble to play for us. Why are you whaffling on about right backs, centre halfs and strikers exactly? :confused:

To answer your question about Miller, yes.

I'm "whaffling on" about other positions because maybe some players there are not performing brilliantly. You can play fantasy football with the midfielders all you want but there will be plenty of times when injuries, suspensions and "domestic commitments" crop up. The big test comes when the experienced players are picked for the qualifiers rather than a few tin pot friendles at Lansdowne.

[sorbothegreek]

I was watching the game last night with a guy from the Ukraine. He'd be a big football fan back home and the thing is, he wouldnt know the historys or reputations of any of our players and i just thought it was interesting to hear a few of the comments that he had on a few of them.

He thought Robbie Keane was the strangest striker he had ever seen, and said that he looked like a fellow that was playing in the schoolyard and that had never been coached.

Couldn't believe that Clinton Morrison was playing for a Premiership club, when his beloved Rebrov was sent packing after a few games for Spurs.

He thought that Reid was not a bad footballer, but was "Very FAT". And he will be good when he gets fit.
Shay Given was also accussed of suffering from "fatness".

When poor Alan Maybury had the ball, it was hard to make out what he thought because he was laughing all the time.

And as for the black sheep, He said "this is the man".

[Slash/ED]

I'm "whaffling on" about other positions because maybe some players there are not performing brilliantly. You can play fantasy football with the midfielders all you want but there will be plenty of times when injuries, suspensions and "domestic commitments" crop up. The big test comes when the experienced players are picked for the qualifiers rather than a few tin pot friendles at Lansdowne.

Obviously if there's injuries/suspensions and whatnot Kilbane and the others I've left out will be in contention to play, what kind of a daft comment is that? You seem to think I've a personal vendetta against Kilbane, I actually like him, he's just not in the strongest mid field Ireland have.

Who do we drop from that mid field, Duff Miller Keane Reid, to play Kilbane than?

[Declan_Michael]

Obviously if there's injuries/suspensions and whatnot Kilbane and the others I've left out will be in contention to play, what kind of a daft comment is that? You seem to think I've a personal vendetta against Kilbane, I actually like him, he's just not in the strongest mid field Ireland have.

Who do we drop from that mid field, Duff Miller Keane Reid, to play Kilbane than?

No personal vendetta's I just know that both Kilbane and Holland have taken unneccessary stick from some quarters. You'd think they were the only two players who had bad games for Ireland. :)

[Roo69]

The big test comes when the experienced players are picked for the qualifiers rather than a few tin pot friendles at Lansdowne.

You said it, the big test comes in WCQ, but there is no bigger test than the WCF itself, when Kilbane bottled the chance of a lifetime to knock spain out.

Just a few other points.
Kilbane has had a very good season with Everton and has been on of there most consistant players, BUT, IMO i think we have better players in our squad than him, which make Ireland play better. I would have Ried, Miller, Keane, Duff and Holland all ahead of him.

O'Brien for me has been our most improved player over the past few matches, thought he was brilliant against Brazil and did very well last night.

[tiktok]

Who do we drop from that mid field, Duff Miller Keane Reid, to play Kilbane than?

either Miller or Reid. depending on moves over the summer (if they get regular first team football at a higher level), and how they play between now and the qualifiers in friendlies.

I think by the time the WC rolls around ,the midfield you've cited will be our first choice midfield, but at the moment I'd sooner have Kilbane's passion and experience in qualifiers than playing two inexperienced young lads. Until we're seen more of them in friendlies and at club level it'd be either/or for the two of them.

[Slash/ED]

either Miller or Reid. depending on moves over the summer (if they get regular first team football at a higher level), and how they play between now and the qualifiers in friendlies.

I think by the time the WC rolls around ,the midfield you've cited will be our first choice midfield, but at the moment I'd sooner have Kilbane's passion and experience in qualifiers than playing two inexperienced young lads. Until we're seen more of them in friendlies and at club level it'd be either/or for the two of them.

But we will have seen more of them in friendlies and club level by then.

This experience argument is just plain wrong. We heard it back as far as Basle, "Oh we can't play Reid and Miller because of their lack of experience, we need the experience to get us through" and look where it got us then. Experience is no substitute for ability and Reid and Miller have plenty of that, they're both class and both should be regulars for Ireland, easily.

We have the experience in the mid field I've mentioned anyway. They must have 100+ caps between them.

Robbie Keane was once an inexperienced young lad, but we threw him in (Mainly due to having no other options really) and he game up with the goods against teams like Yugoslavia in crucial crucial qualifyers as a teenagager, because he was good enough. Miller and Reid are good enough, so experience or no, they should play.

And Declan, I agree certain players seem to attrack stick no matter what while others are above it when it comes to the Irish team, which is unfair most of the time. Kilbane isn't useless as some people would have you believe, I just think we have four stronger players.

[tiktok]

But we will have seen more of them in friendlies and club level by then.

but right now we haven't. if Miller proves himself as a capable central midfielder he'll probably get his shot, but all i've seen so far is potential, not the finished product, so for me Kilbane is ahead of him

[Slash/ED]

but right now we haven't. if Miller proves himself as a capable central midfielder he'll probably get his shot, but all i've seen so far is potential, not the finished product, so for me Kilbane is ahead of him

But by then we will, and we're talking about who should start then not now. I've no doubt at all Miller will show what he's capable of, like he did yesturday, in the matches between now and then, barring injuries of course, and based on that, he should play by the time we play Cyprus.

[only1kilbane]

Miller is far from the finished product not saying kilbane is just that he is my ideal choice to come in for the pressure games against switz and france. Miller needs to settle at manu get a place there and then we can talk about putting him in instead of kilbane. We miss someone bursting from the centre to help clinton and robbie which we sorely lacked last night and keane cant give as much anymore. This is what kilbane can offer. Just when i thought he was starting to win the fans over ! How wrong can I be ?? What more can the fella do. And to say he bottled it against spain ? Another one of the stupid comments we get on this site

[tiktok]

I've no doubt at all Miller will show what he's capable of, like he did yesturday.

maybe that's the real difference between our positions Slash/Ed. I couldn't believe he was awarded MOTM last night. I thought he was OK, but I'm yet to witness what's behind all the hype about him. I think the point about runs from midfield in the game last night is well made, no one last night really got forward.

If I was to pick between Miller's performance -v- Romania and Kilbane's performance -v- Czech Republic, it's the latter's name that would be going on my team sheet.

I hope he does develop into a world class player, and I can see there's potential there, I'm just not sure he'll be at the required level in time for cyprus, I don't think he'll have that many extra games under his belt by the time it rolls around.

Then again if he continues to improve, and gets a run in the United side next season, I'll no doubt be agreeing with your assessment

[drummerboy]

I think Reid was excellent on the ball last night. However if we were playing a decent team away from home I'd have reservations about his defending. Although Maybury will never be a regular I felt he was left exposed last night. Apart from the fact that he is inexperienced, he was also playing on his weaker side. Every time he received the ball Reid seemed to be too far infield and he was forced to play a long hopeful ball. I thought Reid was blowing through his ass from an early stage. His fitness may be suspect. But definitely one for the future.

I think Kilbane on his current form might be the man for the difficult away qualifiers

[Slash/ED]

Miller is far from the finished product not saying kilbane is just that he is my ideal choice to come in for the pressure games against switz and france. Miller needs to settle at manu get a place there and then we can talk about putting him in instead of kilbane. We miss someone bursting from the centre to help clinton and robbie which we sorely lacked last night and keane cant give as much anymore. This is what kilbane can offer. Just when i thought he was starting to win the fans over ! How wrong can I be ?? What more can the fella do. And to say he bottled it against spain ? Another one of the stupid comments we get on this site

Miller goes forward and does it more effectively than Kilbane. He was played on the right which is why we didn't see it as much. He showed that with his goals for Celtic and his passing is far superior to Kilbanes. The man we need beside Keane to offer what we need going forward is Miller. Somehow I doubt that even if we had the four greatest mid fielders in the history of football all fit and available for us you could possibley accept that Kilbane shouldn't start though.

Reids fitness is definitely suspect, he's very overweight and it's a worry. He'll need to sort that out.

[eirebhoy]

Miller goes forward and does it more effectively than Kilbane. He was played on the right which is why we didn't see it as much. He showed that with his goals for Celtic and his passing is far superior to Kilbanes. The man we need beside Keane to offer what we need going forward is Miller. Somehow I doubt that even if we had the four greatest mid fielders in the history of football all fit and available for us you could possibley accept that Kilbane shouldn't start though.

Reids fitness is definitely suspect, he's very overweight and it's a worry. He'll need to sort that out.
Miller's CL goals for Celtic all came when he was playing on the right believe it or not. I think Miller is a better player on the right of midfield because he has the space to run and he is a superb crosser.

I don't think Reid is overweight, more muscle than anything. Until he can't hack 90mins we shouldn't be worried.

[only1kilbane]

If we had a centre midfielder capable or parnering keane better than kilbane i would have no problem putting them in. Would always have chosen duffer on the left than kilbane but now that we have seen him in the centre he seems to be the presence we need. Miller needs to get a it of meat on those legs and a season with manu should toughen him up so maybe next summer he will be looking to claim the centre mid spot.

I think if Reid moves up to the premier his fitness would improve. Dont think he that unfit just maybe a move to the premier would help him.

[Slash/ED]

If we had a centre midfielder capable or parnering keane better than kilbane i would have no problem putting them in.

I very much dobut that, but how and however...

Kilbane does alot of the donkey work and running, which is exactly what we don't need with Keane, that's his job. We need someone in the mid field who can get forward and be creative. While Kilbane gets forward, his end ball lacks the quality of Miller and he creates very very few chances. Millers quality in passing was evident all last night, none more so than in the goal. It's that creative passing that we need beside Keane, who's the physical dominated presence that we lacked in mid field all through the ECQ matches.

[carnstien]

I find it completely bizzare that anyone could think that Kilbane is a better option than Ried or Miller. It is a given that they are inexperienced but based on what we saw last night and before, it is obvious that they are on a differnet plane altoghether to Kilbane, espescially when it comes to passing and actually producing something in an attacking sence.

[tricky_colour]

It's nice to see so many options in midfield.

I wish we had the same problem up front!!!

[tiktok]

It is a given that they are inexperienced but based on what we saw last night and before.........espescially when it comes to passing and actually producing something in an attacking sence.

Reid I'll grant you has vision, but the argument is really on Kilbane v Miller. I've seen the latter produce nothing in an attacking sense for Ireland. Granted he's only had a few goes for his country; he controls the ball well, but most of what he passed last night was backwards and he never tried to go past a player.
No comparison to Kilbane's running from midfield recently, where he's used pace and strength to get forward.
From the little I've seen of him Miller in a Celtic shirt, he looks an excellent crosser of the ball from the right, and I'd be quite happy to have a look at him there over the next three games and hope he progresses.

Down the line Miller will probably turn into an excellent player, but the question isn't who'll be better for Ireland in Germany, it's who'll be better for Ireland in Central midfield in five months.