Republic of Ireland V Greece - Wednesday, 14th November 2012 - Friendly

[paul_oshea]

we're losing, trap says not losing is the most important thing, i wonder will holohan get the full half. We need change really losing it in midfield.

[BonnieShels]

you should be at the game. Brady looks a bit slow. I'd be worried for the future about that, such a balls he doesn't have the pace.

I am at the game.
Yes, got that about Brady but I don't think pace is such a pressing issue when you use the ball well. It's been his least dynamic performance in green. However he's a kid.

I don't like how we allow the opposition dictate our play. We played some lovely stuff when allowed but as soon as the Greeks decided to turn up we were reduced to hoofball.

Long has been wonderful. 'nuff sed.

[centre mid]

why do we alwalys look like the away team, even at home, whats wrong with pressing them in the final third rather than outside our box?

[tricky_colour]

Hunt would have burred that header!!!

[zero]

greece bossed most of the half. their passing, movement and close control is better. they are better, basically.

brady is a bit of a luxury player. our generation's andy reid!

[paul_oshea]

Why is long off and cox still on? Long has had a far better half than cox. Trap is still as frustrating. Holohan on for brady?!

[paul_oshea]

Andrews should have had a pop!

[paul_oshea]

Im taking back everything i said about cox. his touch has been woeful everytime tonight. Very poor. Bizarre how he was left on and long taken off who clearly had a better half.

[tricky_colour]

Why is long off and cox still on? Long has had a far better half than cox. Trap is still as frustrating. Holohan on for brady?!

That's Trap all over, he does the exact opposite of what needs to be done.
I woudl have liked to have seen Brady and Hoolahan on at the same time, I think I'd probably
have taken McCarthy off.
And of course Cox's header was woeful yet he stays on.

[zero]

i keep having to remind myself it's not cox's fault he's playing. he got picked.

he's rubbish though to be fair.

[BonnieShels]

Hoolahan's pass into Cox a while ago was sublime. He's done enough with that alone to be picked. :-)

Coleman keeps finding space and McClean keeps running inside. very frustrating.

[BonnieShels]

And time for Andy Keogh... ********** ********* **** ***** **** **** ***** * ***** ****!!!!

[theworm2345]

Hoolahan's pass into Cox was sublime. He's done enough with that alone to be picked. :-)
That was Andrews

[paul_oshea]

Mcclean has only one foot.

[BonnieShels]

That was Andrews

What was Andrews?

[paul_oshea]

"converted into a left back, from a striker" haha :D

[theworm2345]

What was Andrews?
The pass to Cox

[tricky_colour]

Certainly creating chances, surely we are due a goal?

[paul_oshea]

I dont think we can beat the greeks in the air. need to play on the ground more.

[BonnieShels]

The pass to Cox

We're thinking of two different passes.

I posted a good bit after it happened.

[paul_oshea]

Mcclean is getting annoying, he is very one dimensional and cant play on the right, he is shooting cos he doesn't know what else to do with it.

[TrapAPony]

Zlatan scores 4 tonight against England

[theworm2345]

This is dire stuff, almost as bad as an August friendly

[paul_oshea]

he will score 6 against us. this game is awful frustrating. we really are that bad. holohan hasn't got involved enough but i cant figure out where he is supposed to be playing.

[NeverFeltBetter]

His fourth goal was something else.

[paul_oshea]

But we are losing and we look bored and bereft of ideas. I just cant understand why we look so limp. Its like we are sent out with no gameplan and no motivation.

[paul_oshea]

we are hitting high ball after high ball and it is doing nothing. cox on about getting a good result over in germany. cant even score at home against greece with nearly 70% possession.

Why didnt mcclean hit that ball, was trap not instructing someone to come and look for the ball. it makes no sense. its awful stuff really. hitting the ball from the halfway line almost, and expecting to get something from it when we have won nothing in the air..

I think the biggest thing is there is no heart or motivation in this team at the moment.

[dancinpants]

Ibra's 4th:
Joe Hart does not cover himself in much glory, coming out of his area to head the ball clear but Zlatan Ibrahimovic, running away from the goal, launches himself into an overhead kick from fully 35 yards which loops high and into the net as Ryan Shawcross tries to get back. Stunning, stunning goal.

[dancinpants]

Ireland just look like they haven't a clue what to do.

[theworm2345]

Awful, awful stuff

[paul_oshea]

i havent been this frustrated in so long. mcclean there had the ball and no one was coming to help him.

we have had holohan on who can look for the ball and play in on the ground yet all we have done is hit high ball after high ball, when its been clear we have been far more effective when we played it on the ground. I just don't understand this i really really dont, where is this coming from.

[zero]

pretty abject.

no lessons have been learnt. same old rubbish. it's unfortunate that we're stuck with trap til march as whoever comes in next has to start from scratch.

[paul_oshea]

I don't want to see andy keogh, or ward near an ireland team again, even in a friendly. I don't think i really want to see cox, he was decent up until today, but its because he seems to be somehow keeping Long out of the team i dont ever want to see him near the team.

What was trap at. He brought on holohan and where did he play him? keogh seemed to be up top with doyle dropping deeper. What was the point in this, i honestly think and its been said before that Trap plays the players but not how he should or in a system that suits, in order to just appease the media and get what he wants. He has really annoyed me again tonight, i honestly thought he could change, but he cant. He persists with the old, players and tactics. Its been shown up as limp, dour, boring system that doesn't work. Give it up now.

I haven't seen a year of Irish football where we look so unmotivated or heartless. Thats up to the manager to sort out as well. Playing for Ireland, giving 100% should be the minimum requirement. Actually he shouldn't even be a requirement, it should be a given. Giving your all for the full 90 minutes.

[centre mid]

pretty frustrating night, a good twenty min spell at the start of the second half. Houlihan had a couple of sublime touches but short of finding a cure for cancer he wont have done enough in traps eyes. Mclean isnt good enough imo, but not sure what other options there are. Coleman wa superb tough.

[shakermaker1982]

After watching that Zlatan goal I'm afraid. Very afraid!

Only bright spark was Coleman. McClean shouldn't be allowed to take set pieces!

[paul_oshea]

Even o'sheas interview and colemans is abject. Its like its matter of fact, lacking passion and heart. Like we are going out doing a job, rather than something we love for a country we love. Its a cancer in this team/squad and needs to be zapped.

The players think they have played really well, and the performance was really good. THe performance was cat. We only had that much possession because the Greeks were happy to sit back and do nothing, they had the goal. They would have had far more ball if they needed it. They are living in an illusion, one probably drawn up by Trap. They need a reality check.

[centre mid]

Ibrahimovic has beateb England 4-2 tonigt, how is JOS going to defend against him.

[Paddy Garcia]

I'm watching a stream on Sky - however did we ever employ Staunton as manager - I'd have loved to see that interview - a total eejit.

No idea - he thinks we did really well. "Hopefully we can have a similar performance"!!!

[geysir]

No shock to see the proof that Greece are better than us without even breaking into a sweat.
We don't turn into a team that can pass the ball overnight but we should persist.
Unfortunately there's not many nights where we can try this game and Trap is not the best to orchestrate it.
That was an easy game for Greece, Samaras a joke player for some just showed in a few touches that he was well ahead of anything we had.

[gastric]

Didn't see the game, maybe just as well, as the pessimism and lack of passion that seem to surround this current group of players is evident in the posts here. No wonder the top tier was supposedly closed. The general public need some sort of catalyst to motivate them in terms of support and the easy solution is to change manager. The problem is who will take on this job?

[Crosby87]

They have to get Duff back into the fold. Bribe him, whatever.

[SwanVsDalton]

Ouch glad I missed the second half, went to play football instead.

Sounded rubbish but I've never looked too much into friendlies no matter the result, even if it would've been nice to at least created some chances. I hope Trap keeps Hoolahan about but it's probably too much to ask. Glad the international year's over. Trap's got a 19-year-old Damien Duff at the top of his Christmas list.

[tricky_colour]

I dunno there were some positives from it, at least in spells where we were passing the ball and at time the
Greeks were almost chasing shadows. We created chances but no so many clear cut ones and we should have had a penalty.
Coleman was a big +ve.
As always Trap seems to go for the least likely option.
Anyway look on the bright side, 1-0 not 6-0 :p

With a bit of tweaking and the return of some absent players we might have got a result.

[backstothewall]

Watching the highlights again. O'Shea is done. It's not just a question of him not having the legs to play fullback anymore. Despite his experience he doesn't have the footballing brain to play centre back. He looked like someone who wished Dunne was about to tell him what to do tonight. He has the same little-buy-lost look about him as McShane when Dunne is missing.

If we are going to play someone who needs Dunner has to steer him through the game it might as well be Duffy.

Long did well dragging McClean away at half time. If we are going to play McClean we will have to cope with the fact that he has demonstrated that he has a short fuse, and opposition sides will go out of their way to wind him up. If that had been a competitive game tonight I have no doubt that the Greeks would have been able to provoke him into getting himself sent off. He looked decent on the right though

Brady and Coleman were positives again. I didn't think much of Hoolahan though. Much hype about nothing

[ArdeeBhoy]

Just pray for Nature to take its course.

[tetsujin1979]

Was anyone else listening to the RTE Radio commentary, with Brian Kerr as co-commentator?

Direct quote from Kerr's commentary when Simon Cox went down injured "here we go, I'm out of here, Forest need me for the weekend".

And thus did the last of my respect for the man suffer a lonely death

[Park_Lane]

Was anyone else listening to the RTE Radio commentary, with Brian Kerr as co-commentator?

never mind that, where was manuela for the post match interview with trap??

[nigel-harps1954]

Nothing worse than predicting a 1-0 win for Greece and not backing it in the bookies...

[SkStu]

Missed it as at work but have it recorded- worth watching later?

[nigel-harps1954]

Missed it as at work but have it recorded- worth watching later?

Nope..