Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane

[Stuttgart88]

I think Trap's tenure can be marked by more than just hard results though. One qualification and a near miss was pretty good, as was the remarkable away record and solid record against tricky lower seeds.

But unlike Owls a Fan I can't ignore the way he went about the job. I had lunch with a well-placed guy on Tuesday and he said he has heard inside accounts of just how much Trap took the proverbial in terms of lack of effort. He did say he thought O'Neill is lazy too though!

And while I'm not saying I'll only accept stylish football under O'Neill but I absolutely don't want any more being afraid of the ball and lack of trust towards anyone who can actually use the ball. Even if Trap had qualified last time out I'd have wanted him gone as I'd got so sick of the teams he picked and the way he played.

[geysir]

We shall see. Trapattoni's last campaign was a disaster but if Martin can bring us to a play-off and a qualification in three campaigns I will be pleased. Anything else will be a bonus.

Abwarten und Tee trinken as they say in German.
A top 2 finish is all that required, O'Neill has it much easier to qualify directly and from a second seed position in the draw.
We can expect 23 to 25 points at a minimum in a 6 team group, considering how much of a numbskull Trap was supposed to be with useless draws.
Getting to the dizzy heights of a play-off for WC 2018 but falling to a seeded team would be regarded as a huge failure by fans and surely MON's time would be up in that circumstance?

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Nobody said draws were useless, geysir. You are just seeing things that aren't there.

[Stuttgart88]

What did you mean by 'infatuation with draws'? You may not have meant they were useless, but you didn't seem to value them much either. I'm confused Ted.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

What did you mean by 'infatuation with draws'? You may not have meant they were useless, but you didn't seem to value them much either. I'm confused Ted.

By infatuation with draws, I mean it was almost as if Trapattoni wanted to draw some matches we were in a position to win. Too many examples to mention. A win and a loss is worth more than two draws. Is a draw a point gained or two points lost?

At first it was sad how many times we were winning a game and playing well only to change tact and inevitably concede an equaliser, then it became depressing and finally by the Austria game in Dublin it became infuriating and he should have been sacked there and then.

No faith in the players whatsoever. Stopping short of calling them crap.

The reason we had so many what ifs is not because of any lack of effort or quality from the players. It's because of Trapattoni's neuroses. And people can make excuses about a supposed lack of talent or how small a country we are. It won't change my opinion. Sick and tired of seeing teams like Scotland and Northern Ireland outplaying teams like France, Italy, Spain and Sweden yet we have this blase attitude towards a frankly embarrassing competitive record against teams with any degree of quality.

I sincerely hope he is done managing at this level and no other country or club has to deal with his laziness and crotchetiness

[Stuttgart88]

In fairness to Trap the neurosis with drawing away was been there for well over a decade, and the inability to turn winning positions into wins has been there a long time too.

But on everything else, I agree although I'd qualify that by saying that isolated wins by NI and Scotland haven't done them any good. But for years I have been wanting us to engage teams in a match no matter where it is. I've been envious of Denmark and Sweden's away results for ages. I still lament the late goal in Israel. I think that was a chance to get the away win monkey of our backs and to get us used to winning away.

If nothing else though, I hope / half-expect that Trap has left us the knowhow to continue to win in Eastern European banana skin venues and expect at least a draw against peers away, and this is something O'Neill can build on.

[Charlie Darwin]

In fairness to Trap the neurosis with drawing away was been there for well over a decade, and the inability to turn winning positions into wins has been there a long time too.
Funnily enough, whether by accident or design, I think Staunton was the one manager who bucked that trend. In between the extreme conservatism of the Kerr and Trapattoni reigns, we had end-to-end, haphazard encounters away from home like Slovakia, the Czechs... and Cyprus. You can accuse Stan of an awful lot of things (and he's probably guilty of all of them), but he always sent his team out to win games, which is probably why they imploded so spectacularly.

[Stuttgart88]

Yep, I'd agree with that except that I think the reason they imploded so badly was not that we went for the wins, but more that he just couldn't see what was really going on. I think lots of ordinary Joes could pick a strong Ireland XI, tell them to play for the country and go for it and they'd get a great reaction. But when more than that is needed there just wasn't anything else forthcoming. I don't think he realised that Stephen Ireland can't compete with combative midfielders, for example, but if he is protected he can be a threat in the final third. Stan just told him to play in midfield, I reckon.

[Charlie Darwin]

Oh god, I'm not suggesting that Stan knew how to set up a team, but I do think he told the players to go out and try to score goals rather than just contain, which was a pretty radical detour for Irish football. I remember sitting in the stands when Ireland scored the winner against Wales at home, and I just hadn't seen an Irish midfielder with the confidence to bomb on past the strikers since Keane was in his pomp. It was a really simple goal but it was a case of Irish players just trusting their abilities and making something happen, and for a brief moment I actually let myself believe we were actually going somewhere. You're right though, Ireland was the right player for us but he was being used in the wrong way and it was leaving us hopelessly exposed at a time when the midfield was once again becoming the dominant battleground in football.

[OwlsFan]

Sick and tired of seeing teams like Scotland and Northern Ireland outplaying teams like France, Italy, Spain and Sweden yet we have this blase attitude towards a frankly embarrassing competitive record against teams with any degree of quality.

In the first two campaigns I think we only lost one game to the top seeds and in the play off against France in each game over 90 minutes we won one and lost the other. We drew twice with European Finalists Italy. Both NI and Scotland may have beaten some top teams but they have also had some appalling results against the lesser sides home and away.

Anyway this is all in the past and here's hoping the "dream team" will deliver two qualifications (to better Trap) and beat the top-seeds to spare your embarrassment.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

In the first two campaigns I think we only lost one game to the top seeds and in the play off against France in each game over 90 minutes we won one and lost the other. We drew twice with European Finalists Italy. Both NI and Scotland may have beaten some top teams but they have also had some appalling results against the lesser sides home and away.

Anyway this is all in the past and here's hoping the "dream team" will deliver two qualifications (to better Trap) and beat the top-seeds to spare your embarrassment.

We didn't beat France. If we did, we wouldn't have lost the Playoff. Pipped Bulgaria to second in 2010. A Bulgaria team that lost 4-1 to Cyprus (Are we being hard on Stan or were Bulgaria just a rubbish team?). Qualified for Euro 2012, yet again without having to beat the top 2 seeds, but then became arguably the worst European Championship side in history. Just qualifying seems to be enough for some people though. Don't act like I'm the only person that was embarrassed by it all. Anyway, we were found out in the 2012 campaign and picked up two points out of a possible 18 against the top 3 seeds and that was because of fundamental ineptitude whatever about his past accomplishments and yes he deserves credit for getting us to the Playoffs in 2010 and the Euros in 2012 in what were weak groups. It's also worth noting that we were the second worst second placed team in the qualifying period for the former.

The "Northern Ireland and Scotland lose to lesser teams sometimes" seems to be the only opposing argument when I bring up how they have more belief, more determination, more fight and more balls than us when they play big teams. This isn't just getting 1 or 2 better results. They have each won over half-a-dozen high profile competitive games against big teams. We go into every game against teams like Russia and Germany expecting to lose and treating a draw as if it's a win. It has to stop. Performance wise, Northern Ireland and Scotland are generally far better against big teams as well (contrast Northern Ireland's match against Russia with ours).

We are better than this and I have full faith in Martin and Roy improving us mentally and giving us the belief and confidence that Trapattoni gradually eroded by constantly telling the players that they are crap and acting like we are Luxembourg whenever anyone deviated from bowing at his feet.

[geysir]

Oh god, I'm not suggesting that Stan knew how to set up a team, but I do think he told the players to go out and try to score goals rather than just contain, which was a pretty radical detour for Irish football. I remember sitting in the stands when Ireland scored the winner against Wales at home, and I just hadn't seen an Irish midfielder with the confidence to bomb on past the strikers since Keane was in his pomp. It was a really simple goal but it was a case of Irish players just trusting their abilities and making something happen, and for a brief moment I actually let myself believe we were actually going somewhere. You're right though, Ireland was the right player for us but he was being used in the wrong way and it was leaving us hopelessly exposed at a time when the midfield was once again becoming the dominant battleground in football.
Partly it's about each managerial phase is a reaction to the previous one, the common denominator is that fans eventually end up moaning like mad.... every time :)
Kerr talked a lot about planning and preparation, a reaction to perceptions about McCarthy, likewise Kerr's game plan was well mapped out and protective, at times with two out and out defensive minded central midfielders, on losing the ball upfield retreat immediately 40 metres and form a line . Stan came in and the talk was about pride and giving it a go, a reaction to caginess.Trap was a return to defence discipline, something Stan was weak on. Now we want to keep the ball better, a reaction to the hoof ball era of Trap. Hoolahan and Reid are elevated in status to more than actual worth.
I hope MON just sits down and works out eventually the best thing to do for our squad rather than react to the previous manager's faults and fall into the way of thinking that rectifying a previous tactical defect will resolve the woes in our game.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Partly it's about each managerial phase is a reaction to the previous one, the common denominator is that fans eventually end up moaning like mad.... every time :)
Kerr talked a lot about planning and preparation, a reaction to perceptions about McCarthy, likewise Kerr's game plan was well mapped out and protective, at times with two out and out defensive minded central midfielders, on losing the ball upfield retreat immediately 40 metres and form a line . Stan came in and the talk was about pride and giving it a go, a reaction to caginess.Trap was a return to defence discipline, something Stan was weak on. Now we want to keep the ball better, a reaction to the hoof ball era of Trap. Hoolahan and Reid are elevated in status to more than actual worth.
I hope MON just sits down and works out eventually the best thing to do for our squad rather than react to the previous manager's faults and fall into the way of thinking that rectifying a previous tactical defect will resolve the woes in our game.

Nobody is blowing Hoolahan and Reid up to mythical proportions. Nobody is even saying they should be automatic starters. Some people merely see more tangible benefits to having these players as options instead of players like Paul Green, Simon Cox, Andy Keogh, Conor Sammon and arguably even Glenn Whelan.

[OwlsFan]

We didn't beat France. If we did, we wouldn't have lost the Playoff. Pipped Bulgaria to second in 2010. A Bulgaria team that lost 4-1 to Cyprus (Are we being hard on Stan or were Bulgaria just a rubbish team?). Qualified for Euro 2012, yet again without having to beat the top 2 seeds, but then became arguably the worst European Championship side in history. Just qualifying seems to be enough for some people though. Don't act like I'm the only person that was embarrassed by it all. Anyway, we were found out in the 2012 campaign and picked up two points out of a possible 18 against the top 3 seeds and that was because of fundamental ineptitude whatever about his past accomplishments and yes he deserves credit for getting us to the Playoffs in 2010 and the Euros in 2012 in what were weak groups. It's also worth noting that we were the second worst second placed team in the qualifying period for the former.

The "Northern Ireland and Scotland lose to lesser teams sometimes" seems to be the only opposing argument when I bring up how they have more belief, more determination, more fight and more balls than us when they play big teams. This isn't just getting 1 or 2 better results. They have each won over half-a-dozen high profile competitive games against big teams. We go into every game against teams like Russia and Germany expecting to lose and treating a draw as if it's a win. It has to stop. Performance wise, Northern Ireland and Scotland are generally far better against big teams as well (contrast Northern Ireland's match against Russia with ours).

We are better than this and I have full faith in Martin and Roy improving us mentally and giving us the belief and confidence that Trapattoni gradually eroded by constantly telling the players that they are crap and acting like we are Luxembourg whenever anyone deviated from bowing at his feet.

Why do you think Roy Keane will improve us mentally and give us belief and confidence when he couldn't instill that in his Ipswich players and gradually eroded that, to use your words, in his Sunderland side? I have faith in O'Neill ok.

I said we beat France over 90 minutes. I am not going back to all the Trap stuff as it has been covered ad nauseum before you arrived on the scene rehashing it all again.

Glen Whelan is regularly playing in the Premiership and I am surprised to see you mention his name. Very few people would disagree that Hoolahan and Reid should not be in the squad and they are now so what's your point unless you're going back in to history again? Personally, I think Mick McCarthy played Ian Harte too much but that is of no the relevance to the current position unless you feel Harte should be in the squad now.

You also mention Paul Green. Didn't O'Neill select him to play against Poland ?

[geysir]

Nobody is blowing Hoolahan and Reid up to mythical proportions. Nobody is even saying they should be automatic starters. Some people merely see more tangible benefits to having these players as options instead of players like Paul Green, Simon Cox, Andy Keogh, Conor Sammon and arguably even Glenn Whelan.
Where did you get mythical from elevated? do you change water into wine as well? I said they were given elevated status, that means higher than actual. That elevation usually applies to any decent player, left out by any manager, in any team in the world, who are going through a rough patch.
Do you think we haven't discussed this all to death since Trap changed his mind and put Andy Keogh on instead of a togged out Andy Reid in Montenegro? From Trap's 2nd competitive game we've been talking about it. Both Reid and Hoolahan are in the squad now and most every fan welcomes that and most every fan thinks they should have been given chances ahead of the likes of Keogh/Cox when they were played at wide midfield. Do you think this conversation has just started with you?
I'd say everybody here has accepted that Trap has gone (there's even a new managered thread):rolleyes: and the vast majority here would say that Hoolahan and Reid will get a fair shake of the whip from the new management.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Why do you think Roy Keane will improve us mentally and give us belief and confidence when he couldn't instill that in his Ipswich players and gradually eroded that, to use your words, in his Sunderland side? I have faith in O'Neill ok.

I said we beat France over 90 minutes. I am not going back to all the Trap stuff as it has been covered ad nauseum before you arrived on the scene rehashing it all again.

Glen Whelan is regularly playing in the Premiership and I am surprised to see you mention his name. Very few people would disagree that Hoolahan and Reid should not be in the squad and they are now so what's your point unless you're going back in to history again? Personally, I think Mick McCarthy played Ian Harte too much but that is of no the relevance to the current position unless you feel Harte should be in the squad now.

You also mention Paul Green. Didn't O'Neill select him to play against Poland ?

Trapattoni was practically calling our players crap and acting like he was managing International minnows as opposed to a squad of Premiership players. He managed to come to verbal/physical blows with Stephen Kelly, Kevin Foley and Andy Reid. Anyone in the game will tell you that these are quiet lads and consummate professionals. Say what you want about Keane but he won't foster an attitude where we bend over subserviently for teams like Germany and Spain and have players prematurely celebrating after drawing matches they should be winning. He seems to have touched a nerve with his commentary about the fans' party atmosphere in Poland. It's called a winning mentality.

Whelan has been poor for Ireland for a long time. Countless goals have been conceded because of him giving the ball away, failing to mark players, leaving gaping holes in midfield and offering no assurance whatsoever. Not just his fault, I know.

King selected Green in the squad. He hasn't played all season for Leeds. He has, by and large, been a liability for Ireland. He has looked an improvement over the last several games (apart from Austria away). I will cede that.

[Stuttgart88]

I was among the most critical of Whelan here in the last few years but the early signs under O'Neill are that he is allowed to play a bit more and looks a better player. He deserves another chance.


Wrt Paul Green I think the consensus opinion is that he is nowhere near as bad as the criticism he has attracted. As you say he has even looked OK in several games and was our motm in Poland in May. I think it's harsh to say he has been a liability for the most part, regardless of his club situation. That's not to say he should have been picked ahead of better footballers. As you rightly say, Trap didn't trust our better footballers.

I think Andy Reid is a top bloke, but if he had been a consummate professional we wouldn't have had years debating his weight.

What games did we prematurely celebrate drawing? Stockholm? Forde celebrated as he had made a super save in the last seconds of injury time. He was entitled to celebrate, and it was a good result regardless. If you're referring to the Dutch game way back, that's been done to death here before, as have most of your points.

As for the "party atmosphere" in a Gdansk, which you have referred to before, I think Keith Andrews had the definitive word: the team had just been put to the sword by a world class team that won 3 tournaments in a row. It was not the time for the fans to have a go, but they'd have been entitled to have a go if they remained uncompetitive against lesser teams. I think anyone who has a pop at Irish fans' carry on that night has an agenda. It wasn't acceptance of mediocrity and almost everyone was hurting. It's been done here to death here before too.

Apart from that I agree that Keane will not take a defeatist attitude and I think we'll all benefit from that, and I think he and O'Neill will place more trust in our more creative players. In fact the question is how many will be picked out of McClean, Brady, McGeady, Reid, Hoolahan, Ireland(!), Gibson...

[Charlie Darwin]

What games did we prematurely celebrate drawing? Stockholm? Forde celebrated as he had made a super save in the last seconds of injury time. He was entitled to celebrate, and it was a good result regardless. If you're referring to the Dutch game way back, that's been done to death here before, as have most of your points.
This is a funny one because a number of people criticised him for this, as if it indicted the entire team. Did anybody watch the Superbowl last night? I only caught about ten minutes, but anytime somebody made a tackle or prevented a catch, they were running to the bench and slapping each other's bums. Forde celebrated a great save (and a couple more) that saved us a point and he was fully entitled to. It doesn't mean he thought we'd got the best result possible. If that's how he motivates himself to continue doing the good work, more power to him.

[osarusan]

Shay Given was doing the same thing against Russia (doing it too much unfortunately, as in he had all those saves to make).

[OwlsFan]

As for the "party atmosphere" in a Gdansk, which you have referred to before, I think Keith Andrews had the definitive word: the team had just been put to the sword by a world class team that won 3 tournaments in a row. It was not the time for the fans to have a go, but they'd have been entitled to have a go if they remained uncompetitive against lesser teams. I think anyone who has a pop at Irish fans' carry on that night has an agenda. It wasn't acceptance of mediocrity and almost everyone was hurting. It's been done here to death here before too.

Apart from that I agree that Keane will not take a defeatist attitude and I think we'll all benefit from that, and I think he and O'Neill will place more trust in our more creative players. In fact the question is how many will be picked out of McClean, Brady, McGeady, Reid, Hoolahan, Ireland(!), Gibson...

Yes, as you say it has been discussed on numerous times and it's called supporting your side, win, lose or draw provided the players make the effort. Roy Keane hit a raw nerve ok because he doesn't understand the nature of supporting a team. If anyone watches the Turkish teams in the CL, even though their teams might be getting a hiding, their fans keep going until the end and beyond. It's not celebration. It's called support.

Anyway, as to Keane's winning mentality, will he will have much time to impart this unique knowledge as he's putting out the cones for practice and carrying Martin's bags?

[DeLorean]

Roy Keane hit a raw nerve ok because he doesn't understand the nature of supporting a team.

Was Keane not taking completely out of context anyway? Any footage I saw afterwards he was just slagging off the team for not giving the fans something real to sing about... basically that the fans deserved more than to just go for the singsong. His prawn cocktail/away supporters rant would suggest he understands the nature of supporting a team very well.

[geysir]

Roy can certainly get involved in ways we can appreciate. He joined the u17's at a 3 day training camp in Liverpool as they prepare for the elite qualifiers.

Keane inspires Mohan's U17s at Finch Farm (http://www.fai.ie/component/content/article/56-technical-department/football/103742-keane-inspires-mohan-s-u17s-at-finch-farm.html?)

[Stuttgart88]

Is there a sly / subliminal dig at Keane in that article? :)


The foundations for Keane’s visit were laid in December when Keane and Martin O’Neill met with all FAI underage managers to discuss plans for the upcoming year at FAI Headquarters in Abbotstown. Keane has since liaised with U17 manager Tom Mohan on being present during the camp.

Republic of Ireland assistant manager Roy Keane gave Tom Mohan’s Under 17 hopefuls last week a pleasant surprise by turning up.

[geysir]

:D

I had thought the dig came at the end of the story.

'He made an inspirational speech to the lads, which saw them energised ahead of their clash against Everton Tuesday'.
However
'The result didn’t go our way,'

[Crosby87]

He spoke to kids that age for a whole hour? Their eyes must have been rolling around like pinballs.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

http://www.football365.com/f365-features/9152561/Eye-On-the-Experts-Roy-Keane

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

http://thescore.thejournal.ie/martin-oneill-roy-keane-scouting-schedule-1305456-Feb2014/

5 games in 4 days ahead of squad announcement in Limerick on 20/2.

[Crosby87]

Apparently Roy got coffee at 3FE the other day.
Wonder if he gets anything fancy.

[Crosby87]

Indo: We insist Marty ignores Stephen Ireland. A five step process to bring glory to the Irish people.
http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/five-things-oneill-must-do-before-the-next-international-29994218.html

[Stuttgart88]

I think the press is guessing what the reaction to Ireland's return would be. That's for the insiders to determine, not the onlookers. It was interesting to read about the wig-teasing though.

I agree with the point about not undermining Forde but that there is a way to bring Shay back into the mix in an elegant manner. With Westwood crocked there is no harm in having Given involved on more than a standby basis though.

I don't think we should be going out to court Redmond or Bamford.

I'm neutral on the issue of resting the old guard. Sometimes I think that the best way to introduce youth is into a stable foundation. So I would like to see Dunne being played still. But I really do think there is no need to pick Robbie for these games if we are to place faith in other options.

[tetsujin1979]

Indo: We insist Marty ignores Stephen Ireland. A five step process to bring glory to the Irish people.
http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/five-things-oneill-must-do-before-the-next-international-29994218.html

I would say the first thing he should do is ignore all advice, and build his own team

[Charlie Darwin]

Funny that Garry Doyle spent more words typing that dramatic rendering of Stephen Ireland's exile than he did points #2-5.

[tetsujin1979]

not sure if it's been mentioned here or not, there's a Q&A with Martin O'Neill in Thomond Park on the night of the 20th: http://www.limerickfc.ie/thomond-park-set-to-host-irish-boss-tickets-on-sale

[geysir]

Funny that Garry Doyle spent more words typing that dramatic rendering of Stephen Ireland's exile than he did points #2-5.
It's even more superfluous seeing that SI has already put himself out of the equation for a call up by O'Neill.

[OwlsFan]

http://thescore.thejournal.ie/martin-oneill-roy-keane-scouting-schedule-1305456-Feb2014/

5 games in 4 days ahead of squad announcement in Limerick on 20/2.

It was good to see him at the Celtic/Aberdeen game where there were quite a few Irish on display. Good game and Jon Hayes played well. Some stat mentioned that Celtic haven't beaten the Dons at home in the Cup since the late 1950s or did I mishear that?

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

I'd like to see Aaron Doran get a move back to England to see if he can become a genuine option; Gavin Gunning too.

[Stuttgart88]

O'Neill and Keane pretty downbeat on the emerging talent

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/oneill-the-kids-are-not-alright-259587.html

Elsewhere he has said that he'll be watching LOI players recommended to him by their club managers. I'm not necessarily linking the two strands here!

I suspect he is referring to guys capable of breaking into the squad right now. It's a bit harsh to be writing off the current U19s or U21s, for example. You'd think he'd be more upbeat on the Villa kids too, for example.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

O'Neill and Keane pretty downbeat on the emerging talent

http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/oneill-the-kids-are-not-alright-259587.html

Elsewhere he has said that he'll be watching LOI players recommended to him by their club managers. I'm not necessarily linking the two strands here!

I suspect he is referring to guys capable of breaking into the squad right now. It's a bit harsh to be writing off the current U19s or U21s, for example. You'd think he'd be more upbeat on the Villa kids too, for example.

The talk about lack of dearth doesn't sit too well with me. Having a lack of dearth hasn't stopped teams like Sweden and Switzerland from having better qualifying records. I would say that these teams have a similar level of talent to us. We have a pool of approximately 50 players to choose from playing at PL and Championship level. The lack of players playing further afield hinders us but at the same time, the PL is (arguably) the best League in the world and The Championship is (arguably) the 7th or 8th best League in Europe.

I am not putting us on a pedestal with Croatia but compare our depth with theirs and we aren't that far behind.

And the answer to our problems doesn't lie in the eligibility rules. England are better than Ireland but in the grand scheme of things, they are nowhere near the level of Spain, Germany, Italy or even France. If a player is not good enough to play for England, I genuinely don't think he is going to make an impact for us in proportion to the impact Deco and Senna made for Portugal and Spain.

Our problems are generally endemic in football anyway. Look at Portugal and Holland as two examples. They are nowhere near the level they were at 10 years ago. Imagine how bad Portugal would be without Ronaldo. They struggle to beat teams like North Ireland and Liechtenstein in Qualification.

[Stuttgart88]

I don't like that kind of talk either. I'm surprised by it.

[paul_oshea]

I dont think he is using it as an excuse, but if you look in traps reign we had plenty of young bucks coming through, and decent potential as well the likes of Clark, Coleman and McCarthy. That's 3 who are now regulars pretty much when available.

There is no one like that coming through. Who else in the squad is u21? It is very worrying for the future its not an excuse to throw out there but one we should be very worried about.

We need at least another 3 clarks/colemans/maccarthys coming through in O'Neills time, least because we rely on players who are or will be finished within 1 or at most 2 campaigns e.g. keane/dunne/oshea and lesser players like walters, whelan, doyle, reid, hoolahan.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

If Sam Byrne can make anywhere near the impact that Pat Bamford made in League One, then we could be talking about him being a realistic option in the future. Very early doors though and we have been down this road before.

[Bungle]

I dont think he is using it as an excuse, but if you look in traps reign we had plenty of young bucks coming through, and decent potential as well the likes of Clark, Coleman and McCarthy. That's 3 who are now regulars pretty much when available.

There is no one like that coming through. Who else in the squad is u21? It is very worrying for the future its not an excuse to throw out there but one we should be very worried about.

We need at least another 3 clarks/colemans/maccarthys coming through in O'Neills time, least because we rely on players who are or will be finished within 1 or at most 2 campaigns e.g. keane/dunne/oshea and lesser players like walters, whelan, doyle, reid, hoolahan.

I would be very hopeful that Duffy, Murray, Carruthers and Grealish will be in or around the team within the next 18 months. All have the talent to be very good players for us. Then there is the possibility that a Kenny McEvoy, Noe Baba or Jack Byrne will make the break through in the next year or so. If that happens, things look a little rosier for us.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Noe Baba has to change his name to Baba O'Riley first.

[geysir]

I dont think he is using it as an excuse, but if you look in traps reign we had plenty of young bucks coming through, and decent potential as well the likes of Clark, Coleman and McCarthy. That's 3 who are now regulars pretty much when available.

There is no one like that coming through. Who else in the squad is u21? It is very worrying for the future its not an excuse to throw out there but one we should be very worried about.

We need at least another 3 clarks/colemans/maccarthys coming through in O'Neills time, least because we rely on players who are or will be finished within 1 or at most 2 campaigns e.g. keane/dunne/oshea and lesser players like walters, whelan, doyle, reid, hoolahan.
Looking at Trap's first squad, it was quite a few degrees poorer than this one, major exceptions were Duff and a fresher Keane.
There was no Clark, Coleman or McCarthy knocking on the door of the senior squad at the time of the first squad. Possibly McCarthy was about the only known real prospect but would be playing in Scotland for another season. O'Neill actually has a better range of players to choose from now and if Gibson gets his fitness and game together, the midfield selection is much stronger.
O'Neill has said that there's nothing outstanding on the horizon in the next 18 months, but we all know from past experience from every era, that there will be players coming through.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Roy Keane's sojourn at Turf Moor for Burnley's match with Forest might be somewhat of a wasted trip after Kevin Long, Keith Treacy and Simon Cox were all named on the bench. Andy Reid isn't in the squad.

[tetsujin1979]

Should have waited for the dvd

[DannyInvincible]

Roy Keane's sojourn at Turf Moor for Burnley's match with Forest might be somewhat of a wasted trip after Kevin Long, Keith Treacy and Simon Cox were all named on the bench. Andy Reid isn't in the squad.

I've not seen much of Kevin Long. Is he a realistic prospect? I always recall him developing into our defensive rock in the Football Manager games.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

I would have fully accepted - using Austria as an example - losing to the better team but the Trapattoni era was just full of missed opportunities because of his preconceived notions about the quality of our players and the resulting inhibited way he set them out to play against all evidence and logic in front of him.

I would have come to terms with what happened in Dublin against Austria if we were playing a team like Spain or Germany that were pounding us into submission but we were playing a pretty poor team and we just made things way harder for ourselves than they needed to be and gifted them a point. There was no need to be in thrall to that team and that's what we were. F***ing Austria.... and you look at the way Scotland and Northern Ireland take games to teams like France, Italy and Portugal. Moral courage; we were completely and utterly lacking it under Trap.

Still get angry about Cox coming on ahead of McClean and Long against Croatia in the Euros and his - no disrespect as he was shambolically being played out of position - being completely out of his depth.

Sh*te like that evaporating any chance we had of getting even a point out of that game.

If things go wrong under O'Neill and Keane, at least it won't have been borne out of plain stubbornness and unwillingness to trust the players and engender any kind of belief that they belong at the very top.

Dammit you are supposed to drill it into your players that they are better than they are (whether they are or not), not stop short of telling them that they are sh*t at every opportunity and acting belligerent when people don't bow at your feet and marvel at your charming malapropisms.

[Charlie Darwin]

Just some observations post Trap:

To quote one of George Hamilton's favourite expressions, it is "quite, quite remarkable" how a change in management can completely overhaul public and media perceptions of
the national team and its potential. Would we have 2 hours on a Sunday morning on RTE 2 covering a Euro 2016 draw in the pre-O'Neill era????

You'd think we were this sleeping giant waiting to ignite world football now thanks to O'Neill/Keane.... we've all seen how far passion gets you.... you need players of sufficient quality and one possible world class player (Coleman) is not going to reinvent the wheel for us.

The whole managerial appointment has reminded me of the way our Irish media works.... they'll now "big up" the Irish team for the remainder of year having "downed it" for the majority of 2013....

It always turns sour of course between media and management (that's the game), and by God, this love affair promises to be one god awful breakup when it inevitably occurs:rolleyes:

P.S. The constant reference to O'Neill/Keane in the media as though they are interchangeable and joint managers does bug me a bit (Christ even look at the order of this thread title!!!).... hope Martin eventually cements his authority in that regard... after all Keane is only a Maurice Setters/Ian Evans etc... figure in the current food chain to be fair.
I refuse to sit back and accept this constant criticism of Richard Keogh's ability.

[geysir]

It would be a stunning failure if we don't qualify for Euro2016 from our 2nd seed perch, a position earned on the back of Trap era results. A top 2 finish with a fall back play off option, is all we need to achieve.
Better overall squad, better depth in the squad and a progressive management team in tune with the ambitions of the football nation.
What can possibly go wrong?