Republic of Ireland V Serbia - Wednesday, 5th March 2014 - Friendly

[zero]

A lot to learn there, we could not string two passes together most of the time.
Why take Wes off, he was the only one who completed a pass.

i thought he faded badly. i don't think he can play for 90 minutes, which is odd and he doesn't seem to run around too much. i'd have him starting though with reid coming in for the last half an hour maybe.

disappointing but an avalanche of material for MON to study when he watches the game again. ward and mcgeady surely won't start the next match. i'm afraid the same is true of keogh but if he had a dunne or josh alongside him it might have been different.

[SwanVsDalton]

Oh dear, you live up to your name, TheOneThatKnocksOneOut!

Your so wrong on every point here.

Dunne and OShea are the only ones near.
Still very good friends with GS and Leic wouldn't let him go back to Millwall or go to Ipswich, Derby, to name but a few.

As many on here will tell you,

"When the Doc talks you'd best listen!"

I know my Foot ie.

http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/pictures/h/hulkhogan2/37.jpg

Welcome back Doc!

[rebelmusic]

That second half was painful. The main thought for me is pushing this team to keep up the momentum for 90 minutes. I also would have to say the importance of McCarthy is clearer than ever. When he went off our midfield disappeared completely.
Longs 2 misses were horrific...Daryl Murphy showed us nothing and Walters didn't do much either.
Pilkington showed a bit more than McGeady and i think we can be comfortable enough that McClean will do well for us under MON.

With everything said, we should have been 2-0 going into the second half and their first goal should have been a free out. What it suggests more than anything is a lack of a leader on the pitch to rally the team and get them going again. We've been missing that for a very long time to be honest.

[da bishop]

Dunphys take on that shambles should be interesting,ya its only a friendly and there are a few players to come into the side aka Dunne ,o Shea etc but nothing takes from the fact most of our squad are out of their depth when it comes to playing nations of superior technical ability,the new mgt team have some job on their hands as had the previous one,our need to keep clean sheets will be important in the Euro,s ,on this showing thats a long way off.

[tricky_colour]

i thought he faded badly. i don't think he can play for 90 minutes, which is odd and he doesn't seem to run around too much. i'd have him starting though with reid coming in for the last half an hour maybe.

disappointing but an avalanche of material for MON to study when he watches the game again. ward and mcgeady surely won't start the next match. i'm afraid the same is true of keogh but if he had a dunne or josh alongside him it might have been different.


That is a point, pity Reid is injured at the moment
Not sure if I take such a negative view of Ward, don't think he can be blamed for any of the goals,
OK he may hoof more than some but he consequences of not hoofing are often a goal conceded.
Also I though McGeady did OK, he won a few balls for us I seem to remember, plus didn't he
score/assist the offside goal? {correction that was Whelan] I don't think we have a better alternative anyway.

[Maroon 7]

Good first half. Awful second half. Coleman had a shocker. Seemed all over the place. Ward and Keogh not far behind him. Hoolahan has to be in the team because the side has very little creativity from midfield without him. Plus they don't bang it long as much as he always makes himself available to take the pass from the defenders. Typical Long in that he scored the difficult chance and missed the two easier ones. Good player but just not clinical enough to take the step up in his career. McCarthy and McGeady fairly quiet.

[paul_oshea]

Backstothewall how can you be positive about something when its not current you can only be positive about what you see in the now regardless of who has to come back and that was very poor!!

A welsh colleague said to me if wales can keep all 11 fit and available throughout the campaign then they have a chance I say the same about us.

Previous managers have always been lucky in having at least 2 or 3 really good players. I can't think of anyone bar Coleman and he was poor today for mon and keane.

[Charlie Darwin]

I thought we played well in the first half and there were lots of positives, but in the second half the lack of cohesion in defence really told and it made it very difficult for the team to put together any kind of sustained play. Coleman played as badly as I've ever seen him. He seems to constantly be encouraging the other defenders to pass their way out of trouble but often that just means passing your way into the corner. On the bright side, despite being trounced for much of the match, we should have scored three or four goals and won the match.

[geysir]

That second half was painful. The main thought for me is pushing this team to keep up the momentum for 90 minutes. I also would have to say the importance of McCarthy is clearer than ever. When he went off our midfield disappeared completely.
Longs 2 misses were horrific...Daryl Murphy showed us nothing and Walters didn't do much either.
Pilkington showed a bit more than McGeady and i think we can be comfortable enough that McClean will do well for us under MON.

With everything said, we should have been 2-0 going into the second half and their first goal should have been a free out. What it suggests more than anything is a lack of a leader on the pitch to rally the team and get them going again. We've been missing that for a very long time to be honest.
Having 2 wingers is old school, having 2 wingers and interchanging them is definitely old school. O'Neill should be spanked for trying out that one. We have been looking at that stroke for 10 years now,
McLean will make an honest effort for 90 mins, but we need something more, he's a sub option only.
I can get McCarthy coming off because he's important for his club but Wes coming off was defeatism.
I really don't get Murphy, a brainless O'Neill substitution, worse than Trap's affection for Samon. But nothing serious should be read into the performances of the players that were introduced into that 2nd half debacle.
On Whelan&McCarthy, I have heard good things about Whelan this year for Stoke but somehow for us, that partnership is anti-dynamic.

[legendz]

Serbia showed why I love watching Eastern Europeans play football.

I can see why alright.

It was a good test tonight. There isn't many games ahead of the qualifiers so was an opportunity to try out players.

[Maroon 7]

McClean was a bit of a curate's egg. Brings a lot of energy and directness but his touch at times is woeful.

[Closed Account 2]

Not a great game from our point of view, especially the second half. We didn't really seem to have any outball (for want of a better word) and the Serbs could put our defenders under pressure, pressing them, knowing we would give the ball away in our own half. It's a tactic that saw us exposed (especially by Croatia) in Euro 2012 and we need to work on this in a major way before the qualifiers.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Typical. Murphy comes on for 18 minutes when the life had completely been sucked out of the game and set one up on a plate for Jon Walters, who was too slow to get to it.

Yet it is Murphy who gets the same tripe thrown at him as Sammon when he played. Yet the guy who misses the sitter gets off scot free. Peculiar.....

[Charlie Darwin]

Typical. Murphy comes on for 18 minutes when the life had completely been sucked out of the game and set one up on a plate for Jon Walters, who was too slow to get to it.

Yet it is Murphy who gets the same tripe thrown at him as Sammon when he played. Yet the guy who misses the sitter gets off scot free. Peculiar.....
People tend to blame the maligned players for things that go wrong and not give them credit for what they do right. Ward played well tonight apart from a couple of mistakes he made trying to pass the ball short instead of play hoofball, yet nevertheless if you ask people about who played badly there'll always be a few who tell you all about how Ward was hoofing it all night long. Coleman had a horrible game tonight, as bad as any game Ward has ever had for Ireland, but he'll be excused because of his past record yet Ward will be judged extra harshly.

[Razors left peg]

We are going to be very reliant on Hoolihan, Robbie and O'Shea for the qualifiers. Hopefully in 2 years we might have others pushing for their places but to me those 3 are irreplaceable at the moment.

Wes tonight was head and shoulders our best player and its a sin that he hasn't been in the team for years. We created absolutely nothing when he went off the pitch, and could hardly hold onto the ball.

Coleman had his worst performance in a green shirt, but hes a class act and wouldnt expect that again from him.

Long is so frustrating, I have zero confidence in him in front of goal but he does so many other things right. Id have Robbie up top with Hoolihan playing behind as the starters for the campaign.

Ward and Keogh nowhere near good enough.

We have a decent batch of midfielders and wingers that will blow hot and cold.

Overall tonight was disappointing, I hope we dont ever see Murphy and Walters being paired up front ever again, my grandmother can run quicker than the pair of them and shes dead 10 years

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Pretty inexcusable leaving Stokes on the bench and bringing on Walters and Murphy imo.

Long's profligacy really highlighted the need again to give him a concerted chance up front. The lad is almost 26 and I don't think he's started a game up front for Ireland yet.

Wasted opportunity. Hopefully he'll get a start in the Summer, but I doubt it.

[SwanVsDalton]

Typical. Murphy comes on for 18 minutes when the life had completely been sucked out of the game and set one up on a plate for Jon Walters, who was too slow to get to it.

Yet it is Murphy who gets the same tripe thrown at him as Sammon when he played. Yet the guy who misses the sitter gets off scot free. Peculiar.....

Long hasn't got off scot free. As you pointed out, Walters didn't miss any sitters not least since he didn't get on the end of the flick on...

I get it - Murphy's in your good books, which means he's tops. But not even Alistair Campbell could spin that minor flick-on the way you have. And for the duration they were on Murphy barely got on the ball, whereas Walters at least showed for it at least seven or eight times.

I'm not making a point particularly in favour of Walters, or against Murphy here, but just saying it's preposterous to launch any opinion on either of them based on it.

[Charlie Darwin]

Wes tonight was head and shoulders our best player and its a sin that he hasn't been in the team for years. We created absolutely nothing when he went off the pitch, and could hardly hold onto the ball.
I think McCarthy was by far our best player but Wes was second, but still you saw his limitations when he chopped down Matic in the first half and got a yellow card and created a very real scoring opportunity for Serbia, who dominated us from set pieces in the first half. I just imagine how good he would be if he was getting regular football at Aston Villa rather than coming into this match on the back of one appearance for Norwich.

[Charlie Darwin]

Pretty inexcusable leaving Stokes on the bench and bringing on Walters and Murphy imo.

Long's profligacy really highlighted the need again to give him a concerted chance up front. The lad is almost 26 and I don't think he's started a game up front for Ireland yet.

Wasted opportunity. Hopefully he'll get a start in the Summer, but I doubt it.
O'Neill actually telegraphed this one in his press conference on Monday. He basically said if the system isn't working, he'd bring on Murphy and try to play route one. To be fair, if it had been Long instead of Walters, he probably would have been through on goal for the fourth time, and surely he would have learned his lesson by then.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

Long hasn't got off scot free. As you pointed out, Walters didn't miss any sitters not least since he didn't get on the end of the flick on...

I get it - Murphy's in your good books, which means he's tops. But not even Alistair Campbell could spin that minor flick-on the way you have. And for the duration they were on Murphy barely got on the ball, whereas Walters at least showed for it at least seven or eight times.

I'm not making a point particularly in favour of Walters, or against Murphy here, but just saying it's preposterous to launch any opinion on either of them based on it.

What does Walters offer apart from work rate? He does not hold the ball up well enough. He doesn't score goals. He doesn't have the pace or crossing ability to play on the wing. Counter attacks are pointless because of his lack of pace or vision (as seen by his reaction to the excellent knock on by Murphy), his link-up play is average... I just don't get it.

I'm not a fan of Murphy any more than Walters. I could just see the opprobrium directed at Murphy coming a mile off, just like with Sammon. I don't think Sammon covered himself in glory but he clearly wasn't that bad. I do remember him creating several goalscoring opportunities, linking up with Keane, physically matching any defender and even having a couple of goal shouts himself (similar to Long tonight though not as bad).

I remember Folan too being quite useless but himself and Walters seem to be largely free of any criticism but it's open season on people like Sammon and Murphy for some reason. It's cynical.

[Crosby87]

Just scrolled back to read all that, as I didnt see the match. Headache.
Someone needs to give grades? Please?

[tricky_colour]

Just scrolled back to read all that, as I didnt see the match. Headache.
Someone needs to give grades? Please?

I'd give Stephen "Wes Hoolahan on steroids" Ward a 10 for his 50 yard assist :)

[CraftyToePoke]

Just scrolled back to read all that, as I didnt see the match. Headache.
Someone needs to give grades? Please?

Basically Crosby, think of it as the footballing equivalent of Mad Max - Beyond Thunderdome, as it was very much a metaphorical case of 'two men enter, one man leaves, two men enter, one man leaves'.

With Serbia leaving.

[tricky_colour]

Basically Crosby, think of it as the footballing equivalent of Mad Max - Beyond Thunderdome, as it was very much a metaphorical case of 'two men enter, one man leaves, two men enter, one man leaves'.

With Serbia leaving.

Or two men and a bent ref enter.

It's worth remembering we had a legitimate goal disallowed.

[CraftyToePoke]

It's worth remembering we had a legitimate goal disallowed.

And that Shane Long had time for a nice cup of tea, twice, before choosing down which side of the keeper to hit it.

[Stuttgart88]

I think McCarthy was by far our best player but Wes was second, but still you saw his limitations when he chopped down Matic in the first half and got a yellow card and created a very real scoring opportunity for Serbia, who dominated us from set pieces in the first half. I just imagine how good he would be if he was getting regular football at Aston Villa rather than coming into this match on the back of one appearance for Norwich.
I barely noticed McCarthy! I wanted to see more from him.

Our midfield is crying out for someone with "personalitee" who demands the ball and can carry it ten yards on receiving it. There was a passage in the first half where McCarthy played a 6 shot wall tennis rally with a CB as he seemed afraid to receive the ball under pressure. On the same basis, I thought Wilson showed personalitee in the second half. He seemed to really appreciate the need for some composure on the ball from that position. He looked like a midfielder playing CB.

[paul_oshea]

SVD how did you read from towks posts that he wanted murphy?similar to your analysis that's not what he was saying at all...he just really wanted stokes!

And cd seriously what game or delusion are you going through now?Mccatrhy was nowhere to be seen we had no outlet thats why we were so bad in the 2nd half when whelan and hoolohan came off we were completely outnumbered and out gunned in midfield there was no oil in the cog to keep it turning,no cohesion and any bit of a game plan went out the window. At least meyler got on the ball a few times and made tackles granted his performance wasnt anything special.

I think our changes were too drastic and we really missed Wes. I wonder why Wes never bulked up, one thing I wish he has in his game was duffs ability to fall over and win frees to relieve pressure or when in trouble le and nowhere to go.

Geysir you seem to be setting up O'Neill and keane for a fall, were you not happy with O'Neill at Celtic?

Towk I dont think stokes would have had the speed to get onto those passes ahead of the defenders like long did.

These central/eastern European teams breed athletes first and foremost, with superior core strength, 2nd they have an intelligence and technical proficiency we lack and finally they have ability to match the first two. We dont seem to have any of the three.

[Roberto]

McClean was a bit of a curate's egg. Brings a lot of energy and directness but his touch at times is woeful.

Anyone notice McClean giving Coleman an earful when he failed to play a ball over the top opting instead to play a martinez style short pass. McClean's touch may be poor but not as bad as his shooting. One thing you can't fault the guy for though is effort.

[Roberto]

I barely noticed McCarthy! I wanted to see more from him.

Our midfield is crying out for someone with "personalitee" who demands the ball and can carry it ten yards on receiving it. There was a passage in the first half where McCarthy played a 6 shot wall tennis rally with a CB as he seemed afraid to receive the ball under pressure. On the same basis, I thought Wilson showed personalitee in the second half. He seemed to really appreciate the need for some composure on the ball from that position. He looked like a midfielder playing CB.

I noticed that 'tennis rally' and still can't get my ahead around it :confused:. If your main midfielder receives the ball in acres of space and with loads of options to begin a move why keep giving it back to your centre half??

[DeLorean]

Typical. Murphy comes on for 18 minutes when the life had completely been sucked out of the game and set one up on a plate for Jon Walters, who was too slow to get to it.

Yet it is Murphy who gets the same tripe thrown at him as Sammon when he played. Yet the guy who misses the sitter gets off scot free. Peculiar.....

I had decided to ignore your agendas but it's difficult when every second post is yours. You must have spent half the match typing! You ridicule Keogh in a pathetic attempt to gain some sort of self vindication. At worst his positioning may have been questionable, something that wouldn't have even been noticed had Coleman not carelessly lost possession. Maybe he sold himself in the build up to the first goal also, which he would have got away with if Coleman hadn't tried to play the runner offside. You haven't even mentioned Coleman in your 'analysis', even though he was the main culprit for both goals and had a nightmare generally. Do you not think it's a tad contradictory to then come along and say that Long gets a free ride while Murphy takes the rap?... which was complete sh!te anyway as Long's misses were covered in length.

[paul_oshea]

People tend to blame the maligned players for things that go wrong and not give them credit for what they do right. Ward played well tonight apart from a couple of mistakes he made trying to pass the ball short instead of play hoofball, yet nevertheless if you ask people about who played badly there'll always be a few who tell you all about how Ward was hoofing it all night long. Coleman had a horrible game tonight, as bad as any game Ward has ever had for Ireland, but he'll be excused because of his past record yet Ward will be judged extra harshly.

The thing is you know its a one off with Coleman, with Ward you know you will get the same hoof time and again, he made one good read to cut out the piece of play from the free kick and tracked well tonight, but he offers nothing more or close towilson on the left - and wilson has proven to be no great shakes there. Ward will be judged on what Ward does, whether or not Coleman played well or not and as said many times Coleman was woeful both halves. Stutts lost a lot of credibility on this forum with his Coleman is Class statement, will take both a long time to recover from their performances. I mentioned in the past how coleman too often plays it out of tight positions but he always gets away with it, yesterday he didnt, how many times have we seen him do that and get out of trouble? Its a bit risky thing to be doing really, and yesterday he got caught out, but people would normally have said great play by coleman - its a very fine line isn't it?

[the doc]

Relax! It's early doors, we could of been 3 up in the 1st half, goals change games as they say.

In any game of football if you don't take your chances then you risk letting the other side back into the game.

That's why clubs pay big money for goal scorers.
At international level you have to use what's available, we don't have another Robbie Keane waiting in the wings so we will risk paying the price for not taking our chances in most games.

Like I said, let's just relax and see where the next few games takes us and then look ahead to the qualifiers.

We may all realise that Mr Trapattoni wasn't as bad as the Irish media tried to make out after all.

In MON we trust.

[bennocelt]

Anyone notice McClean giving Coleman an earful when he failed to play a ball over the top opting instead to play a martinez style short pass. McClean's touch may be poor but not as bad as his shooting. One thing you can't fault the guy for though is effort.

Not much effort, holding his head, after the Serb got round him easy enough for their first goal. Embarrassing:p

[DeLorean]

Forde (6) - Did pretty much all that was asked of him. Could have been embarrassed with that curling in-swinger but recovered brilliantly.

Coleman (3) - Really bad night all round. At fault for both goals and generally sloppy. Not the usual outlet going forward either.

Keogh (5) - Did some good things but a tough second half. Massive step up but the experience should do him good.

Wilson (7) - Showed signs of real quality and leadership. His best in green for some time.

Ward (5) - Unlike Keogh, there's no lack of experience here but no signs of improvement either. Mixes in the odd good moment but overall a liability.

McClean (6) - Great enthusiasm and effort, a shame he doesn't really have the skill set to match. Could be better utilised as a Stephen Hunt-type sub option.

Whelan (4) - I never have and doubt I ever will see what he contributes.

McCarthy (6) - Average enough by his standards but I disagree with Stutts in that he was one of the few looking to get on the ball, he shares the workload with Barry at Everton, he's a lone ranger for us.

Hoolahan (8) - Such a joy to watch, work-rate, skill, composure... just pure class. On another night where others did their jobs properly he would have had a goal and two assists against a fine side.

McGeady (4) - Really poor night for him, and I'm a big fan. Nothing really ran for him, even the odd good thing he did. Hasn't had a lot of game time so I'd cut him some slack.

Long (6) - Probably deserves a 7 but those misses were match deciding. The first one was a poor miss, the second one was tear your hair out stuff.


No point in rating the subs really but I thought they were chosen extremely poorly by O'Neill. Hauling McCarthy and Hoolahan off straight after going behind basically surrendered the match. Hoolahan didn't looked tired to me and definitely had another good 10-15 minutes in him at a crucial stage. We were lost from then on.

[paul_oshea]

Delorean there seems to be a metamorphis of these posters where they have an "agenda" they give decent analysis on one side and then completely ignore the other, they amass huge amount of posts and then disappear off the earth when they are "found out".

I know what you're all thinking. I never disappeared off the earth :)

Your earth being foot.ie obviously.

[Bungle]

I thought we were excellent in the first half. There was a real desire about the lads and they got about the Serbs creating a number of chances. It was lovely seeing an Irish side stroke the ball around rather than hoofing it up the field constantly, although Forde does nearly always go with the big kick up to Long or Walters when he came on. To be fair, Long nearly always wins the headers.

Second half was awful from us. We were sloppy and gave away possession. The lads were back to the aimless balls that were going nowhere. On a number of such occasions, we weren't under massive pressure from the Serbs but the lads paniced.

A number of things to take from the game;

* Long can show glimpses of being a top player. His finish for the goal was world class and his general play was very good. He was an absolute handful for the Serbs. However, his two misses show why he plays for Hull rather than a top club. I bet if we spoke with West Brom fans they'd pretty much say the same things about Shane from his time there. The first miss could be put down to good goalkeeping to an extent, but the second miss was unforgiveable. I'm a big fan of Shane, but we're going to really miss Robbie when he retires.

* Wes is a beautiful footballer. He needs to be made the fulcrum of the team. He works tirelessly when he doesn't have the ball and when he does, he is a constant threat. He was at the heart of everything good that Ireland did, mostly in the first half. We were a much poorer side when he went off. He linked up well with Long.

* McCarthy is a player I rate massively, but while I've no doubt that he will become a top player for us, he is still struggling with international football. Maybe, I'm being unfair on the lad, but I've yet to see the James McCarthy of Everton perform for us on a consistent basis.

* We need to stop viewing these games as friendlies. With Fifa including friendlies in their seeding for qualifiers, wins and defeats in friendlies could be the difference between us being 3rd or 4th seeds. I think at the moment, we would be in the 5th batch. MON should have kept Long and Hoolahan and even McCarthy on the field longer with this in mind.

[Stuttgart88]

Steven Reid's take on things.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/shackles-of-trap-regime-have-been-cast-off-but-we-still-must-get-little-details-right-30067629.html

I think he's a good columnist actually.

[Charlie Darwin]

The thing is you know its a one off with Coleman, with Ward you know you will get the same hoof time and again, he made one good read to cut out the piece of play from the free kick and tracked well tonight, but he offers nothing more or close towilson on the left - and wilson has proven to be no great shakes there. Ward will be judged on what Ward does, whether or not Coleman played well or not and as said many times Coleman was woeful both halves. Stutts lost a lot of credibility on this forum with his Coleman is Class statement, will take both a long time to recover from their performances. I mentioned in the past how coleman too often plays it out of tight positions but he always gets away with it, yesterday he didnt, how many times have we seen him do that and get out of trouble? Its a bit risky thing to be doing really, and yesterday he got caught out, but people would normally have said great play by coleman - its a very fine line isn't it?
Yeah but if you watch Ward he doesn't hoof the ball to begin with. He's a pretty good defender who looks for the pass first. You're the only person who's pointed out Ward tracking the winger's run and snuffing out a very good chance for Serbia, but I'm not surprised nobody else did. He's been criticised endlessly in the past on here for following the man he's marking in spite of the fact it's his job.

[paul_oshea]

Another thing, i dont want to open a can of worms, but everyone is lauding how we have had so many players come through from the LOI. I think its great, but is there a correlation here with how technicially ineffcient we lack and how the quality has diminished? If these lads were coming through at a young age testing themselves against the best at clubs across water they might not be lacking that skill proficieny that is seriously lacking in the team at the moment. It's not really something you can just pick up in your late teens/early 20s.

[Charlie Darwin]

Another thing, i dont want to open a can of worms, but everyone is lauding how we have had so many players come through from the LOI. I think its great, but is there a correlation here with how technicially ineffcient we lack and how the quality has diminished? If these lads were coming through at a young age testing themselves against the best at clubs across water they might not be lacking that skill proficieny that is seriously lacking in the team at the moment. It's not really something you can just pick up in your late teens/early 20s.
Our best technical players - McGeady, McCarthy, Coleman, Hoolahan - came through outside of the English system. It's a gigantic leap to assume the LOI is the problem when the evidence suggests the English system is more to blame.

[paul_oshea]

DeLorean i agree with that the game plan and tactics went out the window with the subs, we were playing as individuals no team cohesiveness at all after that. At times it appeared like we had 6 wingers and strikes on the field. Bad substitution management and tactical management by Keane and O'Neill maybe they didnt really care and were just using it as a showcase for individuals. Hopefully with a couple of weeks in the summer he can improve on this and get us playing as a team.

I agree with the ratings also bar McCarthy really, anonymous bar a few table tennis matches between him and the backs.

In MON we trust until the first time he doesnt select Sledge as a parter to o'shea/dunne/wilson!!

Anyone think O'neill could move o'shea out to the left to accommodate wilson and dunne in the middle or play wilson and o'shea together in the middle and not necessarily accommodate Dunne? I think he wants a ball playing CB and hence his persistence with playing Wilson in the CB role. I definitely think its the death knell for Sledge there.

[Charlie Darwin]

O'Shea isn't going anywhere near the left.

[Stuttgart88]

Stutts lost a lot of credibility on this forum with his Coleman is Class statementAre you the popular voice of this forum now?

Why did I rate Coleman in the first half? He showed a midfielder's desire for the ball and comfort on it. He never hid from the ball and was never afraid to pass the ball to an opponent in a tight space when any of our other defenders would have instinctively hoofed it. That's good play. Otherwise he sets a tone of fear of the ball, just like our midfielders often do. Someone needs composure. Richie Sadlier made the point recently that in our culture passing the ball to an opponent who is marked is considered a stitch up. It shouldn't be. I applaud any player who trusts his own and his teammates' ability to play football even if mistakes are made. Yesterday was just a dumb mistake. He looked like his drink was spiked at half time he was so switched off from the start.

He also made several good overlaps when attacking. He stood out for me as being a top quality player in the first half last night. Few others did.

Just because you don't agree doesn't mean I've lost a lot of credibility on this forum, it just means you don't agree. Your holier than thou tone across many issues of late is really irritating. It detracts from your own credibility.

[Stuttgart88]

I thought it was telling that he replaced Ward with Clark last night.

[Fixer82]

Was at the match last night. I have to say I thought Whelan was very good. He brought an air of calm to every situation that Meyler just doesn't have.

As was said already, once te subs were made the game was over. I thought the 4-4-1-1 with Hoolahan as number 10 was really working but once he was subbed off we had no more creativity.

Ward was awful. Yes he cut out a really goo ball with a good tracking run but then he gave a silly corner away and the Serbs were winning headers easily from the corners. I've said it before about Ward, he's not a left back. In the same way that O'Shea is not a left back. I'd hate to see O'Shea play left back again.

Keogh seemed a bit tentative but is a possible option for the future.

Long finished his goal well but Jesus did he mess up those two chances, especially the one in the second half.

By the time Murphy, Pilkington and Walters came on the game was over. The Serbians had taken absolute control of the game.

[brine3]

The first miss could be put down to good goalkeeping to an extent, but the second miss was unforgiveable. I'm a big fan of Shane, but we're going to really miss Robbie when he retires.

Robbie Keane lacks pace and has always been urine poor at one-on-ones against the goalkeeper. Remember his miss against France in Paris? At least Shane Long got a shot off. Seriously, every time Robbie Keane doesn't play we assign him mythical qualities. Keane is a goal-poacher in the box, yes, but he's no better than Shane Long in putting away the types of chances that came up last night.

In fact, Shane Long has the pace to run on to Hoolahan's fantastic passes. And Shane Long has the pace to make Ivanovic look like a fool. Robbie Keane would not have had any of Long's chances, because he doesn't have the pace.

[Stuttgart88]

I'm not even convinced Long took his goal that well! Chest height near the keeper with no great pace. I'd bet the keeper was livid to get beaten the way he did.

I suspect many won't agree with this, but it was my instinctive reaction at the time.

[brine3]

So even his goals are rubbish now. We give our players so much stick and take down their confidence. We're becoming like the English media.

[pineapple stu]

I'm not even convinced Long took his goal that well! Chest height near the keeper with no great pace. I'd bet the keeper was livid to get beaten the way he did.

I suspect many won't agree with this, but it was my instinctive reaction at the time.
My first reaction too, though from a grainy gif.

Looked almost like he shinned it or something.

Super work to make the goal, it has to be said. But give Keane those three one-on-ones and see what happens...

[Closed Account 2]

I'm not even convinced Long took his goal that well! Chest height near the keeper with no great pace. I'd bet the keeper was livid to get beaten the way he did.

I suspect many won't agree with this, but it was my instinctive reaction at the time.

Yeah he also curved the ball away from the center of the goal, conventionally you would have expected him to into the goal. In some ways his goal was the hardest of the 3 big chances he had.