Republic of Ireland V Georgia - Tuesday, 26th March 2019 - Euro 2020 Qualifier

[Drumcondra 69er]

Courtin' and the Hourihane - Blog on Georgia game finally finished for these interested in a read about the match and the protest.

https://afalsefirstxi.blogspot.com/2019/03/courtin-in-hourihane.html

[mark12345]

easy target and there's always one with the fans. kilbane was another but incredibly got 110 caps for his county....

Kilbane was a great player for Ireland, but unfortunately his performances tailed off and he played on reputation two or three years too long. Not his fault, but most fans would have fond memories of his sorties down the left wing. Whelan on the other hand is not in the same category as Kilbane. He was never remotely as effective a player and registered meaningless contributions in a green shirt year in and year out. Having said that I'm very happy that he played well the other night (didn't see the game but according to all reports he did very well). Good for him and he also seems to be doing quite well for Villa. Fair play to him - credit where credit is due.

However are we all of a sudden fully confident that Glen is our midfield dynamo for the campaign ahead? Is he capable of maintaining possession for Ireland and leading his troops to the highest heights against the Swiss and Danes?

I have little or no hope that that will happen. In truth there is no one in the current squad capable of running the Irish midfield the way Eriksen will for Denmark. But we know what Glen Whelan brings to the table and all of a sudden he has found a string to his bow that he hasn't had to this point in his career?

[Fixer82]

Kilbane was a great player for Ireland, but unfortunately his performances tailed off and he played on reputation two or three years too long. Not his fault, but most fans would have fond memories of his sorties down the left wing.

I thought he did a decent job at LB for us

[Sullivinho]

Whelan at best, is very good. The greater time, average.

[mark12345]

I thought he did a decent job at LB for us

Don't recall a whole lot about that, but I do remember some very good contributions from him throughout his career.

[Drumcondra 69er]

Don't recall a whole lot about that, but I do remember some very good contributions from him throughout his career.

Kilbane put in a good shift at left back at the end of his career and also did a decent job in centre mid alongside Keane under Kerr. He was excellent in there against France in 2005. He could be frustrating at times (that miss from the rebound of Harte's penalty in Suwon against Spain still haunts me) but his contributions were generally positive.

Whelan was asked to do a very restrictive job by two inherently conservative managers which left little scope for him to shine. Being the dedicated pro he is, he did said role effectively and with the minimum of fuss.

Given extra freedom he was a popular Premier league player with Stoke fans for a decade under numerous managers and is now earning plaudits at Villa. His performance last Tuesday was more reflective of that form.

That indicates to me that the reasons he was awful to watch for Ireland for so long were down to the management rather than the player.

[jbyrne]

what Whelan has contributed over the years was clearly illustrated away against scotland in 2014 (?) when he was injured and our ctre midfield area was over run by the scots

[third policeman]

what Whelan has contributed over the years was clearly illustrated away against scotland in 2014 (?) when he was injured and our ctre midfield area was over run by the scots


I'm not a fan of Whelan and my heart sank when I saw he had been selected, but to be fair that was one of his best performances in a green shirt. He is clearly much more effective and a lot less frustrating when he has movement and energy around him, and Hendrick and Hourihane provided that in a way I didn't anticipate. It was a good shout by Mick given the resources he had available, but not a long term solution foor our midfield.

[liamoo11]

what Whelan has contributed over the years was clearly illustrated away against scotland in 2014 (?) when he was injured and our ctre midfield area was over run by the scots

He played well the other night which was great. We beat Germany and Italy without him and he only played 20 mins when we beat Austria . We also played much better and came back to get a draw when he went off after 50 minutes against the germans .he also didn't play in the euros when we lost 2.1 against France but played excellently

[Charlie Darwin]

He played well the other night which was great. We beat Germany and Italy without him and he only played 20 mins when we beat Austria . We also played much better and came back to get a draw when he went off after 50 minutes against the germans .he also didn't play in the euros when we lost 2.1 against France but played excellently
It was 0-0 when he went off against the Germans.

[liamoo11]

It was 0-0 when he went off against the Germans.

Thanks Charles I try not to let the details get in the way of my biases!

[irishfan86]

I'm not a fan of Whelan and my heart sank when I saw he had been selected, but to be fair that was one of his best performances in a green shirt. He is clearly much more effective and a lot less frustrating when he has movement and energy around him, and Hendrick and Hourihane provided that in a way I didn't anticipate. It was a good shout by Mick given the resources he had available, but not a long term solution foor our midfield.

I agree Whelan is not a long term solution but he is a stopgap at least while James McCarthy waits to start playing first team football again. I don't think any of Hourihane, Arter or Hendrick have the discipline to play the holding role. Shaun Williams is really the only other ready-made solution to this problem position.

[mark12345]

Kilbane put in a good shift at left back at the end of his career and also did a decent job in centre mid alongside Keane under Kerr. He was excellent in there against France in 2005. He could be frustrating at times (that miss from the rebound of Harte's penalty in Suwon against Spain still haunts me) but his contributions were generally positive.

Whelan was asked to do a very restrictive job by two inherently conservative managers which left little scope for him to shine. Being the dedicated pro he is, he did said role effectively and with the minimum of fuss.

Given extra freedom he was a popular Premier league player with Stoke fans for a decade under numerous managers and is now earning plaudits at Villa. His performance last Tuesday was more reflective of that form.

That indicates to me that the reasons he was awful to watch for Ireland for so long were down to the management rather than the player.

Fair points. But in terms of Whelan's restriction under previous managers, at what point does a player say to himself: "this is not working for me, I need to change what I'm doing in order for the team to get a result." We have all played the game and if plan a or b wasn't working, you tried something else. This idea that Whelan, and it doesn't just apply to him, is too restricted in his role under a certain manager, is valid, but valid only to a certain degree.

But the larger question is - are we all now hanging our hat on Glenn to lead the team to the quarter finals (hopefully) of Euro 2020?

[paul_oshea]

I'd just be happy hanging my hat on Glenn to get us to the Euros. A year is a long time in football.

[CraftyToePoke]

Fair points. But in terms of Whelan's restriction under previous managers, at what point does a player say to himself: "this is not working for me, I need to change what I'm doing in order for the team to get a result."

At the same point he would accept and sacrifice not being in the next squad if he did decide to do that, under either of those managers.

[ifk101]

It's more about having an anchor in midfield, than Glenn Whelan being that anchor. Think a fit James McCarthy can perform that role. Under Trapattoni and MON, the central midfielders were curtailed to sitting in front of the back four, and contributed little beyond covering space. Against Georgia, Hendrick and Hourihane were allowed to be more adventurous while Whelan brought balance and shape.
But it is good that Whelan is getting praise, and good there is a growing sense of positivity surrounding the team. And happy McCarthy is enthusiastic in approach to using what's available to him rather than lamenting what's not available.

[tetsujin1979]

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